History
of Mitchell and Worth Counties, Iowa
J. F. Clyde and H. A. Dwelle, Editors. Volume II. Chicago:
S. J. Clarke Pub. Co., 1918.
Worth County
R
Biographies submitted by Gordon Felland.
PETER MANUEL REINSMOEN, who follows general farming in Bristol township, Worth county, was born July 4, 18 88 , upon the farm which is yet his home and which is the property of his parents, Martin and Kaja (Langburg) Reinsmoen. The parents are both natives of Norway and the father came to the United States with his parents when a small boy. The family home was established in Bristol township, Worth county, during the pioneer period in the history of this section of the state and one hundred and sixty acres of land was purchased and improved. It has since been the family homestead. Martin Reinsmoen spent his boyhood days in Bristol township and afterward purchased eighty acres of the farm upon which his son, Peter Manuel, now resides. This he carefully tilled and developed and as his financial resources increased he extended its boundaries until it comprised two hundred and eighty acres of rich and productive land. He continued the further development and operation of the farm until five years ago, when he removed to Joice and is now living retired, enjoying a rest which he has truly carried arid richly deserves. He was married in Silver Lake and he and his wife are among the well-known and highly respected residents of Joice. They hold membership in the Norwegian Lutheran church and Mr. Reinsmoen gives his political allegiance to the republican party, of which he has ever been a stanch advocate. He has served is school director but has never been an office seeker. He is now a stockholder in the Farmers Elevator arid he also owns property in Joice. In fact his business interests and investments are sufficient to supply him with all of the comforts and some of the luxuries of life and his record indicates what may be accomplished through determined and earnest effort, for his success is attributable entirely to his own labors.
Peter M. Reinsmoen was reared in the usual manner of the farm-bred boy who divides his time between the duties of the schoolroom, the pleasures of the playground and the work of the fields. Through summer months he assisted his father in the labors of the farm and ultimately took charge of the old homestead, which he is now cultivating. The neat and thrifty appearance of the place indicates his practical and progressive methods. He is thoroughly familiar with all that has to do with progress in farm work and he utilizes the latest improved machinery in planting, caring for and harvesting his crops.
On the 26th of September, 1912 , Mr. Reinsmoen was united in marriage to Miss 0lga Skrien, a daughter of Ole and Carrie Skrien. Mrs. Reinsmoen was born in Fertile township, Clay county, Minnesota , and her parents were early settlers of Worth county but later removed to Fertile township, where her father engaged in farming. To Mr. and Mrs. Reinsmoen have been born two children, Mildred Claret Ordella and Carma Marline.
The religious faith of Mr. and Mrs. Reinsmoen is that of the Norwegian Lutheran church, to the teachings of which they loyalty adhere. He is a republican in his poIitical views, having supported the party since age conferred upon him the right of franchise. He is ever loyal to the best interests of the community and stands for progress and improvement in matters of citizenship as well as in connection with his farming interests. His has been an active and well spent life and his record is as an open book which all may read. He has always lived upon the farm which is now his home and has ever been numbered among the representative and progressive agriculturists of his community.
Edward
Rustad
In
the death of Edward Rustad, Worth county lost a substantial citizen
worthy of high respect. He- was long identified with business interests
as a hardware merchant and farmer, and was also president of the Northwood
Manufacturing Company. His activities were ever of a character that
contributed to public progress and prosperity as well as to individual
success, and his aid and influence were ever given on the side of advancement
and improvement. He was born about a mile and a half west of Northwood,
on the old Rustad homestead, in Worth county, April 19, 1856, a son
of Simon and Anne Magdalene (Nelson) Rustad, both of whom were natives
of Norway, where they were reared and married. The father was born at
Lillehammer, Norway, January 9, 1826, and in March, 1852, he wedded
Anne Magdalene Eliasdather, whose birth occurred in Fredrikshald, Norway,
September 8, 1823. Not long after their marriage they bade adieu to
friends and native country and sailed for the United States, first settling
in Rock Prairie, in Rock county, Wisconsin, where they remained until,
1854 and then removed to Worth county, Iowa. They were among it pioneer
settlers and sheared in all the hardships and privations incident to
frontier life. The father built a log cabin with puncheon floor and
the roof was covered with straw. He worked hard in order to gain a start
and year-by-year carried on the work of improving his farm, adding to
his cultivated fields until his entire place was highly developed. To
his original purchase he made additions until his landed possessions
comprised four hundred and eighty acres. constituting one of the valuable
farms of the county. Upon this he erected a fine residence, in the rear
of which stood large and substantial barns and other outbuildings for
the shelter of grain and stock. In his farm work he was most progressive
and be possessed the industry and honesty characteristic of the sons
of Norway. To him and his wife were born nine children, who were reared
upon the old homestead. The parents were consistent members of the Lutheran
church and in his political faith Mr. Rustad was a republican. He held
the office of justice of the peace, his decisions being strictly fair
and impartial, and he. also occupied other local offices, the duties
of which he discharged with promptness and fidelity.
Edward Rustad spent
his boyhood days upon the old home farm and continued to assist in its
cultivation until he reached the age of twenty-four years. His educational
opportunities were those afforded by the public schools. After leaving
home he secured a clerkship in the hardware store of John Henderson,
in whose employ he remained for a number of years, after which he went
to North Dakota, where he engaged in the hardware business with his
brother, Sam Rustad, with whom he was associated in that way for one
year. He then returned to Northwood and soon afterward purchased two
hundred and forty acres of land from his father in Worth county. His
attention was then concentrated upon the further cultivation and development
of the place until 1908, when he removed to Northwood and retired from
active business life. However, he was financially interested in the
Northwood Manufacturing Company and filled the office of president.
On the 3rd of June,
1891, Mr. Rustad was united in marriage to Miss Josephine Olson. a daughter
of Austin and Emily Olson, who were natives of Norway. Her father left
that country when eighteen years of age and on a sailing vessel crossed
the Atlantic to America. reaching the shores of the new world after
a voyage of sixteen weeks. He made his way across the country with the
Aaser Groth family, who settled in St. Ansgar, Mitchell, county, while
afterward Mr. Olson went to Silver Lake township, Worth county. Following
his marriage to Miss Nellie Olson he enlisted for active service in
the Union army and served for two years during the Civil war. He then
returned home and a year later his wife died. Another year passed and
he then married her sister, Miss Emily Olson. Subsequently he purchased
the farm of his father-in-law two miles west of Northwood, becoming
owner of three hundred acres, upon which, lie resided until he retired
from active business life, being ranked with the leading and representative
agriculturists of the community. He died in Northwood, while his wife
passed away on the old homestead farm west of the city in 1894. His
political allegiance was given to the republican party and both he and
his wife were loyal members of the Norwegian church. To Mr. and Mrs.
Rustad were born eight children: Eleanor, Edva, Seymour, Agnes, Joyce,
Leland, Raymond and Raynold, the two latter deceased.
In his political
views Edward Rustad was a stalwart republican, being firmly convinced
that the principles of the party contained the best elements of good
government. He served as president of the school board and the cause
of education found in him a stalwart champion. He was also interested
in the moral progress of the community and held membership in the Norwegian
Lutheran church, to which Mrs. Rustad still belongs. He was held in
high esteem, his genuine worth winning form him the confidence and good
will of all with whom he came in contact, and as a businessman and citizen
he was widely and favorably known.
Arne O.
Rye, who
has recently become cashier of the Worth County Bank of Northwood and
is vice president of the Citizens Savings Bank of Hanlontown, Worth
County, was born in Dane County, Wisconsin, on the 18th of November
1869, his parents being Ole and Christina (Methus) Rye. The father was
born in Valdris, Norway, in 1844, and there the mother’s birth
also occurred in 1846. In the early '50s; however, Ole Rye left Norway
with his parents and crossed the Atlantic on one of the old-time sailing
vessels, which bore them safely to American shores, whence they crossed
the country to Dane County, Wisconsin. There the grandfather purchased
a farm, which he cultivated and improved, and the family lived in that
locality until 1876, when a removal was made to Fertile township, Worth
county, Iowa. Again a farm was purchased, Ole Rye securing a tract of
good land of one hundred and sixty acres, to the development and cultivation
of which he directed his energies until his death, which occurred in
1886. His father a year later removed to Fertile Township and purchased
land, upon which he resided until called to his final rest. It was in
1868, in Dane county, Wisconsin, that Ole Rye was united in marriage
to Miss Christina Methus, who still survives him and is now living in
Hanlontown at the age of seventy-two years. She is a member of the Norwegian
Lutheran church, to which Mr. Rye also belonged, consistently supporting
its principles. His political belief was that of the Republican Party
and he was called upon to fill a number of local offices. Mrs. Rye came
to the new world when nineteen years of age, the Methus family establishing
their home in Dane county, Wisconsin, where her father followed agricultural
pursuits, but in 1883 he removed to Fertile township, Worth county,
Iowa, where he purchased land west of what is now Hanlontown. His remaining
days were devoted to general agricultural pursuits in this district.
'When Mr. and Mrs. Ole Rye arrived in Worth county it was largely a
tract of wild and undeveloped prairie and the father lived to see a
wonderful transformation here, including the substantial growth of the
township in which he lived. He bore his full part in the work of agricultural
development and progress and was a respected citizen of the community.
Arne O. Rye spent
the first seven years of his life in his native county and was then
brought by his parents to Iowa. He supplemented his district school
education by study in the Cedar Valley Seminary at Osage and afterward
attended a business college at Cedar Rapids. He later taught school
in Worth county and in the village of Fertile, where he was made principal
of the schools, serving in 1898 and.1899. In the fall of the latter
year the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad was built through this
locality and Mr. Rye established a general merchandise store and became
the first postmaster of Hanlontown. He was associated in business with
his brother, Thomas 0. Rye, until 1905, when he withdrew from active
connection with mercantile pursuits to accept the position of cashier
of the Citizens Savings Bank. He. however, retained his interest in
the store until 1910, the business being conducted under the style of
Rye Brothers. On the 25th of October 1917, he was elected vice president
of the bank and still continues in that position, giving his attention
to the administration of the bank's affairs. The business has grown
steadily and the bank is now in a most substantial condition. In January,
1918, Mr. Rye was also mad cashier and one of the directors of the Worth,
County Bank and on the 1st of May, 1918, assumed active part in the
conduct of the business of the bank as its cashier, at which time he
removed to Northwood, while his brother Clarence S. became his successor
in the active management of the bank in Hanlontown. Arne 0. Rye is also
interested in farmlands in Worth county and his investments have been
most judiciously placed.
On December 25,
1904, Mr. Rye was united in marriage to Miss Clara Benson, a daughter
of Ole and Guri (Mellem) Benson. Mrs. Rye was born in Danville township,
Worth county, while her parents were natives of Norway but became early
pioneer residents of Worth county. To Mr. and Mrs. Rye have been born
two children: Glen, five years of age; and Arthur, three years of age.
Mr. and Mrs. Rye
hold membership in the Norwegian Lutheran church and he votes with the
Republican Party. His business career has been marked by steady advancement
and the steps in his orderly progression are easily discernible, for
each forward step has brought him a broader outlook and wider opportunities.
He has now become well established as a factor in financial circles
and is entering upon a still broader field, giving him greater influence
in business life in this section of the state.
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