The following biographies are from "Compendium of History and
Biography of Carver and Hennepin Counties, Minnesota". Edited by
Maj. R.J. Holcombe and William H. Bingham. Published in
These pages were scanned and may contain errors created during the transfer of the data.
Page 265
J.M. Aretz
Having served faithfully as deputy county auditor of Carver county during the last eleven years and as city clerk of Chaska during the last eight, J. M. Aretz, of Chaska, has fully demonstrated his ability and genuine worth as a public official and justified the confidence and regard the people of all classes in the county have for him. He has been tried in several fields of public service and been found true, capable and faithful in all, steadily widening his reputation and winning additional popularity.
Mr. Aretz is a Carver county product, born on a farm in
J. M. Aretz began his education in the public schools of
Page 265
Peter D. Anderson
Peter D. Anderson, for many years a prominent farmer of
Page 265
Emile Amblard
When Monsieur Emile Amblard died at the Swedish hospital in
M. Amblard was born in
He was always intensely loyal to
When Marshal Bazaine was forced to surrender at Metz Captain Amblard became
a prisoner of war with the rest of the command. He was taken to
Being a pioneer importer of wine in the North American continent, his
business, as well as his inclination, made him an extensive traveler in Europe,
On one occasion, when Monsieur Amblard was visiting an old friend, Rudolph
Steinmetz, a former officer in the German army, then living in
This enterprise was his chief diversion. He had a fine artistic sense and
drew his own designs for landscape and buildings, planning all the improvements
and paying for them all out of his own resources. And he applied his own code
of regulations to the management of his island. Every Fourth of July he gave a
great exhibition of fireworks in the evening, and on other holidays he had
other celebrations suited to the occasions. Through his liberality and public
spirit in this enterprise the people came to call him respectfully and admiringly
"the Duke of Clearwater Lake." Monsieur Amblard owned large vineyards
at
In 1894 Monsieur Amblard was married in
Monsieur Amblard was a member of the Waconia Commercial club, the New York
Athletie, club and the famous Jockey club of
Page 266
Andrew Oscar Anderson
Andrew Oscar Anderson, well known farmer of Laketown township, is a native
of Carver county, born June 13, 1873, the son of Peter D. and Caroline
(Johnson)
Page 267
Jonas P. Akins
A prosperous farmer, now retired after a long career of useful industry; and one of the four survivors of a party of thirteen young men who enlisted from Watertown in the last year of the Civil War; a public official who has acceptably filled several local offices and ever a willing and laborious contributor to the development and improvement around him, Jonas P. Akins has many features of usefulness in his career and a host of agreeable recollections to cheer him in his declining years.
He was born in
In 1857 he found opportunity to gratify this longing. Alone he made the
trip, traveling by rail to Prairie du Chien and by boat up the
Page 267
Edwin J. Akins
Proprietor of Unionville stock farm and enterprising breeder of high-class Holstein cattle, through which he has attracted , widespread attention to his neighborhood, Edwin J. Akins has brought renown to Watertown township in a line of productiveness that is very much to its credit and entitles him to general commendation throughout his county and the whole state of Minnesota. His undertaking is all the more worthy of praise and appreciation because it is the result of his own initiative, and was started with the primary purpose of improving live stock conditions and products in the country immediately around him, which puts it in the class of public benefactions.
Mr. Akins was born July 13, 1869, on his father's farm one mile east of the one he is now occupying as his own. He is a son of Jonas P. and Johanna (Oberg) Akins, a sketch of whom will be found in this volume, and remained at home with his parents until he reached the age of twenty-one, but his present home became the family residence when he was but five years old. At the age of twenty-one he went to Helena, Montana, and engaged in dairying, worked for Mr. H. Brass 4 years, when he started in business for himself with a retail milk route and a wholesale establishment, starting his business with thirty-five cows and extending his herd until he had eighty-five. He was in business for himself 7 years, when he sold out and moved to the farm he is now living on.
Mr. Akins went in debt to begin his business in
Five years ago Mr. Akins began breeding
Mr. Akins is a Republican in political faith but he is not either a
strenuous or an active partisan, and he has never held or sought a public
office of any kind. In religious conviction he is a Lutheran and belongs to the
Swedish church of that denomination . at
Page 268
William Ackerman
William Ackerman, the oldest and yet the most active resident of Young
America, was born in the province of Tharingia, Saxony, Germany, September 17,
1839, and became a resident of Carver county, in 1866. His brother Christ came
over in 1859 and Julius, in 1862. Immediately after Christ's arrival he located
on a farm, in
In 1873 the two brothers bought land adjoining Young America, of which
William became owner but which has since been sold. He has taken an active part
in the public affairs of the village, serving us its president ten or twelve
years. He was married in 1867 to Miss Caroline Rodh, a daughter of John Rodh,
who came to
In 1856 Young America was laid out by James Slocum, Jr., and Dr. Kennedy Slocum, building a small gristmill which was soon burned.
Julius Ackerman became Assistant State Treasurer under Kerner, in 1892, for
six years, and has since conducted a retail feed, flour and coal business in
Page 268
Michael Burns
Michael Burns, pioneer settler of
Page 269
Edward P. Burns
Edward P. Burns, well known insurance man and farmer in Hollywood township,
was born in
Page 269
Alfred J. Brown
The achievements possible to industry, enterprise and thrift in this land of
large opportunities are well indicated in the successful career of Alfred J.
Brown, one of the leading farmers of
In 1857, during the great financial stringency, the parents determined to
seek a new home and a better chance for advancement in what was then the far
distant West, and came to
After the Civil war Alfred J. Brown clerked in a store for I.I. Lewis, who
once owned about one-eighth of the land on which
Mr. Brown went to work for Mr. Lewis in 1860. Two years later, at the age of
twenty, he wished to enlist in the Second Minnesota Volunteer Infantry, but his
father would not consent. So he remained with Mr. Lewis until 1865; but in 1863
he purchased sixty acres, of
In February, 1865, Mr. Brown enlisted in the Minnesota Heavy Artillery under
command of Colonel Colville, being one of thirteen men who joined the company
at
This command was kept on guard duty at
Turning his attention to farming, he broke up a part of his land. He also
joined J. A. C. Flood in a merchandising enterprise, remaining with him until
1870. In that year Mr. Brown was married to Miss Matilda Oberg, a daughter of
Peter Oberg, who was also a pioneer of 1858. He paid $600 for 160 acres of land
in
Mr. Brown then took charge of his farm, to which he has since devoted
attention. He now owns 106 acres at
Mr. Brown has taken an active and serviceable part in the public affairs of township, county, and state. He served on the local school board eighteen years and the same length of time as a member of the township board and as its chairman, clerk and treasurer. In 1906 he was elected to the board of county commissioners, serving continuously since, for four years being vice chairman of the board, the term expiring Dec. 31, 1914.
Mr. and Mrs. Brown have one living daughter, Minnie C., wife of Walter L.
Miller, son of the late Andrew G. Miller, and who owns the Brown homestead, a
sketch of whom will be found elsewhere. Mr. Brown's three sons died in early
childhood, but they have also reared to womanhood an adopted daughter, Miss
Luella Akins, whom they took when she was but two years old. Mr. Brown and wife
are members of the Swedish Lutheran church at
Page 270
Henry F. Bruckschen
Having devoted his energies as a farmer and merchant from young manhood, and having been a force for good in church and other improving agencies, Henry P. Bruckschen is one of the leading residents of Young America.
Mr. Bruckschen was born at
He then moved to
Henry P. Bruckschen remained with his parents until reaching the age of
twenty-five, becoming the owner, of the old home at his father's death. He then
started in business as a livery proprietor for two years, when he formed a
partnership with his brother-in-law, Henry Schmitz buying a hardware store at
Young
Mr. Bruckschen was married May 25, 1898, to Miss Margaret Schmitz, of Young
America, daughter of Henry Schmitz. They have two children: Henry B. A. and
Anna Gertrude. Mr. Bruckschen was a member of the village council for a number
of years, and at the last election was elected mayor, a position he is still
holding. He is a member of the Reformed church at Bongard. His father was also
active in church work, and helped to build the church edifices at
In fraternal relations Mr. Bruckschen is connected with the Masonic Order,
at Young America, in which he has held the leading offices. He is also a member
of the Ancient Order of United Workmen at
Page 271
Theodore Otto Broberg
Theodore Otto Broberg, a well known farmer of Laketown township, is a native
of Carver county, born on the farm which is his present home, September 4,
1867. His parents were John .T. and Catherine (Johnson) Broberg, both natives
of
On August 20, 1904, a cyclone starting at
Page 271
William Brandt
Living retired at Waconia in comfort after years of active and productive labor, during which he contributed his full share toward development and improvement, William Brandt furnishes a valuable example of the value of upright living and useful industry.
He was born May 12, 1843, in the province of Pomerania, Prussia, and in 1867
came to Minnesota, where he worked for two years in a sawmill. In 1869 he
bought forty acres of timbered land in Carver county, for which he paid $350.
He built a log cabin and cleared the land, then added forty acres, partly
cleared and partly swamp, for which he paid $560. Later he paid $1,525 for
seventy-five acres more, one-third of which was cleared, but he personally
cleared about seventy acres. On the fine farm made of these several tracts he
lived until he sold and retired from active pursuits. , Some thirty years ago
he built a good dwelling with other substantial and commodious buildings. He
served five years as village treasurer and has also been a member of the school
board. He was married at the age of twenty-one to Miss Henrietta Holz. She died
November 1, 1893, and in January, 1895, was united with Mrs. Carolina
Fillbrandt, of
Page 272
George J. Bradley
For thirty-three years George J. Bradley, vice president of the bank at
He was born in
In 1898 Mr. Bradley became connected with the bank, of which he is vice president. This bank was started in 1881, by James Slocum. Later it was made a state bank with a capital of $2,5,000, which has since been reduced to $15,000, and it has been prosperous and popular. Its deposits now amount to $424,000. George Dutoit is president. The bank has a high standing in financial circles, the liberal policy pursued having won unlimited confidence and good will.
Mr. Bradley has taken an earnest interest and a serviceable part in public affairs. For eighteen years consecutively he was township treasurer, now being treasurer of the village. In 1910 he was appointed a member of the State Game and Fish commission, of which he is president or chairman. In January, 1914, he was re-appointed for a second four-year term. He is a Republican, serving at different times on the state central committee and the district congressional committee. He is a Freemason, with membership in the lodge at Young America, and also belongs to the Ancient Order of United Workmen and the Modern Woodmen of America. In 1885, he was united in marriage with Miss Elizabeth Hoeffken, daughter of Frederick Hoeffken, a pioneer who came to Carver county about 1861.
Page 272
James K. Blackketter
James K. Blackketter, of
Page 273
Frank Beiersdorf
Frank Beiersdorf, a farmer of Waconia township, was born in Manister,
Page 273
Charles Beiersdorf
Living on his fine farm of 125 acres, which was redeemed from the wilderness by his parents, and exerting important influence in the general progress and improvement Charles Beiersdorf is one of the prosperous and useful citizens, furnishing an impressive illustration of commendable and enduring qualities.
Mr. Beiersdorf was born on his father's old
Charles Beiersdorf greatly improved the farm and buildings, it comparing favorably with any other in the county. He grows wheat extensively and carries on an active dairying business, milking ten to twelve cows. He was married in 1895 to Miss Anna Brandt, daughter of William Brandt, a retired farmer now living at Waconia, who formerly lived on the adjoining farm, so that the children were schoolmates. Their six living children are Louisa, Harry, Emma, Freda, Henrietta and Leona. All are Lutherans, belonging to the church at Waconia.
Page 273
Edward Bachmann
Trained to useful labor at the carpenter's bench in early life and for over
thirty years in business as a druggist at Young America, Edward Bachmann has
passed a busy and useful life. He was born in
He was an architect, contractor and builder until the Civil War, when he
enlisted in the Fifth Minnesota Volunteer Infantry, and served to the close of
the war. After his return he took up his residence at Young America, in 1866,
and there died September 3, 1889. The mother died January 14, 1914. They were
the parents of eleven children, two of whom died in
Edward Bachmann was educated in the district schools and learned the trade of carpenter with his father, and for some time was associated with him in business. In 1882 he started the drug business which he is now conducting, his brother Emil being his partner. He also took a course in architectural drawing and for some years continued the contracting business of his father, erecting, in 1891, the public (non-parochial) school building.
On September 1, 1890, Mr. Bachmann was married to Miss Hannah Mutschler, of
Perham. They have five children: Freda is a stenographer for the Rush B.
Wheeler company, of
Page 274
Frank P. Crawford
Ranking among the enterprising and progressive farmers of Carver county, Frank P. Crawford is exemplifying lessons of his youth, and adhering strictly to the line for which he was trained.
He was born October 6, 1857, and is the son of John and Jane (Little)
Crawford natives of
He traded half of 160 acres to get money to complete the entry of the rest. As it lay off the road, he sold and bought another 120 acres in the same neighborhood, which he also afterward sold, purchasing the farm which has remained in the family since, now being owned by Frank.
This purchase, one mile east of
Frank P. Crawford remained with his father till his death, continuing to
manage the farm for his stepmother until her death, as mentioned. He and his
half-brother then bought the other interests owning and operating the farm in
partnership for twelve years, when he became sole owner. General farming
occupies his principal attention, rather emphasizing milk production. The farm
embraces 120 acres and is well improved with good buildings, including a fine
bank barn, and compares favorably with any in the county. He has taken a
helpful interest in public welfare, serving four years as township treasurer
and two as supervisor. He is a Republican, but in local matters considers the
best selection to office without regard to partisanship. December 2, 1891,
married Miss Berths Schultz, a native of Hinter,
Page 274
JOSEPH B. CONNOLLY.
For twelve years continuously Joseph B. Connolly has most acceptably filled the office of county auditor for Carver county, and there is no sign at present to indicate that he will not continue to fill it as long as he desires, for he has fully met the wishes of the people in the manner in which he has discharged the duties of the office, and is popular and highly esteemed. They find him capable, faithful and honest, and, they wish to continue to have the benefit of his excellent services as long as he is willing to render them.
Mr. Connolly was born in
Joseph B. Connolly grew to manhood in Carver county and obtained his education in its district schools. He was reared on his father's farm and himself followed farming as a part of his industry, but also taught country schools for fourteen years. In 1899 he was elected a member of the board of county commissioners, being re-elected in 1901. In 1902, however, before the end of his second term as commissioner, he was chosen auditor, and this office he has filled ever since, winning at each subsequent election without difficulty or any danger of defeat, although he has been a lifelong Democrat and the county is normally Republican by a large majority. His strength before the people lies in superior ability for the duties demanded, his faithful attention to them, his sterling and upright manhood, his progressiveness and public spirit and his genial, obliging and companionable nature.
Mr. Connolly was married in 1898 to Miss Ellen Sexton, a native of Carver county and a daughter of Thomas and Ellen (Farrell) Sexton, two of the county's esteemed pioneers. Six children have been born of the union: Ellen, Catherine, Mary, Margaret, Lawrence and Thomas, the. two last being twins. Fraternally Mr. Connolly is connected with the Order of Foresters, the Knights of Columbus and the Modern Woodmen. No citizen of Carver county is more widely known or more highly esteemed.
Page 275
ANDREW L. CORNELL.
The career of this prosperous and successful
Mr. Cornell was born in
When Mr. Cornell and his brother bought their land only five acres of it had
been cut over, and that was not wholly cleared. They were obliged to go in debt
for nearly all of the purchase price, as Andrew had sent his earnings to his
native land to bring his father and mother, one sister and his brother Charles
to this country. The father and brother arrived in the spring of 1870 and the
mother and sister in the following fall. The sister now lives in the state of
The parents of the brothers helped them clear some, of their land and Andrew
worked at his trade of stonemason six seasons in
Three different dwellings have sheltered Mr. Cornell and his family on this farm. The first one he occupied was later transformed into a barn. The second, which was constructed of logs with frame additions, was destroyed by fire after being used fifteen years, very little of it or its contents being saved, and the third, which is now occupied by the family, was erected in 1898. It is a large house, of attractive design, and stands on an elevation overlooking the surrounding country for a considerable distance. The farm is a fine one, too, with about 100 acres of cleared and cultivated land and some sixty acres yet in timber.
Mr. Cornell's farming is general in its scope, but devoted mainly to raising grain. He also raises live stock in quantities, and has bred some swine of superior strains. As he is a stockholder in the Co-operative Creamery company, he keeps regularly about twelve cows for furnishing milk to the creamery. He has taken no part in the public life of the township or county as an officeholder, but has been callous in the discharge of all the duties of citizenship, and in political faith follows the principles of the Republican party. His religious connection is with the Watertown Swedish Lutheran church, which he has long served as a deacon.
Mr. Cornell was married in 1883 to Miss Christine Carlson, who came to this
county in her girlhood with her parents, Charles and Anna Christina (Swenson)
Carlson and began to make her own living as soon as she was large enough. Seven
children have been born of their union. Carl Oscar Alexander is connected with
the Watertown Auto Company garage (operates a garage) at
Page 275
ELIAS CEDERSTROM.
Elias Cederstrom, farmer in Hollywood township, is a native of
Page 276
MICHAEL P. CAMPBELL.
Michael P. Campbell, a prominent citizen and farmer of if Hollywood
township, is a native of
Page 276
GEORGE CAMPBELL.
George Campbell, retired in Waterton, was one of the first settlers of
Page 277
FREDERICK E. DU TOIT.
Frederick E. Du Toit, proprietor and publisher of the Weekly Valley Herald,
of Chaska, and at the present time (1915) mayor of that city, was born at
Harrisville, Lewis county, New York, September 24, 1845, the son of Frederick
C. and Eliza (Gresset) Du Toit, the former a native of Switzerland and the
latter of France. They were married in
He found his duties in the service of the company agreeable and he rendered
his employers the best return he could for their confidence by fidelity in the
performance of his duties in the store to the full measure of his capacity. But
the needs of the community for men of superior attainments in the public
service were great and the supply for the demand was small. Mr. Du Toit was
therefore practically drafted into the ranks of official life as deputy clerk
of the court and deputy register of deeds. He was afterward elected clerk of
the court and still later register of deeds, which latter office he held at his
death in 1863, when he was about fifty years of age. The mother died in 1874. Three
of their sons, Frederick B., George A. and Alois, and three of their daughters,
Emma, Constance and Lucy, grew to maturity. George A. is president of the
Carver County State Bank at Chaska. Alois was associated with his brother
Frederick in the publication of the Weekly Valley Herald until his death at the
age of thirty-five. Mrs. Emma Taylor, the present postmistress of Chaska, is
the only one of the daughters who is living.
Frederick E. Du Toit obtained a grammar school education and early in life
began to learn the trade of printer, serving his apprenticeship on the Belle
Plaine Enquirer. On September 26, 1861, he enlisted in Company A, Fourth Minnesota
Volunteer Infantry, under Captain, afterward Judge, Baxter, and was mustered
out of the service July 9, 1865, at
In 1866 Mr. Du Toit bought the Weekly Valley Herald, of Chaska, of C. A.
Warner & Company, and from then until now he has been its owner and editor.
With one exception he is the oldest editor in
In 1867 Mr. Du Toit helped to organize. the Minnesota Editorial Association,
which began its activity in
In 1874 Mr. Du Toit was elected sheriff of Carver county, and for twenty-one years thereafter he was continued in the public service of the county as the incumbent of that office, and in 1898 he was elected a member of the state Senate, and reelected in 1902 and again in 1906, serving three full terms, twelve years in all. At the time of this writing (1915) he is mayor of Chaska and president of its Commercial club. His long record of official life, instead of weakening his hold on the confidence and regard of the people, has only intensified it and endeared him to them. He is probably the best known man in Carver county, and is certainly one of those most highly and most deservedly esteemed.
Mr. Du Toit was married, in 1882 to Miss Anna M. Kunz, a Carver county lady. They have had three children, of whom Frederick E., Jr., and Gertrude are living and George died in childhood. Throughout his long residence of sixty years in this county this veteran editor has been earnestly and intelligently interested in its welfare And that of its residents, and he has made every effort to promote their enduring good and wholesome progress that his opportunities have allowed. No undertaking for the advancement of the county has gone with out his active and effective support, and no worthy agency at work among its people for their improvement or the increase of their comfort and happiness has ever lacked his aid. He has been faithful to every trust and obedient to every call to duty, and the record of his life is one of unselfish and discriminating usefulness.
Page 278
MICHAEL DIETHELM.
Michael Diethelm, a prosperous farmer of Laketown township, Carver county,
was born December 21, 1850, a son of Charles Diethelm, deceased, the worthy
pioneer whose sketch appears in this volume. He resides on a portion of the old
homestead, which has been his home for sixty years. He received eighty acres
from his father in 1876 and then for a while managed the entire farm, while his
father was in Big Stone county. On his farm he erected good buildings, making
it one of the beat farms in the county. His interest in dairying led to his
becoming one of the promoters of the creamery in 1897, a co-operativ6
institution with buildings erected at a cost of $2,823.85, with fifty-eight
original members and the membership, now largely increased. Michael Diethelm
was the first president of the association. In 1913 over $60,000 were
distributed to producers. The first butter sold brought thirteen cents a pound
and it was then that the earnest efforts of Mr. Diethelm were required to
maintain the association. Since thou the price of the product has steadily
increased. Mr. Diethelm himself keeps twelve or thirteen cows. In 1897 Mr.
Diethelm, in association with his father, built the first store in
Page 278
CHARLES DIETHELM.
Charles Diethelm, one of the pioneers of
Charles Diethelm's children were Michael, whose sketch appears in this work; Theresa, wife of Arnold Notermann, of Victoria, Katie, wife of Joseph Steiner of San Francisco, California; Lizzie, wife of Anton Ruegg, of San Francisco, California; Frances, wife of Patrick Ryan of Big Stone county; Mary, wife of George Zanger of Minneapolis, and Joseph, who lives on the old homestead.
Page 279
J. A. DIETHELM.
J. A. Diethelm, cashier of the Victoria State Bank, is a native of the
county, a son of Michael Diethelm, whose sketch also appears in this work. J.
A. Diethelm was born on the old farm at
Page 279
HENRY R. DIESSNER, M. D.
Dr. Henry R. Diessner, of Waconia, has been a resident of that town since
1874 and actively engaged in the practice of medicine since 1883, when he
succeeded to the practice of his father, who was also a physician and had
practiced his profession in this country fifteen years and at Waconia nine
previous to his retirement. He was Dr. C. A. F. Diessner, and the mother was
Henrietta Arndt before her marriage. They were natives of
Both were engaged in medical work. He was wholly devoted to his profession
and had a very large and active practice. She was a professional midwife, a
graduate of a German institution, and she also had a large and successful
practice, being widely known for her skill and much preferred for service in
her branch of the medical science. In her professional work she attended
several thousand cases, attaining an enviable reputation for superior ability
in obstetrics. They were devoted members of the Lutheran church taking an
active part in the work of the congregation. Dr. Henry R. Diessner was born in
Dr. Henry R. Diessner has served as coroner of the county twice. In 1910 he was elected representative in the legislature from the Twenty-fifth district, which consisted of Carver county, and served on the committees on pure food, roads and bridges, drainage, printing, state hospitals, banks and banking, corporations and sleeping car and private car lines. He was not a candidate for re-election in 1912, but has maintained an interest in public affairs and his loyalty to the Republican Party. He has served as chairman and as treasurer of the county central committee of the party, being chairman at the time of the election of President Roosevelt and a staunch supporter of his candidacy.
In professional circles the doctor is connected with the American Institute
of Homeopathy and for twenty years has been an honorary member of the Minnesota
State Institute. He owns a farm of 100 acres, which includes the peninsula in
Page 280
HENRY D. DIESSNER, M. D.
This active, progressive and highly esteemed physician of Chaska is a son of Dr. Henry E. Diessner of Waconia, and represents the third generation in direct and successive descent of the same family in the medical profession in Carver county. A sketch of the doctor's parents will be found in this work. He was born in Waconia January 8, 1886, obtained his early education in the public schools and for three years attended the University of Minnesota.
The doctor's professional training was obtained at the
Dr. Diessner was married January 4, 1910, to Miss Bertha Newkirk, of
Page 280
THOMAS FRANCIS DEVINE.
The subject of this memoir bad an interesting history. He came with his young wife from a foreign land at the age of twenty-three, with high hopes of success and advancement, and with the necessary force of character and mental equipment. He encountered great hardships, enduring them cheerfully and in the full measure of opportunity overcame difficulties.
Thomas Francis Devine was born in
In the midst of arduous labors, although health was failing, he, late in
1864, was conscripted into the army. He served in several important
expeditions, and was returned a hopeless invalid to
He and wife were the parents of five children, John, Thomas, Michael W, Martin and Catherine, who remained with the. mother on the farm until September 24, 1874. On that fateful day the engine of Peter Burke's threshing outfit exploded and killed five persons, one of whom was Catherine, the only daughter of the Devine household, then aged sixteen.
Other lives sacrificed were: Dr. S. D. Grant, of
Michael W. Devine, who succeeded to ownership of the home, was born August
19, 1854, at
He was married November 20, 1888, to Miss Mary Schmelz, of Brown county.
Five children were born who with their mother remained on the old homestead.
They are John, Louis, Thomas, Edward and
Page 280
AUGUST DOMRES.
The interesting subject of this brief memoir was fourteen years of age when
he became a. resident of
Mr. Domres was born in West Prussia, Germany, March 8, 1859, and in 1873
came to the United States and Carver county, Minnesota, with his parents,
Christian and Amalia Domres. The family located on the farm on Goose lake on
which the father still lives, and on which the mother died in 1900. This farm
is in Waconia township, and the well applied industry of the family and good
management of the father have made it one of the desirable ones in that
township. In this family there were eleven children, but two died in
August Domres remained at home until his marriage on February 13, 1883, to
Miss Bertha Kowalkie, a daughter of August and Caroline Kowalkie, who settled
on the farm they still own fifty-two years ago, or about 1862. The father
cleared his land and made a productive farm of it. He now lives at the
Mr. Domres has been very successful in his farming operations, which have
been general in scope and judiciously conducted. He formerly owned another
farm, which is in Waconia township, and which he gave to his son Herman a few
years ago. He has passed all his years on his own farm since he first located
on it, and has made it comfortable to its occupants as a home. Its development
and improvement has been his chief concern, and to this he has devoted nearly
all his time and energy. In politics he is independent and in religious faith a
Lutheran, holding membership in the church of that denomination at Mayer, while
his father belongs to the, Lutheran church at Waconia. Mr. and Mrs. August
Domres have eight children. Amalie is the wife of Gustav Thun, of Waconia.
Herman lives on the farm adjoining his father's. Lena is the wife of Edward
Molnau, of Laketown township, and
Page 281
FREDERICK DAMMANN.
No class of immigrants to this country has contributed more substantially to its development and improvement than the German, and none has exemplified in a more sturdy and sterling manner the best traits of American citizenship. Two generations of the Dammann family have been potent factors in the advancement of Carver county along lines of material and fruitful progress, all their representatives being held in high esteem for genuine work.
Frederick Dammann, one of the substantial farmers of Young America township,
near the
The father preempted his first 160 acres and later bought an additional
tract of 153 acres, all of both tracts being now owned by
He has two sisters, both living, Bertha, now Mrs. Christ Panning, residing on a firm in Sibley county near the Carver county line. Martha, now Mrs. Herman Kohls, residing in Plato, McLeod county.
Page 281
J. P. DAHLIN.
After many years of useful and productive labor in several different lines
of endeavor, J. P. Dahlin, of the village of Watertown, has recently given up
all active regular labor and is living retired and at his ease, except that he
is superintending the erection of a new dwelling house in Watertown, in which
he contemplates passing the remainder of his life. He was born in
Since then Mr. Dahlin has spent three years farming in
Mr. and Mrs. Dahlin are members of the Swedish Lutheran church and actively
interested in all its work for the improvement of the community in which it is
located. They are also attentive to the claims upon the public of all other
good agencies working for advancement, and encourage the off orts of all with
practical aid and support according to their opportunities and the character
and importance of the work such agencies have in hand. They have no children of
their own, and their interest is earnest and helpful in behalf of the needs of
the public around them. The now home they are building will be an attractive
one and a welcome evidence of the spirit of progress that is so wide-awake and
fruitful in
Page 281
JOHN ENGHOLM.
The late John Engholm, one of the progressive farmers of Watertown township,
was born in Sweden February 24, 1846, and came to this country and Carver
county, Minnesota, in 1863, when he was seventeen years old, with his parents,
Anders and Kate Engholm. On their arrival in this township they located at once
on the farm on which John's widow and children now live. it was a farm of 107
acres at that time, but only seven acres, of the tract were cleared, and the
dwelling was a small log house. The farm lies on the northern shore of
The parents passed the rest of their lives on this farm and converted it
from its wild condition into one of the best and most valuable country homes in
the township. The father, who was born in 1813, died here in 1888, aged
seventy-five. The mother survived him twenty years, dying March 28, 1908, aged
ninety-three, her life having begun January 23, 1815. Her death occurred but a
little over four months before that of her son John, who died July 4, 1908. For
some years before his death she lived on another part of the farm, but during
the last twenty of her life she was a member of his family. She was remarkably
well preserved in her advanced old age, never using spectacles, and always
keeping herself well informed. From the time her arrival in Carver county she
belonged to the Swedish Lutheran church at
Andrew Engholm, John's only brother, studied for the ministry. He came to
Carver county six years before his parents, and at the beginning of the Civil war
enlisted in the Union army. Before the end of the war he died in the service,
of fever, which attacked him and carried him off at the age of twenty-seven.
There were five daughters in the family. Anna is the wife of Peter Knudson, and
lives in Beltrami county. Christina is the wife of John Backman, and has her
home in
Before his death John Engholm planned now buildings for his farm, but only
succeeded in getting a granary erected. One year after his death the family
built a fine large barn on the plan suggested by hint, and in 1912 the present
dwelling house on the farm was erected. John took charge of the farm when he
reached the age of twenty-one and continued to cultivate it for six years. He
then passed two years in
Mr. Engholm's health was delicate for some years before his death, but notwithstanding this his end came unexpectedly. He was an active member of the Swedish Lutheran church, serving it as a deacon for a number of years, a quiet, unobtrusive man, an excellent citizen and a great lover of his home. Four children were born to him. Anna, Andrew and Victor are living with their mother. Emma, the second daughter, died at the age of nineteen. All of the children are zealous workers in the Young People's Society of the church.
Page 282
HENRY EIDEN
Henry Eiden, one of the prosperous farmers of Dahlgren township was born in
that township and the whole of life has been passed in contributing to its
development and improvement. His life began May 1, 1859, being the sixth of the
eight children of Nicholas and Katherine (Weiss) Eiden, natives of
Henry Eiden owns 296 acres of excellent land, all under cultivation and which has been brought to a high state of development by skillful and progressive methods. It is improved with good buildings, and is one of the county's desirable rural homes. Mr. Eiden has also taken a helpful interest in public affairs, and has served the township as supervisor and chairman of the board, and also as township assessor for a number of years. In addition he has long been treasurer of the Carver county Co-operative Creamery, and aided materially in building that institution up to its present state of prosperity and usefulness.
Mr. Eiden adheres to the Democratic party, being locally influential in its
councils. He was married in
Mr. and Mrs. Eiden have ten children, Joseph N., Philomena, Frederick, Henry H., Leonard J., Rosa, Katie, John, Lizzie and James. All the members of the family belong to the Guardian Angel Catholic church at Chaska.
Page 282
WILLIAM H. EFFERTZ.
"Shall I not take mine ease in mine inn?" Asked Falstaff in one of his periods of greatest need, and his question voices the universal longing for and appreciation of a good, homelike, comfortable hostelry among civilized men. William H. Effertz, proprietor of the Effertz hotel at Norwood, keeps such a hosterly and is widely esteemed as an admirable boniface, for his hotel is extensively patronized, he taking charge of it as successor to his brother Christian, its successful and popular manager for 12 years. The hotel was opened by Peter Effertz in 1873, and it has been conducted by some member of the family until the present time.
William H. Effertz was born at
On August 19, 1895, Mr. Effertz was married to Miss Caroline Hermann, a
daughter of Michael Hermann, of
Page 283
FRANK J. EFFERTZ.
The Farmers State Bank of Waconia is an institution well deserving of the high place it holds in the estimation of the people of Carver county and of banking men and interests generally. It was organized in July, 1899, with a capital of $10,000 and the following official staff: George A. Du Toit, president; George J. Bradley and Garhard Hoeffken, vice presidents; and Frank J. Effertz, cashier. The president and cashier are the same as at the start, but Charles Henning is now the vice president. The capital stock has been increased twice. It is now (1914) $15,000, the surplus is $15,000 and the deposits aggregate $260,000. The growth and expansion of the business of the bank is the best proof of the excellence of its management and a high tribute to the capacity and business enterprise of the men at its head. The residents of Waconia and the surrounding country patronize the institution liberally, and thereby give evidence of their confidence and the strong appreciation they have of its value as a convenience and help to the community.
Frank J. Effertz, the cashier of this bank from the beginning of its
history, was born at
Mr. Effertz was one of the promoters and organizers of the new bank at
When the Waconia Commercial club was organized Mr. Effertz was elected its
president, and he continued to serve it in this capacity two or three years. He
is also a member of the Norwood-Waconia Hunting club, an enterprising
organization which holds annual outings at
Page 283
PETER EFFERTZ.
Orphaned by the death of both of his parents when he was young, Peter
Effertz, proprietor of the Superior Stock Farm at Norwood, has been obliged to
make his own way in the world, and his success, which is considerable, has been
the result of his own native ability combined with persistent and well applied
industry. He was born August 24; 1845, at Darshofen Kreis Bergheim,
On December 10, 1870, Mr. Effertz was married to Miss Elizabeth Born, whose life began at Kenton, Ohio, August 24, 1853, and who came to this county in 1860 with her parents, Jacob Born and wife, natives of Hutvill, Canton Berne, Switzerland, whence they emigrated to the United States in 1850, and on their arrival in this county they took up their residence at Young America. In the summer of 1872, when the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad opened its station Young America, where is now the village of Norwood, Mr. Effertz and his wife bought the first property sold there and built a dwelling house that fall. The next spring they opened a hotel and saloon in a part of the present Effertz hotel, the small building in which they began operations being still in use as a part of the present hotel, which was built in 1878, and which is now kept by their son, William H. Effertz, the father having retired from the business in 1900.
During the period of his residence in Carver county, Mr. Effertz has followed farming as part of his industry. He erected his present residence in 1900. It is one of the beat in the county, located a short distance from the hotel in the village and overlooking his fine stock farm of 220 acres. This land is of excellent quality and the place is known as the Superior Stock Farm. On it are bred Red Polled cattle, keeping a herd of 35 to 40 head.
Mr. Effertz was the principal organizer of the Citizens State Bank of
In the fall of 1906 Mr. Effertz was elected a member of the House of Representatives, being the only Democrat sent to that body from Carver county in the last twenty years. He served on the committee on Banks and Banking and several other important ones, proved himself to be a hard worker in the committee room ever standing for program and improvement. He earnestly advocated general road improvement and many additional lines of betterment. In the election of 1908 he was defeated.
Sixteen children were born in the Effertz household all but two now living. They are. William H., proprietor of the Effertz hotel; Frank J., cashier of the Farmers State Bank at Waconia and vice president of the Citizens State Bank at Norwood; Gottleib G.; Christian, formerly proprietor of the hotel and now agent of the Minneapolis Brewing company; Hermann, who conducts the operations of the farm; Matilda E., wife of Henry Bovy, a merchant at Norwood; Julius S., cashier of the bank at Belle Plaine; Gertrude E., wife of Michael Fallon, of the St. Paul police force; Edward B., civil engineer for the United States government in St. Paul; Margaret, wife of Albert Kehrer, cashier of the Citizens State Bank at Norwood; and Angelia B., Paul R., Fred N. and Cecilia. Loretta And Peter J. died in childhood. All are Catholics, the family belonging to the Church of the Ascension.
Page 284
SWAN FREED.
Swan Freed, who is one of the progressive and enterprising farmers of
After fourteen years they removed to the
Six children were born in the Freed household, four still residing on the old family homestead. Nellie is the wife of A. J. Lindgren, with her home in Chippewa county. Frank is operating the homestead; and Anna, Emma and Oscar have been public school teachers in Carver, Hennepin and Chippewa counties.
Swan Freed remained at home until his marriage October 4, 1905, to Miss Anna
Sophia Oberg, daughter of John A. and Anna (
Mr. Freed is an active and progressive general farmer and a, large producer
of milk, being a stockholder in the Farmers Co-operative Creamery. He is
township supervisor, a member of the township board and connected with the
management of the schools in his district. The Luce line railroad is built
through his farm thus giving important transportation facilities. He is a
Republican in political affiliation and his religious connection is with the
Swedish Lutheran church at
Page 284
DR. H. P. FISCHER.
In discovering the sulphur spring in a peat bog half way between Shakopee
and Chaska, in Carver county, and turning it into a mud bath sanitarium for the
cure of certain diseases and the general improvement of health, Dr. H.P.
Fischer rendered a signal service to humanity, great in magnitude, continuous in
endurance and constantly expanding in benefits. Mudcura sanitarium is now one
of the well established and widely known curative institutions of the
Dr. Fischer is a native of
Close investigation revealed to him that both the spring and the soil surrounding it were heavily impregnated with sulphur, and he conceived the idea that they must, in the nature of the case, have positive and valuable curative powers for human ills. He thereupon busied himself in making his discovery beneficial by establishing an institution whereby its hygienic properties could be used in the service of suffering humanity. He succeeded in financing his project and erected a building with accommodation for forty patients, and on July 26, 1909, Mudcura sanitarium was opened with four inmates requiring and ready to receive treatment.
Since then the demands on the facilities of the institution have increased to such an extent that in 1912 it became necessary to erect a forty-foot, three-story addition to the original building and to add another, or third story, on the original building. Still the facilities were insufficient to meet the demands on them, and in 1913 a twenty-six room dormitory was put up. This gives the institution capacity for 100 patients. The doctor's residence is outside, so the whole extent of the sanitarium buildings is devoted to its needs. The residence was built in 1911.
This admirable curative establishment is located on a farm of 120 acres on
which a large herd of high grade
The reputation of "Mudcura Sanatorium" rests on the demonstrated benefits derived from the use of its mud and water. But in addition medical and electric treatment are administered as individual cases may require. The soil surrounding the spring is so impregnated with sulphur and other mineral substances that when it is heated it throws off a strong odor. Every day wagon loads of this soil are brought to the building and put through expensive machinery which softens, and pulverized it. It is then steamed and moistened until it is of the proper consistency.
In the regular treatment the patient is carefully packed in the hot mud and allowed to sweat profusely, after which he is given a tub bath, then wrapped in woolen blankets for a sweat out and then placed in the cooling room, where be gradually cools; while resting., Finally the patient is taken to a massage room, and there the disease is literally rubbed out of the body by the best trained masseurs that can be obtained.
Rheumatism is the disease which receives special consideration at this sanitarium, and every form of it is treated with the utmost care under the highest scientific knowledge. The cure of rheumatism is, in fact, the specialty of the institution but kidney, stomach, liver and nerve troubles also receive treatment in accordance with the latest medical discoveries and in connection with the mud and water applications, and many remarkable cures of each are recorded to the great credit of the sanitarium and its system.
Other features of value in connection with the establishment and helpful in
its work are fine natural scenery, beautifully laid out grounds and a social
atmosphere of great cheerfulness and hopefulness. Dr. Fischer, the head of the
institution, is a member of the American Medical Association and the State and
Page 285
JOHN J. Farrell
This enterprising business man and industrial promoter became a resident of
Carver,
Mr. Farrell was the first to buy butterfat by the Babcock test in Carver
county. He now has two creameries, one five miles west of Carver and another at
Carver county butter is of excellent quality and most of the product is
shipped to
In order to extend and amplify his knowledge of his specialty Mr. Farrell
attended the state dairy school, he was elected a member of the
Mr. Farrell was married in August, 1901, to Miss Mabel Sanborn of
Page 285
JOHN J. FAHEY.
With a solid and well-earned reputation as a lawyer, an enterprising and
progressive citizen and a capable and faithful public official, John J. Fahey,
couny attorney, stands high in the estimation of Carver county residents. He is
a native of
Immediately after their marriage the young couple located on preempted land in Sibley county, where the father's parents, John and Maria Fahey, also lived and where they finally laid down their trust well advanced in years. Michael and his wife also died on their Sibley county farm, he aged seventy- six and she seventy-seven. He owned 300 acres of land, about 200 of which he put under cultivation, and was an enterprising and successful farmer and a progressive citizen, taking an active part in public affairs but never seeking office. He voted with the Democratic party, as do all his sons except John J., and all the members of the family belonged to the Green Isle Catholic church, of which the parents were original members.
All of the five sons and two daughters born in the household are living.
James P. is a lawyer in active practice at
John J. Fahey was graduated from the high school at
In 1905 Mr. Fahey located at
On October 13, 1903, Mr. Fahey was united in marriage, with Miss Mary A. Schram, of Green Isle, the daughter of a neighbor family. They have four children, Louise, Gregory,
Dolores and Elizabeth. In religion the family is connected with the Church
of the Ascension at
Page 286
JOHN RIPPEL.
John Rippel, a well known farmer of Laketown township, was born in
Page 286
E. F. GOLDSCHMIDT.
E. F. Goldschmidt, a farmer of Laketown township, settled in Carver county
in 1855. He was a native of
Page 286
FREDERICK GLOEGE.
Frederick Gloege, a prominent farmer of Hollywood township, was born in
Page 287
HON. JOHN GLAESER.
Having been elected, on November 3, 1914, judge of the probate court of Carver county for the sixth successive term, Hon. John Glaeser showed thereby that his hold on the confidence and esteem of the people of the county and their high appreciation of the value and character of the service he has rendered them are not only undiminished, but have been extended and intensified as the years have passed. He assumed the office on December 1, 1903, to fill a vacancy, being appointed by Governor Van Sant, and has been elected at the end of each term since.
Judge Glaeser was born in Dodge county,
The judge served six or eight years as township supervisor and for a portion of the time was chairman of the board. He also served a number of years as county commissioner, and for a time was president of the Young America Fire Insurance company. He helped to organize and was the first president of the Carver-Sibley-McLeod German Mutual Storm Insurance company of those counties, and continued to hold that office until he assumed the duties of his present position.
In political allegiance the Judge is a Republican, but earlier in life he was a Democrat, representing his locality often in conventions. He owns other farm lands besides the old home place, and has always been practically interested in general farming.
On May 11, 1883, Judge Glaeser was united in marriage with Miss Martha
Schweikert, a daughter of George and Sophia Sehweikert, of Young America, in
which Mrs. Glaeser was partially reared. Her parents came from
Judge Glaeser, his parents and his brother originally belonged to the
Lutheran church at Young America, he now being related to the church of the
same denomination at Chaska. He and wife are the parents of ten children. Two
died in infancy and another at the age of fourteen. The seven living are:
Judge Glaeser is diligently attentive to his official duties, but is fond of fishing and hunting, and in vacations enjoys trips for the indulgence of sporting tastes. He is a genial and entertaining gentleman, and has hosts of friends.
Page 287
HENRY GERDSEN.
Henry Gerdsen, a well-known pioneer farmer of Laketown township, is one of
the few men now living who were identified with the early history of the
county. He is a native of Germany, born in the grand duchy of Oldenberg,
February 13, 1827, and at the age of sixteen accompanied his parents in their
quest of a home in a new land. They settled in
Page 288
JOSEPH GAST.
One of the thoroughly enterprising, prosperous and substantial farmers of
In 1855 Mr. Gast reached St. Paul, and a friend of his then living at Scandia indorsed him for the sum of $200 with which to buy land that he expected to sell within two or three years. He purchased a tract of government land at $1.25 an acre, and at once went to work to clear it and make it productive. For two weeks, while building a cabin of poles cut in his own woods by himself, he slept under a tree. Then, in that cabin he lived by himself, providing for his needs as best he could, for four years he continued clearing his land and while waiting for crops dug ginseng root, which he traded for flour at Shakopee, carrying the flour home on his back, a distance of twenty miles. He also worked out hewing logs and doing other hard labor to got food and make progress toward the comfort and independence for which be longed.
Mr. Gast was married in 1860 to Miss Mary Lenz, a girl of fifteen who lived
with her aunt, Mrs. George Pabst, on an adjoining farm. She came to Carver
county from
Prosperity was increasing with him now, and he built a better house of logs hewn on the inside. Some years later he built a large residence of logs hewn on both sides, and in 1900 he erected the dwelling in which the family now lives, which stands at an elevation and commands a fine view of the surrounding country. His farm now comprises 200 acres, and he has about forty acres cleared and in a high state of productiveness. His land is worth $125 or more an acre at a conservative estimate. In religious faith Mr. Gast is a Catholic and one of the oldest members of the church at St. Bonifacius.
Mr. and Mrs. Gast have five children. Their sons Joseph and Aloysius live
with them on the farm. Josephine is the widow of the late John Stein, of
Page 289
CHARLES G. HALGREN.
The useful life of this prominent citizen and successful businessman of Watertown, which extended over seventy years, fifty-four of which were passed in Carver county, except the time of the Indian uprising and the Civil war, ended on May 15, 1910, his death closing a career of unusual constancy of purpose and fidelity to duty.
Charles G. Halgren was born in
Charles G. Halgren as a boy entered a printing office at
For a short time he was associated with I.I. Lewis in merchandising at
Mr. Halgren was a Freemason for nearly fifty years. He was a charter member of Watertown Lodge No. 50, serving several terms as its Worshipful Master and was its secretary at death. The lodge officiated at his funeral, Rev. J. S. Montgomery preaching an eloquent sermon. The Minneapolis Commercial club and other organizations adopted resolutions of respect strongly commendatory of his excellence as a man and citizen and the serviceableness of his busy life.
On June 14, 1869, Mr. Halgren was married by Rev. D. B. Knickerbocker,
pastor of Gethsemane Episcopal church,
At the Indian uprising in 1862 Mr. Cunningham opened his farm gate and left
everything to the mercy of the savages, himself going to Minneapolis to enlist
to fight against them and his family taking a boat down the river to the
stockade at Greenwood, now Rockford. There a body of men was organized to join
those from
Mr. and Mrs. Halgren were parents of four children. Harry A., an eminent
surgeon at
Page 290
HARRY A. HALGREN, M. D.
Dr. Harry A. Halgren, one of the leading physicians of the Northwest, has attained eminence in one particular branch of his profession by specializing and devoting his time, study and energies mainly to the mastery of its intricacies and the newest thought and discoveries in connection. He is in general practice as & physician, but his specialty is surgery, and his faculties tire never more completely at his command than when called upon to perform a major operation.
Dr. Halgren was born in
After clerking in a store at Pipestone for a few months, he took charge of
his father's drug store at Watertown, his father being occupied as the manager
of the mill with the medical profession in view as his proper field of labor,
the young men entered the medical department of the University of Minnesota,
from which he was graduated in the class of 1897. For a few months he had charge
of the
In March, 1898, Dr. Halgren began practice at
He has ever taken a deep and helpful interest in the welfare of Carver county, and has served as coroner several terms. He also aides in building and improving by dealing in and being an extensive owner of real estate. He finds pleasure and social relaxation in the Masonic fraternity, and enjoys the use of good horses and fishing in the many local lakes. In 1904 he was married to Miss Elsie Belton, of Montrose, Wright county. They have one child, Ardis Lucille.
Page 290
JOHN HEBEISON.
John Hebeison, one of the leading merchants of Carver, and a pioneer of the
county, was born on the Berne's Alps,
In 1849, in company with his parents and two brothers, and two sisters,
emigrated to the
They had heard wonderful tales of the richness of the soil of the
Young Hebeison grew to manhood on this farm in the wilderness and early
became enured to the dangers and hardships of the frontier life. He remained at
home, assisting his parents in making a home until the call to arms came in
1862 when he enlisted in Company H, 9th Minnesota Infantry, and faithfully
served as bugler for three years. He took part in the battles of
After being honorably discharged from the service he returned to Carver
county, and in 1870 engaged in the hardware and farm machinery trade, which he
has successfully followed since that time at Carver. Mr. Hebeison was married
in November, 1870, to Miss Sophia Samberg, a native of
The father of these children has done his full part in the reclaiming of
Carver county from a wilderness and making it into one of the most productive
in the great state of
Page 290
VINCENT HECK.
A mechanic, a soldier, a farmer, and at times a public official, the late
Vincent Heck, of Watertown, who died in that village April 1, 1914, proved himself
to be a man of sterling worth in all the relations of life and a valuable
citizen of two of the great northwestern states of the American Union. He was
born in the
Soon after that sanguinary conflict started Mr. Heck enlisted in the Ninth
Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry at
Soon afterward Mr. Heck came to
Mr. Heck kept up his interest in farming to the end of his life and became the owner of several farms, but he lived for twenty seven years in the residence in which he died, having built it himself, and having always kept it in an excellent state of repair, as he did all the buildings he owned, although he was for a number of years an invalid. Early in his manhood he was a member of the Order of Druids and active in the organization in it to which he belonged. But some years ago that organization went out of existence, and he never transferred his membership to another.
The memories of the war and the companionships it brought him were very
agreeable to Mr. Heck, and he kept them alive by active membership in Hanlin
Post, Grand Army of the Republic, at
Page 291
John M. Monson
John M. Monson, a retired farmer of Hollywood township, was born in
improvement of this land, putting the greater part of it under cultivation.
The present farm house was erected about twenty-five years ago on the site of
the first home. Mr. Monson is a member of the Lutheran church at
Page 291
CHARLES F. HENDRICKS.
Charles F. Hendricks, a prosperous farmer of Hollywood township, was born in
Page 291
OSCAR E. HENDRICKS.
Oscar E. Hendricks, a well known farmer of
Page 292
AUGUST HENNING.
Born in Sweden September 13, 1846, and reared to the age of twenty-seven in that country, where be was trained to the labor of making his own way in the world without extraneous help or fortunes favors of any kind, August Henning, one of the enterprising and progressive farmers of Watertown township, came to this country and Carver county in the very prime of his manhood and prepared in ability and spirit to confront and overcome every difficulty that might stand in the way of his advancement, and he has had his share of trials and has triumphed over them all.
Mr. Henning became a resident of Carver county in 1873. He at once obtained
employment cutting cord-wood and working in the pine woods in the winter, and
at saw mills in
From that time to the present (1915) Mr. Henning has devoted all his energies to clearing, improving and cultivating his farm, and he now has about thirty-five acres yielding him good crops in general farming and also keeps regularly ten to twelve cows for the production of milk for the Co-operative Creamery company, of which he is a member., He has thriven and flourished in his undertakings, and is now reckoned among the substantial and well-to-do farmers of the township.
In 1908 Mr. Henning built the modern, up-to-date farm house on his land in which he now resides. The farm lies along Swede lake on the northern side, and the new dwelling house stands on a commanding elevation overlooking the beautiful sheet of water which has been a source of enjoyment to thousands of persons and of profit to all who dwell at or near it. Mr. Henning is interested in the welfare and advancement of his township and county as a good citizen, but he takes a very small part in public affairs. When he votes he supports the candidates of the Republican party but he has never sought or desired, a political office, for himself.
On July 4, 1882, Mr. Henning was united in marriage with Miss Johannah
Hagen, like himself, a native of
Page 293
CHARLES HENNING.
During all of the forty-three years of his residence in this country, Charles Henning, the leading general merchant of Waconia, has been connected with mercantile life, as be was from youth in his native land. He now has the largest and best store at Waconia, and conducts his establishment in full accord with the requirements of up-to-date, present-day business methods and conditions. His enterprise and progressiveness have won and enabled him to hold widespread popularity, his business keeping pace with the development and improvement of the community.
Mr. Henning is a native of the
Charles Henning started his present business at Waconia in 1881 with a capital valued at $3,900, including the store building which he now occupies. The sales for the first year amounted to about $10,000. They have now reached an annual aggregate of $30,000 and are still on the increase with a sure and steady advance. He carries a full line of general merchandise, except hardware and shoes, and his stock now .requires more than three times as much space as it needed formerly, all investment of more than $20,000 being necessary. He is the sole owner and manager and employs, three assistants.
Mr. Henning is vice president of the Farmers State Bank of Waconia. He has
Served as a member of the village council and in many other ways also he has
shown an intelligent and serviceable interest in the welfare of his home
community. Fraternally he is connected with the Order of the Sons of Hermann.
In 1881 he was married at Chaska to Miss Louisa Meder, a native of
Page 293
LOUIS HILL.
Among the farmers of Carver county who are entitled to special commendation for the success and fruitfulness of their operations Louis Hill of Watertown township is easily in the first rank, in respect to both the extent of his holdings and business and the intelligent and progressive manner in which all his undertakings are conducted. His farm at the present time (1915) extends one mile and a half from north to south and is half a mile wide throughout. He has about 225 acres under cultivation, producing large crops of grain and bay and quantities of other farm yields, and he also supplies the creameries with milk on a liberal scale.
Mr. Hill was born in Hesse,
On the death of his father Louis Hill took charge of the farm, and two years
later he bought the adjoining 160 acres, which was all in timber at the time
and cost him $1,000. In 1869 his older brother Adam came to this county and
took over the management of the home farm for his mother, and Louis began
operations on his own quarter section but also continued to work for his
brother. The mother died in 1884, aged seventy-six, but Adam remained on the
farm until 1896, when Louis bought it. Adam is now living in
Mr. Hill has since bought an additional tract of 120 acres south of the old farm and in line with it. In clearing his land, so desirable was it for him to have speedy results that he burned off a great deal of valuable timber. But he has since been more frugal of the natural growth and has sold large quantities of cord-wood from his clearings. His farm is near Goose lake, and the dwelling house, which was erected in 1899, faces the lake. With its fine location and its advanced development and scientific cultivation taken into account, along with the natural fertility of the soil, it is easy, to agree with the general estimate that the farm is one of the best and most desirable in Carver county.
In addition to his general farming operations Mr. Hill raises and feeds large numbers of hogs for the markets, averaging about seventy-five head a year. He also keeps a good herd of cows and furnishes milk to the creameries. For many seasons he has operated a threshing outfit, beginning with the horse-power machines of long ago and ending with the present day steam giants which have contributed so extensively and essentially to making possible the enormous farming industry of our time. To his present threshing outfit he has a saw mill attachment for sawing both building lumber and firewood
Mr. Hill was married in 1874 to Miss Bertha Seltz, whose parents, Frederick
and Henrietta (Burandt) Seltz, brought her from Germany in 1862 to a farm in
this county one mile South of Waconia. It was a new farm, which they improved
and on which they both died, the father in 1884 and the mother in 1887. They
had three sons, and two daughters. Two of the sons, Charles and Gustav, are
living on the home farm. Louis, the other son, resides in Washburn county,
Mrs. Hill was twenty years old when she was married. She at once took charge
of her husband's household affairs, and has managed them with admirable skill
ever since. Eleven of the seventeen children born of their union are living.
Adam, the oldest son, Albert the fourth, and John, the sixth, are managing the
operations of the home farm. Louis, the second son, is a farmer in Waconia
township. Henry, the fifth son, is a member of the hardware firm of Schmidt
& Hill at Mayor.
Page 294
N. J. HOLMGREN.
During all of the last forty-four years N. J. Holmgren has been a resident
of Carver county and taken an active part in its development and improvement.
He is now retired from all active pursuits and resides in the
There, Mr. Holmgren worked for the railroad, at his trade and in other
lines, and as soon as he could sent for he wife. In 1875, for $630, he bought
eighty acres of timberland in
Mr. Holmgren was impressed early with the possibilities of milk production
in this locality and was with the first man in this locality and was with the
first man in
For many years Mr. Holmgren voted loyally with the Republican party in all
his activity in public affairs, but he is now properly classed as an
Independent. His religious affiliation is with the Swedish Lutheran church. He
has four children. Emil John, of
Page 294
JOHN HOLTMEIER.
John Holtmeier, one of the early settlers of Laketown township, was born in
Page 295
Philip O. Johnson
This venerable and venerated pioneer of Watertown township, Carver county,
Minnesota, who is now living retired from active pursuits on the land he
redeemed from the wilderness and converted into a valuable and productive farm,
was born at Smolands, Sweden, December 30, 1833, and passed his boyhood on a
farm in that country. His mother died when he was five years old, and when be
was nearly eighteen he came to this country, arriving in
Mr. Johnson joined his sister and brothers in
Mr. Johnson at once built himself a log cabin, and on December 24, 1857, he was married to Miss Josephine H. Brown, a sister of Alfred J. Brown, who had come to the county with her parents in the preceding October and was twenty years old at the time of the marriage. Theirs was the first wedding in Watertown, and it was solemnized at a Baptist feast on the shore of Clearwater lake about 8 miles from Mr. Johnson's farm, the ceremony being performed by Rev. Frederick Nelson, a Baptist clergyman, and the wedding party consisting of J. P. Akins, J. P. Miller. and Miss Matilda Miller, besides the bride and groom. Miss Miller was married during that same winter to Charles Swanson, theirs being the second wedding in the township, and the subsequent death of their child the first death in it, the burial of the child at Swede lake being the first funeral.
Mr. Johnson and his bride took up their residence in the log house he had
built the evening after their marriage. Mrs. Brown had prepared a supper for
them there, and they then begin a home life in that house which lasted twenty
years. Their benches were made of split logs, their bedposts were stakes driven
into the ground, and all their other furniture was homemade except their stove.
Mrs. Johnson's father brought one cow with him from
His first improvement in his house was laying a board floor. He paid $20 a thousand feet for the lumber and $5 for having it hauled to his house by ox team. He cradled wheat near Chaska for two weeks at $1 a day, and by this and other work managed to make a living. In his first year he raised a few potatoes and some corn. But the corn failed to mature and was hauled to Chaska and fed to stock. He kept on working out the second year until his oldest daughter was born in September. Meanwhile, he had to support his wife's parents, paying her father 75 cents a day for planting corn and in like ratio for other work, until they moved to their own claim The Johnsons had many bitter experiences, not the least of which were the annoyances they suffered from the mosquitoes, which were at times almost blinding to them.
The industrious pioneer kept on clearing his land doing part of the work himself and hiring other men for some. He and his wife bore their privations bravely and made the beat of their hard situation. Her wedding gifts were an overall dress, a pair of wooden shoes and a hoe, and even these were valued as highly useful and even necessary articles.
When the Indian outbreak came they left the farm, hiding their household
effects in the woods. Three times the Indians sought them, but they escaped. At
the beginning of the Civil War many of the young men in the neighborhood
enlisted. The drain continued during the contest, and in 1864 he was obliged to
pay $60 as his share of the cost of sending seventeen men to the army from
Mr. Johnson has lived fifty-seven years on his farm, but about twenty years
ago be sold it to his son Frederick. He preempted 120 acres in the first place
and later added forty acres more, and about one-half was cleared when he turned
the farm over to his son. In the days of activity he worked at his trade as a
carpenter, as well as on his farm, helping to build the Catholic church at
He and his wife were among the first members of the Swedish Lutheran church,
and he was its first deacon and Sunday school superintendent. As deacon, Sunday
school superintendent and church secretary he hardly ever missed a service in
fifty years of constant devotion to the interests of the church. In company
with Olof Anderson, Charles Raak, and Lars Justis, he put up the first school
house in
It took Mr. Johnson four years to become the owner of a team of oxen. The
first election in the township was held at
FREDERICK N. JOHNSON, the youngest son and child of Philip O., now owns the
home farm and has recently erected a fine dwelling house and barn on it. His
first marriage was to Miss Christine Hareldson, and they had one daughter,
Hannah Myrtle, who is now a nurse in the Swedish hospital in
Mr. Johnson's second marriage was to Miss Mary Swanson, a sister of Mrs. Edward E. Holmgren. Their off spring number seven, Lillian, Evelyn, Inez, Violet and Viola (twins), Theodore and Dolores.
Page 296
DANIEL IUSTUS.
This honored pioneer of Carver county,
Mr. Iustus was born and reared in
It was five miles to Mr. Iustus' nearest neighbor, and after paying him to
haul logs together for a house the new settler had only 50 cents in money. He
realized that be must make a living for his family without capital, for awhile
at least, and he busied himself in search for opportunities. He obtained work
at Shakopee, twenty miles distant, and thus got a start. Shakopee was the
trading point for the neighborhood, and De Los and Peter, the older sons of the
household, carried flour and other necessaries on their backs from that point
to their homes, although they were only boys in their teens as yet. De Los died
in a hospital at
Peter Iustus was also a soldier and veteran in the Civil War and served in
Company 1, Second Minnesota Volunteers, throughout the whole of that memorable
contest and received an honorable discharge in 1865. The third child was Anna,
who is now the widow of Andrew G. Miller, of
Daniel and Ann Iustus did much toward the development and improvement of this part of the state. Their modest, one-room log house was the stopping place for numbers of persons who were seeking land, and at one time some twenty boarded with them, sleeping on the floor of the loft. They were instrumental in starting a church, the first services probably being held in their own home. Every other interest of the neighborhood received attention of a serviceable and productive kind from them, and they are justly entitled to be regarded as the real founders and parents of the township.
Early in the Civil war Daniel Iustus enlisted in Company B, Ninth Minnesota
Volunteer Infantry, with a number of other persons from
PETER IUSTUS, the second son of Daniel and Anna Iustus, was born in
Peter Iustus married Miss Anna Peterson, a daughter of Peter and Christina Peterson, July 31, 1867. The Peterson family were also pioneers in this county. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Iustus settled down on the old homestead formerly owned by Daniel Iustus, his father, and there spent the greater part of their remaining years.
Peter Iustus was an active and industrious farmer. He was also a skillful mechanic and as a first class carpenter and blacksmith and the neighborhood always found in him a ready and helping hand.
Mr. and Mrs. Iustus were active members of the
Mrs. Iustus died September 3, 1905, and her husband June 20, 1909. His farm
of 160 acres included the farm now owned by his son George on the border of
Swede lake. Peter and his wife were the parents of seven children. James is a
farmer near
GEORGE E. IUSTUS, the third son and child of Peter and Anna (Peterson)
Iustus, was born on his father's farm near Swede lake, January 19, 1874. He
remained at home until his marriage, September 23, 1903, to Miss Anna Johnson,
a daughter of Lars A. and Anna (Olson) Johnson, of
LARS A. JOHNSON, the father of Mrs. George E. Iustus, who is now living
retired at
Mr. Johnsen was married in
Page 297
MILTON JADWIN.
Having come to Watertown township as one of the pioneers, having borne his full share of the labor and care, privation and suffering, danger and disappointment involved in redeeming the region from the wilderness, and having passed even the limit of human life suggested by the psalmist, Milton Jadwin, at the age of eighty-two, has witnessed and taken part in the whole development of Carver county from the dawn of its civilization to its present state of advancement and abundant productiveness, and he is held in high esteem as an important factor in such development.
Mr. Jadwin was born in Perry county, Ohio, November 22, 1832, and at the age
of four -was taken to the adjoining county of Hocking, and there grow to
manhood, obtained a limited education, was married at the age of twenty-five,
and began his long career of useful labor. After his father's death when he was
twelve years old, he was obliged to make his own way, doing farm work at $12 or
$13 per month. On March 12, 1857, he was married to Miss Hannah Campbell, who
was born in
He had saved $400 and soon after marriage the young couple resolved to dare
the hazard of the wilderness, starting down the Ohio river for
He soon took up land in section 12, on the Minneapolis road, two miles and a half east of Watertown, with Benjamin F. Light as his nearest neighbor and several German families to the South, the only settlers in that direction between his land and the Minnesota river. Getting his wife from Wayzata he began building a log cabin. They used a dry goods box for a table, split basswood logs for seats, and other household articles constructed or adapted in the same crude way.
He secured his first cow by cutting and stacking eleven tons of hay, the
cost of the cow at that rate being over $100. He sold her and her calf two
years later for $40, with which he bought two wild steers at a butcher yard in
These hardy pioneers were obliged to grind corn by hand for bread, and privations in other respects were onerous. In planting he broke his hoe, and cried out to his wife, in the agony of distress "For God's sake, what shall I do I have no money and no credit" His wife called his attention to the ginseng, which grew wild in abundance, and told him what it was. He dug up a quantity with a sharpened stake, and with the sale of that bought another hoe. He then continued to dig and sell this valuable herb, it helping him and his family over many a hard place. Whenever he had fifty or sixty pounds of it collected he would lug it to a store 2 1/2 miles distant and exchange it for flour and other necessities.
In time live stock multiplied and he acquired some good brood mares from which he raised draft horses, which sold at good prices. Later he raised horses from imported Shire and Percheron stock, being the first man in the township to use such a class of stock. He began to raise cows of good strains and bought stock in the Co-operative Creamery, which turned out to be profitable in connection with the products of his herd. He cleared up parts of three farms, the last being the one on Oak lake on which he lived from 1862 to 1913, fifty-one years. He improved it with good buildings and developed it into one of the best farms in the township.
In the early days Mr. Jadwin was accustomed to take contracts for clearing
land, and often had to walk four miles to and from his work, for which he was
paid $1 a day. At the time of the Indian uprising in 1862 his wife went to St.
Anthony but. he remained on his farm, and, as he owned horses carried messages
and mail between different points, once taking mail to
Mr. Jadwin has always been a Democrat, but never an extreme partisan. He has
been deeply interested in the welfare of his township, and has frequently voted
for Republicans when he deemed them the best men for the positions sought.
Neither has he ever been desirous of holding office, or ever accepted any
except minor ones, such as school director or the like. His wife died January
3, 1908, after being in an invalid condition for several months. They became
the parents of eleven children. Nine of them grew to maturity and eight, are
still living, four sons and four daughters. George is a fruit grower in
Page 298
CARL G. JOHNSON.
Since he was four years old Carl G. Johnson, president of the Co-operative
Creamery company at
In the spring of 1877 he took up his residence on a farm three miles south
of
The father carried on the farm until 1902, when he turned it over to his
son, Carl G. The latter has since done a considerable amount of tile draining,
having put in about 3,000 feet of tiling in the last two years. This method of
drainage has been in use only for about that length of time in this
neighborhood, Mr. Johnson being one of the first men in
Carl M. Johnson died May 26, 1913, aged eighty-one years. During the last
seven years of his life he was blind and lived with his son Carl. His wife died
at the age of sixty-four. Both belonged to the Swedish Lutheran church and were
devout and active members of it. Their offspring numbered four, one son and two
daughters besides Carl G. John Peter, the first born, died in
Carl G. Johnson was about twelve years old when he became a resident of
Mr. Johnson worked through fourteen seasons for the late Andrew G. Miller,
of
The welfare of his township has been a matter of earnest interest to Mr.
Johnson, and he has rendered the public good service in several local offices
of importance. He has been supervisor and chairman and town clerk of the
township board, for fourteen years in succession, until the spring of 1914. In
the fall of 1914 he was elected a member of the board of county commissioners
for a full term of four years. He is a Republican in political faith and
allegiance, and has long been active in the service of his party, serving as a
delegate to county conventions, as township chairman and by energetic and
effective work in the campaigns. His religious connection is with the Swedish
Lutheran church at
Page 299
Henry H. Karels
Henry H. Karels, a well known farmer of
Page 299
Albert J. Kehrer
Having demonstrated capacity and fitness in the banking business by ten years'
previous experience, Albert J. Kehrer was selected for the cashiership of the
now bank in
The Citizens State Bank has a capital of $15,000, a surplus of $3,000 and deposits rapidly increasing in magnitude. The original stockholders are Peter Frank and Christian Effertz, Julius Pieper, H. G. Lenzen, Edward Bauermeister, Henry Klosterman and Albert J. Kehrer. Peter Effertz is president and Frank Effertz vice president. All these men are well known for integrity, business capacity and superior judgment, and their standing in the community gives assurance that the bank will be conducted along conservative lines.
Albert J. Kehrer, was born at New Prague, Le Sueur county, in 1880, being
the son of A. W. and Mary (Holzer) Kehrer, now residents of Glencoe, where the
father was in the cigar business for twenty years. The son was educated in the
parochial school at Glencoe, and at the age of twenty-four came to Young
America, being employed in the State Bank for a number of years. He was cashier
of the bank at
On January 28, 1908, Mr. Kehrer was united in marriage with Margaret Effertz, daughter of Peter Effertz, president of the bank. They have two children, Fabian and Marie Elizabeth. They are members of the Church of the Ascension, and he belongs to the Knights of Columbus, at Green Isle, in Sibley county,
Page 299
Matthew Kelly
Matthew Kelly, one of the first settlers in Hollywood township, was born in
Page 300
Henry L. Kelm
Henry L. Kelm, who is now the cashier of the Chanhassen State Bank, has had a varied, busy and somewhat eventful career. He has fully met the requirements of any situation in which he found or placed himself, and has won a gratifying success in whatever he has undertaken. He seems at length to have found a field of labor for which he has special fitness and an assignment to duties which he is highly qualified to perform with credit to himself and benefit to the interests he has in charge and the community in which they operate.
The Chanhassen State Bank was chartered April 14, 1914, and opened for business on the fourth day of the following month, with a capital of $10,000 and an official staff composed of Roy Quimby, of Minneapolis, president; Matthew Bongard ,vice president, and H. L. Kelm, cashier. The bank built and is occupying, its own banking house, and its surplus has already reached a total of $2,500, and its business and popularity in the community are steadily increasing.
Henry L. Kelm, the courteous and capable cashier, is a native of Chanhassen,
where his life began November 5, 1869. He is a son of Frederick and Ann Kelm,
who were born and reared in
The father died in 1894 aged sixty-six, but the mother survives, and has her
home with a son at
Henry L. Kelm obtained his education in a school kept at his home, which he attended three months in the year for a few years. At the age of twenty-one he learned telegraphy, and followed that line of endeavor until he was twenty-five. He was then, September 1, 1893, placed in charge of the Chanhassen office of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad as station agent, which he filled with great acceptability until the bank was organized and he was selected as its cashier. For eight years he was also a merchant and the postmaster of Chanhassen.
Mr. Kelm is a stockholder in the bank and a stockholder and director in the
Mortgage Security company of
Page 300
Gerhard Kimpel
Having passed his life until 1910 on a farm, engaged in productive industry and doing his full share of conducting local affairs of the public in various township and county offices, Hon. Gerhard Kimpel, representative of the Twenty-fifth legislative district during the years 1913 and 1914, has proven himself intelligently and helpfully interested in the welfare of his home county.
Mr. Kimpel was born in Young America township, September 12, 1861, and is a son of Gerhard and Elizabeth (Iven) Kimpel, natives of Rhine province, Germany, who reached Carver county July 4, 1858.. They had six children, five accompanying them to their new home, six more being born here.
The first residence was on land purchased from the railroad company in
section 29, on which they lived until 1880. He then sold that farm and bought
another of 200 acres in section 31 of
Eleven of their twelve children grow to maturity, nine of whom are living.
Katharine, the wife of Henry Voss, died in
Gerhard Kimpel received a common school education, but long continued habits of study and observation have made him well informed. He purchased the home farm in 1883, and there made his home until 1910. He has been actively engaged in politics for twenty-five years, serving as clerk of the school board for that length of time, as county commissioner twelve years, and in other public capacities. In 1912 he was elected a member of the house of representatives, serving the regular session of 1913, serving on committees of state prisons, roads and bridges, compensation of public officials, and others.
His religious connection is with the Evangelical Lutheran church, and he is affiliated with the Modern Woodmen of America, being a charter member of the Camp at Plato. He was married in 1887 to Miss Christina Bohnen, of McLeod county. They have had seven children. Gerhard, Jr., is cashier of the bank at Lester Prairie. Jacob died in 1905 at the age of sixteen. The others are, Henry, Elizabeth, Margretha, William and Christina.
Page 301
HON. CHARLES H. KLEIN.
Manufacturer, banker, legislator and influential force in promoting the progress and improvement of the section of the state in which he lives along all lines of genuine and permanent advancement, Hon. Charles H. Klein, one of leading business men of Chaska, Carver county, has long exemplified in his career the best attributes of elevated and useful American citizenship and the most commendable trials in many lines of serviceable endeavor and been found true of lofty ideals and sound principles in all.
Mr. Klein was born in Benton township, Carver county, Minnesota, June 2,
1872, and is a son of George and Mary (Herrmeyer) Klein, the former a native of
Alsace-Lorraine, and the later of Hanover, Germany, but married in this
country, and in the township which has ever since been their home. In 1856 the
father, George Klein, came with his parents, Adam and Magdalena (Hoch) Klein,
to this country from their native land and located on a tract of land in
After the death of his father George carried on the operation of the farm,
and this he continued to do until he died in February, 1912, at the age of
sixty-six. He was long a member of the township board and its chairman for a
number of years. His widow, who still has her home in
Charles H. Klein remained on the farm with his parents until he reached the age
of eighteen. In 1890 he pursued a course of business training at the
The three companies alluded to are the Chaska Brick and Tile company, in
which Mr. Klein is associated with J. W. L. Corning, of
Mr. Klein is a Republican in politics and has always taken an active interest in the affairs of his party. In the fall of 1902 he was elected to the state house of representatives, and in 1904 he was re-elected. In his last session he was chairman of the committee on manufactures. In 1910 he was elected senator from Carver county, which was the whole senatorial district, and in the senate he was again chairman of the committee on manufactures. One term in the senate filled the measure of his ambition for legislative honors, and in 1914 he declined to be a candidate for re-election.
On December 15, 1897, Mr. Klein was married to Miss Matilda A. Bauermeister
of
Page 301
ANTON KNOBLAUCH.
During his continuous residence of fifty-eight years in Minnesota and Carver county Anton Knoblauch, of the village of Carver, has tried his hand at several lines of business enterprise with success in all, and has built up for himself a fine reputation as a general merchant, manufacturer, real estate dealer and banker of superior capacity and a citizen of pronounced public spirit and enterprise in reference to the general welfare and steady progress and improvement of the community in which he lives.
Mr. Knoblauch was born in the
During the last thirty years Mr. Knoblauch has been conducting a private banking business at Carver, but he has also manufactured brick extensively, and built and operated grain elevators, which he owned until recently. He has had an extensive and varied business experience, and is one of the best known men in Carver county. In religious connection he is a member of the Catholic church and active in promoting the welfare of the parish to which he belongs, as he is in aiding the activities of all agencies working in the community for its good.
Mr. Knoblauch was married in 1864 to Miss Anna Johnson, of Carver. They,
have had four children, three of whom are living: William, who owns and manages
a fruit farm near Excelsior, Hennepin county; George, who is dealing in real
estate in Chicago., and
Page 302
CHARLES KRAUSE.
The late, Charles Krause, of Watertown township, who was one of the
enterprising and progressive farmers of Carver county, died November 6, 1903,
on the farm on which he first settled with his parents, August and Mary Krause,
in the fall of 1856. He was a brother of Justus Krause, whose fine farm in this
township is located in section 27, on the
Charles Krause followed the family vocation of tilling the soil with success to the end of his life. His widow is still living and has her home at Waconia. They became the parents of ten children, the younger ones of whom are living with her. Two of the sons, Adolph and Arthur, have the home farm, Adolph owning the homestead part and Arthur the part which belonged to their uncle, Hermann Krause, who died some years ago. The uncle built the dwelling house on his farm, but Arthur Krause has erected the barn on it. Both brothers keep cows and furnish milk to the co-operative creamery.
ARTHUR KRAUSE, the younger of the two brothers, was born on his father's farm June 9, 1884, the fifth in the order of birth of the ten children of the household of his parents. For two years after his father's death he conducted the operations of the farm for his mother, and during another year he and his brother Adolph carried them on in partnership. At the end of this period they became the owners of the land and divided it between them, as indicated above.
On November 5, 1912, Arthur Krause was united in marriage with Miss Alvina Zahrendt, a daughter of Louis Zahrendt, an auctioneer for thirty years in Hennepin county, where he is now living retired from active pursuits. Mrs. Krause is a native of that county, and was reared and educated in it. She and her husband have no children. He is a Republican in political faith and adherence, but has never been an active partisan. His religious connection is with the German Lutheran church at Waconia, His farm duties claim his whole attention except what he gives to the requirements of good citizenship, and these he never, on any account, neglects. He is earnestly interested in the welfare of his township and active in promoting it.
Page 302
JACOB D. KRAUSE.
This esteemed citizen, successful businessman and public official, who has
been a resident of Carver county for forty-seven years and of
William Krause, who was working in
William Krause lived on the
Some of his five sons took up homesteads in
Returning from
Mr. Krause found himself in failing health owing to close confinement for so
many years, and his condition required outdoor exercise and life as much as
possible. He sold pumps, wind wills and lightning rods for some years, and in
1897 he was appointed postmaster at
Mr. Krause declined to be a candidate for re-election, although he has always been an active Republican, going as a delegate to conventions and working for party success in all campaigns. He started his present business in partnership with G. Pieper, under the firm name of Pieper & Krause. They built a garage and began dealing in automobiles and carry on a general repair shop.
Mr. Krause is a large owner of real estate. He has land in
In the interest of church work, Mr. Krause has ever been active in zeal, energy and enterprise. He organized the German Evangelical Lutheran church and erected the building at a small cost to its members. It is a fine church edifice and the congregation is prosperous and making steady growth. While in no sense a sporting man, Mr. Krause is fond of hunting, and takes trips every year in quest of ducks, prairie chickens and deer and other game.
Page 303
JUSTUS KRAUSE.
Justus Krause, one of the enterprising and progressive farmers of Watertown
township, whose farm is in section 27, on the road between Waconia and
Watertown, was born November 28, 1843, at Spottsberg, Rodelstadt, Germany, and
at the age of thirteen years came to this country with his parents, August and
Mary Krause. The family located at
They met a Mr. Schardt, who showed them several tracts of land in this
county, and they selected the tract on which Adolph and Otto Krause, the sons
of Charles Krause, now live, the farm then being 160 acres in extent. August
Krause died on that farm aged sixty-eight, and his widow also passed away there
at about the same age. They were among the original members of the Lutheran
church at Waconia. Krause's post office, on the stage line between Carver and
After his arrival in Carver county in the fall of 1856, Justus Krause worked
out on neighboring farms and at whatever else he found to do, as he did in
Wisconsin while he lived in that state. He then operated threshing machines for
more than twenty years, using horsepower for the purpose, and for a time
working in this line of endeavor for Joseph Dean, of
Mr. Krause was married November 27, 1874, to Miss Selma Ketcher, a daughter
of Michael and Augusta Ketcher, who was born in
Mr. Krause's father was a carpenter and brought his tools with him from
In politics Mr. Krause has always voted with the Republican party, and his religious connection is with the Lutheran church at Waconia, of which he is one of the oldest members now living. He and his wife are the parents of three children: Otto, who is living on the adjoining farm; August, who operates the home farm, and Verney, who is living at home with his parents. The father helped to organize the Laketown Mutual Insurance company and has belonged to it for twenty-eight years and been one of its officers for twenty-one. He has been particularly active in bringing in new members.
Page 304
FRANK KUNTZ.
Frank Kuntz, one of the progressive and, prosperous farmers of
He obtained land from the government, preempting the southwest quarter of section 33, adding by purchase until he owned 240 acres. In 1881 he built the dwelling house, and in that he passed the remaining years of life, dying December 9, 1885, aged sixty-two. The mother survived him only two or three years. He cleared about 100 acres and put them under cultivation. His widow continued farming operations until her death, willing the farm to the two sons, Frank and Albert, The other living children are: Lena, wife of Deitrich Classen, of Hollywood; Emma C., wife of Dr. Henry R. Diessener, of Waconia; Oscar, a traveling salesman, at Willmar, Minnesota; William, a merchant at Waconia, present representative in the legislature; Otto, a shoe merchant and Postmaster at Waconia; Louisa, wife of Albert Beiresdorf, hardware merchant at New Germany. A son, Henry, died at the age of thirty. The parents were members of the Lutheran church at Waconia. The father was a stanch Democrat and served for years as township supervisor, being also a member of the school board for a long time.
Frank Kuntz has passed the whole of life on the farm which he now owns. He inherited from his parents 120 acres of the homestead, which he has improved with large new barns and other buildings. He is a grower and feeder of hogs, annually fattening forty to fifty in addition to general farming operations. Although deeply and intelligently interested in the general welfare he has no taste for public life and has never sought an office but he is a firm and loyal Democrat and zealous in devotion to party principles.
On September 11, 1889, Mr. Kuntz was united in marriage with Miss Alice
Weinheimer, a daughter of Fritz and Margaret Weinheimer, and a native of
Page 304
HON. WILLIAM J. KUNTZ.
Hon. William J. Kuntz, who, at the time of this writing, is one of the
representatives of Carver county in the state legislature, has long been
prominently engaged in general merchandising at Waconia and for many years has
taken an active part in the public life of the county. He was born on the old
family homestead in
Mr. Kuntz is a son of Henry and Helen (Schilling) Kuntz, and was reared on
the farm and educated in the district schools and at the
In addition to his mercantile business Mr. Kuntz has an interest in the Farmers' State Bank of Waconia, of which he is a director, and is also clerk of the school board, He has served as president of this board and been village recorder and president of the village council. At the election of 1914 he was chosen a member of the state house of representatives. He was married in 1897 to Miss Anna Zrust, a daughter of Alois Zrust, who is living retired from active business at Waconia. Mrs. Kuntz was born in Hennepin
county and reared at Waconia. They have two children, Clarence and Helen.
Mr. Kuntz is president of the
Page 304
HENRY G. LENZEN.
This enterprising resident and business man of
He was born May 29, 1873, near the
Henry G. Lenzen has two brothers and five sisters. They are Tilman, a grain
dealer at Young America; Gerhard, Jr. His sisters are: Margaret, wife of O. E.
Wolf, merchant at Augusta; Gertrude, wife of Godfrey Kroels, a merchant of
Sibley county; Lizzie, a milliner at
For a number of years after attaining manhood Henry G. Lenzen followed
farming with enterprise and success. In 1899 be bought the farm of Henry
Lindert, seven years later selling it and moved to Norwood, where be has since
been successfully engaged in the grain, four and feed trade in partnership with
Henry Bergmann, having a branch also at Young America. He also deals in
furniture having bought the stock and business of Garrett Perbix at
Mr. Lenzen was married in the fall of 1898 to his second cousin, Margaret
Lenzen, a daughter of Dietrich Lenzen, one of the early settlers west of the
Page 305
Joel B. Light
The story of this enterprising farmer and esteemed citizen of
Joel B. Light was born August 10, 1861, on the farm which he now owns and
occupies, and the whole of his life except three years, when working in a hotel
at
Mr. Light has admirably supplemented the work of his father by adding sixty-five
acres to the cultivated land, and making other improvements. He purchased the
interests of the other heirs of the estate in 1895. He has ever taken an
interest in public affairs, serving as township trustee and for ten years wag a
justice of the peace. He has also served on the school board for a number of
years. In polities he trains with the Democratic party, being an energetic and
effective worker from early manhood. He is a Freemason, Woodman and an Odd
Fellow. In the last he has passed the chairs in Watertown Lodge No. 50, and
been its representative in the Grand Lodge. He and his wife are parents of
eight children: William W., Winnie, Nellie, Myrtle, Jennie, Frank, Wilbur and
Benjamin P. Light, with his wife and two children, left his native state in
young manhood and went to what was then the Far West, near
The patent for Mr. Light's land was signed by President James Buchanan. He was one of the first to settle here, and as, he owned two yoke of oxen, he was able to make some money by breaking land for others. Ginseng grew wild abundantly, and this afforded additional revenue. The first year he planted a crop without breaking the land, there being no sod and little brush.
Mr. Light was obliged to work at his trade, the community needing his
services, and he needing what could be thus earned. He helped to build many
houses in
There was no settlement for nine miles between
He took an active part in public affairs and served as representative from
Carver county in the legislature. He was township supervisor for a continuous
period of fifteen years. He served in the war in the Second Minnesota Cavalry
from 1863 till the final discharge. In polities he was an enthusiastic Democrat.
In religion he was a Methodist at
Page 305
HUBERT LOHMAR.
Hubert Lohmar, a farmer of Laketown township and secretary of the Waconia
Cooperative Creamery Company, is a native of the county, born on the farm where
he now lives, November 15,1863. His parents, Hubert and Regnia (Kirsch) Lohmar,
were early settlers in Laketown township and were natives of
Page 306
FRANK A. LUETKE.
This gentleman occupies a prominent position among the farmers of
For many years this thrifty and industrious couple lived in a little log
cabin without a ceiling. The father worked at day labor in his native land and
saved a little money, but he was forced to work hard for a living here. On one
occasion, he carried flour from
In 1890 and 1892 the elder Mr. Luetke erected first-class buildings on his
farm, to which he had added another tract. He carried on general farming but
gave his attention mainly to raising grain. His death occurred August 6, 1913,
when he was just eighty-two years, eleven months and twenty-three days old. His
wife died in September, 1900. They were members of the Lutheran church at
Waconia, and the father was one of its oldest members at his death. All his
energies were devoted to the improvement of his farm, but he served for years
as a member of the school board of his district and gave the school interests
close and fruitful attention. The children of the household were Frank and his
three sisters. Bertha was the wife of Rudolph Hilk, of Waconia township. Anna
married William Luebke, and died at the age of forty-two, and
Frank A. Luetke grew to manhood on the home farm and obtained his education in the public school in the neighborhood. He took over the management of the farm in 1897, and has since carried on a vigorous industry in general farming, raising alfalfa and fodder corn, principally food for his dairy, but has made dairying his principal concern, keeping regularly not less than twelve cows for milk and sometimes more which number he will increase. He has enlarged the farm by the purchase of thirteen additional acres, and has improved it further by building additions to the dwelling house and barn and putting up a windpump and other desirable structures, has put in a water system and made other improvements in his dwelling house and in his barn.
Mr. Luetke is now (1914) serving his sixth year as township supervisor and for sixteen years he gave the school district excellent service as its clerk, which position he is now holding. He has frequently been called upon to act as administrator or executor in settling up estates and as guardian, for orphan children. He has long been a director of the Laketown Mutual Insurance company, and for a number of years was its vice president 1912-13 he was elected president of the company by the directors. In 1914 he was elected president by a direct vote of the members. In politics he is a Republican, but liberal in voting, and in religious affiliation is connected with the Lutheran church at Waconia. On May 25, 1897, he- was married to Miss Amanda Krause, a daughter of Charles Krause,' a sketch of whom will be found in this work, and, born on the old Krause homestead February 19, 1876. They have eight children, all of whom are living at home with their parents. They are, Edna, Loida, Herbert, Cora, Adella, Gladys, Allen and Lucille. Mr. Luetke is an enterprising and progressive farmer and a public spirited and useful citizen, and is held in well-deserved esteem throughout his and in other parts of the county.
In the last two years he has laid considerable tile for drainage purpose which he says every farmer should do who is in a position that it can be done. He is just beginning in the raising of full blooded stock.
Page 307
FRANK G. LUNDSTEN.
Frank G. Lundsten, farmer of Laketown and township clerk, is a native of the
county, born on the farm where he now lives, June 9, 1857, the son of John and
Malissa Lundsten. His life has been devoted to his farm and to the interests of
the community in which his parents were pioneer settlers. He has watched and
shared in the growth and development of the county and recalls many experiences
of the early days. Perhaps the most vivid recollection of his childhood is of
the visits of the Indians at his home and of the outbreak of 1862 when the
white settlers sought protection on the island in
Page 307
JOHN LUNDSTEN.
John Lundsten, for many years a prominent farmer of the county, was a
pioneer of Laketown township and died on his farm there, March 20, 1892. He was
a native of
Page 308
EPHRIAM F. LUNDSTROM.
Ephriam P. Lundstrom, Hollywood township, was born in
Page 308
OSCAR L. LUNDSTROM
Oscar L. Lundstrom, the capable and obliging clerk of the district court for
Carver county, who was elected on November 3, 1914, to his second term of four
years in that office, is a native of Carver county,, born in
E. F. Lundstrom, the father of Oscar L., remained in
Oscar L. Lundstrom obtained his academic education in the public schools and
the
Mr. Lundstrom has served as township assessor, and in the fall of 1910 was elected clerk of the district court. He was the Republican nominee at the primaries, but had two opponents at the election and won the office only after a very warm campaign. At the election of 1914 he was chosen for a second term without any signs of a diminution of his popularity. He has introduced a simplified system of indexing court costs, using two books for the purpose instead of the seven formerly used. . This is a great convenience to his own office and subordinates, the court and the general public, and the system has been adopted in several other counties.
Mr. Lundstrom knows much of the uncertainties of political life and does not
depend on a continuance in public office for his career. He is a student of law
and expects to practice that as his profession. He is also president of the
Sugar City Realty company, which carries on a general real estate business.
From his boyhood he has been ardently devoted to athletic sports and for years
has encouraged their use in connection with the schools. He plays basketball and
is coach for the basket ball team in his home town. Under his guidance and
instruction this team played thirty-eight games in a three state tour without
losing one, and closed the season by defeating the world's champions, the
Oswegos of the state of
Page 309
JOHN LYNCH.
John Lynch, proprietor of the Morning Glory Stock farm in Hollywood
township, was born at Belle Plaine, Scott county,,
Page 309
PATRICK McGILL
Patrick McGill was one of the early settlers of Carver county, whose farm is
now owned by his adopted son, Edward Shovelain, a prosperous farmer of
Page 309
BENEDICT MAISER.
Having retired from all active industrial pursuits in 1900, after a continuous stretch of useful labor, arduous in its exactions and fruitful in its results, covering a period of forty-six years in this country, Benedict Maiser, one of the leading citizens of Waconia, is enjoying the Products of his toil and rejoicing in the progress and improvement around him, to the development of which his efforts have essentially and substantially contributed.
Mr. Maiser was born in the
In 1863 Benedict changed his residence to Waconia, opening a blacksmith
shop, which he conducted for sixteen years. His brother Michael joined him at
Waconia but did not remain long. He soon secured employment in the railroad
shops in
In 1884 Mr. Maiser sold his blacksmithing business to his son-in-law and
took charge of the grist mill, which he had secured under a mortgage sale. He
employed a skillful miller and operated the mill during the next sixteen years,
rebuilding it three times and enlarging its capacity to 75 barrels a day,
installing the roller process of manufacture, which he was among the first to
introduce into
Mr. Maiser has always taken an active interest in the public affairs of his
home community. He was one of the original incorporators and served as
president of the
In 1857 Mr. Maiser was married at
Page 310
ORLOW W. MAPES
Haying borne the heat and burden of a long day of toil and struggle with the difficulties, of life, accepting trials, winning triumphs, and attaining a substantial and gratifying success, Orlow W. Mapes, one of the respected residents of Watertown, has retired, living at ease on the fruits of labor and secure in the enjoyment of the regard and good will of all who know him.
Mr. Mapes is a native of
The family lived on Breezy Point two years, moving to
After getting his land Mr. Mapes' energies were devoted to the conversion of it into a farm. He passed the remainder of his days here, putting about twenty acres under cultivation making such other improvements as circumstances and opportunities allowed. His wife died in March, 1879, at the age of sixty years, and here his life also ended on January 24, 1883, aged seventy-six. He had no inclination to official life and never sought or desired a public office. In politics he was a Republican and in religious affiliation a Baptist, but there was no church of his denomination in the neighborhood.
Of the children two died in childhood and one was drowned at the age of
twelve. Six reached maturity, the oldest growing to womanhood and marrying in
Orlow W. Mapes has lived on the present f arm since he was thirteen. He
obtained a fair common school education, and assumed the management of the farm
in young manhood. He attended the first school taught at
His father helped organize the township and he has himself served ten years as supervisor. He was also for five years a member of the board of county commissioners, having been first appointed to fill out an unexpired term and elected twice with an interval of two years between the terms. His political faith is that of the Republican party, he frequently being a delegate to its conventions. He was made a Free-mason in Watertown Lodge, now being its oldest member he has filled several of its official positions, and has ever been ardently devoted to its welfare.
October 27, 1880, he was married to Miss Betsey, daughter of Edward and
Sally (Biggs) Hamlin, pioneers who settled in Carver county in 1857, and five
years later moved a short distance into Wright county, where the mother died at
the age of seventy-three. The father died in
Page 311
FRANK A. MATTSON.
During the last seven years, beginning in 1907, this enterprising and
progressive farmer and dairyman of
Mr. Mattson was born on a farm partly west of and partly in
When the father bought the farm it was partially cleared and under
cultivation. It was 160 acres in extent, lying one mile southeast of
Frank A. Mattson has taught school about twenty terms, about half of the time in Carver county and the other half in Marshall county, keeping up his connection with this industry until about thirteen years ago, and all the time maintaining his home at the family residence of his parents. While he was teaching he attended summer schools several terms, being eager for his own improvement and to keep up with the progress of his profession. About twenty-five years ago he and his brother Charles bought the old home, and then Frank began to give his attention exclusively to farming. Subsequently the brothers divided the farm, Frank taking 105 acres and the family residence as his share, and his brother Charles getting the remainder.
Since the division of the place Frank has rebuilt the dwelling house, making a commodious and attractive residence of it, and has brought his farm to such an advanced state of improvement that it is one of the best in the township. He was among the first men in the neighborhood to put in tile draining, and has laid about 2,000 feet of it. By this means he drained a pond and reclaimed about fifteen acres of land, which is now some of the best he has. His farm is now very productive and furnishes a fine illustration of the value of tile, draining, and this has induced other farmers to follow his example in this respect.
Mr. Mattson follows general farming, rotating his crops with a view to the
best results, but his principal industry on his farm is an active and extensive
production of milk for the Co-operative Creamery company of
Page 311
FRANK S. MAYER.
The State Bank of Young America, which is a flourishing and progressive institution, was opened for business on July 2, 1900, with a capital stock of $10,000 and the following officials: August P. Truwe, president; Henry L. Simons, vice president, and F. S. Mayer, cashier. The accumulated surplus is now $10,000 and the deposits aggregate $250,000. It is well managed, giving strong proofs of progressiveness and public spirit.
F. S. Mayer, the capable, accommodating cashier and controlling spirit of
the bank, was born at Jordan, Scott county, October 13, 1880, a son of Albert
and Emma (
F. S. Mayer was educated in the public schools assisting his parents in
their business during his boyhood. At an early age he began to take an earnest
interest and an active part in local public affairs, his merit being recognized
by his election as village treasurer of Young America, in which he served ten
years, and also bv his being chosen clerk of the consolidated school board of
Young America and
For two years Mr. Mayer was employed in the Bank of Norwood and afterward in the First National Bank of Glencoe. He was then cashier of the bank of Plato f or one year and a half. When the State Bank of Young America was started in 1900 he was selected as its cashier, and this position he has filled since. He was married June 4, 1903, to Miss Hulda Lambert, a daughter of Charles A. Lambert, of Young America. They have one child, Francis L., who was born in January, 1906. A daughter, Elizabeth Marie, died in infancy.
Page 312
WILLIAM C. MEULENERS.
Representing the second generation of usefulness to Carver county, and
especially to the
Mr. Meuleners was born in Carver county March 30, 1866, and here has passed
the whole of his life. He is a son of Peter Joseph Meuleners, a native of
William owns 214 acres of fertile land, which is one of the best and most
productive farms in Dahlgren township. He has erected good buildings and other
improvements, it being now one of the county's desirable and attractive country
homes. He has been active in all the deities of citizenship, taking part in the
affairs of the township as its treasurer for several terms and always
manifesting a cordial activity in all lines of development and improvement. He
has also rendered valuable service to the industry as president of the Farmers'
Creamery association at
For several years he served as director of the Laketown Mutual Fire Insurance Company and has also been its general agent. Ever since twenty-one he served on the school board nine years as director and eighteen as clerk, a position he still holds.
Mr. Meuleners was married February 4, 1890, to Miss Catherine Schug,. the
daughter of Lawrence and Margaret (Mohrbacher) Schug, who was also born and
reared in Carver county. They have six children, Peter J., Lawrence W.,
Margaret A., Sophia G., Francis W. and Clara A. The religious faith of the
family is that of the catholic church, holding membership in St. Bernards at
Page 312
ALBERT MEYER.
In a country in which the voice of the people is the controlling force in governmental affairs communities are judge as frequently by the character and capacity of their public officials as in any other way. The men they select to conduct their public business must in the long run be typical of themselves and truly represent their trend, aspirations and achievements. Tried by this standard the residents of Carver county may safely challenge comparison with the people of any other section of the country in all fundamental and essential requirements.
One of the officials on whom they may rely with full confidence to sustain high rank in manhood and citizenship is Albert Meyer, register of deeds, who has been thoroughly tried and never been found wanting in any element of genuine worth, native and acquired ability or devotion to the public weal. In November, 1894, he was elected to the office he has so long and so acceptably filled for his ninth consecutive term. In length of continuous service he is the oldest public official in the county, and in all particulars he is one of the best known and most highly esteemed men in the county by both its own people and those in other parts of the state.
Mr. Meyer is a native of
Mr. Meyer prepared for the university but was not able to follow the course.
His brother George did, however, and he is now editor of the Freie Presse in
At length he obtained a position in a store at Young America, which he
filled for a year. He next passed one year in
In November, 1898, Mr. Meyer was elected register of deeds for Carver county, and he has held the office ever since, being reelected at the end of every term. He is a Republican, but has never been an offensive partisan although an active worker for the success of his party. His successive re-elections have been due to his superior fitness for the office, his devotion to its duties, his genial manner and obliging disposition.
Mr. Meyer was married at
Page 313
JOHN MEYER.
This enterprising and esteemed citizen of Carver county, who died in his
home in the
Having everything ready as far as possible to start a home, in the fall of 1858 Mr. Meyer returned to Wisconsin, and in Madison, the capital of that state, he was married to Miss Mary Leifermann, who was born in Westphalia, Germany, December 17, 1834, and had come with her parents also to Wisconsin. Her father spent his latter years at Mankato, in this state, and during the latter part of the year her husband was in the war be was on the farm with her in Watertown township.
For two or three years after his marriage Mr. Meyer did not clear much of his land, because he did not have the facilities for the work nor money to pay for having it done. In fact, he was obliged to dig ginseng root as a means of providing for the needs of his family. In the spring of 1859 lie bought a two year old heifer, and she afterward had a male calf. He then bought another male calf, and when the two were a year and a half old he broke them to the yoke and so acquired his first ox team. After his return from the war he sold that team for use in the pineries for $200. He then also sold a cow, getting $50 for her, and with the $230 he finished paying for his land, which he at one time greatly feared be would lose by default.
Mr. Meyer enlisted in the Union army early in 1864, and after an ordinary
soldier's life of about a year and a half he was discharged in July, 1865. He
at once returned to his
In the course of a few years Mr. Meyer built a larger and better log house
on his farm, and about 1881 he erected the building which is now the home of
two of his sons and was remodeled and enlarged by them in 1911. He turned the
farm over to them in March, 1888, and they have since built the barn which now
adds much to its value. Before selling the farm to his sons, however, the
father added forty acres to its size and put it all under cultivation, devoting
it to general farming and raising live stock for beef. He also set out an
orchard of 500 fruit trees of choice varieties, and this has since yielded
valuable crops for many years. Mr. Meyer bought a house and lot in the
Mr. Meyer was an active citizen, energetic in connection with public
improvements but never an officeholder. He adhered to the Democratic party
until after the Civil war and. then became a staunch Republican. In his native
land he belonged to the Catholic church in which he was reared, but after
coming to
He died, as has been stated, on November 23, 1904, and his wife died on
April 9, 1909, aged seventy years. They were the parents of seven children:
John and Henry, who, now own and live on the family homestead; Jane, who is the
wife of John Rumpza, of Watertown; Frank, who lives at Dent, in Ottertail
county, this state; Casper, who is also an Ottertail county farmer; Albert, who
died in 1891, it the age of twenty-one, and August, who owns another farm in
Ottertail county. Their father gave these three, Frank,
In 1888 John and Henry Meyer bought the homestead of their father for $3,500, and since that time they have conducted all their business in partnership. They have bought an additional tract of eighty acres in Wright county, two miles distant from their home, and both farms are devoted mainly to raising cattle for beef and milk. They keep regularly about twenty cows for milk for the creameries and also fatten beeves, selling about $1,000 worth a year on an average. They breed from the best bred bulls for beef cattle available to them, and take every precaution to get the best results. For a number of years they have used mules in doing their farm work instead of oxen or horses.
JOHN MEYER, the older of the two brothers, was born October 20, 1859, and at the age of thirty-three married Miss Wilbelmina Zuege. They have three children living, all at home, Henry, Willie and August. John Meyer, the father of these children, has long been a stockholder in the Co-operative Creamery company, and he is now and has been for some years, one of its leading and most energetic officials.
HENRY MEYER, the younger brother, was born October 21, 1862. He was married at the age of twenty-nine to Miss Martha Zuege, a sister to his brother John's wife. Their children, seven in number, are also all at home. They are Mary, Emma, John, Carl, Albert, Wilhelmina and Franck. The brothers are wide-awake, earnest and progressive citizens, as well as enterprising business men, and take a serviceable interest in the welfare of their community.
Page 313
FRANK MIESELER.
A native of Carver county and ever actively devoted to its welfare and advancement, Frank Mieselor of Dahlgren township, has made his citizenship useful, his record giving him a high place in the esteem and good will of the general public.
Mr. Mieseler was born in the town of
Frank Mieseler was reared and educated in Carver county, where his life has
been passed as a successful farmer. He has taken an active part in the public
affairs of Dahlgren township, having served as township clerk and for ten years
was school treasurer. He was one of the promoters of the Carver County Creamery
company at
Mr. Mieseler owns two farms amounting to 256 acres of good land in Dahlgren
and Chaska townships, which he has brought to a high state of cultivation and
productiveness and, improved with good buildings. He was married in Carver,
Page 314
ANDREW G. MILLER.
The late Andrew G. Miller, who died at
Andrew came with A. J. Brown and Peter Monson, sketches of whom will be
found in this work. He and young Brown were boys and Mr. Monson was married,
and the boys drove ox teams all the way except when on the lakes or river. John
Miller preempted land on Swede lake, and there both parents died, the father
attaining the age of eighty years. Andrew was one of three sons, the others
being John P. and Charles. John served in the Civil war, and died at
Andrew G. Miller. helped to clear the homestead and clerked in John A. C.
Flood's store at Watertown until after the beginning of the war, when he
enlisted in Company B, Ninth Minnesota Volunteer Infantry, in which several
other young man at Watertown were enrolled. He remained in the army to the end
of the war, having been owing to physical disability, assigned to duty as ward
master at
Her parents were really the first settlers in
A part of her duty was to hunt the cows in the woods, suffering terribly
from mosquito's, but, although often kept out until after dark, she was never
molested by Indians or wild beasts. The first winter was very lonely and
dreary, and during it a Mr. Abraham Hokimson left home and became lost. The
neighbors fired guns to attract him, but he wandered on and at length reached
Mrs. Miller had lived five years as a child in the family of a physician at
Her first visit to
At the Indian outbreak Mrs. Miller's mother took refuge on the island in
Oakey lake. The daughter worked in the family of General Van Cleve, in
The young couple built a log house in which they lived nearly twenty years.
In 1884 they built the present house, he hauling all the lumber for its two
stories from
Mr. and Mrs. Miller became the parents of twelve children. George U., who was
proprietor of the Market hotel,
Mr. Miller had been township assessor twenty-one years and school clerk for as long. He was earnestly interested in all local affairs and zealous in promoting the welfare of his township. For a continuous period of forty-four years, as long as he was physically able, he operated threshing outfits, introducing the first one used in the county in 1865, and al- ways obtaining the latest improvements as soon as their value was established.
Page 315
PAUL MOHRBACHER.
This esteemed resident of
Mr. Mohrbacher was born in
Paul Mohrbacher has been engaged in farming all his life. He now owns the greater part of the land that belonged to his father. Some of it, however, has been laid out in town lots and sold as such. He also owned the first saloon in the town, and was its proprietor for forty-one years. He next opened a general store in company with his father-in-law, Henry Meuwissen. They were thus associated for a number of years, but is now the head of the general store of Mohrbacher & Son.
Some years ago Mr. Mohrbacher, Mr. Meuwissen, Mr. Guettler and Bongard united and started a flour mill in the village, he being connected with this mill for a period of ten years. It is now under the proprietorship of Mr. Guettler's sons, operated by George Philip and Edward. In company with Mr. Meuwiseen Mr. Mohrbacher was also engaged in the lumber trade for a number of years.
Mr. Mohrbacher was mayor of
Page 315
CARL FREDERICK. MONSON
Carl Frederick Monson, for many years a prominent farmer of Hollywood
township, whose place is now owned by his grandson, G. A. Sandquist, was born
in Sweden, February 27, 1824. He came to the
Page 316
FRIEND L. WILLIAMS
Friend L. Williams, who has been filling the position of superintendent of
the public schools of Carver county with credit to himself and benefit to the
schools for the last twelve years, was born near
Professor Williams was born and reared on a farm and began his education in
a country school. After completing its course of instruction he entered the
In the fall of 1896 he began work as a teacher in the schools at Smith lake,
Wright county this state, and from there. he was called to the principalship of
the schools at
As a community worker Professor William has always been zealous and energetic, taking an active part in all work designed to aid in building up community life. He was one of the original incorporators of the Watertown Telephone company, has served on its board of directors from the start, and daring the last five years has been its president.
Page 316
SAMUEL MONSON.
Samuel Monson, who is one of the most highly respected residents of Carver
county, is the son of early pioneers in this part of the state and has passed
all but the first two years of his busy life on the farm in section 20,
Mr. Monson was born at
The first house occupied by the Monson family on this, land was a shack covered with alm bark, and the second was, built of logs hewn on the inside. Some years later the father built a better dwelling at another place on the farm, and finally erected the house in which Samuel now lives intending it as a home for his declining years. He was born August 21, 1816, and died April 1, 1891. His widow survived him a little over thirteen years and died May 4, 1904, aged eighty-eight years, four months and one day, retaining a very unusual state of vigor and activity almost to the last.
Peter Monson came to
Before his death the father cleared about sixty acres of his land, and but
little if any has been cleared since. He was able to make progress for himself
without the aid of his neighbors, and did his trading at Chaska or Carver,
twenty miles distant from his home. But he was frequently obliged to go to
The elder Mr. Monson was an expert with the broadax and helped to build many
of the early houses in his neighborhood. He served as township supervisor for a
number of years, and also helped to organize title first Lutheran church, but
in his later years he belonged to the Mission church at
Samuel Monson worked with his father from his boyhood on the farm which has been the scene of all his labors and the object of his greatest care. He carries on an active industry in general farming, but for the last fifteen years has kept a tenant to farm the place. He is also interested in the co-operative creamery, and like his father, adheres to the principles and theories of the Republican party, but has never sought or desired a political office. He was married December 31, 1888, to Miss Olivia Christina Sparlund, who was born in Sweden February 23, 1867, and came to Hollywood township, this county, in her childhood, with her parents, John and Catherina Sparlund, who arrived here in 1874 and settled on a farm on which they died, the mother at the age of fifty-seven and the father at that of eighty-four.
Mrs. Monson died February 13, 1914, aged forty-seven years, lacking ten
days, and after a little over twenty-five years of married life. By her
marriage with Mr. Monson she became the mother of three children. Walter
Theodore, the first born, died in childhood. George E. L., aged eighteen, and
Mabel Malvina, aged nine, are living at home with their father. He is a member
of the Swedish Lutheran church at
Page 317
HON. PATRICK WILLIAM MORRISON.
No citizen of
Martin Morrison became a resident of this country in 1848 but lived in
At the close of his military service Martin Morrison returned to his
Eleven children were born to the parents, seven of whom are living, the
three sons besides the judge being, John, a live stock and real estate dealer
at
Patrick William Morrison obtained his early education in country schools and
at the Belle Plaine and
In 1894 Mr. Morrison was elected prosecuting attorney as a Republican, and during eight years tenure of that office he conducted many important prosecutions, including one of a defaulting county treasurer, in which he recovered about $10,000 from the treasurer's bondsman. In 1902 he was a candidate for the Republican nomination for congress, but was beaten at the primaries. Two years later lie was elected judge of the Eighth judicial district, which includes Le Sueur, Sibley, McLeod, Scott and Carver counties, being the Republican nominee and obtaining a handsome majority, and in 1910 he was re-elected without opposition. Appeals have been taken from his decisions in 104 cases, in 83 of which the state supreme court has sustained him, reversing him in 19 and modifying his decisions in 2. This is a record that has probably been surpassed by no other judge in this state.
Judge Morrison's standing as a jurist is such that he is often called upon
to preside in other courts. In the winter of 1914 he was requested by the
judges of the district court of Ramsey county to try the celebrated police
draft case in
In his vacations Judge Morrison finds exhilarating recreation in fishing and
hunting big game in the Northern woods. He was married January 29, 1895, to
Miss Bridget Agnes Fahey, of
Page 318
EDWARD MURPHY
Edward Murphy, a farmer in Hollywood township, is a native of
Page 318
ICHABOD MURPHY.
No citizen of Carver county is more widely or favorably known or more highly
esteemed than Ichabod Murphy of
The old homestead of the Murphy family in Wright county was taken up on a
pre-emption claim in 1856 by Mr. Murphy's father, James Murphy, who came to
this region from Clark county,
Mr. Sturman had taken up a claim in Wright county in 1855 and had been here to see the country. His report of its promise and possibilities induced Mr. Murphy also to come hither, and after his arrival he too took a claim to 160 acres about a mile from the farm now belonging to his son Ichabod. There were very few settlers in the neighborhood at that time, but many came in 1857 and 1858, and in those years nearly all the idle land was taken up. On the farm on which he then settled the father died in 1902, at the age of sixty-nine, the mother passing away two years later.
At the time of his death the father had about forty acres of his farm under cultivation. His first shelter on it was a bark covered shanty, which the family used until a log cabin could be built. Six or eight years later he built a better cabin of hewn logs, and about two years before he died he erected a fine modern residence. The farm is one of the best in that part of Wright county. The Crow river runs through it, and it has many other natural advantages and has been highly improved by industrious and skillful application of the approved modern methods of farming.
James Murphy was a staunch Democrat in his political faith, but he had no
taste for public life and never held a political office. His whole time and
energy were devoted to the improvement of his farm and the rearing of his
family, except what he gave to the duties of citizenship. His offspring
numbered five besides lchabod, who was the second child in the order of birth.
Louisa became the wife and is now the widow of Riley Sturman, who accompanied
the family from
Ichabod Murphy was born August 10, 1841, in
In September, 1862, Mr. Murphy enlisted in the Firth Minnesota Mounted
Rangers under Colonel McPhaill, a regiment that was credited to Wright county.
He served thirteen months in the Indian campaign. The regiment was divided into
four companies, and the one to which he belonged was assigned to escort duty,
guarding trains, paymasters and other interests in transit from place to place.
At the end of thirteen months of service he was discharged, and he then became
possessed of some timberland in Hennepin county on which he made some
improvements. In June, 1864, he again enlisted, joining Company F, Eleventh
Minnesota Infantry, under Captain John Plummer, which soon became a part of the
Army of the
Mr. Murphy was discharged from military service in June, 1865, and at once returned to his farm. This he continued to improve until his marriage on April 7, 1871, to Miss Rhoda Stewart, a sister of Calvin Stewart, the husband of his sister Josephine. His brother, William Murphy, married Clara, another sister of Mr. Stewart. In 1871, after his marriage, Mr. Murphy took up a homestead of 160 acres in Redwood county. Three years later he obtained a clear title to big land and sold it. He then moved to the farm on which he has since made his home and now lives, which he had owned several years.
This farm was formerly owned by Mr. Murphy's father, who had a whole
section. When the son became the owner of it only five acres were cleared and
there was no house on it. In 1871 he built a part of the present dwelling house
and rented the firm. During the next three years the tenant cleared about ten
acres more and had it all producing crops. All Mr. Murphy's subsequent years
have, been passed on this farm and another near it which he owns also, having
about 200 acres in the two. He cut the timber into cordwood, which he hauled
six miles to
For a number of years Mr. Murphy was a stock drover, driving cattle, sheep
and hogs to
In political affiliation Mr. Murphy is an active and loyal member of the
Democratic party, zealous in its service and influential in its local councils.
He frequently goes as a delegate to its conventions and helps to keep it up at
all times. Fraternally he is a Master Mason, and belongs to the lodge of the order
at
Page 319
ANDREW NELSON,
Andrew Nelson, of Hollywood township, was born in
Page 320
EDWARD NEWSTROM.
Edward Newstrom, a farmer in
Page 320
JOHN AUGUST NEWSTROM.
John August Nowstrom, of Minneapolis, a wholesale and retail produce
merchant of that city, was born in Sweden, February 1, 1856, and is the son of
Andrew M. Newstrom, for many years a farmer of Watertown township. The latter
left
Page 320
AUGUST NOERENBURG.
August Noerenburg, a prominent farmer of Hollywood township, is a native of
Page 321
Arnold Notermann, a prominent farmer and businessman of Chanhassen township, was born in Limburg, Holland, August 15, 1847, son of Theodore and Elizabeth Notermann. In 1863, a lad of sixteen, he accompanied his parents to the United States. Theodore Notermann, who had been a farmer in the old country, brought his family directly to Carver county, which he had heard of through friends who had located here, and invested his capital of five hundred dollars in forty acres of wild land. With the assistance of his son, Arnold Notermann, fields were cleared and cultivated and capable management and diligent labor enabled them in a few years to add eighty acres more to the farm. For this they paid eleven hundred dollars, just double the amount which would have purchased the tract two years earlier. Theodore Notermann died here in 1883, aged eighty-one years and his wife survived him until 1895, making her home with her son, Arnold. There were three children in their family, Arnold, Reinhear, who settled on a neighboring farm and lived there until his death about twenty years ago, and Gertrude, who married John Derhaag and lives in Chanhassen township. For a number of years previous to his death, Theodore Notermann had been unable to share in the farm work and to Arnold and his sister, Gertrude, fell the task clearing the wilderness and developing the farm. The sale of the timber as cordwood gave financial aid in the struggle of the first years. But thrift and unfailing industry were met with steady prosperity, and after putting eighty acres in cultivation, Arnold Notermann added another forty acre tract to the estate. For some time his principal farming interest was in wheat raising but of later years he has engaged extensively in dairy farming. He is a share holder and for eleven years was a director of the Co-operative Creamery Company at Victoria. With Henry Rietz he was instrumental in starting the co-operative creamery station at Victoria, the first meeting for its organization resulting from their efforts. Soon after the incorporation of this industry, in 1895, Mr. Notermann established the first store in Victoria, in company with his father-in-law, Charles Diethelm and the latter's son, Michael Diethelm. Two years later the elder Diethelm withdrew from the firm and Mr. Notermann's son, Michael, who had been employed as clerk in the store, became a partner and has since, with his father, bought out other interests and is the owner of the business which conducts a large and successful trade in this vicinity. Michael Notermann was born in 1878 and as a young man has displayed commendable ability in his business career. His brother, Frank Notermann, is associated with him in the management of the store representing the interests of his father. Arnold Notermann was married in November, 1875, to Theresa Diethelm, daughter of Charles Diethelm, a worthy pioneer of Laketown township, whose sketch appears in this work. Nine children were born to this union, John, who was a farmer in Wisconsin and died in 1910; Carol; Joseph, living at home, a thrashing machine operator, and also a proficient workman at the trades of blacksmith, carpenter and mason; Charles, the manager of the home farm; Mary, who married Matthias Schneider, October 27, 1914, and lives on a farm in Chanhassen township; Frank; and Andrew, Susan and Frances, still residing with their parents. Mr. Notermann and his family are communicants in the Catholic church at Victoria, in which his father and mother were early members. He takes an active interest in political questions and is an ardent supporter of the Democratic party.
Page 322
JOHN A. OBERG.
Having reached the age of seventy-seven, passing nearly all of them in useful labor, through which he accumulated a competence and won the enduring respect and good will of all, John A. Oberg, one of the successful and prosperous farmers of Watertown, is living retired enjoying the calm evening of life on the excellent farm he redeemed from the wilderness.
He was born in Smoland, Sweden, June 16, 1837, and was reared on a farm obtaining a common school education. In the summer of 1858, with his parents, Peter and Catherine (Isaacson) Oberg, he came to and located in Watertown township. The father bought a pre-emption right to 160 acres, his title coming direct from the government. Edward Akins now owns this land, which, through industry, has been converted into a productive and valuable farm and an attractive rural home.
Peter and Catherine Oberg passed twenty years of their subsequent life on that farm, but finally died at Watertown in old age, he surviving his life companion but a few months. Peter cleared and put under cultivation thirty-five acres, burning the finest timber. They were among the original members of the Swedish Lutheran church. The children besides John A., were Johanna, who became the wife of J. P. Akins and died in 1880. Isaac is a retired farmer at Ironton, Minnesota. Adolph P. died July 19, 1914. A further account of his life will be found elsewhere in this volume. Matilda is the wife of Alfred J. Brown, of Watertown. Gustavus F. was killed in California by an electric light wire in November, 1912, at the age of sixty-two.
John A. Oberg was twenty-one when he came to Minnesota. He worked for others until April 15, 1865, when he enlisted in the Minnesota Heavy Artillery, with Alfred J. Brown and eleven other men of the township, and is one of the four survivors of the number, Mr. Brown, Jonas P. Akins and P. O. Johnson being the others. In the winter of 1866 he was married to Miss Anna Anderson, a native of Sweden and the daughter of Olaf and Kajsa Anderson, who came to Watertown in 1858, a young woman, with her parents, who located in section 22 on the south side of Swede lake. There the father died at the age of fifty-one and the mother at sixty- five. Four of their daughters are living, none, however, being in Carver county. Mrs. Oberg died April 29, 1905.
After marriage Mr. Oberg paid $400 for 160 acres of wild land to a man who claimed title to it but had cleared only half an acre and had no buildings. Mr. Oberg has cleared some forty acres of this and erected a house in 1905 to take the place of the dwelling he put up soon after acquiring the land. He has also bought an adjoining eighty acres, now having one of the township's choicest and most valuable farms. Ho carries on a general farming and a dairying industry.
Mr. Oberg has taken no interest in public life except to aid in the selection of the best men for the various official positions. He is a member of the Swedish Lutheran church at Watertown, in whose affairs he takes an earnest interest and an active part. He and wife became the parents of six children, one of whom died in infancy and another at the age of eleven. Of the four living daughters, three are still members of the family circle. They are: Malvina, who was a Carver county teacher for a number of years, and Alma and Hannah. Anna, the second of the four, is the wife of Swan Freed. All these ladies are zealous in the service of the Young People's Society of the church.
Page 322
Adolph P. Oberg
Adolph P. Oberg, who died on his farm at Watertown in 1914 at the age of sixty-nine, was born in Sweden June 10, 1845, and crossed the ocean in 1858 with his parents and family including a brother, John A. Oberg, a sketch of whom appears on another page. He was a strong and active youth of thirteen and soon found plenty of work in the pine woods, on the log drive in the spring and in the industries in Minneapolis. He was for some time in the employ of a Mr. Judd, one of the leading men of that city; and, saving his earnings, bought a tract of wild land at $10 an acre. Later upon inheriting about $1,000 from his father's estate, he bought more, making 115 acres, part being within the corporate limits of Watertown. Mr. Oberg conducted this farm unti1 1905, resigning the management to his son, Edgar T., the present proprietor.
Mr. Oberg was married in Minneapolis to Miss Sophia Forsberg, also a native of Sweden. She came to the United States in young womanhood, and is still living on the family homestead. Her husband erected the buildings, the dwelling being one of the oldest in Watertown. He followed general farming and early engaged in producing milk for the Co-operative Creamery, in which he was a shareholder. Their family consisting of two sons and one daughter are Anton C., a graduate of the University in the class of 1907, and now a mining engineer in Duluth; Edgar T., and Edith C.
EDGAR T. OBERG has a well founded reputation as one of the progressive farmers and wide awake and resourceful businessmen of Carver county. He was born in the house in which he now lives October 7, 1879. He was graduated from the State Agricultural College in 1901, and at once took charge of his father's farm, though for four years working under his father's direction.
He early manifested an intelligent interest in the Farmers, Co-operative Creamery, being in 1904 elected secretary and manager, a position he filled for about two years and a half with credit to himself and benefit to all concerned, since then he has continued his interest as a stockholder, and producer of milk. He keeps twelve to fourteen cows regularly, a fine large bank barn with atone foundation, built by his father. In 1897, much facilitating the advantages of dairying.
Mr. Oberg is clerk of Watertown township as he was once before; also served one term as township assessor. He is a Republican, working earnestly for his party, as he does on behalf of all worthy undertakings On November 8, 1905, he was united in marriage with Miss Alice E. Swanson, a daughter of Charles and Caroline M. (Miller) Swanson whose life story is briefly told on another page. Two sons and one daughter result from the union, Curtiss Roland, Erwin Leroy and Dalice Louana.
Mr. Oberg and wife are active workers in behalf of the Young People's Society of the. Swedish Lutheran church, and all the beneficent agencies connected therewith, as is Mr. Oberg's mother and as was his father.
Page 323
THOMAS O'GARA.
Thomas O'Gara, who settled in Hollywood township during the early days, is one of the few survivors among the pioneer farmers of this vicinity. He is a native of Ireland, born in County Roscommon in 1830 and came to the United States in 1848 after sharing in the sufferings inflicted by the famine in his native land. For several years he worked on farms in Ohio and Illinois and in the fall of 1855 came to St. Paul where he expected to join Patrick McDermott, an old friend, whose sister had married a brother of O'Gara's. Mr. McDermott was not in St. Paul but had gone up the Minnesota river to take a claim and Thomas 0 'Gara followed him and spent the next few years working in Stillwater and along the river. Patrick McDermott was killed near St. Peter by a failing tree. In the spring of 1856, Mr. O 'Gara came to Carver county to look at the new land and choose a claim. He was accompanied by Thomas and Edward Murphy, Lawrence Connolly, Con Shevelin, Patrick Hutch and Harry and James O'Hagan and they made the trip on foot over the primitive trails of the wild country,. Jim Burns, an early settler, who met his death through an accident soon after this, acted as their guide over the territory. All the members of the party took claims but Mr. O'Gara was one of the few who retained permanent possession of their preemption rights. Thomas and Edward Murphy finally shared one quarter section and Lawrence Connolly continued to hold his land although he did not make his home there until 1868. Thomas O'Gara moved on his homestead in 1858 and became one of the small band of men who were building up the farm land of what was later Hollywood township. In his home in this present prosperous agricultural district, he recalls the many hardships and arduous labors of the frontier life when the farms were far from any highway and the stock was stolen by bears. There was plentiful sport for the hunter in these days. Mr. O'Gara had no gun for deer hunting, but enjoyed the duck shooting. When he cleared his first acres he owned no team and would pay for the use of oxen for one day with three days of his own labor at splitting rails or rolling logs. His first team was a pair of three year old, black steers which he bought in Minneapolis for sixty dollars and broke for farm work himself, their first yoke and harness still hang in his barn and from his first purchase he has always considered a Studebaker wagon an indispensable part of the equipment of his farm. He built a small bark covered shanty for the first home, but soon replaced this with a larger house which has since been remodeled for a barn. His present residence was erected in 1870. He now owns one hundred and forty acres of good farm land, eighty acres of which is part of the homestead, the remainder being railroad land which he bought later, and has seventy-five acres under cultivation. He encountered the difficulties and hard work of his early life with native energy and remarkable endurance. During the first years on his farm, he was accustomed to walk the thirty-six miles to Minneapolis, carrying his shoes over his shoulder, and worked as hod carrier for the city contractors. Mr. O'Gara has always been actively identified with the of the township and with Michael Burns survives among the twelve men who met at Helvetia when the township was organized and give, the name of Hollywood by Matthew Kelly. These two pioneers and Patrick Craven, Lawrence Connolly and James McKindly all lived on farms adjoining his. He is a member of the Catholic church at Watertown and attended the first Catholic services held in the neighborhood, in the log cabin of William Welch. Mr. O'Gara was married in St. Anthony, August 4, 1857, to Catherine Connolly, sister of Lawrence Connolly. She was his faithful companion throughout the forty-two years of their life together and died April 22, 1899. They had a family of eight children, Rosa, a maiden of Minneapolis; Mary, who married William Orr and died at forty-two years of age; Maggie, the wife of Norman Bebo of Edmonton, Canada; Jane, living in Minneapolis, the wife of J. C. Sharon; Bridget, who married Gus Butterfield, also a resident of Minneapolis; Thomas; Garrett and Larry, who both live at Edmonton, Canada. Thomas O'Gara lives on his father's farm which he manages. He married Ellen Herron, who is a native of Hollywood, born on the old Herron place near her present home. They have six children, Catherine, William Michael, Margaret, Thomas, Nellie and Mary.
Page 323
OLOF M. OLSON.
Olof M. Olson, a farmer in Hollywood township, is a native of Sweden, born in Vermland, October 20, 1854. He has been a resident of Carver county and a farmer in Hollywood since he was sixteen years old. His father died in his childhood and in 1870 he, with his mother and older brother, Halvord Olson, came to the United States and joined friends in Carver county. The latter bought eighty acres of wild land in Hollywood township and here the family made their home. Olof assisting his brother in the clearing of the land. Some years later, Halvord Olson took a claim in Renville county but after proving up on the land he returned to his Carver county farm, where he is now living. He has never married and his mother made her home with him until her death in 1886. During Halvord's residence in Renville county, Olof Olson took charge of the farm and managed it until 1882 when he bought his present place, paying twelve hundred dollars for a quarter section of timber land in section 6. The land adjoined his brother's farm and had been the property of Judge Van Derbergh for a number of years. The present prosperous farm is the result of many years of untiring effort and thrifty management. Mr. Olson has devoted his life since his sixteenth year to the business of farming. He received his only schooling in the old country, the many duties of farm life in the wilderness preventing him continuing his education. He cleared much of the land on the first farm and has put sixty acres under cultivation on his own place and has reclaimed low land with a drainage system which he is extending and improving. He sold some of his land and now owns sixty acres. In addition to farming this, he has for a number of years had the management of the Halvord Olson farm. He has engaged in both grain and stock farming, keeping a number of cattle and hogs. Mr. Olson is a Republican and interested in public affairs. He has given capable service in the offices of road supervisor and school trustee. He was one of the organizers of first Swedish Lutheran church in this vicinity of which he has always been a faithful supporter. His first marriage was with Carrie Nimquist of Wright county in 1882. She died five years later, leaving one daughter, Ella. Mr. Olson was married in 1892 to Augusta Nelson, a native of Sweden and the daughter of Olof Nelson. Her parents are now living near the Olson farm. Four children have been born to this second marriage, Rainie, Nellie, Elphie and Lydia. Rainie Olson lives on the home farm and is a partner with his father in his farming interests. He married Ellen Eklund and has two children, Ruby and Troy.
Page 324
GEORGE OTTINGER.
George Ottinger, proprietor of the Minnehaha Source Stock Farm, was born in Laketown township, January 13, 1862. His father, Tobias Ottinger and Michael Wasserman, who accompanied him to Minnesota, were the first settlers in Laketown township. Tobias Ottinger was a native of Bavaria, born near Munich, October 24, 1824, and came to this country in 1848. For several years he journeyed over the middle and southern states as a peddler and then determined to go to Minnesota. In Illinois he married Catherina Baser, a native of Prussia and she accompanied him in his westward journey. On May 10, 1852, they located on the land which is now the property of their son, George Ottinger. To this tract in the wilderness, Tobias Ottinger devoted the rest of his life, meeting the vicissitudes of the early days with the hardy spirit of the pioneer and developing a valuable farm property. Through thrifty management during the few years spent as a peddler he had accumulated a capital of some seven hundred dollars and this aided him in the clearing of his land and the erection of a home, but he experienced all the inconveniences of the times. In company with a neighbor, Mr. Winkel, he at different times walked to St. Paul to secure provisions and on one of these trips bought a team of horses and became the victim of the horse dealer's dishonesty, the horses proving of little value. But native ability and industry brought success and he accomplished the cultivation of the greater part of the one hundred and fifty-four acres and engaged quite extensively in stock raising. He was prominently associated with public interests and sought to promote the welfare of the community in which he lived. In political matters he was a loyal member of the Republican party. He died October 27, 1893, and his wife's death occurred some three years, earlier. They had a family of six children.
Page 324
HENRY PETERMAN.
Henry Peterman, a prominent farmer of Laketown township, came to Minnesota in 1867 and has been most notably identified with the prosperity of the county as the organizer and promoter of the Co-operative Creamery Company at Waconia. He was born at Buffalo, Now York, August 9, 1841, the son of John and Erna Peterman, natives of Prussia, who had come to the United States in 1836. John Peterman spent several years on a farm in New York state and then removed to Jackson county, Wisconsin, where there was a German settlement. Here he purchased a tract of timber land which he cleared and put under cultivation. Henry Peterman was reared on the Wisconsin farm and received his education iii the German school of the Lutheran church. For a short time he attended the public schools but the greater part of his instruction was received in the foreign language. In 1867, the farm was sold and the family came to Minnesota and Henry Peterman, after traveling over the state, chose Carver county as their future home. He bought the farm of John Matzholt in Laketown township, paying $3,300 and including in his purchase the stock and other personal property. About twenty acres of the quarter section had been cleared and a few buildings erected and Mr. Peterman set about the clearing and development of the timberland. He hauled the wood to Chaska where he received three dollars and a quarter per cord and the money thus accumulated assisted him in the improvement of his property. He put eighty acres under cultivation and reclaimed some low land by drainage. In 1875 he replaced the first log house with the present residence and a few years later erected now barns. His parents lived here until their deaths at advanced ages. He has devoted his life to the management of this farm and has met with eminent success in all his undertakings. He has engaged in both grain and dairy farming, giving particular attention to the latter and was among the first to appreciate the value of this business to the local farmers. Believing that a creamery owned by the producers would prove of great profit to them, he suggested the plan of a co-operative creamery at Waconia. A promoter offered to organize the company if Waconia would provide a bonus, but Mr. Peterman assumed the risk of the enterprise, erected the building and financed the first operations. This required an investment of $4,000 and a great deal of effort devoted to the encouragement of dairy farming in this vicinity. During the first years when butter sold for twelve cents a pound, the success of the company demanded keen business management and careful attention, but rising prices brought growing prosperity and it is now one of the thriving industries of the county. Dairy farming has become one of the most important enterprises and almost every farmer gives some attention to it. Mr. Peterman also built a creamery at Hamburg, which he sold three years later. His initiative and generous support in this field were recognized by the farmers and his assistance was sought in the establishment of like companies in other parts of the county. He still retains his creamery interests but of later years confined his active work to his f arm, where he is assisted by his son, John Peterman.
He became the owner of another farm of one hundred and ten acres which he later gave to a son, Otto Peterman. Mr. Peterman is a member of the Lutheran church at Waconia and served as trustee for a number of years. His political affiliations were with the Republican party. He was married in 1868 to Amelia Zeaman, daughter of John Zeaman, a farmer of Laketown township. She is a native of Prussia and came to Carver county with her parents in 1863. They have a family of eight children: Minnie, the wife of P. Pelz of Blackley, Minnesota; William, the manager of Co-operative Creamery at Waconia; Henry, who is a dealer in agricultural implements in Red Wood Falls, Minnesota; Otto, a farmer in Laketown township, John, manager of the home farm ,Emma, who married George Dorr of Wood Lake, Minnesota; Annie, living in Hutchinson, Minnesota, and Ida, the wife of George Bancker and residing in Minneapolis.
Page 325
WILLIAM HENRY PETERMAN.
Proprietor of one of the most progressive and best managed creameries in this part of the country; a stockholder in the local bank; one of the promoters of the Norwood-Young America Telephone company through his locality; a public official of excellent standing and wide popularity, and an active participant in every enterprise designed to advance the interests and hasten the improvement of his home town and county, William H. Peterman, of Waconia is one of Carver county's most progressive and useful citizens.
Mr. Peterman is the sole proprietor of the Peternian creamery at Waconia, which was built in 1896 by his father, Henry Peterman, and conducted by him until he sold it to his son William in 1912. The monthly output of the industry has averaged for some years about $3,000, but during the best months of the present year (1914) the products of the business have run to $8,000 a month, and there is a continued increase in prospect. In March, 1913, the creamery was converted largely into a condensing plant, and nearly all the milk it now handles is worked into the condensed form, and the product is used in bulk in the ice-cream trade.
The Peterman creamery was the first condenser plant in Minnesota, and there is only one other yet in operation in this state, although a third is in course of erection. The money invested in the plant is $12,000 to $14,000 and its regular and constant patrons number more than seventy-five. William H. Peterman entered the business in 1897 as an employee of his father, and has therefore been engaged in it for seventeen years continuously. The enterprise has proven profitable, the amount of milk handled having nearly trebled, and this creamery is probably the first wholly and continuously successful one in Carver county. But its progress has not been made without difficulty and opposition, and its promoters and proprietors have not wholly escaped underhand assaults and misrepresentations.
When they were boys William H. Peterman and his brother Henry. R. hauled cordwood from their father's farm to Waconia, a distance of four miles, while the neighboring farmers were hauling milk to Chaska, eight miles away. The Peterman family were making 150 to 300 pounds of butter a week, which was sold to the Berkeley hotel in Minneapolis. The sons conceived that a creamery might be made profitable in their neighborhood, but the capital was not available for starting one. They discussed with the village council a proposal to take a bonus of $500 and build a creamery with a saloon attached in the village. They had observed that frequently the milk farmers returned from their trips to Chaska somewhat overstimulated by drink and made great boasts about the profits in creameries, and they concluded that a saloon near the creamery they thought of building would help to mike the business pay. Other men had offered to start a creamery at Waconia for a bonus of $1,000. At this juncture the older Mr. Peterman came forward and told the council he would build and operate one without any bonus at all, and at once put up his factory.
The Chaska men, who desired to control the enterprise at Waconia offered Mr. Peterman first $1,000 then $1,500 if he would withdraw, but he refused. Afterward an opposition creamery passed into the hands of farmers who organized a co-operative association, and even before this, efforts were frequently made to buy the Peterman plant. Then the underhand work and misrepresentation became active, and Peterman patrons grow fewer. But the Peterman plant weathered the storm without serious effect on its prosperity, and now nearly all of its old patrons have returned and numbers of new ones have been procured. It is equipped with every modern device and appliance of the most approved pattern, has a deep well of unfailing strength and superior excellence of water, and many other superior facilities. Its products have always been made with the utmost care and studious attention to detail, and they have always sold at the highest prices.
William H. Peterman was born on his father's farm four miles from Waconia, in Laketown township, February 11, 1872, a son of Henry and Emilie (Zieman) Peterman, the former born in the United States and the latter in Germany. The son remained on the farm and took part in the labor of cultivating it until he became connected with the creamery. He owns stock in the Norwood-Young America Telephone company, and is also a stockholder in the Farmers State Bank of Waconia. At the time of this writing (1914) he is a member of the village council, and also belongs to the Norwood- Waconia Hunting club, whose outings in the northern part of the state he thoroughly enjoys, as he does local hunting and fishing, for which the proximity of Clearwater lake furnishes abundant facilities. He is a Lutheran in church connection and a Republican in political affiliation. May 24, 1899, he was married to Miss Elizabeth Schraan, also a native of Laketown township, whose parents, Andrew and Bertha (Schwitchemberg) Schraan, are now living retired in Waconia. Mr. and Mrs. Peterman have two children, Dorothy and Gladys.
Page 325
ANDREW PETERSON,
Andrew Peterson, for many years a prominent farmer of Carver county, was born in Sweden, October 20, 1818, and died at his home in Laketown township, March 31, 1897. He came to this county in 1853, in the earliest days of its settlement and during his life witnessed its rapid development and prosperous growth and was himself actively identified with every phase of its progress. In 1850 with his brother and a sister, Christina, he came to the United States and located at Burlington, Iowa, where Christina Peterson became the wife of John Anderson. They remained in Burlington until 1853 when Andrew Peterson and Mr. Anderson decided to seek a home in Minnesota and came to Carver. Here they heard of Andrew Bergquist, a fellow countryman, and his claim on the banks of Clearwater lake and set out on the twelve mile tramp through the forests to his place. Andrew Bergquist was the first settler in what is now Laketown township and they found him living in the wilderness and the home that sheltered him, an improvised tent formed of blankets spread over the branches of trees. The richness of the land and the natural attractiveness of its location near the lake which is one of the most beautiful bodies of water in this part of the state, made their location here permanent. Their first intention had been to secure meadow land but on examining the soils, they decided in favor of the heavily timbered land, accepting the greater labor of clearing in consideration of its superior fertility. They each took preemption claims of one hundred and sixty acres and then returned to Iowa to complete the arrangements for their removal to the new home. The quarter section belonging to Andrew Peterson lay a mile and a half east of Clearwater lake and on this side of the lake, during the next few years, a number of pioneers located, forming the Swedish settlement of Scandia. In 1855 a claimant for his land appeared and Mr. Peterson was compelled to pay him twenty dollars, his entire capital at that time, to induce the man to leave him in undisputed possession. His first house was a bark covered shanty, in which he laid a floor of hewed logs. Into this home in 1858, he took his young bride and here they experienced all the trials and privations and hard won triumphs of pioneer life. He put some forty-five acres under cultivation, and in 1869 erected a house of hewed logs, the most pretentious home of its time in this vicinity. This substantial structure has since been added to and remodeled into a modern frame house and is the present farm residence. It occupies an eminence which command an enjoyable view of the surrounding country. Mr. Peterson combined the sturdy qualities of the pioneer with the initiative and ability of the natural scientist and the state of Minnesota is greatly indebted to him for his experiments and discoveries in its horticultural possibilities. Having been employed in a nursery in Iowa, his interest was immediately challenged by the problem of providing this new country with orchards and through the government he secured many varieties of apples from Russia and other foreign countries, which he tested in the soil and climate of Minnesota. At one time he is said to have had two hundred varieties of apples in his orchards and frequently exhibited as many as forty varieties of apples at the state fair or at horticultural exhibits. His experiments and successful demonstration of fruit growing brought him widespread fame and his orchards were visited by the leading horticultural experts of neighboring states who recognized him as an authority in apple culture. The same qualities which marked his private enterprises distinguished his activities in all walks of life and he gave ready co-operation and able service in all matters of public welfare. Although he had been unable to secure educational advantages in his youth, he obtained a good education through extensive reading and took a keen interest in the questions of the world and was especially well informed in the science of horticulture. A most interesting document is his diary, it dates from the time spent in Burlington, Iowa, and the last entry was made just a few days before his death. It is a record of a full and useful life that through active and unselfish relation with other lives, is in reality a history the growth of the community. One of his greatest interests was in the progress and rapid development of his adopted country and in remarking the changes of his time and he enjoyed comparing one of the railroads in the country on which he rode in 1850, on a cattle train between Now York and Albany, with the road which was built across his farm and the present railroad system. He became a member of the Baptist church in Burlington, Iowa, and was one of the starter members of the Swedish Baptist church at Scandia, the second church of this sect organized in America, which was established by former members of the church at Burlington. Throughout his life he was a devout supporter of this church and earnestly sought to fix the principles of his faith in his daily acts. He was a Republican and interested in the cause of prohibition. His marriage to Elsie Anderson was solemnized September 15, 1858. She is a native of Sweden who came to Minnesota with her mother and sisters a short time before her marriage. She lives in the old home in Laketown township and is the only survivor of the charter members of the church at Scandia. Of the family of nine children, six survive. Three daughters are dead, lda, Annie and Josephine, who was the wife of Nels Carlson. John, Frank and Oscar Peterson and their sister Emma have remained on the farm, capably assuming its management since the death of their father, George and Charley Peterson are engaged in farming near Maynard, Minnesota. The members of this family have followed in the footsteps of the father, accepting his broad views of life and of the responsibilities of American citizenship and have won the esteem and high regard of the community.
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PAUL POFAHL.
Paul Pofahl, a farmer of Laketown township, is a native of Germany, born in Pomerania, Prussia, November 22, 1858. He came to this country with his parents, August and Augusta Pofahl in 1868. August Pofahl brought his family to Carver county where friends from the old country had preceded him. He was a tailor by trade but here became a f armor, buying one hundred and forty acres near the present property of his son, Paul. Here he engaged in farming during the rest of his life and developed a good farm property, putting some thirty acres of his land under cultivation and replacing the log house with a modern brick residence. He became a member of the Republican party and was a communicant in the Lutheran church at Waconia. He died in 1906 at the age of seventy-six. His wife survived him eight years, her death occurring in May, 1914. Of their family of nine children, five are now living. Edward Pofahl is the present proprietor of his father's farm. Paul Pofahl was reared on the old place and there made his home until he purchased the one hundred and forty acres known as the Jenny farm. For this he paid six thousand dollars, half of which his capital enabled him to pay at once. Efficient farming and able management have brought steady prosperity to his investment. He now has eighty acres under cultivation and has erected a pleasant farm home and good basement barn. He raises grain and engages extensively in dairy business. Mr. Pofahl was one of the original shareholders in the Co-operative Creamery Company. He was married in 1886 to Mary Schwitzenberg, the daughter of Louis Schwitzenberg, who was a neighboring farmer. They have seven children, Arthur, who lives in Waconia, and Raymond, Johnnie, Roy, Myrtle, Severa and Allegra, who live at home. Mr. Pofahl is a Republican but the interest which he takes in political matters has never led him into any active participation in public affairs. He is a member of the Lutheran church at Waconia, in which organization he gives faithful service as a trustee.
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AUGUST PRETZEL.
This enterprising and public spirited farmer Watertown township, who has lived in Carver county and on the beautiful farm which is now his home for more than half a century, was born in Germany, fifteen miles from the city of Berlin, March 15, 1850, and in 1861 came to the United States and this county with his parents, Carl and Mina Pretzel. The father had learned the trade of harness maker in his native land, and he had also served three years as a soldier there. But when he reached this country his heart was set on farming, and here he followed that industry to the end of his life of seventy-four years.
Soon after his arrival in Carver county the father bought eighty acres of the land now owned and cultivated by his son August for $185. The land was wild and heavily timbered, and there was nothing on it in the form of a dwelling. But he set himself resolutely to the work of clearing the land, and built a log cabin as a home for himself and his family. He passed the remainder of his days on this farm, dying in 1882 at the age of seventy-four. The mother lived seven years longer, and was seventy-two when her life ended, and her record of devoted usefulness was complete.
The elder Mr. Pretzel cleared fifty acres of his land and reduced it to generous productiveness. In 1881 he built the dwelling house which now enriches the farm, and set out a row of trees along the road. The son has extended this improvement until there is now about an acre in trees about the place, and from them it has derived its name of "Roadside Park Farm." The parents were original members of the Evangelical Association church at Mayer, and their remains are buried in the burying ground attached to it. The first services of the congregation were held in their old log cabin, and it was used as the meeting place for a number of years until the church edifice was erected. All the children of the household were reared in a spirit of loyalty and devotion to it, and the son, August, is still one of its most staunch and serviceable members. Six children were born in the family, and five of them are living. Henrietta is the wife of John Krindbrink, of Watertown township. Mina is the wife of Rev. William Sydow, of Fairmont, Minnesota. Rika is the wife of Hermann Mass, of St. Bonifacius, Hennepin county. Carl, who lived on a f arm near the home place, died at the age of fifty-five, and Hermann is a retired farmer living at Glencoe, McLeod county.
August Pretzel, the other child of the household, has passed the whole of his life in the United States on the farm redeemed from the wilderness by his father, and took charge of the cultivation of it as a young man. Some years ago he became the owner of it, buying the interests of the other children, and since then he has built a now barn, remodeled the dwelling house and made other improvements. He has about the same acreage in cultivation that his father had, the rest of his land being meadow and grazing ground. His farming is general in its scope, and he always keeps eight or ten cows, furnishing quantities of milk to the co-operative creamery. His farm is one of the most attractive rural homes in the township.
In 1882 Mr. Pretzel was married to Miss Helena Long, of Hollywood township. She died January 25, 1888, after only six years of married life, leaving two children, Lydia, who is now keeping house for her father, and Elsie, who is employed in the establishment of Messrs. Wyman, Partridge & Company, Minneapolis. Mr. Pretzel's second marriage was with Miss Lena Kenehl, of Wright county. She died August 16, 1910, leaving one child, Walter, who now conducts the operations of the farm.
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JACOB RADDE.
This skillful, enterprising and progressive mechanic and esteemed citizen of Waconia is a native of West Prussia, where he was born September 15, 1855. He came to the United States in 1862 with his parents, Gottleib and Mary Radde, who were farmers in their native land and expected to follow the same occupation here. They located in the village of Carver, where two days later, while the father was bathing in the Minnesota river, he was drowned. He was about forty years old and left his widow with four small children. She moved to Waconia, and before the end of the year was married to August Hetke.
After her marriage to Mr. Hetke the mother bought a farm three miles south of Waconia, on which she died about fourteen years ago, her second husband having passed away one year before. They had no children. The Radde children were Gottleib, John, Carl and Jacob, the last named being the youngest and the only one of the four now living (1914). Gottleib died in April, 1914, at the old family home three miles south of Waconia. John died at Waconia ten years ago. Carl was a blacksmith at Waconia, and died there about twelve years ago, or two years prior to the death of John.
Jacob Radde remained at home until he reached the age of twenty years. In his boyhood he assisted his brother Carl in the blacksmith shop. When he was twenty he started to learn his trade of wagon maker under the direction of Peter Yetzer, with whom he remained a year and a half, receiving for his services no compensation but his board. He was allowed, however, to work before seven o'clock in the morning and after seven in the evening to earn a little spending money. His education was obtained at the Lutheran parochial school at Waconia. After severing his connection with Mr. Yetzer he turned his attention to carpentering and worked at that for a time. He then, in 1876, started his present business of making and repairing wagons and other road vehicles, in which he has built up a large trade.
In his mechanical and manufacturing enterprise Mr. Radde struck out a new line. He made a specialty of constructing wagons to order on designs selected particularly for the purpose for which the wagons were intended. He became wholly devoted to this kind of work and originated many improvements himself which were suggested by his close and critical study of the conditions and requirements of the locality and its activities. His establishment is still in full operation, as it has been from the time when he opened it for business, and it is one of the best known and most highly, appreciated industrial institutions in this part of the county,.
Mr. Radde was married in 1878 to Miss Matilda Hetke, a daughter of Jacob Hetke, of Laketown township, but born in Germany. They have five sons and one daughter. The parents are members of the Lutheran church at Waconia, which the father has served as a trustee for eighteen years. He was also township treasurer for two years and for nineteen has been treasurer of the school board, having also served it three years as clerk. He has therefore been connected with the management of school affairs for a continuous period of twenty-two years. He is widely and favorably known and universally esteemed as an excellent citizen and a true and upright man in all the relations of life.
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PAUL A. RADDE.
This estimable citizen and capable business man of Waconia is best known and most highly appreciated by his position as cashier of the Waconia State Bank and his excellent work in helping to build up and popularize that young but enterprising and progressive institution, which is rendering good service to the community and making steady and substantial advance.
The Waconia State Bank was opened for business January 25, 1912, with a capital of $10,000. Its surplus is $1,500 and its deposits amount to $115,000. It built and owns its banking house, and one-half of its capital stock is held by residents of Waconia. The officers of the bank are: Roy Quimby, president; Dr. Henry R. Diessner, vice president, and Paul A. Radde, cashier. The management of its affairs shows a judicious blending of the progressive and the conservative spirit, and, although it does all approved kinds of banking business suitable to present-day methods, it carefully eschews every form of speculative or visionary fiscal transactions. It is safe and sound, and the men in charge are conducting it in a manner that demonstrates their purpose and capacity to keep it so.
Paul A. Radde, the capable and accommodating cashier of the bank, was born at Waconia September 8, 1885, a son of Jacob and Matilda (Hetke) Radde, a sketch of whom will be found in this volume. He obtained a high school education and in April, 1904, entered the employ of the Farmers State Bank as bookkeeper. Two years later he left the Farmers Bank and became bookkeeper in the State Bank at Hector, which he served in that capacity three and one-half years. He next passed some years as assistant cashier of banks at McClusky and Underwood, North Dakota, giving him ten years experience in the banking business, thus acquiring a thorough familiarity with the subject, so that he was well qualified for the duties when he helped to organize the Waconia State Bank as one of its stockholders and became its cashier in January, 1912.
Mr. Radde has taken an earnest interest and an active part in the public affairs of his town and is now serving as village recorder. He is a member of the Lutheran church and a helpful participant in its activities for the good of the community, as he is in the work of all improving agencies. He is unmarried.
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REV. HENRY RAEDEKE.
Throughout the last forty-three years this devout and zealous ambassador of Christ and estimable and useful citizen has ministered to the spiritual welfare and guidance of the congregation of Trinity Evangelical Lutheran church in Carver, and he has performed his duties with such ability, industry and effectiveness that the whole population of the village esteem him most highly and hold him in genuine reverence. He has been at the service of every comer or call to duty at any hour of the, day or night, and has always been altogether obliging and considerate.
Mr. Raedeke is a native of Hanover, Germany, where his life began May 2, 1848. When he was twenty he came to the United States, the mission service of his sect sending him to Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri, to obtain a theological education. He pursued a three years course at the seminary, and in 1871 accepted a call to the church at Carver which had been built by Rev. Victor Both three years before. When Mr. Raedeke took charge of the congregation it included about fifty families, among them twenty residing at Chaska.
Mr. Raedeke was ordained in his own church at Carver, August 28, 1871, and has served it with unfailing fidelity as a faithful pastor and successful servant of the Master. The congregation at Chaska was organized and its church built by him in 1885, from then until 1898 he served that church also. In the year last named his son, Rev. H, J. Raedeke, became his assistant at Chaska, so continuing during the next ten, years. In 1885 the two congregations contained some sixty families, which in ten years increased to about 160. There were 200 pupils in the schools most of the time, and the father and daughter alternated in teaching them until 1908. The father and son also alternated between Carver and Chaska in their preaching and other pastoral work.
Rev. H. J. Raedeke is now pastor of the church at Holloway, Swift county, Minnesota, and his father, during the last six years, has devoted his energies wholly to the needs of the church at Carver. The present congregation, which numbers about fifty families, has recently erected a fine new church, which is a credit to the congregation and an ornament to the community.
For fifteen years Mr. Raedeke also served a congregation in Scott county, helping to build its first church. In his church and school work he has used the German language, the children learning English in the public schools. His life has been wholly devoted to his sacred calling, and in a long course of ministry he has missed but some ten Sundays either from illness or other causes. He has also taught music in his churches, and for twenty-five years played the organ in one of them. His services have been and are highly appreciated by the beneficiaries, who have made this fact known in many ways. One of the most conspicuous and impressive manifestations of it was a tribute paid to him on the fortieth anniversary of his marriage and the beginning of his pastorate at Carver.
On Sunday, November 19, 1911, arrangements were made that at the close of the regular morning service the church bell should ring to announce the beginning of a second service of which Rev. Mr. Rehwald, of Chaska, was to have charge. The regular pastor and his wife took their places with the congregation, and Mr. Rehwald tendered them, in a felicitous and impressive address, the congratulations and best wishes of the people and voiced the high esteem in which they were held for their personal worth and for the eminent usefulness which had characterized the forty years of service during which he had baptized 1,385 persons, confirmed 736, married 300 couples and officiated at 438 funerals. After the services were concluded a bountiful luncheon was served, and the pastor received generous financial contributions.
Mr. Raedeke was married in St. Paul, on November 19, 1871, to Miss Amelia Meyer, who, Me himself, was born in Hanover, Germany, and who came to this country especially to join him in his pastoral work. Of the nine children born of their union seven are living. Two of the sons, H. J. and Frederick, are ministers; and both were educated for their professional work at the Concordia Seminary in St. Louis. John is a teacher in the public school and the parochial school at Courtland, Minnesota. The oldest daughter, Amelia, married William Teske, a feed merchant at Chaska, and died two years afterward. Her only child, Louise, has since been reared by her grandparents. Louise, another daughter, has an assistant in the parochial school at Chaska for twelve years. Her compensation was meager, but she was impelled to it as help in educating the children in the church. She is now conducting a millinery establishment at Chaska. Helena and Lydia live with their parents. The former is a dressmaker and the latter is the organist of the church. Martha has been a teacher in the public schools for eight years, now being employed in the high school at Raymond.
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HENRY RIETZ.
Henry Rietz, a retired farmer of Laketown township, now residing in Waconia, was born in New Bavaria, Germany, February 25, 1839, son of Henry and Mary Rietz. When a lad of eleven years, his parents came to the United States and settled in Tuscarawas county, Ohio. Here Henry Rietz was reared and spent his early manhood. In October, 1869, he left Ohio and came to Carver county and began a successful career as a farmer in Laketown township. He bought the northwest quarter of section fifteen, paying eighteen hundred dollars for the farm, which had but eighteen acres of cleared land with a small frame shanty and straw covered stable on it. Soon after this he also purchased a one hundred and twenty, acre tract which was situated about a mile distant from his property. He did not move on his land for about three years and was busily engaged meanwhile teaching school in the winters, in clearing away the heavy timber and converting the wild land into cultivated fields. This task, he managed with marked efficiency and soon built up a thriving farm, which he endeavored to equip with every convenience of advanced methods. He cleared all of his land, putting the most of it under cultivation and reserving some of the meadow land which had been developed by drainage, for pasturage. The spacious brick residence and large barn with a cement basement helped to make this place the model and progressive farm of the township, at the time of their erection. Before the installation of a tubular well with a wind mill he contrived to pump water for the stock into large tanks in the barn by using a shallow well and dog power. The same initiative and ability, which brought him success in his private enterprises, inevitably brought him into prominent association with the affairs of the community in which he lives. He was one of the first promoters of the Cooperative Creamery Company at Victoria and of the Laketown Mutual Fire Insurance Company, two local corporations which have met with rapid growth and prosperity and have also proved a profit and convenience to the farmers of the district. The latter company was incorporated in 1888, with the privilege of operating in Carver and in part of Hennepin county. Mr. Rietz prepared its by laws and gave much time and effort to securing cooperation for its organization and for four years continued active in its management as secretary. The company now numbers some two thousand policy holders and has had
neighboring competitor in the fire insurance company which was organized in the same year at West Union. Mr. Rietz is a Democrat, but draws no strict party lines and although he declined the chairmanship of the township board, when it was given him a few months after his coming to Laketown township, he subsequently gave twenty-six years of capable service as a public official, twenty-three years as chairman of the township board and three years as assessor. In 1912, he retired from the farm and has since resided in Waconia where in 1914 he erected his present home. Since his retirement the Laketown farm has been under the management of his sons, J. H. and O. A. Rietz. later moving to their own homes, they were succeeded by Elmer J. Rietz. Henry Rietz was married in Indiana at the age of twenty-three to Miss Caroline Bachmann, daughter of Rev. Henry C. Bachmann, at that time the pastor of the Moravian church at Hope, Indiana. They have a family of seven sons, their only daughter, Mary, who was a teacher in the Carver county schools, died at the age of twenty-three; two sons, George and Albert, also deceased. The surviving children are Henry C., a farmer near Riebeling, Montana; Edwin, a retired farmer, living at Aberdeen, South Dakota; John, engaged in farming near Pelican Rapids, Minnesota; Charles, a lumberman at Bristol, South Dakota; Oliver, who is employed by the John Tuttle Lumber Company of Sioux Falls, one of the large lumber companies of South Dakota; Alfred, an attorney at Farmington, Minnesota and Elmer, who is a carpenter by trade, but is now farming on the home farm. Mr. Rietz is an active member and faithful supporter of the Moravian church at Laketown where for a number of years he served as an elder.
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ANDREW F. SCHUTZ.
But few of the present population of Minneapolis, and perhaps none of the thousands of visitors, who enjoy the beauties and entertainments of Coney Island, in Clearwater lake, know what it was when Andrew F. Schutz took hold of it in 1877 to convert it into a pleasure resort. What it is now is manifest enough a triumph of art and taste applied with energy and skill to one of nature's beauty spots for the enjoyment of mankind. But when Mr. Schutz bought and settled down in a little hotel at Waconia thirty-seven years age the island was a wilderness. This he converted into a favorite summer resort and picnic ground, made it extensively popular, and, with constant attention to the growing requirements, developed its possibilities with great enterprise. The island is now privately owned, but contains a fine hotel and is enriched with a number of beautiful villas.
Andrew F. Schutz was born in the kingdom of Saxony, Germany, April 9, 1839, and in 1854 came to the United States with his Parents, Andrew and Johannah Schutz, who, with eight of their nine children, located at Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, then a very small and primitive place, and which they reached by team from Milwaukee. Two years later the family moved to a farm in Waupaca county, and there both of the parents died after many years of productive labor.
Andrew was placed at work in a furniture finishing paint shop, having acquired a knowledge of the trade at Fond du Lac, When the Civil War began he tried to enlist in the Union army but was rejected on account of a minor disability. In 1865 he came to Minnesota, and worked in a furniture factory and a chair factory, and for seven years was foreman in a furniture finishing room. This was in St. Paul, where he passed twelve years in this employment. Health failing from close confinement and the nature of his work, he had to give up his job to save his life, then, in 1877, buying a small hotel at Waconia.
In 1867 Mr. Schutz was married in St. Paul to Miss Mary L. Muller, daughter of Robert and Anne Katharine (Claesgens) Muller, of Benton township, Carver county, where they settled in the fall of 1854. The father came from the province of Baden, Germany, near Lake Constance, and located at Utica, New York, in 1846. There he met and married his wife, and for at number of years followed cabinet making on the Mohawk River. Later he moved to Danesville, New York, and in 1854 came to Minnesota, taxing a preemption claim in what is now Benton township. He helped to organize the township, and being able to read and write, was a man of force and influence in the early days, naming the township in honor of Senator Thomas H. Benton, of Missouri, then prominent in the national councils.
Mr. Muller's claim was just one mile north of the Catholic church at Cologne and he worked at his trade, making all the early coffins in the neighborhood, assisted by his daughter Mary, now Mrs. Schutz, built houses, and did other similar work. For many years he was a justice of the peace, and he was also one of the first county commissioners of Carver county, and helped to organize it. He died at Young America at the age of seventy-one, and his wife passed away at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Schutz, at the age of sixty-six. They were the parents of ten children, nine of whom reached maturity. Six are living now (1914). They are: Mary, now Mrs. Schutz; Josephine, widow of the late Francis Hassenstab, who lives at Wabasso, Redwood county; Alexander, who con- ducts a furniture and undertaking business at Maple Lake, Wright county; Anna, the wife of Theodore Molitor, of Young America; Otto, a carpenter and saw mill operator in the state of Washington, and Frank, a telegraph operator, now residing in Chicago. Robert, who was also a telegraph operator, was killed in his young manhood, and Albert, who was a collar maker, died in the fifties.
Mr. Schutz kept his hotel, the Lake House, at Waconia, nearly thirty years, retiring in 1906. Ho enlarged the building to what it is at present, and won wide popularity as a landlord. He started a livery and made Clearwater lake a resort, as has been shown. Coney Island was first taken up as a preemption claim by Frank Hassenstab, a brother-in-law of Mr. Schutz, who swam to it, a distance of three-quarters of a mile. But Mr. Schutz made it known as a pleasure resort. He advertised it extensively as a good place for hunting and fishing, his hotel being often more than filled with guests during the resort or hunting season. In 1883 he built the Niagara, a steamboat capable of carrying 300 passengers, a Mr. Remington being his partner in the enterprise. About this time the railroad was built and a hotel was erected on the island, and the excursion trade was very. large until picnics were barred from the island. After that the Niagara lay at her wharf "as idle as a painted ship upon a painted ocean" until she was destroyed by the cyclone of 1904.
When Mr. Schutz gave up his hotel business he retired to his present beautiful home, which borders the lake he has enlarged the dwelling House, adorned the grounds and in many ways made the place very attractive. He raises fruit, flowers, vegetables and other garden products, and made retired life very enjoyable. His orchard is extensive and filled with trees of choice varieties. He has a photograph of one apple tree which produced fifteen bushels of apples, but which was destroyed by a cyclone two weeks later, the storm doing other serious damage to his property.
Mr. Schultz, Albert Kohler and Benedict Maiser had the village of Waconia organized in 1883, he becoming its first president, and serving in that capacity five or six terms. He also served twelve years on the school board, six as director and six as clerk. In 1891 and 1893 he was chosen on of the county commissioners, being selected as chairman of the board by the popular vote. His associates on the board were John Boylan, Frederick Iltis, August Witsack and Peter Nord. In political faith and affiliations Mr. Schutz has always belonged to the Democratic party. He and his wife have had five children, only one of whom is living, Mollie, the wife of Fletcher H. Fankhauser, superintendent of the Palace Clothing House, of Minneapolis. Andrew died at the age of thirty-eight, and his widow now conducts the Lake House. Julius died at the age of fifteen, Robert in infancy, and Josephine at twenty-four when still a member of the parental family circle.
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HELMUTH R. SELL.
Proprietor of Pleasant Grove farm, located nine miles from Chaska, and treasurer of Carver county, Helmuth B. Sell combines in his activities two of the beat functions of useful citizenship that of producing from the fertile soil supplies for the sustenance and enjoyment of mankind and that of caring for and holding for proper purposes the common fund of all the people designed to provide for the management of their local governmental affairs and the improvement of the county in which they live and to whose on during welfare they are all devoted.
Mr. Sell is a native of Laketown township, where his life began in the wilderness January 23, 1873, the place of his birth being his present home two miles and a half southeast of Waconia. He is a son of Ludwig and Johanna (Voigt) Sell, natives of Pomerania, Germany, who came to the United States in 1868, and, moving on to Minnesota, took up their residence for a short time at Carver. The father was a brickmaker and had worked at the trade from his boyhood. He was here so employed for a short time, but before the end of his first year in America he felt the "call of the wild," and bought eighty acres of land in the woods, which is a part of his son Helmuth's present farm, paying $1,800 for the tract out of money he brought with him from the old country.
The elder Mr. Sell was not a farmer by either taste or training, but he applied himself diligently to getting his land cleared and under cultivation; and as a source of revenue for the needs of his family and in his operations he burned charcoal of the wood he cut on his land and marketed his product at Carver and Chaska. His land was heavily wooded with maple, elm and basswood, and it yielded him a steady income from his hard work. He passed the remainder of his days on that farm and brought it nearly all under cultivation, as and there his useful life ended on October 3, 1909, at the age of eighty-one years seven months twenty-four days. His widow died August 2, 1914, aged seventy-two years seven months thirteen days. They had seven children, four of whom are alive and contributing to the advancement of the country as the present time (1915). The father was a devout Lutheran and an original member of the church of his denomination at Waconia, which he helped to build.
Helmuth R. Sell remained at home and worked for his father until he reached the age of twenty-four. He then took charge of the home place and has since purchased the interests of the other heirs in it. His education was obtained in the district schools and the Lutheran parochial school at Waconia. He passed the whole of his life to the present
day on the farm, and has made it one of the beat and most attractive rural homes in his township, as well as one of the most productive and most highly improved tracts of land in the county. The old dwelling built by his father in the early days is still standing, a venerable landmark in the neighborhood.
Mr. Sell began at an early ago to take an important part in the public affairs of his township. When he was but twenty-two he was elected clerk of the school district, and his services in that office lasted nine years. At the age of twenty-five he was chosen township clerk, and he held that office eleven years. In November, 1912, he was the choice of the people for county treasurer, and so well and ably did he discharge the duties of this important position that in the fall of 1914 he was re-elected to it without opposition.
In political allegiance Mr. Sell is a Republican and his been a zealous worker in the party harness since the dawn of his manhood. His religious affiliation is with the Zoar Moravian church in Laketown township. On November 23, 1897, he was united in marriage with Miss Elizabeth Trende, a sister of Frank Trende, a member of the board of county commissioners of Carver county, a sketch of whom will be found in this volume. Mr. and Mrs. Sell have three children, Esther, Dora and Myrtle. Mr. Sell is fond of hunting and fishing, and these pursuits form his only lines of recreation in the way of sport, but he indulges his taste for them in the proper seasons when he has no serious duties to interfere. During the last five years Mr. Sells has been president of the Laketown Mutual Fire Insurance company, the leading company of the kind in Carver county, it having more than 1,800 members, and the number increases at a steady progress year after year, as the excellent management of the company commends it to the approval of the people.
Page 331
THOMAS SEXTON.
Thomas Sexton, of Hollywood township, was born at Milford, Penobscot county, Maine, December 15, 1850. His parents, Thomas and Ellen (Haley) Sexton, were natives of Ireland, both born in County Clare. They came to America in 1846 and located at Quebec, where they lived but a short time and then left Canada for the United States, coming to Penobscot county, Maine, where he was employed as a lumberman for a number of years. In 1857 they removed to Waukesha county, Wisconsin. This same year, his brothers, James and John Sexton, and a cousin, Patrick Craven, were among the first settlers in Hollywood township and in 1862 they were joined by Thomas Sexton. He secured railroad land but soon sold this and took a homestead in section 19. He cleared this land and engaged in farming here for a number of years. He later retired and lived in Watertown until his death at the age of eighty-six. His wife died there two years later. They are survived by seven children, Michael, a miner in Oregon; Thomas; Austin, a carpenter, living at St. Mary's, Idaho; Frank in Minneapolis where he is engaged in the plumbing business; William, for many years a miner in the West, now living at Seattle; Patrick, who is the present marshal of Watertown, and Ellen, the wife of Joseph Connolly, auditor of Carver county. Two sons died after reaching maturity, John and Dan. The former served in the Civil War, enlisting from Carver county in Company G. of the Minnesota Heavy Artillery, and died in his sixty-fourth year in the Soldiers' Home. Thomas Sexton was twelve Years Old when his father located on the claim in Hollywood and there he grew to manhood, assisting on the farm and working with his brothers in the lumber woods and mills. He spent six years as a lumberman, driving the logs on the river and employed in saw mills, working the greater part of this time for W. H. Lawrence. He then began farming on land in section 21 of Hollywood and a little later, in 1883, bought his present farm, the southwest quarter of section 2. This was the preemption claim of James McKinly but had little cleared land on it. Mr. Sexton now has sixty acres tender cultivation and has developed one of the fine farm properties of the county. He has improved some land by drainage and has equipped his place with good modern buildings. He has been a successful stock raiser for years, keeping fine cattle, and is well known among stock farmers as a breeder of Poland China hogs. Mr. Sexton is a member of the Democratic party and has served as supervisor on the town board. He was married to Rose Kelly, January 11, 1881. Her father, Matthew Kelly, settled in Hollywood in 1857 and was for many years an influential citizen of that township. They have eight children, four of whom live with their parents, Maurice, Thomas, Bernadette and Catherine Lauretta. Mary is a teacher in the county schools and Bernadette is a student in the Watertown high school. Two sons, Matthew anti Patrick, are employed in the Western Union Telegraph Co. in Minneapolis and the other sons are farmers, Maurice lives on a farm in Hollywood, and John in Rosseau county, Minnesota. Mr. Sexton and his family are members of the Catholic church at Watertown.
Page 331
MATTHIAS SINGLEY.
An esteemed resident of Watertown, where he is retired from active pursuits after many years of useful and productive labor, Matt Singley has passed nearly the whole of his life in this country, being loyal and devoted to its institutions. He has taken part in the affairs of the community as one of the substantial citizens. His life has also been of importance along material lines, as he conducted successful farming operations for a third of a century.
Mr. Singley was born in Wittenberg, Germany, June 4, 1853, the son of Christian and Christine (Stause) Singley. The following year the family located at Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, and in 1857 came direct to Watertown, traveling up the Mississippi and Minnesota rivers to Chaska. The father had previously looked the country over and now took up a preemption claim of 160 acres three miles east of Watertown and there remained until the spring of 1860, when he moved to the village. He kept the first saloon in the village for six years, although in the spring of 1865 he enlisted in a battery, and in this he served to the close of the Civil war. In 1866 he obtained a farm two miles east of the village and gave attention to its cultivation. In 1877 he bought an adjoining eighty acres in addition for $1,225.
Since Matthias Singley has owned the property he has bought more land, owning at one time 240 acres, but has since sold 140 acres. He has an attractive and comfortable home in the village and keeps horses, cows, pigs, and chickens to occupy his attention. He lived on the farm from 1866 to 19l3 and cultivated and improved it for thirty-two years. His father moved to the village many years ago and died there in old age about 1889. The mother died some years later at the home of a daughter at Carver. The father was a stonemason and helped to build the first courthouse at Chaska and many other structures in the county. He was a Democrat but never hold or sought a public office. His children are Matthias and two daughters. Christina is the wife of William Japs at Hopkins, Minnesota. Mary is the wife of Ludwig Kloak, a farmer living near the old Singley home.
Matthias Singley was married in 1881 to Miss Annie Tesch, a daughter of Henry and Minnie (Bannick) Tesch, of Watertown. Her mother died in 1881 and her father some twenty years later. Mrs. Singley herself died May 20, 1914, after thirty-three years and one mouth of married life. She was the mother of twelve children, ten of whom are living. They are: Henry, a motorman in Minneapolis; Mary, the wife of John D. Van Krevlin, of Lyndale; Matthias, who is farming the old family homestead; Annie, the wife of Charles Schmitt, a farmer near her old home; Emma, the wife of Hermann Wink, also a motorman in Minneapolis; Matilda, who is living at home with her father; Alma, the wife of Henry Schaffer, a farmer in Hennepin county; and Louisa, Lydia and Agnes, all of whom are still at home. I
Mr. Singley has always taken an active part in local affairs. He was chairman of the township board for a number of years and also served on the creamery board. He was reared a Democrat, but of late years has trained with the Republicans. His religious connection is with the Lutheran church, taking a serviceable part in all its activities.
Page 332
ALBERT ANDREW SKARLUND.
Albert Andrew Skarlund, a farmer of Hollywood township, was born in Carver county on his father's farm, one mile east of Watertown, March 30, 1870, the son of Andrew M. and Sophia (Shelgren) Skarlund. Andrew Skarlund was born in Sweden in 1829. He spent his early manhood in his native land, working during this time in the copper mines. In 1865, just after the close of the Civil War, he came to the United States and located in Fillmore county, Minnesota, where he lived for about two years and then removed to Carver county where he spent the rest of his life. He was accompanied to Carver county by his brother, Gust Skarlund, who settled on a farm near Watertown and in 1880 moved to Watertown, where he died February 22, 1899. Andrew Skarlund purchased the farm one mile east of Watertown which was the birthplace of his son Albert and lived there for four years, until 1872, when he bought 80 acres in section 12, Hollywood township, the present home of Albert Skarlund. Andrew Skarlund operated this farm during twenty-four years of careful and successful management. Much of the land, when he first gained its possession was low and of no value, this he reclaimed for cultivation by drainage through open ditches., He replaced the small house on the place with a comfortable home and added other buildings. He retired from the farm in 1896 and made his home in Watertown until his death, January 14, 1910, his wife's death preceding his by less than a month. He was married in Sweden to Sophia Shelgren, who was born in 1832. They had four children, Kate, the wife of Ole Noven of Crookston, Minnesota; John, whose farm adjoins that of his brother, Albert; Annie, who married C. J. Cornell and lives on the old Skarlund farm east of Watertown and Albert A. Albert A. Skarlund has lived in his present home since infancy with the exception of two years when he was employed in the northern lumber camps in the winters and worked in Minneapolis during the summer months. In 1896 when his father left the farm he became the renter of it and assumed its management and six years ago bought the laud. He has continued the work of development and improvement, having laid some thousand feet of tile in replacing the open ditches and erected a fine barn. In farm work he has occupied himself particularly in the milk or creamery business, keeping from eight to ten cows. He is a shareholder of the Co-operative Creamery company, a corporation which has proved of great benefit and profit to its patrons. Mr. Skarlund served for five years as assessor of Hollywood township and for eleven years has been an efficient member of the school board. He is a member of the Swedish Lutheran church in Watertown. He was married November 21, 1896, to Magnhild Nystrom, who was born in Sweden and is the daughter of C. V. Nystrom. They have two children, Evelyn, aged eleven years and Harriet, aged six years.
Page 332
JOHN GUSTAV SKARLUND
John Gustav Skarlund, a successful farmer of Hollywood township, is a native of Sweden, born November 17, 1859, the son of Andrew M. and Sophia (Shelgren) Skarlund. He accompanied his parents to this country when he was six years old, the family first locating in Fillmore county, Minnesota. In 1867 they removed to a farm in Carver county, near Watertown, where they lived until 1872 when his father bought the farm now owned by Albert Skarlund which adjoins that of John Skarlund. John Skarlund spent the earlier years of his life on his father's farm, receiving a thorough training in agricultural pursuits. When he was twenty years of age, he went to Crookston, Minnesota, where he spent two years engaged in farm work. While in the north part of the state he chose a homestead on present site of Thief River Falls; simply filed on it, but it was so wild and so covered with water he did not return to it, and it was thirty-three years before he revisited that spot, where he found a city of 8,000 on the very land he had chosen. It was then five miles or more to the nearest house, located on a dam on the land called Indian Fish Dam. He returned to Carver county and married Lena Mild, a native of Sweden, on April 6, 1882, and soon after this marriage, settled on eighty acres of land in section twelve of Hollywood township, which he had previously purchased. This was timber and marsh and at the time of his purchase only one-half acre had been cleared and the first home was a small log house. To the development of this land he has given his keenest interest, experienced training and steady labor and the result atests to his thrifty management. His system of drainage has converted the marsh into valuable meadow land and the timber has been cleared from thirty acres, although he could realize no great profit from the timber at the time it was cut, having to sell it at a very low price. The present farm comprises one hundred and sixty acres, another eighty acres having been added to the original tract. The improvement of the buildings has kept pace with the improvement of the land, a large bank barn, constructed from his own timber has been erected and a comfortable farm home has replaced the first dwelling. Mr. Skarlund is a Republican and although he has been so busily engaged with his farm work, has found time to serve as supervisor of the township. In 1884 his wife died leaving him with two small children, Emil Henry and Alma Rosanda. He was married the second time to Adalina Nelson of Hollywood township anti they have eight children, Anna Laurie, who lives in Minneapolis; Selma, the wife of Fred Hennebaugh of Minneapolis; Albert, a blacksmith, at Bird Island; and George, Robert, Mabel, Myrtle and Adelaide who are at home. Mr. Skarlund and his family are member of the Swedish Lutheran church of Watertown.
Page 333
ANDREW L. SKOOG.
Farmer, traveling salesman, merchant, importer of superior strains of live stock, and local public official for many years, Andrew L. Skoog, one of the prominent residents of Carver, has exemplified manhood of in admirable order in many lines of activity showing masterly capacity and genuine worth. He was born in Wester Gothland, Sweden, in 1846 a son of Lars and Mary (Brynglson) Skoog and a grandson of Johannes Anderson Skoog, all of the same nativity as himself. These representatives of three generations came to the United States and Minnesota in the late fifties and located near East Union, in this county.
The voyage of nine weeks across the Atlantic was made in a sailing vessel, the Minona. The vessel was chartered by a company of colonists consisting of the neighbors and friends of the Skoogs and they all located near East Union, where many of their descendants now live. They reached their destination in the spring of 1858, and soon thereafter Lars Skoog preempted a claim on which he established his home. When the Civil War began he enlisted in Company M, First Minnesota Heavy Artillery, and to the end of the momentous sectional conflict was engaged in active military service.
At the close of the war he returned to his home and once more devoted his energies to the development and improvement of his farm. He also carried on blacksmithing for twenty-five years, prospering in both departments and winning the enduring respect of the whole community. His industrious and worthy life ended on August 3, 1907, while that of his father, Johannes Anderson Skoog, in his 93rd year, on December 25, 1879. Lars was very active in church work, helping to build the church edifice for the congregation of which Rev. Peter Carlson was the first pastor. Four of the eight children born in his household grew to maturity, and of these, three are now living (1915): John, a contractor in Durango, Colorado, and who married Miss Augusta Borg. Their son, Andrew L. Skoog, M. D., who was reared in the family till seventeen, being educated in Swedish, English and German, is at the present writing superintendent of La Petrie Institute at Paris, France; Alfred J., who is a resident of Carver, whose wife was Miss Dora Sieverson, and Andrew L. Anna, who died when she was nineteen, was the youngest of the four.
Andrew L. Skoog remained with his parents on the farm most of the time until 1874. He then bought 210 acres, one half of the homestead, to the operation of which he has ever since given supervision. He has made a specialty of breeding high grade live stock, introducing the first shorthorn cattle into Carver county. He also introduced draft and trotting horses, importing a stallion from France. He also brought in the first Poland China hogs known in this vicinity.
Soon after purchasing one-half of his father's farm Mr. Skoog reitted his portion to a tenant and started an enterprise in general merchandising at East Union, building the first store in the village. A little later he became a traveling salesman for the Buckeye Machine company of Canton, Ohio, and thus won the distinction of being the first traveling salesman of Swedish nativity in Minnesota. He remained in the em- ploy of the Buckeye company four years, then passed one year in the lumber trade. From this he turned to dealing in machinery at Worthington, Minnesota, and Grand Forks, North Dakota. In 1880 he started a business in machinery at Carver, and later made his establishment there a general store. This he sold to his brother Alfred in 1909.
Mr. Skoog began to take an earnest interest and an active part in the public affairs of his home community at an early age. When he was but twenty-two he was assessor for Dahlgren township, and for many years was the clerk of that township. He also served five and one-half years as treasurer of Carver county and has been secretary and treasurer of the Swedish Lutheran church, secretary of the fire department and secretary of the Commercial Club of Carver. In 1893 he was married to Miss Emily Lundeen, of St. Peter, Minnesota. They have two children, Esther Hildegard and John Lundeen, a student in the junior class of Carver high school. Esther is a student in the college at St. Peter, in the class of 1916, Mrs. Skoog's brother, Col. John A. Lundeen, is a retired colonel in the United States regular army. He was commandant at the Presido, San Francisco, for four years, and was in later service in the Philippines. Also a nephew of Mrs. Skoog, Elmer A. Turner, is traveling secretary of the Y. M. C. A., in the foreign work, with his present office at Omaha, Neb.
Page 333
JOHN ELFRED SOPER, M. D.
Thrown upon his own resources at an early age, Dr. John Elfred Soper, one of the leading physicians of Carver county and president of the village of Norwood, has wrought out a creditable career in citizenship and professional life.
He was born in London, England, July 15, 1866, being the son of a civil engineer, who was afterward employed professionally by Prince Bariotinski in Russia, and who died in Petrograd. The academic education of John E. was begun in his native city, but which he left at the age of ten. In 1888 he came to Minnesota as an immigrant, with five cents as the sum of his wordly wealth, but deeply impressed, by his own convictions and admonitions of others that it was best for a young man to work his own way in the world.
The young wanderer stopped in Minneapolis and soon found employment in the horticultural department of the State Agricultural school. During the first year of the operation of the school, 1888, he served as janitor, operating the heating plant while attending school. After six months he entered the Minneapolis Academy under President Holmes, intending to prepare himself for the Episcopal ministry. But early in his student life he changed his mind deciding to give the science of medicine a trial, and for one year devoted himself to that ,study as an experiment. He found it to his taste, and in 1893 entered the medical department of the University of Minnesota, from which he was graduated in 1896, with the degree of M. D.
He next passed some months at Delano, and in 1899 located at Norwood, where he has been engaged in a large and growing practice for sixteen years. His practice extends over Carver and Scott counties and he is frequently called to cases in other counties. He is a member of the State Medical Society, the American Medical Association and the Society of American Railway Surgeons, and is surgeon for the Chicago & Milwaukee Railroad at Norwood. He has also served three terms as coroner.
Dr. Soper is a Republican, but has not been an active partisan. He is devoted to the general welfare rather than to any specific class or organization, and in this spirit for five years has rendered excellent service as village president. It was almost wholly through his influence and energetic action that the Norwood Commercial club was started in 1914 with nearly all the business men of the town on its roll of membership. This is a very useful organization, the members all working together for better creamery facilities by inducing the farmers to produce greater quantities of milk, and for other business improvements.
Under judicious and capable management, Norwood owns a fine gas fire engine and is well protected against loss by fire. The doctor was married in 1896 to Miss M. E. Lawrence, a daughter of the laundryman, William M. Lawrence, of Minneapolis, where Mrs. Soper was reared and obtained a high school education.
Mrs. Soper is organist in the Methodist Episcopal church, and the doctor was a singer in the church choir for a number of years. He was reared in the Episcopal church and still adheres to it, but is not a member of any of the fraternal and beneficial organizations so numerous among men. In his practice he favors obstetrics, but gives attention to all claims on his skill and learning, as he does to elevating social interests, in and out of his pleasant home, and to all agencies that work for good in his community.
Page 334
CHARLES SWANSON.
Charles Swanson, who was one of the pioneers of Watertown township and one of its sturdiest and most successful farmers and stock breeders, was born in Elleholm, Blekinge province, Sweden, April 27, 1824, and died at Lyndale, Hennepin county, Minnesota, April 28, 1910, aged seventy-six years and one day. He came to the United States in 1854, and, after passing three years at Galesburg, Illinois, located in this county in 1857. On March 7, 1858, he married Miss Caroline M. Miller, also a native of Sweden, born December 16, 1840, And a daughter of J. P. and Maria (Katherine) Miller. She came to this country in 1852 and from Pennsylvania to Watertown in 1857. She died at the home of her daughter at Lyndale, May 15, 1907.
Mr. Swanson took up a tract of government land by preemption in Section 27, the patent for his tract, dated September 5, 1861, being signed by President Lincoln. He built part of the house now standing on the farm, that part being one of the oldest in Carver county. He brought about 120 acres under cultivation, but sold one-half of his tract and afterward bought another of 160 acres, maintaining his residence, however, on the land he first owned. He engaged actively in raising live stock, especially sheep and cattle. In boyhood he followed fishing to earn money to bring him to the United States. He arrived here penniless, and what he accumulated was acquired by hard work and good management.
Mr. Swanson voted with the Republican party but he was never an active partisan. His religious connection was with the Lutheran church. He was studious and thoughtful in his habits and always well informed on matters of importance. He and his wife were the parents of ten children, two of whom died in infancy and a daughter, Annie Christine, at the age of twenty-two. Of the seven who are living Aaron Edward is a retired farmer at Watertown. Fred is a retired farmer at River Falls, Wisconsin. Ellen is the widow of the late Elias Anderson, of Minneapolis. Augusta W. is the wife of John P. Dahlin, of Watertown. Mary is the wife of Fred Johnson, a Watertown township farmer. Alice is the wife of E. T. Oberg, of near Watertown, and Mabel is the wife of Edward Holmgren and lives on the old family homestead.
EDWARD HOLMGREN, who now owns the Swanson home, was born in the village of Carver June 17, 1874, a son of N. J. and Christina Holmgren, mention of whom is made elsewhere in this work. Edward remained at home until his marriage at the age of twenty-eight, soon after which he bought his father's farm. In 1914 he purchased the Swanson farm, which comprises 200 acres and is highly productive. His experience, enterprise and scientific methods of farming enable him to add constantly to the fruitfulness and value of his land and the force of his example as a progressive agriculturist.
Mr. Holmgren was clerk of Hollywood township for ten years and for a number of years he was also a member of the school board of District No. 48, Carver county. His political allegiance is given to the Republican party and he serves it well by attending conventions and working for its success and advancement. On January 28, 1903, he was married to Miss Mabel Swanson. Five children have been born of the union, two of them dying in infancy. The three living are Leslie Alden, Verdella Theodora and Kermit Edward. The parents are members of the Lutheran church at Watertown, Minnesota.
Page 334
JOHN SWANSON.
John Swanson, of Waconia, was born in Smoland, Sweden, October 24, 1859, and came to the United States in 1884 in company with his brother, Frank Swanson. On the eighth of July they reached Carver county and the home of their uncle, John Broberg, a pioneer farmer of Laketown township. Their first employment was in the lumber yards in Minneapolis and this work continued to be the chief interest of their business careers. At the end of two years they were joined by their brother, Charley E. Swanson and the following year the parents were sent f or and a home was established on the land where John Swanson now resides. His father and mother spent the remainder of their lives in Carver county and were members of the Baptist church at Scandia. The mother died in May, 1912, aged seventy-eight years and her husband's death occurred just two months later in his eight-first year. Both are buried in the Scandia cemetery. For ton yearn, John Swanson remained in the employ of the Smith Lumber Company of Minneapolis and here also Frank Swanson worked until his untimely death through an accident in the lumber woods. Charley Swanson became a carpenter in Minneapolis where he is still employed in the trade. In the lumber business, John Swanson has met with marked success and his ability was rewarded by rapid progress in the commercial world. On leaving the Smith Company, he became an independent dealer as a member of the firm of the Western Lumber company in Hopkins, Minnesota, and was associated with this firm for a number of years. In 1897 he bought his present lumber interests which are located at St. Bonifacius in Hennepin county and he has since devoted his efforts to this prosperous enterprise, dealing in building material and a general line of lumber. Aside from the demands of his private transactions, Mr. Swanson has found time for cooperation with other branches of industry, he was one of the original shareholders in the Minnetonka Cannery Company at St. Bonifacius and is a shareholder in the Cooperative Creamery Company at Waconia. He has never interested himself in political matters but takes a keen and active interest in the promotion of the welfare of the community in which he lives. He was married December 27, 1911, to Miss Isabelle Anderson, daughter of Peter D. Anderson, a well known farmer of Laketown township. Since 1897, Mr. Swanson has made his home on his father's old place near Waconia. He has added to the original tract and has erected an attractive house which adds to the natural beauty of the location on the banks of Clearwater lake. He has also taken advantage of the recreation offered by the pleasant situation of his home and beside the fishing on the lake enjoys the use of a launch. Mr. Swanson is a supporter of the Swedish Baptist church of which his wife is a member.
Page 335
EMIL TESCH.
This enterprising proprietor of Highland Farm, farmer and stock man, has special interest in Carver county and Watertown township, for he was born, reared, educated and married in the township, and he has lived in it all his life, employing his energies in promoting its welfare along with his own. His life began September 29, 1862, on his father's farm in section 28, Watertown township, he being the son of Henry and Minnie (Barnick) Tesch, natives of Prussia, who in 1858 came to St. Paul, where he worked two years as a day laborer.
In 1860, for $420, he bought the 160 acres of land on which Emil was born and proceeded to convert it into a productive and valuable farm. There the mother died in 1882, aged about forty-nine years, and there the father also died, in 1900, at the age of seventy-six. He started in life in this country empty handed and accumulated a competence by steady industry and good management. When he and his wife took up their residence on the farm he carried groceries and other provisions for their sustenance from St. Paul on his back. He put about eighty acres of his land tinder cultivation and enriched it with good buildings, making it in time one of the beat farms in the township. He had no inclination to public life and never hold or sought a political office. He and wife were among the original members of the Lutheran church at Waconia.
These sturdy people became the parents of seven children. Annie became the wife of Matthias Singley, a sketch of whom will be found in this volume, and died May 20, 1914. Ewalt farmed the home place until his death in 1909, when the farm was sold. Bertha is the wife of William West, of Waconia. Lena is the wife of Henry Dressel, of Minneapolis, and Mary is the wife of George Niccum, of Eureka, Hennepin county.
Emil Tesch, the third child, remained at home until his marriage at the age of thirty, to Miss Alma Dressel, a sister of Henry Dressel and a daughter of Peter and Margaret (Schunk) Dressel, who came to Watertown township as pioneers but a little later than the Tesch family. Mr. Dressel enlisted during the Civil War and served until the close of that sanguinary contest. He died February 1, 1909, at the age of 80 years. His widow still owns the f arm, her son carrying on its operations.
Mr. and Mrs. Tesch have nine children: Margaret, is the wife of William Niccum. The others are: Walter, George, Ruth, Harry and Lizzie (twins), Ellen and Helen (twins), and Robert. Mr. Tesch bought the farm he now owns and occupies in 1902. It was taken up as a homestead by John Crawford and later owned by Peter Burke. The farm embraces 120 acres and Mr. Tesch has made all the improvements now on it. The dwelling house is a brick veneered structure, and the other buildings are in keeping with it. The place is the seat of vigorous general farming operations and an active live stock breeding industry, the latter being the chief object of interest and attention for the proprietor. He has served as township supervisor for eleven consecutive years and as a member of the school board and its treasurer for about the same length of time. He is a Republican in politics and belongs to the German Lutheran church at Watertown. In the proper seasons he seeks recreation in hunting trips to the northern woods. He is skillful in the chase and has many fine trophies of his prowess in this respect mounted at his home.
Page 335
HERMAN F. TESCH.
Herman F. Teach, a farmer of Hollywood township, was born in Pomerania, Germany, October 14, 1859. He came to the United States with his parents, Ferdinand and Frederika Tesch, in 1867, a lad of eight years and since that time has been a resident of Carver county. Ferdinand Teach settled in Hollywood township where he bought eighty acres of school land and later purchased another eighty which was covered with timber. He built a log house and engaged in the task of converting wild and wooded land into cultivated fields. He continued the work of improvement until his retirement from active farming and developed the fine farm property now owned by his son, Herman Tesch. The present farm home was erected by Ferdinand Tesch about twenty-five years ago. He is a Republican and throughout the many years of his residence in the county has always taken a marked interest in the public welfare and has served as a member of the school board. He is now in his eighty-fifth year and since the death of his wife in 1901, has made his home with his son on the old farm. When he was twenty-one years of age, Herman Tesch took the eighty acres which his father had first worked and assumed the management of the whole farm. Later he sold twenty-live acres of the original tract and for a number of years has made his home on the other property, where he has erected new farm buildings including a large barn with unusual accommodations for stock. He engages in both grain and stock farming and is interested in the creamery business, as a shareholder in the Cooperative creamery at Mayer and keeps from twelve to fifteen fine dairy cows on his place. In 1883, he was married to Bertha Conrad, who died twelve years later and was survived by five children. Ellen, the wife of Henry Mix of Oskasis, Minnesota; Reuben, who lives in Helvetia, Minnesota; Willie, living in Hollywood township, and Aaron and Alma, who are at home. Mr. Tesch contracted his second marriage with Lydia Bunse, May 20, 1898. She was born at Council Bluffs, Iowa, and is a daughter of Rev. Herman Bunse, a retired minister of the Evangelical Association. Mr. Bunse is a native of Germany and came to this country when he was fourteen years of age. He entered the ministry when he was twenty years old and gave fifty years of devoted and efficient service in that work. He was prominently associated with his denomination in the north-west, being located for the most part in Minnesota and Iowa. He served as presiding elder and for a number of years preached in St. Paul and Minneapolis, and has also occupied the pastorate in Hutchinson, Chaska and Montrose, Minnesota, and for three years was in the church at Mayer, where he now makes his home, resting from the labors of a long and useful career. Three children have been born to Mr. Tesch and his wife, Harris, Carl and Florence. Mr. Tesch is a member and zealous worker in the Evangelical Association at Mayer, where his parents were members of the first congregation. He is actively identified with all branches of the church work and is a trustee and class leader. His political affiliations are with the Republican party.
Page 336
FRANK TRENDE.
This capable member of the board of county commission era was born on the farm which he now occupies in Dahlgren township, November 14, 1874. He is a son of Ernest and Johannah (Puschelke) Trende, who were born, reared and married in the province of Pomerania, Germany. In May1873, they arrived in the United States.
The father bought eighty acres of wild woodland in Dahlgren township for the sum of $1,400, and located on it as a future home. He afterward increased his farm to 240 acres, and there he passed the remainder of life, dying on Christmas day, 1913, at the age of eighty years. His widow and two sons survive and are living on the old place, which is owned by the sons, Frank and Albert, the latter occupying the old homestead part. There are also three daughters. Bertha is the wife of Herman Ehrenberg, of Laketown township. Minnie is the widow of William Ehrenberg, also living in Laketown township and Elizabeth is the wife of Helmuth B. Sell, treasurer of Carver county, a sketch of whom is to be found in this work. She is a twin sister of Frank, they being the only children of the family born in this country.
Frank Trende obtained his education in the country school and at the age of twenty-four married Miss Bertha Zimmerman, step-daughter of August Splettstoeser. They have two children living, Orville and Clara, both attending school.
At the ago of twenty-two Mr. Trende was elected a member of the township board, thus serving six years. He was then assessor for seven years, and in 1910 was elected a member of the board of county commissioners. His services in this office were such that he was reelected in 1914. He has also been clerk of the school district from the age of twenty-one, and is the secretary treasurer and the general manager of the Farmers Creamery Association at Cologne, of which he was one of the principal originators and promoters. This creamery has over 100 patrons and in the year 1913 it transacted a business amounting to $65,000. It is located in a dairy country of unusual productiveness, and has done excellent work in the demonstration of the value of dairy farming.
Mr. Trende is a Republican, being a zealous worker for the success of his party. His religious connection is with the Moravian church, in whose service he is active, taking a part in all its work, as he does in that of every agency for good in the community. He is an energetic, enterprising and public spirited citizen, being one of the widely and favorably known citizens.
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AUGUST F. TRUWE.
This estimable citizen of Young America, is a son of John and Elizabeth (Moery) Truwe and the third of six children. The father became a resident of Carver county in 1857. He was a tailor and worked at his trade a number of years after preempting 160 acres of government land six miles north of Young America. He cleared the greater part of it, reducing if to productiveness, thereby making a valuable and attractive country home.
In 1876 he gave up active work on the farm and opened a general store in company with Ackerman Bros. He retired from business in 1888, and has since passed most of his time in California. The mother belonged to a family long resident in Iowa. She died July 7, 1896. They became the parents of six children. Louisa, is the wife of Henry Perchon, manager of the gas plant in the village of Young America. John Henry died in 1876. August F. Albert J. kept a general store at Hamburg, until his death in January, 1914. Emma was the wife of Emil Bachman, druggist in Young America, and Julius, of Young America, is a railways mail clerk.
August F. Truwe grew to manhood on the farm and obtained his education in the public schools. He has engaged in various occupations and when the State Bank of Young America was organized in 1900 was chosen its president, a position he has hold ever since. He was married in 1882 to Miss Anna Rath, a daughter of Andrew and Mary Rath. Their five children are: Oscar J., who married Miss Pauline Eckardt, of Sibley county, and is associated with his father; Emma, is the wife of Louis De Rieux residing in California; Emil is a resident of St. Paul; George P. is assistant cashier of the State Bank of Young America; and Julia is at home.
August F. Truwe became a partner in his father's mercantile business in 1881, to which he has since devoted attention. He has served fourteen years as postmaster of Young America, four years being during the presidency of Grover Cleveland. He was president of the village council fifteen years and chairman of the board of county commissioners for four years. In connection with the public schools he has given the community valuable service for thirty years, being now president of the high school board. He is a thirty-second degree Freemason, a Noble of the Mystic Shrine, and a member of the Order of Sons of Hermann and the Modern Woodmen. He was also one of the leading forces in organizing the village fire department.
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AUGUST VOLLRATH
Approaching the end of his eighty-sixth year, and having been a resident of the United States for sixty-six years August Vollrath, a prosperous farmer living two miles west of St. Bonifacius, in Watertown township, has used his opportunities to good advantage, and at the same time he contributed full measure to advancement of county, state and nation. He was born in Saxony, Germany, November 2 1828, and in 1848 came to Philadelphia. In a short time, he went to New Jersey and worked in a brickyard two year then came west to Wisconsin, but on account of the climate moved to St. Louis, Missouri. He there worked as a gardener at $8 a month, then going to Platte county, Missouri, was employed as a stonemason on bridge work during the next year.
The next step in Mr. Vollrath's life of change and incident was a trip to California with a drove of cattle and sheep, wintering in Salt Lake City, and after completing the trip passed nearly three years in California. After one winter in Germany, he returned in 1856 accompanied by his sister Mary, who married August Krause, a pioneer resident of Watertown.
Mr. Vollrath, in 1858 or 1859, married Miss Augusta Lupnow, who died in 1862, leaving eight children, Frank, at Arlington, Minnesota; Louisa, now residing at Six Mile Creek near Lake Minnetonka, the wife of Ferdinand Bise; Augusta, Mrs. Henry Vogler, at Young America; Fredericka, the wife of Paul Zinter, a railroad man; Anna S., wife of Rye Holcomb who resides near Plymouth; August, Jr., who is also a farmer near Plymouth; Erma, the wife of Herman Luebke, a poultry dealer at Arlington; Bertha, who lives in the same neighborhood and is the wife of Albert Luebke.
Mr. Vollrath was again married after his return from California, his choice being Miss Justina Bise. She died in 1878, leaving three children; Hermann, a farmer in Minne Trista township, Hennepin county; Edward, who operates the home farm; Otto, connected with the creamery at Carve Edward Vollrath married Miss Albertina Stalke, a daughter of Ernest Stalke, of Carver. They have no children. August Vollrath belongs to the Lutheran church at Waconia. He has served on the school board and filled other local offices with credit to himself and benefit to his township. He is wide known and highly esteemed as a man and as a citizen.
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OSCAR VOLLRATH
For a continuous period of forty-six years Oscar Vollrath, one of the enterprising farmers of Watertown township, Carver county, Minnesota, has been a resident of this part of the state, and during most of the time an active and energetic contributor to its further development and progress He was born at Thierungen, Germany, August 30, 1859, and in 1868 came to the United States and Carver county, Minnesota, with his parents Jacob and Johanna Vollrath, also natives of that part of the fatherland, and reared and educated there
After reaching St. Paul, in this state, the family journey by rail to Shakopee, and from there to Chaska by livery service. The members of it went to the home of August Krause Sr., and his father and lived there until their own house could be built. As soon as this was completed they located in it on section 34, Watertown township, in which the father bought 160 acres, making his purchase of Christian Beck of St. Paul. The father, with the aid of his sons, cleared the land and converted it into a good farm. On it he passed the remainder of his life, dying in 1901, thirteen years after the death of the mother.
Seven children were born in the family and four of that are living at the present time (1914). Hermann resides on a farm of 160 acres three miles south of Waconia. Augusta, who is the widow of the late Xavier Denzel has her home with her daughter, a milliner at Watertown. Wilhelmina is the wife of Julius Ketcher, who formerly lived across the road from the farm of her brother Oscar, but their home is now on a farm three miles north of St. Bonifacius, in Hennepin county. Charles died young in Germany, before the parents left that country, and August and Gustave also have died.
Oscar Vollrath, the third of his parents' children, remained on the farm with the father until the death of the latter and ever since owned and cultivated it. He does general farming and raises live stock, making specialties of Holstein cattle and White Jersey hogs. He also raises poultry on a moderate scale, and furnishes milk to the co-operative creamery. His present attractive and commodious dwelling house built of buff brick, was erected by him in 1905, and his large barn was built in 1909. In addition to the home farm he owns eighty acres which he purchased of Julius Ketcher, his brother-in-law, a number of years ago.
Mr. Vollrath was reared in the faith of the Lutheran church to which his parents belonged, and he still adheres to it and renders it good service in an official position which he has filled with acceptability for eleven years. He was married November 13, 1885, to Miss Bertha Domres, a daughter Christ and Mollia Domres. They have had nine children. Clara is the wife of Hermann Molnau, the son of old residents in the neighborhood of Waconia, and is, living on farm near that village. John is assisting his father in the management of the farm. Amiel died at the age of eleven . Martha is living at home. Elenora is the wife of Harvey Holmes, an insurance agent and farmer living at Princeton, this state. Herbert, Louisa, Laura and Arlys are still members of the parental family circle and assistants in the farm and household work.
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REV. JOHN A. WAGNER.
For a little more than half of his life Rev. John A. Wagner, pastor of Gothaholm Swedish Evangelical Lutheran church at Watertown, has been active in the Christian ministry, all but two of his twenty-three years of service at the sacred desk having been passed in this state, ministering to the spiritual welfare of its people, sustaining church organizations, building church edifices and other structures for Christian use and performing important official duties in connection with the government of his denomination.
Mr. Wagner is a native of Upsala, Sweden, where his life began July 6, 1869. He obtained a good academic education and having, early in life, determined to enter the ministry, bent his studies toward that end. He pursued a thorough course in theology at the Methodist Theological Seminary with special courses in the celebrated university of his native city, and soon thereafter came to the United States, being then but twenty-two years of age. He was ordained for the ministry of the Methodist Episcopal church, entering the Northwestern Swedish Conference. His first pastorate was in Keokuk, Iowa, a charge that he filled for two years.
For twenty years this zealous and industrious preacher of the gospel of peace and good will toward men remained in the Methodist Episcopal church, passing eighteen years of the period in this state, nine of them at Atwater, in Kandiyohi county. During this long consecration of service to that church he performed important duties as secretary of the conference, chairman of the board of conference examiners, chairman of the board of trustees in charge of church property, member of the hymnal committee, director of the Swedish Methodist Book Concern, and a director of the Hamline University Post Graduate Institute.
From 1906 to 1908 Mr. Wagner was district superintendent of the Minneapolis district, with residence at Stillwater. For three years he was pastor of the First Swedish Methodist Episcopal church in St. Paul. Affiliating with the Lutheran church he took charge of the church he is now serving so zealously, his pastorate beginning October 12, 1911; and in accordance to his own desire, he was re-ordained in the regular Lutheran form, the ceremony taking place in Chicago, June 16, 1912.
Since taking charge of the Gothaholm congregation Mr. Wagner has built, at a cost of $4,000, the Young People's Hall, a place for general assemblages, and for religious, social and educational purposes. The Young People's Society has an orchestra of fourteen instruments and gives numerous public entertainments, which are highly enjoyable and warmly appreciated by the public. Mr. Wagner is also pastor of the church at Lyndale and the Gothalund church at Maple Plain. The Young People's Society at Lyndale also has a hall, the church basement, finished at a cost of $1,200. Extensive improvements are also being made in the church at Watertown, one of which is the erection of a beautiful hand-carved altar, at a cost of about $500.
Mr. Wagner was married at Keokuk, Iowa, September 20, 1893, to Miss Anna Sophia Lind, a native of Illinois, but of Norwegian parentage. They have nine children, Ruth Rosalie, Alice Victoria, Florence Evangeline, Milburn Wesley, Mildred Sophia, Philip Asbury, Eveline Lutine, Fulton Alexander and Grace Junatte, Alice, Florence and Milburn being students at the high school.
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HENRY WELTERS.
This valued citizen, whose home is at the village of Cologne, was born on his father's farm about two miles and a half from the village, September 30, 1879. He is a son of John and Helena (Huben) Welters, the former a native of the city of Limburg, Hesse Nassau. John came to Carver county with his father, Hubert, mother and sister in 1862, the parents residing near their, son John, there passing the rest of life.
John Welters first owned eighty acres of land near Cologne, afterward adding sixty acres more. About twenty-five years ago he gave up active farm work and turned his attention to mercantile life, keeping a store and a saloon. He also for twenty years engaged in buying and selling grain. He and wife were the parents of three sons, Henry, Matthew and Gerard. Matthew was a teacher in the Carer county public schools for fourteen years and died in 1912. Gerard died when he was eighteen years old. There are also four living daughters, Lizzie, Kate, Annie, and Caroline. Lizzie is the wife of Leonard Vos; Kate of Anton Van Kempen; Annie of Pat Coyle; Caroline of Joseph Muhlberger.
Henry Welter remained at home until the age of twenty-four. He then worked three years in a saloon, when he took up a homestead in Canada, which he occupied four years and which he still owns. Resuming saloon work at Cologne he remained there steadily until May, 1914, when he was chosen cashier of the Farmers State Bank at Cologne, a position he still holds, and in which he is rendering excellent and appreciated service.
This bank was founded in May, 1914. Its directorate consisted of Roy Quimby, Minneapolis, president; Henry Pfeghaar, vice presidents Henry Welters, cashier; additional directors being William Pfleghaar, William Jaspers, Leonard Vos and Dr. H.R. Diessner. These were also the original stock holders and incorporators of the institution, which has a capital of $12,000 and a surplus of $3,000. Mr. Welters is a member of the Catholic church and unmarried.
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DIETRICH F. WESTERMAN.
Dietrich F. Westerman, a prominent farmer of Hollywood township, has been a resident of Carver county since 1859. Ho was born at Hanover, Germany, November 38, 1852; son of Gottlieb and Mary Westerman. When six years of age, his parents came to this country and located in Camden township, Carver county, buying eighty acres of primitive timber land from the government. Here the family experienced all the hardships and difficult labor of pioneer life. Gottlieb Westerman worked at the arduous task of clearing his land, supporting his family, meanwhile, with whatever employment he could find. He dug ginseng and for a time split rails for a daily wage of fifty cents, boarding himself, and was cheated of even this meager pay. For over a year the wife and children were alone on the farm while he fought for the Union in the great civil conflict. He enlisted in the Fifth Minnesota regiment and was wounded in one of the engagements of the southern campaign, but on recovery returned to his regiment and served until the close of the war. He then returned to his farm, where he continued the improving of his land and also operated turning lathes, that having been his trade in the old country. He spent the remainder of his life here, a prosperous, farmer and public spirited citizen. He took a patriotic and intelligent interest in all public affairs and served in a number of township offices. His political affiliations were with the Republican party. Gottlieb Westerman was a member of the Lutheran church of Waconia for a number of years and later placed in membership with the same denomination in Mayer, where he is buried, his death occurring March 22, 1907. His wife had died some time before, leaving six children, Fred, who owned his father's farm and died at the age of sixty-two; Dietrich F.; George, a farmer in Camden township, who died in his fifty-fifth year; Dorothy, the wife of August Farber, living in Oklahoma; Mary, who married Gus Schwartz of Camden township, and Louisa, also residing in Camden township, the wife of Rudolf Boemke. Julius Westerman, the son of Fred Westerman, lives on the old Westerman farm in Camden township, the home of his father and grandfather. Dietrich F. Westerman spent his early life on his father's place, assisting him in his work until he was twenty years of age and then found employment on other farms. After three years of this work, he bought a tract of partially improved land in Waconia township and began to farm in his own interest. His sister acted as housekeeper in his newly established home until his marriage a few years later. He was married, January 7, 1879, to Louisa Merkle, then eighteen .years of age and born in Hollywood township, December 11, 1860. Her parents, Joseph and Caroline (Kieseli) Merkle, were natives of Germany and among the earliest settlers of Carver county, locating on government land in Hollywood township in 1857. Joseph Merkle made his home here until the death of his wife, when he removed to Shakopee, where lie resided for a number of years. He is now living at the advanced age of eighty-four and of later years has made his home for the most part with his daughter, Louisa, who is the only surviving member of his family. The other daughter, Caroline Merkle, who married Jacob Fletcher, died at the age of thirty-seven. In 1882 Mr. Westerman left Waconia township and bought eighty acres of land in Hollywood township, where he has lived since, his present property including forty more acres which previously belonged to the Merkle homestead, His place had but a few acres of cleared land and he entered again upon the pioneer farmer's task of farm building. The lowland has been reclaimed by the installing of a drainage system and the first log buildings replaced by a comfortable modern house and fine barns. He has interested himself in dairy farming and stock raising and has met with marked success in these enterprises. He is actively identified with the public interests of the township of which he has been a resident for over thirty years and has served as supervisor and as a member of the 'school board for a number of years. Mr. Westerman and his wife have a family of eight: Fred, a farmer in Wright county; George, employed in a creamery in Polk county; Helen, the wife of John Cook of Buffalo Lake, Minnesota; Ludwig, Edwald and Lorena, living at home, and Eddie and Agnes, who make their home with their brother, Fred Westerman.
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WILLIAM F. WETTER
William P. Wetter, a well-known farmer of Hollywood township, was born on the farm where he now lives, December 24, 1860. His father, John Abraham Wetter, was one of the first settlers in Hollywood and his first home, the birthplace of William, is probably the oldest landmark of pioneer days in the township. John Wetter was a native of Elberfeld, Rhine Province, Germany, and after coming to this country lived for some time in Chicago. He came west at an early date, desiring to secure land, and was accompanied by two comrades who had been with him in Chicago, but they became discouraged by the difficulties encountered in the new and unsettled country and John Wetter was the only one who persevered in his determination and finally achieved his purpose, establishing himself as a farmer. He was a baker by trade and engaged in this employment in Chaska for some time, and his skill won him such success that after leaving the bakery he was often called to Chaska to help prepare for occasions that demanded fine confections. He was married there in 1857 to Anna Maria Walch, a native of Bavaria, whom he had known in Chicago and who was then living in Chaska. Soon after this he moved on his preemption claim, making his home in the old log house which still stands on the place and has subsequently served the community as church and school house. In 1867 it housed the first school that was held in this vicinity; the teacher was Katie Sexton, who married James McLennon and died in 1913. At this time, Mr. Wetter was living on a homestead claim adjoining his place, but after several years here he again made his home on the first farm, clearing the timber land and continuing the improvement of this property. He put sixty acres under cultivation and in 1875 built the house now occupied by his son William, who took charge of the farm in 1885 when his father retired. The latter at that time built a smaller home where his widow now lives in her eightieth year. He was a Republican and took a keen and active interest in public affairs and in the welfare of the township from the time of its organization at old Helvetia. He was a member of the Evangelical church and was a zealous worker in its interests. He was instrumental in establishing the congregation in the neighborhood and the first services were held in his log house. His death occurred October 9, 1898, soon after he had celebrated his seventy-sixth birthday. He had a family of six children, one of whom, Gottlieb, died in childhood. The other children are: John, who is a contractor and carpenter in Corning, California; William; Anna, the wife of Fred Gloege of Hollywood; and David, who is a farmer near Princeton, Minnesota. Another son, Paul, was a farmer, owning part of his father's place and died, aged thirty. William Wetter was reared on the farm and as a lad revealed natural aptitude and interest in agricultural pursuits and assumed the management of the farm under the direction of his father, when he was fourteen years old. This business has been his career and the old home his residence with the exception of three years spent as dealer in agricultural implements in New Germany. He has continued the improvement of the property, which now includes one hundred and fifty acres of the original claim, the homestead land having been sold, and has drained some marsh land. He has added to the farm buildings and the barn with ample stabling capacity was erected in 1906. He has interested himself particularly in blooded cattle and keeps a large herd of cows. He was married to Hulda Kraus, a native of Carver county, in 1887. Her father, Henry Kraus, is a veteran of the Civil war and located in this county soon after the close of the war. He, is now living at Hutchinson, Minnesota. They have ten children, all living at home with the exception of the oldest daughter, Olive, who married Fred Kottke and lives at Hutchinson. Odella is a teacher in the local schools and the other children are Mabel, Daisy Wilmar, Leila, Milford, Gilbert, Leander and Verna. A daughter, Sadie, died when eight years of age. Mr. Wetter is a faithful and generous supporter of the Evangelical church association with which his father was prominently identified and is president of the board of trustees. The presiding minister is Rev. B. Simon, the son of another pioneer farmer. Mr. Wetter is a Republican and an active participant in political work and township affairs and has given able service in a number of local offices.
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REV. THEODORE ROLF
Rev. Theodore Rolf, pastor of the St. John's Evangelical Lutheran church at Hollywood, is a native of Minnesota, born in St. Paul, May 9, 1874. His father was Rev. E. Rolf and prominently identified with the history of the Evangelical Lutheran church in this state. He was born in Hanover, Germany, June 20, 1837 and received his education and theological training in the Concordia Seminary at Ft. Wayne, Indiana. In 1857, he was ordained and accepted his first charges at Sheybogan Falls and Plymouth, Wisconsin, and here organized and established a church. From there he was called to Columbus, Indiana, where he remained until 1863. In that year he went to St. Paul and organized the Zion Lutheran church, the first church of the denomination in the city and was the first resident minister there. He devoted the rest of his life to the pioneer work of the church in this field and was eminently successful in the organization of congregations, establishing churches in the surrounding counties and also at Winnipeg, Manitoba, Can., and engaging in missionary work in this synod. For a number of y6ars he traveled over the territory, visiting the congregations as a representative of the synod. He organized the Zion Lutheran church in St. Paul with a congregation composed of four families and held his first meetings in the old court house, and left it in 1891, a thriving church, with five hundred members. From St. Paul he went to the St. John's Lutheran church at Hollywood, of which his son is now pastor and served here until his death in 1900. The church building had been erected and a school started and through his unfailing efforts for the advancement of this church, a building was provided for the school and during, his ministry, the membership was doubled. He was a proficient theologian and enjoyed the debating of doctrinal questions. He held a number of offices in the synod and for twenty-five years was a member of the missionary board. In the annals of the church and the memories of the people to whom he ministered, he has left a lasting monument in a life of consecrated and zealous service. He was married in Cleveland, Ohio, to Elizabeth Henke, who was at that time employed as a governess in the family of Dr. Swan, president of the synod of the Evangelical Lutheran church. She died in 1881, leaving seven children, August, Christian, Regnina, Elizabeth, Anna, Theodore and Agnes, who are all, with the exception of Theodore Rolf, living in St. Paul. Rev. Rolf contracted a second marriage with Caroline Rullmann of Milwaukee and two sons were born to this union, Louis, a teacher at Gaylord, Minnesota, and Walter, who is a minister at Dodge Centre, Minnesota, and with whom his mother makes her home. Theodore Rolf was reared in St. Paul and received his early education in the city schools, later becoming a student in the Concordia College at Milwaukee. He completed his theological course in the seminary at St. Louis and was ordained June 27, 1896. His father being in failing health at that time, he came to Hollywood as his assistant and served in that capacity until his father's death when he was chosen as his successor. During this time he also ministered to the Crow River congregation in Camden township and still maintains his interest in this church, devoting two days in each week to the school there. Under his charge the St. John's church has steadily grown in strength and influence and in its service to the community. The school, which is maintained in connection with the church, one of its notable and worthy enterprises, now enrolls eighty-two pupils and employs several teachers. Theodore Rolf was married July 27, 1904, to Miss Clara Hertwig of Gaylord, Minnesota, formerly engaged in teaching school and they have three children, Roland, Olivia and Marcella.