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MAURICE MADDEN (1903)
is a Middletown Township farmer residing a few
miles southwest of Jackson. He is a native of
Springfield, Sangamon county, Illinois, and was
born October 16, 1855 the son of John and Margaret
(Fitzgerald) Madden.
Maurice spent the
greater part of his life in his native county.
Until he was nineteen years of age he lived on the
farm with his parents; then he spent seven years
working out as a farm hand. Locating in the city
of Springfield, he was employed one year as a
street car driver and in a roller mill. He then
engaged in farming for himself, renting his
father’s farm two years and another farm in the
same county thirteen years, he spent the next four
years farming in Nebraska, and in 1903 came to
Jackson county. He has since farmed the northwest
quarter of section 3 Middletown
township.
Mr. Madden was married in
Buffalo, Illinois, October 18, 1888, to Johanna
Vennemann. a native of Springfield. To this union
have been born the following named ten children:
John L., Catherine M., Florence W., Francis N.,
Petranilla R., Frederick T., Alfonso E., Theresa
M., Ena E., and Cycil
C.
THOMAS MADDEN (1872), of
Hunter township, residing a short distance west of
Lakefield is an early day settler of the county.
He was born at Racine, Wisconsin, August 17, 1861,
the son of William and Rose (Gallagher) Madden,
both natives of Ireland. His father died in 1868.
His mother lives at Austin, Minnesota, and is 70
years of age. There are four children in the
family.
Thomas Madden was eleven years
of age when he and his mother first came to
Jackson county in 1872. Until grasshopper times
they made their home with Thomas’ grandfather,
John Gallagher, who had a homestead on section 6,
Hunter township. When the hard times incident to
the grasshopper invasion came our subject and his
mother moved to Mason City, Iowa, where they
resided several years. Returning, they took up
their residence on the northeast quarter of
section 6, Hunter township, which his mother had
taken as a homestead in 1871 and to which she
subsequently obtained title. Thomas received his
education in Iowa and in the Jackson high school,
which he attended several years. Our subject has
lived on the homestead ever since returning to the
county and he now owns the farm.
Mr. Madden was married at
Oxford, Iowa, January 4, 1894, to Julia O’Connor,
a native of the town in which she was married. She
is the daughter of Patrick and Bridget
O’Connor. Four children
have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Madden,
as follows: Thomas V., Rose M., Margaret E.,
Joseph. The family are members of the Catholic
church.
PETER MADSEN (1885) is an
extensive stock breeder of Kimball township, where
he is also engaged in farming a half section of
land. Mr. Madsen is of Danish birth and was born
February 11, 1853, His parents, Mads Clausen and
Carrie (Larsdatter) Clausen, died in their native
land a number of years ago. There are seven
living children in the family, as follows: Claus,
Lars C, Jens, Julia, Mary, Peter and Carl F.
Until he was twenty-one years
of age Peter Madsen lived in his native land,
working out after he was fourteen years of age. In
1874 he came to America and located at Peshtigo,
Wisconsin. He worked in a sawmill there three
years, on a farm in Dodge county, Wisconsin,
fourteen months, and then again worked one winter
in the timber at Peshtigo. From the
Wisconsin town Mr. Madsen went to Chicago, where
he was engaged in various occupations until 1885.
That year he came to Jackson county and located
upon his present farm—the southeast quarter of
section 32, Kimball—which he had bought the year
before. At the time of
purchase the farm was prairie land with no
improvements, and the substantial improvements now
on the farm are all the result of the labors of
Mr. Madsen.
In the city of Chicago on
October 5, 1878, Mr. Madsen was united in marriage
to Rangnild Olson, who was born in Norway May 12,
1860, and came to the United States when ten years
of age. She is the daughter of Tora and Mary
Olson. Twelve children have been born to Mr. and
Mrs. Madsen, of whom eleven are living. Theodore
died in Chicago at the age of two and one-half
years. The others are: Theodore, born January 21,
1883; Edward, born December 21, 1885; Carrie
(Mrs. Wallace
Mitchell), born September 18, 1887; Julia born
August 4, 1880; Annie, born September 18, 1891:
Peter, born September 5, 1893; Walter born January
12, 1896; George, born March 4, 1899; Lawrence,
born June 2, l901; Roy, born August 15, 1903;
Laurine, born June 24, 1905. Mr. Madsen has been
treasurer of school district No. 87 for the past
ten or twelve years. He is a member of the Danish
Brotherhood lodge.
JOSEPH V. MAKOVICKA (1891),
proprietor of one of the saloons of Jackson, is a
native of New York city, having been born there
March 9, 1873, the son of Joseph and Anna (Tupa)
Makovicka. In 1877 he moved with his parents from
the city and located at New Prague, Minnesota,
where he lived until 1888. He was brought
up on a farm and was educated in St. Venslous
Catholic school at New Prague.
In 1888 Mr. Makovicka moved to
Montgomery, LeSueur county, and for three years
conducted a cigar factory there. On the first day
of May, 1891, he became a resident of Jackson
county, locating at Lakefield. He conducted a
cigar factory there one year and then moved to
Jackson, engaging in the saloon business and in
the manufacture of cigars. He operated the cigar
factory six years and has conducted the saloon
ever since. During his residence in the county
seat village Mr. Makovicka has been engaged in
several other lines of business. In 1893 he
opened a meat market and conducted it three years.
In 1901 he engaged in the marble business as a
member of the firm of Jackson Marble Works, the
members of the firm being Joseph Makovicka. J. V.
Makovicka and Joseph L. Rakard. He bought his
partners out in 1902, conducted the business alone
four years and then sold a half interest to Ed.
Gilbertson.
In 1907 Mr. Makovicka moved to
Wells, bought a saloon there, conducted it a short
time, and then returned to Jackson. For many years
he was the agent of the Standard Brewing company,
of Mankato, and is now agent for the C. & J.
Michel Brewing company, of LaCrosse. Mr. Makovicka
is a member of the Catholic church and of numerous
orders, he joined as a charter member of the Z.
E. K. J. in 1897,
and on January 1, 1899, organized the first lodge
of the Catholic Western Union west of the
Mississippi river. He also belongs to the C. O. F.
and to the K. U. J., a Catholic Bohemian
lodge.
On July 31, 1894, Mr.
Makovicka was married in Jackson to Miss Thresa
Bunderle, who was born in Allegheny. Pennsylvania,
February 2, 1875. To these parents have been born
the following children: Frank, born October 2,
1900, died December 12, 1900; Joseph, born
February 19, 1902; Rudolph, born November 1, 1903;
Robert, born February 8, 1906; Blanche, born
February 15, 1908.
CHARLES MALCHOW (1869),
ex-sheriff of Jackson county and secretary of the
Delafield Farmers Mutual Fire Insurance company,
resides on his farm in Delafield township, just
east of the village of Wilder. He is a pioneer,
having spent over forty years of his life in
Jackson county, and was one of the very first to
locate in Heron Lake township. Mr. Malchow is a
native of Prussia and was born June 25, 1846, the
son of Frederick and Henrietta (Kuhn) Malchow. He
came to the United States with his parents when
quite young and located with them in Waushara
county, Wisconsin. He resided at home until
February, 1865, when he enlisted in company F, of
the Fiftieth Wisconsin volunteer infantry. He
served in the army until June, 1866, the longest
part of his service being spent in Dakota
territory under Colonel John G. Clark in frontier
warfare against the Indians.
After his discharge from the
army Mr. Malchow spent a few years working on
farms in Wisconsin and Minnesota. In the spring of
1869 he moved to Jackson county and in May of that
year filed a soldier’s homestead claim to the
southwest quarter of section 8, Heron Lake
township, being one of the three first settlers of
that precinct. The others were Fred Ebert and
Albert Hohenstein and all settled on the banks of
Lake Flaherty. On this farm he lived twenty-nine
years, passing through the grasshopper days and
other trying ordeals of pioneer life and
witnessing the development of Jackson county from
a wilderness to the prosperous condition of the
present time. In 1898 Mr. Malchow moved to his
present location just outside the village of
Wilder and has since made his home there.
During his long residence in
the county Mr. Malchow has held
many offices of trust. He was sheriff of the
county from 1879 to 1887 and has many times been
called upon to serve as township officer. He is
secretary of the Delafield Farmers Mutual Fire
Insurance company, which was organized May 10,
1888, and began business September 1, 1888. In
January, 1909, the company had in force $1,619,
894 of insurance. The assets of the company on
that date were $2,546.70 and the disbursements for
the past year were $2,135.56. For the past ten
years the company has maintained a record of
levying an assessment of only one and one-half
mills on the dollar. The officers of the company
are Herman Rossow, president; C. F. Morley,
vice-president; Charles Malchow, secretary; August
Pohlman, treasurer; August Wolf, John Nestrud, T.
J. Egge, August Milbrath and John P. Koster, direc
tors. Mr. Malchow is the owner of 480 acres of
Jackson county land, a quarter section in
Colorado, and town property in Armstrong,
Iowa.
The marriage of our subject
occurred in Jackson county March 4, 1872, when he
wedded Christina Kilen. She was born in Norway and
died in March, 1893, at the age of thirty-eight
years. Nine children were born to this union, as
follows: William G., born May 1, 1873; Hannah B.
(Mrs. S. A. Smith), born September 7, 1874; Fred
E., born February 10, 1877; Lydia C, born December
6, 1878; Blanch, born December 12, 1880; Edith K.
(Mrs. Chauncy Hamlon, born March 16, 1882; John C,
born August 17, 1884; James S., born January 9,
1886; Otis M., born January 14, 1888.
Mr. Malchow’s second marriage
occurred at Mason City, Illinois, October 5, 1897,
when he married Katie A. Skinner. She was born in
Long Island, New York, moved to Illinois when a
baby, and resided in that state until her
marriage. Mr. Malchow is a member of the
Evangelical church; his wife belongs to the
Presbyterian church.
 F. E. MALCHOW
(1877) is the manager of the implement business of
Malchow Brothers of Wilder. He is the son of
Charles and Christine (Kilen) Malchow. During the
hard times of the seventies Charles Malchow and
family, who had settled in Heron Lake township in
an early day, were obliged to temporarily abandon
the farm and seek employment at Mankato. It was
during a temporary residence in that town, on the
16th day of February, 1877, that F. E. Malchow of
this sketch was born. The family returned to the
farm in Heron Lake township the year of his
birth. Our subject grew
to manhood and was educated in the county. After
completing the course of study furnished in the
country school he attended the Breck school at
Wilder two years, he made his home on his father’s
farm until seventeen years of age. The next five
years of his life were spent in Windom, in the
employ of a Windom merchant. Returning to Wilder,
he worked at the grain business several years—one
and one-half years for C. W. Gillam, one year
for the Citizens Elevator company, and then for
Thorn & Christensen until August 1907.
In 1907 Mr. Malchow went to
Lincoln county, Colorado, where he took a
homestead and resided one year. He and his
brother, J. C. Malchow, are now
the owners of a stock and dairy farm in that
county. Returning to Wilder in 1908, Mr. Malchow
took the management of the implement house of
Malchow Brothers and has been engaged in that
business since. The firm of which he is now the
manager was organized May 1, 1905, his partner
being J. C. Malchow.
Mr. Malchow was married at
Wahpeton, North Dakota, January 16, 1901, to
Stella Wellington, a native of Wisconsin and a
daughter of S. A. Wellington. The latter, who now
lives in Windom, is a veteran of the civil war and
an ex-prisoner of Andersonville and Libby prisons.
To Mr. and Mrs. Malchow have been born two
children: Althea W., born September 4, 1905, and
Samuel Byron, born March 10, 1909. Mr. Malchow
served as president of the Wilder village council
several years and was a member of the board of
education three years. He is a member of the M. W.
A.
lodge.
 WILLIAM
G. MALCHOW (1873), cashier of the Farmers State
Bank of Wilder, has spent his entire life in
Jackson county, having been born in Heron Lake
township May 1, 1873. He is the son of Charles and
Christine (Kilen) Malchow, pioneer settlers of the
county. William secured his education in this
county, completing it in the academic department
of the school at Wilder.
After his school days, at the
age of nineteen years, he began teaching school,
which occupation he followed seven years. He then
took a position as grain buyer for the firm of
Thorn & Christensen at Wilder and was so
engaged three years. In 1902 he and his brother
and father bought the controlling interest in the
Farmers State Bank and since that date he has held
the position of cashier.
Mr. Malchow is a man of
family, having been married in Heron Lake township
January 2, 1805. to Miss Christine Sether, a
native of Blue Earth. Minnesota, and a daughter of
Hans E. Sether, a Norwegian Lutheran minister and
an early settler of the county. To this union have
been born four children: Evangeline C, born
December 23, 1898; Vivian G., born July 16, 1900;
Thelma. born December 1, 1904; Violet, born June
2, 1908. Mr. Malchow
served as president of the Wilder village council
two years and was village recorder four years. He
was treasurer of the school board six years, he is
a member of the Masonic, Woodmen and Royal
Neighbors lodges.
JOHN A. MANSFIELD (1904),
county attorney of Jackson county, resides at
Lakefield. He is a native
Minnesotan, having been born at Mankato July 12,
1879. His father, Charles Mansfield, was of
English origin and came to Mankato in 1856. He
died there in 1884, aged 56 years. The mother of
our subject. Louisa (Burchard) Mansfield, is of
German birth. She still resides in Mankato.
John A. Mansfield grew to
manhood in his native city and was graduated from
the high school there in 1890. He then took a
three years’ course in the law department of the
Michigan state university and later read law in
the office of Pfau & Pfau, Mankato. In 1903 he
began the practice of his profession at Park
Rapids, Minnesota, and in the spring of 1904
located at Lakefield, where he has since resided.
He was elected county attorney on the republican
ticket in 1908 and assumed the duties of that
office at the beginning of the year 1909.
During the Spanish-American
war Mr. Mansfield served as a member of company A,
of the Twelfth Minnesota volunteer infantry, and
was stationed with his regiment at Chickamauga,
Georgia. He is a member of the A. F. & A. M.,
the M. W. A. and I. O. O. F. lodges. At Park Rapids,
Minnesota, on June 12, 1903, Mr. Mansfield was
married to Miss Myrtle Gibson, a native of
Ironton, Ohio.
OSRO C. MARCY (1905)
owns 320 acres of land on sections 13 and 12,
Christiania township, and is one of the successful
farmers of that precinct. He is a native of
Mitchell county, Iowa, and was born June 17, 1859,
the son of James and Mary (Bert) Marcy. Both
parents were born in New York state and his father
was a cabinet maker by trade. Both
parents are dead. William Marcy, an uncle of our
subject’s father, was a former governor of New
York state.
In 1871 Osro Marcy
moved from his native county to Northwood, Worth
county, of the same state, and there he grew to
manhood.
In 1882 he moved to De Smet, Kingsbury
county South Dakota, but returned to Iowa in 1894.
He located in Cottonwood county, Minnesota, in
1896 and engaged in farming there until March
1905, when he bought his present farm and became a
resident of Jackson county. He makes a specialty
of raising Shropshire sheep. Mr. Marcy owns stock
in the Farmers State Bank of Windom and in the
Farmers Elevator company of the same village. He is a
member of the M. W. A. and A. O. U. W.
lodges.
March 30, 1887, Mr. Marcy was
married to Lura Gelder, of Chicago. They are the
parents of the following named children: Ralph,
born December 17, 1887; Raymond, born January 23,
1889; Bert G., born December 20, 1891; Vernon H.,
born January 15, 1894; Donald B., born December
14, 1896; Theodore McKinley, born May 24,
1902.
FATHER RUDOLPH MATOUSEK
(1898), until recently pastor of St. Weneeslaus
Catholic church of Jackson, was born in Lomnitz,
Moravia April 12, 1865. the son of Louie and
Antonia (Kapoun) Matousek. He received his early
education in Lomnitz, but at the age of eleven
years he went to Brunn, the capital city of
Moravia, and for eight years was a student there,
two years of the time studying theology. At the
age of twenty-one he left his native country, and
for two years was a student at a theological
school at Louvain, Belgium. In 1888
Father Matousek came to America and for nearly
nine years had charge of a church at Rock Creek,
near St. Louis, Missouri. In 1897 he
returned to Europe for a visit with his father,
but returned the next year, and on May 5, 1898,
took up his duties in Jackson, where he ministered
until the fall of
1909.
BENJAMIN MATTESON (1883),
proprietor of a Jackson jewelry store, was born in
Norway September 16, 1848, the son of Matt and
Marih (Johnson) Matteson. In his native land he
secured his education and worked on his father’s
farm. He came to the United States in August 1867,
and located in Winneshiek county, Iowa, where he
worked as a farm laborer two years. The next two
years were spent in Allamakee county, Iowa, and
from there he went to Mason City, of the same
state.
Mr. Matteson worked at the
carpenter trade in Mason City two years and then
moved to Worth county, where he bought a farm and
engaged in agricultural pursuits for three or four
years. Having traded his Iowa farm for one in
Martin county, Minnesota, Mr. Matteson moved to
the latter place and farmed until 1880. He then
married and moved to Emmet county, Iowa, whence,
after farming two years, he moved to .Jackson
village in 1883. For three years he worked at the
carpenter trade there and then put in three years
at his trade in Estherville, Iowa. Returning to
Jackson in the fall of 1889, he engaged in the
jewelry business, having bought out J. W. Cowing,
and for the past twenty years has been so
engaged.
Mr. Matteson was married at
Superior, Iowa, in 1880 to Jennette Andersen, a
native of Yellowstone, Lafayette county,
Wisconsin, and a daughter of Gilbert and Olena
Andersen. Mrs. Matteson’s
parents came from Norway in an early day and were
pioneers of Dickinson county, Iowa, where they
both still reside. To Mr. and Mrs. Matteson has
been born one child. Mina 0. now Mrs. Frank
Albertus of Jackson. Mr. Matteson is a member of
the Masonic and M. W. A. lodges.
FRANK A. MATUSKA (1881). who
owns a half interest in the butcher shop and
hardware store of the firm of Matuska &
Skalicky, was born in the city of Chicago May 28,
1873 the eldest of a family of five children born
to Joseph and Mary (Basak) Matuska. The other
children are John, Joseph, Annie and Mary. The parents of
our subject were born in Bohemia, came to America
when children, and were married in Chicago. His
father was killed in n runaway accident in Jackson
county twelve years ago: his mother lives in
Hunter township.
Frank received his early
training in Chicago. He came to
Jackson county with the family in 1881 and until
1901 worked on his father’s farm in Hunter
township. Then he moved to Jackson and in
partnership with John Bedner opened a butcher
shop, which was conducted in partnership one year.
Mr. Mutuska bought out his partner and ran the
shop one year. Then a
partnership was formed between Mr. Matuska and
Frank Skalicky in which each obtained a half
interest in the hardware store and meat market. In
1900 Frank Skalicky sold his interests to his
brother, Emil Skalicky. Early in 1908
the firm also engaged in the harnessing business,
and during 1909 erected one of the finest business
blocks in Jackson, in which are housed both the
hardware and harness businesses, while the meat
market occupies a building adjoining.
Mr. Matuska owns over a half
section of land in Canada, a farm in Hunter
township and a half interest in the village
property. He is a member of the Catholic church.
of the Catholic Order of Foresters, tlie Modern
Woodmen of America and the Western Union.
In January 1900 at Jackson Mr.
Matuska was married to Mary Skalicky, a native of
Wisconsin and a daughter of Frank Skalicky. To them have
been born four children: Joseph, Mary, Lilly and
Rosa.
CHARLES MAYER (1894) is one of
the prosperous and successful farmers and stock
raisers of Rost township. He owns 400 acres of
land on sections 28 and 30, Rost, and 120 acres on
section 25, Ewington, as well as real estate in
the village of Lakefield. He and his sons farm all
his holdings. The farm is well improved and has a
nice grove. On the place is an orchard, of five
hundred apple trees, five hundred walnut and
butternut trees, plum trees, grape arbor, etc.
Mr. Mayer is a native German,
having been born in Rhine, Prussia, March 7, 1855,
the son of Valentine and Catherine (Edinger)
Mayer. Both his parents
are dead, his father having died in Logan county,
Illinois, in 1891, aged 70 years, and his mother
having died in the same county on Christmas day,
1905, aged 81 years.
Our subject was brought up on
a farm in his native land and there received his
early training and education. He accompanied his
parents to America in August, 1871, and located at
San Jose, Mason county, Illinois. From the date of
his arrival to the new world, to the year 1894 Mr.
Mayer lived in Mason, Tazewell and Logan counties,
Illinois. During this time he spent two years
securing an English education, several years
working for his father on the farm, and after
growing to manhood engaged in farming for himself.
In 1890 Mr. Mayer bought the half section of land
which now comprises the home farm, and in 1894 he
moved onto the place with his family. He made all the
improvements the farm now boasts and he and his
family have lived there ever since.
In addition to his farming and
stock raising Mr. Mayer is interested in several
other business enterprises, owning stock in the
First National Bank of Lakefield. the Rost
Telephone company, the Jackson County Cooperative
company of Lakefield, the Independent Harvester
company of Plano, Illinois, the Lakefield Farmers
Cooperative Elevator company and the Rost
Cooperative Dairy association.
He and his family are members
of the German Lutheran church of Rost
township. Mr. Mayer was
married February 13, 1882, at Emden, Logan county,
Illinois, to Sophia Grossweiler, who was born in
Switzerland and came to the United States in 1875.
To these parents have been born the following
children: Frederick Carl, born November 20, 1882;
Jacob, born October 8, 1885; Rudolph, born January
18, 1889; Lydia Sophia, born May 20, 1891, died
November 9, 1891; Lilly Louise, born July 11,
1896.
JOHN McGLIN (1892) is one of a
firm which owns a line of elevators in
southwestern Min nesota with headquarters at
Lakefield. He is a native of Dubuque county, Iowa,
and was born June 17, 1861. His parents were John
and Jane (Rogers) McGlin, who were born in Ireland
and who came to America when children. They were
married in New York state and then moved west and
located in Dubuque county, Iowa, where they
acquired land and lived a number of years. Later
they located in Buena Vista county, Iowa, and
there our subject’s father died September 9, 1882,
having reached the age of 64 years. His wife died
at Heron Lake April 24, 1900, at the age of 64
years.
The subject of this biography
lived with his parents in Dubuque county until
eight years of age, and then accompanied them to
Buena Vista county. There he resided on his
father’s farm until 1886, securing his education
and helping with the farm work. In the last named
year he moved to Rock Valley, Iowa, and in
partnership with a brother, Michael McGlin, he
engaged in the lumber and coal business six years.
The brothers then moved to Heron Lake and engaged
in the same business, which they followed eleven
years in that village. The next year and a half
were spent in Okabena in the same business, and
then they sold out and moved to Lakefield. It was
in 1905 that the brothers bought the elevator and
coal business of the Canton Grain company in
Lakefield. They have since
increased their business, now owning elevators at
Heron Lake, Okabena, Kinbrae and Edgerton, making
their headquarters at Lakefield. They are
extensive grain dealers, buying, cleaning and
shipping. While a resident
of Heron Lake Mr. McGlin served as a member of the
village council ten years, and during four years
of that time was president of the council. He is a
member of the M. W. A. lodge.
Mr. McGlin was married at Rock
Valley, Iowa, March 2, 1897, to Nora Fahey, a
native of Clinton, Iowa. Three children have been
born in this union, Eva G., John E. and William
M.
MICHAEL McGLIN (1892). of
Lakefield. in partnership with his brother John
McGIin, conducts an elevator and coal business at
that point and is a joint owner of several other
elevators at different points in the vicinity. His
parents, John and Jane (Rogers) McGlin, came from
Ireland when children and were married in New York
state April 4, 1854. Soon after their marriage
they moved to Iowa, where they resided many years.
The father died in Buena Vista county, Iowa
September 9, 1882, aged 64 years; the mother died
in Heron Lake April 24, 1900 aged 64 years.
To these parents Michael
McGlin was born in Dubuque county, Iowa, November
5, 1865. When he was five
years old the family moved to Buena Vista county,
of the same state, and there Michael was raised,
making his home on the farm and attending the
district schools. Upon reaching
his majority in 1886 he and his brother, John
McGlin, left home and located at Rock Valley,
Iowa, where for six years they were engaged in the
lumber and coal business. He then moved to
Heron Lake which was his home for eight years,
being engaged in the same line of business there
and at Okabena in partnership with his brother.
From Heron Lake Mr. McGlin went to Kinbrae where
he and his brother built an elevator which he
conducted two years. He located in Lakefield in
1905 and has since made that point his home,
engaging extensively in the grain, seed and coal
business. He served two years as a member of the
Lakefield village council and was elected
president of the council in 1908.
Mr. McGlin was married at
Fulda, Minnesota. December 30,
1903 to Miss Eva I. Wright, a native of that
village. She is the daughter of Joseph Wright, now
a resident of Milwaukee. One child has
been born to this union, Leo Michael, born June 3,
1905. Mr. McGlin is a member of the M. W. A.
lodge.
PETER D. McKELLAR (1886),
county auditor of Jackson county, has resided in
the county twenty-three years. He was born near
the village of McGregor, Clayton county, Iowa,
December 14, 1860, his parents being Archibald and
Christine (Nelson) McKellar. The father died in
1903 aged 71 years; the mother lives in Heron
Lake.
The subject of this biography
was educated in the common schools of Clayton
county, fini. shing his
education with a course in the Bayless Business
college of Dubuque, Iowa. Until he was twenty-six
years of age he resided on the farm with his
parents in Clayton county. He came with
them to Jackson county in September, 1886; and for
two years lived on the home farm in Alba township.
Going then to Postville, Allamakee county, Iowa,
he worked one year in the employ of an implement
dealer and one season for the Warder-Bushnell
& Glessner Harvester company.
Returning to Jackson county
Mr. McKellar located at Heron Lake. For one year
he worked in an elevator and then engaged in the
implement business in that town in partnership
with J. C. Buckeye, the firm name being P. D.
McKellar and company. He sold out his interests in
the business in 1896 and until May, 1898, devoted
his time to the well, pump and windmill business.
During the season of 1898 he was in the employ of
the J. I. Case Threshing
Machine company, but during the season of 1899 and
1900 was again engaged in the well business. Mr.
McKellar was elected county auditor in November
1900, and the first of the following year entered
upon his duties. He has since been elected every
two years and his present term expires January 1,
1911. He held the office of township clerk of Alba
township in 1887 and in 1894 was a member of the
Heron Lake village council.
Mr. McKellar was married at
Mankato December 17, 1900, to Amanda Veigel, a
native of the city in which she was married. To
them have been born three children, as follows:
Pierre A., Jean and Margaret. He is a member of
the Masonic Blue Lodge and Chapter and of the I.
O. O. F. and A. O. U. W.
lodges.
JOHN McMARTIN (1893) is the
manager of the Jackson yard of the C. L. Colman
Lumber company. He was born in Ormstown, in the
province of Quebec, Canada. His parents,
Finley and Grace (McEwen) McMartin, both deceased,
were natives of Scotland and came to America
before their marriage.
The boyhood days of John
McMartin were spent on a farm in Quebec. He
attended school in the town of Durham and later
engaged in clerking in stores in that town. In
1868, at the age of twenty-four years, he located
in Faribault county, Minnesota, remained there
only a short time and then went to Claremont,
Dodge county. There he engaged in farming for a
number of years and later became agent for the
Laird Norton Lumber company, which position he
held a number of years. In 1888 Mr. McMartin
located at Clear Lake, Iowa, where for five years
he was agent for the Nelson Tenney Lumber company.
In 1893 he located at Jackson and since that date
has been the manager of the C. L. Colman Lumber
company. Mr. McMartin
owns village property. He served two
years as a member of the village council and
belongs to the A. F. & A. M. lodge.
In Franklin Quebec, on
December 26, 1869, Mr. McMartin was married to
Ellen F. Moe, a native of the town in which she
was married. To this union
have been born the following children: Edward S.,
Elizabeth G., Marjorie A. and Elsie.
DUNCAN McNAB (1871) is a
member of the board of commissioners of Jackson
County and one of the large land owners and
prosperous farmers of Alba township, as well as
one of the early day settlers of western Jackson
county. He owns 800 acres of land in southern Alba
and northern Ewington townships and his home has
been on his present place nearly thirty-nine
years, Mr. McNab is of Scotch birth, having been
born April 17, 1837. When ten years of age he left
his native land an<l came to America with his
parents, the family locating in Ontario, Canada.
Duncan received a common school education in that
province and until he was twenty-two years of age
lived in Canada, working in the lumber camps and
on farms. For several years after he was
twenty-two he divided his time between Michigan
and Ontario. He married in 1866 and three years
later located in Minnesota. Near the village of
Sleepy Eye, in Brown county, he bought an eighty
acre farm, which he conducted two years.
It was in the month of
November, 1871. that Mr. McNab
came to Jackson county. upon his arrival
he look as a homestead claim the northeast quarter
of section 32, Alba township, and the northwest
quarter of the same section as a tree claim. He
moved to his claim and began the erection of his
first house the same day carpenters began the
erection of the depot in Hersey (now
Brewster). The house was a
little one 16x20 feet, and it stood on the place
until 1908. Mr. McNab weathered the hard times
period of the seventies, making a living by
shooting and shipping prairie chickens, which were
then in great abundance. He has prospered and is
rated among the most successful men of the
vicinity. He has been prominent in an official and
social way ever since coming to the county.
Mr. McNab has represented the
Fourth district on the board of county
commissioners for the past five years and his
present term will not expire until 1913. He has
served as a member and as chairman of the Alba
township hoard and he was assessor of the precinct
for twenty-one years. For the past twenty years he
has been clerk of school district No. 34 and he
has served as justice of the peace. He was census
enumerator in the federal census of 1900.
Our subject is the son of
Finley and Jannet (McArthur) McNab. They came from
Scotland to Canada in 1847 the mother dying in
quarantine below Quebec soon after landing. Finley McNab
lived in the province of Ontario many years, dying
there about twenty years ago. There were seven
children in the family, of whom the following
three are living: Margaret, Duncan and Jennet
Montgomery. The subject of
this biography was married in Ontario, Canada,
January 18, 1866, to Catherine Montgomery, a
native of Scotland and a daughter of Godfrey and
Jennie (Thompson) Montgomery. To Mr. and Mrs.
McNab have been born the following named eleven
children: Jessie, John, Findley, Katie, Godfrey,
Dan, Arthur, Hugh, Archie, Willie and Andrew. The family are
members of the Presbyterian church of
Brewster.
WILLIAM A. McQUILLIN (1872),
of Middletown township, has been a resident of the
county since he was three years of age. He owns
the west half of the southwest quarter of section
30, Middletown, and farms a rented quarter section
in addition.
Mr. McQuillin is a native of
Hamilton, Fillmore county, Minnesota; and was born
August 15, 1869, the son of Ezra L. and Annie
(Waite) McQuillin. When he was three years of age
he moved with the family to Jackson county. His mother died
when he was four years of age, and thereafter he
made his home with his grandparents, Mr. and Mrs.
Isaac C. Waite.
He was educated in the
country schools of Minneota township and took a
two years’ course in Pillsbury academy. Until
eleven years ago William made his home with his
grandparents on section 36, Minneota. Then his
grandfather sold the Minneota property and bought
the farm which our subject now owns. After
reaching his majority, Mr. McQuillin worked for
his grandfather on the farm for wages, and after
the latter’s death, three years ago, he inherited
the property and has since made his home
there.
Mr. McQuillin was married at
Spirit Lake, Iowa, April 2, 1902, to Miss May
Farmer, a native of Dickinson county. To them have
been born three children, as follows: Vera,
Geraldine and a baby girl.
Our subject holds the office
of clerk of school district No. 12 and has served
as constable and school treasurer. He is a member
of the Baptist church of Loon Lake.
ANDREW H. MELVILLE (1901)
owns a section of Jackson county land and farms
the home place on the shore of Heron lake, in West
Heron Lake township, described as lots one, two
and three of section 14. He has a pretty home
located on a peninsula jutting out into the lake.
Mr. Melville, after devoting many years to
educational work, was obliged to give up his
chosen profession, and since 1901 has been trying
to regain his health by engaging in farming.
The gentleman whose name
heads this sketch was born in Peotone, Will
county, Illinois, June 17, 1872, the son of Dr. A.
H. Melville and Catherine (Melville) Melville. His
parents were born in Scotland and came to
Prescott, Ontario, Canada, in their childhood
days. His father was
educated in the university of Edenburg and McGill
college, at Montreal. During the
civil war he volunteered his services to the
northern cause, came to the United States, and was
made a surgeon of the 79th New York Scotch
Highlanders. He later became head surgeon of the
regiment and served throughout the war. He died
soon after his discharge from the army. The mother
of our subject died when Andrew was seven years of
age.
Andrew Melville received his
primary education in the country schools of Will
county, Illinois. He was a student
at the state normal school at Bloomington five
years and completed his education in 1890 in the
university of Chicago. He then took up teaching as
a profession. He taught in Chicago one year, was
principal of the training department of the
Bloomington normal school three years and was
teacher of pedagogy at DeKalb, Illinois, one year.
Then he gave up his profession and located on his
farm in Jackson county. In addition to
his home farm Mr. Melville owns the northwest
quarter of section 111, Belmont, the northwest
quarter of section 14, Ewington, and the northeast
quarter of section 23, Rost.
Mr. Melville was married at
Utica, Illinois, October 25, 1900, to Miss Lydia
M. Fedde, who was born in Columbia county New
York. She is the daughter of Richard R. and Rhoda
S. (Weaver) Fedde.
Mr. and Mrs. Melville are members of the
Presbyterian church.
CHARLES H. MEYER (1886) is
a farmer and stock raiser of Petersburg township.
He was born in Hanover, Germany, October 29, 1861,
the son of Henry and Mary (Ludje) Meyer.
Mr. Meyer came to America when
sixteen and one-half years of age landing in New
York city April 28, 1878. He located first in
DuPage county, Illinois, where for four years he
lived on a farm. Then he went to a point west of
Chicago and worked at the carpenter trade two
years. Then taking up his residence in the city of
Chicago, he continued to work at his trade
twenty-three months longer.
On July 2, 1885, he went to
Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, worked at his trade until
February 28, 1886, returned to Chicago, and
immediately set out for Jackson county, arriving
on March 25, 1886. His total possessions at the
time of his arrival were his chest of tools and
two sets of clothes. He came with the intention of
soon returning to Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, but he
liked the looks of the country and decided to
remain. From the date of his arrival until his
marriage in 1891 Mr. Meyer lived with
the family of Mr. Schroeder in Petersburg township
and worked at the carpenter trade. Then he bought
property and engaged in farming, which he has
since followed. Mr. Meyer owns
240 acres of land in section 13 Petersburg. He
owns stock in the Petersburg Creamery company and
in a threshing company. He is a member of the
Petersburg German Lutheran church and holds the
office of church treasurer.
Mr. Meyer married Miss Lena
Schroeder in 1891. To them have been born the
following children: Ida S., born May 2, 1892;
Edward, born March 3, 1895; Elmer, born August 19,
1899, died January 13, 1908; Alice, born March 22,
1902; Ellsworth, born June 21, 1904; Lilly, born
June 14, 1909.
FRED H. MEYER (1903).
Petersburg township farmer, was born in Martin
county, Minnesota, March 23, 1878, the son of John
and Johanna (Voges) Meyer, both deceased. Fred
received a common school education and spent his
early days on his father’s farm. In 1897 he moved
to Fairmont and for a year was employed in the
erection of windmills. Mr. Meyer
enlisted in the army in 1898 during the
Spanish-American war and was in the service seven
months, being stationed at Chickamauga, Georgia.
In addition to this service he has served three
years in the state militia. After his discharge
from the army Mr. Meyer engaged in farming in
Martin county until 1903 when he located in
Petersburg township, Jackson county. He farms land
on section 6. He is a member of the German
Lutheran church and of the M. W. A. lodge.
On September 27, 1899, Mr.
Meyer was married to Minnie Ziemer. To them have
been born the following children: Eddy, born
August 16, 1901; Ellsworth, born July 12, 1904:
Clarence, born March 10, 1906; Rozella, born July
1, 1902, died December 12,
1907.
EDWARD MILBRATH (1883) in
a West Heron Lake township farmer and the manager
of the Okabena creamery. He was born on his
father’s homestead in Rost township, Jackson
county May 7, 1883, the eldest of a family of five
living children. His father Ferdinand Milbrath was
born in Germany and came to America when fourteen
years of age. He lived in
Wisconsin and Fillmore county, Minnesota, before
locating in Jackson county. Upon his arrival
to Jackson county he took a homestead claim in
Rost township, where he has ever since lived. The
mother of our subject, Matilda (Meister) Milbrath,
was born in Wisconsin.
Edward grew to manhood in Rost
township, making his home with his parents. When a
young man he left home and located in Lakefield,
where he clerked in a hardware store three years.
The next three years were spent clerking in a
hardware store in Okabena, and then, in 1904, he
bought his present 160 acre farm adjoining the
Okabena townsite. He has made all the improvements
on the place and has a fine home.
Mr. Milbrath has stock in the
bank at Okabena and in the elevator and creamery
of the same village, being the manager of the last
named institution. He is a member of the German
Lutheran church. For four years he was justice of
the peace in West Heron Lake township and he is
now one of the directors of school district No.
57.
In Heron Lake township on
September 24, 1905; Mr. Milbrath was united in
marriage to Emma Malchow, She is a daughter of C.
F. W. Malchow and
was born in Jackson county September 22,
1883.
FERDINAND MILBRATH (1876)
is one of the pioneer settlers of Rost township
and one of the township’s most successful farmers.
He owns 400 acres of land on sections 18 and 20
and is an extensive farmer. Possessed of almost
nothing when he arrived in the county in the early
days, he has prospered and has one of the fine
farms and tine homes of Rost township.
Ferdinand Milbrath was born in
Germany June 17, 1857. At the age of twelve years
he accompanied his parents to the new world and
located with them at Watertown, Wisconsin. In 1875 the
father of our subject came to Jackson county and
took a homestead claim in Rost township. Ferdinand
came to the new home in 1876, but on account of
the grasshoppers he did not remain long, the whole
family returning to their old Wisconsin home.
In the spring of 1877 he went
to Fillmore county, Minnesota, where he worked as
a day laborer. In 1880 Mr.
Milbrath again came to Jackson county, this time
to reside permanently. As a result of
his savings from money earned in Fillmore county,
he now had a team of horses, some farm tools and
$20 in cash. With the money he bought a cow in the
village of Jackson while on his way to his
mother’s home in Rost township. His father had
been killed in an accident the year before, and
Ferdinand came to assist his mother in caring for
the homestead. He resided with his mother until
she proved up on the claim; then they sold the
place and our subject, in 1881, filed a claim to
the northeast quarter of section 18, Rost, having
bought a relinquishment to the quarter for $800.
On that farm our subject has ever since made his
home, having added the other lands by
purchase.
In the early days the family
dwelling was the usual sod shanty of pioneer
times. Later they sold a span of oxen and with the
proceeds bought lumber and built a frame house,
14x20 feet, which was considered a palace at the
time. In 1884 Mr. Milbrath erected one of the
largest barns in the vicinity on his own farm.
Besides his farming operations Mr. Milbrath is
interested in several other lines of business. He
is a stockholder in the Farmers’ creamery and
elevator at Okabena and in The First State Bank of
the same village. He is also a stockholder in the
Western Implement company. During his long
residence in the county he has held many offices
of trust within the gift of his neighbors. He was
township assessor twenty-seven years, was on the
township board a number of times and for four or
five years was chairman of the board, was township
treasurer several terms and has held a school
office ever since the district was organized. He
has been treasurer of the school district for the
last ten years. Mr. Milbrath is a
member of the German Lutheran church and was one
of those who organized the Rost township church in
1884.
Our subject is the son of the
late Frederick and Louisa (Felt) Milbrath, who
were born in Germany and who came to America in
1869 and located at Watertown, Wisconsin. They
came to Jackson county in 1870, homesteaded the
northeast quarter of section 32, Rost
township. The father met
his death August 12, 1879, in an accident while
culling grain with a reaper. He was 54 years of
age at the time of his death. His widow proved up
on the homestead and afterward made her home with
her son. She died April 15, 1895, aged 70 years.
They were the parents of five children.
Ferdinand Milbrath was married
in Rost township December 15, 1881, to Matilda
Meister, daughter of Frank and Annie (Pine)
Meister, who were the first settlers of Rost
township on the west side of the Little Sioux
river. Mrs. Milbrath
was born in Menominee, Wisconsin, July 31, 1863.
Mr. and Mrs. Milbrath have five children, as
follows: Frank Edward, born May 7, 1883; Carl
Theodore, born October 1, 1885; George Reinhold,
born March 27, 1888; Carl August and Anna Clara
(twins), born August 1, 1890, died September 10
and 25, respectively, of the same year; Bertha
Louisa, born September 18, 1891; Herminia Hulda
Theresa, born October 14,
1894.
CHARLES MILLER (1887), who
is the street commissioner of Heron Lake and who
is employed in other official capacities connected
with the management of municipal affairs, has
resided in Heron Lake twenty-two years and has
been a resident of southwestern Minnesota for a
much longer period. Germany is the country of his
nativity and the date of his birth was October 2,
1848. He accompanied his parents, Charles and
Elizabeth Miller, to the new world in 1854, when
he was only six years of age, and until he was
twenty-four years old lived with them in
Montgomery county, Ohio, where his parents
died. Our subject was
educated in Montgomery county and when a boy began
working at the milling business under his father’s
instruction. The flouring
mill in which he learned his trade in Ohio was
bought in 1873 by parties who moved it to
Worthington, the new town founded by the National
Colony company of Ohio. Mr. Miller
assisted in moving the machinery to its new
location and assisted in the reconstruction of the
mill at Worthington. After it was put in running
order he was retained as one of the millers in
charge, and he was so employed until 1877.
That year Mr. Miller moved to
Bingham Lake and in partnership with three others
built a flouring mill, with which he was connected
two years. Selling out to his partners, he moved
to Red River, North Dakota, and for a short time
had charge of a flouring mill owned by the
Hudson’s Bay company. From that point he went to
Rock Rapids, Iowa, and had charge of a mill until
1887. He then located in Heron Lake and in
partnership with his father-in-law, John
Behrenfeld, erected the flouring mill in that
village. He was in charge of that mill until 1896
or 1897, when he sold out to Pitner & Lynch,
who in turn sold to J. W. Morgan. The mill was
burned down in recent years.
In 1901 Mr. Miller was made
street commissioner of Heron Lake, a position he
has held ever since. He also assists in managing
the gas plant and has charge of the pumping
station and city hall. He is a member of the Odd
Fellows, Knights of Pythias and Woodmen
lodges.
Mr. Miller was married in
Montgomery county, Ohio, in the spring of 1872, to
Annie Myers, of Dayton, Ohio. She died at
Worthington in 1877, aged 27 years. The second
marriage of Mr. Miller occurred at Worthington
September 7, 1878 when he wedded Bertha
Behrenfeld, a native of Carver county, Minnesota,
and a daughter of John Behrenfeld. To this union
have been born five children: Charles E., born
April 2, 1884; Arthur B., born September 16, 1891;
Herbert J., born November 17, 1894. Two children,
Cora and Emma, died at early
ages.
HENRY M. MILLER (1872) has
spent his entire life of nearly thirty-eight years
in Delafield township, having been born on his
father’s homestead—the northeast quarter of
section 22—on the third day of May, 1872. His
father, Charles H. Miller, now a resident of
Windom, was born in Sweden, came to America when a
young man and homesteaded in Delafield township,
Jackson county, in 1871. The mother of
our subject was Sarah L. (Michaelson)
Miller, who was a native of Wisconsin and who died
in 1900 at the age of fifty-five years. Our
subject was the eldest of a family of seven
children, named as follows: Henry M., Martha, Ida,
John, Albert, Emma and Oscar (deceased.)
Until he was twenty-one years
of age Henry worked for his father on the old
homestead. During this time
he received a country school education. When he
reached his majority he rented land on section 15
and engaged in farming on his own account. In 1890
he bought the 120 acre farm on section 15, then
entirely unimproved, erected the buildings, set
out the grove, fenced the land, and made all the
improvements the farm now contains.
Mr. Miller is a man of family,
having been married in Delafield township October
25, 1891, to Julia Tobiason, who was born in
Christiania township March 2, 1874. She is the
daughter of Anders and Olena (Anderson)
Tobiason. To Mr. and Mrs.
Miller have been born the following named
children: Lilly, born October 9, 1895; Mabel, born
April 1, 1897: Alma, born April 15, 1900; Minnie,
born April in, 1903; Hazel, born June 23,
1904.
JOHN W. MILLER (1868),
farmer and breeder of Belgium horses, resides on
the farm on section 30, Wisconsin township, upon
which he was born and where he has spent the forty
one years of his life. The date of his birth was
November 10, 1868, and his parents are Michael and
Annie (Gerlach) Miller, now residents of Jackson.
He is one of a family of five living children, of
whom the others are Mary and Herman, of North
Dakota, and Laura and William, of Washington. John received
his education in the school of district No. 14. He
lived with his parents on the farm until he became
of age and, with the exception of two or three
years, has lived with his parents since that time.
He bought the property in 1903 and has since made
many improvements on the place. He owns 100 acres
on sections 30 and 31, Wisconsin, and 40 acres on
section 25 Des Moines. He has held the office of
road overseer and has been a director of school
district No. 14 for a dozen years. He holds
membership in the A. 0. U. W. lodge. Mr. Miller was
married at Jackson August 20, 1893, to Katie
Bunderle a native of Nebraska. They are the
parents of ten children, as follows: Bert, Roy,
Johnnie, Daisy, Anna, Laura, Eva, William, Louisa
and Katie.
MICHAEL MILLER (1868).
Among the pioneers of Jackson county who have a
continuous residence of over forty years to their
credit is Michael Miller, of Jackson, who has
taken an active and interesting part in the
county’s history.
In Rushbach, Germany, Mr.
Miller was born on February 24, 1841, his parents
being John and Margaret (Klinefeller) Miller. At
the age of six years, in 1847, he came to America
and located at York, Dane county, Wisconsin. There
he received his education and grew to manhood on a
farm. During the month of November, 1868, he left
the county where he had lived so long and came to
the pioneer settlement of Jackson county. He
secured a farm in Wisconsin township, two miles
southeast of Jackson, and there engaged in
agricultural pursuits many years. In 1884 he moved
to Jackson, resided there two years, spent the
next year on the farm, and then moved to town to
reside permanently.
During his long residence in
Jackson county Mr. Miller has taken an active part
in the politics of the county. In the township he
held the offices of constable and assessor and was
deputy county sheriff from 1891 to 1897. He is a member
of the Grand Army of the Republic.
In York, Wisconsin, on April
11, 1863, Mr. Miller was united in marriage, to
Anna Gerlach. To them have been
born the following named children: Mary, born
March 17, 1864; Herman A., born August 14, 1866;
John W., born November 19, 1868; Laura A., born
June 19, 1874; William H., born October 11, 1876;
Daisy, E., born March 9, 1884, died January 1,
1894.
MIKE J. MILLER (1883)
engages in farming on section 30, Wisconsin
township, a short distance southeast of Jackson,
where he owns a quarter section of land, upon
which he has lived many years. He is the son of
John and Elizabeth (Kessler) Miller and is one of
a family of five children, John, Barbara,
Gertrude, Mary and Mike J. The father was born in
Germany and came to America when fourteen years of
age. He located in Wisconsin in the early days and
died in Dane county of that state twenty-five
years ago. The mother of our subject lives in Dane
county and is 74 years old.
To these parents at Columbus,
Dane county, Wisconsin, on September 10, 1861,
Mike J. Miller was born.
He received a district school education and until
twenty-two years of age resided on his father’s
farm in his native county. He came to Jackson
county in 1883 and settled upon the land where he
has ever since lived. This farm was formerly owned
by Mr. Miller’s grandfather, who lived upon it in
grasshopper days, and the old log cabin in which
his grandfather lived still stands on the farm.
The land was later bought by our subject’s father,
and later still Mike Miller acquired the property.
The latter has made all the improvements on the
place, including the erection of a fine house,
large barn, outbuildings and grove. Mr. Miller
owns in addition thirty acres of timber land along
the Des Moines river. He has served as chairman of
the township board.
Mr. Miller was married at
Columbus, Dane county, Wisconsin, November 29,
1884, to Lena Ullrich, who was also born in Dane
county and who was brought up in a neighboring
family. She is the daughter of Chris Ullrich and
has four brothers living in Petersburg township.
To Mr. and Mrs. Miller have been born four
children, as follows: Elma, Agnes, Ben and
Mike.
ROBERT MITTELSTADT (1870)
is one of the very oldest settlers of Rost
township, having lived in that precinct ever since
he was two and one-half years of age. His parents,
Fred and Dorothea Mittelstadt, were born in
Germany. They came to Jackson county with their
family in 1870 and took as a homestead claim the
northwest quarter of section 18, Rost township.
They encountered many hardships in the early days,
notably during the grasshopper times, but they
stayed with the country and eventually weathered
the hard times. For many years
they lived in a typical sod house and had a sod
barn for their stock. During the
memorable winter of 1880-81 their house was
entirely covered with snow. There were seven
children in the family of Mr. and Mrs. Fred
Mittelstadt, as follows: William, of Seattle,
Washington; Julius, of Heron Lake; Mrs. Tina
Trosin, of Heron Lake township; Robert, of this
sketch; Minnie Dolly, of Lake Wilson, and Bertha
Beyer Kahler, of Ewington township. Fred
Mittelstadt died in 1907; his wife still lives on
the home place and is 80 years of age.
Robert Mittelstadt was born in
Wisconsin November 16, 1867, and accompanied his
parents to Jackson county in 1870. He lived on the
old homestead until 1896; then he moved onto his
own place, where he has since lived. His farm
consists of 160 acres of land on section 18, and
all the improvements on the place were made by
him.
Mr. Mittelstadt was married in
Rost township on November 30, 1893, to Bertha
Schulz, a native of Germany. To them have been
born the following named seven children: Dorothea,
born March 4, 1895; Edna, born September 13, 1896;
Oleta, born March 20, 1898; Hattie, born March 9,
1900; Leah, born May 2, 1903; Edmund, born
November 24, 1904; Adolph, born October 1, 1906.
The family are members of the German Lutheran
church.
 DR. ANTON J. MOE
(1902), founder and proprietor of the Southwestern
Minnesota hospital at Heron Lake, was born at
Trondhjam, Norway, February 12, 1868, the son of
John Moe, who came to the United States in 1883
and who now resides at Spokane, Washington. Anton J. Moe
received a common school education in his native
country and at the age of fourteen years came to
America with his parents and located in Wisconsin.
He was graduated from the
Sparta high school in 1888 and later became a
student in the university of Wisconsin and still
later was graduated from Rush Medical college of
Chicago. Dr. Moe practiced his profession five
years in Wisconsin and then, in 1902, located in
Heron Lake. There he founded the Southwestern
Minnesota hospital and has since been engaged in
the practice of his profession in the
hospital. At the age of
twenty-one years Dr. Moe was elected county
superintendent of schools of Forest county,
Wisconsin, holding the office three terms, and for
four years during his residence in Wisconsin was
in the postal service. Since moving to
Heron Lake he has served two years as a member of
the village council. He is a member
of the A. F. & A. M., the Elks, the M. W. A.,
the A. O. U. W., the M. B. A., the Yeomen
and the Eastern Star. Dr. and Mrs. Moe
spent the summer of 1909 in Vienna, Austria, in
medical study, and in travel in Europe.
Dr. Moe was married at
Viroqua, Wisconsin, in 1897, to Fannie Favor, a
native of the town in which she was married. To
this union has been born one child, Edgar Allen,
born at Chaseburg, Wisconsin, May 27, 1900. The Southwestern
Minnesota hospital, which is a commodious three
story building of pleasing design, was built by
Dr. Moe in 1903. So popular became the institution
that in 1903 it was necessarily enlarged. It now
has a capacity of fifty beds and is modern in
every particular from the basement to the upper
story. It is supplied with steam heat, gas and
electric lights, a steam ventilating system and
high pressure water for fire protection, has
electric bells for all beds, lavatories,
dispensary, a model operating room with elaborate
fixtures and instruments, large waiting rooms,
consultation rooms, halls and pretty
porticos. Since the
establishment of the hospital over twenty-five
hundred surgical operations have been
performed.
Fifteen hundred of these cases
have been appendicitis cases; the others have been
hernias, gall stones, cancer, amputations,
goiters, eye, ear nose and throat cases, etc.
Three assistant physicians, Drs. Torkelson,
Stevens and Allen, are employed and there are ten
nurses. Mrs. Moe is
superintendent of the hospital. Patients are
received here from all parts of Minnesota,
northern Iowa, North and South Dakota and
Canada.
The hospital supports a
training school for nurses, in which instruction
by lectures and visitation work in hospital and
private bedside nursing is given. The instruction
is a two term course and five pupils are graduated
each year. The head nurse is Sister Carrie, who is
a native of Denmark, and who has fifteen years
experience.
More ground adjoining has been
purchased, and, as the business is increasing so
rapidly, it will soon become necessary to enlarge
the present
building.
S. J. MOE (1878),
ex-sheriff of Jackson county, resides at
Lakefield, where he has been engaged in the well
drilling business for many years. Mr. Moe was born
in Norway April 1, 1850, the son of Jens and
Severne (Bronken) Moe.
When our subject was one year
of age the family emigrated to America and located
in Potter county, Pennsylvania. One year later his
mother died and he was adopted into a family by
the name of Solburg, with whom he lived until
1867.
When S. J. Moe was five years
old he moved with his adopted parents from
Pennsylvania to Albert Lea, Minnesota, and that
was his home until 1861. That year another change
in residence was made, when the family located in
Blue Earth county, sixteen miles west of Mankato,
and there he resided until 1867. Jens Moe, our
subject’s father, had in the meantime been
discharged from the army, married again, and
located in Blackhawk county, Iowa, and to that
place S. J. Moe moved in 1867. There he worked on
farms and attended school during the winter months
until his father’s death, which occurred in 1869.
He remained in Blackhawk county one year after his
father died, and then, in company with a brother
and Geo. Morgan, who now resides in Worthington,
he started north with a view to homesteading and
making his home in Minnesota.
The trip to Minnesota was made
by team, by way of Spirit Lake, Jackson and
Madelia, to Brown county. There the brothers filed
on claims and then took employment with the
construction forces on the St. Paul & Sioux
City railroad, which was at the time being
constructed from Lake Crystal to St. James. He spent the
next winter in Iowa, working on the Burlington
& Cedar Rapids railroad and the following
spring returned to his claim. There he lived
four years, passing through the terrible
grasshopper scourge, cyclones and other unpleasant
experiences incident to pioneer life in
southwestern Minnesota.
In I876 Mr. Moe gave up
farming and took a sub-contract for grading on the
Minneapolis & St. Louis railroad in Scott
county, Minnesota. The next year he
took a contract with the Blue Earth & St.
James Railroad company, a wildcat concern, and
received no compensation for his season’s work. In
the spring of 1878 he secured employment as
grading foreman on the Southern Minnesota
railroad, working out of Winnebago City, and in
the fall of that year finished the line to
Jackson. Continuing in
railroad work, he the next year worked for the
Dakota Central railroad (now the Chicago &
Northwestern), which was building in Dakota
territory to Fort Pierre. In the fall of
1879 Mr. Moe returned to Jackson county, took a
position at Jackson as track foreman and remained
in that position for one year, he then went to
Lakefield and for three years was section foreman
on the Southern Minnesota. Mr. Moe went to
Lamberton, Minnesota, in 1883, and for two years
ran the Exchange hotel.
Returning to Lakefield in
1886, he has ever since made his home there. He received the
appointment of postmaster in 1886 and served four
years. In 1890 he was elected sheriff of Jackson
county and served one term. He was village marshal
several years and has held other village offices,
being assessor at the present time. After serving
his term as sheriff, he engaged in the well
drilling business and has been engaged in that
ever since. He is a member of the Lutheran church
and of the I. O. O. F. and M. W. A. lodges.
Mr. Moe was married at
Waterloo, Iowa, May 16, 1870, to Isabelle
Goldbrunsen, who was born in Norway and who came
to the United States when sixteen years of age.
Mr. and Mrs. Moe are
the parents of ten living children, as follows:
Clarence M., Howard J., Albert, Edward, Ernest,
William, Arthur, Minnie, Jennie V. and
Mabel.
PAUL MOLDEN (1892) is a
farmer and landowner of Delafield township
residing one mile east of the village of Wilder.
He owns the southwest quarter of section 9 and
farms 200 acres of rented land in addition.
Mr. Molden’s parents were H.
G. and Mabel (Wal) Molden. both of whom died in
Norway. Their children
are Gilbert, Paul and Chestie, of whom the latter
lives in the old country. Paul was born in
Norway January 22, 1871. Until he was
nineteen years of age he lived with his parents in
his native land, assisting with the farm work and
attending school. He came to America in 1890,
lived one year at Sioux City, Iowa, one year in
Cottonwood county, and then in 1892 came to
Jackson county. For three years
he worked out as a farm hand; then he bought his
present farm—at the time unimproved—and has since
been engaged in agricultural pursuits. He is a
member of the Norwegian Lutheran church, has been
a director of the Wilder public schools for the
past six years and has been road overseer for
several years.
Mr. Molden was married in
Delafield Township October 25, 1894, to Tillie
Skinrud. a daughter of Hans and Louisa Skinrud,
pioneer settlers of Delafield township. She was
born in Delafield December 11, 1876. One child,
Mabel L. has been born to this
union.
GUSTAV H. MOLKENTHIN
(1887) owns the northeast quarter of section 4,
Hunter township, adjoining the village of
Lakefield. He is of German
birth and was born December 7, 1866, the son of
John and Ernestina (Schultz) Molkenthin. Our
subject’s mother died in Germany in 1879, and the
next year the rest of the family emigrated to
America. The elder
Molkenthin died in Jackson in 1904 at the age of
66 years.
Gustav lived with his father
in Carroll county, Iowa, seven years, and then
accompanied him to Jackson county. Arriving here,
his father bought land and began farming in Rost
township, while Gustav made his home with his
grandfather, Ferdinand Seuran, on the farm he now
owns. He lived with his grandfather one year and
then made his home with his father in Rost six
years. He again took up his residence with his
grandfather in 1894. The latter died in the fall
of 1898 and Gustav fell heir to the farm, which he
has since conducted.
May 2, 1894, Mr. Molkenthin
was married in Hunter township to Amelia Albers,
who was born in Blue Island, Illinois. May 19,
1867. She is the
daughter of Henry and Annie Albers. of Lakefield.
They are the parents of four children; Willie,
Bertha, Eddie and Annie. The family are
members of the German Lutheran church of Lakefield
and he has been secretary of the church
organization for the last fifteen years. Mr.
Molkenthin was a member of the Hunter board of
supervisors one year and was township assessor one
year.
M. P. MONTEE (1909) is
engaged in farming in the northern part of
Christiania township, his home being on the bank
of Fish lake.
He is a native of Ellisburg,
New York, and was born July 6, 1854. He is of
French descent, his ancestors having come from
France and established a French colony on what is
now Montee’s bay, where they received a land
grant. His father, Abraham Montee, was born in New
York and died in South Dakota, being 77 years old
at the time of his death. His mother Trulove
(Bennett) Montee was born in Vermont and died in
South Dakota at the age of 68 years. The father of
our subject, his grandfather and a brother were
veterans of the civil war, his father and brother
having enlisted in an Iowa regiment. The
former
served from 1861 to the fall
of 1864: the latter received injuries while acting
as a scout and was discharged.
Our subject resided in his
native town one year, in Wisconsin four years, in
New Boston, Illinois, four years, in Ionia, Iowa,
six years and in Adell, Iowa, eleven years. He
went to South Dakota in 1880 and took a government
homestead. He came to Jackson county in March,
1909. He is a member of the Methodist Church of
Windom and of the Yeomen lodge.
Mr. Montee was married April
7, 1891, to Nellie Cone. To them have been born
the following children: Tracy D., born February
27, 1892; Jesse, born June 1, 1894; Hobert, born
August 5, 1896; Floy, born April 30, 1899; Page,
born April 6, 1901; Perry, born January 18, 1903;
May, born November 23, 1905; Ethel, born March 5,
1907.
 GEORGE R. MOORE
(1868), president of the First National Bank of
Jackson, is a pioneer resident of Jackson county
and one of the county’s best known citizens. For
over forty-one years he has lived in the county
and nearly all of that time he has resided in the
village of Jackson. During these years he has
taken a prominent part in the business, social and
political life of the county.
The subject of this biography
descends from New England stock and is of
Scotch-Irish ancestry. Samuel Moore,
great grandfather of our subject, the founder of
the American branch of the family, came from
county Antrim, Ireland, in colonial days and
settled in Vermont. The maternal
great grandfather of our subject, Abijah Smith,
was a resident of Lexington and went out from his
own home to fight in the battle of Lexington and
was in the service throughout the revolutionary
war. The parents of
George R. Moore were Samuel and Abigail (Wyman)
Moore. Samuel Moore was born in the Green Mountain
state and was a farmer by occupation. He was
married to Abigail Wyman February 22, 1841. and died when
his son was fifteen years of age. George R. Moore
was born to these parents at Barnel, Caledonia
County, Vermont, March 10, 1849.
In the public schools of his
native state George R. Moore received his
education. He left his eastern home in July, 1867,
when eighteen years of age, and located in Fond du
Lac county, Wisconsin where he lived and worked on
the farm of an uncle, George J. Bean, until the
following spring. It was during the month of May,
1868, that Mr. Moore came to Jackson county. His
uncle had purchased a farm in Wisconsin township,
two miles east of the new village of Jackson, and
upon that farm he resided two years. Taking up his
residence in Jackson, he taught school one year,
and then for several years worked at various
employments.
In the spring of 1875 he
entered the county treasurer’s office, where lie
worked in various capacities for a time, serving
one year as deputy treasurer. He was elected court
commissioner in 1876 and served one term. He was
elected clerk of the district court in the fall of
1878 and was reelected in 1882, serving eight
years. During the years
he served the county in an official capacity Mr.
Moore acted as financial agent for different
concerns and individuals and developed ability in
that line. Upon retiring from official life, he
opened a real estate office, which he conducted
for a time. In 1887 he engaged in the banking
business, founding Jackson’s second financial
institution, a private bank under the name of
George E. Moore, Banker.
He conducted this until May, 1890, when he
organized the State Bank of Jackson, the
stockholders of which were nine of the leading
businessmen of the village, namely: George R.
Moore, Paul Berge, T. J. Knox, J. W.
Cowing, M. B. Hutchinson, G. A. Albertus, A.
H. Strong, F. W. Lindsley and Alexander Fiddes.
Mr. Moore was president of the bank. A
reorganization was brought about in 1901. when the
state bank gave place to the First National Bank
of Jackson, of which Mr. Moore has since been the
president. He is also the president of the Jackson
Land Credit company, capitalized at $35,000.
Besides the county offices Mr.
Moore has served as a member of the Jackson
village council and of the Jackson board of
education. He owns a
beautiful home in the city and has many broad and
fertile acres of Jackson county land. He is a
member of the Presbyterian church and of the
Masonic and M. W. A.
lodges.
GEORGE E. MORRISON (1897)
is one of the successful farmers and stock raisers
of Alba township. He owns the northwest quarter of
section 11 and the northeast quarter of section
23.
Mr. Morrison was born in
Franklin county, Pennsylvania, February 16, 1862,
the son of Jonas Morrison and Sarah (Faust)
Morrison. The father, who
was of Scotch descent, died when our subject was
only six or seven years of age. The mother of our
subject was born in Pennsylvania in 1831 and was
of German descent.
George was brought up on a
farm and educated in his native county, making his
home there until seventeen years of age. At that
age he went to Carroll county, Iowa, and during
the next four years was employed as a farm hand.
He then married and rented a farm in the same
county, which he conducted two years. His next
place of residence was Sioux county Iowa, where he
resided twelve years, engaged in farming rented
land. He came to Jackson county in 1897, and
located upon his present farm, which he bought at
that time. During the
grasshopper days this farm, so it is told, was
owned by Mr. Sears, of the firm of Sears Roebuck
& Company, Chicago. Mr. Sears was then
very poor and suffered many hardships. He became
disgusted with the county, sold out and left—to
engage in business in Chicago and become several
times a millionaire. The farm was practically
unimproved when Mr. Morrison took possession and
he has made all the improvements. He has prospered
and in 1901 bought his second quarter section of
land. He farms the whole half section and raises a
lot of well graded stock.
The
marriage of our subject occurred in Franklin
county, Pennsylvania, January 17 1884, when he
wedded Emma C. Herr who was born in Cumberland
county, Pennsylvania, May 13, 1863. To these
parents have been born the following named eight
children: Roy, born April 2, 1885: Maynard, born
January 19, 1887; Harry, born July 25, 1890;
Stella, born January 23, 1892; Ethel, born June 1,
1896; Edith, born August 5, 1898;
Millard, born November 4, 1900; Elsie, born April
3, 1904. Mr. Morrison has
served as clerk of Alba township since the spring
of 1900. He was treasurer of school district 102
for six years and has served as a director of the
district. He is a member of the M. W. A. lodge of
Okabena.
JAMES B. MOSES (1877) is
an early day settler of Jackson county and a
pioneer of Minnesota, having come to the
commonwealth in territorial days. He owns a 240
acre farm in Middletown and Petersburg townships,
three miles south of Jackson, his residence being
in the former precinct.
Mr. Moses descends from
Pilgrim and revolutionary stock. His parents,
Shepherd and Sarah (Hering) Moses, were born in
the state of Maine, came to Minnesota with their
family in 1855, and lived to advanced ages, his
father dying at the age of 95 years and his mother
at the age of 92 years. Of nine children of this
family five were veterans of the civil war. Seven
of the children are still living.
The subject of this biography
was born in Piscataquis county, Maine, on the
second day of January, 1843. He lived in his
native state until twelve years of age, and all
the education he received in schools was obtained
during the first twelve years of his life. In 1855
he accompanied his parents to Steele county,
Minnesota territory, where his father took a
preemption claim. His early ambition was to become
a schoolteacher, but because of the lack of school
facilities he was unable to secure the education
he craved. But by home study and diligent reading
he acquired a fair education, and after reaching
his majority took up teaching as his
profession. In 1862 Mr.
Moses enlisted at Faribault, Minnesota, as a
member of company H, of the First Minnesota
cavalry, and served until his muster out at Fort
Snelling in December, 1863. He saw service on the
frontier at Fort Ridgely and was in General
Sibley’s Indian expedition to Bismarck.
After his discharge from the
army Mr. Moses began
teaching school and was so engaged fifteen years.
During the summer months for a large part of this
time he was engaged with a government surveying
party, his crew being engaged in making the survey
of Chippewa, Lyon, Nobles and Rock counties in
1868. In 1871 Mr. Moses married and took a
homestead claim in Cottonwood county, where he
resided until 1877. After having passed through
the terrible grasshopper scourge of the seventies,
he sold his claim and in 1877 came to Jackson
county. He preempted the northwest quarter of
section 12, Middletown township, and has made his
home on that place ever since. Upon his arrival to
Jackson county he engaged in farming and teaching
school, having taught four terms in district No.
3.
Mr. Moses was married at
Owatonna, Minnesota, November 7, 1871, to Lavinia
Martin, a native of New York state and a sister of
Mrs. G. A. Albertus, of Jackson. They are the
parents of seven children, named as follows: Bert,
Gertrude, Millie, Ernest, Cora, Roy and Gaylord.
Mr. Moses served as township clerk for fifteen
years and was clerk of his school district for
twenty years. He is a member of the G. A. R.
post.
FRANK MOTL (1886) is one
of the successful farmers and well known residents
of Enterprise township. He owns 280 acres of land
in one piece on sections 14 and 23, where he has
resided nearly a quarter of a century. Our subject was
born in Bohemia January 31, 1845. and the first
thirty-one years of his life were spent in that
country. His parents were Bermird and Rosa
(Miller) Motl, both deceased. He received a common
school education and after growing to manhood
became a stock buyer, in which business he was
engaged ten years. He is a veteran of the
Austrian-German war, having served as a corporal
in the army. He enlisted in 1866 and served three
years. In 1876 Mr. Motl emigrated to America and
has since been engaged in agricultural pursuits.
He located first in Dane county, Wisconsin, and
that was his home until he came to Jackson county.
He first came to this county in 1885 and bought
his farm. He came again the next year, and
remained during the summer season, breaking up his
land, and in 1888 brought out his family and
settled permanently.
Mr. Motl owns stock in the
Farmers Elevator company of Alpha. He was one of
the organizers and trustees of the Catholic church
of Jackson and he and his family are members of
that church. He also belongs to the Bohemian
Catholic order of Jackson. He has served four
years as a supervisor of Enterprise township and
for twelve years was a director of his school
district. For nine years he was vice president and
director of the Enterprise Creamery company, and
up to four years ago was a director of the Jackson
County Fire and Lightning Insurance company.
The marriage of Mr. Motl
occurred in Bohemia April 28, 1870, when he wedded
Miss Mary Langer, who was born February 5,
1850. Fifteen children
have been born to this union, as follows: Wensel,
Enterprise township farmer, born February 12,
1871; Mary (Mrs. F. A. Muzikar),
of Jackson county, born September 6, 1872; Anna,
born September 17, 1874, died September 27, 1874:
Matilda, of St. Paul, born December 1, 1875; Anna
(married to Louis Sabatka June 13, 1899), born
September 30, 1877, died June 22, 1900; Frank, of
Enterprise township, born May 4, 1879; Dorothy, of
St. Paul, born February 6, 1881; Bernard, born May
19, 1882, died February 19, 1885; Amelia, born
March 23, 1884; Charles L., attending the state
University, born November 15, 1885: Joseph, born
November 13, 1887; Elizabeth, born November 12,
1889; Agnes, born July 8, 1891; Clara, born March
6, 1893;Albert, born October 8, 1895.
Wensel Motl, the eldest son of
Frank Motl was born in Bohemia and came to America
with his parents. He has been engaged in farming
for himself for the past twelve years and owns 120
acres of land on the southeast quarter of section
14. He is township clerk and has been for the past
four years. He has also served as clerk of his
school district for the last ten years. He is a
director of the Farmers Elevator company of Alpha
and of the Jackson County Fire Insurance
company. He has been
treasurer of Court No. 694, Catholic Order of
Foresters, at Jackson for eight
years.
ROBERT C. MUIR (1873).
auctioneer of Jackson, is a native of the county
in which he has ever since lived. He is the son of
Robert C. and Mary (McLean) Muir who homesteaded
in Middletown township in the late sixties and
lived there until a few years ago, when they moved
to North Dakota.
Robert was born on the farm in
Middletown township March 23, 1873 and on that
farm he grew to manhood, he received a limited
education in the district school and when a boy
ten years old began to herd cattle for his father,
which was his occupation until sixteen years old.
For several years following he worked as a
threshing hand for D. W. Pulver and A. Heck In
1894 he married and moved from the farm to Jackson
where he has since lived for seven years he ran a
dray in the village, and then, in 1901, became an
auctioneer. Since that time
he has been so engaged during the sales period,
making a specialty of farm and stock sales. During
the summer months he sells insurance in the Modern
Woodmen Casualty company and sells sewing
machines. Mr. Muir owns
his home in Jackson and real estate in North
Dakota. He is a member of the M. W. A. lodge.
The subject of this biography
was married in Des Moines township December 10,
1894, to Miss Lizzie Davies. Mrs. Muir was born
June 23, 1875, in Des Moines township and is a
daughter of Edward and Ella (Pease) Davies, he
being a soldier of the civil war and an early
settler of the county. To Mr. and Mrs.
Muir have been born two children: Robert V. and
Garth L.
WILLIAM T. MUIR (1869), of
Jackson, has spent the forty years of his life in
Jackson county, having been born in Middletown
township June 19, 1869, the son of R. C. and Mary
(McLain) Muir.
The first twenty-two years of
his life William Muir spent on his father’s
Middletown township farm, receiving his education
in the district schools. In 1891 he moved to
Jackson and engaged in the dray and transfer
business, which he conducted eight years, he then
engaged in the land and implement business, and
also ran a lumber yard, with which he was
identified until 1908, when he sold to Jens
Jensen. Mr. Muir now holds the office of boiler
inspector. He owns an interest in the Jackson tow
mill. He has 160 acres of farming land in
Middletown township and 240 acres in Lamoure
county, North Dakota. He is a member of the
Woodmen lodge.
Mr. Muir was married in the
fall of 1891 to Ella J. Davis, and to this union
was born one child, Edwill L., born October 7,
1896. Mrs. Muir died
March 25, 1897. The second marriage of Mr. Muir
occurred June 19, 1899, when he wedded Anna M.
Davis. To them have been born three children:
Kenneth V., born August 26, 1902; Georgia E., born
February 22, 1905; Robert M., born April 19,
1909.
FRANK A. MUZIKAR (1886).
of Hunter township, was born in Moravia, Austria,
August 16, 1868, the son of John and Antonia (Ris)
Muzikar. These parents were born in 1832 and 1836,
respectively, came to the United States in 1874
lived in Chicago several years, and located in
Jackson county in 1886, where they still reside.
They make their home with their son, Frank.
Frank came to America with his
parents in 1874 and for twelve years lived with
them in the city of Chicago. There he received his
education, and there he worked at the hardwood
furniture finishing business. He arrived in
Jackson county with the family March 10, 1880 and
until he was twenty-four years of age lived with
his parents on the farm in Hunter township. He
married in 1892 and took over the management of
the home farm —the north half of the southwest
quarter of section 22. In 1899 he bought the
northwest quarter of that section and in 1909 the
south half of the northeast quarter of section
21. He farms 240
acres.
Mr. Muzikar was married in
Jackson November 20, 1892, to Mary Motl, who was
born in Bohemia, Austria, September 8, 1872, and
who came to the United States when three years of
age. She is the daughter of Frank and Mary Motl,
of Enterprise township. Mr. and Mrs. Muzikar
are the parents of one child, Lawrence, born
August 1, 1908. The family are members of the
Catholic church of Jackson and he belongs to the
Catholic Bohemian lodge. He has served as township
clerk for the last eight years, has held the
offices of assessor and treasurer and has been
clerk of his school district for a number of
years.
JOSEPH T. MUZIKAR (1886),
bar-keeper of a saloon in Jackson, was born in
Zarobic, Moravia, March 13, 1866, the son of John
and Antonette (Riss) Muzikar.
In his native land our subject
resided until he was eight years of age. He came
to the United States and to the city of Chicago in
1874, and in that city worked at the tailor’s
trade nine years. His next change in location was
in 1886, when he came to Jackson county, arriving
on the tenth day of March. He lived on his
father’s farm in Hunter township, eight miles west
of Jackson, and resided on that place with his
parents until 1892. He then bought a farm in
another part of Hunter township and farmed it
three years. Moving to the village of Jackson in
1895, he has since been engaged in several
different occupations, during the last six years
being engaged in the saloon business.
Mr. Muzikar was married June
28, 1892, to Miss Mary Macek, and to this union
have been born two children: George A., born April
6, 1893; Mary D., born September 9, 1895. The
family are members of the Catholic church and Mr.
Muzikar is a member of the Catholic Workmen and
Catholic Western Union
lodges.
LARS MYRVOLD (1885) is a
farmer and landowner of Delafield township. He was
born in Norway January 17, 1862, the only child
born to Stephen and Kjeste (Damen) Myrvold. His
parents came to America in 1887 and bought
property on section 16, Delafield, where they
resided many years. His father now makes his home
with his son. Our subject’s mother died in 1900 at
the age of 73 years.
Lars lived in Norway with his
parents until twenty-two years of age, working on
the farm and securing his education. He came to
the United States in 1885 and located at Jackson
and for four years was employed as a farm hand. In
1889 he bought the southeast quarter of section
17, Delafield, and that has ever since been his
home. The place was prairie land at the time of
purchase, and he has made all the improvements,
planting the grove and erecting the buildings. In
1900 he added to his holdings by the purchase of
the northwest quarter of section 16, which was his
father’s old farm. He farms the whole half
section. Mr. Myrvold was
married in Jackson county November 30, 1888, to
Lena Lysgard, who was horn in Delafield township
in 1872. and who is the daughter of Andrew
Lysgard. one of the township’s pioneer settlers.
To Mr. and Mrs. Myrvold have been born the
following named children: May Caroline, Elmer
Lewel, Arthur and Dagny Viola.
The family are members of the
Norwegian Lutheran church. Mr. Myrvold has served
as a director of school district No. 115 for the
past eight years and has been a township
supervisor for the past five years. He has been a
stockholder of the Wilder Creamery company for the
past thirteen
years.
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