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OLE IVERSON (1882),
Belmont township farmer, residing five miles north
of Jackson, is a native of Norway and was born
November 26, 1855, the son of Iver and Bertha
Skoestad.
Both his parents died when Ole was six
years of age, and from that age he has made his
own living. Until he was nearly twenty-six years
of age he worked out in Norway.
In 1881 Mr. Iverson
came to America, lived one year in Lee county,
Illinois, and then, in 1882, came to Jackson
county. For two years he worked out at railroad
work and in the harvest fields, and then bought
his present farm in section 36, Belmont. The land
was all prairie at the time, but he planted a
grove, built a house and made other improvements,
and in the spring of 1885 moved to his new
home.
There he has ever since been engaged in
farming.
Mr. Iverson was married in
Lee county, Illinois, March 25, 1882, to Lena
Rondland, who was also born in Norway. They have
an adopted son, Oliver, aged seventeen years. Mr.
and Mrs. Iverson are members of the Norwegian
Lutheran church and Mr. Iverson is a member of the
school board of district No.
79.
CHARLES F. JACKMAN
(1889), Petersburg township farmer, is a native of
Genoa, Dekalb county, Illinois, where he was born
June 26, 1882. He is the son of Merton F. and
Alice E.
(Fenton) Jackman, of the same
township.
Charles moved
with his parents from Illinois to Sherburn,
Minnesota, in the spring of 1889 and in the fall
of the same year came with them to Jackson county.
He resided with his parents on the Petersburg
township farm until 1906, when he married and
engaged in farming for himself. He farms the old
A. C. Jackman farm on section 24.
On June 20, 1906, Mr. Jackman
was united in marriage to Miss Maria E. Sampson,
of Clear Lake, Iowa. Two children have been born
to this union: Lawrence, born October 14, 1907,
died October 17, 1907; Olive F., born October 21,
1908.
MERTON F. JACKMAN (1889) is a
farmer and stock raiser of Petersburg township,
where he owns a three hundred and twenty acre
farm—the northeast quarter of section 20 and the
southeast quarter of section 23. In addition to
his farming operations he is interested in several
other lines of business. He owns stock in, and is
a director of, the Farmers’ Elevator company, has
stock in the Jackson Telephone company and is a
member of the board of directors of the Petersburg
Creamery company, in which he is also financially
interested.
Mr. Jackman was born in
Dekalb county, Illinois. October
22, 1858. His parents, Charles D. and Eunice
(Holliday) Jackman, are both dead. His father was
a veteran of the civil war, having served three
years as a member of company C, 105th, regiment of
Illinois volunteers. Merton grew to manhood on the
farm in Dekalb county and after reaching mature
years engaged in farming for himself. In the
spring of 1889 he moved to Minnesota and located
at Sherburn, Martin county. In November of the
same year, he moved to Jackson county and located
on what is now known as the A. C. Jackman farm, in
section 24, Petersburg township. In 1891 he
moved onto his present place, where he has since
resided. He has served ten years as clerk of his
township and has also been a member of the school
board of the district in which he lives. He is a
member of the Methodist church and of the M. W.
A.
lodge.
Mr. Jackman was married
November 2, 1881, to Miss Alice E. Fenton. To this
union have been born the following children:
Charlie F., born June 20, 1882; Maud A., born
January 13, 1884; Claude E., born October 12,
1880; Ruby E., born October 18, 1895, died
February 2, 1896; Amy M., born February 10, 1897;
Goldie R., born November 24, 1898; Bernard, born
December 6, 1901: Daisy, born May 1,
1903.
HENRY WALTER JACKSON (1883).
proprietor of a Jackson meat market, is a native
of the county having been born in Middletown
township May 15, 1883 the son of John J. and Ida
M. (Withers) Jackson.
Our subject resided on the
farm until 1890, when he moved with the family to
Jackson. He received his primary education in
Jackson and spent his early days in that village.
In 1900 he went to Brookings, South Dakota, and
took a course in the South Dakota Agricultural
school. Thereafter he spent several years at
different points in South Dakota and Iowa.
Returning to Jackson, he engaged in the meat
market business in partnership with his brother.
In 1909 he bought his brother’s interest and has
since been sole proprietor of the business.
Mr. Jackson was married
September 17, 1907, to Miss Ida M. Tuftee. He is a
member of the M. W. A. lodge.
JACOB C. JACKSON (1879) is a
Wisconsin township farmer and a Jackson county
resident of thirty years standing. He owns 400
acres of land on sections 28 and 29, his home
being on the northwest quarter of section 28, and
he is one of the big farmers of the township. Mr.
Jackson was born in Denmark May 22, 1851, the son
of S. C. and Kasten (Nelson) Jackson, both of whom
died in their native land. There were seven
children in the family, namely, Trena, Peter,
Maria, Jacob, Paulsine, Carolina and Carl.
Until he was fifteen years of
age Jacob attended the schools of his native
country, residing with his parents, and thereafter
working six years as a farm laborer. He came to
America in 1872 and settled at Racine, Wisconsin
where he lived six years. After one year spent in
Olmsted county, Minnesota, he came to Jackson
county, arriving in 1879. He worked on Jackson
county farms until 1882; then he married and moved
to Sherburn, where he resided two years. Returning
to Jackson county he worked at farm work until
1889, when he bought a quarter section of his
present farm from Mrs. Preston and engaged in
farming for himself. He has made all the
improvements on the farm and has since added to
his possessions by the purchase of the other acres
described. He was chairman of the school board of
district No. 9 for four years, and for several
years was township treasurer. He is a member of
the Danish Brotherhood lodge.
Mr. Jackson was married
November 30, 1882, to Maria Mather, who was born
in Illinois. Four children have been born to this
union: Edward T., born March 15, 1884, died
November 28, 1890; Earl C, born May 28, 1887;
LeRoy, born January 13, 1892; Jay T., born July 2,
1898.
PETER JACOBSEN (1893) owns a
half section of Belmont Township land on sections
12 and 13. He is a native of Denmark and was born
November 22, 1863, the son of Christ and Inger
(Hansen) Jacobsen. Peter received his early
training in his native land, working out by the
year on farms until he was seventeen years of age
he came to the United States in 1880 and for
twelve years resided in the city of Chicago. Eight
years of this time he was employed in a brick
yard: during the rest of the time he was the
proprietor of a grocery store.
Mr. Jacobsen sold out
his business interests in Chicago and came to
Jackson county in 1893. Upon his arrival he bought
the southwest quarter of section 12, Belmont
township, and began farming, which has been his
occupation ever since. He made all the
improvements on his farm, and has added to his
real estate holdings by the purchase of the
northwest quarter of section 13. In addition to
farming this land he rents a forty acre
tract.
Mr. Jacobsen is a director of school
district No. 30. He belongs to the Norwegian
Lutheran church and to the Danish Brotherhood
lodge.
On the sixth day of June,
1885 in the city of Chicago, Mr. Jacobsen was
married to Mary Peterson, a native of Denmark. Mr.
and Mrs.
Jacobsen have been blessed with offspring,
having thirteen children, all living. They are
Inger, Mamie, John, Augusta, Jennie, Tillie,
Christ, Peter, Mabel, Myrtle, Walter, Mary and
Arthur.
PETER C. JACOBSEN
(1896), of Jackson, is a native of Denmark and was
born April 7, 1861. He is the youngest of a family
of nine children, of whom four are living. His
father, Jacob Matsen, a butcher by trade, died in
his native land in 1879, aged 54 years. His
mother, Anna C. (Sorensen) Matsen, died in 1885,
aged 64 years.
Peter made his home
with his parents only until seven years of age;
then he started out in life for himself. He
secured a good education, completing it with a
year’s course in a high school. After his school
days he worked as a farm hand until eighteen years
old.
Then he started a meat market in the city
of Copenhagen, which he conducted until 1891.
He left his native land
July 9, 1891, and arrived at Winnebago City,
Minnesota, July 24, of the same year. Near that
town Mr. Jacobsen worked on a farm three years;
then he rented a farm and conducted it two years.
He arrived in Jackson county in 1896 and for two
or three years worked as a farm laborer and at odd
jobs. He then married and located in Jackson, and
for the next four year’s worked in George Sawyer’s
coal yards. The next four years were spent as an
employee of the Standard Oil company. Since then
he has been engaged in farming on a small scale.
He owns seventeen acres of fine land on Thomas
hill in the east part of Jackson, which he intends
to plat as an addition. He is a member of the
Modern Woodmen and Danish Brotherhood lodges, and
he and his wife are members of the Lutheran
church.
Mr. Jacobsen was married in
Copenhagen, Denmark February 8, 1883, to Hannah
Peterson, a native of Sweden. She died April 4,
1886, aged 23 years. Two children, both of whom
died in infancy, were born to these parents. The second
marriage of Mr. Jacobsen occurred at Jackson
November 3, 1899, when he wedded Mrs. Christ
Larsen, who was formerly Miss Caroline Mortensen,
a native of Denmark. By her
former marriage Mrs. Jacobsen is the mother of one
child, Carrie Larsen. To Mr. and Mrs.
Jacobsen have been born three children: Myrtle,
born September 14, 1902; Pearl and
Ruth.
JOHN JACOBSON (1872) is
one of the pioneer settlers of Christiania
township, having resided on the farm on the bank
of Fish lake ever since he was nine years of age.
He owns lot five on section 4, consisting of
thirty-eight
acres.
Mr. Jacobson was born
in Norway January 29, 1863, the son of Jacob
Nelson and Mary (Franson) Nelson. His father died
when he was a baby, and in 1868 he came to America
with his mother, settling in Dane county,
Wisconsin.
His mother died there in 1872 and
thereafter John made his home with his
grandfather, John Franson. In June, 1872, he moved
with his grandfather to Jackson county, the latter
taking as a homestead the land which our subject
now owns. There he grew to manhood, receiving a
district school education. After the
death of his grandfather in 1889 John became the
owner of the farm, and upon it he has ever since
lived.
November 24, 1891, Mr.
Jacobson was married to Matilda Olson, a native of
Norway. To them have been born two children:
Clinton M., born June 22, 1893; Grant E., born
April 2, 1896. Mr. and
Mrs. Jacobson are members of the Methodist church
of Windom. He has held the office of constable for
the last eight years.
DR. MEREDITH J. JAMES
(1908), dentist of Lakefield, is a native of Blue
Earth county, Minnesota., where he was born March
28, 1884. The doctor’s parents are John J. and
Hannah (Meredith) James, who were born in Wales
and came to America in childhood and settled near
Utica, New York. The father served in the union
army during the war of the rebellion and after the
war located in Blue Earth county, Minnesota, where
he was married and took a homestead. Both parents
now live in Blue Earth county. He is 04 years of
age and she is 66 years old. They have five
children: John C, Robert G., Bezalee, Meredith J.
and William H.
Meredith lived on the farm
with his parents until fifteen years of age,
attending the country schools. Then he went to
Lake Crystal and attended the high school, from
which he received his diploma in 1904. Two years
later he entered the dental department of the
state university and was graduated in June,
1908.
The next month he moved to Lakefield,
bought the dental business and apparatus of Dr.
C. A.
Bell, and has since been engaged in practice. He has an
office in the Jackson County State Bank
building.
HENRY JARMUTH (1886) is one of
the big farmers of Enterprise township. His farm,
which includes 400 acres on sections 19 and 20, is
tilled and well improved and is rated as one of
the best farms of the township. He has owned this
farm for more than a quarter of a century.
Mr. Jarmuth is a German by
birth. His father, John Jarmuth, who was a
coachman in the old country for a good many years,
came to America in 1854 and engaged in
farming. He died in Cook
County, Illinois, February 10, 1904, at the age of
73 years. His mother, Christina Jarmuth, is now 70
years of age and lives in Illinois.
To these parents Henry Jarmuth
was born November 8, 1853. When one year of age he
accompanied his parents to America and until his
marriage in 1880 lived on a farm in Cook county,
Illinois. After his marriage Mr. Jarmuth engaged
in farming on his own account in Cook county, and
in March, 1886, came to Jackson county. Upon his
arrival he located upon his Enterprise township
farm, which he had bought in 1883. Besides his
Jackson county farm, Mr. Jarmuth owns thirteen
acres of land close to the city of Chicago. He served five
years as chairman of the board of supervisors of
Enterprise township and was a member of the board
fifteen years. He is now clerk of his school
district.
Mr. Jarmuth was married
November 28, 1880, to Lena Ruesch, of Illinois.
live children have been born to these parents,
namely: William H., Louis T., John W., Freda A.
and Albert J. The family are members of the German
Lutheran church.
WILLIAM H. JARMUTH (1888),
cashier of the first National bank of Heron Lake,
was born in Chicago September 29, 1881, the son of
Henry and Lena (Ruesch) Jarmuth. He came to
Jackson County with his parents in 1888 and lived
on the home farm until 1900. He was educated in
the common schools and in the business department
of Toland college. After his
graduation from the business college Mr. Jarmuth
took a position with the State Bank of Alpha,
which he held one year. For several
years thereafter he was with the Martin County
National Bank of Fairmont, for a time as
bookkeeper and for the last three years as
cashier. He went to Heron Lake in November, 1907,
and has since held the position of cashier of the
First National. Mr. Jarmuth is a member of the
Knights of Pythias and Royal Arcanum lodges.
At Minneapolis on July 20,
1908, Mr. Jarmuth was married to Myrtle M. Childs,
a native of Iowa and a daughter of H. C. and
Minnie Childs.
CHRIST JENSEN (1890),
Wisconsin township farmer, owns the north half of
the northeast quarter of section 7, upon which he
has lived for nearly twenty years. He is of Danish
birth and first saw the light of day June 26,
1858. His father, Jens Hansen, died in Denmark in
1895; his mother, Sidsel (Jensdatter), still lives
in her native land.
Christ lived with his parents
until twelve years of age; then he began hustling
for himself, working on farms until he was
seventeen. At that age he
took up the life of a seaman and followed the sea
three years. He came to America in 1880 and spent
the first nine months of his life in the new world
at New Orleans. He then came to Minnesota and for
a year and a half engaged in farming in Brown
county. For the next few years he divided his time
between working on a homestead in Griggs county
North Dakota, and in the pineries of Pierce
county, Wisconsin. Later for eight or nine months
he was working on a grading contract in Barron
county, Wisconsin, and his next jump was to the
state of Mississippi, where he took a contract for
levee work near Helena. He was there several
months, and then located at Omaha, Nebraska, where
for four years he engaged in teaming. In March, 1890,
after having lived in many parts of the country,
Mr. Jensen came to Jackson county to make his
permanent home. He bought the
eighty acre farm in Wisconsin township, and that
has ever since been his home. He holds the office
of township treasurer and has been clerk of school
district No. 1 during nearly
the entire time of his residence in the county. He
has also held the office of township supervisor.
He is a member of the Danish Brotherhood, Danner
Lodge No. 96, of
Jackson.
Mr. Jensen was married at
Omaha July 8, 1891, to Fritzena Jacobsen, also a
native of Denmark. To this union has been born one
child, Olga, born April 26, 1907.
CHRISTEN JENSEN (1886)
is a Des Moines township farmer residing three
miles north of Jackson, on section 1. There he
owns a finely improved, well tiled farm of 240
acres. On it is one of the finest groves in
Jackson county, which Mr. Jensen set out with his
own hands, and also a fine apple
orchard.
Mr. Jensen is a Dane by
birth and first saw the light of day December 8,
1852. His parents were Jens Larsen and Anna
(Peterson) Larsen, both of whom died in their
native land. They were the parents of four
children, of whom three sons, Lars, Christen and
Hans, are
living.
Up to the time Christen
was fourteen years of age he lived at home,
attending school. He then began making his own
living, working out as a farm hand until 1873.
That year he came to the United States and until
1886 he resided in McHenry county, Illinois,
working out as a farm hand. Several years before
the last named date Mr. Jensen had bought the
southwest quarter of section 1, Des Moines
township, Jackson county, and in 1886 he came to
the county and began the improvement of the land.
For several years he and another gentleman lived
in a little shack on the land. Then he
married, built the house, and has since made his
home there, with the exception of two years’
residence in Jackson. Later he bought the
adjoining
eighty.
Mr. Jensen was married in
Jackson November 20, 1893, to Christina M. Jensen,
a native of Illinois and a daughter of J. P.
Jensen.
They are the parents of the following named
four children: George P., Anna C, Emma A., Lillian
J. The family are members of the Lutheran church.
He belongs to the Danish Brotherhood lodge and has
served two terms as road
overseer.
JENS JENSEN (1904) is
the proprietor of a Jackson blacksmith shop. He is
a native of Denmark and was born October 7, 1881.
He is the eldest of a family of four children, all
but himself living in the old country. His father,
Nels Jensen, died ten years ago; his mother,
Hannah (Erickson) Jensen, lives in Denmark.
Jens lived with his parents
in Denmark until 1904. There he received his
education and there he learned the blacksmith’s
trade. He came to America in 1904, worked a short
time in Canada and a short time in Chicago, and
the same year arrived in Jackson county. He worked
in the manufacturing plant of Ludvigsen Brothers,
Jackson, until October, 1908. Then he
bought the W. T. Muir blacksmith shop and has
since been in business for himself. He does
general blacksmithing, horseshoeing, repairing and
boiler work. Mr. Jensen is a member of the
Lutheran church and of the Danish Brotherhood
lodge.
PETER JEPSON (1894),
the Jackson village marshal, is a native of
Schleswig-Holstein, Germany and was born November
8, 1872.
He is the
youngest of a family of four children, all living
in the United States. His brothers and sister are
John P., Soren P. and Annie M. Jepson. The parents
of these children were John Peter and Anne
Margaret (Brink) Jepson, who died in their native
country, the former May 18, 1891, the latter
December 31, 1890.
Peter secured an education in
Germany and until after his father’s death worked
in the latter’s rope factory. In the fall of 1891
he came to America and located at Huntley,
Faribault county Minnesota, where he worked on the
farm of his brother, John Jepson, until the spring
of 1894. On March 15, of the last named year, he
moved to Jackson. For four years he worked in the
village at different occupations, and on December
8, 1898, received the appointment of village night
watchman.
He served until April 1, 1902. He was again
appointed to the position on November 15, 1902 and
the following April was appointed village marshal,
which office he still holds. Mr. Jepson
was married in Jackson October 21, 1901 to
Georgine Mary Handevidt, a native of Gardner,
Illinois, and a daughter of Nels P. and Petrie
Handevidt. To Mr. and Mrs. Jepson have been born
two children: Arthur Peter, born July 2, 1904;
Pearl Margaret, born February 23, 1907. Mr. Jepson
is a member of the M. W. A.
lodge.
A. E. JOHNSON (1872), farmer
and land owner of Delafield township, has lived in
that precinct ever since he was two years of
age. He was born at
Stoughton, Wisconsin March 28, 1870. His father,
Erick Johnson, was born in Norway and came to the
United States about 1865. He located first in
Wisconsin and came to Jackson county in 1872,
where he died in 1891. The mother of our subject
was Ingebor Johnson. She died in 1896.
The subject of this biography
came to Jackson county with his parents in June
1872, and has ever since lived in Delafield
township. His father took
a homestead claim of eighty acres on section 24,
and on that farm young Johnson grew to manhood. He
attended the district schools and worked on the
farm for his father. In 1895 he took charge of the
home farm, and, his mother dying the next year, he
then engaged in farming on his own account. In
1903 he located on his present place having
planted the grove and erected the buildings
thereon. He is a member of the M. W. A. lodge of
Windom.
Mr. Johnson was married in
Belmont township September 11, 1897 to Belle
Sogge. a native of Belmont and a daughter of Ole
G. Sogge. Five children
have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Johnson, named as
follows: Eldon, born June 9, 1898; Gehardt, born
August 24, 1899; Benora, born March 3, 1901; Alma,
born March 22, 1902: Lillian, born October 24,
1906.
ABRAHAM JOHNSON (1869),
deceased, was one of the very early settlers of
Heron Lake township. He was born in Norway January
7, 1830, the son of George and Gro Johnson. He came to
America at the age of twenty-four years and
settled in Houston county, Minnesota, where he
resided until 1869. He served one year in the
civil war, enlisting from Chicago in company F, of
the twenty-third regiment of Illinois volunteer
infantry.
Mr. Johnson came to Jackson
County in 1869 and bought railroad land in Heron
Lake Township. He lived on
that place fourteen years and then bought school
land on section 36. West Heron Lake
township, upon which he resided, engaged in
farming, until his death, which occurred October
4, 1908. At the time of his death he owned 160
acres of land on sections 36 and 25, where he had
built a fine home. He was a member of the
Norwegian Lutheran church and for several years
was an officer of his school district.
Mr. Johnson was married in
Heron Lake township November 1, 1872, to Rachael
Timrud, who was born in Norway November 2, 1852,
and came to the United States when eight years of
age. Her parents were Ole and Tone Timrud, who
settled in Houston county, Minnesota, before the
civil war, and who later moved to the Red River
valley, where they died. To Mr. and Mrs. Johnson
were born five children: Tilda, born November 20,
1874; Olof born July 30, 1877; Gena, born November
7, 1879; Julius, born January 10, 1881; Henry,
born March 15, 1887. Mrs. Johnson resides on the
home farm, which is managed by her sons, Julius
and Henry.
George Johnson, a brother of
Abraham Johnson, resides near the home of his late
brother, where he owns six acres of land. He was
born in Norway in 1828, came to the United States
at the age of twenty-nine years, and located in
Houston county, Minnesota. He served one year in
the Union army during the civil war. He came to
Jackson county in 1873 and homesteaded in West
Heron Lake township. He engaged in farming until
seventeen years ago when he retired from active
pursuits.
ALBERT J. JOHNSON
(1883), Belmont township farmer, was born on the
farm where he now lives January 30, 1883, the son
of John H. and Bertha (Iverson) Johnson. These
parents were born in Norway and came to America
when young children. They were married in Goodhue
county, Minnesota, and in a very early day came to
Jackson county and homesteaded in Belmont. They
are still living and make their home with their
son. He is 64 years of age; she is 60. Eight
children were born to them, as follows: Anna,
Joseph, Andrew, Ada, Bertha, Albert, Julia and
Clara.
Albert attended the district
school and grew to manhood on his father’s farm.
He worked for his father until he was twenty-two
years of age, and then took the management of the
place, having since worked it on shares. The farm
consists of 160 acres on section
24.
BEN H. JOHNSON (1865). One of
the very earliest of the settlers of Jackson
county who now reside in the county is B. H.
Johnson, who lives a retired life in the village
of Jackson. During the early
days Mr. Johnson took an active interest in the
affairs of the new county and participated in its
organization. Mr. Johnson was
born in Plymouth, Litchfield county, Connecticut,
August 1, 1834, the son of Louis and Nancy (Marsh)
Johnson. He received a public and academic
education in Watertown, Connecticut, and at the
age of eighteen years came west and located in
Baraboo, Wisconsin. He farmed in the vicinity of
that town ten years and then enlisted in the army.
The date of his enlistment was December 4, 1862.
when he became a member of company F. of the Third
Wisconsin cavalry. He served in the
union army until September 29, 1865, when he was
discharged at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.
Immediately after his
discharge Mr. Johnson returned to his old home in
Baraboo. He immediately made preparations to seek
a home in the new country of Jackson county, and
on Christmas day, 1865, landed on the Des Moines
river. He bought sixty acres of land, partly in
Des Moines township and partly in Wisconsin
township, and also filed a homestead claim to land
in Wisconsin adjoining his sixty acres. His life
during this pioneer period was full of hardships,
as were those of nearly all the settlers of that
day. In January, 1868, while he was away from
home, his house and everything in it was destroyed
by fire. Mr. Johnson and
his family then moved into a little log house
which was located on another part of his farm.
Until September, 1873, Mr.
Johnson continued to farm in Jackson county. Then,
on the fifteenth of the month, he set out with a
team for Kansas to make his future home in that
country. He located at Burr Oak in Jewell county,
bought an eighty acre farm near town, and engaged
in agricultural pursuits about five years. He then
moved to town and for about fifteen years was
engaged in the drug business. He was street
commissioner of the village for three years and
during the rest of the time he was a resident of
Burr Oak he lived a retired life. In 1903 Mr.
Johnson returned to his old home in Jackson
county, and since that time has made his home in
Jackson. Upon the
organization of Jackson county in January, 1866,
Mr. Johnson received the appointment of clerk of
the district court and served until his successor
was elected and qualified. As there were
practically no duties to perform the office was a
nominal one only. He was a member
of the board of county commissioners in 1867 and
1868, and during those years served as chairman of
the board. He held the
office of justice of the peace four years and was
assessor in both Wisconsin and Des Moines
townships. Mr. Johnson is a Mason and a member of
the Knights of Pythias lodge.
Mr. Johnson has been married
twice. His first marriage occurred at Reedsburg,
Wisconsin, November 9, 1859, when he wedded Emma
T. Cornish. She died October 3, 1871, aged 29
years. To this union two children were born:
Rollan W., born December 4, 1860; Irving V., born
January 10, 1870. His second marriage occurred
April 3, 1873, in Jackson, when he wedded Martha
Moore. As a result of this marriage the following
children were born: Louis L. and Lloyd W., twins,
born October 6, 1879; Ethel W., born January 31,
1881; Gretla H., born May 16, 1886, died May 20,
1891; Alice C, born September 3,
1887.
H. O. JOHNSON (1897). of
Christiania township, was born in Norway February
19, 1863, the son of Ole and Carrie Johnson. He
came to America with his parents when three years
of age and has lived, respectively, in LaCrosse
county, Wisconsin, until 1874, Swift county,
Minnesota, until 1877, Mitchell county, Iowa,
until 1881, Rock County, Minnesota, until 1893,
Grant county, South Dakota, until 1897, and in
Jackson county since the last named date. He received a
good common school education and was brought up a
farmer. With the exception of six months in the
mercantile business at Luverne, Minnesota, and one
year as a photographer in Benson, Minnesota, Mr.
Johnson has been engaged in farming ever since he
reached manhood.
Mr. Johnson was married
December 12, 1889, to Caroline Olson, and to them
have been born five children: Ida, born in April,
1891; Alfred, born May 12, 1896; Ernest, born in
November, 1897; Mabel, born in April, 1900; Carl
born in April, 1902. The family are members of the
Norwegian Lutheran church and Mr. Johnson is a
member of the Woodmen of the World.
J. C. JOHNSON (1869) is one
of the well known and successful farmers of
Jackson county, having resided here since he was a
boy seven years of age. He now resides in Belmont
township.
Mr. Johnson is a native
Minnesotan, having been born in Houston county
February 13, 1862. He is the son of John K. and
Susan (Swanson) Johnson, who now reside on their
old homestead in Wisconsin township. The former
came from Norway in 1841 and until he became of
age lived at Muskego, Wisconsin. He then located
in Houston county, Minnesota, where he enlisted in
the mounted rangers of Minnesota volunteers and
served in the campaigns against the Indians. He
took his homestead in Wisconsin township in 1868
and located on the place the next spring. The
mother of our subject came from Sweden in
1854.
J. C. Johnson accompanied his
parents to Jackson County in the spring of 1869
and until he was eighteen years of age lived with
his parents on the Wisconsin township farm,
receiving a common school education and assisting
with the farm work. From the time he was eighteen
years old until 1886 Mr. Johnson worked at the
miller’s trade in Jackson and Brownsburg. Then he
brought land in Wisconsin township and engaged in
farming there until 1901. He then sold out and
bought his present farm of 200 acres on sections
28 and 21, Belmont township. He has a well
improved farm and has prospered. He engages
extensively in the raising of cattle and
hogs. Mr. .Johnson
has stock in the Belmont Creamery company and in
the Farmers Cooperative Store company of
Lakefield. He has held township and school offices
during nearly all the time since he became of age.
He is a member of the Lutheran church and of the
M. W. A. lodge of
Jackson, No. 1069.
Mr. Johnson was married
January 10, 1885, to Sina Larson, a native of Dane
county, Wisconsin and a daughter of Nels Larson.
Her father took as a homestead claim the farm now
owned by Mr. Johnson in 1865. To Mr. and Mrs.
Johnson have been born the following named
children: Nellard, born February 9, 1886; Millie
S., born April 6, 1888, Albert M., born August 23,
1889; Sibyl J., born March 1, 1891; Louis E., born
December 8, 1892; Benton H., born November 20,
1894, died November 28, 1894; Charles B., born
October 27, 1896: Robert W., born September 20,
1898; Julius K., born December 30, 1899; Susan A.,
born May 7, 1901; Allen F., born April 19,
1903.
JAMES C. JOHNSON
(1897). of Jackson, was born in Olborug, Denmark,
March 4, 1864, the son of Christ and Marie
(Jensen) Johnson. He
received a common school education in his native
country and lived there until he was nineteen
years of age.
Mr. Johnson came to
America in 1883 and located at Spencer, Iowa,
where he lived fourteen years, being employed at
various kinds of labor. He moved to Lakefield in
1897 and for two years was employed as a grain
buyer.
He then moved to Jackson and that village
has been his home ever
since.
The marriage of our subject
occurred at Spirit Lake, Iowa, October 30, 1890,
when he wedded Miss Minnie Scharf. Seven children
have been born to this union as follows: Leonard
E., Grover G., Frances E., Ruby R., Leland C.,
Lyla M. and Lyle L The family are members of the
Lutheran church.
JENS J. JOHNSON (1870).
ex-sheriff of Jackson county and a successful
farmer of Delafield township, is one of the
pioneer settlers of the county. He owns a 120 acre
farm in Delafield and Christiania townships, on
which he has lived many years.
Mr. Johnson was born in
Norway July 21, 1842, and lived in his native land
until he was twenty years of age. After becoming
old enough to earn wages he went to work in a
sawmill, making his home with his parents until
fifteen years old. At that age he was confirmed
and until 1859 made his home with a minister. He
again took up his residence with his parents and
lived with them until he sailed for the United
States in 1862. Arriving in the
new world, he located at Stoughton, Dane county,
Wisconsin. There he worked two and one-half years
and then he located at Grand Rapids, of the same
state, where he worked in a sawmill during the
winter and rafting logs during the summer. He
again returned to Dane county, where he engaged in
farming three years.
In 1870 Mr. Johnson came to
Jackson county and on October 8 took as a
homestead claim the south half of the northeast
quarter of section 12, Delafield township. Here he
built a house, 14x18 feet, of lumber, in which he
and his family lived until it was supplanted by a
commodious structure in 1883. In the old shack he
passed the early days, fighting grasshoppers and
striving to make a living in the devastated
country. He planted the groves and has made all
the improvements his farm now has.
In 1883 Mr. Johnson conducted
a grain elevator at Windom in addition to his
farming operations, and in 1887 he moved to
Windom, where he engaged in the lumber business
ten years. Mr. Johnson was elected sheriff of
Jackson county in 1875 and served four years. He
has been justice of the peace and clerk of his
school district, and was a federal census
enumerator in 1880. He is a member of the
Norwegian Lutheran church and of the A. O. U. W. lodge.
Our subject is the son of
Johannes Nilson and Ingeborg (Peterson) Nilson,
who came from Norway in 1873. The former died in
Windom April 15, 1892, aged 80 years; the latter
died in Jackson county in 1881. Jens is one of a
family of eleven children born to these parents,
of whom three are now living. Mr. Johnson has
been married three times.
His first marriage occurred
at Grand Rapids. Wisconsin, June
30, 1866, when he wedded Mary Peterson. She died
October 25, 1869, leaving no children. Mr.
Johnson’s second marriage occurred September 3,
1870, when he wedded Sarah Johnson, who was born
in Norway and who came to America when six years
of age. She died April 28, 1890, aged forty-three
years. The following named children were born as a
result of this union: Julia (Koeford), Mary
(Peterson), Oscar E., Carl G., Casper E., Sophia
(Barber), Albert B. and Jens E. Mr.
Johnson was married to his present wife at Windom,
Minnesota, January 13, 1894. She was Mary Ann
Nelson, a native of Norway. They have no
children.
LOUIS L. JOHNSON
(1901), assistant cashier of the First National
Bank of Jackson, was born in Burr Oak, Kansas,
October 6, 1879, a son of Bennet H. and Martha
(Moore) Johnson, natives of Connecticut and
Vermont, respectively. These
parents were among the very early settlers of
Jackson county, having come here from Sauk county,
Wisconsin, in 1865. They homesteaded in Wisconsin
township, where they resided until 1873. That year
the family moved to Kansas, which was the family
home until recent years, when B. H. Johnson and
family again became residents of Jackson
county.
Louis grew to manhood
in the Sunflower state. He was educated in the
Burr Oak public schools and in the Kansas Wesleyan
Business college. After his graduation from the
business college Mr. Johnson entered the Jewell
County National Bank, where he was employed as a
clerk until he came to Jackson county in 1901. He
located in Jackson and took the position of
assistant cashier in the First National Bank,
which he has since held.
Mr. Johnson was married at
Burr Oak, Kansas, June 20, 1907, to Ethel Olney, a
native of that place and a daughter of A. N. and
Lida Olney. Mr. Johnson is a member of the Masonic
and Woodmen lodges. He owns a home in the
city.
NELS A. JOHNSON (1889) is one
of the big farmers of Weimer township and resides
just outside of the corporate limits of the
village in Heron Lake. He owns 500 acres of land
on sections 29 and 30, Weimer township, and
section 8, West Heron Lake township, and farms it
all. He has a nice home and modern
conveniences.
Nels A. Johnson is the son of
the late Andrew Johnson and Mary (Kjos) Johnson,
the latter a resident of Weimer township. He is
the eldest of a family of five children, the other
children being named Annie, Dora Katie and
Gilbert.
He was born in Lafayette
county, Iowa, November 8, 1862, and that was his
home until he came to Jackson county in 1889. He
was educated in the Norwegian and English schools
of his native county and spent his younger years
working out on farms, making his home with his
parents. Coming to Jackson county twenty years
ago, he bought the northwest quarter of section 8,
West Heron Lake township, adjoining Okabena
station, and engaged in farming there fourteen
years. In 1903 he bought the land adjoining Heron
Lake village and has since made his home
there.
Mr. Johnson is a man of
family, having been married in West Heron Lake
township March 12, 1892, to Louisa Johnson, who
was born in Chicago in 1868. She is the daughter
of M. B. Johnson, who came to Jackson county in
1866 and who is now a resident of Weimer township.
Six children have been born to Mr. and Mrs.
Johnson, as follows: Mabel A., Arthur M., Noel K.,
Ruth L., Fremont L. and Paul J. C. The family are
members of the Norwegian Lutheran church of Heron
Lake.
WILLIAM JOHNSON (1881), a
Belmont township farmer, was born in Norway August
24, 1802, the son of Mr. John Dalthorp and Mrs.
Carolina (Halverson) Dalthorp, the eldest child of
a family of five children. The mother of our
subject died in Norway; his father came to Jackson
county and died here in 1907 at the age of 73
years.
William Johnson lived with
his parents in his native country, attending
school and working out, until 1881. That year he
came to Jackson county, spent the summer here, and
then located in Cottonwood county, where he
resided three years. He spent the next year in
Kittson county, and then came again to Jackson
county. He owned land and farmed several years on
section 18, Belmont, later on section 29, and in
1899 bought his present farm on section 22, which
he has since resided.
Mr. Johnson was married in
Jackson county in August, 1899, to Mrs. Bertha
Olson, a native of Norway. Two children have been
born to this union: Colman and Cora. The family
are members of the Norwegian Lutheran church. He
is treasurer of Belmont township and has held the
office several years. He has also served in
various capacities as a school
officer.
GJERMUND T. JUVLAND (1870) has
lived in Weimer township ever since he was twenty
years of age and is one of the very earliest
settlers of that precinct. He owns 240 acres of
land in Weimer township and a quarter section in
LaMoure county North Dakota. Mr. Juvland in a
native of Norway and was born March 11, 1850, the
son of Torbjorn and Susanna Juvland. He
accompanied his parents from the old country when
seventeen years of age and on June 15, 1867,
arrived in the village of Red Wing, in Goodhue
county, Minnesota. He lived on the farm with his
parents there until 1870, and then accompanied
them to Jackson county. The head of the family
took as a homestead claim the northwest quarter of
section 12, Weimer township, built a dugout, in
which the family lived for a number of years, and
established the permanent home there.
In the early days the family
encountered many hardships, notably during the
terrible grasshopper scourge, and young Juvland
was brought up in the midst of poverty and pioneer
surroundings. He did not marry and continued to
make his home with his parents during their
lifetime. His father died in 1873, at the age of
56 years, and our subject became the head of the
family. His mother died in 1898, aged 81 years.
With the exception of the year 1900, when he was
in Heron Lake, Mr. Juvland has always lived on the
old homestead. He is a member
of the Norwegian Lutheran church.
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