HON. KNUTE S. RAMSETT, who has been active in framing state legislation as a member of both the house of representatives and state senate and who still continues a leading factor in political circles, is known in business connections as a most enterprising merchant of Fingal and also as vice president of the Merchants State Bank. He was born near Madison, Wisconsin, April 29, 1854, and is a son of Siver K. and Britha (Johnson) Ramsett. The father, who was born at Hedemarken, Norway, lived to the advanced age of eighty-six years but the mother passed away at the age of fifty-five. Siver K. Ramsett was a cabinetmaker by trade and in 1848 crossed the Atlantic to the new world, settling first near Madison, Wisconsin, where he worked at cabinetmaking and also at carpentering and building. Later he went to Vernon county, Wisconsin, where he took up the occupation of farming and there made his home throughout his remaining days.

Knute S. Ramsett was the second in order of birth in a family of eight children. He mastered the elementary branches of learning in the district schools of Vernon county and afterward graduated from the high school at Viroqua, Wisconsin, and attended the Wisconsin State University at Madison and the C. C. Curtis Business College at St. Paul. His residence in North Dakota dates from 1882, in which year he arrived in Bismarck and engaged in the mercantile business as a clerk. Later he removed to Washburn, where he conducted a general store and also filled the office of postmaster. He there continued until 1892, when he disposed of his store at that point and removed to Fingal, where he established a general store and has since carried on a business of creditable and gratifying proportions. He is likewise the vice president of the Merchants State Bank and owns several business buildings as well as residences and lots in the town of Fingal in addition to his own fine modern residence.

On the 25th day of July 1888, Mr. Ramsett was united in marriage to Miss Bertha M. Cumberland and their children are: Maurice S., a high school pupil; and Howell Le Roy.  Mr. Ramsett gives his political allegiance to the republican party and his opinions carry weight in political circles in this state. His fellow townsmen, appreciative of his ability and his public spirit, elected him their representative to the state legislature in 1900 and in 1906 he was elected a member of the state senate. In both houses he gave earnest consideration to the vital questions which came up for settlement and supported various legislative measures which have become laws. In 1914 he was elected a member of the state central committee and still retains his membership therein. Fraternally he is a Knight Templar Mason and also belongs to several other secret orders. He is a member of the Lutheran church and is a man of high moral worth. He is of a genial and pleasing personality, is a man of ability and has won substantial success. At the same time he has proven his capability and efficiency in public office and he never allows private affairs to so monopolize his attention that they exclude the faithful performance of his public duties.

DR. SPENCER D. REED, a chiropractic practitioner at Valley City, was born in Tunkhannock, Pennsylvania, November 25, 1872, the only child of Chauncey J. and Elizabeth (De Witt) Reed. The father, a native of Binghamton, New York, removed to Pennsylvania in early manhood and there engaged in the sale of musical instruments, conducting business at Tunkhannock during his active life with the exception of four years when he engaged in the music store business in Washington, D. C. He served his country in the Civil war as a captain of the Eighty-ninth New York. His wife was also a lover of music and excelled as an amateur musician. She was a daughter of the American Revolution, her grandfather De Witt having served as a soldier under Washington.

The love of music was inherited by Dr. Reed and music and horses were his hobbies for some years. After attending the schools of his native city he was employed by piano dealers for a number of years and was also the director of Reed's Band of Tunkhannock. He later decided to take up the study of veterinary surgery but gave it up for the study of osteopathy, in which he completed a course by graduation. However, preferring the chiropractic method of treatment, he studied for practice in that field and was graduated two years later, in 1910.  Removing to Valley City, North Dakota, he opened an office and has since won a large practice. He was one of the leaders in the movement which gained recognition for the profession in America, North Dakota bring the first state to recognize chiropractic and establishing a very high standard which must be met by those who desire to practice in North Dakota. Dr. Reed was appointed on the first board of chiropractic examiners ever appointed in the world and he holds the second license ever issued.

On the 25th of December 1913, Dr. Reed was married to Miss Maud Moss, a daughter of F. C. Moss, and the children of this marriage are Frances Elizabeth and Spencer De Witt.

The Doctor has membership with the Knights of Pythias, the Moose, the Eagles and the Maccabees and he is president of the Valley City Municipal Band, in which connection he has done much to improve the organization and raise the standard of its work. His attention, however, is chiefly devoted to his profession and he is now editor and publisher of The Northwestern Chiropractor, a monthly magazine issued at Valley City in the interests of the profession. He has just completed a sanitarium with accommodation for twenty patients, and his practice has been attended with most excellent results, proving the worth of his methods and his efficacy in treating specific cases. His business has steadily grown and his newly erected sanitarium is the visible proof of his steady professional advance.

FRANK SANFORD, who follows farming at Roger and makes his home in Valley City, was born at Liberty, Jackson county, Michigan, September 25, 1860, a son of James P.  and Cornelia (Nutten) Sanford, who were natives of the Empire state, the former born at Mount Morris and the latter at Penn Yan. The paternal grandfather, Abraham Sanford, was born near Albany, New York, and was descended from old colonial stock, the progenitors of the family in America being two brothers, one of whom was a general and the other a soldier in the French army. They came to the new world in the seventeenth century and one remained a bachelor but the other married Rachael Von Blarken, of Holland descent, who was one of the heirs of the "Holland Purchase." This couple became the founders of the Sanford family to which Frank Sanford belongs. In 1834 Abraham Sanford removed from New York to southern Michigan and assisted in building the Chicago and Michigan turnpike, which was the first road from Detroit to Chicago. He was also otherwise identified with the pioneer development of Michigan, where he purchased in all seven hundred acres of land and two hundred and seventeen acres of his original homestead are now owned by Frank Sanford. The grandfather lived to the advanced age of eighty years, passing away in 1878. He was one of a family of five sons and two daughters, of whom one brother, David, went to Canada, while another brother became a resident of Michigan and a third settled at Kankakee, Illinois, where one sister also lived, while the other sister went to Michigan.

James P. Sanford succeeded to a part of his father's farm in Michigan, which was divided among three sons and a daughter. He was only four years of age when his parents removed to the Wolverine state and there he was reared and pioneer conditions and spent his entire life. For many years he filled the office of justice of the peace, making a creditable record in that connection. He was born in 1839 and had therefore reached the age of eighty-three years when called to his final rest in 1912. His first wife died in 1869, at the age of thirty-two years, after which he married again.

Frank Sanford, the only child of the first marriage, spent his boyhood days in Michigan and at an early age began providing for his own support. He afterward worked his way through high school and subsequently taught school through winter terms. In 1882 he arrived in Barnes county, North Dakota, and accepted the position of manager of a farm for William Hutchins, four miles northeast of Sanborn. Two years before, or in 1880, he had married Esther Rhoades, whose father was a native of England. She was drowned in a well on the 26th of June 1882. On the 13th of October 1886, he was again married, his second union being with Miss Helen Kingsley, of Hamilton, New York, whose parents came to North Dakota in 1883 and are now residents of Griggs county.  Soon after his arrival in this state Mr. Sanford secured a homestead claim but continued to work on the Hutchins farm in 1882 and 1883, removing to his own place in 1884. Prosperity has attended his efforts as the years have gone by and he and his wife are today the owners of three and one-half sections of land in one body surrounding the original homestead and more than eight hundred acres in other farms. He makes a specialty of stock raising, handling Aberdeen Angus cattle, and he has both registered bulls and cows. His main stock barn has accommodation for one hundred and thirty-five head.  Every modern improvement and facility is found upon his place, including two large silos eighteen by thirty-five feet, which form the corners on the front of the barn. He displayed his cattle at the county and state fairs for five years and won many prizes upon his stock. He has gained a well earned reputation of being one of the most prominent and successful stock raisers of southeastern North Dakota and the demand for his stock is greater than the supply. He also breeds pure bred Duroc-Jersey hogs, raising two hundred a year, one-half of which he sells for breeding purposes, while the other half go to the slaughter house. The horses which he handles are of the graded Norman stock and he usually keeps about fifty head, mostly for his own use. He has one hundred and sixty acres planted to alfalfa, his stock barn accommodating two hundred tons of hay. He also raises large quantities of wheat and oats and both as a grain and stock raiser is meeting with success. He gives personal supervision to all departments of his farm work but since 1895 has made his home in Valley City, where he occupies a commodious and attractive residence.

While his business interests have been extensive and have been carefully and successfully managed, Mr. Sanford has also found time to cooperate in movements for the public good and at all times stands for progress and improvement. In the fall of 1891 he was elected to the office of county commissioner and in the fall of 1894 was chosen register of deeds, to which office he was re-elected in 1896 and 1898, serving in all for nine years as a county official. For four years he was a member of the board of trustees of the Agricultural College and during his incumbency in that office lent his aid and influence toward the building of Ceres Hall, the girls' dormitory, and the chemistry building. In 1915 the farmers institute board appointed him superintendent of the farmers institute of the state, a fact which indicates his high standing as a typical and representative agriculturist of North Dakota. He is prominent in Masonic circles, holding membership in the lodge, chapter, commandery and Mystic Shrine, and he is ever recognized as a broad-minded, public-spirited man and citizen, a splendid representative of that class to whom the state owes her development and upbuilding. He has taken into account those things which are worth while for the individual and the community, has cast out of his life all the nonessentials, and concentrating his interest and efforts upon business affairs and the public need, he has won success for himself and greatly promoted the welfare of this state.

JASPER SWEET, of Roger, is now living retired, although for an extended period he was actively connected with farming interests in Barnes county. His birth occurred in Cicero, New York, January 2, 1844, a son of Clark and Eveline (Waite) Sweet, the former a native of New York and the latter of Vermont. The father was a millwright by trade and built three sawmills in the Empire state, after which he removed to Michigan in 1849. He spent a number of years in Calhoun county and then removed to Jackson, Michigan, where his last days were passed, his death occurring when he was more than eighty years of age. He is survived by six of his fourteen children, Jasper Sweet being the third in order of birth.  The eldest son enlisted at Marshall, Michigan, in response to the first call for troops to serve for three months in the Civil war and later joined the army for three years' service, he had almost completed that term when he became ill and died at the front.

Jasper Sweet spent his boyhood days in Michigan and on starting out in life on his own account engaged in railroad work, being employed for five years in the shops at Jackson.  In 1880 he came to North Dakota and preempted land in Stewart township, Barnes county, where he remained for seven years. He then sold that property and removed to Rogers township, where he homesteaded and to the original tract of one hundred and sixty acres he added by purchase three more quarters, so that he now has an entire section of land. He continued to devote his energies to the work of developing and improving that property until the town of Roger was started, when he took up his abode there and is now living retired from active business, although he still owns his farm property five miles west of Roger, deriving therefrom a substantial annual income.

On the 21st of March, 1865, Mr. Sweet was united in marriage to Miss Jennie Van Fleet, of Geneva, New York, a daughter of Daniel Van Fleet, a native of Holland, who in young manhood came to America and after living for a time in Orange county, Pennsylvania, established his home at Geneva, New York. To Mr. and Mrs. Sweet were born four children: Hattie, who has passed away; Carrie, the widow of J. R. Colman, of Valley City; Charles, a grain buyer, living at Sawyer, North Dakota; and Byron, who is a buyer for the Farmers' Elevator at Roger.

Mr. Sweet gives his political support to the republican party and has served on the town board and as township assessor for several years, while for a number of years he was also a member of the school board. He is a Royal Arch Mason and also a member of Roger Lodge, I. 0. 0. F. He enjoys life and has many friends by reason of his genial disposition and uniform courtesy. He now devotes a portion of the year to travel and believes in the axiom, "See America first." He and his wife have been spending their winters in California, greatly enjoying their stay in that sunny clime. A broad-minded man, thoroughly American in spirit and interests, he has proven himself a worthy citizen and one whom Barnes county is proud to claim.

HON. MARTIN THORESON, serving for the second term as a member of the state senate, following three terms in the house of representatives, has thus been prominently identified with the work of framing the legislative measures of the state through the past decade. In private life he is known as a representative farmer of Barnes county and as a capable financier, being president of the Farmers State Bank at Kathryn. He was born near Christiania, Norway, February 12, 1856 and his father, Thor Olson, was also a native of Christiania. In that country he engaged in farming to the time of his death, which occurred when he was sixty-eight years of age.

Martin Thoreson spent his boyhood in Norway and after his school days were over he went to Christiania, at the age of fifteen and there learned the baker's trade, with which he became thoroughly familiar. He afterward embarked in the business on his own account and seven years later he determined to try his fortune in America, for favorable reports reached him concerning the opportunities and advantages afforded in the new world. In 1883 he arrived in North Dakota, making his way at once to Barnes county, where he filed on eighty acres of land, the greater part of the land which was open to homesteading having then been taken up. He farmed there for a few years and then traded that place for other property, to which he has added by purchase until he is now the owner of two sections or twelve hundred and eighty acres. He is regarded as one of the representative agriculturists of his county, carrying on his farm work along most progressive lines. He closely studies the condition of the soil and understands thoroughly what will produce the best crops. He has erected a fine residence and has planted a splendid grove which furnishes protection on the north and west to a tract of about thirteen acres. In addition to the production of grain he also raises some cattle and horses and his business affairs are most wisely conducted, his work being thoroughly systematized, while his efforts are put forth at all times so as to produce the best possible results. He has also become president and one of the large stockholders of the Farmers State Bank at Kathryn.

In January 1876, Mr. Thoreson was united in marriage to Miss Caroline Olson, also a native of Christiania, Norway, and their children are: John M., who is now conducting a general store at Kathryn; James Gustav, who for several years was a teacher but is now farming near his father's place; O. W. and Arthur M., both at home; and three deceased. Two of these were named Ragua and the other Tor.

Mr. Thoreson has ever been deeply interested in the welfare and progress of the community in which he resides and for a quarter of a century has served as clerk of his school district. He has been a close student of the signs of the times in relation to public affairs and his influence and aid have ever been given on the side of advancement and upbuilding of public interests. The recognition of his progressive citizenship on the part of his fellowmen was indicated when in 1904 he was elected on the republican ticket to the state legislature, and so excellent a record did he make during his first term that he was reelected in 1906 and again in 1908. While a member of the house he introduced the first bill to regulate automobile traffic in the state. In 1910 he was chosen to represent his district in the state senate and was again elected in 1914, so that his present term will continue until 191S. He has been connected with much important constructive legislation and gives the most thoughtful and earnest consideration to the vital questions which come up for settlement affecting the welfare of the commonwealth and in so doing not only considers present expediency but also future good. Fraternally he is connected with the Ancient Order of United Workmen, while in religious faith he and his wife are connected with the Lutheran church. He is withal a modest man, but the consensus of opinion places him among the most prominent and representative citizens of his section of the state and in the house of representatives and senate he has ever been regarded as the peer of many of the ablest members of the general assembly.

DR. J. VAN HOUTEN, who for thirteen years has been actively engaged in medical practice in Valley City, was born in Waupon, Wisconsin on the 18th of December 1876. His father, Jacob Van Houten, a native of Amsterdam, Holland, came to America when a young man, settling at Albany, New York, where he married. Subsequently be removed to Wisconsin, where he engaged in the contracting business, and in that state he spent his remaining days, passing away in 1911 at the age of seventy-four.

Dr. Van Houten was the youngest in a family of two sons and two daughters and after mastering the branches of learning taught in the public schools of his native city he became a student in the Northwestern University at Chicago, Illinois, and after four years devoted to the study of medicine was graduated with the class of 1902, receiving his professional degree at that time. He then came to Valley City and for three years was associated in practice with Dr. L. S. Platon, but since then has been alone. His ability has brought him prominently to the front and his studious habits have kept him in touch with the onward march of the profession as scientific investigation has brought to light many new truths.

In August 1905, Dr. Van Houten was united in marriage to Miss Florence Whitfield Hallock, of Faribault, Minnesota, a daughter of Charles A. Hallock. They have three children, Delphine, Charlotte and Hallock.

Dr. Van Houten belongs to the Masonic lodge and to the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. In his college days be took an active part in athletics and college games and today outdoor sports is his chief diversion from the onerous cares of his profession. His time and attention, however, are mostly given to his home and to his practice although he recognizes and fully meets the obligations and duties of citizenship. Along professional lines he is connected with the Sheyenne Valley Medical Society, the North Dakota State Medical Society and the American Medical Association.

HON. JOEL S. WEISER, who was a member of the first State Legislature of North Dakota and who after long connection with agricultural and commercial interests is now living retired in Valley City, was born nine miles east of Reading, Pennsylvania, on the 31st of August 1834. He has therefore passed the eighty-second milestone on life's journey and he well merits the rest that has now come to him, for his has been an active, useful and honorable business career. He is a son of Samuel D. Weiser, also a native of the Keystone state, who traced his ancestry back to John Conrad Weiser, who with his wife and fifteen children arrived in New York on the 9th of November 1714, being of a party of twenty-six hundred whom the British government sent to help settle Pennsylvania. They located at Womelsdorf and there the father died two years later. As was the custom at the time, the governor bound out the children during their minority. His son, Conrad Weiser, became a friend of the governor, who induced him to learn the Indian language. Accordingly he lived among the Indians for a time until he had mastered their tongue, when he became a dispatch rider and interpreter for the governor, making trips from Pennsylvania to Niagara Falls, carrying messages to the Indians at that place. Conrad Weiser also participated in the Revolutionary war and in recognition of his worth in these various connections the citizens of Lehigh county erected a monument to his memory at Womelsdorf. Samuel D.  Weiser, the father of J. S. Weiser of Valley City, wedded Miss Mary Schrader, a representative of an old German family of Pennsylvania, and two of her brothers took part in the War of 1812. Samuel D. Weiser engaged in milling and remained in Pennsylvania until his son Joel returned to that state and took the father and mother to Minnesota, but on the trip between Shakopee and Winona the father died on the steamboat and his remains were interred in St. Paul. This occurred in 1852, when he was sixty-eight years of age.  The mother lived to be eighty- four years of age and passed away in Valley City.

Of a family of three sons and one daughter Joel S. Weiser was the youngest he spent his boyhood days in Pennsylvania and in 1850 his eldest brother, William Weiser, removed westward to Illinois and in 1851 his brother Josiah, who had just graduated from a medical college, went to Minnesota. The previous fall Joel S. Weiser made his way to Minnesota and their brother William left Illinois and joined them at St. Paul. All three brothers located at Shakopee, where they became actively connected with the business life of the community, Joel S. as a mason and plasterer, William as farmer, while the other brother practiced medicine and surgery. When the Civil war broke out William enlisted with the Ninth Minnesota Infantry and served throughout the period of hostilities. The Doctor was the next to enlist, becoming a surgeon under Colonel McPhail of the Minnesota Mounted Rangers in the Sibley expedition, and he was killed at Big Mound, near Dawson. A monument to his memory has been erected by the Minnesota Historical Society at his place of burial fourteen miles north of Dawson.

Joel S. Weiser enlisted as a member of Company I, Ninth Minnesota Volunteer Infantry, under Captain Straight and Colonel Harsh, and was mustered in at Fort Snelling.  He then went south and took part in the campaign of Tennessee, aiding in driving General Hood out of Memphis. He was in the battle of Memphis two days and afterward marched with his command through Tennessee. The army was divided at Pulaski, the section to which Mr. Weiser belonged being sent south and on to Vicksburg, but after remaining for three days it went back on the same boats that had brought it down. The troops were then sent to New Orleans and after four days there were sent to Mobile Bay and to Dolphins Island between Fort Gaines and Fort Morgan. Later they started on the move and captured what was known as Spanish Fort. From that point they proceeded to Montgomery, where they found their cavalry had arrived. They made the march of one hundred and seventeen miles in five days. Word was there received that Lee had surrendered and a cheer went up while the regiment sang: "We're going home to die no more." The next that they heard was the news of Lincoln's assassination, after which they marched to Montgomery, where they were distributed, their duty being to look up contrabands and bring them into camp.  In August 1865, the regiment came north and Mr. Weiser received a ten days' furlough, but when the time was up his health was in such condition that he could not return, although he did not receive his discharge papers until October 1865, at which time he was honorably discharged and paid off at the Winslow Hotel in St. Paul. His brother William was discharged at the same time with the rank of lieutenant.  When the war was over Joel S. Weiser worked at his trade at Shakopee for a time and afterward removed to St. Paul, where he continued in the same line of business. He next went to Woodberry, Washington county, Minnesota, and in the fall of 1877 arrived in Barnes county, North Dakota, where he purchased four hundred acres of railroad land. He also took up a tree claim and homestead and in 1878 he established a store which he conducted for twenty years. In the meantime he also continued his farming operations and his careful management of his business affairs brought to him a substantial success, making him one of the men of affluence in his community.

Mr. Weiser not only proved a prominent figure in business circles but was also active in political circles, being elected to the council in territorial days, and after the division into North and South Dakota he was chosen to represent his district in the first state legislature.  Several times he served as alderman of Valley City and was its first mayor, while for a number of years he served on the school board.

In May 1854, Mr. Weiser was married to Miss Louisa Cleaver, who was born in Pennsylvania, about eight miles from Reading, a daughter of Jonathan Cleaver, who was of English stock. The children of this marriage were: Mary and James, who died in infancy; Rosie Ella, the wife of C. E. Shelling, theirs being the first marriage celebrated in Barnes county, their home being now in Valley City, in the vicinity of which Mr. Shelling is successfully farming; Sarah Emma, who became the wife of John McPherson and after his death married George Phillips but is again a widow and is living near Detroit; Hattie, the wife of Charles Heidle, of Valley City; Lilly N., the deceased wife of J. W. Neilson; William, deceased; John, located at Kenmare; and Albert, who has passed away.

Mr. Weiser belongs to the Grand Army of the Republic and thus maintains pleasant relations with his comrades who fought for the preservation of the Union. He is most highly respected by all, being regarded as a model citizen-one who in his public life has subordinated personal advancement to public good and partisanship to the general welfare. He rendered valuable service to his city as its first chief executive, to the state as a member of the first general assembly, but whether in office or out of it, whether on the battlefield or in private life, he is alike loyal to the starry banner and the country o'er which it waves.

DR. FRED L. WICKS, a most progressive physician specializing in his practice in the treatment of diseases of the eye, ear, nose and throat, has been located in Valley City since 1909 and has an office splendidly equipped for the conduct of the most delicate work connected with his specialty, he was born in Albert Lea, Minnesota, March 2, 1885, a son of Edwin and Ida May (Harrison) Wicks, the former a native of La Salle county, Illinois, and the latter of Cincinnati, Ohio. The great-grandfather in the Wicks line was of Norwegian stock, while the Harrisons are an old colonial family, coming from the same ancestry as the Harrison branch which has furnished two presidents to the United States.  Through the Doctor's aunt the family became connected with the Grant family of which U. S. Grant was a representative.

Edwin Wicks was reared in Freeborn county, Minnesota, to which locality the family removed from Illinois. When a young man he went to Alberta Lea, Minnesota, and there learned the general merchandise business. Later he turned his attention to the lumber trade in Dakota and is still in active business at Canton, South Dakota, being now sixty-two years of age. He has never been remiss in duties of citizenship but has borne his share in promoting interests of public moment and at the same time he has been a helpful member and generous supporter of the church. To him and his wife were born a daughter who died in infancy and two sons, the elder being Jesse Harrison Wicks, a pharmacist who conducts a drug store at Denton, Montana.

The younger brother Dr. Wicks, of Valley City, acquired his elementary education in the public schools of Salem, South Dakota, and afterward attended the high school at Windom. He next entered Redfield College at Redfield, South Dakota, and afterward became a student in the department of pharmacy of Highland Park College at Des Moines, Iowa, where he won his Ph. O. degree in 1903. He regarded this merely as an initial step to other professional activity, for he then entered the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Keokuk, Iowa, and was graduated with the M. D. degree in 1906. Going to Chicago, he took post graduate work in the Chicago Eye, Ear, Nose and Throat College, after which he came to North Dakota and for three years was engaged in general practice in the northern part of the state, but in 1909 opened an office in Valley City, where he has since concentrated his energies upon the treatment of the eye, ear, nose and throat and along his special field has built up an extensive practice, he has a fine modern office thoroughly equipped for his work and he is in close touch with all the latest scientific researches and discoveries.

On the 20th of August, 1912, occurred, the marriage of Dr. Wicks and Miss Maud Yost, of Somerset, Ohio, a daughter of Owen Yost, an attorney of that place. They have one son, Edwin Owen. Mrs. Wicks is a member of the Congregational church and he is identified with the Brotherhood of that organization. He takes a special interest in athletics for the young members, he has always been much interested in athletics, playing on the baseball and football teams when in college and still keeping up his interest, so that he is well qualified to advise and assist the younger element in their games, he knows that it is just as important to play well as to work well and that the balanced character is that in which recreation and work are given a due proportion of interest. Along the line of his profession his membership extends to the Sheyenne Valley Medical Association, the North Dakota State Medical Association and the American Medical Association. His own life constitutes an example and makes an appeal for strong, clean, honorable, energetic manhood and proves what can be accomplished when there is no waste of time or opportunity.

HOWARD ATWOOD WILLSON, agriculturist and banker, to whom the experiences of pioneer life in North Dakota are familiar and who in his career has met with many difficulties and obstacles, but through perseverance and energy has become one of the men of affluence in Barnes county, makes his home in Leal. His birth occurred in York county, Ontario, Canada, May 18, 1860, the third of the nine children of Samuel Lundy and Jane (Walks) Willson.  The father was born in York county September 9, 1818, a son of James Willson, who was born September 26, 1783, and died December 12, 1852. He wedded Mary Widdifield, a daughter of Henry and Martha (Willson) Widdifield. The ancestry can be traced back still further, for the grandfather, Jonathan Willson, who was born March 27, 1748, was married April 15, 1767, at Hardwick, Sussex county, New Jersey, to Abigail Schmuck. Jonathan Willson was a son of Robert Willson, who was born in Warren county. New Jersey, in 1716 and died in 1807. He wedded Mary Lundy, of that county, who was a daughter of Richard Lundy II. and Elizabeth (Large) Lundy, through the former of whom the ancestry is traced back to Sylvester Lundy, of Axminister, England, who spent his entire life in that country. He was the father of Richard Lundy I., who was born in England and became the progenitor of the family in America, crossing the Atlantic in 1670, at which time he settled in Bucks county, Pennsylvania. He was prominent in religious work and was an elder in the Society of Friends. For the genealogical record we are indebted to the history of the Lundy family, compiled by William Clinton Armstrong, M. A., and published in 1902.  Richard Lundy I. married Jane Lyon, of Bucks county, Pennsylvania, and their son, Richard Lundy II., married Elizabeth Large. The daughter of this marriage was Mary Lundy, who, as stated, became the wife of Robert Willson, the great-great-grandfather of Howard A Willson. His father, Samuel Lundy Willson, became a farmer and carpenter. On the 21^st of May 1855, he married Jane Walks and on the 20th of September 1878, he passed away.

Howard A. Willson was a youth of eighteen years at the time of his father's death.  He had attended school in York county and when his father died he started out to earn his own living, working for wages. Five years later, or in 1883, he came to North Dakota, reaching Barnes county on the 4th of April, filing on homestead on the 8th of June. For three years he worked out and in 1886 he started farming for himself and during the first years he was his own housekeeper but on the 19th of June 1893, he wedded Miss Mary E.  Hilborn, a native of York county, Ontario, and a daughter of Henry A. and Elizabeth M.  Hilborn, her father being one of the leading farmers of Barnes county for a number of years but now a resident of California. His ancestors came to America with William Penn and some of their descendants are still living in Pennsylvania. Mr. and Mrs. Willson became the parents of ten children, Milton Hilborn, Clifford Henry, Fred Stewart, Gordon Lee, Edith laline, John Burwell, Vivian Beatrice, Irwin Atwood, Howard Bruce and Merrill Ross.  The eldest son wedded Bernice May Widdifield and is now farming on his own account.

The parents have ever taken a deep and active interest in the cause of education and have given their children excellent advantages in that direction. The two eldest sons after attending the public and high schools entered the North Dakota Agricultural College high school from which they were graduated and took up the college course.  There is no phase of pioneer life in North Dakota with which Howard A. Willson is not familiar, for locating here at an early day, he met all the hardships and privations incident to life on the frontier. His first wheat crop was harvested from only ten acres and he then hauled the wheat five miles to have it threshed, after which it was put in a granary, which was destroyed by a prairie fire. While he thus faced many difficulties and discouraging situations, his persistency and determination enabled him at length to achieve success and today he is the owner of several sections of farm land. He owns six quarter sections in Griggs county, which includes his original homestead tract, a quarter section in Stutsman county, four quarter sections adjoining the town of Leal, where he now resides, two quarter sections three miles north of Leal and three quarter sections eight miles north of the town.  He is extensively engaged in growing wheat, corn, oats and other cereals and he is also well known as a stock raiser, handling pure bred Percheron horses and shorthorn cattle. In addition to his other interests he became one of the founders and is now the president of the Bank of Leal, one of the prosperous moneyed institutions of Barnes county.

While a resident of Griggs county he served for seven years as county commissioner, but has never been a politician in the sense of office seeking, nor has he desired political preferment as a recognition of his fealty to the democratic party. He has served, however, as a member of the school board and the cause of education finds in him a stalwart champion. Fraternally he is connected with the Ancient Order of United Workmen and the Modern Woodmen of America.  Mr. and Mrs. Willson are spoken of in their community as "the salt of the earth." They are rearing a fine family '"in the nurture and admonition of the Lord," closely and constantly following the teachings of the Methodist Episcopal church. They take an active part in all uplift work, are broad-minded, generous, hospitable, kindly and charitable, and the influence of their lives is a force for good throughout the community in which they make their home.

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