|
HENRY KABLE (1886) is an
Enterprise township farmer. He was born at
Rushford, Minnesota, August 10, 1878, and is the
son of Wensel and Anna Kable. When a little past
seven years of age Henry accompanied his parents
to Jackson county, and has ever since made his
home in Enterprise township. He received a common
school education and until reaching man’s estate
assisted in the farm work on his father’s farm. He
and his brother Thomas now farm in partnership and
for the past five years have been engaged in the
threshing business. He is a member of the Catholic
church of
Jackson.
THOMAS KABLE (1886). in
partnership with his brother Henry, farms the
southwest quarter of section 25, Enterprise
township, and has spent nearly his entire life in
Jackson county. He was born at Winona, Minnesota,
August 25, 1882 the son of Wensel and Anna Kable.
He accompanied his parents to Jackson county in
April, 1886 and this has ever since been his
home.
The family located in
Enterprise township, and there Thomas grew to
manhood, receiving a country school education.
Until 1905 he lived on the farm, assisting in the
management of the place and in threshing. In 1905
he moved to Alpha, where he served as village
marshal one year and as bartender for Carl Thuesen
two years. He then returned to the farm. He is a
member of the Catholic church of
Jackson.
Mr. Kable was married
February 22, 1900, to Dora Wiseman, of Sherburn.
They are the parents of one child, Viola, born
January 13, 1907.
JOHN KATUS (1894). farmer and
land owner of Ewington township, is a native of
Hungary and was born November 27, 1852. Until
nearly twenty-one years of age he resided with his
parents in his native land, attending school and
working on the farm. He served one month in the
army, just before his departure for America, but
his father secured his release and the son came to
America.
It was in the year 1873 that
John Katus arrived in the new world. He spent the
first eight months in Indiana, lived a short time
in Livingston county, Illinois, and then took up
his residence in the city of Streator. After
working eleven years in the coal mines in that
city. Mr. Katus met with an accident in the mine
which resulted in a broken leg. He then gave up
mining and engaged in business. In 1894 Mr. Katus
came to Jackson county, bought the northeast
quarter of section 22, Ewington township, and has
since been engaged in farming the place. The farm
was raw prairie land when he bought and all the
improvements are the result of his work. Since
coming to the county he has added to his real
estate holdings by the purchase of the southeast
quarter of section 15, and he farms the entire
half section.
Mr. Katus has prospered since
coming to the county. In the year 1909 he
harvested about 1,500 bushels of small grain and
2,000 bushels of corn. For several years past Mr.
Katus and John Gerdes have been engaged in the
threshing business. Mr. Katus has stock in the
Brewster Creamery company, in the grain elevator
of the same village and in the Brewster and Round
Lake Telephone company. He is a member of the
Ewington township board and for nine years served
as treasurer of school district No. 99.
John Katus is one of a family
of six children living born to John and Anna
(Rogolal Katus, the others being Annie, Susan,
Mary, Andrew and Michael. The father of these
children lives in Streator and is 85 years of age.
The mother died in 1907, aged 79 years. Mr. Katus was
married in Streator April 10, 1877, to Annie
Bartko, also a native of Hungary. They have six
children, as follows: Andrew, born August 21,
1882; Mary, born December 11, 1884; Susie, born
February 7, 1887; George, born August 3, 1889;
Emma, born July 20, 1892; Clara, born May 28,
1898. The family are members of the Slovak
Lutheran church and Mr. Katus is a member of the
Slovak lodge.
DR. CHARLES R. J. KELLAM
(1879), proprietor of a Heron Lake drug store and
a medical practitioner, is one of the well known
residents of Jackson county, having been engaged
in business at Heron Lake for thirty years. He was born al
the Choctaw agency in Indian territory August 16,
1837, the son of Rev. Charles R.
Kellam and Elizabeth (Person) Kellam, natives of
Vermont and Massachusetts, respectively. The father was
sent in 1836 as a missionary to the Choctaw
Indians soon after their removal from Georgia.
The subject of this biography
received his early education from his parents,
there being no public schools at the agency. When
twelve years of age he entered a school, which is
now known as the University of Arkansas, of
Fayetteville, Arkansas, and was a student there
two years. The death of his father caused young
Kellam to leave school in order to support himself
and for several years he did this by teaching,
school. Afterwards he took up the study of
medicine under a local physician. Anticipating the
impending conflict between the north and south and
his sympathies being with the north. Mr. Kellam,
in the fall of 1859, left Arkansas and located at
Peacham, Vermont. He conducted a
bookstore there for a time and later worked for
the Fairbanks Scale company at St. Johnsbury,
Vermont. On April 15, 1861, he enlisted as a
member of company C, of the Third Vermont regiment
of infantry, and took part in nearly all the
battles of the army of the Potomac up to the
evacuation of the Peninsula. Because of illness he
was discharged October 6, 1862, but later enlisted
in the Ninth Vermont infantry. He was promoted to
the position of hospital steward and served in
that capacity until he was discharged on November
6, 1865.
Mr. Kellam spent the rest of
the year 1865 and part of 1866 as a student in
Harvard Medical college, of Boston, and later
practiced medicine in Vermont and New Hampshire.
He was graduated from Dartmouth Medical college in
1868 and soon after moved to Lynn,
Massachusetts. Dr. Kellam was
broken down in health, and in 1870 came west,
locating at St. Charles,
Minnesota, where he practiced his profession until
November, 1879. At that time he located at Heron
Lake, since which time he has been engaged in the
practice of medicine and in the drug business.
Eleven years ago owing to a breakdown in health,
Dr. Kellam gave up active practice and confined
his energies to the drug trade.
Dr. Kellam is a member of the
state medical society and an ex-president of the
Minnesota Pharmaceutical association. He has been
a member of the Heron Lake board of education for
the last twenty -five years and has served as a
justice of the peace for the same length of time.
Politically he is a republican, and in 1894 was
the nominee of his party for the state
legislature, but was defeated by the fusion
candidate. He was the first commander of B. F. Sweet Post
No. 149, G. A. R., is a Royal Arch Mason, a member
of the Eastern Star and of the Odd Fellows
lodge.
Dr. Kellam has been married
three times. His first marriage was on August 10,
1850, when he wedded Sarah E. Carter, of Peacham,
Vermont. Five children
were born to this union, of whom the following
three are living: W. T. Kellam, druggist
of Kilkenny, Minnesota; T. H. Kellam and A.
C. Kellam, a grocer of Lynn, Massachusetts. Dr.
Kellam’s second wife was Emma M. Noyes, of
Chelsea, Vermont. One daughter, Mrs. Alice E.
Brooks, now residing at Springfield,
Massachusetts, was born to this union. Dr. Kellam
was married to his present wife January 1, 1880.
She was Mary C. Schermerhorn, of Albany, New York.
To them were born the following named eight
children: Ansel B., of St. Paul: Alex S., of
Duluth; Maud a Jackson county school teacher;
William H., mate on a Columbia river steamboat;
Clarence W., of the United States navy; Herbert
K., Ruth and Charles R. J.
Kellam.
BERT KEPHART (1890) is
a Christiania township farmer living a short
distance north of Bergen, He is a native of
Dubuque county, Iowa, and was born April 24,
1863.
The parents of our subject are Milton and
Margaret (Mettler) Kephart, now of Lakefield. The
grandparents of our subject came from Pennsylvania
to Iowa in a very early day and Milton Kephart was
born in that state in the forties. There are
eleven children in the family, namely: Ellmore, a
carpenter of Spirit Lake, Iowa; Bert, of this
sketch; Elenor (Mrs. James Darcy), of Lakefield;
Rose (Mrs.
Henry Hardman), of Spirit Lake; Lizzie
(Mrs.
Charles Yoder),
of Spirit Lake; Ernest, of Canada; Tillie, of
Lakefield; Maggie, a school teacher; Milton, of
Lakefield; Elbe, farmer and well digger of Dakota;
Sarah, who resides at home.
The first four years of
the life of Bert Kephart were spent in Dubuque
county, Iowa, and the next eleven years in Clayton
county of the same state. In 1880 he moved to
Dickinson county, Iowa, and in the spring of 1890
he came to Jackson county to reside. He engaged in
the well digging business, which he has followed
for eighteen years. He has been engaged in farming
the last six years. He is a member of the M. W. A.
lodge.
Mr. Kephart was married May
8, 1887, to Lucy Willford, of Spirit Lake. To them
have been born the following named three children:
Guy, born February 5, 1888; Ollie, born .July 18,
1890: Helen, born June 17,
1899.
FRED W. KIDNEY (1872). a
farmer and horse dealer of Middletown township,
was born on the farm he now conducts October 8,
1872, and resided on that farm with his parents
until he was twenty-one years of age. When he
reached his majority he engaged in farming for
himself three or four years.
Mr. Kidney moved to Superior,
Iowa, where he conducted a barber shop for a time;
then he moved to South Dakota, where he resided
eight years. Thereafter for a time he traveled
over the northwestern states, dealing in horses.
In 1908 he returned to his native county and has
since been engaged in farming the old homestead,
besides dealing in horses. The parents of
our subject were pioneer settlers of Jackson
county, Joshua W. and Phoebe E. (Randall) Kidney,
born respectively in Cattaragus county New York,
and Wisconsin. They were
married in Wisconsin and soon afterwards, in the
early sixties, moved to Mason City, Iowa. They
came to Jackson county in 1869 paid $250 to Nelson
Arms for a relinquishment to his homestead
claim—the southwest quarter of section 28.
Middletown township engaged in farming the place
and proved up and secured title. Nelson Arms the
original claimant, was later murdered in Missouri,
together with his wife and children and a man
named Dickerson, by a man named Tausy. Tausy was
hung for his crime and the rope which served the
purpose is now in the possession of Mrs. Olive
(Pearson) Allen, whose husband was a relative of
Arms. Joshua Kidney died on the old home place May
9, 1909, aged 78 years. His wife died in
Ellington, South Dakota. They were the parents of
three children, one of whom died in infancy. The
others are Robert H., of Jackson, and Fred W. of
this sketch.
Our subject was married in
Roberts county South Dakota, in November, 1902, to
Maggie Ness, who was born near Sacred Heart,
Minnesota, the daughter of Ole Ness. Two children
have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Kidney, as follows:
Franklin A. and Maggie M.
AUGUST KIELBLOCK (1892) is a
Wisconsin township former and landowner, residing
on the southwest quarter of section 35. He is a
native of Brandenberg, Germany, and was born
August 9, 1859 the son of Carl and Chariotte
(Fogel) Kielblock, both deceased.
August received a common
school education in his native land and resided
there until twenty-three years of age, engaging in
farming after growing up. He came to the United
States in 1882 and located at Minonk,
Illinois. He moved to
Kewanee, Henry county, in 1884 and resided there
until 1892. During part of the time of his
residence in Illinois he was engaged in farming,
the rest of the time he was employed by a steam
heating company. Mr. Kielblock
came to Jackson county in March, 1892, and has
since been engaged in farming in Wisconsin
township. He owns 160 acres of land and has stock
in several local enterprises, including a
creamery, elevator and horse company. He has
served as school treasurer nine years and has held
other official positions.
Mr. Kielblock was married May
30, 1884, to Miss Caroline Zobal, who was born
April 4, 1865. To them have been born the
following named eight children: Winnie L, M., born
November 21, 1887: Caroline M. A., born December
13, 1889; Anna D., born September 7, 1891; Edwin
A. H., born November 28, 1893: August George 0.,
born October 6, 1896; William H. A., born March
22, 1899; Frederick C, born July 12, 1901:
Theodore H. E., born November 2, 1905. The family
are members of the German Lutheran
church.
 LOUIS KIESEL
(1884). who is engaged in the saloon business at
Jackson, has been a resident of the county just a
quarter of a century. He was born at Botkissengen,
Bavaria, April 7, 1860, the son of Andrew and
Christina Kiesel.
Mr. Kiesel received a common
school education in his native country and
emigrated to the United States in 1877. He went
directly to Chicago and the same year located at
Winfield, in DuPage county, Illinois, where he
lived seven years, engaging in farming. In
October, 1884, Mr. Kiesel came to Jackson county
and engaged in farming in Wisconsin township, five
miles east of Jackson, for eight years. He moved
to Jackson in 1892 and has been engaged in the
saloon business ever since that date.
At Turner Junction, Illinois,
on January 31, 1882, Mr. Kiesel was married to
Angelis Steffes, and to them have been born the
following children: Nicholas, born November 7,
1883, died in 1888; Joseph E., born November 15,
1884: John W., born June 15, 1888; Louis, Jr.,
born August 15, 1891; Francis born December 2,
1894.
Mr. Kiesel is a member of the
Catholic church and of the C. O. F., K. P., Sons
of Herman and Redmen lodges. He is the owner of
real estate and town property. From 1884 to 1892
he served as a member of the board of supervisors
of Wisconsin township.
 ANDERS R. KILEN
(1867). One of the wealthiest and best known
farmers of Jackson county is Anders R. Kilen, who
has made his home in Belmont township for
forty-three years and who has passed through many
of the trying times of pioneer days. Coming to the
county as a young man not yet of age with
practically nothing in the way of earthly
possessions, by frugality and strict attention to
business, he has accumulated a fortune.
His farm consists of one
thousand acres of choice land in one body in
Belmont township, of which lie farms about one
section. In addition to his Jackson county
possessions he owns a section of Canadian land and
has business properly in Lakefield as a grower of
choice grain Mr. Kilen is perhaps better known
than any farmer of southern Minnesota, because of
his success in exhibiting cereals at the world’s
fairs and carrying away the highest awards. He won
medals at the world’s fail at Chicago, and at the
Omaha fair he received the first premium on wheat,
oats and barley. thereby receiving the gold medal,
of which he is justly proud. Mr. Kilen also
exhibited at the Paris exposition of 1900. The
grain exhibit of the United States at that
exposition was made up of contributions and
samples sent in by farmers from all over the
United States. Mr. Kilen was
invited by the government to contribute to the
exhibit and he sent in fifteen samples of
different products. The exhibit of which these
samples formed a part received the Grand Prize at
this exposition, but the government took all the
credit and there was no credit given to Mr. Kilen
or the other farmers who contributed samples.
Mr. Kilen was born in Norway
November 18, 1840, the son of Erick and Johanna
Kilen. In the family
were thirteen children, of whom eight are living,
named as follows: Andrew, Anders R., James, John,
Erick, Bertha, Robert and Jennie. The parents of
these children came to America in 1858, lived a
few years in Dane county, Wisconsin, a few years
in Fillmore county, Minnesota, and came to Jackson
county in 1807. The father of our subject took as
a homestead claim the east half of the northeast
quarter of section 20, proved up on that and later
bought land on the southwest quarter of section
10, Belmont, where he lived until his death at an
advanced age. His wife also died in Belmont
township.
Anders R. Kilen came to
America with his parents in 1858, he being then
eleven years of age. For several years he lived
with the family in Dane county, Wisconsin, and
later accompanied them to Fillmore county,
Minnesota. When he was
twenty years old, in 1807, he came with his father
and mother to Jackson county, and during the first
year lived on his father’s homestead. The next
year, becoming of age, he took as a homestead
claim the west half of the northeast quarter of
section 20, adjoining his father’s claim, and on
that claim he lived as a bachelor eight
years. On that claim he
started in life for himself and began the
accumulation of his fortune. He succeeded
through perseverance and hard work. His first work
was breaking prairie for the pioneer settlers with
his four yoke of oxen, for which he was paid five
dollars per acre. Among his early day contracts
was that for hauling the lumber for the first
church erected in the country—the Presbyterian of
Jackson. During the first year or two after taking
his claim Mr. Kilen lived in a little log shack.
Then he erected a commodious log house, which was
at the time considered a palace, and in which he
entertained the early settlers and extended
hospitality to wayfarers. In this house he
lived until 1891, when he erected his present
elegant home just across the road in section
17.
Hard times came upon Mr. Kilen
during the terrible grasshopper scourge in the
early seventies as it did to all the residents of
Jackson county of that time, and during this time
he was obliged to go to Faribault county to work
in the harvest fields to earn enough money to
support himself. He had many experiences worthy of
recording of the early days once, in the winter of
1873, while returning to his home afoot, he was
caught in one of the dreaded prairie storms and
came near perishing. He sought refuge
in a miserable little hut in Heron Lake township,
and there for four days he remained without food
or fire. The only thing that kept him from
freezing to death was the fact that there was a
small quantity of hay in the shack, which he
twisted into ropes and wrapped about his limbs,
making a covering to protect them from the biting
cold. Mr. Kilen may
properly be called the father of Lakefield, for it
was he who platted the town in 1879 and started
the little town on its way to future greatness. He
stills owns land adjoining that village. He
engages extensively in stock raising and has large
herds. He has a large
orchard and has gained more than a local
reputation as an apple raiser.
Mr. Kilen is a member of the
Norwegian Lutheran church of West Belmont, and it
was largely through his efforts that the church
was built some twenty years ago. At that time
money was scarce and the Norwegian Lutherans of
the vicinity were poor Mr. Kilen undertook
to raise the money for this purpose and was
successful. He solicited funds from the governor
and other state officials, from the county
officers, real estate men and others, and the
church now stands as a monument to his loyalty to
church. While always active in business affairs,
Mr. Kilen has never sought office.
In High Lake township. Emmet
county, Iowa, on November 15, 1876, Mr. Kilen was
united in marriage to Anna Isaacson, who was born
in Norway and came to the United States at the age
of one year. She was the daughter of Erick and
Andriania Isaacson, early Iowa settlers. She died
July 20, 1905, aged fifty years. The second
marriage of Mr. Kilen occurred in Belmont township
June 30, 1906, when he wedded Christina Morkie,
who was born in Norway and came to the United
States just prior to her marriage. She was born
October 12, 1877, and is the daughter of Ole
Morkie, now living in Norway, and Bertha (Berge)
Morkie, who died in her native country. To Mr. and
Mrs. Kilen have been born two children: Anna J.,
born November 17, 1907; Bertha 0., born December
25, 1908, died November 28,
1909.
ERICK KILEN (1867) in
partnership with his brother, John Kilen, owns and
farms 240 acres of land on sections 10, 21 and 20,
on the west side of the river in Belmont township,
where he has spent nearly his entire life. His
parents were Erick R. and Johanna Kilen They were
born in Norway, came to America in the early
sixties, lived in Wisconsin a short time, in
Fillmore county, Minnesota, several years and came
to Jackson county in 1867. They took a
homestead claim in Belmont township, where they
resided until their death, he dying in 1897 and
she four years later. There were
thirteen children in the family, of whom six boys
and two girls are living.
It was while the family were
living in Fillmore county, on the second day of
September, 1864, that Erick Kilen was born. When
three years old, in 1867, he accompanied the
family to Jackson county, and Belmont township has
been his home ever since. He worked for his father
on the farm until the latter’s death in 1897; then
he and his brother, John, conducted the home place
for their mother until her death four years later.
After the death of their mother Erick and John
bought the entire real estate holdings of the
family and have since farmed in partnership.
Besides his farming interests
Mr. Kilen has interests in the Lakefield-Belmont
Telephone company, in the Jackson Telephone
company and in the Belmont Creamery company. He is
a member of the Norwegian Lutheran church. Mr. Kilen was
married in Des Moines township June 13, 1891, to
Betsey Teigen, a native of Blue Earth county,
Minnesota, and a daughter of Ole Teigen, one of
the pioneer settlers of Jackson county. To Mr. and
Mrs. Kilen have been born four children, as
follows: Peter, born March 29, 1892; Clara, born
March 12, 1894; Edwin, born December 15, 1896;
Ole, born October 7, 1902.
WILBUR S. KIMBALL (1867),
deceased. In the early days of the history of the
village of Jackson no man had a wider
acquaintanceship or took a more prominent part in
the affairs of the village than did W. S. Kimball,
one of the pioneer merchants.
He was born in Chelsea,
Vermont, in 1835, and early in life moved with his
parents to Illinois. After reaching his majority
he moved to Austin, Minnesota, where he engaged in
the hardware business. He enlisted in the Fourth
Minnesota regiment of volunteers in 1861 and
served until the close of the war.
At the close of the war Mr.
Kimball returned to Austin, and during the summer
of 1867 came with his family to the new village of
Jackson. He erected the town’s second building and
opened a small hardware store. Beginning with a
small business, he prospered and was soon doing an
enormous business. He was a most liberal and
enterprising citizen and devoted much time to the
upbuilding of the little city. He was in
business many years. With the
building of the St. Paul & Sioux City railroad
much of the trade territory from which he had
before drawn was cut off; then came the hard times
during the grasshopper period, and Mr. Kimball
failed. After retiring from business he took a
position as a traveling salesman, and some time
before his death he retired and lived a quiet life
at Jackson. Mr. Kimball died at Jackson December
13, 1892.
JOHN L. KING (1870).
editor and publisher of the Jackson County Pilot,
is a native of Jackson county, having been born in
a log house in Wisconsin township August 11,
1870. His father is
William V. King, one of the county’s early
settlers, who now resides in Jackson. His mother was
Antonette L. (Porter) King, who died March 26,
1896.
At the age of two years John
accompanied the family to the village of Jackson
and in that village he spent his boyhood days,
receiving his education in the Jackson public
schools. In July, 1888, he went to Jasper,
Minnesota, where he learned the printer’s trade in
the office of the Jasper Journal and where he
resided four years. Mr. King then went to Clifton,
Kansas, where for a little less than two years he
edited the Clifton Times. In 1893 Mr. King
returned to Jackson and the following year he
accepted the position of deputy county auditor,
serving under his father, William V. King, until
January, 1897. On November 20, 1896, in
partnership with J. C. McCroden, he bought the
Jackson County Pilot, which was published under
the firm name of King & McCroden until
November 10, 1900. At that time Mr. King bought his
partner’s interest and his since been sole
publisher. He publishes the only democratic paper
in Jackson county and has made the Pilot an
influential agent in the affairs of the
county.
Mr. King was appointed deputy
oil inspector by Governor John A. Johnson in 1903
and has since held the office. For four years he
was chairman of the democratic county central
committee and he was a member of his party’s state
central committee two years. He is a director of
the Jackson Building and Loan association and is
treasurer of the Jackson Library board. He holds
membership in the Knights of Pythias lodge.
At Mankato on June 19, 1907,
Mr. King was united in marriage of Miss Lillian
F. Hurd, a native
of Blue Earth county, Minnesota, and a daughter of
Hiram A. and Celestia
Hurd.
WILLIE P. KING (1866)
photographer and justice of the peace of Jackson.
is one of the early day settlers of the county,
having resided here forty-three years. He is a
native of Adams, Walworth county, Wisconsin, and
was born July 9, 1857, the son of William V. and Antonette L.
(Porter) King.
When our subject was four
years old he moved with the family from Walworth
county to Crawford county, Wisconsin. In 1864 lie
moved back to Walworth county and made his home
with his grandparents, his father being in the
army at the time. He moved from
Wisconsin to Austin. Minnesota, in March. 1866,
and on the twelfth day of October following
arrived in Jackson county. He resided on
his father’s homestead in Wisconsin township until
1872, and then moved to the village of Jackson,
where he attended the village schools until 1878.
That year he moved onto the farm in Hunter
township, where he engaged in farming and sheep
raising in partnership with his father. In 1882 he
bought the farm, his parents at that time moving
to Jackson, and conducted it alone until December.
1884.
On the last named date, on
account of his wife’s poor health. Mr. King moved
to Jackson and for the next three years assisted
his father in the county auditor’s office. In the
spring of 1887 he moved to Jasper, Minnesota,
where he worked at carpenter work one year. From
1888 to the summer of 1894 Mr. King resided in
Windom, working in a photograph gallery and
serving part of the time as justice of the peace,
he again located at Jasper in 1894 and from that
time until the spring of 1896 was engaged in
operating a photograph gallery in that town and
serving as justice of the peace, he returned to
Jackson in 1896 and the next year built on Main
street and opened a photograph gallery, which he
has since conducted. Mr. King has
often been called upon to serve in an official
capacity and has been justice of the peace for a
number of years. He was school treasurer in Hunter
township from 1882 to 1885 and was elected court
commissioner in 1896. He is foreman of Fire
company No. 1. and has been a
member of the Jackson fire department for
twenty-four years.
Mr. King was married to Mary
E. Trumbull in Jackson on January 1, 1882. She
died February 28, 1887. To this union were born
two children, Rossie, who died September 26, 1884,
and Genevra M., who is now teaching school in
Pipestone County. Mr. King’s second marriage
occurred at Sioux Falls, South Dakota, January 1,
1892 when he married Mary Rovang, a native of
Iowa. To this union have been born the following
named children: Gracie P., William V., James H.
P., Rignald G., Nellie T. A., Anna V., Irve R.,
Wilbur R. C. and Robert D. Mr. King holds
membership in the K. P. and M. W. A. lodges, he
served as a deputy organizer for the latter order
for a number of years.
WILLIAM V. KING (1866).
One of the best known residents of the county is
William V. King, a pioneer
of forty-three years standing, who now lives a
retired life in the county seat village, after
having spent many active years in public life.
In Oldham, England, on
September 26, 1831, our subject was born, the son
of John and Hannah (Hilton) King. On the first day
of April 1835 the family set sail for the new
world and upon their arrival located near Utica,
New York. There until he was ten years old William
lived with his parents, attending school and
working for a short time in a factory.
In 1841 he went to Walworth
county, Wisconsin, and that was his
home until his thirtieth year. During these years
he was engaged in farm work, and teaching school.
Moving to Crawford county in 1861, he engaged in
farming, and the same year, upon the out break of
the civil war he took a position with the
government as enrolling officer. In 1864 he
enlisted in the 43rd Wisconsin volunteer infantry
and served as first sergeant of his company until
his discharge from the army, which occurred at
Nashville, Tennessee, in July, 1865.
In the fall of 1865, soon
after leaving the army, Mr. King took up his
residence at Austin, Minnesota, and in May, of the
following year, became a resident of Jackson
county. He located in what is now organized as
Wisconsin township and took as a homestead the
southwest quarter of section 28, upon which he
lived until 1873. Having been elected to the
office of county auditor that fall, he moved to
Jackson to assume the duties of the office. With the
exception of two years spent in Hunter township,
Jackson has been the home of Mr. King ever
since.
During thirty-one years of his
residence in the county Mr. King has held county
office—a record held by no other man. Prior to his
removal to Jackson he held the office of judge of
probate six years; he was superintendent of
schools two years; was county attorney two years:
and held the office of county auditor twenty-one
years. He owns property in the village of Jackson
and eighty acres of land in section 24, Hunter
township. Fraternally he is associated with the
Masonic and Grand Army of the Republic
organizations. Mr. King was
married in Walworth county, Wisconsin, March 27,
1856 to Antonette L. Porter, who died
in Jackson March 26, 1896. To this union
were born the following named children: William
P., Nellie C. (Davies), S. S. and John F. The
second marriage of Mr. King occurred
June 22, 1898. when he wedded Leonora K.
Chittenden at Fairmont,
Minnesota.
PETER KLEIN (1903) is a
farmer and stock raiser of Christiania township.
He was born in the city of Brooklyn, New York,
July 27, 1860, the son of Peter and Isabella
(Heald) Klein. The former was a truck gardener by
trade and emigrated to the United States from
France in the forties, having ever since that time
made his home in Brooklyn. Peter grew to
manhood in one of the suburbs of Brooklyn. He was
educated in the public schools and in Winsburg
business college, and after growing up engaged in
the truck gardening business. He made his home in
his native city for nearly forty years, and then
in 1899 came west and located in Grundy county,
Iowa. Four years later in March, 1903, he came to
Jackson county and has since been engaged in
farming on section 21, Christiania township. Mr.
Klein engages extensively in stock raising and
makes a specialty of red polled cattle, which he
has been raising for the last three years. The
head of his herd received three first premiums at
the Minnesota state fair.
The subject of this biography
was married March 31, 1881, to Mary Kumarde, and
to this union have been born the following named
children: Peter H., born August 13, 1882; Charles,
born June 1, 1884; Lizzie, born February 1, 1886;
John, born February 17, 1888; Christ, born May 25,
1890; Joseph, born January 22, 1892; Minnie, born
February 10, 1894. Mr. Klein served
three years as deputy sheriff. He is a member of
the Odd Fellows
lodge.
FERDINAND KLINDT (1892) is
one of the prosperous farmers of Sioux Valley
township. He owns 300
acres of land on sections 2 and 3 and farms it
all, engaging in general farming and stock
raising. He has a nice home and has made most of
the improvements on the farm himself.
Mr. Klindt was born in
Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, July 21, 1852. His
father, Henry Klindt was a brick layer by trade
and died in his native land in 1897. The mother of
our subject. Annie (Golch) Klindt died in Germany
in 1891. Ferdinand was brought up on a farm and
educated in the country schools. After growing up
he worked on farms and in February, 1881, came to
the United States. He worked on a farm in Scott
county, Iowa, one year and then located in Ida
county, Iowa, where he lived three years, working
as a farm hand. In 1885 he went to Lyon county
Iowa, where he bought a farm and engaged in
agricultural pursuits until 1892. That year he
came to Jackson county, bought 160 acres of his
present farm—the H. Butterfield homestead and has
since made his home there, buying his other
property subsequently. Mr. Klindt served as a
member of the township board of supervisors
several years. He is a member of the Hermann Sons
lodge.
In Sioux Valley township on
February 8, 1895, Mr. Klindt was united in
marriage to Johanna Katherine Rohr, daughter of
Hans Rohr of Arnold’s Park, Iowa. She was born in
Schleswig Holstein, Germany, August 29, 1875 and
came to the United States in 1881. To Mr. and Mrs.
Klindt have been born six children: Frieda Louise,
born October 5, 1895 Walter, born May 3, 1896 died
September 27, 1897: Josephine Katherine, born
March 11, 1898: Elsie Minnie, born June 14, 1900:
Hans Henry Ferdinand, born May 16, 1902: Lloyd,
born December 31, 1907 died January 2,
1908.
JOHN COWING KNOX (1880),
deceased, was a native of Jackson and the son of
Thomas J. and Jane (Cowing) Knox. He was born
January 7, 1880, and received his primary
education in the Jackson schools. At the age of
sixteen years he was graduated from the Jackson
high school and although the youngest member of
his class, he was the valedictorian. After graduating
from the local school John Knox became a student
in the Minnesota state university and was
graduated from the academic department as the
youngest member of a class of 15, ranking sixth in
his class. He then took up the study of law in the
state law school and in his father’s office and
was admitted to the bar by the supreme court in
May 1903. He then became a member of the law firm
of Knox, Faber & Knox, of Jackson, and began
the practice of his profession. He was a young man
of very unusual promise and during the short time
he was engaged in this practice gave marked
distinction in his chosen profession. In addition
to his professional work he was much interested in
ornithology and oology, and it was while on a trip
to the wilds of western Manitoba, in search of
some rare specimens, that he met his death by
accidental drowning in Shod lake, in that
province, June 10, 1904.
 THOMAS J. KNOX
(1872). There is, perhaps, no man in Jackson
county who is better known within the county and
in the state at large than is Thomas J. Knox,
attorney at law of Jackson. He has been actively
engaged in the practice of his profession in that
village for the last thirty-seven years, and as a
lawyer has gained a state wide reputation. During this long
period of residence here he has taken an active
and prominent part in the political, social and
business life of the county and is one of its most
honored citizens. T. J. Knox is a
Pennsylvanian by birth and a descendant of
revolutionary stock, his ancestors having come
originally from Scotland and England, The paternal
grandfather of our subject, George Knox, was born
September 27, 1757, and died March 10, 1834. He
was a member of the Colonial army during the
greater part of the struggle for independence, and
was a tanner by trade, and followed that
occupation from the close of the war until his
death, having built and operated the first tannery
built in Covington, Pennsylvania. His wife, Ann
Knox, was born November 23, 1764, and died June
21, 1808. The maternal grandfather of T. J. Knox,
Royal Cole, was also a veteran of the
revolutionary war, as well as the war of 1812, His
home was in Wellsboro, Pennsylvania.
The parents of our subject
were George and Ruth (Cole) Knox. The former was
born in Pennsylvania December 22, 1805, and was a
tanner by trade. In the spring of 1854 he moved
with his family to Wisconsin, locating on a farm
near Geneva, and from that time engaged in
agricultural pursuits. In the autumn of 1855 he
became a resident of Fillmore county Minnesota,
preempting a claim in Bristol township. There he
lived until after the close of the war when he
moved to Mower county, he died in that county
November 11, 1807, His wife, Ruth (Cole) Knox,
also died in Minnesota.
To these parents at Covington,
Tioga county, Pennsylvania, on February 10, 1840,
Thomas J. Knox was born.
At the age of eight years, in the spring of 1854
he accompanied his parents to the new home in
Walworth county, Wisconsin, and in the fall of the
following year to Fillmore county Minnesota where
he grew to manhood on a farm. His early school
privileges were limited, but he was naturally
studious and had access to a good library in his
father’s home. Thus his education was obtained
largely under the parental roof, supplemented by a
year’s attendance at a private academy. Mr. Knox decided
to make the law his profession and in 1868 began
reading law in the office of C. T. Benedict, of
Rochester, Minnesota. The next year he
became a student in the office of Stearns &
Start, both members of which firm have become
prominent in the affairs of the nation, the former
as United States senator, the latter as chief
justice of the supreme court of Minnesota. Mr.
Knox was admitted to practice before the state
courts on October 14, 1871, and before the United
States courts on December 12, 1870. For four
months after his admission to the bar Mr. Knox
remained in the office of Stearns & Start, and
then decided to seek a location in Dakota
Territory.
In the month of November.
1872, Mr. Knox set out for the western country,
but was caught in the great blizzard that swept
over the country on the twelfth of that month,
becoming snow-bound in the new village of Windom,
Cottonwood county. The roads were blockaded and it
was impossible to proceed farther. Mr. Knox
decided to visit the village of Jackson, which was
then connected with Windom by a stage line, and
from thence to return home, giving up his western
trip for the season. At Jackson he met some
friends of former years who urged him to locate in
that frontier village. This he decided to do and
became a permanent resident of the village and
county on November 17, 1872. He at once opened a
law office and ever since has been engaged in the
practice of his profession in that village.
The terrible grasshopper
scourge came upon the country the year following
the location of the young attorney in Jackson
county and for several years Mr. Knox had a severe
struggle to maintain his position during the early
years of his practice; but by perseverance and
close attention to business he eventually
succeeded in building up a lucrative clientage. He
is gifted by nature with a good delivery, is a
fluent and forcible speaker, and his services as a
public speaker are frequently in demand. In 1900 Mr. Knox
admitted Mr. F, B. Faber as a partner in the law
business and that gentleman has since been
associated with Mr. Knox. In
January, 1903, John C. Knox, a son of the senior
member of the firm, became a member of the firm
which then became Knox, Faber & Knox, which it
remained until the death of the junior partner on
June 10, 1904. During his long
residence in the count}’ Mr. Knox has been
called upon to serve in responsible positions on
several occasions. He was appointed judge of
probate by the governor in June, 1874, to complete
an unexpired term; served as county superintendent
of schools from 1880 to 1836, inclusive; and was
county attorney from 1887 to 1890, inclusive. He became a
member of the Minnesota state board of examiners
in law by appointment in May, 1891, and served in
that capacity until 1900, when he resigned. In
1900 he was appointed a member of the board of
state railway commissioners. Mr. Knox was
appointed in May, 1901, by the state supreme court
as one of the commission to revise and codify the
general laws of the state of Minnesota and he was
occupied with these duties until April, 1905.
Fraternally Mr. Knox is
associated with several worthy orders, holding
membership in the A. F. & A. M., I. 0. 0. F.
and A. O. U. W. On September 3,
1877, Mr. Knox was united in marriage to Miss Jane
Cowing, a native of Adams county, Wisconsin, and a
daughter of John and Elizabeth (Davidson) Cowing,
pioneer residents of Jackson. To Mr. and Mrs. Knox have been
born the following named children: Elizabeth, born
September 23, 1878, died January 27, 1879; John
Cowing, born January 7, 1880, died June 10, 1904;
Ruth, born June 6, 1884; Thomas Start, born
September 19, 1888.
CLAUS KNUTH (1891), farmer
of Ewington township, was born in Germany August
11, 1864, the second of a family of eight children
living. His father is Henry Knuth, who in the old
country was a rope maker and who now makes his
home with his son. Our subject’s mother, who is
now dead, was Wiebke (Clodius) Knuth.
Claus made his home with his
parents and attended school until he was sixteen
years of age. Then he worked one year in his
father’s rope and harness shop. He came to the
United States in 1881 and located in Woodford
county, Illinois, where he worked out as a farm
laborer until 1890. That year he came to Jackson
county and bought his present farm, the southwest
quarter of section 25, Ewington township. He did
not locate on his farm at once, but for several
years lived on an uncle’s farm on section 16.
Later he improved his own place and has since made
his home there. Mr. Knuth has
been a member of the township board for the past
six or seven years and he has served as school
director of district No. 54 for the last
two years. He is a member of the German Lutheran
church.
Mr. Knuth was married in
Jackson county May 8, 1898, to Flora Janssen, a
native of Illinois. They have six children, as
follows: Margaret, John, Henry, Hannah, Willie and
Mary.
ALBERT S. KNUTSON (1874),
farmer and landowner of Petersburg township, has
lived in the county his entire life. He was born
on the farm in Petersburg township June 7, 1874,
the son of Siver and Christie (Kittleson) Knutson.
His father died March 28, 1903. Albert grew to
manhood in Jackson county and now owns and farms
the land which his father homesteaded in 1874. In
addition to the home farm he owns other valuable
tracts in Petersburg township. He has stock in the
Petersburg Creamery company, in the Jackson
Telephone company and in the Elevator company at
Alpha. He has been supervisor of Petersburg
township for several years.
Mr. Knutson was married
December 18, 1907, to Clara Sanderson, of
Allamakee county, Iowa. To them has been
born one child, Christine A., born January 14,
1909. Mr. and Mrs. Knutson are members of the
Norwegian Lutheran church.
FERDINAND KOEHN (1884) is
one of the prosperous farmers and big landowners
of Heron Lake township, owning 400 acres in one
piece on sections 2 and 3, all of which he and his
sons farm. He has resided on his present farm
twenty-five years.
Mr. Koehn was born in Germany
November 22, 1855, the youngest of a family of
five children. His father died when our subject
was a child and he spent his early days living
with his mother and working on farms. His mother
and the other children came to America in 1879 and
for five and one-half years lived in Lapeer
county, Michigan. His mother died in 1899, aged 82
years. Our subject came to Jackson county in 1884,
bought eighty acres of his present farm, and upon
that land has ever since resided.
In the village of Lakefield,
on April 20, 1886, Mr. Koehn was married to
Henrietta Dally, who was born in Germany in 1859
and came to the United States when twenty years of
age. Eight children have been born to these
parents, as follows: Otto, born January 23, 1887;
Charlie, born March 11, 1888; Fred, born July 11,
1889; Alvena, born July 20, 1891; Minnie, born
December 9, 1892; Paulina, born November 6, 1894;
Emil, born March 6, 1896; Bertha, born June 7,
1898. Mr. and Mrs. Koehn and children are members
of the German Lutheran
church.
HERMAN H. KOEP (1903),
farmer of Delafield township, was born in Benton
county, Iowa, June 25, 1873. His parents Claus and
Mary (Paulson) Koep, were born in Germany and came
to America in 1862, locating in Iowa. The former died
September 12, 1890, aged 55 years, 4 months and 28
days. His mother lives in Benton county, Iowa, and
is 75 years of age. Herman was
brought up on a farm and educated in district
schools. He lived on his father’s farm until 1897;
then he married and engaged in farming on rented
land in Benton county.
He came to Jackson county in
the spring of 1903 and located upon his farm,
which he had bought in the fall of 1902. He owns
the southeast quarter of section 25, Delafield,
and forty acres adjoining in section 30,
Christiania. His farm was only slightly improved
when he bought. He erected the barn, fenced the
land and made many improvements. He makes a
specialty of stock raising and has good grades of
stock. He is a stockholder in the Farmers Elevator
company of Windom and in the Mutual Telephone
company of the same village. Mr. Koep is a member
of the M. B. A. lodge of
Windom. He is treasurer of school district No. 70,
having served for the past two years.
Our subject was married in
Benton county, Iowa, February 24, 1897, to Katie
Lackmann, who was born in Benton county March 1,
1879. She is the
daughter of George and Annie (Miller) Lackmann, of
Benton county, Iowa. Mr. and Mrs. Koep
are the parents of six children: Clara, born
December 8, 1897; Agnes, born January 11, 1900;
Bernhardt, born February 1, 1902; Helen, born
October 6, 1903; Elsie, born January 16, 1907 :
Edwin, born October 20, 1909.
P. F. KOEP (1901),
Delafield township farmer, was born in Schlesbeck,
Germany, August 16, 1861, the son of Claus and
Mary (Paulson) Koep. His father died in Benton
county, Iowa, September 12, 1890; his mother still
lives in that county.
The family emigrated from
Germany to the United States in 1867 and located
at Davenport, Iowa, where for two years our
subject’s father worked in a brick yard. The
family home was then made in Benton county, Iowa,
and on a farm in that county our subject grew to
manhood. There he secured a district school
education and there he spent his younger years
working for his father. In 1883 he engaged in
farming for himself and was so engaged in Benton
county until 1892. From that time until 1901 he
engaged in farming in Plymouth county, Iowa.
Mr. Koep came to Jackson
county in 1901, bought the northwest quarter of
section 22, Delafield township, and has since made
his home there. He has a nice home and rents a
quarter section of land adjoining his own
property. He engages in
the raising of hogs and cattle extensively, and is
rated as one of the successful farmers of the
neighborhood. He has stock in the Farmers Elevator
company of Windom and is one of the directors of
the company. Our subject takes a deep interest in
educational matters and has served as clerk of
school district No. 121 since the district was
organized seven years ago.
Mr. Koep was married in Benton
county, Iowa, February, 5, 1889, to Minnie Rutz,
who was born in Mecklenberg, Germany, May 22,
1873, and came to the United States when four
years of age. She is the daughter of John and
Johanna (Hartols) Rutz. Her father lives in Benton
county, Iowa; her mother is dead. To Mr. and Mrs.
Koep have been born the following named children:
John, born February 19, 1890; Herman, born January
27, 1891; William, born December 2, 1892; Elenora,
born March 30, 1895; Frank, born February 13,
1897; Walter, born May 27, 1899; Albert, born
April 13, 1901; Ida, born June 17, 1903; Bessie,
born August 23, 1907.
FRANK KOPESTE (1907) owns
and farms the southwest quarter of section 4,
LaCrosse township. He is a native of Peoria,
Illinois, and was born April 25, 1869.
The parents of our subject
were Frank and Mary Proehazka Kopeste both natives
of Austria. They were
married in their native land and came to America
in 1867, living respectively in Racine, Wisconsin;
Peoria, Illinois: Gibson City, Illinois; Spirit
Lake, Iowa: Marshalltown, Iowa; and Des Moines,
Iowa. Mr. Kopeste was a farmer and carpet weaver.
He died at Des Moines in 1891, aged 63 years.
Mrs. Kopeste now
lives at Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Frank is next to
the oldest of a family of nine children in this
family.
Frank spent his early years
with his parents, residing; in the different
places mentioned, engaging in farming and
carpenter work after growing to manhood. He worked
at his trade six years in Marshalltown, Iowa, and
Dos Moines, Iowa, and then engaged in farming in
Linn county, Iowa. In the spring of 1907 he came
to Jackson county and bought his present farm, the
southwest quarter of section 4 LaCrosse township.
He is clerk of school district No. 122 and is a
member of the Bohemian lodge of Jackson.
Mr. Kopeste was married at Des
Moines, Iowa November 6, 1889, to Katie Kesl. who
was born in Belle Plaine, Iowa, in 1872. To them
have been born six children, named as follows:
Mary, Frank, Agnes, Emily, Adelaide and
Margaret.
JOHN P. KOSTER (1895) is a
West Heron Lake township farmer who owns 240 acres
of land on sections 31 and 30. He was born in
Oldenburg, Germany, November 11, 1870, the son of
Otto J. and Maria (Tjoks) Koster. His father and
mother, who are now aged, respectively, 87 and 78
years, have been retired from active pursuits
fifteen years and reside in Germany. There were
ten children in their family, of whom eight are
living. The children are: Frederick; Herman
(deceased). Otto (deceased), Hajo, Agnes, Maria,
Lusiene, John P., Warner and Peter. Of this family
John P. and Hajo reside in America; the others are
residents of Germany.
John P. Koster lived with his
parents in Germany seventeen years, working on the
farm and attending school. He came to the United
States in 1887, worked four years on a farm in
Woodford county, Illinois, and then farmed rented
property in Livingston county, Illinois, four
years. He came to Jackson county in 1895, farmed
rented land in Rost township four years, and then
bought the southwest quarter of section 31, West
Heron Lake township, upon which he has ever since
resided. When he took
possession the land was unbroken and without
building improvements. His farm is now
thoroughly tiled and has a fine grove and set of
buildings. He bought the south half of the
southwest quarter of section 30 four years
ago.
Mr. Koster has other than
farming interests. He is a
stockholder and director of the First State Bank
of Okabena, is a director of the Farmers Mutual
Fire Insurance company of Delafield township and
is treasurer of the Rost Telephone company. He has
been a supervisor of West Heron Lake township for
the past ten years and has been treasurer of
school district No. 88 for the last three years.
Of district No. 73 he was a director six
years. He is a member
of the Rost township German Lutheran church.
The marriage of Mr. Koster
occurred at Flanagan, Livingston county, Illinois,
March 15, 1893, when he wedded Bredtji Post, who
was born in Flanagan November 2, 1871, the
daughter of Albert J. and Antje (Ohling)
Post. Seven children
have been born to these parents, of whom the
following six are living: Otto J., Annie D., Mary
A., Albert P., Paulina H. and Freda
E.
JOHN V. KRAL (1901). a
resident of Hunter township, has lived in the
county but a few years, but in that time has
prospered, and he owns 440 acres of well improved
land. He is a native of Bohemia, where he was born
March 13, 1866, and is the son of Frank and
Josephine Kral, both of whom live in the old
country at advanced ages. They are the parents of
three children, John (the subject of the sketch)
being the eldest.
John Kral grew to young
manhood in his native country, and there he
received a fair education. At the age of seventeen
years he crossed the Atlantic to seek his fortune
in the new country. He settled in the city of
Chicago, where he worked a few months in a planing
mill. He then became a tailor’s apprentice and
learned that trade, and worked at it about fifteen
years. Having been frugal in his habits, he had
saved up a sum of money, and with this he opened a
tailor shop of his own and prospered to such an
extent that he soon had a large force of men
employed in turning out custom work. Mr. Kral
conducted his shop until 1904, when, owing to ill
health, he was forced to sell and seek other
employment. In that year he
came to Jackson county and bought 440 acres of
land in Hunter township, the home place being
located on the south half of the northwest quarter
of section 27. He has spent the sum of $19,000 on
the farm, which includes the improvements made
since purchasing the place. Mr. Kral was
married in Chicago, Illinois, on November 6, 1887,
to Frances Res, a native of Bohemia, who came to
the United States in 1876. To this union twelve
children have been born. They are: Jerry, born
April 20, 1889; John, born June 28, 1890; Bessie,
born October 10, 1891: Fernie. born November 6,
1894: Georgie, born February 23, 1898; Emma, born
January 15, 1900; Ella, born March 22, 1901;
Charlie, born March 7, 1903; Albe, born July 10,
1904; Mary, born January 4, 1906; Frank, born
March 30, 1907; Josie, born March 24, 1908.
Mr. Kral has held the office
of treasurer of the township board the past two
years, and for four years has been treasurer of
school district 84. He is a member of the Catholic
Order of Foresters and of the Catholic
church.
LOUIS KRUMWIEDE, (1899) is
a farmer and landowner of Hunter township,
residing two and one-half miles east of Lakefield.
His parents are Henry and Dora (Sternberg)
Krumwiede, who reside in Iroquois county,
Illinois. They came from
Germany soon after their marriage, lived a few
years in Cook county, Illinois, and in the early
seventies located in Iroquois county. They are the
parents of nine children, as follows: Mary, Henry,
August, Fred, Louis, Emma, Bertha, Will and
George.
Louis was born in Cook county,
Illinois, January 22. 1864. When a child he
accompanied his parents to Iroquois county, and
that was his home until he came to Jackson county.
He was educated in the district schools and in a
German school at Buckley, and worked on his
father’s farm until twenty-five years of age. He
was married in 1889 and for the next ten years
engaged in farming on his own account and worked
at the carpenter’s trade in Buckley, which he
followed three years. Mr. Krumwiede
came to Jackson county in 1899 and bought the
northeast quarter of section 2, Hunter township,
upon which he has since resided. On the place at
the time of purchase was a dug-out, built by an
early settler. This he has replaced by a modern
home and he has made other improvements, including
a complete system of tiling.
At Buckley, Iroquois county,
Illinois, on December 18, 1889, Mr. Krumwiede was
united in marriage to Mary Larson, who was born in
Cook county, Illinois, November 20, 1870. To them
have been born two children: Malinda (Mrs. Charles
Severson), of Enterprise township, born October
15, 1890; Leonard, born January 14, 1893. Mr.
Krumwiede is a member of the German Lutheran
church.
MARTIN KUHLMAN (1887) is
one of the early settlers of Sioux Valley
township, where he owns a fine farm of 240 acres.
He was born in Hoistein, Germany, October 2,
1858. His parents were
John Kuhlman and Katie (Hamann) Kuhlman, who died
in their native land in 1872 and 1883,
respectively. Martin was
brought up on a farm and made his home in Germany
until 1882. That year he came to the new world and
located in Scott county, Iowa, where he resided
until 1887, working out on farms.
In March, 1887, he came to
Jackson county and rented a farm in Sioux Valley.
After conducting that five years he bought his
present farm—then raw prairie, absolutely
unimproved—and has since made his home on it. His
home place is the northwest quarter of section 24
and he owns also the south half of the southwest
quarter of section 13. Mr. Kuhlman has served as
director and treasurer of school district No. 77
for several years. He is a member of the Sons of
Hermann lodge of Sioux Valley.
Mr. Kuhlman was married at
Spirit Lake, Iowa, May 17, 1888, to Selma
Wellhausen, daughter of Ernst Wellhausen. She died
May 24, 1901, having been the mother of five
children: Otto, Willie, Eddie, Charlie and
Leonora. The second marriage of Mr. Kuhlman
occurred in Jackson October 22, 1902, when he
wedded Annie Rohr, who was born in Hoistein,
Germany, April 5, 1878, and who came to the United
States in 1881.
GERHARD KUHNAU (1880).
Weimer township farmer, was born near Green Bay,
Wisconsin, August 31, 1873, the eldest of a family
of eight children born to Robert and Alvina
(Shoeman) Kuhnau. These parents were born in
Germany and soon after their marriage came to
America and located near Green Bay, Wisconsin. In
1880 they came to Jackson County and engaged in
farming in Heron Lake township, near lake
Flaherty. The father of our subject died there in
March 1897, at the age of 56 years. His mother
still lives on the home farm with a son. The other
children of the family are Arthur, Lenhard,
Robert, Rudolph, Richard, Reinhold and
Lottie.
At the age of seven years
Gerhard accompanied the family from Wisconsin to
Jackson county. Until 1897 he lived on the Heron
Lake township farm, securing a country school
education and working on his father’s farm. He
then married and engaged in farming on the present
place, the northwest quarter of section 36,
Weimer, where he has since resided.
Mr. Kuhnau was married October
26, 1897, in Weimer township to Minnie Winzer, who
was born in the same township May 17, 1883. She is the
daughter of Charles and Ida Winzer, pioneer
settlers of Weimer. To Mr. and Mrs. Kuhnau have
been born the following named five children:
Robert, Ernest, Henry, Lena and
Irena.
RUDOLPH KUHNAU (1881), a
farmer and land owner of Weimer township, is a
native of the county, having been born in Heron
Lake township April 5, 1881, the son of Robert and
Alvina (Shoeman) Kuhnau.
Rudolph has spent his entire
life in his native county. He secured a district
school education in Heron Lake township and made
his home on his parents’ farm until his father’s
death, which occurred in 1897. From that time
until he was twenty years of age he worked out as
a farm hand. Then he rented the farm in Weimer
township which he now conducts, and which was then
owned by John Dobereiner, and has lived on the
farm since. He has other land adjoining, making a
farm with a total acreage of 320.
Mr. Kuhnau was married May 23,
1904, to Daisy Winzer, daughter of Charles and Ida
Winzer, pioneer settlers of Weimer township. Mrs. Kuhnau was
born in Weimer township September 21, 1885. To Mr.
and Mrs. Kuhnau have been born two children: Ida,
born April 14, 1905; Theodore, born July 4, 1907.
The family are members of the German Lutheran
church and he is treasurer of school district No.
30.
Mr. Kuhnau is a member of the
following associations: The Jackson County
Cooperative company of Lakefield, the Cooperative
Creamery company of Wilder, the Jackson County
Fair association of Jackson, the American Chester
White Record association. Mr. Kuhnau is a
progressive young farmer of his township, and is a
booster for the pure breeding of livestock,
demonstrating his activities along this line by
capturing many first and second prizes and
diplomas on his entries of Shorthorn cattle,
Chester White hogs and Shropshire sheep at fairs
in Jackson and adjoining counties.
THOMAS KULSETH (1879), of
Christiania township, was born in Norway October
29, 1828, the son of John and Betsy (Thompson)
Thompson, of whom the former died at the age of
65, the latter at the age of 97.
Thomas received a common
school education and after growing up engaged in
farming. He lived in Norway over fifty years, and
then came to America in the spring of 1879 and
located in Christiania township, where he has ever
since resided. He owns 160 acres of land on
section 26.
Mr. Kulseth was married in
1851 to Gertrude Pauls. To them have been born
seven daughters and one son, named as follows:
Julia (Mrs. Anton Berge), of North Dakota; Bessie
(Mrs. Peter Hoffland), of Jeffers, Minnesota;
Carrie (Mrs, Peter Borsgard), of Christiania;
Sarah (Mrs. Ludwig Ehern), of Christiania; Bessie
(Mrs. Albert Jacobson), of Christiania; Lena (Mrs.
Paul Olson), deceased; Mary (Mrs. John Hamm), of
Christiania; John, of Christiania. The family are
members of the Norwegian Lutheran
church.
L. KUMMETH (1887) is one
of the large land owners and successful farmers of
Alba township, he owns a section of land in one
body and farms it all.
Mr. Kummeth is a native of
Salvia, Bayern, Germany, and was born January 15,
1851, the son of George and Geneiva (Wagner)
Kummeth. His father, who
was a mason by trade, died in Germany about
twenty-five years ago, aged 85 years. His mother
died in Germany ten years ago, aged 80 years.
Our subject spent the first
twenty-two years of his life in his native land.
He was brought up in the village of Hansen and was
educated in the common schools. At the age of
fourteen years he began working at the mason’s
trade, and during the remainder of the time he
lived in the old country he followed that trade
during the summer months, working as a wood
chopper during the winter months. During the month
of May, 1873, Mr. Kummeth came to the United
States. He spent the first year in New York city,
working for a second hand lumber company, tearing
down old buildings. After one year
spent in the metropolis he moved to Lake county,
Illinois, where he resided thirteen years. During
the first seven years of this time he worked as a
farm hand; the last six he was engaged in farming
on rented land.
In the fall of 1887 Mr.
Kummeth came to Jackson county and located upon an
eighty acre farm on section 10, Ewington township,
which he had bought the year before, and started
farming. When he arrived in the county he had a
team and wagon and just enough money to build a
little house and shed. He borrowed
money to buy feed for his horses and food for his
family, paying twenty-four per cent interest,
having raised no crop during the first three years
of his residence in the county. Later he came upon
better times and has prospered. He lived on the
Ewington township farm eight years, during which
time he increased it by the purchase of an
additional eighty acres.
In 1895 Mr. Kummeth traded his
Ewington township farm for the quarter section of
land on section 14, Alba, now the home place, and
has ever since resided on it. At the time of
making the trade the only improvements were a
small house and barn. He now has a fine home and
well improved farm. He bought the southeast
quarter of section 10 in 1899 and the south half
of section 11 in the fall of 1909.
Mr. Kummeth has taken an
active part in the affairs of his community and
has several times been called upon to serve in an
official capacity. He was a member of the Alba
township board twelve years and during two years
of that time was chairman of the board. He is
clerk of school district No. 102 and has served in
that capacity twelve years. He and his family are
members of the Catholic church of Heron Lake.
In Lake county, Illinois, in
February, 1882, Mr. Kummeth was united in marriage
to Walpurge Isele, who was born in Balvia, Bayern,
Germany, and who came to the United States in
1881. To these parents have been born the
following named five children: Annie, Frank,
Barbara, Lawrence and George, all living at
home.
The information
on Trails to the Past © Copyright
may be used in personal family history
research, with source citation. The pages in
entirety may not be duplicated for publication in
any fashion without the permission of the owner.
Commercial use of any material on this site is not
permitted. Please respect the wishes of
those who have contributed their time and efforts
to make this free site possible.~Thank you! |
|
|
|
|
