Lyon County Biographies
"An Illustrated History of Lyon County"
Below are biographies from the 1912 "An Illustrated History of Lyon County".
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*The date in parentheses following the name of each subject is the year of arrival to Lyon county.
ANTON LORANZ (1874) is a homesteader and early settler of Lyon county. He owns 360 acres of land in Sodus township and he and his sons farm the entire tract.
Mr. Loranz was born in Germany in September, 1839, and he lived in the Fatherland until 1871. Coming to America that year, he spent the next three years in Wisconsin, working as a farm laborer and on the railroad. He came to Lyon county in 1874 and took as a homestead claim the southwest quarter of section 26, Sodus township, and on that place he has ever since lived. He added his other land later by purchase.
The subject of this biography was married in Sodus township in 1883 to Amelia Olson. She was born in Sweden September 16, 1848,. the daughter of Johan and Anna M. Olson. She came to America with the family in 1881 and settled in Sodus township. Four children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Loranz, named as follows: Daniel, born March 21, 1884; John, born August 25, 1885; James, born June 4, 1892; Annie M., born February 8, 1889.
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JOHN L. CRAIG (1872). On the southeast quarter of section 14, Monroe township, adjoining the city of Tracy, stands a little 12x14 hut, weather-beaten and worn but still enduring after forty years. Also on the place stands a modern and commodious residence which is in accord with the well-kept up-to-date farm of the owner. Attending personally to the management of the place is its owner, John L. Craig, veteran of the Civil War and one of the early settlers of this county, who only a few months ago celebrated his seventy-sixth birthday.
There was no Tracy when Mr. Craig came to the county in the spring of 1872 and homesteaded the quarter on which he now resides and there was no railroad running so far west at that time. The lumber for the little house which still stands on the farm was hauled from Marshall and this small hut, built from rough boards, was Mr. Craig's home for the next three years. In the fall of 1872 the railroad was built. Until 1875 there was no station, the trains stopping a mile east of the present townsite at a place called Shetek Crossing. In 1875 and for a year after, trains used the warehouse of Neil Currie for a station, and Mr. Craig was the first station agent. The town was then called Big Bend. When he first came to the county Mr. Craig's only neighbors were Ed. Healy and David Stafford, who lived on Lake Sigel, two miles south, and Ed. Starr, whose homestead was a mile east. These were all, except a few families on the Cottonwood river.
Those early days were strenuous ones for the pioneers. When the grasshoppers were destroying the crops in Southwestern Minnesota in the seventies Mr. Craig went to Olmsted county and worked to support his family, while they remained in Lyon county on
the homestead. During the first years of Tracy's history Mr. Craig started the first livery stable, in 1877. Before the railroads entered Pipestone Mr. Craig had the contract for carrying the mails from Tracy to Flandreau, South Dakota. His son John made the trips and a relief team was kept at Haycock Prairie, near Pipestone. After running the livery stable for a few years Mr. Craig sold out and took up farm work. He had always made his home on the farm, even when he was at work in the village.
Our subject was born in Eymouth, Scotland, January 10, 1836, and in 1854 he came to the United States and first settled in Waukesha county, Wisconsin, where he farmed for United States Senator I. P. Walker. Working there until the fall of 1861, he moved to Olmsted county, Minnesota, and continued farming until he enlisted in 1864. He served actively in the field until the battle of Guntown, Mississippi, where he was taken prisoner, and thereafter he was confined in prison until the close of the war. Returning to his Olmsted county home, Mr. Craig took up the management of the farm and in 1872 came West and took the homestead where he has since lived.
On August 12, 1858, in the town of Palmyra, Wisconsin, John L. Craig was married to Jeffery Craig, a native of her husband's old home in Scotland. Mrs. Craig was a helping partner through the stern years of frontier life. There are seven children living, Oliver L., John A., Douglas W., Arthur L., Carrie M., Cora B. and Jennie J. One child, Lillie D., is deceased.
Mr. Craig was a charter member of Joe Hooker Post No. 15, G. A. R., and was one of its early commanders and its first adjutant.
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THORE K. THOMPSON (1877), a prosperous farmer of Westerheim township, was born in Vallers, Norway, April 22, 1859, and is a son of Knut and Annie (Olson) Thompson.
When he was nine years of age Thore came to America with his parents and the family settled in Dane county, Wisconsin. There they remained until 1877, when they moved to Lyon county and took a homestead oil Ike northwest quarter of section 2, Westerheim township. There our subject grew to manhood, received his education, and assisted his father with the farm work. In 1882 the boy started fanning for himself on rented land, and two years later he bought the southeast quarter of section 1. He still owns and farms that land and also is the owner of two other quarters in the same township. The farm in Westerheim is one of the best improved pieces of land in the township. Mr. Thompson is building a new barn which will be of 74x50 feet dimensions and will be one of the largest buildings in the vicinity. Our subject is paying much attention to stock raising and raises the Poland China breed of hogs for market shipment.
The marriage of our subject to Isabel Iverson occurred in the township May 17, 1888. She is the daughter of Ole and Annie (Gunbjonson) Iverson, natives of Norway, and was born in Minnesota May 5, 1863. By her marriage to Mr. Thompson she became the mother of seven children, as follows: Knut A., born May 14, 1889; Annie O., born December 21, 1891; Mary O., born July 23, 1893; Olaf A., born January 20, 1896; Rosane L., born September 4, 1900; and Marvin T. and May L, twins, born February 9, 1903.
Mr. Thompson has been prominent in township affairs, having served on the town board twenty years, as chairman of the Board of Supervisors, as clerk of the school district eighteen years, and as county commissioner four years. He owns shares in the Farmers Elevator Company of Cottonwood, and he and his wife are members of the Norwegian Lutheran church.
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NELS ANDERSON (1877). One of the old and highly respected residents of Coon Creek township is Nels Anderson, who has lived in Lyon county for the past thirty-five years. He is a native of Jemtland, Sweden, and was born February 1, 1838, a son of Anders Jonson. Both his parents are deceased.
Nels received his schooling in the land of his birth and was a student until sixteen years of age. He then assisted his father with the work on the farm until he was twenty-one years of age. For the next ten years he worked out at farm labor and in the pineries.
id 1869 Mr. Anderson immigrated to the United States, locating in Winona county, Minnesota. There he purchased land, which
he later sold, and in 1877 he moved to Lyon county. He homesteaded the north half of the southwest quarter of section 2, Coon Creek township. In 1889 he purchased sixty acres on section 3, of the same township, and in 1892 purchased 160 acres on section 2, making him the owner of 300 acres of fine land.
Our subject is a member of the Swedish Lutheran church. He is a very successful farmer and stock raiser. His son, John, now has charge of the place.
Magdalena Erickson became the wife of Mr. Anderson early in 1869. She is the daughter of Erick and Christina (Halvorson) Erickson, both deceased, and was born March 26, 1843, in Jemtland, Sweden. She has three brothers and two sisters: Carrie (Mrs. Martin Hammerberg), of Barron county, Wisconsin; Christine (Mrs. Christine Skold), Erick Erickson, Halvor Erickson and Nels Erickson, all of Jemtland, Sweden. Mr. and Mrs. Anderson are the parents of the following named three children: Andrew, born October 17, 1869; Christine, born September 16, 1871, died in August, 1872; John, born November 19, 1874. Andrew and John both reside in Coon Creek township.
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EDWIN F. WHITING (1882), member of the Minnesota Legislature, representing the seventeenth district, comprising the counties of Lyon, Lincoln and Yellow Medicine, is the editor and proprietor of the Balaton Press-Tribune and an implement dealer of that village. He has lived in Lyon county thirty years and has taken a prominent part in the affairs of his county.
Mr. Whiting is a native Minnesotan, having been born at Rochester October 10, 1861. He was educated in the Rochester schools and resided in that city until he reached his majority. He came to Lyon county in 1882 and engaged in farming in Custer township until the fall of 1901. That period of residence was punctuated occasionally by service as a traveling salesman for a year or two at a time.
In 1901 Mr. Whiting located in Balaton and bought the machinery, furniture and undertaking business of Urbane Wilhelm. Later he disposed of the furniture stock and has since dealt in machinery and attended to the undertaking business. He purchased the Press-Tribune in March, 1910? and has since conducted that journal. Besides his other interests Mr. Whiting has farming interests. He is secretary of the Union Land and Credit Company, an incorporated firm.
During the time of his residence in Balaton Mr. Whiting has held many offices within the gift of his neighbors. He has been a member of the Village Council since 1902, the last six years as village recorder. He was clerk of the School Board three years and a member of the Board of Health ten years. In 1910 Mr. Whiting was elected a member of the Legislature on the Republican ticket and now represents his district in the state's law-making body. Our subject is a member of the Masonic and Woodmen orders.
The marriage of Mr. Whiting to Lois M. Foster occurred at Rochester, Minnesota, April 8, 1881. She is a native of Elkhorn, Wisconsin. They have five children, as follows: Vera (Mrs. O. H. Herrmann), of Oakland, California; Foster P., of Balaton: Eva (Mrs. C. E. Weeks), of Balaton; Nina B. and Leda M.
The parents of Edwin F. Whiting were E. P. and Sarah A. (Rice) Whiting, natives, respectively, of New York and Pennsylvania. They were married at Princeton, Wisconsin, and in 1857 became residents of Olmsted county, Minnesota. Mr. Whiting became a prominent man in that county and served two terms in the Legislature in the seventies. He died in Olmsted county in April, 1883. Mrs. Whiting died at the home of a son at New Richland, Minnesota, October 8, 1910. There are seven children living of the family, as follows: Homer, Frank, Edwin F., Etta (Mrs. George Struble), Casius P., Jenny (Mrs. H. A. Bates), Arthur L. The eldest child of the family, Nelson P., is deceased.
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OLE E. PETERSON (1872) rents his father's farm, the northeast quarter of section 34, Custer township, land which the elder Mr. Peterson took as a homestead in 1872. Henry and Annie Peterson, parents of our subject, resided on the homestead until 1904, when they moved to Tracy, where .they are now living.
It was in Dodge county, Minnesota, that Ole Peterson first saw the light of day, on December 3, 1871. The family moved to Lyon county when Ole was a baby, and he has been a continuous resident of the county since that time. He was reared on the farm and attended school until thirteen years of age, at which time he hired out to a neighbor, herding cattle. That employment the boy followed three years; then he spent a year at farm labor and afterward ran a herd himself six years. He was an industrious young fellow and had been looking forward to the time when he should be farming for himself, so he rented the place he now conducts and has been on the place since that time. He raises cattle, horses, hogs and chickens, in addition to general farming, and is a stockholder of the Farmers Independent Elevator Company of Garvin and of the Garvin Telephone Company.
Ole Peterson and Lena Johnson were joined in the holy bonds of matrimony October 25, 1899. Mrs. Peterson is a native of Fillmore county, Minnesota, and was born March 29, 1876. She is a daughter of Hans J. and Annie (Knutson) Bredeveien, the former of whom resides in Garvin and the latter being dead. Mr. and Mrs. Peterson have one child, Arthur, born September 11, 1900.
The church affiliations of Mr. Peterson are with the Norwegian Lutheran organization of Monroe township.
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EVAN C. JONES, SR. (1877) is a dealer in caskets in the village of Russell. He is a native of Wales and was born January 22, 1842. He learned the carpenter's trade and worked at it in the old country until twenty-four years of age. His parents were John and Grace (Jones) Jones, both of whom died in Wales. They were the parents of six children, as follows: Winnie (Mrs. Morris Jones), of Wales; Jennett Thomas, Jane Jones and Griffith, of Wales; Ann and Richard Jones, of Utica, New York.
Our subject came to the United States when twenty-four years of age and settled in Rutland county, Vermont. There he worked in the state mines thirteen years. In 1877 he came to Lyon county and homesteaded the northeast quarter of section 8, Lyons township. He secured his claim in this way: The man who held the quarter section was a squatter, having failed to secure a right to the land. Mr. Jones was looking around for a claim and came across this man and offered to buy him out, and the squatter consented to sell. Mr. Jones paid him fifteen dollars in cash for the farm and fifteen bushels of potatoes.
Mr. Jones lived in a sod shanty on the place several years. During the snow year (1881) he went to Balaton for provisions on snow shoes, which he had made from red elm lumber. At that time the snow was over the telegraph poles. He resided on his Lyons township farm until 1900, when he sold to his son and moved to Russell, where he now resides. Since moving to Russell he has been engaged in selling caskets at the hardware store of his son, E. C. Jones, Jr.
Mr. Jones was a member of the Township Board of Supervisors of Lyons township and was chairman of the board.
On January 4, 1860, in Wales, occurred the marriage of our subject to Catherine Goodman, a daughter of Richard Goodman. Mr. and Mrs. Jones are the parents of seven children, as follows: Jane (Mrs. David Stiefel), Richard, Kate (Mrs. E. G. Loringer), Evan.C., Jr., all of Russell; Emanuel^ of North Dakota; John, of St. Paul; Grace (Mrs. James J. Sharratt), of Wadena.
Mr. Jones has in his possession a clock of considerable historical importance. It is the first time-piece bought by the Lyon county commissioners and for many years was used by them in the old building which stood on the present site of the Lyon county court house. Prior to moving into the new court house the officers sold some of the old furniture and among the lot was this old clock. Mr. Jones was present and bid it in for twelve cents. The clock is still doing duty and keeping good time in E. C. Jones' hardware store at Russell.
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GOTTLIEB C. GOLTZ (1878) farms 177 acres of land on the south half of section 3, Rock Lake township, and has been a continuous resident of Lyon county since coming to this country from Germany in 1878. He located in the county on land he had purchased from the Northwestern Railroad Company. Mr. Goltz today has one of the finest improved farms and one of the most comfortable homes in the township.
Our subject was born in Germany June 2, 1853, and is a son of Christof and Christine (Wagner) Goltz, both deceased. Gottlieb in his boyhood attended the German common schools. From the time he was fourteen until his twentieth year he helped his father on the farm, after which he served in the German army three years. Leaving the army, Mr. Goltz again engaged in farming for some time in his native land, and in the spring of 1878 came to America and located on the farm in Rock Lake. He has been successful in his agricultural pursuits and has devoted much of his time in the last few years to cattle raising. For nine years Mr. Goltz was a director of school district No. 40, and he is a member of the A. O. U. W. lodge of Balaton.
Gottlieb Goltz was married June 22, 1882, to Wilhelmina Frost, a native of Germany, the marriage ceremony taking place in Rock Lake township. His wife was born December 17, 1859, is a daughter of August and Juliana (Meyer) Frost, both now dead. From this union are four children living, as follows: Emma (Mrs. E. C. Jones, Jr.), of Russell, born April 4, 1883; Albert, born June 15, 1884; Adelaide, born February 28, 1886; and Martha, born November 7, 1890. The family are member of the German Lutheran church of Balaton.
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THOMAS P. BALDWIN (1879), now. a resident of Forest Grove, Oregon, was for many years a resident of Lyon county and prominent in public affairs. He served a term in the Minnesota Legislature, was county auditor, and held other offices of trust.
Mr. Baldwin was born in Yates county, New York, May 27, 1836. He accompanied his parents to Wisconsin in October, 1846, and in May, 1856, he took up his residence in Fillmore county, Minnesota, where he secured government land. He engaged in farming in that county twenty-two years. He was in the army one year during the Civil War, as a member of the Fourth Minnesota Infantry, and in 1873 represented his district in the Legislature.
In March, 1879, Mr. Baldwin and his family moved to Lyon county. He farmed two years in Stanley township and in January, 1881, moved to Marshall. That city was his home until June 15, 1911, when he and his wife moved to Forest Grove. Oregon. Mr. Baldwin was deputy postmaster of Marshall from 1882 to 1888. He was elected county auditor in the fall of 1888 and was re-elected in 1890. For eight years he was a member of the Board of County Commissioners and took part in important county legislation.
Mr. Baldwin was married on Christmas Day, 1861, to Sarah L. Bird, of Winona county. They reared three children: T. J. Baldwin, for many years a successful business man of Marshall and now a resident of Portland, Oregon; Ray D. Baldwin, for many years foreman of the Marshall News-Messenger office and now also of Oregon; and Ellen M., the wife of H. N. Robinson, for many years a practical farmer of Lyon county and now a resident of Forest Grove, Oregon. For more than half a century Mr. and Mrs. T. P. Baldwin lived together. Mrs. Baldwin died at her Oregon home in the spring of 1912.
The subject of this review has seven grandchildren, as follows: Charles L. Robinson, Vinton, Harold, Irene and Lucile; Ray D. Baldwin, Jr., and Gertrude.
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LESTER F. FOSTER (1878). An old resident of Lyon county is Lester F. Foster, the subject of this review, who now resides in Lynd township, where he is a land owner. He is a native of Illinois and was born at Kirkland September 20, 1861, the son of Charles S. and Sarah J. (Roberts) Foster. In 1878 Lester accompanied his parents to Lyon county and located with then on section 9, Lynd township. The father died May 7, 1909, and the mother October 3, 1900.
The subject of this review received his early education in the district schools of Wabasha county, Minnesota, and later in Lyon county, where he attended school until twenty years of age. He then worked for his father on the farm until he was twenty-five years of age. In 1887 he moved to Nebraska, where he resided about a year, and then returned to Lyon county. He has resided here continuously since. In April, 1905, Mr. Foster purchased the
southwest quarter of section 10, Lynd township, which he still owns and operates. Besides farming, he engages quite extensively in stockraising. He is a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Marshall and of the Modern Brotherhood of America lodge. Mr. Foster is a member of the Township Board of Supervisors of Lynd township, on which he has served four years.. He was treasurer of school district No. 17 for five years. Mr. Foster is a stockholder and a director of the Farmers Elevator Company of Lynd.
August 29, 1886, occurred the marriage of Mr. Foster to Anna May Whitscell, a daughter of Benjamin Whitscell, of Grandview township. Mrs. Foster is a native of Illinois and was born near Rockford on December 3, 1868. To this union have been born the following children: Bennie Lester, born December 6, 1887; Hal Eugene, born August 30, 1889; Fay Ulmont, born March 26, 1897. All reside at home with their parents.
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HALL BENSON (1878) owns the northeast quarter of section 19 and the west half of the southwest quarter of section 17, Nordland township, and is one of the township's successful farmers. He has lived in Lyon and Lincoln counties nearly all his life.
Mr. Benson is a native of Iceland and was born November 10, 1869. He accompanied his mother, Sigerbjurg Benson, and his stepfather, Sigfinnur Peterson, to America in 1878. The first winter the family lived in Westerheim township and then moved to Lincoln county, where they took a homestead claim. His mother and stepfather now reside in Minneota. On that place Hall lived until 1900; then he bought his Nordland township farm and returned to Lyon county. He raises Poland China hogs and grade cattle.
For four years Mr. Benson was assessor of Nordland township and he has served as clerk of school district No. 29. He is a member of the Icelandic Lutheran church and of the Modern Woodmen lodge.
Mr. Benson was married in Lincoln county July 12, 1897, to Ida Johnson. She is also a native of Iceland and is a daughter of John Johnson, of Minneota. Her mother is dead. Seven children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Benson. They are Bjorn M., Caroline, George, Vivian, Harold, Joseph and Francis D.
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OLE I. LEE (1873), a native of Lyon county, is manager of the Eagle Roller Mill Company's elevator at Minneota. He was horn August 8, 1873, in Grandview township, on his father's homestead, the northeast quarter of section 18.
His parents were Christian H. and Oline (Aal) Lee, pioneer settlers of Lyon county. The father was born in Norway, came to the United States in 1866, and settled in Iowa. In 1873 he came to Lyon county and homesteaded land. He resided here until 1892, when he moved to Moody county, South Dakota, where he now lives. The mother died in 1876. They were the parents of four children: H. C., G. C., Ole I. and Oline. Christine H. Lee was married a second time, in 1888, to Mrs. O. I. Leland. To this union have been born two children, Otto and Winnie. The father was the first blacksmith in the county, having operated a shop on his farm, and in 1875 ran a shop on the old townsite on the west side of the Yellow Medicine river.
Our subject resided on the old home farm in Grandview township until nineteen years of age. He then farmed and worked at various occupations until 1905, when he accepted the position as manager of the elevator at Minneota. This elevator, or part of it, was built in 1879 by the L. C. Porter Milling Company and was one of the first elevators in Minneota. In 1889 a farmers' company purchased it and operated it several years, when it was sold to the Atlas Elevator Company. In 1905 it was sold to its present owners, the Eagle Roller Mills Company, of New Ulm, Minnesota. They deal in grain, coal and flour. The subject of this sketch is a member of the Modern Woodmen lodge.
On February 25, 1897, at Minneota, Bertha Meyers became the wife of Mr. Lee. Mrs. Lee is a native of Wisconsin but came to Lyon county when a child. They are the parents of six children: Lloyd, Oren, Clarence, Melba, Barbara and Charlotte.
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JOHN C. PEDERSON (1874) is the proprietor of 320 acres of Lucas township's
best farm land and is a successful farmer and stock raiser. He is prominent in the township's affairs and has been clerk of school district No. 74 the past fourteen years. He served nine years on the town board, one year of that time as chairman, and for three years was treasurer. Mr. Pederson is a stockholder of the Home Telephone Company of Cottonwood.
Christopher and Beret (Slette) Pederson, our subject's parents, were natives of Norway, came to America in an early day, and located in Rice county, Minnesota. Later the family moved to Lyon county and the father took one of the first homesteads in Lucas township, filing in 1874. He was' one of those hardy pioneers who had the fortitude to endure the early privations and lived to see the fruits of his endeavors, for at the time of his death, June 22, 1910, he was the owner of 1200 acres of fine farm land in Lyon and Yellow Medicine counties. His widow Jives at Cottonwood. In the family were six children: Johan (deceased), Hannah (Mrs. Hans Volden), of Lucas; Peter C., of Lucas; John C., of this review; Lewis C., of Lucas; and Christian (deceased). The living children are all residents of the township.
John C. was born in Rice county June 26, 1873, and came with his parents to Lyon county when a child of three weeks. Here he received his education and grew to manhood, and he worked on the-- home farm for his father until twenty-six years of age. At that time the parents moved to Cottonwood and our subject assumed active charge of the farm, and he has since run the place.
Mr. Pederson was married in the township May 3, 1901, to Sina Morken. She is a native of Norway and was born February 23, 1877. Mr. and Mrs. Pederson are the parents of one child, Christopher, born September 16, 1902. The Pedersons belong to the Silo Norwegian Lutheran church of Cottonwood.
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GEORGE K. BROUGHTON (1872). When he was one year of age, forty years ago, George K. Broughton was brought by his parents to Lyon county, and ever since that time his home has been in Westerheim township. He is the owner of 200 acres of land, the home place being the southwest quarter of section 12, land taken as a homestead by his father. He has a well-improved farm and a nice home.
In Dane county, Wisconsin, on July 14,
1871, George Broughton was born, a son of Knud and Martha Broughton, who are also residents of Westerheim township. He accompanied the family to Lyon county in
1872, attended the district school until eighteen years old, and made his home with his parents until 1902. That year he was married and began farming for himself, having come into possession of the farm three years before. He is a successful farmer and extensive stock raiser, making a specialty of Belgian horses, Poland China hogs and Durham cattle. He is one of the stockholders of the Farmers Elevator Company of Minneota and has membership in the Norwegian Lutheran church of Normania township, Yellow Medicine county.
The marriage of our subject to Ingar Amundson took place November 21, 1902. Ingar Amundson was born in Norway April 24, 1875, and is a daughter of pioneers of Lyon county. Ole and Martha (Stensrud) Amundson settled in Lyon county in an early day, residing here a few years, and then made their home in Lincoln county, where they are still living.
Four children have been Dorn to Mr. and Mrs. Broughton: Mabel, born July 2, 1903: Myrtle, born February 13, 1905; Antonio, born October 9, 1909: and Grace, born December 28, 1911.
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JOHANN A. JOSEFSON (1878) has lived in Westerheim township thirty-four years, all except the first sixteen years of his life. By industry and thrift he has prospered and is rated among the progressive and substantial men of the township. He has an excellent farm and one of the finest farm homes in the county.
Iceland is Mr. Josefson's native land and he was born April 5, 1862. In 1878 he came to America with his parents and an uncle, Joseph Josefson, and has ever since lived in Lyon county. His father took a homestead claim in Limestone township, Lincoln county, but Johann made his home with his uncle, who took as a homestead the northwest
quarter of section 8, Westerheim township. On that place our subject grew to manhood, working for his uncle until 1895.
Two years before that time Mr. Josefson had become a land owner, having bought the southwest quarter of section 9, Westerheim, in partnership with his relative, and he still owns the south half of that quarter. In 1895 he began fanning for himself and now owns and resides on the northwest quarter of section 4. In the summer of 1909 Mr. Josefson erected at considerable cost a reinforced concrete house of fine architecture and the only one of the kind in the county. The building has nineteen rooms, including the basement rooms, and is one of the best appointed farm homes of the county.
Mr. Josefson was one of the organizers of school district No. 80 and he was a director and later treasurer of the district several years. He also served as a member of the Township Board of Supervisors several terms. He has stock in the Farmers Elevator Company of Minneota and in the Lyon County Fair Association. He is a Mason, holding membership in the Minneota Lodge No. 235.
Vigfus and Sigurborg Josefson, the parents of our subject, came from Iceland in 1878 and took a homestead in Lincoln county, where they resided until Mrs. Josefson's death in 1895. Since that time Mr. Josefson has resided with his sons. There are five children in the family, namely: Joseph V., of Minneota; Sigurrin V., of Lincoln county; Herman and Johann, of Westerheim township: and Sigrid (Mrs. Ernest Johnson), of Minneota.
The first marriage of Johann Josefson occurred in Westerheim township November 28, 1895, when he wedded Thordes Snorradottir. She was born in Iceland and died February 27, 1900, at the age of twenty-four years. The second marriage of Mr. Josefson was solemnized in Westerheim township May 27, 1906, his bride being Gudny Hofteig. She was born in Iceland October 12. 1871. and came to Lyon county with her parents from the old country in 1878. S. S. Hofteig and Steinunn Hofteig, her parents, took as a homestead claim the southeast quarter of section 2, Westerheim, and still reside there. Mr. and Mrs. Josefson have three daughters. Thordis S. E., Isfold S. and Johanna G. H. Mrs. Josefson is a member of the Icelandic Lutheran church. She is a woman of unusual educational attainments, having been graduated from the Advanced Course of the State Normal School at Winona with the class of 1897 and from the Classical Course of Gustavus Adolphus College at St. Peter with the class of 1906.
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ERNEST S. SHEPARD (1894), auditor of Lyon county, was born in Worthington, Minnesota, September 4, 1877. He is the son of C. P. and Anna V. (Cowan) Shepard, natives of New York and Maine, respectively, and now residents of Marshall.
Ernest received his education in the Worthington High School and in the Breck School at Wilder, Minnesota. At the age of seventeen years he moved to Marshall with his parents, and that city has ever since been his home. For a time he was a student at the Curtiss Business College of Minneapolis, and for a short time he was a clerk in the United States Land Office at Marshall, of which his father was the register. For three years he worked in the office of the county treasurer and for eight years was deputy county auditor. In November, 1906, he was elected auditor and has since held the office.
At Marshall, on September 3, 1898, Mr. Shepard was united in marriage to Esther Harrison. She is a native of Lyon county and is the daughter of E. J. Harrison, a pioneer settler. Mr. Shepard is a member of the Masonic, Eastern Star and Modern Woodmen lodges.
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PETER T. DAHL (1888) is the manager of the North Star Implement Company of Cotton wood and has resided in Lyon county since he was fifteen years of age. He is a native of Minnesota, having been born in Blue Earth county January 30, 1873. He is the son of T. A. and Emma (Oftedahl) Dahl, who were born in Norway and who came to America and settled in Blue Earth county over forty years ago. They reside on their farm in Vallers township. There are six living children in the Dahl family, namely: Carrie, Peter T., of this sketch; C. T., of Madelia; Barhard, of Yellow Medicine county; Ludvig, of Cottonwood; and Fred, who resides on the home farm. One child, Theodore, died March 3, 1911, aged twenty-nine years, and another child, Bertha, died in 1907, at the age of twenty-seven years.
Peter accompanied the family to Lyon county in 1888 and until 1897 lived on the farm of his father, on section 1, Vallers township. In the year mentioned Mr. Dahl took a position as traveling salesman for the Champion Binder Company, served with that company two years, and during the next year was with the Deering Company. He then located in Cottonwood and with E. P. Kelly founded the implement business of Dahl & Kelly. The partners conducted the business until 1905, when the North Star Implement Company was formed and bought out the partners. Since that time Mr. Dahl has been the manager of the company.
Mr. Dahl was married in Madison, Minnesota, October 26, 1905, to Lizzie Brown. She is a native of Rochester, Minnesota, but for twenty years before her marriage had resided in Madison. They have no children. Mr. Dahl has served as a member of the Village Council and for the last two years he. has been village treasurer.
The North Star Implement Company is one of the important business enterprises of Cottonwood. The business is housed in the Bazaar Building, which the company bought. The company was organized and incorporated in 1905 with a capital stock of $25,000 by a number of local capitalists. It handles a large line of farm implements and automobiles. The officers and directors of the company are as follows: J. F. Gibb, president; J. B. Robertson, vice president; L. T. Reishus, secretary and treasurer; P. T. Dahl, manager; David Frank, T. A. Lende, Charles Catlin and I. T. Carry.
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FRED W. MELLENTHIN (1879) is one of the most prosperous farmers of Lynd township and Lyon county, as well as one of the largest land holders. He is a. native of Germany and was born at Frainenwalde April 26, 1859. He is the son of William and Amelia Mellenthin, both deceased.
Fred received his early education in the land of his nativity, where he attended school until thirteen years of age. He also attended school near New London, Wisconsin, for two terms. He accompanied his parents to America when thirteen years of age and settled with them near New London, Wisconsin. Fred worked out at farm labor and attended school for the next seven years.
In 1879 Mr. Mellenthin came to Lyon county and, in company with his brother August, purchased the southwest quarter of section 9, Lynd township, which they farmed until 1882, when they divided the land. Fred improved his eighty acres and since that time has become the owner of 840 acres more, making him the owner of 920 acres of fine land. He operates between five and six hundred acres. Our subject is a member of the Evangelical Lutheran church. He has been an officer of school district No. 17 for several years and was road overseer for several years.
On February 12, 1883, Mr. Mellenthin was united in marriage to Amelia Schellin, a daughter of Ferdinand and Rika (Kruger) Schellin, former residents of Wisconsin. Both her parents are deceased. Mrs. Mellenthin was born March 11, 1866. Mr. and Mrs. Mellenthin are the parents of the following named children: Ernest, born June 21, 1884; Louis, born October 7, 1886; Emma, born January 16, 1889; Robert, born November 18, 1891; Alma, born August 7, 1894.