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FRED J. SELEEN (1870),
manager of the Heron Lake branch of the Western
Implement company, has resided in Jackson county
since he was an infant. He is a native of Sweden
and was born December 7, 1868, the son of Ole and
Stina (Anderson) Seleen. These parents
were born in Sweden. The father came to the United
States in 1868 and the mother the following year.
For a short time the family home was in Emmet
county, Iowa, but in 1870 the family came to
Jackson county and took a homestead claim in West
Heron Lake township. Ole Seleen died in August,
1894, at the age of 60 years. His widow lives in
Heron Lake and is 70 years of age. The subject of
this sketch is the eldest of a family of nine
children, of whom seven are living. The other
children are Herman, who died at Pocatello, Idaho,
November 28, 1899; Emil, of Spokane, Washington;
Emma (Mrs. Emil Peterson),
who died in July, 1901; Erick, of Minneapolis;
Oscar, of Weimer township; Palmer, of Minneapolis;
Nate, of Heron Lake.
Fred Seleen accompanied his
mother to America when less than one year of age.
After one year spent in Emmet county, Iowa, he
came with the family to Jackson county in 1870.
Until he was of age he lived with his parents on
the farm in West Heron Lake township and in Heron
Lake, securing his education in the Heron Lake
public schools and working on the farm. He married
in 1889 and engaged in farming four years on
rented property. Then he moved to Oktibbeha
county, Mississippi, engaged in farming in that
southern state one year, and returned to Jackson
county. He worked in the implement house of Frank
Day, Heron Lake, four years, and then bought the
west half of the northwest quarter of section 31,
Weimer township, and engaged in farming. During
the past four years he has been the manager of the
Western Implement company’s house at Heron Lake,
while his sons conduct the farm. The officers of
the company are Richard Lamb, president: B. B.
Sontag, vice president: J. W. Benson.
secretary and treasurer.
Mr. Seleen was married in
Jackson county January 2, 1889, to Annie Johnson.
She was born in Clay county, Iowa November 2,
1868, and is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Andrew
Johnson, both natives of Norway. Eight children
have been born to this union, named as follows:
EImer, born September 11, 1891: Carl, born
December 2, 1893: Stella, born June 19, 1897:
Emma, born February 19, 1899; John, born January
13, 1901 ; Paul, born December 25, 1903: Ruth,
born August 25, 1905: Lester, born June 18,
1909.
The family are members of the
Norwegian Lutheran church, in which organization
Mr. Seleen has held all the offices at various
times. He is a member of the M. B. A. and I. O.
O. F. lodges. For
two years he served as a member of the board of
supervisors of West Heron Lake
township.
ANDREW C. SERUM (1873),
builder of concrete structures of Jackson, is an
early day settler of the county and one who has
taken an active part in the affairs of the county.
He was born in Norway September 28, 1845. His
parents, Christian Hermansen Serum and Martha
(Johnson) Serum, came to America in I862, the year
after their son arrived, then returned after one
year’s residence here and died in their native
land.
Andrew lived with his parents
in Norway until he was past sixteen years of age
and then, in 1861, came to America. Locating in
Dane County, Wisconsin, he worked on a farm during
two summers and then went to Madison, where he
secured employment in a drug store for nine
months, lie then went to Goodhue county,
Minnesota, where he lived until the Spring of
1873. During those years he was engaged in various
occupations. For three years he was on the police
force of Red Wing, and for a time was engaged in
buying grain.
Mr. Serum came to Jackson
county in 1873 and for the first year made his
home in Heron Lake. He then took a homestead in
West Heron Lake township and upon that place he
lived eight years. Selling his farm at the end of
that time, he moved to Jackson and that village
has since been his home. He was employed as
register of deeds of the county from 1882 to 1889
and after that went into the abstract business,
which he was engaged in until 1907, when he sold
out on account of poor health. Since the last
named date he has been engaged in the concrete
business, Mr. Serum has held office during many
years of his residence in the county. During the
time he was living in West Heron Lake township he
served as township clerk and justice of the peace.
He was elected sheriff in 1873 and served two
years. It was during his incumbency that the
grasshoppers came, and the first year of his term
the office fees amounted to only $90, and of these
he collected only $75, He was elected county
commissioner from the third district in 1875 and
served three years. Of this time he was chairman
of the board from January to July, 1877, and
during the year 1878, He was elected register of
deeds in 1881 and was reelected in 1883 and 1886.
Mr. Serum owns two Jackson county farms, one in
Belmont township and one in Des Moines township.
He is a member of the
Episcopal church and of the Odd Fellows and
Workmen lodges, Mr. Serum has been married three
times. His first wife
was Maren Severson and his second Rikke Severson.
On December 3, 1883, he was married to Helona
Brakke. To them have been born the following
children: Philip, Marie, Mark and
Reuben.
HANS C. SETHER (1869). Among
the old time residents of Jackson county and one
of the most successful farmers of Belmont township
is Hans C. Sether, who has resided upon his
present farm more than forty years. He is an
extensive stock raiser and his farm embraces 140
acres in Belmont and Christiania townships, the
home place being on section 2, Belmont.
Mr. Sether was born in Norway
April 23, 1854. His father, Claus H. Sether, died
December 31, 1898, aged 72 years and 4
months. The mother of
our subject died in 1896, aged over 81 years. Her
maiden name was Gure H. Bjerken. Hans was brought
up on a farm in his native land, and when fourteen
years of age came to America with his parents. The
family left the old country in April, 1868, and
after a journey of three months and three weeks
arrived in Goodhue county, Minnesota, which was
the family home until the next spring.
During their residence in
Goodhue county a Lutheran minister named Hanson
visited the Jackson county country and upon his
return reported that there was an excellent
country open to homestead entry along the Des
Moines river. The Sethers decided to make their
future home there, and they came to the new
country, driving through with oxen hitched to
covered wagons, arriving on May 3, 1860. The family were
very poor. When they landed in America they had
absolutely nothing in the way of earthly
possessions and owed $170 for passage money.
Arriving in Jackson county, their possessions
consisted of one two year-old heifer. But they set
to work with a will to carve out a home in the new
land. The head of the
family took as a homestead claim the north half of
the northwest quarter of section 2, Belmont, the
present home of our subject.
During the first summer the
family lived in the covered wagon in which they
had come from Goodhue county. Then they built a
dugout in a side hill and completed their first
domicile in Jackson county with “Minnesota
bricks;” in this primitive structure they lived
three years. The sod shanty and dugout was
replaced with a log building, 16x16 feet with
addition, which was made from logs cut from the
timber along the river. The log house answered the
purpose until 1898, when Mr. Sether erected his
present commodious house—one of the finest in
Belmont township. very hard times
were encountered during the grasshopper period,
but the family had at once engaged in raising
stock on a small scale, and as they were not
entirely dependent upon their grain crops, did not
suffer as did many who did not engage in raising
stock. Hans Sether
took the management of the home place after his
marriage in 1875 and has ever since conducted it.
He has an excellent farm, improved with excellent
buildings and one of the finest groves in the
neighborhood. He has added to
his original farm by purchase, the land costing
him from $7 to $33 per acre. In school,
township and county affairs Mr. Sether has
taken an active part. He was appointed county
commissioner from the Fifth district September 23,
1886, to succeed A. K. Kilen and was
elected to the same office on the republican
ticket in 1886 and again in 1890, serving over
eight years. During his incumbency two of the
county seat fights took place and Mr. Sether took
part in those history making times. He served as
clerk of Belmont township several years and he has
been treasurer of school district No. 100 for many
years. He is a member of the Norwegian Lutheran
church and of the M. W. A. lodge.
Mr. Sether was married in
Belmont township July 9, 1875 to Minnie Anderson,
daughter of the late John Anderson, of Enterprise
township. Mrs. Sether was born in Norway and came
to the United States in 1869, arriving in Jackson
county on the same day her husband-to-be did. Ten
children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Sether, of
whom eight are living, as follows: Clarence, born
August 12, 1876; Just, born February 8, 1878; Gea,
born January 21, 1880, died September 9, 1881;
Ingman, born March 12, 1882; Gea, born September
15, 1884; Martha, born September 9, 1887; Clara,
born February 28, 1890, died December 10, 1905:
Henry, born May 3, 1893; Harry, born January 3,
1896; Helen, born July 30,
1898.
CHARLIE SEVERSON (1890),
of Enterprise township, was born in Wabasha
county, Minnesota, October 14, 1879, the son of
Charlie and Minnie (Moglind) Severson. The former
emigrated from Denmark in 1876: the latter, who is
now deceased, was born in New York state.
The subject of this biography
moved with his parents from Wabasha county to
Jackson county in March, 1890, and grew to manhood
on a Hunter township farm. He secured a common
school education and made his home with his
parents until 1904. That year he went west and one
year resided in the Big Bend country of central
Washington. Returning, he located on a farm two
miles east of Lakefield, and in 1909 moved to his
present farm, the northeast quarter of section 34,
Enterprise. Mr. Severson
was married August 5. 1906, to Milanda Krumwede of
Lakefield who was born October 13,
1890.
JAMES D. SHAY (1899). of
Jackson, was born in Chillicothe, Illinois,
November 14, 1872, the son of John D. and Bridget
(Shay) Shay. His father now
resides in Ewington township; his mother died in
1905. Both parents were natives of Ireland and
came to the United States soon after their
marriage.
The subject of this biography
lived with his parents in Illinois until 1891.
There he received a common school education, which
was supplemented with a course in the Sherburn
high school after the family moved to Martin
county. Mr. Shay, Sr. bought land in Jackson
county, but the family home was in Martin county
until 1899.
James was engaged in railroad
work in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, and Kansas City,
Kansas, three years and did carpenter work in
Martin county. He was also engaged in the real
estate and insurance business. He moved to
Ewington township with his parents in 1899 and was
engaged in farming several years. He ran a
restaurant in Dubuque, Iowa, one year in
partnership with a brother-in-law, and taught
school one term in Martin county. In 1908 Mr.
Shay, in partnership with Charlie Peterson, bought
the Albert Jackson restaurant and was a partner in
that business until the spring of 1909, when he
sold out to his partner, and has since been
engaged in the restaurant business on the opposite
side of the street. Mr. Shay is a member of the
Catholic church. He served as a member of a school
board in Martin county three years. He is a member
of the Carpenter’s union and Carmen’s
union.
SAMUEL W. SHEARER (1894)
is one of the large landowners and successful
farmers of Wisconsin township. He owns the east
half of section 5, the southwest quarter of
section 4 and the north half of the northwest
quarter of section 3. He has an elegant home built
on the first described property. Samuel W. is the
eldest of a family of five living children. The other
members of the family are Joseph P., John L.,
Uriah S. and Emma (Mrs. J. W. Null), of
Illinois. Another sister, Mary E. Hildebrand, died
September 19, 1894.
The subject of this sketch
was born in Franklin county, Ohio, May 24, 1851,
the son of J. J. and Catherine (Lehman) Shearer.
Until he was of age he resided with his parents
and assisted with the farm work, the family having
moved to Livingston county, Illinois, in 1868. In
that county, upon reaching his majority, he rented
one of his father’s farms and conducted it until
1877. That year he was married, and he and his
brother, J. P. Shearer, bought the farm, conducted
it as partners several years, and later our
subject secured entire control. He conducted the
farm alone until 1894.
In 1892 he came to Jackson
county and bought the half section upon which his
home is now, and two years later moved onto the
place. He has prospered, and has since added the
other property to his holdings. During his
residence in Wisconsin township Mr. Shearer has
held the offices of supervisor, chairman of the
town board and assessor. He is now clerk of school
district No. 1. He is member of the Mennonite
church.
Mr. Shearer was married at
Chatsworth, Illinois, on the first day of the year
1877, to Lizzie Grahill a native of Grundy county
Illinois. To these
parents have been born ten children, of whom the
following nine are living: Byron A., Harry M.,
Grace M., Charles E., Ollie J., Fred S., Russell,
Mary E. and J.
Wesley.
HERMAN SHUDAHL (1902). a
farmer of Christiania township, was born in
Winneshiek county, Iowa, February 12, 1882 the son
of Hans and Rachel (Lunbo) Shudahl. His father was
a stone mason and marble cutter and was born in
Iowa. He died in 1884. Our subject’s mother was
born in Norway and came to America in the
seventies.
Herman received a common
school education and made his home with his
parents in his native county until he was fifteen
years of age. He spent two years in Houston
county, Minnesota, two years in Fillmore county,
and in March, 1902, came to Jackson county, he
farmed six years on section 27, Christiania
township, and in 1908 moved to his present
location on section 22.
Mr. Shudahl was married
December 24, 1903, to Miss Nellie Olson, a
daughter of Ryar and Gertie Olson, of Christiania
township. Three children have been born to Mr. and
Mrs. Shudahl, namely: Horace K., born March 12,
1905; Gordon, born September 23, 1906; Harry, born
February 18, 1908. The family are members of the
Norwegian Lutheran church.
ERNST SHUMACHER (1894),
deceased, late proprietor of a saloon in
Lakefield, was born in Germany August 15, 1852.
His parents were Martin and Ernestina (Urban)
Shumacher. They came to
the United States in 1870 and located in Faribault
county, Minnesota. The father died at Minnesota
Lake in 1883, at the age of 65 years; the mother
died at Kimball, Minnesota, in 1905, at the age of
73 years.
Our subject lived in Germany
with his parents until eighteen years of age and
then came to America. He bought a farm in
Faribault county, Minnesota, upon which he lived
several years, and then moved to Wells, where he
engaged in carpenter work.
Mr. Shumacher became a
resident of Lakefield in 1894, bought a saloon
from Tossen & Company, then located in the
building which is now occupied by the Standard,
and continued in the saloon business until his
death, which occurred December 1, 1909. He erected
the brick building in which the saloon is
conducted in 1896 and two years later erected the
brick building which adjoins it on the north. He
owned his home in the village.
Mr. Shumacher was married at
Lakefield in 1894 to Miss Fredericka Bragger, a
native of Germany. To them were born seven
children, as follows: Lena, Eliza, Erna, Clara,
Harry, Eddie and Emma. Mr. Shumacher and his
family were members of the German Lutheran
church.
FRANK SIEVERT (1888) is a
farmer and thresherman of West Heron Lake
township. He was born in
the state of Illinois April 25, 1884, the youngest
of a family of five children born to Fritz and
Sophia Sievert. His parents are of German birth.
They came to the United States and after living in
Illinois for a short time came to Jackson county
in 1888 and resided on the farm in West Heron Lake
township now occupied by their son. The father
died in 1898; the mother still lives on the
farm.
Frank accompanied his parents
to Jackson county in 1888 when four years of age
and he has ever since resided on the home farm,
the northwest quarter of section 19 West Heron
Lake. He is now engaged in farming the place and
for the last several years has been engaged in the
threshing business in partnership with F. C.
Ruthenbeck.
Mr. Sievert was married in
West Heron Lake township May 1, 1905 to Matilda
Becker, also a native of Illinois, having been
born October 29, 1886. To this union have been
born two children: Leda. born January 5, 1906;
Walter, born September 16, 1907. The family are
members of the German Lutheran church of
Okabena.
EMIL J. SKALICKY (1886)
is a member of the firm of Matuska & Skalicky,
proprietor of a hardware store, meat market and
harness shop in Jackson. He is a native of
Wisconsin, having been born in Dane county August
24, 1877, the son of Frank and Sarah (Betlach)
Skalicky.
The first nine years of the
life of Mr. Skalicky were spent in his native
county. On August 24, 1886, he came to Jackson
county with his parents and until January, 1900,
he resided with them on the farm in Enterprise
township. On the date last mentioned he moved to
Jackson and took a position as clerk in the First
National Bank. A short time later he gave up his
position and went to Mankato, where he took a six
months course in a business college. Returning to
Jackson, he again took his position in the bank,
and remained with that institution until May 22,
1907. On that date he purchased from his
brother-in-law, F. A. Matuska, a half interest in
that gentleman’s hardware store and meat market,
and the firm name became Matuska &
Skalicky.
Mr. Skalicky was married
November 23, 1898, to Anna Matuska, and to them
have been born the following named children: John
J., born August 28, 1899; Joe J., born September
4, 1901; Louis E. born November 8, 1904; Anna,
born January 8, 1906.
Besides his town property Mr.
Skalicky owns 160 acres of land in Enterprise
township and a half section of Canadian land. He
is a member of the Catholic church, of the C.
O. F. and W. B. C.
U. lodges.
During the season of 1909
Matuska & Skalicky erected one of the finest
business blocks in the city, costing about
$16,000. It is built of Luverne gray brick and
Kasota pink stone. The first floor
is occupied by the hardware and harness stores of
the firm, while the upper floor is occupied by the
offices of business and professional men. The
building was occupied for the first time in
January, 1910.
FRANK SKALSKY (1898) owns
and farms the northeast quarter of section 3,
Petersburg township. His parents were Joseph and
Nora (Skalsky) Skalsky and he was born in Bohemia
August 4, 1853.
Our subject had but few
privileges in an educational way. At the age of
fifteen years he started working as a glass blower
and he followed that occupation fifteen years. At
the age of thirty he emigrated to the United
States and for the next fifteen years engaged in
farming near Earlham, Iowa. He moved to Jackson
county in August, 1898, bought his farm in
Petersburg township, and that has since been his
home. He owns stock in the Farmers’ Cooperative
Elevator company of Alpha.
Mr. Skalsky was married in
April, 1883, to Julia Frost. To these parents have
been born the following named children: Joseph,
born June l6, 1884; Frank, born August 28, 1889;
Tony, born September 5,
1890.
HANS O. SKINRUD (1870) is
a homesteader and one of the pioneer settlers of
Delafield township, having made his home on the
farm he now occupies for the last forty years.
Mr. Skinrud is a
native of Norway and was born February 14, 1848,
the youngest of a family of seven children born to
Ole and Martha Skinrud. The father of
our subject died when Hans was one and one-half
years old; his mother died when he was eight years
old.
Hans grew to early manhood in
Norway, attending school and working on a little
farm. When eighteen
years of age he came to America and spent the
first few years of his life in Lafayette county,
Wisconsin. He came to Jackson county in 1870 and
took as a homestead claim the northeast quarter of
section 8, Delafield township, upon which he has
ever since lived. He hauled lumber from Mankato
and St. James and erected a little frame building
on the claim building a sod addition to it. He experienced
hard times during the terrible grasshopper times
that came upon the country soon after his arrival
and several summers was obliged to desert his
claim to work in the eastern counties to earn
enough money to meet the expenses of living. He
remained with the country and has prospered,
adding to his holdings about twenty years ago by
the purchase of an adjoining quarter section of
land.
Mr. Skinrud was married in
Lafayette county, Wisconsin, in May, 1870, to
Louisa Tollofsrud, also a native of Norway. Mr.
and Mrs. Skinrud are the
parents of five children, three of whom are
living: Tillie (Mrs. Paul Molden), born December
11, 1876; Helen (Mrs. Albert Nestrud), born
January 12, 1880; Henry, who conducts the home
farm, born April 29, 1884, married May 5, 1909;
Bessie, born March 26, 1871, died May 5, 1883;
Olaf, born February 13, 1875; died March 27, 1875.
The family are members of the Norwegian Lutheran
church. In the early
days Mr. Skinrud served as a member of the
township board of
supervisors.
ISIAH L. SMALLEY (1901)
resides in Heron Lake township, just west of
Lakefield, where he owns and farms 286 acres of
land. He is one of the township’s successful
farmers and has not had a crop failure since he
located in the county. He is a native of
Washington county, Pennsylvania, and was born
August 21, 1849. His father, Nathaniel Smalley,
was born in Ohio in 1812 and died March 13,
1902. His mother,
Rachael (Smith) Smalley, was a native of
Pennsylvania.
His mother having died when
he was a baby, our subject made his home with his
father until he was twenty -five years of
age. At the age of
six years he went to Putnam county, Illinois, and
three years later to LaSalle county, where he grew
to manhood. He worked for his father until
twenty-five years of age; then he began farming
for himself, buying land adjoining his father’s
farm. He sold out his interests in Illinois, and
in the fall of 1882 located in Osceola county,
Iowa, where he and his father bought 580 acres of
land. They farmed this land in partnership five
years and then divided the estate. Mr. Smalley
continued his farming operations in that county
until 1901. In the year last named he became a
resident of Jackson county, locating in Lakefield,
where he bought property and resided three years.
In 1904 he bought his present farm and has since
been engaged in its cultivation.
Mr. Smalley was married in
Osceola county, Iowa, in 1883, to Emma J,
Woolstrom. She died in 1888, after having borne
him one child, Clarence E., born May 11, 1887. Mr.
Smalleys second marriage occurred in Osceola
county in May, 1889, when he wedded Minnie E.
Cantonwine, who was born in Benton county, Iowa,
January 19, 1873. To them have been born the
following named children: Oliver C, born February
6, 1891; Zoella E., born January 7, 1893; Darrel
M., born March 30, 1898; Fleda M., born July 11,
1904; Uanda I., born April,
1909.
EDWIN SMITH (1869), mail
carrier on route three out of Jackson, has been a
resident of the county since he was one year, old,
and is the son of one of the very early settlers
of the county. His parents, John J. and Annie
(Fields) Smith, were both born in New York state,
but located in Wisconsin before the war and were
married in Dane county of that state. John J.
Smith is a veteran of the civil war, having
enlisted in company K of the First Wisconsin
regiment and later becoming a member of the
Thirty-fifth Wisconsin regiment. He took part in
the battles of Gettysburg, Bull Run and other
important engagements. In the spring
of 1866 the family came to Jackson county and took
a homestead claim on section 32, Wisconsin
township. After a two years’ residence in the
frontier country they returned to Wisconsin, but
two years later again moved to Jackson county.
Mr. Smith now lives
in Jackson and is 73 years of age. Mrs. Smith, our
subject’s mother, died fifteen years ago.
While the family were
temporarily living in Dane county, Wisconsin,
after having spent two years in Jackson county, on
the second day of August, 1868, Edwin Smith was
born to these parents, the next to the eldest of a
family of six children. One year after his birth
Edwin was brought to Jackson county by his
parents, a county which has ever since been his
home. He was brought up on the farm and until his
mother died he lived at home. After reaching
mature years he engaged in farming on his own
account and followed that occupation until six
years ago. In 1898 he bought six acres of land in
the south part of Jackson, where he now lives. In
1901 Mr. Smith received the appointment of rural
mail carrier from the Jackson office and has been
so engaged since, now ranking as the oldest
carrier in point of service in Jackson
county. Mr. Smith is a
member of the Odd Fellows
lodge.
GEORGE H. SMITH (1887),
teacher of the school in district No. 91, Ewington
township, is one of the best known educators of
western Jackson county and has devoted his entire
life to educational work.
Mr. Smith was born in
Phoenix, Michigan, April 25, 1866. When four years
of age his parents moved to Dodgeville, Iowa
county, Wisconsin, and in that town our subject
grew to manhood and secured his early
education. He was
graduated from the Dodgeville high school in 1886
and later took a course of study at the Iowa state
normal school, Cedar Falls. He completed
his education in the Cherokee (Iowa) Institute,
from which he was graduated in 1891.
During the years Mr. Smith
was securing his education he spent the summer
months working on farms and teaching at intervals.
He came to Jackson county in 1887 and for the last
twenty years has been engaged in teaching school,
having taught in Jackson county during the past
fifteen years. He has had charge of the west
school in district No. 91 for the last six years.
Mr. Smith owns the northeast quarter of section
14, Ewington township, where he makes his home and
where he engages in farming to a limited
extent.
Our subject is the youngest
of a family of five children. His father, Mark
Smith, was an Englishman by birth and a carpenter
by trade, he came to the United States in 1865,
lived in Michigan and Wisconsin, and finally
located in Jackson county, Minnesota, where he
died in 1908 at the age of 83 years. Our subject’s
mother was Thomasine Prideaux, who was born and
married in England. She died in Jackson county at
the age of 74 years.
Mr. Smith was married in
Cherokee county, Iowa, June 19, 1895, to Stella A.
Smith, who was born in Scott county, Iowa, in
1869. To this union
have been born the following named children:
Irene, Jennie, Paul, Clarence and Mildred. Mr.
Smith is a member of the Evangelical Association
church and is superintendent of the Sunday school
of that society. He holds the office of clerk of
the Ewington township board of
supervisors.
JOHN SMITH (1885) is a
farmer and land owner of Kimball township and has
resided in Jackson county nearly a quarter of a
century. He is a native
of Monroe county, New York, and was born June 5,
1865, the son of Fred and Mary (Groth) Smith, both
natives of Germany he having been born in
Mecklenberg and she in Prussia. They came to
America in 1863 and after living in the Empire
state nineteen years came to Minnesota and died in
Middletown Township, Jackson county. They were the
parents of six children, of whom the following
three are living: Minnie, who lives in New York
state; Fred, of Des Moines township; and John, of
this sketch.
John spent the first twenty
years of his life in his native county, attending
school and working at various occupations. He came
to Jackson county in 1885 and for thirteen years
lived on a farm in Middletown township. Then he moved
to Kimball township, where he engaged in farming
rented land until October, 1909 At that time he
moved onto his present farm, which he had bought
the spring before. His farm is the south half of
the southwest quarter of section 32. On August 13,
1901, Mr. Smith lost his right arm as a result of
a runaway accident. The arm was caught in a wagon
spring and literally torn off at the elbow.
Mr. Smith was married in
Middletown township October 17, 1891, to Mrs. Lena
Hamp, a native of Prussia. To them has been born
one child, Albert, born October 22, 1892. By a
former marriage Mrs. Smith is the mother of five
children: Will, born May 9, 1879; August, born
April 3, 1881 ; Freda, born November 24, 1882;
Herman, born November 14, 1887; Emma, born
November 14, 1887. The family are members of the
German Lutheran church.
JOHN J. SMITH (1866), of
Jackson, has lived in the county over forty-three
years. He is a native
of Tompkins county. New York, and has born
February 27, 1839, the son of Hiram and Lydia
(McGowin) Smith. When a small
boy our subject accompanied his parents from
Tompkins county to Chautauqua county New York, and
there he lived until 1858, receiving a common
school education. That year he
came west, driving from his New York state home to
Wisconsin. He lived in the Badger state three
years and then enlisted in the First Wisconsin
regiment. After serving his term of enlistment he
returned home and reenlisted in the 35th Wisconsin regiment and
served until April 1866. He received his discharge
in Brownsville, Texas, and from that point the
regiment proceeded to Madison, Wisconsin, and
disbanded.
Immediately after his
discharge from the army Mr. Smith determined to
locate upon some of the land in the new countries
farther west, and on the eleventh day of June
1866, he arrived in Jackson County, having made
the trip overland. He took a homestead claim in
Wisconsin township, three miles southeast of
Jackson, and lived thereon eleven years, selling
the farm in 1877. He then bought a farm in
Wisconsin and Des Moines townships, upon which he
resided twenty-one years. He then sold out and
moved to Jackson, where he has since resided. Mr.
Smith was one of the first settlers of Wisconsin
township and upon its organization he was made one
of the first members of the board of supervisors.
He is a member of the G. A. R.
Mr. Smith was married to Anna
T. Fields in April, 1862. To these parents have
been born the following named children: William
K., born April 14, 1863; James Edwin, born August
2, 1869; Helen, born in 1877; Christie, born
February 27, 1879; Susie, born in 1881; Lydia,
born in 1886.
 JOHN T.
SMITH (1871), president of the Minnesota Fire
company and manager of that company’s tow mill at
Heron Lake, is the oldest resident of that village
and a man in whom both the village and county take
pride. He came to
Heron Lake before the railroad was built and when
the site was raw prairie land. For thirty-eight
years his home has been in the village he helped
to found, and none has taken a more active part in
the business life and in public enterprises than
has Mr. Smith. So
closely identified is he with the interests of the
town that when one thinks of Heron Lake one thinks
of John T. Smith.
John T. Smith was born in
Wales October 3, 1843, the son of William L. and
Sophia (Thomas) Smith. At the age of seven years,
in 1850 he came to the United States, locating in
Herkimer county, New York, where he resided ten
years. There he attended the public schools,
completing his education in Lyons, Clinton county,
Iowa, to which place he moved in 1860. From that
place Mr. Smith enlisted in company B. of the
First Iowa cavalry, in January 1864 and served
with the union forces until his discharge at
Memphis. Tennessee, in October, 1865.
After his discharge from the
army Mr. Smith returned
to Lyons for a short time and then went to
LaCrosse, Wisconsin, where he resided about three
years. In 1868 he went to Whalan, Fillmore county
Minnesota, and there for one year was engaged in
the mercantile business in partnership with John
Carr. About the first
of September 1869, Mr. Smith and C. H. Carroll, of
LaCrosse formed a partnership and a little later
started a general store at Big Bend, Cottonwood
county, to which place it was rumored the Sioux
City & St. Paul railroad would build.
Cottonwood county was then very sparsely settled,
and the store was the first one in the county.
Mr. Smith also has
the distinction of having been the first
postmaster in that county and of having issued the
first marriage license there. The railroad
failed to come to Big Bend but was built to the
south of that place, and after conducting the
store two years Messrs. Smith and Carroll moved to
the point where Heron Lake was to be founded.
It was during the month of
October 1871 that Mr. Smith and his partner first
set foot on the site. They at once erected a store
building, hauling the lumber from Windom. and started the
first store. The following year our subject bought
out his partner’s interest, and in 1874 took as a
partner George Carr. For several years times were
prosperous in the little village of Heron Lake,
and the pioneer merchant built up a marvelous
business. He opened a branch store at Brewster in
1873, one at Adrian in 1876, and one at Fulda in
1878, Mr. Smith continued in the mercantile
business until 1885.
Of more benefit to the people
of Jackson county than any other business
enterprise ever founded there was the tow mill,
which Mr. Smith erected
in Heron Lake in 1881. It was the first tow mill
ever built in Minnesota, and at the time it was
the largest industry of the kind in the United
States, if not in the world. He conducted
the mill until 1898, when the plant was destroyed
by fire, bringing a loss of $75,000. After that
event he helped to organize the Northwestern Tow
company (now the Union Fibre company), of which
Mr. Smith owned thirty-eight percent of the stock
and of which he was general manager until he sold
out in 1902. In 1902 he organized the Minnesota
Fibre company, built a new mill, and has since
been president and general manager of the
company.
In addition to the
manufacturing plant, Mr. Smith is the
owner of 1.000 acres of Jackson and Cottonwood
farming lands. He has never sought political
preferment and the only public office he has ever
held was postmaster of Heron Lake, which he held
from the time of organization in 1871 until 1878.
He is a member of the A. 0. U. W. lodge.
Mr. Smith was married at
Heron Lake March 9, 1875, to Miss Jennie Weir. To
this union have been born three children, Alice C,
born in 1877; Morton W., born in 1878; Jennie M.,
born in 1884.
MORTON W. SMITH (1878),
secretary of the St. John Grain company, is a
native of Jackson county, having been born in
Weimer township June 21, 1878, the son of John
T. and Jennie
(Weir) Smith. He was brought up on the farm and
attended the graded schools of Heron Lake. He was
graduated from the Waupun (Wisconsin) high school,
and in 1901 received his diploma from the
university of Wisconsin.
Returning to Heron Lake after
his school days, Mr. Smith took a position as
bookkeeper in the Bank of Heron Lake. In the fall
of the same year he took a like position with B.
P. St. John, grain
dealer. The next year the St. John Grain
company was incorporated, and Mr. Smith continued
to serve the new corporation as bookkeeper. In
1905 Mr. Smith was made secretary of the company,
a position he still holds. He owns land in Weimer
township and residence property in Heron
Lake. Fraternally he
is associated with the Masonic order.
Mr. Smith was married at
Heron Lake February 26, 1907, to Ethel D. St.
John, daughter of the late W. P. St. John and
Minnie E. St. John, still
living in Heron Lake. To this union has been born
one child, John Morton Smith, born November 7,
1908.
JOHN A. SPAFFORD (1872),
farmer and storekeeper of Ewington township and
formerly postmaster of Spafford post office, is
one of the oldest residents of his precinct. He is
one of the best known residents of western Jackson
county and a man who has taken an active part in
the business, social and political affairs of the
community in which he has lived so long.
Mr. Spafford descends from
one of the oldest families of America. For several
centuries before the American family was founded
the Spaffords, or Spoffords, as the name was
originally spelled, were a people of high rank in
England. So early as 1006 we find the name in the
Doomsday Book, which is a book of record of the
lands of England as parceled out after the day of
William, Duke of Normandy. The American
branch of the family was founded by John Spofford,
who came to America in 1638 with a colony under
the leadership of Rev. Ezekiel Rogers. The colony
was composed of many families from Yorkshire and
made settlement in April, 1639, between Newbury
and Ipswich, in Massachusetts. The name of
John Spofford appears on the record of the first
division of lands into homestead lots, which was
made in 1643. His lot consisted of one and
one-half acres, and was located on Bradford
street, so called, near the center of the present
town of Rowley. In the spring of 1669 he moved to
Spofford’s Hill, in the west part of the town, and
he was without doubt the first settler of
Georgetown and the progenitor of all of the name
in the United States and Canada. His wife was
Elizabeth Scott, who came to America in the ship
Elizabeth in 1634, When nine years of age. The John A.
Spafford of this sketch belongs to the eighth
generation in this descent. One of the sons of the
original John Spofford was also named John. He
lived on the site of the original settlement on
Spofford’s Hill, in what is now Georgetown,
Massachusetts, where he died April 27, 1696.
Jonathan, son of John, was a resident of Rowley
where he died January 16, 1772, aged 89 years.
Jacob, son of Jonathan emigrated to Salisbury,
Connecticut, where he lived for many years, and
where he died. Colonel Solomon Spafford was a son
of Jacob Spafford he moved from Connecticut to
Hallowell, Canada, at which place he died February
2, 1837. One of the sons of Colonel Solomon
Spafford, was Ira Spafford, who was born in
Vermont, emigrated with his father to Canada, and
settled at Hallowell now Athol. One of his sons
was Heman Spafford, the father of the subject of
this sketch. Heman Spafford was born in Prince
Edward county Ontario, Canada, February 8, 1805,
and died in Picton, Prince Edward county August
26, 1876. He was married to Cecelia Abrams who was
born in Ireland in 1812 and died in Bloomington,
Illinois June 14, 1894.
To Heman and Cecelia Spafford
was born John A. Spafford. His birthplace was
Picton, Prince Edward county Ontario, and the date
of his birth was August 20, 1837. In his native
county he grew to manhood. His early life was
spent in securing a common school education and in
working on the farm. When
twenty-four years of age he left home and sought
his fortune in the west. He departed from his
native town on the 15th of April 1861 and
arrived in Chicago three days later. There he
secured employment in the grain commission house
of Baker & Spafford, for which firm he worked
two years. In August, 1863, Mr. Spafford moved to
Wapella, DeWitt county Illinois, where for two
years he was grain buyer for a Chicago commission
house.
During those two years he
made considerable money but owing to a general
collapse in prices at the close of the civil war,
he lost it all, and what was still worse he found
himself considerably in debt. During the winter of
1865 he was engaged in buying and sacking corn and
oats for the commissary department of the
government through a subagent, who, at the close
of the war, found himself over-stocked with grain
for which the government would have no use. Mr.
Spafford had contracted for much grain from the
farmers, advancing some money on each lot, and
when the department’s demand was cut off, and the
markets in the large grain centers tumbled fifty
percent or more, there was nothing left for him to
do but take in the contracted grain at former
prices, to-wit: 65 to 70 cents per bushel for oats
and 70 to 80 cents per bushel for corn, and put it
on the Chieiigo market at 30 to 40 cents per
bushel. In this deal
his fortune was swept away, and for six or seven
years he knocked about at various occupations
until his removal to Jackson county.
With the rush of home seekers
to southwestern Minnesota in the spring of 1872
came Mr. Spafford, the
date of his arrival being May 9. For a time he
made his home in the new town of Worthington,
engaging in teaming for I. N. Sater, the pioneer
lumber dealer, and other businessmen. In June he
filed a homestead claim to the northwest quarter
of section 20 in Ewington township which is now
his home. Three months later he returned to his
old home in Illinois, straightened out his
business affairs there, and on October returned
with his family. He lived in Worthington until the
spring of 1873 and then moved onto his homestead.
He began farming then, but the grasshoppers took
nearly everything, and late in the fall of 1875 he
was forced to return to Worthington and seek
employment. He secured work in the flouring mill,
in the fall of 1876 being promoted to the office
of head bookkeeper. His residence was in
Worthington about a year and a half, and then he
returned to the farm which has been his home ever
since.
Mr. Spafford holds a record
as a township officer which is equaled by few men.
With the exception of the first year he has held a
township office ever since Ewington township was
organized. He was elected town clerk in 1881 and
held the office for twenty-five consecutive years,
finally giving up the office in 1906. Still longer
service has he seen in the school district. When
the district was organized in 1875 he was elected
to the office of treasurer and a few years later
to that of clerk, which he held for a continuous
service of thirty-three years. Besides the offices
mentioned he has been township assessor, member of
the board of supervisors and for a short time was
chairman of the board.
In 1894 Mr. Spafford applied
to the post office department for an office to be
located on his farm. He was successful in his
efforts, and in September of that year the office,
named Spofford in his honor (even though the name
was incorrectly spelled), was put in operation
with Mr. Spafford as postmaster. The next year he
opened a general store and operated it in
connection with the office. He continued this
business six years, and then sold out the store
and resigned the postmaster ship. In the spring of
1909 Mr. Spafford again engaged in the mercantile
business, opening a store on his farm in
April.
Mr. Spafford was married in
Bloomington, Illinois April 5, 1865, to Mary
Stoutz, daughter of George Stoutz a coach builder
in the shops of the Chicago & Alton Railway
company. To this union
have been born seven children as follows: Edith
Cecelia (Mrs. Joel Edward White), Aberdeen, South
Dakota; George Walter, Ewington township; William
Charles (died in 1874, aged four and one-half
years); Frank Addison. Ewington township; Clara
Augusta (Mrs. Robert Edward Davis), Worthington;
Emma Elizabeth (Mrs. Charles E. Gehrke), Ewington
township; John Heman, Ewington township. Mr. and
Mrs. Spafford were both charter members of the
Methodist church of Worthington, having brought
letters from their church in Illinois.
ARTHUR J. SPARKS (1897)
is a farmer and thoroughbred stock raiser who
resides within the corporate limits of the village
of Lakefield. He owns the old Rasmus Larson
homestead adjoining the village of Lakefield and
the southeast quarter of section 6, Hunter
township. He was one of the first to bring a herd
of registered Shorthorn cattle to Jackson county,
and he has a fine herd of stock. He also has 400
growing fruit trees on his home farm.
Mr. Sparks was born in Grant
county, Wisconsin. January 9,
1873, the son of Joseph and Mary A. (Tomlinson)
Sparks. Both parents were natives of England. They
came to America when seven years of age, lived one
winter in Canada, and then located in Grant
county, Wisconsin, in 1837, being very early
pioneers of that county. The father of our subject
crossed the plains to California in 1849 and was
the first to reach the famous Grass Valley.
He returned to the states by
way of Panama, the gulf of Mexico and the
Mississippi river and lived in Grant county,
Wisconsin. until a short time before his death. He
died in 1905 aged 78 years. His wife still lives
and is 72 years of age. They were the parents of
ten children, of whom the following five are
living: Mrs. C. E. Buell, of Webster City, Iowa;
Mrs. Allie Blank, of North Dakota: Frank T.. of
Buffalo Center, Iowa: Arthur J., of this sketch ;
and Clinton A., of Buffalo Center, Iowa.
Arthur lived with his parents
in Grant county, Wisconsin, until 1897, and there
he received a district school education. In the
year last mentioned he came to Jackson county and
bought the northwest quarter of section 30,
Delafield township, where he lived nearly four
years. Selling that, he bought the Larson
homestead, on the edge of Lakefield, and there he
has since lived, engaged in farming and stock
raising. During his residence in Delafield
township Mr. Sparks was a member of the school
board of his district. He is a member of the
Maccabee and M. W. A. lodges. Mr. Sparks was
married in Lakefield February 15, 1899, to Miss
Lena D. Larson, who was born on the homestead
where she now lives. She is the daughter of Rasmus
and Christine B. (Hokansen) Larson, early pioneers
of the county. Mr. and Mrs. Larson were natives of
Norway. They came to America in 1867, lived three
years in Goodhue county, Minnesota, and then came
to Jackson county and located on their homestead
where Lakefield now stands. At that time there was
no Lakefield and no railroad. It took one week to
get lumber from Madelia with oxen with which to
build their abode. On this place they spent the
rest of their lives. Mrs. Larson died in 1902 at
the age of 75 years and Mr. Larson died in 1903 at
the age of 67 years.
Lena D., the only child of
these parents, was born August 24, 1875. She
completed a common school education at Lakefield
and then, to fit herself for teaching, she took a
course of three terms at the Mankato Normal
school. She taught four
years in the schools of Jackson county and was
married to Arthur L Sparks in 1899. To Mr. and
Mrs. Sparks have been born the following children:
Stacey H., Florence C. M., D. Roscoe, D. Ruth,
Clarence J., Theodore A. and Eugene L.
HANS STAHL (1888), Sioux
Valley township farmer and land owner, was born in
Germany November 16, 1852 the son of Hans and
Elsaler Stahl. both of whom died in Germany. There
were twelve children in the family. Hans was
brought up on a farm in his native land, attending
school and making his home with his parents until
past nineteen years of age.
He came to America in 1872
and located in Scott county Iowa, where he lived
ten years, engaged in farming, threshing, corn
shelling and working out. He then took up his
residence in Durant, Iowa, where he bought a small
place and engaged in farming, threshing and corn
shelling for the next six years. In 1888 he came
to Siouix Valley township, of Jackson county, and
conducted a rented farm on section 23 three years.
He then bought his present farm—the northeast
quarter of section 24—and upon that place be has
since lived. He rents land which he farms in
addition to his own land, farming 312 acres. When he bought
his farm the only improvements consisted of a
little shanty, and he has practically made all the
improvements on the place.
Mr. Stahl was married in
Cedar county, Iowa, in December 1881, to Laura
Gamma, a native of Scott county, Iowa. To Mr. and
Mrs. Stahl have been born the following children:
Meta, Malinda, Matilda, Hilda, Dena, Amanda,
Albert and Ferdinand. Mr. Stahl was a director of
school district No. 77 for two
years.
HANS M STALL (1870) is a
Des Moines township farmer who owns the northwest
quarter of section 1. He was born on the old Stall
homestead on section 2, Des Moines, on March 25,
1870. Oliver Stall, our subject’s father, still
lives on the old homestead and is seventy years of
age. Helen (Hansen) Stall, our subject’s mother,
died in 1876.
Hans Stall attended the
district school and grew to manhood on his
father’s farm. At the age of twenty-three years he
started in life for himself, working out and
engaging in farming. He lived in
Jackson nine years, engaged in teaming, to which
place he moved in 1899. He bought his
present farm from his brother, Edward Stall; in
1908.
On May 27, 1893, in the
county of his birth, Mr. Stall was married to
Belle Holsten, a native of Belmont township and a
daughter of the late Holsten Olson and Engebor
Olson. To them has
been born one child, Bennerd H., born January 23,
1903.
HENRY A. STALL (1879)
owns and farms the northeast quarter of section 2,
Des Moines township. He was born on that farm May
29, 1879, the son of Oliver and Helen (Skogen)
Stall, of whom the former is now living in Jackson
and the latter died in 1901. Oliver Stall was born
in Norway, came to the United States when young
and located in Illinois. He served three
years as a soldier in the union army, and
immediately after his discharge came to Jackson
county, in the spring of 1855, when there were
less than 250 residents in the whole of Jackson
county. He homesteaded the farm now owned by his
son in Des Moines township.
Henry was educated in the
district schools of Des Moines township and until
he reached his majority worked for his father on
the farm. Then he rented the farm and conducted it
under the lease until 1907. That year he bought
the farm.
Mr. Stall was married in
Enterprise township in September, 1903, to Bertha
Wiger, who was born in Jackson county February 24,
1880. She is the daughter of the late Ole Wiger,
who was one of the early settlers of Enterprise
township and who died in 1905. Three children
have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Stall, namely:
Hayes, Bert and Gordon. Mr. Stall is a
member of the Modern Woodmen of America
lodge.
MARTIN STALL (1877), Des
Moines township farmer, was born on the farm he
now manages July 13, 1877. He is the son of Hans
and Julia (Holsten) Stall. The former is a native
of Norway and came to the United States when a
boy. He lived in Illinois eight years and then
enlisted in the union army in an Illinois regiment
and saw three years’ service. After the war he
came to Jackson county and homesteaded the
southeast quarter of section 2, Des Moines
township. He resided on the farm until seven years
ago, when he moved to Jackson, where he now lives.
The mother of our subject died November 17,
1896.
Martin Stall was educated in
the district school and grew to manhood on his
father’s farm. At the age of twenty-two, in 1899
he married and engaged in farming for
himself. He rented a
farm in Des Moines township, farmed it one season,
and then rented his father’s place, where he has
since lived. He owns an eighty acre tract of land
on section 35 Belmont township, which he bought in
1899. He has served two terms as road
superintendent and now holds the office of
treasurer of his school district. He is also one
of five directors of a large cooperative store in
Jackson. Mr. Stall was
married in Jackson December 2, 1899, to Laura
Rade, who was born in Norway July 12, 1877, and
came to the United States when four years of age.
She is the daughter of Jens Rade, deceased. The
family are members of the Evangelical Lutheran
church of America.
THOMAS H. STALL (1865),
senior member of the Jackson mercantile firm of T.
H. Stall & Co., is forty-four years of age and
has spent his entire life in Jackson county. He
was born on section two, Des Moines township, on
October 31, 1865, the son of Oliver and Helen
(Hansen) Stall. These parents were born in Norway
and came to the United States when young. They
were married in Illinois and in the spring of
1865, immediately after the discharge of Oliver
Stall from a three years’ service in the union
army, they came to Jackson county. The head of the
family took as a homestead claim the northeast
quarter of section 2, Des Moines township, making
the filing in May, 1865. A census of the county,
taken two months after his arrival, showed a total
population for Jackson county of 233. Oliver Stall
continued to farm his original homestead until
1906, when he retired from active life and is now
enjoying the fruits of a well spent and hard
working life at the age of seventy years. Our
subject’s mother died in the fall of 1876. They
were the parents of four children, of whom the
three following are living: Thomas H., of this
sketch, Martina (Mrs. Jake Johnson), of Windom,
and Hans M. Stall, who resides upon the old
home-stead.
Thomas H. Stall lived with
his parents on the farm until he reached his
majority. He attended the country schools and
completed his education in the Jackson high
school. At the age of twenty-one years he bought a
farm in Belmont township and conducted it five
years. He then moved to Jackson and entered the
employ of J. W. Cowing and clerked in that
gentleman’s store five years. At the end of that
time he bought an interest in the store and
remained with the firm two years. In 1899 he
formed a partnership with H. E. Anderson and G.
A. Husby and opened a general store in the
building in which he is still located. The firm
carries a line of general merchandise, dry goods,
groceries, clothing and shoes.
Mr. Stall is a member of the
Lutheran church and of the E. F. U. and M. W.
A. lodges. He has
three sons and two daughters, namely: Norin,
Tilford, Theodore, Hazel and Ruth.
HENRY STEFFEN (1900) is a
farmer and land owner of Hunter township. Germany
is his native country and October 20, 1860, was
the date of his birth. His parents were Paul and
Marie Steffen. The former died when our subject
was one year old and his mother when he was ten
years of age.
After his mother’s death
until he was fifteen Henry lived with a sister. At
the age of fifteen he began working out on farms,
and when twenty years of age joined the German
army and served three years. The next spring after
his discharge from the army, in 1884, Mr. Steffen came to
America. He worked as a farm hand in Carroll
county, Iowa, two years, and then located in
Omaha, where for six and one-half years he was
employed in a packing house. The next years
were spent in farming rented land in Carroll and
Crawford counties Iowa. He came to
Jackson county in 1900 farmed rented land in
Hunter township two years, and in 1902 bought his
present farm. He owns the east half of the
southwest quarter of section 15 and the east half
of the northwest quarter of section 22,
Hunter.
Our subject was married in
Germany in 1884 to Paulina Labeck, who was born
July 28, 1860. To them have been born the
following named seven children: Herman, born
December 21, 1885: Emma, born October 4, 1886:
Harry, born November 20, 1892: Agnes, born June
27, 1894: Vena, born March 10, 1898; Edward and
Edna (twins), born August 5, 1900. The family are
members of the German Lutheran church of
Lakefield.
JOHN L. STEINER (1888).
carpenter and builder of Alpha, has resided in
Jackson county since he was thirteen years of age.
He was born in Calumet county, Wisconsin, April 4,
1875 the son of Anton and Magdalen (Bornlander)
Steiner.
In his native county our
subject lived until he was thirteen years of age.
Then in 1888 he moved with his parents to Jackson
county, and until he was of age lived with them on
the farm a little northeast of the Jackson
depot. Upon reaching
his majority in 1896 he worked one year on a farm
south of Jackson and the next year on a farm near
Mallard, Iowa. In 1898 Mr. Steiner moved to the
little town of Alpha and engaged in carpenter
work, which he has since followed. He owns
property in the village of Alpha and eighty acres
of land in St. Louis county Minnesota. He is a
member of the Catholic church of Jackson and of
the Catholic Order of Foresters.
Mr. Steiner was united in
marriage to Miss Gertie Beckman, of Madelia. To
them have been born the following named children:
Louis, born December 14, 1904, died February 17,
1905; Herman J., born November 6, 1905; Bernard
L., born November 14, 1907.
CLEMENT STENZEL (1877),
farmer and land owner of LaCrosse township, has
been a resident of Jackson county since he was
three years of age. He was born in Austria
November 16, 1874, the second of a family of nine
children born to Frank and Maria (Schaf fer)
Stenzel, the other children being Frank, Mary,
Annie, Rudolph, Emma; Julius, John ; and Eliza.
His parents reside in Weimer township.
Clement came to America with
the family in 1877 and until he was twenty-seven
years of age resided on his father’s farm on
section 8, Weimer. Then he bought a farm of his
own on section 1, LaCrosse, and has since been
engaged in farming it. He has made all the
improvements on the place. He is a member of the
Catholic church and of the M. W. A. lodge. He has
held the office of treasurer of school district
No. 44 for five years and is one of the
supervisors of LaCrosse township.
Mr. Stenzel was married at
Heron Lake No vember 8, 1900, to Sabina Pieschel,
a native of LaCrosse township and a daughter of
Frank Pieschel, one of the early settlers and
still a resident of that precinct. Two children
have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Stenzel, Harold and
Alfred.
FRANK J. STENZEL (1877)
is one of the successful farmers of Weimer
township. He owns the southwest quarter of section
5 and the north half of the southeast quarter of
section 20, LaCrosse township. He has a well
improved farm and as fine a home as there is in
the township. The farm has a fine grove and a
splendid orchard. Mr. Stenzel engages extensively
in stock raising and has a herd of four hundred
sheep.
Mr. Stenzel is a native of
Austria and was born April 22, 1871. He
accompanied his parents to America in 1877 and
grew to manhood on his father’s farm on section 8,
Weimer. He lived with
his parents, working on the farm, until he was
twenty-six years of age. Then he married
and bought the farm which he has since continued.
Mr. Stenzel is a member of the Weimer hoard of
supervisors and has served in that capacity four
years. He has been clerk of school district No. 12
for the past eighteen years and has been township
assessor three years. Mr. Stenzel has other
business interests besides his farming, he has
been a director of the Farmers Cooperative
Elevator company of Heron Lake since its
organization and he has been a director of the
Farmers State Bank of Heron Lake since that
institution was organized. He is a member of the
M. W. A. lodge.
The parents of our subject
are Frank and Marie Stenzel, both of whom are
residents of Weimer township. Frank, of this
sketch, is the eldest of a family of nine children
the others being Clem, Mary, Annie, Rudolph, Emma,
Julius, John and Eliza.
The marriage of Mr. Stenzel
occurred at Heron Lake November 4, 1897. which he
wedded Mollie Mixner, who was born in Austria May
1, 1873. To them have been born the following
named children: Raymond, born September 23, 1898:
Herman, born December 6, 1899; Stephana, born
November 27, 1901; Willie, born August 19, 1903:
Elmer born April 16, 1905; Eddie, born February
14, 1907: Frank, born January 27,
1909.
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