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EDWARD E. REDMON, who is conducting farming in Mapleton township, Cass county, on an extensive scale, is one of the progressive and influential citizens of his locality. His home farm is in section 18. and he is widely and favorably known for his energetic spirit and honest dealings. He has made his home in Cass county many years, and his property is the result of well directed labor.
Our subject was born in Davenport, Iowa, January I, 1856, and was a son of Elijah N. and Sarah A. (Knapp) Redmon, both of whom died in Prescott, Wisconsin.
Our subject was the second in a family of four children, and when he was a young boy removed to Prescott, Wisconsin, with his parents, where he was reared and educated in the city schools of Prescott. He continued to live there and assisted his father in the grain business till 1877, when he went to North Dakota, and entered claim to land in Everest township, Cass county, and he has been a resident of Cass county since that date. He now owns three and a half sections of land and operates four sections annually. He has placed upon his farm such improvements as entitle it to rank among the finest pieces of property in Cass county, and is possessed of a thorough knowledge of his calling.
Mr. Redmon has interested himself heartily in the building up of his community, and has taken a most prominent place in general matters. He has been chairman of the town board of supervisors for many years, and is a member of the drainage board of Cass county. He is a man of strong convictions, and in political faith is a Republican. He is a man of the highest honor, and is esteemed by all with whom he has to do.
WILLIAM F. REDMON, of Fargo, is now serving his third term as register of deeds of Cass county, North Dakota, and the duties of the office he has most efficiently and satisfactorily performed. He was born in Davenport, Iowa, April 17, 1854. His parents, Elijah N. and Sarah A. (Knapp) Redmon, were natives of Illinois and Pennsylvania, respectively, and were among the early settlers of Iowa, locating there in the early '50s. After some years' residence in that state they removed to Prescott, Wisconsin, where both died. The father was a grain dealer.
Mr. Redmon, of this review, passed his boyhood and youth in Wisconsin and completed his education in the State University at Madison, graduating from the law department of that institution in 1876. He never engaged in the practice of his profession, however, but was for some time interested in the grain business with his father at Prescott, Wisconsin. He came to North Dakota in 1881 and took up a claim in Cass county, which he improved and afterward sold. During his entire residence in this state he has followed farming in company with his brother and has been eminently successful.
In 1880 was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Redmon and Miss Cora E. Gates, a native of Wisconsin, by whom he has two children, namely : John N. and Ruby A. Socially he is connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Ancient Order of United Workmen and the Modern Woodmen of America, and politically is identified with the Republican party. He has creditably filled a number of minor offices and in 1894 was elected register of deeds for Cass county, to which position he was re-elected in 1896 and again in 1898. being the present incumbent. He has always been found true and faithful to every trust reposed in him, whether public or private and is held in high regard by all who know him.=
WILLIAM C. RESSER, a member of the law firm of Mills, Resser & Mills, of Fargo, North Dakota, is a man who thoroughly loves his profession and is eminently gifted with the capabilities of mind which are indispensible at the bar. In preparing a case for trial every fact, however insignificant, is carefully studied and its possible relevancy to the merits of the case weighed and considered. He is thoroughly familiar with authority and never at a loss for a precedent.
A native of Illinois, Mr. Resser was born in Cleveland, Henry County, October 6, 1859, and is a son of Charles and Catherine (Sutch) Resser, who were born in Pennsylvania and in 1848 removed to Illinois, where both died. By occupation the father was a farmer. He passed his boyhood and youth in Illinois and is indebted to its public schools for his educational privileges. In 1878 he commenced the study of law with Sheppard & Marston, of Cambridge, Illinois, and was admitted to the bar in Illinois in 1881. In March, of that year, Mr. Resser came to Fargo, North Dakota, where he opened an office and began practice alone. In 1888 he formed a partnership with V. S. Stone and Seth Newman, under the firm name of Stone, Newman & Resser. On the death of Mr. Stone, in 1891, the name was changed to Newman & Resser. That connection continued until 1893, when Mr. Resser entered into partnership with H. F. Miller, and was engaged in practice with him until February, 1897. He was then alone until January 20, 1899, when the firm of Mills, Green & Resser was organized, and in July. 1899, this firm was succeeded by Mills, Resser & Mills. They enjoy a large and lucrative practice and are numbered among the leading law firms of the city.
Mr. Resser was married, in 1881, to Miss Alice T. Dimick, also a native of Illinois, and to them have been horn three children: Duane C, Helen and William C. The Republican party finds in Mr. Resser a stanch supporter of its principles; he has been a member of the County central committee and does all in his power to insure the party's success. In 1887 he served as city attorney of Fargo and was a member of the city council in 1885 and 1886. He drew up the city charter which was passed by the legislature in 1887 and takes an active and commendable interest in all enterprises calculated to advance the interests of city, County or state.
LEWIS K. RICH, one of the most prominent citizens of Buffalo township, is an early settler of Cass county and has been useful in extending its agriculture. He is proprietor of a fine farm of five quarter-sections and is widely known as an agriculturist who is conducting an extensive business.
Our subject is a native of Macomb county, Michigan, and was born August 24, 1848. His parents, Aldis L. and Mariah (Farr) Rich, were natives, respectively, of Massachusetts and New York. His father was a farmer by occupation and moved to Michigan in 1834 and in 1858 to Will county, Illinois. He returned to western Michigan in 1869 and resided there until his death in 1895. The mother of our subject still resides in Michigan. The grandfather of our subject, Jacob Rich, passed his career in Massachusetts. Our subject had one brother and four sisters.
Mr. Rich was reared and educated in Illinois and began his career there as a farmer. He went to Newton county, Indiana, in 1874, where he remained until 1880 and then went to Cass county, North Dakota, and was the first to enter land in Rich township, and was among the first settlers in that part of the county. He has followed farming there continuously since that date and is now the fortunate owner of five sections of land, all of which is well improved.
Our subject was married, in Illinois, in 1868, to Emma J. Baldwin, a native of Canada . Four children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Rich, as follows: Bertrand A., Carrie E., now the wife of R. H. Straub, of Fargo, Clifford L. and May I. Mr. Rich was a member of the county board from 1889-1891 and has served in his township as a member of the township and school boards and is actively interested in the welfare of his community. He is a member of the Presbyterian church, with which denomination he has been connected many years and is an elder of the church. He is a gentleman of exemplary character, a strong temperance man and highly esteemed in his community. Politically, he is a Republican.
SAMUEL D. RICHARDSON, one of the well known and highly respected pioneers of Hunter township, Cass county, is the fortunate possessor of one and a half sections of land, and has acquired a comfortable competence since taking up his residence in North Dakota. He is intelligent and progressive, and possessed of untiring perseverance and an energetic character and occupies a high position in the minds of his fellows.
Our subject was born in Wisconsin, December 29, 1857, and was a son of William L. and Elizabeth (Hanson) Richardson, natives respectively of Canada and Yorkshire, England. His father was a farmer by occupation and went to Wisconsin in the early '50s, and in 1879 removed to Cass county. North Dakota, where he entered a homestead claim to land in section 2 in Hunter township. He followed farming thereon until 1896 and then removed to Hunter, where his death occurred December 6. 1897. The mother died in Hunter township in 1881. The grandfather of our subject, John Richardson, was a native of Ireland, and spent the latter part of his career in Canada. Our subject has five brothers and four sisters, all residing in North Dakota.
Mr. Richardson was reared in Canada and there received his education and continued his residence there until 1879, when he went to Cass county. North Dakota. He entered a pre-emption claim to the southwest quarter of section 2, in Hunter township, and made his home there until July. 1894, when he removed to his present home on section if\ He was among the first settlers of that locality to begin breaking the land, and he walked from Casselton to his home. He is now the owner of one and one-half sections of land in Hunter township and is successfully conducting general farming. For some years he was a director and secretary of the "North Dakota Independent," published in Grand Forks.
Our subject was married, in 1884, to Amelia Hanson, a native of Denmark, who came to Illinois in 1882. Mr. and Mrs. Richardson are the parents of three sons and one daughter, named as follows: Irving L., Myrtle, William and Gerald. Mr. Richardson is a member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen, and politically is a Populist. He has filled some local offices and was delegate to the national convention of his party in Omaha, in 1892. He keeps pace with the times and is widely and favorably known.
 JUDGE AUGUSTUS ROBERTS. In this gentleman, who has for several years served as county judge of Cass county. North Dakota, we find united many of the rare qualities which go to make up the successful lawyer and jurist. He possesses a mind practically free from judicial bias, and he brings to his duties a most thorough knowledge of the law and of human nature, a comprehensive mind, and calm and deliberate judgment.
Judge Roberts was born in Maine, April 15, 1853, and is a son of Ahira and Mary A. (Durgen) Roberts, life-long residents of that state, where the father was engaged in mercantile pursuits. In their family were six sons, of whom five reached years of maturity, and three are now residents of North Dakota. The Judge was reared and educated in his native state, attending the high school and academy at Dixfield. For a time he engaged in teaching school in the east. In 1874 Judge Roberts came to Fargo, Dakota, and after spending a short time here went to the Black Hills. While there he was accidentally shot, and in 1877 was brought back to Fargo, where he commenced reading law with his brother, S. G. Roberts. In 1880 he was admitted to the bar, and the same year was elected city justice, which position he filled for four years in all. In the fall of 1880 he was elected probate judge, and has held that office continuously since, it being changed to that of county judge when the state was admitted to the Union. He has met with marked success in his chosen profession, and stands high in the legal fraternity.
In December, 1880, Judge Roberts was united in marriage with Miss Florence M. Chambers, and to them has been born one son, Edwin A. Socially the Judge is a Mason, and at one time also belonged to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Knights of Pytnias. He has been a life-long Republican, and was one of the organizers of the party in this state.
SAMUEL G. ROBERTS, a prominent attorney of Fargo, North Dakota, who has borne an important part in the development and up building that city, was born in Brooks, Maine. March 10, 1843. and was reared and educated in that state, supplementing the knowledge he acquired in the common schools by an academic course. In 1861, at the opening of the Civil war. he enlisted in Company B, Seventeenth Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, and was in active service with that regiment until August 10, 1864, when he was mustered out. Coming to Stillwater, Minnesota, he again enlisted, in 1865, in Company A, Ninth United States Vetgan Volunteers, known as Hancock's corps, and was with that command on guard duty at Washington, D. C, and Indianapolis, Indiana, for one year. During his previous service he took part in the battles fought in North and South Carolina, mostly small engagements, and was wounded at three different times. He rose to the rank of first lieutenant.
After his final discharge, Mr. Roberts remained in Indianapolis for over a year, and then returned to Minneapolis, where he studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1870. He was engaged in practice there for two years, and then, in January, 1872, came to Fargo, North Dakota, taking up a quarter-section of land on which the city now stands. Forming a partnership with S. G. Comstock, he engaged in the practice of law at Moorhead, Minnesota, tor some time, and then returned to Fargo, where he has followed his chosen profession almost continuously since. He was interested in the founding of the First .National Bank, and was one of its stockholders for years. He also assisted in starting the Fargo foundry and the Republican Newspaper Company, which have since gone out of existence.
In October, 1872, Mr. Roberts married Mrs. Jennie Baldwin, a native of Canada, and they have one daughter. Ruth, now attending the State University. In his political views Mr. Roberts has been a life-long Republican, and he assisted in organizing the party in this state. He has ever taken an active and prominent part in public affairs, serving as a member of the territorial council in 1879 and 1883, a member of the territorial committee on emigration in 1875 and 1876, states attorney for Cass County in 1877 and 1878. and County superintendent of schools for some time in the early '70s. He also served as municipal judge during the existence of that office in 1896, and has been a member of the city council three terms and city attorney three terms. He is one of the most public-spirited and enterprising men of Fargo, and has proved a very popular official.
CHARLES E. ROBBINS, who now represents the New York Life Insurance Company at Fargo, North Dakota, has been prominently identified with the business interests of the city for some years, especially with its financial affairs. He comes from the east, his birth having occurred in Lowel, Massachusetts, November 21, 1854. His parents were Joseph P. and Elizabeth (Smith) Robbins, natives of New Hampshire and Vermont, respectively. In 1857 the father removed to Minnesota, but since 1880 has made his home in this state and is now living retired in Fargo. Throughout his active business career he followed farming.
Our subject, who is an only son, was reared in Minnesota and principally educated in the schools of that state, though he attended a business college at Boston, Massachusetts, for a time. In 1877 he entered the Plainview Bank, of Plain view, Minnesota, as bookkeeper, and remained there for two years. In 1879 and came to Fargo as bookkeeper in the First National Bank, started by Mr. Eddy, and was connected with that establishment until February, 1899. From bookkeeper he was promoted to the position of teller, and was serving as assistant cashier when he resigned in order to embark in his present business, which he is now carrying on with marked success. He was secretary of the Fargo Building Association for some years, and organized the North Dakota State Sportsman's Association, of which he was president for two years. Socially he is quite a prominent member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen, the Modern Woodmen of America and the National Union, and has filled official position in all of these orders. As a business man he has met with well merited success, and as a citizen is justly deserving the high regard in which he is held.
In 1880 was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Robbins and Miss Agnes D'Ette French, who was born in Pennsylvania, and they have become the parents of four children, namely: Corinne, Frank E.. Charles E. and Helen E.
LEONARD A. ROSEis one of Fargo's most able and prominent attorneys. He is also a man who has brought his keen discrimination and thorough wisdom to bear not alone in professional paths, but also for the benefit of the city and state where he now makes his home, and with whose interests he is thoroughly identified. He was born in Ontario. Canada, July 5, 1843, a son of David and Patience (Robinson) Rose, natives of Canada and Connecticut, respectively. The father spent his entire life in his native land, where his death occurred, but the mother died in New York. To them were born two sons and two daughters, but our subject is the only son now living.
Mr. Rose was reared and educated in Canada and New York, and in 1864 was graduated from the Provincial Normal School of Toronto. In 1866 he was appointed professor of mathematics in Eastman's Business College, of Chicago. Illinois, and the following year accepted the position of principal of grammar school No. 1, of Davenport. Iowa, where he remained for sixteen years. During that time he was prominently identified with the educational work in Iowa, conducting normal institutes in the state. In the meantime he also studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1880, being licensed to practice in all of the courts of Iowa. In 1883 he removed to Fargo, North Dakota, where he has since made his home. He had visited this state in 1879 and bought property here. In 1887 he was appointed by Governor Church as superintendent of public instruction for the territory of Dakota, and re-appointed by Governor Mellette. He was elected state's attorney for Cass County in 1890, and filled that position for two years, since which time he has successfully engaged in general practice.
Mr. Rose was married in Canada, in 1866. to Miss Annie Thornley, a native of England, and to them have been born five children, namely: Arthur C.; Albert E.. who is now receiver in the United States land office at Peavey in the gold fields of Alaska; Pansy; Clara L. and Emma I. Since attaining his majority Mr. Rose has been a stanch supporter of the men and measures of the Republican party, and has taken an active part in campaign work during his residence in this state. He is one of the most prominent Masons of North Dakota, and has filled all the chairs in the subordinate and grand lodges. being past right eminent grand commander of Knights Templar, past most excellent grand high priest of Royal Arch Masons, past potentate of the Shrine. He is also knight commander of the Court of Honor and has filled all positions in every branch and has recently had conferred upon him the thirty-third degree of Scottish Rite Masonry of the order. He is always courteous, kindly and affable, and those who know him personally have for him warm regard. A man of great natural ability, he has met with excellent success in life, and today ranks among the ablest lawyers of Fargo.
WILLIAM P. ROSE. The farming and stock dealing interests of Cass county have a worthy representative have a worthy representative in the gentleman whose name heads this personal history. He has resided in Empire township for the past twenty years, and from a limited start has accumulated a fine property covering one section of land, and is among the substantial men of his community and highly respected by all.
Our subject was born in Ontario. Canada. February 6, 1857. His parents, Lawrence and Annie (Phin) Rose, were natives of England and Canada respectively. His father came to Canada in an early day and operated a flour mill until his death in 1885. Our subject was one of ten children, six sons and four daughters, and four sons now reside in the United States. The mother of our subject still makes her home in Canada.
Mr. Rose was reared in his native place and there learned the tinner's trade, which he followed six years, and in 1880 came to the United States and located at Wheatland, Cass county. North Dakota,, and during the same spring entered a homestead claim of land in section 6, of Empire township,. which was the last quarter-section in the township. He has resided there since that date, and now owns three quarter-sections in section 6, and one quarter-section in section 7, of Empire township. His land is good and well improved, and he is engaged in general farming and cattle and sheep culture, meeting with remarkable success.
Our subject was married, in 1887, to Miss Ellen E Ellis, a native of Canada. Five children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Rose, as follows: Laura L., Viola E., Eleda M., Mary M., and Ogden E. Mr. Rose is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America and Brotherhood of American Yeomen, and is widely and favorably known. He is a Republican in political faith and stands firm for his convictions, but has never sought public preferment. A group portrait of our subject and his family is a valuable addition to this work.
DONALD C. ROSS. The motto "merit always commands its reward" is well exemplified in the career of Mr. Ross, the present efficient and popular County treasurer of Cass County. North Dakota, whose home is now in Fargo. He came to this state in limited circumstances, but through his own well-directed and energetic efforts has acquired a comfortable competence. He is a native of Canada, born in Bayfield, Ontario, November 28. 1860. His parents were Peter and Mary (Campbell) Ross, the former a native of Nova Scotia, the latter of Scotland. The mother died in Canada, and in 1880 the father came to Cass County, North Dakota, where he passed away in August, 1898. To this worthy couple were born six children, three sons and three daughters.
Donald C. Ross passed his boyhood and youth in Canada, where he attended the common schools and later followed teaching for some years. On coming to the United States in 1879 he first located in Michigan, but the following year came to Dakota and was employed in the Grafton schools for two years. For twelve years he was engaged in the grain and lumber trade at Wild Rice, and meeting with marked success in business he has become the owner of seven hundred acres of fine farming land in this state, besides property in Clay County, Minnesota.
Politically he has been an ardent Republican during his entire residence in this country, and on his party ticket was elected, in 1898. to the office of County treasurer of Cass County. He entered upon the duties of the position January 1, 1899, and is now discharging them in a most creditable and satisfactory manner. Fraternally he affiliates with the Masonic order and the Knights of Pythias. He is well known and highly respected and has made many friends during his residence in this state.
HON. HEZEKIA J. ROWE, one of the pioneer physicians and surgeons of North Dakota, has his office at Casselton, Cass county, and enjoys an extensive and remunerative practice. He is thoroughly versed in the practice of medicine, and the people among whom he has labored many years place entire confidence in his skill and training, and accord him a prominent place as a citizen and practitioner.
Our subject was born in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, March 7, 1848. and was the younger of two children, one son and one daughter, born to Hezekia and Lucy (Holtzer) Rowe, natives of Pennsylvania. The father was a cooper and farmer by occupation and still resides in Pennsylvania, where the mother died when our subject was an infant.
Our subject was reared and educated in Pennsylvania and attended the Vermillion Institute at Hayesville, Ohio, now the Wooster University. He enlisted, in 1865, in Company D, One Hundredth Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, and served to the close of the war, and participated in the battle at Petersburg, Virginia, and Fort Steadman. He was discharged from the service July 27, 1865, and returned to Pennsylvania, where he attended school and later engaged in teaching in Pennsylvania and Ohio. He was superintendent of schools at Loudonsville, Ohio, three and a half years, and one year at Blairsville, Pennsylvania. During his teaching he had devoted some time and attention to the reading of medicine, and in 1874 entered the Louisville Medical College, at Louisville, Kentucky, attending one term. He attended the Jefferson Medical College, of Philadelphia, in 1875-76, graduating from that institution in 1876. He began the practice of his profession at Loudonsville, Ohio, the same year, and remained there until June, 1879, when he went to North
Dakota and located at Casselton, Cass county. He has since followed a general practice in the vicinity, and has steadily built up an extensive practice.
Our subject was married, in October. 1880. in Ohio, to Helen I. Taylor, a native of Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Rowe are the parents of two sons, Arthur T. and Paul H. Mr. Rowe is a member of the Cass County Medical Association, is president of the State Medical Society, and a member of the American Medical Association. He is a member of the state medical examining board, and is also a member and president of the United States pension examining board. He is prominent in secret society circles and holds membership in the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Masonic fraternity and G. A. R. He was grand master of the I. O. O. F. of Dakota in 1885, and represented the state and territory nine years in the Sovereign Grand Lodge of the United States He has been representative of the G. A. R. from North Dakota for many years. In church work he takes an active interest and is a member of the Presbyterian denomination, is superintendent of the Sunday school and an elder in the church He was elected to the state senate and served in 1889-90. He introduced the prohibition law in North Dakota, and did very efficient work while a member of the senate. His public spirit and excellence of character have never been called in question, and he is deservedly popular with the people.
MATHIAS RUNCK, one of the pioneer settlers of Maple River township, Cass County, is successfully pursuing farming and has been a potent factor in producing solid prosperity of the locality in which he resides. His career has been marked by persistent efforts to advance the interests of those for whom he has labored as well as his own interests and he has been rewarded by the accumulation of an extensive and well cultivated tract of land, and the confidence and esteem of his associates.
Our subject was born in Luxemberg, Germany, January I, 1843, and was a son of Lambert and Elizabeth (Peshon) Runck, both of whom were natives of the same province in Germany as our subject. His father was an architect and was skilled in his profession, and held a high position. He was employed by the government in planning public buildings and roads. He died in 1865. Our subject had one brother who died in Minnesota, and two sisters, who now reside in Cass County, North Dakota.
Mr. Runck was reared and educated in his native land and followed farming there, and in 1868 came to the United States and located in Winona County, Minnesota, where he worked for one employer eleven years, and then purchased a farm in Waseca County, Minnesota, remaining there until 1882. He purchased the farm on which he now resides from the Northern Pacific Railroad in 1880, and after taking up his residence thereon made the first improvements and now has a well improved estate consisting of eleven hundred and twenty acres of land, and has been remarkably successful in general farming.
Our subject was married in Minnesota. May 18, 1873, to Annie Buchstor, a native of Baden, Germany. Five children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Runck, as follows: Rosa, Joseph. John, Annie, the wife of Andrew J. Thamert, a farmer of Pratt, Minnesota, and Nicholas. The family are members of the Catholic church. Mr. Runck assisted in the organization of his township, and has served as chairman of the town board since that time, and was also treasurer for some years. In political sentiment he is a Democrat. He is a gentleman of integrity, and his success is well merited.
 ALONZO O. RUPERT, of whom a portrait appears in this volume, is a well-known business man of Fargo, North Dakota, whose sound common sense and vigorous, able management of his affairs have been important factors in his success, and with his undoubted integrity of character have given him an honorable position among his fellow men. He is a native of Michigan, his birth occurring in Adrian, that state, July 30, 1858. His parents, Adam and Barbara (Philmond) Rupert, were both born in Bavaria, Germany, and when young came to America, about 1842, and settled in New York, .where their marriage was celebrated. In that state the father commenced railroading as a fireman on the New York Central, and later was made engineer, one of the first on that road. Subsequently he removed to Adrian, Michigan, and accepted a position on the old Lake Shore Railroad, with which he was connected for some years. He was next with the Michigan Central Railroad, and was promoted to the position of master mechanic at Chicago. He was afterward with the Northwestern in that city until February, 1878, when he came to Fargo, North Dakota, in the same employ, and was master mechanic of the road at this place. Later he was with the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad, and remained with them until two years before his death, which occurred in 1897. He was the engineer in charge of the train which carried the delegates from Detroit, Michigan, to the convention in Chicago, in i860, where Abraham Lincoln was nominated for president, and he also run the train which carried the remains of the martyr president from Lafayette, Indiana, to Michigan City, that state, on their way to Springfield, Illinois, for interment. He was one of the oldest railroad men in the country at the time of his death, and was well known in railroad circles throughout the United
States. He had four sons, three of whom reside in Fargo, the other in Chicago, and one daughter, also a resident of Fargo, where the wife and mother is also living. He was a Mason, and one of the three original organizers of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers at Detroit, Michigan.
The boyhood and youth of our subject were passed in Michigan and Chicago, and his education was completed by a course in a business college of Chicago. For some time he was employed in the State Saving Institution of that city, being assistant cashier of a branch office. In 1878 he came to Fargo, North Dakota, and was timekeeper and also storekeeper for the Dakota division of the Northern Pacific Railroad until 1884. He was then with the Fargo Southern Railroad in the same capacity until the road was sold to the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad Company, in 1887. The following year he was appointed city auditor of Fargo, and filled that office in a most creditable and satisfactory manner for ten years. In i8g8 he began the manufacture of the Western grain separators, and now, with C. H. Porritt, does a general jobbing business in agricultural implements under the firm name of Porritt & Rupert. They are also engaged in the storage and transfer business, and have built up a good trade in both lines.
On the l0th of June, 1891, Mr. Rupert led to the marriage altar Miss Minnie A. Colton, a native of New York . Socially, he is a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and, politically, has been a life-long Republican. He is a violin player of note, and occupies a prominent position in musical circles, being the leader of the Rupert orchestra, which was organized in 1878, and is now the oldest and best in the Northwest.
FRANK RUSSELL. The present prosperity enjoyed in Cass county is due in a large measure to the efforts put forth to this end by the pioneer settlers of that region. Prominent among the first to take up residence on the wild lands of that locality is the gentleman above named. He has resided in Webster township for the past twenty years, and his farm evidences careful tillage and a thorough knowledge of his vocation. He is surrounded by all the comforts of country life, and many of the luxuries, and his home is a model in every particular, and he is accounted one of the solid men of Cass county, the direct result of a well-spent career.
Our subject was born in Kennebec county, Maine. February 24, 1849. his parents. Samuel P. and Hannah (Potter) Russell, were natives of Maine, and his father was a ship carpenter by trade and followed the same and also farming in Franklin county. Maine, until 1878. when he removed to Stillwater, Minnesota, and after two years spent there removed to Cass county, North Dakota, and later entered a homestead in Steele county. North Dakota, where he resided many years, and then returned to Cass county. He died in Amenia in 1889, and the mother of our subject died in 1887. They were the parents of three sons who reached maturity, and two daughters who died in Maine. Two sons reside in North Dakota, and one in California. The grandfather of our subject, George Russell, was a native of New England, and died in Maine.
Our subject was reared and educated in his native state and resided there until 1872, following farming, and in that year went to Washington county, Minnesota, and after three years spent there returned to Maine. He went to Cass county. North Dakota, in 1878, and entered a pre-emption claim to land near Amenia, and also took a tree claim on which he now resides. He removed to the farm which is his .present home in 1881, and was the second settler in the township. He has followed farming there continuously since that date, and has thoroughly improved the place. He has a fine residence, groves, fruit trees, and vegetable garden and other improvements and has devoted himself to his calling.
Our subject was married, in 1885. to Susie A. Cummings, a native of Maine. Three sons and one daughter have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Russell, named as follows: Carl E., Ethel M., Lester S. and Wayne F. Mr. Russell assisted in the organization of his township, and was one of the first officers of the same and has filled most of the township offices, always working for the interests of his community. Politically he is a Republican and stands stanchly for party principles.
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