Cottonwood County, Minnesota Biographies M, N, O, P & Q

Cottonwood and Watonwan Counties, Minnesota
Their People, Industries and Institutions
With Biographical Sketches of Representative Citizens and Genealogical Records of Many of the Old Families
John A. Brown
Volume II : 1916: B. F. Bowen & Company, Inc.

Transcribed by Vicki Hartman

Mathisen, George W. Page 368-369 Any man who works on the land who tills a field and watches the result, gains a real fundamental knowledge of the underlying foundation on which rests all civilization. It makes him a reliable man, a thoughtful man, a reverent man, and, if he experiments wisely, a helpful optimist. One of the well-informed twentieth century agriculturists and horticulturists of Cottonwood county is George W. Mathisen, of Dale township. He was born in Manitowoc county, Wisconsin, in 1860, and is a son of Lars M. and Rocina (Hummel) Mathisen, natives of Norway and Germany, respectively. Christian Mathisen, the grandfather, spent his life in Norway. George Hummel, the maternal grandfather, who was a native of Germany, came to America and died in Wisconsin. The parents of the subject of this sketch came to Wisconsin in 1849 and located in Manitowoc county, where they were married and there spent the rest of their lives, the father reaching the unusual age of ninety- four years. They were among the very early settlers in that part of the Badger state, bought land and owned a good farm. Thirteen children were born to them, namely: Barbara, Louisa, Mathias, Matilda, George W., Augusta, Amelia, Mary, Lewis, William, who died young; Lena, John and an infant son. George W. Mathisen spent his boyhood on the home farm in Wisconsin and there received his education in the common schools, remaining on the homestead until he was nineteen years of age; then went into the lumber camps for five winters, after which he came to Minnesota, locating in Great Bend township in the spring of 1885, and has farmed in Cottonwood county ever since. He now lives in Dale township, where he owns a farm of one hundred and sixty acres, moving there from Great Bend township, and this has been his home for the past twenty-four years. He carries on general farming, keeps good Holstein cattle, and is also an extensive fruit and berry grower. Modern methods are employed and his place would indicate that a man of thrift, good taste and intelligence has its management in hand. Mr. Mathisen was married in 1893 to Lily Brown, who was born in West Salem, LaCrosse county, Wisconsin, and is a daughter of Thomas S. Brown, brother of John A. Brown, editor of this work. Thomas Brown was a homesteader in Springfield township, Cottonwood county, coming here about 1878. To Mr. and Mrs. Mathisen five children have been born, all living, namely: Sidney, Margaret, May, Marjorie and Lewis. Mr. Mathisen is a Socialist in politics. He has filled the office of township treasurer and also assessor for many years in Dale township. He is a member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen. He is a Lutheran and his wife is inclined toward the Presbyterians. Of the children, Sidney graduated from the Windom high school, taking the four-year course in three years and is now a student in Ames Agricultural School at Iowa. The children of school age are in the district school. Mr. Mathisen is president of the Farmers Club. Mrs. Mathisen is a member of the Degree of Honor, the auxiliary of the United Workmen. Mattison, N. C. Page 323-324 When N. C. Mattison landed in this country from Denmark in 1886, he had twenty-five cents as his sole monetary possession. Now he is the owner of nearly one thousand acres of land and has long been accounted one of the leading farmers and stockmen of Cottonwood county and one of the valuable factors in the development of the northern part of that county, his home being in Highwater township, where he has lived since 1899 and where he has developed one of the finest bits of property in that section of the county. N. C. Mattison was born on a farm in Denmark, February 23, 1867, son of Mattis and Anna Peterson, natives of that same country, both now deceased, who reared a family of thirteen children, only two of whom came to the United States. N. C. Mattison received his schooling in his native land and, when nineteen years of age, came to the United States. He stopped for a year in Hartford, Connecticut, and then worked in the state of New York for eight months, at the end of which time he came West, stopping at Maple Park, Illinois, from which place, eight months later, he went to Iowa, where for about five years he worked at various occupations, chiefly farming, after which he began farming on his own account and was thus engaged until he came to this state in 1899. Upon his arrival in Cottonwood county, Mr. Mattison bought a quarter of a section of land in Highwater county, established his home there and has since lived there. From the beginning of his farming operations there he prospered and has gradually added to his land holdings until now he is the owner of eight hundred acres of fine land in Cottonwood county and one hundred and sixty acres about twelve miles from Jamestown, North Dakota. Mr. Mattison has improved his home farm in excellent shape and he and his family are pleasantly situated there. In addition to his general farming he has given considerable attention to the raising of live stock, with particular reference to Shorthorn cattle, and has done very well. Mr. Mattison is a Republican and gives a good citizen's attention to local political affairs, but has not been a seeker after public office. Mr. Mattison has been married twice. His first wife, who was Belle I^arson, died leaving one child, a daughter, Myrtle. Mr. Mattison then married Lizzie Tolifson and to this union nine children have been born : Xoah, Menered, Harry, Ella, Arthur, Esther, Mary, Joseph and Leslie. Mr. and Mrs. Mattison are members of the Baptist church and take an active interest in the affairs of the same, as well as in all local good works. McCauley, Edward Page 151-152 Edward McCauley, a well-known, progressive and prosperous farmer of Amo township, Cottonwood county, the proprietor of a fine farm of four hundred and forty acres situated on rural route 5, out of Windom, is a native of the Emerald Isle, born in County Antrim, in the north of Ireland, January 19, 1862, son of James and Ellen (Killen) McCauley, the former a native of that same county and the latter of Scotland, both of whom spent their last days in Ireland, the father dying when his son, Edward, was ten years old. James McCauley was a farmer and stock raiser. He and his wife were the parents of six children, three sons and three daughters, James, John, Jane, Sarah, Ellen and Edward. Edward McCauley was reared on the home farm in his native land, receiving his education in the government schools, and when twenty-one years of age, in 1883, came to the United States, landing at the port of New York on March 7 of that year. He proceeded directly to Platt county, Illinois, where he remained for eighteen months, at the end of which time he came to Minnesota and located at Windom. He presently was engaged as a ""hand"" on the farm of W. H. Benbow, in Amo township, and has ever since had his residence in that township, having scarcely been out of the county since then, save for two trips made back to Ireland. After working eighteen months on the Benbow farm, Mr. McCauley took service on another farm in that same township and at the end of two years of employment on that farm bought the relinquishment of a dissatisfied homesteader's claim to a homestead and timber claim to two hundred and eighty acres in that township and proceeded to improve and develop the same. That was in 1888 and Mr. McCauley ever since has made his home on that place. He prospered in his farming operations and in due time enlarged his holdings by the purchase of another quarter section, in section I, Amo township, and is thus the owner of four hundred and forty acres, which he has brought to a fine state of cultivation. The improvements on his place are of a substantial character, an excellent house, and farm buildings in keeping with the same, and he long has been recognized as one of the leading farmers in that neighborhood. In addition to his general farming, Mr. McCauley has also paid considerable attention to the raising of pure-bred Shorthorn cattle and has a fine herd. It was in 1893, during one of his trips back to his native land, that Edward McCauley was united in marriage, in County Antrim, Ireland, to Anna Martin, who was born in that county, and to this union two sons have been born, Edward James and Crawford Brice. Mr. and Mrs. Mc- Cauley are members of the Presbyterian church and take a proper interest in the various beneficences of the same, as well as in the general good works of the community in which they live. Mead, Wallace E. Page 65-66 WALLACE E. MEAD was born in Redwood county, Minnesota, August 6, 1882, a son of George S. Mead, born in Otsego, New York, and Catherine ( Stewart) Mead, born in Kincardine, Ontario, Canada. George S. Mead came to Redwood county, Minnesota, in 1869, and located on a homestead in Underwood township and continued to live on this farm until 1890, when he retired and removed to Marshall, Minnesota. He was the father of two children: Wallace E. and Wesley. He was a soldier in the Civil War, serving in Company B, Twelfth Regiment, Wisconsin Infantry. He is a member of the Presbyterian church, and a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Wallace E. Mead was educated in the public schools of Redwood county, and later attended the high school at Marshall, Minnesota, from which he graduated. He then entered the college of pharmacy, University of Minnesota, and graduated from that institution in 1904. Before taking the pharmacy course he had been a clerk in a drug store at Marshall. After graduation he was employed as salesman and prescription clerk in a drug store, and in 1905 he became proprietor of a drug store in Westbrook, Cot- tonwood county, and has been in this business ever since. Mr. Mead was married, June 19, 1907, to Ricka Winkler. They have one child, Catherine M. Politically, Mr. Mead is a Republican. He is a Mason, and a member of the Woodmen. His church affiliation is with the Presbvterian church. Mertens, August W. Page 79-80 August W. Mertens was born in Cook county, Illinois, August 31, 1846. He is a son of Christopher C. Mertens, a native of Germany, and Mary (Jaeger) Mertens, a native of Prussia. The parents of the subject of this sketch came to America in 1845 ar>d located in Cook county, Illinois, where they made their home until 1856, when they removed to Scott county, Minnesota, where they remained the rest of their lives. The father died in 1884; the mother in 1886. The children of this family were: Frederick G., August W., Randolph F., Minnie, Bertha, Ida, Louisa, Mary and Louis L. August W. Mertens was educated in the public schools of Cook county, Illinois, and in Scott county, Minnesota. During his school years he worked on a farm, and at the age of nineteen he went to St. Paul, Minnesota. There he attended Curtis College at night for two years, and also learned the tinners' trade. He was afterward employed as a clerk for N. B. Har- wood, of St. Paul, for three years. In November, 1869, he started a general merchandise store at Jordan, Minnesota, which he continued until 1875. He then sold out and went to Granite Falls, Minnesota, where he engaged in the hardware and lumber business for one year; then removed to New Prague, Le Sueur county, and opened up a general store, dealing in hardware, implements and grain. In 1893 he sold out this store and removed to International Falls, Minnesota, where he resumed the hardware business. In a short time he again sold out and engaged in the real estate business, continuing in this business until 1908, when he left there and came to Jeffers, Cottonwood county, and started a general merchandise store. This is the business in which he is at present engaged. Mr. Mertens is a stockholder and vice-president of the Farmers State Bank, of Jeffers; and is a stockholder and director of the American Loan Society, of Minneapolis. He is identified with the Republican party, and has served one term as mayor of the village, and also served as a member of the village council. His church relationship is with the German Lutheran church. Mr. Mertens has been twice married. His first wife was Matilda J. Bonander, to whom he was married in 1876; she died in 1892. The children born to this union were: Mannie, Frederick L., Arthur L., and George T. His second wife was Ida Fort; no children by this marriage. Messenbrink, Fred C. Page 300-302 Fred C. Messenbrink, a well-known and well-to-do farmer of Amo township, Cottonwood county, proprietor of a fine farm of three hundred and twenty acres situated on rural route No. 5, out of Windom, is a native of Iowa, born on a farm in Jackson county, that state, April 15, 1872, son of Louis and Sophia (Harms) Messenbrink, the former a native of Germany and the latter of Jackson county, Iowa, the former of whom is now living comfortably retired at Charter Oak, Iowa. Louis Messenbrink was born in the province of Hanover. His father died in his native land and his mother and her children came to the United States in 1855, settling in Illinois. When the Civil War broke out, Louis Messenbrink enlisted for service in Company I, One Hundred and Fifth Regiment, Illinois Volunteer Infantry, with which he served until the close of the war, attached to General Hooker's brigade. At the close of the war he settled in Jackson county, Iowa, where he presently married Sophia Harms, daughter of one of the pioneer families of that county, and there lived for about five years, at the end of which time he moved to Crawford county, same state, where he ever since has made his home. Mr. Messenbrink homesteaded a tract of land in that county upon his arrival there, being one of the first settlers in that part of the county in which he located and when the township was organized he was given the privilege of naming the same, in honor of his native land, giving it the name of Hanover township, which name the township still bears. Mr. Messenbrink owns a section of fine land there, but for years has lived retired from the active labors of the farm, having a pleasant home in Charter Oak, that county, where he is largely interested in the Charter Oak National Bank. His wife died many years ago on the homestead farm in Crawford county, leaving six children, Rosenna, Henry, Fred C, Mary, Peter (deceased), and Emma. Louis Messenbrink then married Sophia Krohn, to which union one daughter was born, Sophia. Mr. Messenbrink is a member of the German Lutheran church and is a thirty-second degree Mason, taking a warm interest in Masonic affairs. Fred C. Messenbrink was but an infant when his parents moved from Jackson county to Crawford county, Iowa, and he grew to manhood on the pioneer homestead farm in the latter county. He obtained his schooling in the parochial schools at Denison, county seat of his home county, and after awhile became a traveling salesman for a commercial house, being thus engaged for three years, at the end of which time he engaged in the hotel business and for three years conducted a hotel at Denison. He then for seven years was engaged in the saloon business at Boyer, in that same county, and then for two or three years conducted a pool and billiard hall in that same town, after which he moved to Dickinson county, Iowa, and was there engaged in farming for a couple of years, at the end of which time, in 1913, he came to Minnesota and settled on the farm on which he is now living in Amo township, Cottonwood county, where he and his family are pleasantly situated. Mr. Messenbrink is the owner of one-half of a section in Amo township and has a well-kept and profitably cultivated farm, he being regarded as one of the substantial farmers of that neighborhood. He takes an earnest interest in local affairs and is recognized as one of the public- spirited citizens of Cottonwood county. He is a member of the German- American Liberal Association. During his residence in Denison, Iowa, Mr. Messenbrink served for some time as town clerk and had a valuable experience in the public service. In 1901, in Crawford county, Iowa, Fred C. Messenbrink was united in marriage to Bertha Jahn, who was born in that county, daughter of Carl and Bertha (Krause) Jahn, natives of Germany, who came to this country in the days of their youth with their respective parents, the two families settling in Chicago. After their marriage, Carl Jahn and his wife remained in Chicago for three years, after which they moved to Crawford county, Iowa, where they have lived ever since, now living retired at Charter Oak. To them eleven children were born, of whom Mrs. Messenbrink was the fifth in order of birth, the others being Emilia, Louisa, Carl, Ida, Anna, Augusta, Otto, Wilhelmina, Matilda and Bernhard. Carl Jahn and his wife are earnest members of the Lutheran church and their children were reared in that faith. To Mr. and Mrs. Messenbrink eight children have been born, George, Alfred, Arthur, Julius, Levi, Blanche, Gladys and Walter, all of whom are living. Milligan, Bert Page 419-420 Bert Milligan was born in Mower county, Minnesota, September 22, 1872, a son of John C. and Martha (Lambert) Milligan, both natives of New York state. John C. Milligan came with his parents to Minnesota when a mere lad and located in Mower county. As a young man he was engaged in lumbering along the St. Croix river, later he was employed as a carpenter in the building of the state prison at Stillwater, Minnesota. In 1878 he went to Dovary township, Murray county, and located a homestead of one hundred and sixty acres of government land. To this place the family moved, in 1880, and began the work of improving the land. The father lived upon this homestead until his death. The mother is still living. He was a member of the Baptist church, and affiliated with the Republican party. Bert Milligan was educated in the public school of Westbrook township, Cottonwood county, that school being much nearer to his home than any school in Murray county. He then engaged in teaching, and taught in the first school in the village of Westbrook. He taught one winter there and then took up the business of well drilling, and in the summer season he operated a threshing machine. He followed this line of business for about fifteen years. In 1901 he was employed as stationary engineer for the Westbrook Milling Company, continuing in that employ for about six years. Then for three years he was electrician and chief engineer for the Marshall Milling Company, at Marshall, Minnesota. In July, 1911, he returned to Westbrook to take a position as manager of Farmers' elevator and has since continued in this employment. This plant is one of the best equipped and one of the most successful elevators in the state, the success being due largely to Mr. Milligan's capable management. Mr. Milligan was married in 1901 to Esther Buswitz, daughter of August and Minnie (Krause) Buswitz. To this union four children have been born: Lloyd, Gladys, Wayne and Vera. Mr. Milligan is independent in politics. He is president of the Farmers Club of Westbrook ; also president of the Westbrook Co-operative Company. His fraternal affiliations are with the Woodmen and the Royal Neighbors. Among the first things Mr. Milligan had the distinction of doing in the village of Westbrook, was teaching school in the first school house in the village; he drilled the first well in the village, in May, 1900,. and broke the first ground at the same time. He bought the first lots sold in the village, and paid the rental for the first box in the postoffice of the village, thus showing that he was there at the beginning of things, with a faith in the future growth and prosperity of the village; and he is still here with the same optimistic opinion as to the future of the village in which his pioneer activities were manifested and his pioneer investments were made. Minion, Nathaniel P. Page 272-274 Nathaniel P. Minion, member of the board of county commissioners of Cottonwood county, one of the Best-known and most substantial farmers of that county, and who also is extensively engaged in the business of buying and selling live stock, proprietor of a fine farm in Delton township and also actively interested in the banking and elevator business at Bingham Lake, is a native of the Dominion of Canada, but has lived in Minnesota since he was twelve years old. He was born on a farm in Canada, June 6, 1859, son of Arthur and Rhoda (Griffin) Minion, who became pioneers of Cottonwood county and spent their last days here. Arthur Minion was born in Ireland in 1811. When twenty years of age in 1831, he crossed the water and settled in Canada, where he married. He had been trained to the trade of weaver in Ireland, but upon locating in Canada became a farmer and the owner of one hundred and sixty acres of land, making his home on that farm until 1865, in which year he sold his place and came to the United States, settling in Clinton county, Iowa, where he farmed until 1871, in June of which year he came to Minnesota and homesteaded a quarter of a section in section 4 of Carson township, Cottonwood county, where he established his home. He hauled lumber from Madelia and erected a shanty on his place and there made his home during those ""lean"" years that marked the grasshopper visitations of that period. In 1879 he built a better house, having by that time got his farm pretty well under cultivation and was regarded as one of the substantial and influential farmers of that community. He was a public-spirited man, ever taking an active part in local political affairs, and did well his part in the development of that part of Cottonwood county. Arthur Minion was accidentally killed while working about a horse-power threshing'-machine on September 6, 1885. His widow survived him many years, her death occurring in the fall of 1912, she then being ninety-four years of age. They were the parents of twelve children, of whom the subject of this sketch was the eleventh in order of birth, the others being Mary Ann (deceased), William (deceased), Robert, Sarah Jane (deceased), Arthur, Eliza Jane (deceased), Charlotte, Amanda, James, Martha and Sarah. Nathaniel P. Minion was about six years old when his parents moved from Canada to Iowa and was about twelve when they came to this state. He grew to manhood on the homestead farm in Carson township, helping in the development of the same, and remained at home until his marriage in the spring of 1881, after which he rented a place in section 10, of Carson township, where he lived for a couple of years, at the end of which time he bought from his brother, Arthur Minion, the homestead right to a quarter section in section 34, Delton township. On that tract he built a small house and barn and entered upon possession in 1886, remaining there until he moved to his present place in 1898. In the meantime he had bought the northwest quarter of section 28 in Delton township and in 1898 traded his homestead place for the adjoining southwest quarter and there has made his home ever since. When he entered upon possession the place was almost wholly unimproved and he has brought it to a fine state of cultivation, improved it in up-to-date fashion, planted trees and made the place one of the most attractive in that part of the county. Mr. Minion has done well in his farming and stock-raising operations and has added to his land holdings by the purchase of two hundred and forty acres in section 29, of Delton township, and one hundred and sixty acres in section 35, of Ann township. He is widely known as a stock buyer and ships a carload of cattle to St. Paul every week, besides maintaining various other business interests. He is the vice-president of the First State Bank of Bingham Lake, a stockholder and director in the Carson Farmers Elevator Company and a stockholder in the Farmers Telephone Company. Mr. Minion is a Republican and for years has given close attention to local political affairs, now serving his third term as a member of the board of county commissioners, of which board he has been chairman two terms. For sixteen or seventeen years he served as assessor of his home township; was township clerk for some years and also served for some time as a justice of the peace, while he has been clerk of the board of his local school district for many years. He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and of the Modern Woodmen of the World and in the affairs of these organizations takes a warm interest. It was on March 20, 1881, that Nathaniel P. Minion was united in marriage to Augusta Bastian, who was born in Germany and who had come to this country with her parents when she was a young girl, and to this union seven children have been born, namely: Robert W., a well-known young farmer of Delton township, who married Laurel Davis and has two children, Walter and Wesley; Frank S., also farming in Delton township, who married Winifred Fox and has one child, a son, Russell; Bertha, who married James Fairburn, of Saskatchewan, and has five children, Leslie, Nathaniel P., Ethel, Earl and Dorothy; Lewis, also farming in Delton township, who married Bertha DeWolfe and has one child, a son, Donald; Effie, who married Harry Gravell, a farmer of Ann township, and Reuben and John, who are at home. The Minions are members of the Methodist church and take an active interest in the promotion of all movements having to do with the advancement of the common interest hereabout. Missling, Gustav Page 409-410 Gustav Missling, a progressive young farmer of Amboy township, Cottonwood county, proprietor of a farm of nearly two hundred acres in the vicinity of Jeffers, is a native of Minnesota and has lived in this state aJl his life. He was born on a farm in Rapidan township, Blue Earth county, January 14, 1881, son of Augustus and Augusta (Franz) Missling, the former a native of the state of Wisconsin and the latter of Germany, who are now living retired in the town of Good Thunder, in Blue Earth county, this state. Gustav Missling was reared on the farm on which he was born in Dodge county, Wisconsin, and when a young man came to Minnesota, settling on a farm in Rapidan township, Blue Earth county, where he lived until his retirement from the active labors of the farm, he and his wife now living at Good Thunder, where they are very comfortably situated. They are members of the German Lutheran church and their children were reared in that faith. There are five of these children, all living, of whom the subject of this sketch was the second in order of birth, the others being Robert, Lena, now Mrs. Yeager; Otto and Edward. Gustav Missling was reared on the paternal farm in Blue Earth county, receiving his schooling in the district school in the neighborhood of his home, and remained there until his marriage in 1907, when he started farming on his own account, renting the farm on which he now lives and where he ever since has made his home. In 1909, two years after taking that place, he bought one hundred acres of the farm and later bought the remainder, now being the owner of one hundred and ninety-six and seventy-five one-hundredths acres of fine land, which he has improved and brought under profitable cultivation. In addition to his general farming, Mr. Missling has given considerable attention to stock raising and has done very well, being recognized as one of the substantial farmers of that community. He is a Republican and takes a proper interest in local political affairs, but has not been an aspirant for public office. It was in 1907 that Gustav Missling was united in marriage to Anna Graf, daughter of Fred Graf, of Blue Earth county, Minnesota, and to this union three children have been born, Harold, Earl and Valuria. Mr. and Mrs. Missling are members of the German Lutheran church and take a warm interest in church affairs as well as in all local good works. Mooers, Ellison D. Page 213-215 Ellison D. Mooers of Gre^t Bend township, Cottonwood county, was born in Franklin county, Maine, and is a son of David and Rosanna (Winslow) Mooers. The mother was a direct descendant of one of the “pilgrim fathers"" who came over on the ""Mayflower"" in 1620. Both these parents were born in the state of Maine where they grew up and were married, removing to Dorchester, Iowa, in 1866, and the following year they came on to Fillmore county, Minnesota. In the spring of 1869 they located in Cottonwood county, David Mooers homesteading in section 8, Great Bend township, and there he spent the rest of his life. His widow spent her latter years with her children, and died at the home of her son, Ellison D. Mooers, on the farm where he now lives. He was the eldest of four children, the others being named as follows: Emiline, Ann and Wellington K. Ellison D. Mooers spent his boyhood in Maine and there attended school, continuing his education after coming to Minnesota, including a course in the seminary at Worthington. When a young man he carried the mail from St. James to Big Bend post office, prior to the founding of Windom, the year the railroad was extended to the present site of Windom. He was then sixteen years old, and carried the first United States mail into Cottonwood county, continuing as carrier from March until October. He then turned his attention to school teaching, which he followed for sixteen terms in Steele and Cottonwood counties, Minnesota and Floyd county, Iowa, being one of the first educators in this part of the state. This was in the days of sod school houses and other primitive conditions. During part of this period he lived at home, sometimes going long distances to his work. He then took up farming in Cottonwood county and has followed this line of endeavor to the present time, living on his present place since the spring of 1889. He owns five hundred and sixty acres in Springfield and Big Bend townships. He has put up two good sets of buildings and added many other important improvements, and he has some of the best land in this part of the state. He also owns four hundred and twenty-six acres, a valuable grain farm in Nebraska, and six hundred and forty acres in Oklahoma, on which cotton and other staple crops are raised. He carries on general farming and stock raising on an extensive scale, is a man of rare executive ability along agricultural lines and is an exceptionally good judge of live stock of all kinds, and large numbers are to be seen about his barns at all seasons. He has been very successful as an agriculturist, has kept well abreast of the times in modern methods of tilling the soil and general farm methods. Mr. Mooers was married in 1879 to Ellen F. Pratt, and to their union two children have been born, namely: J. M., who is engaged in farming near Great Falls, Montana; and Vera, wife of Arthur Hanefield, who lives on one of Mr. Mooers' farms. Mr. Mooers has been a very busy man but has never neglected his duties as a citizen. He has been chairman of the Cottonwood county board on three different occasions, and has held various township offices. Politically, he is a Republican, and has long been one of the local leaders of his party, although never a candidate for important public office. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church and a liberal contributor to its support. Muller, Gustav Page 129-130 Gustav Muller was born in Galicia, Austria, April 26, 1876, a son of Henry Muller and Magdalene (Lindscheid) Muller, both natives of Galicia, Austria. Henry Muller followed the occupation of a blacksmith, and also engaged in farming in Austria. He came to America in 1880, and located in Cottonwood county, in Mountain Lake, Minnesota. The year following his coming to that place he removed to Rose Hill township, Cottonwood county, and took up a homestead of one hundred and twenty acres of government land. Here he made his home for the remainder of his life. He died in 1900; his wife survived him and is now living at Reedley, California. She was the mother of twelve children: Peter, Christina, deceased; Gustav, died young; Edmond, deceased; Henry, deceased; Leona, deceased; Clara, Fridolm, Gustav, our subject; Theodore, Arthur, Herbert. The father and mother were members of the Mennonite church. Gustav Muller, our subject, was educated in the public schools of Rose Hill, township, working on his father's farm during his early years. At the age of fourteen Be left the farm and was employed as a clerk in the store of J. W. Benson & Company, at Heron Lake, Minnesota. He was in this employment for two years and then took a business course at Wilder. He worked for about one year for H. P. Lewis, at Fulda, Minnesota. In 1894 he came to Windom and entered the employ of G. A. Peterson & Company, clothiers, remaining with them until 1905, at which time he, with F. T. Anton, bought the clothing stock of R. R. Jennes, of Windom. This partnership continued until December, 1913, when Mr. Anton died; since that time Mr. Muller has conducted the business alone, dealing in a general line of clothing, men's furnishings and shoes. Mr. Muller was married, in 1900, to Anna M. Anton, daughter of Ole Anton. Five children have been born to this union: Roland H., Alden G., Alice M., Waldo F., deceased, and one infant, deceased. Mr. Muller is a Socialist in politics. He has served as a trustee on the city council, and is at present mayor of the village. He is a member of the American Order of Woodmen, and also a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Musland, Jens T. Page 447-448 Jens T. Musland, a well-known and substantial farmer of Storden township, Cottonwood county, proprietor of a fine farm of one hundred and sixty acres in the vicinity of Storden, is a native of Norway, born on August 8, 1872, son of Torgger and Elizabeth (Landa) Musland, farming people, who are still living in their native land and to whom six children have been born, of whom the subject of this sketch is the eldest, the others being Michael, Torgger, Ingwahl, Hans and Anna. Jens T. Musland received his schooling in the public schools of his native land and in 1888, he then being sixteen years of age, came to the United States, locating in Story county, Iowa, where he remained about five years, at the end of which time he moved to Ida county, same state, where he remained about ten years and where he married in 1902. The next year, 1903, he and his wife came to Minnesota and settled in Cottonwood county, first locating in Springfield township, but presently moving to Rose Hill township, where they remained until 1913, when Mr. Musland bought the farm on which he and his family are now living in Storden township. The Musland farm is a quarter section in section 20 of Storden township and is one of the best-kept places in that neighborhood, well improved and cultivated along modern lines. In addition to his general farming, Mr. Musland has given considerable attention to stock raising and has done very well, being regarded as one of the substantial farmers of that section of the county. He is ""independent"" in his political views on questions of local government and takes a good citizen's interest in politics, but has not been a seeker after public office. As noted above, Jens T. Musland was married in 1902, the year before he came to Minnesota, his wife being Louise Olson, to which union two children have been born, Elizabeth and Melvin. Mr. and Mrs. Musland are members of the Lutheran church and take a proper interest in the affairs of the same, as well as in all local good works, being willing promoters of any cause designed to advance the common welfare hereabout. Natterstad, G. T. Page 359 G. T. Natterstad, a well-known and substantial farmer of Storden township, Cottonwood county, proprietor of a fine farm of one hundred and sixty acres in the vicinity of Storden, is a native of Norway, born on March 21, 1869, son of Tommaes and Martha (Hjalmeland) Natterstad, natives of that same country and the parents of five children, of whom G. T. was the third in order of birth, the others being Belle, Johannes, Mary and Knute. Tommaes Natterstad is a farmer and is still living in his native land. After completing the course in the public schools of his native land, G. T. Natterstad took up farming and also served a term in the army, his military service being completed in 1892. The next year, he then being twenty-three years of age, he came to the United States and located in Ida county, Iowa, where he remained until the spring of 1895, when he came to. Minnesota and located in Cottonwood county, where he has made his home ever since. For two years after coming here, Mr. Natterstad worked on a farm in Amo township and then for three years worked at Windom. He then, in the fall of 1908, bought the quarter section on which he is now living, in Storden township, and ever since has made his home there. The farm is well improved and profitably cultivated and Mr. Natterstad is looked upon as one of the substantial citizens of that community. He and his family have a pleasant home and are comfortably situated. It was in 1905, about ten years after coming to Minnesota, that G. T. Natterstad was united in marriage to Anna Vang and to this union four children have been born, Martha, Elsie, Johann and Gerda. Mr. and Mrs. Natterstad are members of the Norwegian Lutheran church and take a warm interest in the general affairs of the same, being helpful in all neighborhood good works. Mr. Natterstad is a Republican and gives a good citizen's attention to local political affairs, but is not included in the office-seeking class. Natterstad, Knute Page 302 Knute Natterstad, a well-known and well-to-do farmer of Cottonwood county, who is the proprietor of a fine farm of two hundred acres in the vicinity of Storden, in Storden township, is a native of Norway, born on October 12, 1876, son of Tommaes and Martha (Hjalmeland) Natterstad, natives of that country and the parents of five children, of whom the sub- . ject of this sketch was the last born, the others being Belle, Johannes, G. T. and Mary. Tommaes Natterstad is a farmer and is still living in his native land. Knute Natterstad was reared on a farm and received his schooling in the public schools of his native land. When he was twenty-two years of age, in 1898, he came to the United States and proceeded directly to Minnesota, locating at Windom, where his elder brother, G. T. Natterstad, had been located for some time, and there he remained until 1901, when he went to Storden township, where he has been located ever since. At the time of his marriage in 1905 he bought a farm of eighty acres in section 19 of that township and there established his home. Mr. Natterstad has been successful in his farming operations and has been able to add to his holdings until now he is the owner of a fine farm of two hundred acres, well kept and profitably cultivated. In addition to his general farming he has given considerable attention to the raising of live stock and has done very well with both cattle and hogs. He is a Republican and has given a good citizen's attention to local political affairs ever since coming to Minnesota, but has never been included in the office-seeking class. In 1905 Knute Natterstad was tmited in marriage to Minnie Tolberson and to this union four children have been born : Mattie, Melvin, Lenora and Venetta. Mr. and Mrs. Natterstad are earnest members of the Lutheran church and take an active interest in the affairs of the same, as well as in the general good works of their community. Nelson, Christian Nicholas Page 478-480 Christian Nicholas Nelson, clerk of Amo township, Cottonwood county, and one of the best-known and most substantial farmers of that township, is a native of Illinois, born in the city of Chicago, but has been a resident of Minnesota since he was a child. He was born in Chicago on November 8, 1869, son °f Christopher and Anna (Nicholas) Nelson, natives of Denmark, who later came to Minnesota and the former of whom is still living in this state, for many years a prominent resident of Long Lake township, in the neighboring county of Watonwan. Christopher Nelson was born in Denmark on September 17, 1841, son of Nels and Anna Margaretta (Sonneson) Christensen, both natives of that same county, and grew to manhood there, becoming a proficient wagon maker and house builder. He served as a soldier of his king in the war with Germany in 1864-65 and in the year following, 1866, came to the United States and located at Chicago, where he began work as a carpenter. There, two or three years later, he married and continued to live in that city for about seven years, at the end of which time he came to Minnesota with his family and settled at Mankato, where for some time he was engaged at work in a sash and door factory. He then moved to Spring Valley, in Fillmore county, and worked at his trade as a carpenter there for about seven years, or until 1881 when he moved to Watonwan county and settled on the farm on which he is still living, in Long Lake township. Upon locating there, Christopher Nelson bought a farm of eighty acres, to which he later added an adjoining tract of forty acres, in addition to which he also bought a tract of one hundred and twenty acres in Martin county, which latter tract he has since sold. He is a member of the Lutheran church at Long Lake and his children were reared in that faith. Christopher Nelson has been thrice married. It was about the year 1869, in Chicago, that he married Anna Nicholas, who had arrived in that city not long before from her native Denmark, and to that union two children were born, Christian N., the subject of this biographical sketch, and Anna. The mother of these children died in 1874 and in 1875, in this state, Christopher Nelson married Martha Ringhort, who was born in Norway and who had come to Minnesota with her parents, Over Ringhort and wife, the latter of who was a Goodwith, when she was a child, the family settling in Model township, in Blue Earth county. To that union four children were born, Edward, William, Albert and Emma. The mother of these children died in 1889 and the next year Mr. Nelson married her sister, Olena Ringhort, who died in 1893, leaving one child, a son, Martin. Christian N. Nelson, eldest of the seven children born to Christopher Nelson, was but a child when he came to Minnesota with his parents and was about eleven years old when his father moved from Spring Valley to the farm in the vicinity of Long Lake. He completed the course in the common schools at Long Lake and later began to work on his own account on a farm in Antrim township in that same county. In 1892 he went up into North Dakota and worked there for a year and then went into the woods of northern Minnesota, where he worked for a year, at the end of which time he returned to Watonwan county and spent the summer working in a creamery at St. James. During the following winter, 1894-5, he took a course in the dairy school of the Minnesota State University and then began working in a creamery at Windom, later being given charge of the creamery in Amo township, Cottonwood county, and conducted the same from 1895 to 1901. In the meantime he had purchased the farm of eighty acres on which he now lives in Amo township and in 1900, the year following his marriage, began actively to farm the same, establishing his home there and there he has lived ever since. In addition to the eighty acres which he owns, Mr. Nelson rents and farms an adjoining tract of seventy acres and has done very well, both with his farming and with his stock raising. During his residence in Amo township Mr. Nelson has given close attention to local civic affairs and since the year 1900 has served as township clerk, the longest continuous period of service in that office ever performed by one incumbent. He also at various times has been school clerk. He is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America and of the Ancient Order of United Workmen. In 1899 Christian N. Nelson was united in marriage to Mattie M. Felch, who was born in Mower county, this state, daughter of William and Lucy ( Lyman) Felch, the former a native of the state of Washington and the latter of this state, and to this union four children have been born, Leslie Felch, Myrtle Lucile, Cornelius Lyman and Lyman Warren. Mr. and Mrs. Nelson are members of the Methodist Episcopal church and take an active interest in church affairs, as well as in all local good works. Nelson, John Page 89-90 The subject of this sketch is a native of Norway and comes of a hardy stock of Norwegian ancestry. He was born in Norway, August 22, 1870, a son of Nels P. and Anna (Johnson) Nevermo, both natives of Norway. The father of the subject of this sketch was a lumberman in his native country. He came to America in 1888, landing in Quebec. Following in the footsteps of others of his countrymen, he found his way to Minnesota. He left Norway on May 17, 1888, and June 9, of that year he arrived in Windom, Cottonwood county, Minnesota, ""where he decided to locate. He worked at the carpentering trade in Windom and continued to make this his home. He was identified with the Norwegian Lutheran church at this place. There were eight children in this family : Peter, John, Bertha, Marie, Edward, Georgia, Christine and Nickoli. John Nelson received his education in the public schools of Norway. He came to this country with his parents, in 1888, and made his home with them in Windom. He worked on the railroad for about four years. In 1896 he engaged in the grain business and continued in this business for about four years in Windom. In 1900 he came to Bingham Lake and for the first year after coming to this place was manager of the citizens' elevator. For the last fifteen years he has been manager of the St. John elevator. Mr. Nelson has been twice married. His first wife was Sophia Olsen. She was the mother of two children: Arthur and Oscar. His second marriage was to Anna Flyum, who was the mother of six children: Milo, Olga, Alvin, Effie, Norman and Edna. Mr. and Mrs. Nelson are members of the Lutheran church at Windom. He is independent in politics. Nelson, John E. Page 117-118 John E. Nelson is a native Norwegian, born in Norway, August 30, 1863. He is a son of Ole and Inger (Danielson) Nelson, who were also natives of Norway. Ole Nelson came to America in 1884 and located in Windom, Cotton- wood county, Minnesota. Here he opened a shop and engaged in the harness business, which he continued until his death, which occurred in September, 1901, at the age of sixty-nine years. He was the father of eleven children: John (deceased), Matilda, Adolph Daniel, Carl, engaged in the hardware business in Windom, Minnesota; John E., Allta, died in Buffalo, Minnesota, in 1915, aged forty-eight years; Ohtda died in Norway, aged thirteen; Nels (deceased), Nels (deceased), Nels (deceased), and Rolf, living in Sioux City, Minnesota. John E. Nelson was educated in the public schools of Norway. While a young man he went to sea as a sailor and followed this occupation for six years. He made trips to England, South America, Mexico, Cuba and many other places, and experienced all the hardships and dangers of a sailor's life, while engaged in this business. In the spring of 1884, then not twenty-one years of age, he came with the rest of the family to America and located in Windom, Cottonwood county, Minnesota. Here he was employed in farming for about three years, and then worked at the same business for about two years at Heron Lake, in Jackson county. In 1888 he went to Washington, then a territory, and was employed by the Puget Sound in scaling logs for about three years. In 1891 he returned to Windom and opened up a harness business, which he continued in that place until September, 1900, when he removed his shop to Westbrook. Here he has since continued the business, handling a complete stock of everything in the harness line. Mr. Nelson was married to Nettie Tolefson in 1887, and to this union four children have been born : Maude L., Howard E., Phoebe and James, who died at Windom aged six years. They are members of the Baptist church; Mr. Nelson is one of the trustees at the present time. He has served ten years on the school board, and has been president of the board for nine years. He has also served as a member of the village council. Mr. Nelson is also largely interested in the banking business. At the present time he is a stockholder and vice-president of the First National Bank of Westbrook; vice-president of the State Bank, at Dovray, Murray county, and a director of the Farmers State Bank, at Stroden, Cottonwood county. He has also had some dealings in real estate, and has some valuable real-estate holdings at the present time. In 1903 he built the splendid home in which he now lives. He is giving his children the opportunity of obtaining a good education, an opportunity which he, himself, did not have in his youthful years. He is deeply interested in the promotion of schools and educational advantages in the community, and as a member of the school board, on which he has had so long service, he has been largely instrumental in building up the schools and in bringing them to the high state of efficiency they now have. Neufeld, Peter G. Page 104-105 Peter G. Neufeld was born in Tuerstenan, South Russia, April 23, 1860, a son of Gerhard Neufeld, who was born in the same place, November 4, 1827. The mother of the subject of this sketch, whose maiden name was Anna Toechrew, was also born in Russia, where she died. Gerhard Neufeld was a minister in Russia, and also engaged in farming. He came to America in 1878 and located in Cottonwood county, near Mountain Lake, Minnesota. He settled on a farm of six hundred and forty acres, and continued to live there until about 1895, when he retired from active work. He now lives in Mountain Lake. He was the father of six children, all of whom are living: Catherine, Anna, Maria, Gerhard, Peter G. and Henry G. Peter G. Neufeld was educated in the schools of Russia. He came to America with his father, arriving in New York, July 2, 1878. He came with his parents to Cottonwood county, Minnesota, and after coming here he attended school at Mountain Lake, in order to acquire some knowledge of education adapted to this country. During his minority he worked on his father's farm. In 1894 he engaged in the business of buying grain at Mountain Lake and continued in this business for a few years. In 1899 he was appointed to the office of clerk of the court, in Cottonwood county, and on June i, of that year, he came to Windom to assume the duties of his office. He has continued to hold this office ever since, having been elected as his own successor at each election since 1899. Peter G. Neufeld was married on April 28, 1889, to Anna Penner, and to this union five children have been born : Margaretha, Anna, Justina, Mathilda M. and Elizabeth R. Mr. Neufeld has always taken an active part in politics. He is one of the leading Republicans of the county and is deeply interested in the promotion of the principles of that party. Nickel, August W. Page 342-343 August W. Nickel, a progressive farmer of Germantown township, Cottonwood county, and owner of a fine farm of four hundred acres which he has developed in excellent shape, is a native of Germany, but has lived in Minnesota since he was six years old. He was born on May 18, 1873, son of Wilhelm and Emma (Luck) Nickel, natives of that country, who came to Minnesota in 1879 and settled on a homestead tract of eighty acres in Germantown township, Cottonwood county. Wilhelm Nickel started his farming operations in the new country with one ox and one cow, but quickly began to prosper and he gradually added to his tract until he was the owner of a fine farm of three hundred and twenty acres. There he made his home until 1904, when he and his wife moved to Lamberton, where they lived until 1910, in which year they moved to Jeffers, where they are now living. Wilhelm Nickel is a Republican and he and his wife are members of the Evangelical church, in the faith of which their children were reared. There were seven of these children, of whom August W. was the second in order of birth, the others being Minnie, Emma, W. C, Amelia, Lena and Fred. August W. Nickel was six years of age when his parents came to Minnesota from Germany and he grew to manhood on the homestead farm in Germantown township, receiving his schooling in the public schools in that township. He early began farming on his own account and in 1894, when twenty-one years of age, bought the farm on which he is now living. Four years later he married and established his home there. When he bought the place it was an unimproved prairie tract and he has improved and brought the same to a high state of cultivation. Mr. Nickel is the owner of four hundred acres and has long been regarded as one of the most substantial farmers in that section of the county. In addition to his general farming he has given considerable attention to the raising of live stock, paying particular attention to the breeding of Shorthorns. In 1898 August W. Nickel was united in marriage to Louise Pankonin, daughter of Louis Pankonin, and to this union six children have been born, Lydia, Henry, Ella, Selma, Ervin and Agnes. Mr. and Mrs. Nickel are earnest members of the Evangelical church and are active workers in the same, Mr. Nickel having held at one time and another practically every office in the local church organization, at present serving as superintendent of the Sunday school. They also take a warm interest in other community good works and have been helpful in promoting various movements for the betterment of conditions in the neighborhood in which they live. Noble, David A. Page 113-115 David A. Noble, for years a well-known retired farmer, of Windom, an honored veteran of the Civil War and one of the most substantial citizens of Cottonwood county, is a native of Canada, born on December 17, 1843, son and only child of Robert and Mary (Collins) Noble, the former of whom died in Canada in 1851. His widow and her son came over into the United States about 1855 and settled in La Crosse county, Wisconsin, where she died in 1870, near Portage. David A. Noble was about eleven years old when he went to Wisconsin with his widowed mother, and he grew to manhood in La Crosse county, completing his schooling in the public schools of that county. On December 17, 1861, his seventeenth birthday, he enlisted in Company B, Second Wisconsin Cavalry, for service during the Civil War, and served for two days less than four years, being mustered out at Austin, Texas, November 15, 1865, receiving his final discharge at Madison, Wisconsin, December 15, 1865. His mother died at her sister's home near Portage, Wisconsin, in 1870, and in 1874 he came over into Minnesota and settled in Cottonwood county, where he has made his home ever since. Upon arriving in this state Mr. Noble homesteaded a quarter section in Amo township, at the same time taking a timber claim on a quarter section adjoining, and set about developing the same. That farm of three hundred and twenty acres he still owns, as well as a fine farm of two hundred and eighty acres in Lakeside township, about three miles from Windom. In 1879 Mr. Noble married and established his home on his homestead place in Amo township. For about a year after their marriage, Mr. Noble and his wife lived in a sod house, but they presently built a more substantial home, and it was not long until their affairs began to prosper. When they started housekeeping they had neither chairs nor a table, boxes serving in lieu thereof, but that condition did not last long and after awhile they had a very comfortable home and were looked upon as among the substantial residents of that neighborhood. Mr. Noble took a proper part in the .civic affairs of his home township and for years was active in Republican politics, serving for some time as assessor of Amo township. During his residence in Windom he also has served as a member of the council. In addition to the farm lands at present owned by Mr. Noble, he formerly owned two hundred and forty acres one-half mile out of Windom and twenty-seven acres within the corporation and at one time owned land in North Dakota. About 1895 he retired from the active labors of the farm and moved into Windom, where he ever since has made his home, long having been one of the best-known men in that city. For nearly fifteen years Mr. Noble has been superintendent of a part of the stock exhibit at the county fair. He has taken an active part in general agricultural affairs and for some time was in charge of the Cottonwood county exhibit at the Minnesota state fair. On March 12, 1879, David A. Noble was united in marriage to Mary Cuthbert, who was born in Carseburn, Scotland, daughter of Alexander and Elizabeth (Ogg) Cuthbert, who came to this country with their family in 1871 and located in La Crosse county, Wisconsin, later moving to Buena Vista county, Iowa, where they spent their last days, Alexander Cuthbert dying on May 17, 1900, at the age of seventy-nine years, and his wife, October 13, 1906, at the age of eighty-nine. Alexander Cuthbert and his wife were the parents of six children, of whom Mrs. Noble was the fifth in order of birth, the others being Isabel, William, David (deceased), Alexander (deceased) and Eliza. To Mr. and Mrs. Noble six children have been born, all of whom are living, as follow : Myrtle Eliza, Iva Mary, Jessie Isabel, a graduate of the Winona Normal School; Geneva Ida, Bertha Vera, also a graduate of the Winona Normal, and David Alexander, who was graduated from Ames College with the class of 1916. The Nobles are members of the Presbyterian church and take a warm interest in all movements having to do with the advancement of the best interests of the community at large. Mr. Noble and a man named G. E. Rice, during the early settlement, in order to get trees for their groves, went to Mankato, Kasota and St. Peters and pulled the small trees to plant in their tree-claim, as they did not have money enough to buy trees. They were gone two weeks on this trip, and they secured enough trees for their claim. Norman, Frantz C. E. Page 48-50 Rev. Frantz C. E. Norman, pastor of the United Norwegian Lutheran church at Windom, is a native of Norway, but has been a resident of Minnesota since he was nine years old- and has therefore been a witness of and a participant in the wonderful development of this region during the past generation. He was born on June 13, 1862, son of John E. and Martha ( Hartvikson) Norman, both natives of Norway, the former of whom came to the United States in 1869 and prepared a home for the reception of his family near Rochester, this state. The family came over in 1871 and shortly thereafter John E. Norman and his family located on a farm south of Byron, in Olmstead county, where they lived until 1875, in which year they left the farm and moved to Mankato, where Mr. and Mrs. Norman spent the rest of their lives, both dying in 1898, he at the age of eighty-one and she at the age of seventy-five. They were the parents of six children, of whom the subject of this sketch was the last born, the others being Aletta, Ulrikka, Jennie, Caroline and Arnt S., of whom but two now survive, the Rev. Frantz C. Norman and his sister, Ulrikka. Frantz C. E. Norman was about nine years old when he came to this country and his studies, which had been interrupted when he left his native land, were resumed in the Minnesota schools, his elementary education being received in the schools at Salem, Olmsted county, and at Mankato. Having early consecrated himself to the gospel ministry he then entered Augsberg Seminary at Minneapolis and upon completing the course there was ordained a minister of the United Norwegian Lutheran church in 1892. His first pastorate was at Watertown, South Dakota (five congregations), at which place he served during the period 1892-99, in which latter year he accepted a call to the circuit at Brookings, South Dakota (two congregations), and was pastor there until 1904. He then was called to Fosston, in Polk county, this state (four congregations), and served there until 1907, in which year he was called to Seneca, Illinois (three congregations), where he remained until the call to the churches at Windom, Heron Lake and Brewster, came to him in 1910, since which time he has made his home in Windom and has proved himself one of the most potent forces for good in that entire community. The Reverend Mr. Norman is a preacher of much power and has a large and devoted following in his congregation at Windom, his church exerting a wide influence in the way of promoting the best interests of the city and surrounding country. It was during his residence in South Dakota that the Rev. Frantz C. E. Norman was united in marriage, at Bruce, June 13, 1895, to Emma Agnes Olsen, who was born in Wisconsin, June 13, 1872, daughter of Andrew and Mary Olsen, natives of Norway, the former of whom came to this country in 1863 and the latter in 1860. Andrew Olsen and his wife were married at Highland, in Fillmore county, Minnesota, later moving to Coral City ( later Whitehall), Wisconsin, where Mr. Olsen engaged in the mercantile business, but later returned to Minnesota and engaged in business at Highland, where he remained for eleven years, at the end of which time he went to South Dakota and engaged in farming near the town of Bruce, in Brook- ings county, and was thus employed for twenty-five years. He and his wife are now living retired at Brookings, he at the age of seventy-five and she at the age of seventy-one. To them six children were born, those besides Mrs. Norman being Dora, Edward (deceased), Clara, Eva and Orrin. To the Rev. Frantz C. E. and Emma Agnes (Olsen) Norman five children have been born, as follow: Margaret, born on September 13, 1896, who was graduated from the Windom high school in 1914 and is now a student in the music department of the South Dakota State Agricultural College; Clarissa E., December 4, 1897, wno was graduated from the Windom high school with the class of 1916; Elsie F., May 13, 1900, now a student in the Windom high school; Victor F., January 9, 1907, and Andrus S., October 31, 1911. Osland, Ole Page 363-364 Ole Osland, chairman of the board of county commissioners of Cotton- wood county and one of the best-known residents of that county, a well-to-do farmer of Storden township, proprietor of a farm of one hundred and twenty acres in the vicinity of Jeffers and Storden and for many years identified with the development of this community, is a native of Norway, born in the seaport town of Stavanger, in the stift of Christiansand, capital of the amt, on the Stavanger-Fiord, an inlet from the North Sea, one hundred miles south of Bergen, April 23, 1866, son of Ole and Else (Okland) Osland, the former, an official of the municipal court at Stavanger, is still living and the latter has been dead some years. They were the parents of four children, of whom Ole is the eldest, the others being Julius, Bertha and Marie. In 1884, shortly after his graduation from the high school at Stavanger, Ole Osland came to the United States, proceeding directly to Minnesota to join his maternal grandfather, Jens Okland, a pioneer of Cottonwood county, who had settled in Storden township some years before, and he ever since has been living on the old Okland homestead farm, of which he has been the owner since 1887. At that time the place consisted of but eighty acres, but Mr. Osland has increased the same to one hundred and twenty acres and has long been regarded as one of the most substantial farmers of that neighborhood. In addition to his general farming he has given considerable attention to the raising of high-grade live stock and has done very well. His farm is well improved and his operations are carried on in an up-to-date manner that marks him as one of the progressive farmers of the county. Mr. Osland is a Republican and ever since his arrival in Minnesota, has given his earnest attention to local political and civic affairs. For eighteen years he was clerk of the township and for many years has served as clerk of the school board, in which capacity he has done much in behalf of the cause of education in his district. In 1908 Mr. Osland was elected a member of the board of county commissioners from his district and has been continuously re-elected since that time. His services on the board have proved of large value to the county and since 1915 he has been serving as chairman of the board. In November, 1890, Ole Osland was united in marriage to Carrie Holman, daughter of Peter Holman, and to this union ten children have been born, Oscar, Petra, Amanda, Emma, Minnie, Juliet, Frances, Arthur, Carl and Selmer. Mr. and Mrs. Osland are members of the Norwegian Lutheran church and have long taken an active interest in the various beneficences of the same, as well as in all local good works, and are looked upon as among the leaders in movements designed to advance the common interest. Pedersen, Christ Page 97-98 Christ Pedersen, a well-known and well-to-do retired farmer of Springfield township, Cottonwood county, now living at Windom, is a native of the kingdom of Denmark, but has been a resident of the United States since 1878. He was born on January 21, 1846, son of Peter and Dorothy (Hensen) Pedersen, both natives of Denmark, who spent all their lives there, the former dying in 1874 and the latter in 1876. They were the parents of five children, of whom the subject of this sketch was the third in order of birth, the others being as follow: John, deceased; Peter, who died in South America; Jens, who died at the age of twelve years, and Mary, who is still living in her native land. Peter Pedersen was a well-to-do building contractor, and his son, Christ, was given excellent educational advantages. Upon completing his schooling he made a comprehensive tour of Europe, traveling extensively in Russia, England, France, Belgium, Holland and Germany, and afterward was helpful to his father in the management of the latter's affairs. In 1878, two years after the death of his mother, Christ Pedersen came to the United States. His first summer in this country was spent in New York City, and then he went to Cleveland, Ohio, where he remained two years. In his native land he had learned grade surveying and presently he became a grade contractor on railway work in this country, working a force of seventy-five or one hundred men. While thus engaged in Illinois he married in 1885, and later moved to Iowa, where he bought an eighty- acre farm in Clay county and there he made his home until he sold out in 1900 and came to Minnesota, settling in Cottonwood county. He bought a quarter of a section of land in section 14, Springfield township, and there established his home. Presently he bought an eighty-acre tract in section N of the same township, and on these farms made considerable improvements, continuing to live there until 1911, in which year he retired from the active labors of the farm and moved to Windom, where he and his wife are now very pleasantly and comfortably situated. They are members of the Lutheran church and their children were reared in that faith. On June 26, 1885, at Freeport, Illinois, Christ Pedersen was united in marriage to Ann Nelsen, who was born in Denmark, November 28, 1857, and who had come to the United States when twenty-three years of age, after the death of her parents, and for a time had made her home in New Jersey, later going to Illinois, where she met Mr. Pedersen. To that union have been born six children, namely : Hedwig, who died in 1909, at the age of twenty-three years ; Peter, unmarried, who owns a farm in Jackson township; Dorothy, who married Edward Cox, of Lincoln, Nebraska, and has two sons, John and Charles ; George William, unmarried, who now lives at Dixon, California; Emma, a student in the Mankato Business College, and Christina, who married B. F. Miller and now lives at Lincoln, Nebraska. Pederson, George Page 244-245 George Pederson, a well-known and substantial farmer of Highwater township, Cottonwood county, proprietor of a well-improved farm of one hundred and sixty acres in that township and actively identified with the work of developing that part of the county, is a native son of Minnesota and has lived here all his life. He was born on a pioneer farm in the vicinity of Madelia, in the neighboring county of Watonwan, December 26, 1868, son of Hans and Martha (Monson) Rognelson, natives of Norway, who became pioneers of the Madelia neighborhood. Hans Rognelson came to the United States in the days of his young manhood and for awhile was located in Kansas. He then came to Minnesota, took a homestead farm in the vicinity of Madelia and there spent the rest of his life, becoming a substantial and influential farmer and useful citizen. He and his wife were the parents of four children, of whom the subject of this sketch was the second in order of birth, the others being Rachel, Martin and Syver, the latter of whom died in youth. George Pederson was reared on the paternal farm in Watonwan county, receiving his schooling in the schools in the neighborhood of his home, also attending school for a time in the school in the vicinity of his present home in Cottomvood county. As a young man he began farming on the place which he now owns, a well-kept farm of one hundred and sixty acres, and has long been the owner of the same. His place is well improved and profitably cultivated and he and his family are very pleasantly situated. In addition to his general farming, Mr. Pederson has given considerable attention to stock raising and has done very well, making a specialty of Red- Polled cattle. He is a Republican and has given a good citizen's attention to local civic affairs. In 1899 George Pederson was united in marriage to Gena Mosby and to this union six children have been born, Oscar H., Norman G., Harry M., Marian O., Ruth E., and one girl who died in infancy. Mr. and Mrs. Pederson are members of the Norwegian Lutheran church and take an active interest in local church work, Mr. Pederson having served for some time as a member of the board of trustees of the church. They also give proper attention to other local good works and are helpful in advancing the best interests of their home community in all proper ways. Pederson, Iver I. Page 377-379 Iver I. Pederson, one of Cottonwood county's best-known and most substantial farmers and stockmen, owner of a fine farm in Ann township and valuable land in Murray county, member of the board of supervisors of his home township and otherwise actively identified with the interests of that part of the county, is a native of Norway, but has lived in Minnesota since he was eight years old. He was born on October 13, 1873, son of Iver and Anna Pladtson (Thorson) Pederson, natives of that same country, who later became residents of Cottonwood county, where the latter is still living. Iver Pederson was born at Hedalen and owned a farm in the Vaage community. In the summer of 1881 he disposed of his interests there and with his family came to Minnesota, locating at Walnut Grove, in Redwood county, in July of that year. Two years later he moved to Martin county, where he rented a farm for three years, at the end of which time he rented the southwest quarter of section 18 in Ann township, Cottonwood county, where he made his home for four years. He then bought the northwest quarter of that same section and there established his home. He improved the farm in excellent shape and there spent the rest of his life. As he prospered he bought more land and became a very substantial citizen. He later sold the most of his holdings, however, and at the time of his death his land interests were represented by but eighty acres. He died on September 2, 1912, and his widow is still living. They were the parents of eleven children, of whom Iver I. was the ninth in order of birth, the others being as follow: Mary and Anna, twins; the former married John Hopstad and lives in Grant county, this state, and the latter, now deceased, married Hans Amodeth and also lived in Grant county; Peder, who married Carrie Hanson and is farming in Martin county; Annie, who married Hans Eng, a Martin county farmer; Lena, who is living with her brother, Iver, and family; one who died in infancy; Thor, who died in his early manhood; Mattie, who married Hans Sandbo, of Ann township; Rose, who married Lew Osman and lives with the family of her brother, Iver, and Hannah, who died when one year old. Iver I. Pederson was about eight years old when his parents came to Minnesota and he received his schooling in the schools of Cottonwood county. At the age of seventeen he started out for himself, in partnership with Ole Kleven, owners of a threshing rig. That partnership was dissolved after three years, but Mr. Pederson has ever since continued to operate a threshing-machine during the seasons and is one of the best-known men in that line in this part of the country. After a few years he became the manager of his father's farm and early began buying land. He prospered in his operations and is now the owner of six hundred and eighty acres in Cotton wood and Murray counties, all of which he operated himself. For some time he has made a specialty of raising hogs and has done very well. His home place is well improved and he and his family are very well situated. Mr. Pederson has given proper attention to local civic affairs and is a member of the board of township supervisors. He and his wife are members of the Norwegian Lutheran church and take an earnest interest in all local good works. On April 13, 1911, Iver I. Pederson was united in marriage to Lena Johnson, who was born in Ann township, Cottonwood county, daughter of Helge and Gunniel (Kittleson) Johnson, and to this union two children have been born, Myron, born on September 10, 1912, and Virene, March 16, 1915. Mrs. Pederson's parents are pioneers of Cottonwood county and have a fine farm of six hundred and forty acres in Ann township, where they settled in homestead days, Helge Johnson having homesteaded a quarter section there in 1873. He was born in Norway on October 22, 1850, son of John and Ann Helgeson, whose last days were spent in the home of their son, Helge, in Cottonwood county. It was in 1872 that Helge Johnson came to Minnesota from Norway. For a year he worked in Kandiyohi county and then entered a claim to a homestead in Cottonwood county, where, after his marriage to Gunniel Kettleson, he established his home and has lived ever since, one of the most substantial and influential men in that section. To him and his wife eight children have been born, of whom Mrs. Pederson was the fourth in order of birth, the others being John, Anna, Julius, Regina, Maria, Carl and Henry, all of whom are living save John, who died in his young manhood. Pederson, Lars P. Page 264-265 Lars P. Pederson, marshal of the village of Westbrook, chief of the fire department, president of the Westbrook Electric Light Commission, owner of the leading garage in the village, for ten years street commissioner and for many years one of the best-known threshermen in Cottonwood county, is a native son of that county and has lived there all his life with the exception of a few years spent in the village of Revere in the neighboring county of Redwood. He was born on a pioneer farm on the present site of the village of Westbrook, September 27, 1871, son of Ole A. and Allete (Larson) Pederson, natives of Norway, who came to Minnesota in 1866 and located near Lamberton. A year later they moved over into Cottonwood county and in Westbrook township Ole A. Pederson entered a homestead claim to a tract of eighty acres and pre-empted an adjoining “eighty"" in the western part of the township and there established his home. He later bought an adjoining quarter section and thus was the owner of a full half section of land, becoming one of the most substantial farmers in that part of the county. He was active in civic affairs during the early days of the settlement of the county and at one time and another held practically all township offices. He was the first postmaster of Westbrook and for fifteen years kept the postoffice in his home, around which the village of Westbrook gradually grew up and became a flourishing community. Some time after his wife died, Ole A. Pederson moved to the village of Windom, about 1900, and there spent the rest of his life. He and his wife were the parents of seven children, Louisa M., Peder A., Lars P., Josephine T., Ole A., Ellen E. and Adolph A., all of whom are living save the last- named, who died when one year old. Lars P. Pederson grew to manhood on his father's homestead farm, receiving his schooling in the district school in that immediate vicinity, and when grown started out for himself, engaging in threshing and well- digging and was thus quite successfully engaged until 1902, a part of the time making his home in the village of Revere. In 1902 he returned to Westbrook and has since then been marshal of the village. For ten years also he was commissioner of streets and is now, in addition to his other official duties, chief of the fire department and president of the electric light commission. Mr. Pederson continued operating his threshing-rig until 1911, in which year he established a garage at Westbrook and has since been engaged in the automobile business. In the summer of 1914 he built his present garage, a substantial structure of brick, fifty by one hundred feet, and has a very well-appointed place. In addition to his general garage business, in connection with which he conducts a first-class service station, Mr. Pederson also acts as agent for the Overland car throughout that locality and has done very well. On August 14, 1902, Lars P. Pederson was united in marriage to Miriam Jacobson, daughter of the Rev. J. C. Jacobson, now of Windom, and to this union five children have been born, Lila, >Myron, Harriet, Kern and Arline, all of whom are living. Mr. and Mrs. Pederson are members of the Lutheran church and Mr. Pederson is a member of the Masonic fraternity and of the Modern Woodmen of America, in the affairs of which organizations he takes a warm interest. Pederson, Torvel Page 231-232 Desiring to please the traveling public, Torvel Pederson, who conducts a livery business at Stordon, is popular among his patrons, and he deserves to be. Mr. Pederson was born in Amo township, Cottonwood county, November 8, 1874. He is a son of Paul and Andrena (Nelson) Pederson, both natives of Norway, where they grew up and were married. They emigrated to America in 1871, locating at Staten, Wisconsin, where they engaged in farming. In 1874 they came on west to Amo township, Cotton- wood county, Minnesota, where the father homesteaded a one-fourth section, which he developed into a good farm by years of close application. Here the death of the mother of Torvel occurred in 1881. The father removed from Cottonwood county about 1908 and resided on a farm in Anoka county, Minnesota, until he was killed by a train at Anoka in 1908. His family consisted sisted of four children, namely: Anna, who is the wife of Peter Olson, of Anoka; Hattie, who is the wife of Andrew Johnson, of Minneapolis; Tor- vel, subject of this sketch, and John, who died in early life. Torvel Pederson received his education in the public schools of Cotton- wood county. He grew up on his father's farm, and he remained on the old homestead in Amo township until 1913, actively engaged in general farming, then purchased the livery and draying business at Storden, which he has operated successfully to the present time. He is well equipped in the way of good horses and vehicles and handles all his business promptly and is honest and courteous to his patrons. He sold the farm when he came to town, but he owns some good land in Aiken county, Minnesota. Mr. Pederson was married in 1895 to Belle Matson, a native of Iowa, in which state she was reared and educated. She is a daughter of Morgan Matson and wife. One child, Pearl, has been born to Mr. and Mrs. Pederson. Perkins, Alfred D. Page 37-40 JUDGE ALFRED D. PERKINS It is true that an honest, faithful, capable life, considered even in its temporal relations, is not lived in vain; that its influence is not as transient and evanescent as mere physical vitality, but that the progress of mankind, in all that is virtuous and ennobling, is accelerated by it. One such life in Cottonwood county during the past generation was that of the late Judge Alfred D. Perkins, for many years a distinguished lawyer, jurist, politician and banker, whose reputation was state-wide and whose influence toward the upbuilding of this section of Minnesota was most salutary. Judge Perkins was born in Erie county, New York, March 24, 1847. He was educated in the public and high schools of his native community, later studying at Griffith Institute. When a young man he took up the study of law, and removed to Wisconsin in 1868, locating at the town of Alma, where he was admitted to the bar and practiced his profession one year. He came to Plainview, Minnesota, in 1869, where he spent two years, and there he was married on April 19, 1871, to Florence A. Burchard, a native of Gainesville, Wyoming county, New York. She is a daughter of Rodman and Esther Austin (Davis) Burchard, natives of New York. The father devoted his earlier years to mercantile pursuits and farming. He removed with his family from New York to Plainview, Minnesota, in 1856, and there his death occured on February 6, 1883. His wife preceded him to the grave many years, dying on June 10, 1866. Politically, he was a Republican. He attended the Congregational church. His family consisted of the following children : Emily A., Charles D., Florence A., and Mattie Ann (deceased). Mr. Burchard married for his second wife Maggie Crossen, whose death occured in 1901, by which union one child was born, Fay R., died in 1885. After his marriage, Judge Perkins spent one year in Madelia, Minnesota, removing from there in the spring of 1872 to Windom, where he successfully engaged in the active practice of law for many years, in fact, was a leader of the local bar and a prominent figure in the local courts. He was elected county attorney and was also judge of probate for several years. He was elected state senator in 1878, and served four years. In March, 1885, he was appointed district judge of the thirteenth judicial district, and was elected to this important position in 1886, continuing on the bench until March, 1891, when he resigned. In each of these responsible positions he performed his duties in a manner that reflected much credit upon himself and to the eminent satisfaction of all concerned, being a man of profound legal learning, careful, faithful, painstaking and courteous, unbiased in his decisions and upholding the law in a dignified and commendable manner. He was a man of ripe legal scholarship and a public-spirited citizen who did much for his community and state in a general way, and enjoyed the good will and esteem of all who knew him. After leaving the bench he was for a period of four years state superintendent of Sunday schools, a work in which he took great delight, and he did a splendid service in this line, greatly increasing the attendance in the Sunday schools in every county. In September, 1891, he moved to Minneapolis, where he made his residence for five years, returning to Windom in 1896, resuming the practice of law. Judge Perkins was a great organizer and an all-around business man of rare acumen. In 1885 he organized the Bank of Windom, which began business in May of that year, he being cashier from the first. He sold his interest in this institution in 1896, and organized the Peoples Bank, which was consolidated with the Bank of Windom, April 27, 1897, becoming the First National Bank of which Judge Perkins was president until his death, September 24, 1898. The prestige and rapid growth of this sound and popular institution was due to the able management and wise counsel of the judge. Judge Perkins was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, to which his widow also belongs. They became the parents of four children, namely: Eliza Anna, born at Madelia, April 4, 1872, and she died in Los Vegas, New Mexico, August 5, 1902; she was a graduate of the University of Minnesota, and taught school for some time; she married Jesse E. Pope, January i, 1897, and to their union two children were born, Gladys Anna, October 5, 1897, and Darwin Jesse, November 13, 1898. Edna Lucy, second of Judge Perkins' children, was born at Windom, September 14, 1874, and died on September 16, 1875. Truman Alfred Perkins, the third child, was born in Windom, May 4, 1876, and here he was reared and educated in the public schools, later attending high school in Minneapolis, after which he went to Grand Forks, North Dakota, where he worked for the Brooks Elevator Company for about five months; then went to Mountain Lake, this state, where he became assistance cashier of a bank, which position he held about a year. In 1897 he took a position with the First National Bank of Windom, upon its organization, and he has been connected with the same ever since, first as assistant cashier; since 1912 he has been cashier. He is a director in the First State Bank of Storden, Minnesota. Politically, he is an independent voter. He is now a member of the city council, also a member of the school board in Windom. Fraternally, he is a member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons; the chapter, Royal Arch Masons, and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Truman A. Perkins was married on October 5, 1909, to A. May Hutton, who was born in Windom, May 13, 1880. She is a daughter of John Hutton, a pioneer merchant of Windom. One child has been born to Mr. and Mrs. Perkins, Jane Hutton, whose birth occurred September 3, 1912. Mr. Perkins belongs to the Presbyterian church. Roy Burchard Perkins, fourth child of Judge Perkins and wife, was ' born in Windom, July 18, 1883. Here he grew up and attended the public and high schools, later the agricultural department of the University of Minnesota. He owns a ranch at Lone Tree, Wyoming, where he resides. He married Bessie Nelson on July 20, 1904, and they have six children, namely: Alfred Darwin, born April 17, 1905; Clarence N., December 10, 1906; Roy Burchard, Jr., October -8, 1908; Ruth, May 31, 1910; Truman, November 25, 1912, and Florence, January 13, 1915. Peters, Dietrich D. Page 238-240 Dietrich D. Peters, a well-known and substantial farmer of Dale township, Cottonwood county, proprietor of a fine farm of one hundred and sixty acres on Rural Route No. 2, out of Windom, and prominently identified with numerous business interests in that part of the county, is a native of Russia, though he has been a resident of this part of Minnesota since he was two years of age and has therefore been a witness to and a participant in the general development of this region during the past generation. He was born on November 5, 1874, son of Dietrich and Maria (Voth) Peters, farming people, who came to the United States from their native Russia with their family in 1876 and proceeded directly to this part of Minnesota, settling in Carson township, Cottonwood county, where they established their home, being among the pioneers of that section. Upon settling in Cottonwood county, the senior Dietrich Peters bought forty acres of wild land in Carson township, made and burned a kiln of bricks from the clay on that land and erected a substantial brick house, which he covered with a thatch of hay, and in that house he lived many years. That early brick house is still standing and is still in use, but it has long ago been covered with a shingle roof. Dietrich Peters was a good farmer and prospered in his operations. He gradually enlarged his land holding and for years farmed a place of two hundred acres. In 1913 he retired from the active labors of the farm and moved to Mountain Lake and is still living there. He and his wife were the parents of seven children, of whom the subject of this sketch was the second in order of birth, the others being as follow : Henry D., proprietor of ""Springdale Stock Farm,"" adjoining that of his brother, Dietrich; George, a farmer living northeast of Delft; Helen, wife of George D. Ewart, a farmer living in Kansas; John, who died when six years old; Abraham, who lives on the old home farm in Carson township, and Mary, wife of P. J. Peters, a Nebraska farmer. Dietrich D. Peters was about two years old when his parents came to this country in 1876 and he was reared on the home farm in Carson township, receiving his schooling in the district school in the neighborhood of his home and also acquiring an excellent knowledge of German under the careful tutelage of his father. From boyhood he proved a valuable aid to his father in the labor of developing the home place and remained at home until after his marriage, in 1897. Previously he had bought eighty acres of wild land in section 36, of Dale township, and in 1899 built a house and established his home there. About ten years later he remodeled and enlarged his house, built a good-sized and modern barn and has otherwise improved his place, bringing it up to its present well-kept condition. As he prospered in his operations, Mr. Peters added to his farm and is now the owner of one hundred and sixty acres, which he has under excellent cultivation. He also has given considerable attention to stock raising and has done very well in that line. Mr. Peters is an ""independent"" Republican and has served for three or four terms as road overseer in his district. He gives proper attention to local enterprises and is a stockholder in the Carson Farmers Elevator Company, the Delft Creamery Company, of which concern he is one of the directors, and is also a stockholder in and a director of the Delft Rural Telephone Company, in the affairs of all of which concerns he takes an active interest. It was on December 7, 1897, that Dietrich D. Peters was united in marriage to Elizabeth Klaassen, and to this union nine children have been born, namely: Sarah, born on February 1, 1899; Dietrich E., September 14, 1900; Maria, March 30, 1902; Elizabeth, December 9, 1903; Cornelius, March 25, 1905; Katherine, November 15, 1906; Lena, December 22, 1908; Anna, November 15, 1911; Susanna, April 24, 1914. Mr. and Mrs. Peters are members of the Bethel Mennonite church at Mountain Lake and take a proper interest in the general good works of the community, being earnest advocates of all movements designed to advance the common welfare hereabout. Peters, Henry D. Page 296-298 Henry D. Peters, one of the best-known and most progressive farmers in Dale township, proprietor of the ""Springvale Stock Farm"" situated on rural route No. 2, out of Windom ; treasurer of Dale township, president of the Delft Creamery Association, president of the Farmers Elevator Company at Carson, a member of the board of directors of the Delft Rural Telephone Company and otherwise interested in the general affairs of his home community, is a native of Russia, though he has been a resident of this part of Minnesota since he was three years old and therefore regards himself as much a real Minnesotan as though native born in the Northwest. He was born in the south of Russia, March 24, 1873, son of Dietrich and Maria (Votb) Peters, farming people, who came to the United States with their family in 1876 and proceeded directly to this part of Minnesota, settling in Carson township, Cottonwood county, where they established their home, being among the pioneers of that section. Upon settling in Cottonwood county, Dietrich Peters bought forty acres of wild land in Carson township, made and burned a kiln of bricks from the clay on that land and erected a substantial brick house, which he covered with a thatch of hay, and in that house he lived many years. That early brick house is still standing and is still in use, but it has long ago been covered with a shingle roof. Dietrich Peters was a good farmer and prospered in his operations. He gradually enlarged his land holdings and for years farmed a place of two hundred acres. In 1913 he retired from the active labors of the farm and moved to Mountain Lake, where his death occurred on March 18, 1916, he then being seventy years of age. He and his wife were the parents of seven children, of whom the subject of this sketch was the first-born, the others being as follow: D. D.. who owns the farm adjoining that of his brother, Henry D.; George, a farmer living northeast of Delft; Helen, who married George D. Ewert, a farmer living in Kansas; John, who died at the age of six years; Abraham, who lives on the old home farm in Carson township, and Mary, who married P. P. Peters and is living on a farm in Nebraska. Henry D. Peters was about three years old when his parents came to this country in 1876 and he was reared on the pioneer farm in Carson township, receiving his education in the public schools of that township, and remained at home until after his marriage in the fall of 1895. He then bought eighty acres in section 36, Dale township, a tract of wild prairie land, and there established his home. His first home was a frame house, eighteen by twenty-eight, in which he lived until he erected his present modern two-story dwelling in 1911. Upon beginning his farming operations he built a small barn, but in 1909 erected his present commodious barn, thirty-six by seventy-two feet, and at the same time erected the first silo constructed in that part of the county, a structure sixteen feet in diameter by thirty feet in length. In 1913 he erected another silo, fourteen by thirty. He owns his own filling rig and has a fifteen-horse-power gasoline engine with which to operate the same and to propel other labor-saving machinery about the barn. Mr. Peters owns a fine, large automobile and his farming operations are carried on in accordance with the latest methods in modern agriculture. He has added to his holdings since beginning farming on his own account and is now the owner of a quarter of a section surrounding his home and a farm of eighty acres in Carson township. He early went in somewhat heavily for stock raising and his home place in Dale township is called ""Springvale Stock Farm."" He has a well-equipped dairy and a fine herd of Holsteins. Mr. Peters is an ""independent"" voter and long has given careful thought to local political affairs. He has been treasurer of Dale township since 1912. He has ever been active in promoting local business enterprises and is the president of the Farmers Elevator Company at Carson; president of the Delft Creamery Association and a member of the board of directors of the Delft Rural Telephone Company, to the affairs of all of which organizations he gives his most intelligent attention. It was on November 3, 1895, that Henry D. Peters was united in marriage to Aganetha Goertzen and to this union ten children have been born, Aganetha, who died at the age of eight days; Mary, who died at the age of eight years; Henry, David, Dietrich, Lena, Isaac (who died at the age of three weeks), Justina, Jacob and Anna. Peterson, Chester R. Page 77-78 Such an enterprising man as Chester R. Peterson, merchant of Windom, Cottonwood county, is a credit to any city or community, and his life forcibly illustrates what energy and consecutive effort can accomplish when directed and controlled by correct principles and high moral resolves. Mr. Peterson was born at Mankato, Minnesota, June 26, 1890, and he is a son of G. A. and Anna (Larson) Peterson. The father was born in Sweden in 1861, and the mother was born at Lyle, Minnesota, in 1864. The father came to St. Peter, Minnesota, in 1877, with his parents, and there the grandfather spent the rest of his life; the grandmother is still living, making her home at Mankato. G. A. Peterson spent his early boyhood in Sweden where he attended school, finishing his education after coming to St. Peter, Minnesota. He became a stationary engineer. He came to Windom in 1892 and conducted a clothing and gents' furnishings business, which he continued until his death on January 8, 1913. Politically, he was a Republican. He was a member of the city council of Windom for some time, and was one of the influential and highly respected citizens of this vicinity. He belonged to the Lutheran church. His family consisted of three children, namely: Melvin, deceased; Chester R., the subject of this sketch; and Percy T., the youngest. Chester R. Peterson was two years old when his parents brought him to Windom and here he grew to manhood and received his education in the public and high schools, later attending a commercial college at Mankato. In 1907 he entered his father's store as a member of the firm of G. A. Peterson & Son, operating the Golden Rule Store, and he is still conducting the same, enjoying a large and growing business, and carrying a full line of carefully selected goods at all seasons, his store being one of the most drawn. It is one of the oldest mercantile establishments in Windom. The firm occupies a large room in the Masonic building. It has been well named, for the company conducts its business according to the Golden Rule and hence its customers are also friends of the management, many of them having been trading here since the store was first started. G. A. Peterson trained his sons very carefully in the mercantile business in which he was so successful and they are carrying forward the business along the lines which he inaugurated. The store has steadily grown in prestige and importance since it was first founded nearly a quarter of a century ago. The mother of the subject of this sketch is still living in Windom. Upon the death of the father, Percy T. Peterson became a member of the firm in which he still remains. Politically, Chester R. Peterson is a Republican and is a member of the Lutheran church. Peterson, William Arthur Page 152-153 William Arthur Peterson, a highly skilled draughtsman of Windom, Cottonwood county, was born at Stoughton, Dane county, Wisconsin, February 22, 1856. He is a son of Cyrus N. and Ellen Maria (Nason) Peterson, both natives of Vermont, where they spent their earlier years, moving to Ohio, then to Dane county, Wisconsin, about 1855, removing in 1858 to near Mankato, Minnesota, whither the father had come in 1857, taking up a pre-emption homestead in Blue Earth county — eighty acres — on which he resided until about 1867, in which year he went to Faribault county and bought a farm, but removed to Cottonwood county in 1870, locating in Springfield township, homesteading the south half of the northeast quarter of section 12. Here he developed a good farm on which he spent the rest of his life. He was also a carpenter and builder. His family consisted of two children, namely: Elias N., a veteran of the Civil War, having served in Company H, Fourth Regiment, Minnesota Volunteer Infantry, and William A., the subject of this sketch. William A. Peterson grew up on the farm and received a common school education, and he also attended the high school at Windom. He remained on the home farm until he was about twenty-three years of age. He taught two terms of school, the first one when eighteen years of age. On November 20, 1878, he began working in the field agents' department of what is now known as the ""Omaha Railway,"" and was located at Worth- ington seven years, then was transferred to St. Paul as chief clerk and assistant land commissioner, which position he held until November i, 1895. He returned to Windom, where he engaged in the real-estate business until 1905, later becoming chief draughtsman for C. W. Gove, ditching contractor, which position he still holds. William A. Peterson has been twice married, five children being born of the first union, of whom two are living, namely: Eva, the wife of Harry Strange, of St. Paul, and Edna, the wife of T. J. Jennes, of Windom. Mr. Peterson was married, secondly, to Richie Maxwell, February 22, 1908. Politically, Mr. Peterson is a Prohibitionist. He was formerly village recorder of Windom. He was at one time surveyor of Nobles county, Minnesota, while living at Worthington. He was justice of the peace at Windom for six years. He and his family are Baptists, and he is treasurer and trustee of the local church of this denomination. He has also taken a good citizen's part in the general development of the communities in which he has lived. Fraternally, he has belonged to the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons since 1883, and to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows since about 1901. Pierce, Charles B. Page 142-144 Charles B. Pierce, a well-known and substantial . farmer of Lakeside township, Cottonwood county, former chairman of the board of supervisors of that township, a director of the Windom National Bank and for many years actively identified with the best interests of this section of the state, is a native of the state of Massachusetts, but has been a resident of Minnesota since 1869 and of this section of the state since the opening of this region for settlement, in 1871, and is therefore numbered among those hardy pioneers who helped to bring about stable conditions hereabout in the early days. He was born at New Bedford, Massachusetts, September 14, 1852, son of Ira E. and Deborah F. (Potter) Pierce, the former of whom was born at East Callais, Vermont, and the latter at New Bedford, Massachusetts, who later became substantial pioneer residents of this section of Minnesota. Ira E. Pierce left his native state of Vermont when a young man and went to New Bedford, Massachusetts, where for seven years he was engaged as a clerk in a hardware store. There he married and presently opened a grocery store, which he conducted for five or six years, at the end of which time he moved to Woodbury, Vermont, where he conducted a general store and also was engaged in farming for seven or eight years, after which he moved to Lyndon, in that same state, where he remained until 1869, in which year he came with his family to Minnesota and settled at Dover Center, in Olmstead county. In 1871, upon the opening of this part of the state to settlement, Ira E. Pierce moved out here and homesteaded a quarter of a section of land in Lakeside township, Cottonwood county, where he established his home and where he and his wife spent the remainder of their lives, useful and influential pioneer citizens. Mr. Pierce was a Republican and took an active part in civic affairs in the early days. He and his wife were the parents of four children, of whom the subject of this sketch was the second in order of birth, the others being William, who died in January, 1, 1881; Abbie F., who died when seven years of age, and Ira E. Charles B. Pierce was but a baby when his parents moved from his native town of New Bedford to Vermont, and he was reared in the latter state, finishing his school days in a private academy at Lyndon. As a young man he was engaged as a clerk in his father's store and gained an excellent knowledge of mercantile forms. He was about seventeen years old when the family came to Minnesota and about nineteen when they moved to this part of the state, in 1871. Upon arriving here he immediately engaged in the task of helping to develop the homestead place in Lakeside township and became an excellent farmer, presently engaging in farming on his own account, and prospered in his operations from the very start, it not being very long until he was the owner of more than a section of land in Lakeside township. Afterward, however, he sold all his land save the half section on which he now lives and where he and his family are very pleasantly and comfortably situated, Mr. Pierce long having been regarded as one of the leading farmers of that part of the county. He has not been unmindful of his duty to the public service and has served the people of his home township as chairman of the board of supervisors. He also has given considerable attention to the general business enterprises of the community and has been a member of the board of directors of the Windom National Bank since the organization of that sound old financial institution. In addition to his general farming, Mr. Pierce devotes considerable attention to the raising of high-grade live stock and has done very well in his agricultural operations. In 1899 Charles B. Pierce was united in marriage to Belle Eastwood and to this union five children have been born: Charles Earl, Esther, Marion, William D. and Paul. Mr. Pierce is a member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen and of the Modern Woodmen of America, and in the affairs of these two organizations takes a warm interest. Pietz, H. R. Page 294-296 H. R. Pietz, for years an energetic member of the board of commissioners of Cottonwood county and a well-known and progressive farmer of Rose Hill township, proprietor of a fine farm in the Westbrook neighborhood, where he has lived since 1891, is a native of Wisconsin, born on a farm in Waushara county, that state, October 26, 1 860, son of E. W. and Louisa (Frederick) Pietz, both natives of Prussia, who became prosperous pioneers of Wisconsin. E. W. Pietz was married in his native land and shortly afterward came to the United States to make a home for himself and wife in the New World. He came West and settled in Wisconsin, homesteading a tract of land in Waushara county, in Bloomfield township, where he made ready for the coming of his wife, who joined him two years later. When the Civil War broke out E. W. Pietz enlisted in one of the Wisconsin regiments and served until mustered out at the close of the war. In 1872 he disposed of his farm in Waushara county and moved into Jackson county, where he homesteaded a quarter of a section of land and there he spent the remainder of his life. His widow survived him some years and her death occurred at Tracy, in Lyon county, this state. Both are buried at Delafield, Minnesota. They were earnest members of the Lutheran church and their children were reared in that faith. There were ten of these children, of whom H. R. was the sixth in order of birth, the others being Henrietta (deceased), Emilia (deceased), Othelia, Alvina, Paulina, Mollie, William, Ernest ( deceased) and Ludwig. As a youth, H. R. Pietz spent some time in Blue Earth county, this state, obtaining a part of his schooling in the German parochial schools there, and completing the same in the public schools of his home county in Wisconsin. Reared on a farm, he early began farming on his own account and after his marriage in 1881 established his home on a farm in Jackson county, this state, where he remained for ten years, or until his removal to Cottonwood county in 1891. In April of that year he took possession of his present fine farm of one-half section of land in Rose Hill township and he has ever since made his home there, where he and his family are pleasantly situated. Though owning but three hundred and twenty acres, Mr. Pietz has made a practice of renting other lands1 and for years has farmed about eight hundred acres of land in his home township, long having been regarded as one of the most progressive farmers in that part of the county. In addition to his general farming he has given considerable attention to the raising of pure-bred stock, and his Shorthorn cattle and Shropshire sheep display evidences of his skill in that connection. Mr. Pietz has for years given his attention to local political affairs and has contributed largely of his time and energies to the public service. During his residence in Jackson county he served as township supervisor and during his residence in Cottonwood county has for eighteen consecutive years served as treasurer of his school district, while for fifteen consecutive years he served as assessor of Rose Hill township. In 1910 Mr. Pietz was elected county commissioner from his district and upon the completion of his first term of service in that office was re-elected and is still serving in that important and responsible capacity. On July 25, 1881, in Jackson county, this state, H. R. Pietz was united in marriage to Philipina Erbes, who was born in Ashford, Wisconsin, daughter of George and Philipina (Bate) Erbes, both natives of Germany, who came to the United States about 1855 and located in Wisconsin. During the Civil War George Erbes enlisted for service in a Wisconsin regiment of infantry and died during the period of that service. In the fall of 1871 his widow and children came to Minnesota and homesteaded a tract of one hundred and twenty acres in Weiner township, Jackson county, where Mrs. Erbes spent the remainder of her life. She was the mother of six children, of whom Mrs. Pietz was the fifth in order of birth, the others being Margaret, one who died in infancy, William, George .and Elizabeth, who were reared in the faith of the Lutheran church. To Mr. and Mrs. Pietz fourteen children have been born: Pauline, Charlotte, Henry, Rudolph, Edward, Elizabeth, Gertrude, Pearl, Melvin, LeToy, Alfred, Edna, Gladys and Grace, all of whom are living. Mr. and Mrs. Pietz are members of the Lutheran church and give proper attention to all local good works, the family being among the leaders in the social and cultural affairs of their home neighborhood. Mr. Pietz is a member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen, the Degree of Honor, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Modern Brotherhood of America, in the affairs of all of which organizations he takes a warm interest. Porter, Matthew S. Page 91-92 Success in the meat business has not come to Matthew S. Porter of Windom, Cottonwood county, without effort, for he knew at the outset of his career that he would have to work diligently for what he expected to achieve, and not ""serenely fold his hands and wait." Mr. Porter was born in Cresco, Iowa, March 21, 1869. He is a son of James Clark and Lydia (Alexander) Porter, natives of New York state and Ohio, respectively. They removed to Cottonwood county, Minnesota, about 1876, the father purchasing a quarter section of land in Lakeside township, where he developed a valuable farm, on which he continued to reside until within about three years of his death, when he retired and moved to Windom where his death occurred, as did also that of his wife. They were the parents of five children, namely: Genevra, Matthew S., the subject of this sketch; Clarence and Mabel, twins, the former deceased; and Stella. The parents of these children were members of the Methodist church. Matthew S. Porter received his education in the public schools of Cottonwood county. He assisted his father with the general work on the home farm when he was a boy, then worked for H. M. Clark, a butcher in Windom, for a period of six years, then bought out his employer and has been engaged in business for himself since about 1895. He has a well equipped market and is doing a large business with the people of Windom and vicinity. He has also dealt in farming lands for many years, and for about twelve years lived on a farm near town, operating his meat market from there. Mr. Porter was married in June, 1895, to Annie Soule of Omaha, Nebraska, a daughter of Joseph Soule. This union has been without issue, but Mr. and Mrs. Porter adopted a son, Sherman Porter, in infancy, and are raising him. Mr. Porter belonged to the Ancient Order of United Workmen, and he is a member of the Methodist church. Potter, Edward C. Page 308-309 Edward C. Potter, one of the most substantial young farmers of Amboy township, Cottonwood county, owner of a farm of three hundred and twenty acres in the vicinity of Jeffers, a member of the board of supervisors of his home township and in other ways identified with the development of that part of the county, is a native son of Cottonwood county and has lived in the vicinity of his present home all his life. He was born on a pioneer farm in Amboy township, October 16, 1878, son of the Hon. William A. Potter, an honored veteran of the Civil War, a former representative from this district in the lower house of the Minnesota General Assembly, one of the early settlers of Cottonwood county and for years actively interested in the political life of this section of the state, who is now living retired in the village of Jeffers, not far from the old home farm in Amboy township, where he became a homesteader in the spring of 1878 and where he made his home until his retirement and removal to Jeffers. Presented elsewhere in this volume there is a biographical sketch of the Hon. William A. Potter, giving the genealogy of the family and setting out in detail the history of that old soldier, homesteader and statesman, to which the reader is referred. Edward C. Potter was reared on the paternal homestead in Amboy township, receiving his schooling in the district school in that neighborhood and proving, even from boyhood, a valuable assistant to his father in developing the home place. In 1901 he started farming on his own account and was married in 1902. From the first his farming operations prospered and in 1909 he bought the farm on which he now lives, being thus the owner of three hundred and twenty acres of well-improved and profitably cultivated land. In addition to his general farming, Mr. Potter has given considerable attention to the raising of Shorthorn cattle and Chester White hogs and has done very well, long having been recognized as one of the most progressive farmers in that part of the county. He is a Republican and has given close attention to local civic affairs, and has been a member of the board of supervisors of Amboy township since 1913. On October 22, 1902, Edward C. Potter was united in marriage to Tillie Jenson, daughter of Peter Jenson, of Storden, and to this union three children have been born, Ethel, Marril and Clyde. Mr. and Mrs. Potter have a pleasant home and take a proper interest in the social and cultural activities of their home neighborhood, active in all local good works. Potter, William A. Page 100-101 The subject of this sketch was born in Onondaga county, New York, June 28, 1839. His parents were Josiah and Marian (Mills) Potter, both natives of New York. Josiah Potter was a laboring man in New York, engaged in various lines of employment. In 1845 ne moved with his family to Wyandot county, Ohio, where he was engaged in farming until 1850. In that year he removed to Hardin county, Oiho, where he continued farming until his death, which occurred in 1890. There were six children in this family : George, who died young; William A., Sophrona E., Mary J., Charles F. and Lucy F. Mr. Potter was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. William A. Potter was educated in the public schools of Ohio, and lived at home with his parents until the beginning of the Civil War. In that crisis of the country's history, Mr. Potter followed the example of thousands of other loyal men of Ohio, by enlisting as a soldier in defense of the flag. On October 12, 1861, he enlisted in Company A, Eighty-second Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He served three years in that regiment, completing his term of service in October, 1864, having followed the fortunes of his regiment through all its campaigns, and participating in the several battles in which the regiment was engaged during three years of service. In the early part of the service the Eighty-second Ohio was in the Army of the Potomac, and participated in the battles of Chancellorsville, Gettysburg and others in which that part of the army was engaged. In October, 1863, this regiment was transferred with General Hooker's command to the army operating around Chattanooga, then under the general command of Grant. Here, Mr. Potter, with his regiment, participated in the battles of Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge. Later, he was with the regiment in the Atlanta campaign, under command of General Sherman, and with Sherman in the several engagements in that campaign. After the completion of his three years service in the Eighty-second Ohio, Mr. Potter was commissioned as first lieutenant in Company K, One Hundred and Eightieth Ohio Infantry, and served in this company and regiment until he was discharged, July 12, 1865, on account of the expiration of the war. He was discharged at Charlotte, North Carolina, his last service being with the army under General Sherman, in that part of the Southern Confederacy. Returning to his home after his army service, Mr. Potter turned his attention to civil pursuits. In 1867 he went to Dodge county, Minnesota, and settled on a farm near Mantorville. He continued to live here for about seven years. In the fall of 1874, he removed to New Ulm, Minnesota, and remained there for about three years. In the spring of 1878 he moved to Amboy township, Cottonwood county, and located a homestead of one hundred and sixty acres of government land, which he improved and on which he established his home. Here he continued to live until 1910, when he retired from active work and moved to Jeffers, where he has since lived. Mr. Potter was married on December 20, 1 866, to Belle Baker, born on April 22, 1845, daughter of Joseph and Matilda (Carmack) Baker, natives of Pennsylvania, who later moved to Ohio, where they remained all their lives. To this union seven children were born: Minnie, Effie S., Charles J., George W., Claud B., Edward C. and Cora B. Politically, Mr. Potter is a Republican. While living in Amboy township he served almost continuously, either as a member of township board or as township clerk. In the session of the Minnesota Legislature of 1901 and 1902, he represented his county in that body. Personally, Mr. Potter is a gentleman of pleasing manner and with a character above reproach. He has an enviable record as a soldier and as a citizen, and is held in the highest esteem by the people of Cottonwood county, whom he has officially served and by whom he is well known. He is now serving as mayor of Jeffers. Prokes, Francis Joseph Page 50-51 The Rev. Father Francis Joseph Prokes, pastor of the Catholic church of St. Francis Xavier at Windom and one of the most popular clergymen in this part of Minnesota, is a native of the state of Illinois, born in the city of Chicago, but has lived in Minnesota since he was six years old and is therefore as ardent and loyal a son of Minnesota as though ""native and to the manor born."" He was born on April 4, 1886, son of John and Catherine (Koranda) Prokes, both natives of the kingdom of Bohemia, who came to America in 1882 and located at Chicago, where John Prokes engaged in business as a contractor in general masonry work and where they made their home until 1892, in which year they came to Minnesota and settled in Jackson county. Mr. Prokes bought a farm there and on that farm made his home until his retirement some years ago, since which time he and his wife have resided at Jackson. They are the parents of three sons, of whom the subject of this sketch is the second in order of birth, the others being Joseph, who resides at Jackson, this state, and Wesley, who is operating the home farm in Jackson county. Mr. and Mrs. Prokes are earnest members of the Catholic church and their sons were reared in that faith. Francis Joseph Prokes was about six years old when his parents moved from Chicago to this state and he was reared on the farm in Jackson county. Upon completing the course in the local schools he entered St. Procopius College at Lisle, Illinois, from which he was graduated in June, 1908. He had early consecrated himself to the service of the church and upon leaving college entered the St. Paul Seminary at St. Paul, for the further prosecution of his theological studies, and after two years' study in philosophy and four years in theology was graduated in 1914. On February 15 of the latter year Father Prokes was ordained to holy orders and on May 15, 1914, was given pastoral charge of the church of St. Francis Xavier at Windom, where he since has been located and where he is doing a noble work. Father Prokes also has charge of the missions at Westbrook and Jeffers and under his excellent administration his parish is advancing rapidly, both spiritually and materially. Father Prokes is public-spirited and energetic and takes a warm interest in the general affairs of the community, being held in the highest esteem, not only by the members of his immediate parish, but by all throughout this part of the state who have come under the genial influence of his kindly personality. Purrington, Lewin M. Page 417-418 Modern methods of husbandry are clearly understood and carried out by Levvin M. Purrington of Great Bend township, Cottonwood county, who has by his own efforts become one of the best general farmers of his township. He was born in Howard county, Iowa, July 2, 1866, and is a son of John B. and Orinda (Peterson) Purrington. The father was born in Vermont, in 1833, and the mother was a native of Massachusetts. They spent their earlier years in New England, coming West about 1858 and locating in Iowa, where they resided until the spring of 1872, when they located on a farm in Dale township, Cottonwood county, the father homesteading a place, on which he lived about three years. He spent the rest of his life in Cottonwood county, with the exception of some three years spent in the far West. He first came to this state about 1855, soon after his marriage, locating on a farm now covered by the city of Minneapolis, owning one hundred and sixty acres there. At that time St. Paul was a mere village in which one horse was sufficient to take care of all the draying. Years later he filed on a claim in Colorado, intending to have his son, Lewin M. prove it up when he became of legal age. When he had returned to the claim he found that someone else had proven up on it, but he bought out the stranger. John B. Purrington was a soldier in the Civil War, serving in Company C, Thirty-eighth Iowa Volunteer Infantry. His family consisted of the following children: Nelson, Addie, Olive (deceased), Lewin M., John W. and William, the latter deceased; Charles, Clifford. Lewin M. Purrington grew up on the home farm, and received his education in the common schools. With the exception of two years spent in Colorado he has lived in Cottonwood county continuously since he came here. He has always followed farming, and owns eighty acres, on which he has made many improvements, including good buildings. He is now treasurer of the school board. Mr. Purrington was married on January 5, 1893, to Minnie Peterson, a native of Cottonwood county, and a daughter of Elias N. Peterson and wife. Ten children have been born to them, namely : Addie, Lyndon, Orrin, Pearl, Melvin, Marvin, Marie, Ernest, Herbert and Mildred. Elias N. Peterson, mentioned above, was born in Stowe, Vermont, and was a son of Cyrus and Ellen M. (Nason) Peterson, who removed with their family in 1869 to Cottonwood county, locating in section 12, Springfield township, the father taking up a homestead there. The mother died at Windom. Elias N. lived in Cottonwood county during his active life, with the exception of two years spent at Long Prairie, this state. He was a soldier in the Civil War, in the Fourth Minnesota Volunteer Infantry. At the time of the memorable Indian massacre, Cyrus Peterson and wife were at St. Peter, Minnesota. Elias N. Peterson was married at Kasota, this state, to Irene Haddock, who was a native of Pennsylvania, where her father died, after which the family came to Kasota in pioneer days. To Elias N. Peterson and wife five children were born, namely: Ella D., Minnie M., Lettie, Arthur H. and Calista. Quade, August Page 306-307 No biographical history of Cottonwood county would be complete without reference to the life and services to the community at large of the late August Quade, a pioneer of that county and for many years one of the most substantial and influential farmers of Storden township and one of the largest landowners in the county. August Quade was a native of Germany, born on August 10, 1852, son of Christian and Julia (Biegel) Quade, natives of that country, whose last days were spent in the home of their son in Cottonwood county, they having come to Minnesota in their old age. Christian Quade and wife were members of the German Lutheran church and their children were reared in that faith. There were three of these children, of whom August was the first-born, the others being Christian and Frederick. The elder, Christian, died; his widow is still living at Jeffers, aged eighty- two years. August Quade received his schooling in his native land and at the age of sixteen years, in 1868, came to the United States, locating in Green Lake county, Wisconsin, where he remained about two years, at the end of which time he started for the Pacific coast and was for some years engaged in prospecting in the West, particularly in Washington and Oregon. In 1877 he came to Minnesota and located in Cottonwood county, where he spent the rest of his life. Upon determining to locate here, Mr. Quade homesteaded a tract of eighty acres in Storden township and pre-empted an adjoining “eighty."" He diligently set about improving and developing the same and upon his marriage five or six years later established his home there and continued living there the rest of his life. Mr. Quade was a man of much energy, of large public spirit and of indefatigable industry and prospered from the start of his agricultural operations. He built up a fine place on his homestead tract and gradually added to his land holdings until he became the owner of eight hundred acres of fine land and was regarded as one of the most substantial citizens of Cotomvood county. In addition to his extensive general farming, he also engaged extensively in stock raising and did very well. Mr. Quade was a Democrat and from the beginning of his residence took an active part in local political affairs, having been looked upon as one of the leaders of his party in the central and western parts of the county. For many years he served as treasurer of Storden township; for years was a member of the school board, in which capacity he did much to advance the cause of education in his district; while as road supervisor he performed a valuable service to the community in the way of highway improvement. He was equally active in church work and for years was one of the trustees of the German Lutheran church, of which he and his wife were devoted members and in the faith of which their children were reared. On April 3, 1883, August Quade was united in marriage to Pauline Conrad, who also was born in Germany, daughter of Johann M. and Anna J. (Wendland) Conrad, pioneers of this part of Minnesota, and to that union seventeen children were born, twelve of whom are living, as follow : Ida T., who married H. F. Conrad ; Carl F., who married Ella Halter, and William A. F., Amelia A., Herman R., Marie P. M., Gustav M., Walter T., Ella L., John S., Amanda M. and Clara P. August Quade died at his home in Storden township on July 24, 1915, leaving a good memory, which long will be cherished in that community. His widow is still living there and continues to take an active interest in the general management of the large farm. She is earnest in good works, for years one of the leaders in the church in that neighborhood, and takes a warm interest in all proper movements designed to advance the common welfare hereabout. Quevli, Andrew A. Page 82-83 Perhaps no pharmacist in Cottonwood county is better equipped for his chosen calling than Andrew A. Quevli, a well-known druggist of Win- dom, who has kept well abreast of the times in his profession. He was born in Jackson county, Minnesota, in September, 1872, and is a son of Andrew C. Quevli and wife, both natives of Norway, where they spent their earlier years, coming to Red Wing, Minnesota, in 1870. They had lived on a farm in the old country. In 1877 the father established the general mercantile firm of A. Quevli, in Windom, which he conducted until his death, and which store still stands. In 1900 he incorporated the business and was president of the company until his death. He was a man of excellent business ability and by his thrift and good management built up a large trade, and developed one of the leading department stores in the county. It had a large drug department. He erected the store building, a substantial structure, with fifty-foot front. His death occurred in 1910. He was one of the leading citizens of Windom. His family consisted of seven children, namely: Christ is a practicing physician at Tacoma; Nels is engaged in farming and the real-estate business at Lake- field; Mary lives at Windom; Andrew A., the subject of this sketch; Anna is the wife of Joseph Jargens and they live in Minneapolis; Martha is the wife of J. E. Brady, of Lakefield; Lily is at home. The death of the mother of these children occured in 1885. Politically, the father was a Republican. He was a member of the Norwegian Lutheran church, and were also his wife and family. Andrew A. Quevli was educated at Windom, and learned the druggist business under his father, and has been engaged in this business all his life. He became president of the A. Quevli Mercantile Cmpany upon the death of his father, which position he still holds. He also owns the Windom dom Produce Company. Under his able management both concerns are prospering. Mr. Quevli was married in 1897 to Julia Larson of Lyle, Minnesota, and to this union two children have been born, namely: Valdemar, who is looking after his father's produce business, and Trueman. Mr. Quevli was again married in 1910, his second wife being Julia Erickson, and she was reared at Windom. Two children have also graced this union, namely : Clarice, deceased, and Andres C. Mr. Quevli is a Republican in politics. He is a member of the Sons of Norway, and the Norwegian Lutheran church. Fraternally, he is a member of the Free and Accepted Masons, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Knights of Pythias and the Royal Arcanum.

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