Mr. Oberman was born in Joliet, Illinois, June 1, 1864, and was the ninth in a family of ten children born to John F. and Wilhelmina (Brinkman) Oberman. Both parents were natives of Germany, and the father was a quarryman by occupation. The mother of our subject died when he was but five years of age.

Our subject finished his education in the schools of Joliet and in 1882 went to Ellendale, Dickey County, Dakota, and filed claim to land thirteen miles north of the County seat, but at present owns one section of land in Porter township. 

Our subject was married in Monango, Dickey County. North Dakota, in 1891, to Miss Francis E.  Scott, a native of Iowa, who was born in 1872. One son has been born to Mr. and Mrs. Oberman, whom they have named Frederick S. Mr. Oberman is a member of the Knights of Pythias and Modern Woodmen of America. He has served his township in many of the offices of importance, and his present position is gaining for him the confidence of the people among whom he has resided for so many years.  Personal matters are at all times cast aside for the more important issues of his community and County, and he labors for the general welfare of the people with a oneness of purpose which places him foremost in the rank of esteemed citizens.

OLE A. OLSON, the leading merchant of Glover, Dickey county, is a man of sterling business qualifications and is well known throughout that locality. He carries a complete stock of general merchandise and enjoys an extensive patronage. He is also interested in buying grain during the season and is a correct judge and is held in the highest esteem by all with whom he comes in contact.

Mr. Olson was born on a farm near the village of Little Hammar, Norway, November 15, 1846, and was a son of Ole and Randene (Peterson) Olson. His father was a farmer and carpenter and both parents lived and died in Norway, their native land.

Our subject remained at home until after he attained his majority, attending school and working at farm labor in the vicinity of his home. He turned his face toward the New World in 1867 and came to America to seek his fortune. He located in Chaseburg, Wisconsin, in Vernon county, and there and worked in a saw-mill and at carpenter work until 1870, when he removed to Trempeleau county and engaged ii\ the mercantile business at Pigeon Falls, of which place he was the first postmaster. He purchased a farm in 1876, which he conducted in connection with his business until 1888, in which year ne went to Dickey county. North Dakota, and settled in Glover, where he has since conducted a general merchandise business. He also buys grain for the Monarch Elevator Company. He has built up an extensive trade in that locality, and has met with success.

Our subject was married in Pigeon Falls, Wisconsin, in 1877, to Miss Ingeborg Olson, a native of Norway. Mrs. Olson was born in 1850, and came to the United States the same year as Mr. Olson. Seven children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Olson, as follows: Clara R., who is now a teacher in the public schools of Glover; John O., who is associated with his father in the mercantile business; Carl E.: .Anna L., who died August 20, 1890; Julia L.; Arthur H. and Odin L. Mr. Olson is prominent in public affairs, and has held the office of township treasurer, and has been chairman of the township board. Politically, he is a Republican, and firm in his convictions.

HON. EBENEZER P. PERRY, one of the best known attorneys of Dickey county, North Dakota, makes his home in Ellendale, where he has enjoyed an extensive practice. He is also connected with various enterprises in that thriving city, and is one of the potent factors in the prosperity enjoyed in that locality.

Our subject was born in Rushford township, Allegany county, New York, February 20, 1825, and was a son of Ebenezer P. and Hannah (Speer) Perry, the former a native of Massachusetts and the latter of New Hampshire. His father was a farmer by occupation, and moved into western New York during its early settlement. He was a soldier in the war of 1812.

Our subject was the youngest of ten children, and completed his schooling in the district schools of his native place and Rushford high school. He left Xew York when sixteen years of age and went to Whitmanville, Michigan, where he taught school two years, and began reading law under Redfield, a prominent attorney of Cassopolis, Michigan. He then returned to New York and made Rushford his home until about 1848, when he moved to a farm in Linden township, Cattaraugus county, New York, where he resided five years, and then went to New London, Wisconsin, and engaged in the mercantile business with his brother Robert, the brother conducting a hotel while our subject had charge of the other business, their interests being in common. They also, in company with Mr. Swift, operated a flouring and saw-mill and general store at Whitmanville, Michigan, which was destroyed by fire. Afterward our subject began the practice of law in New London, having been admitted to the bar in Waupaca county, Wisconsin, in 1857. At the outbreak of the Civil war he enlisted in Company E, Second Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, and was mustered into the service at Madison, June 11, 1861. They went at once to Washington, thence to Arlington Heights, where they joined the Thirteenth, Sixty-ninth and Seventy-ninth New York Volunteers, and became a part of the Army of the Potomac. Our subject was wounded at the battle of Gettysburg on the first day of that bloody fight, and also participated in the battle of Bull Run and many of the important engagements of the war. He was transferred to Company D, of his regiment, in March, 1862, and commissioned second lieutenant, and rapidly rose to the rank of captain. He commanded Company D from the battle of Antietam until the regiment was mustered out, and he was finally discharged at Madison, Wisconsin, July 29, 1864. He then returned to Wisconsin and began the practice of law at New London, where he continued until 1882, when he went to Ellendale, North Dakota. He has built for himself a lucrative practice, and is also proprietor and editor of the "North Dakota Record" (in partnership with his son, H. H.), which was established in August, 1894.

Our subject was married, in 1848, to Miss Sophia White, a native of Rushford, New York. Mrs. Perry died in Waupaca county, Wisconsin, leaving two children: Florence, now deceased; and Charles, residing in Clintonville, Wisconsin . Mr. Perry married Caroline Krause in New London, Wisconsin, in 1866. Mrs. Perry is a native of Germany. Four children were born to this union, as follows: Ella, Oscar, Laura and Hector H. The last named is now associated with his father in the newspaper work of the "North Dakota Record," and is clerk of court of Dickey county. The paper is a Populist sheet, and the official paper of the county and city. Mr. Perry takes an active interest in public affairs wherever he makes his home, and while a resident of Wisconsin was chosen a member of the legislature of that state in 1867, during which term of office he did very efficient work. He cast his vote for the Republican ticket from 1856 to 1872, since which time he has voted the Democratic ticket. He is a man of deep thought and advocates reform principles.

HECTOR H. PERRY, associate editor and joint owner with his father, Ebenezer P. Perry, of the "North Dakota Record," is one of the prosperous and enterprising young men of Dickey county. He is also clerk of the court of Dickey county.

Our subject was born in New London, Wisconsin, August 20, 1876. he completed his education in his native place, after which he went to Michigan, and there learned the art of type-setting and printing. He then returned to New London and followed his trade there until 1894, when he went to Ellendale, North Dakota, soon after which he and his father commenced the publication of the "North Dakota Record," which paper they have since edited and published.

Mr. Perry was married, in 1897, in Ellendale, North Dakota, to Miss Jennie Montey, a native of New York . Mr. Perry is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America, Knights of Pythias and Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He was elected clerk of the court of Dickey county in the fall of 1898 on the Populist ticket. He is popular with the people throughout the county, and deservedly so.

MADS PETERSON, who has devoted the greater part of his career to agricultural pursuits, has met with success in his chosen calling and is the owner of a fine estate in Ada township, Dickey county. He resides on section 1. in township 129, range 61, and conducts stock and grain raising.

Our subject was born on a farm in Jutland, Denmark, July 21, 1856, and was the second in a family of fifteen children born to Peter and Veta (Bertelson) Peterson, both of whom were natives of Denmark. The father was a farmer by occupation and the mother of our subject died in Denmark, when he was but a boy.

Mads Peterson attended the schools of his native land and assisted with the farm work until sixteen years of age, when he emigrated to America. He located in Polk county. Wisconsin, and there worked at farming and in the woods until 1883, in which year he went to Dickey county. North Dakota. He filed claim to the land on which he now resides and is now the owner of the quarter-section which he then took and one other, his farm comprising three hundred and twenty acres. He has improved his property in a thorough manner and engages extensively in stock raising and to some extent in grain raising.

Mr. Peterson is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America and is popular with his associates. He has acquired a thorough knowledge of his calling and applies the same in a practical manner, tending to the up building of that section of the country. He is a man of sterling worth and is deservedly held in high esteem by his fellows. Politically, he is a Republican.

JAMES R. PIERSON, a representative citizen, and pioneer of Dickey county, resides on section 18, township 130, range 64, in Albion township. He has been closely identified with the development of that region, and his home is one of the pleasant farms of that locality.

Mr. Pierson was born on a farm in Hamlin township, Eaton county, 2ilichigan, June 24, 1841, and was the seventh in a family of nine children, four sons and five daughters, born to Josiah and Lorilla Clark (Walton) Pierson. His father was reared in New York, and died in Eaton county, Michigan, in 1861, where also the mother died.

Our subject resided in his native county until he went to Dickey county. North Dakota, in the spring of 1883. He had purchased land in his native state in 1872. When he located in Dakota he filed claim to a quarter section of land, on which he has since made his home. He has added another quarter section to his possessions, and his entire farm of one half-section is fully improved. He has devoted his career to the pursuit of agriculture, and has met with success.

Our subject was married in Eaton county, Michigan, October 22, 1863, to Miss Angelina Walter, a native of Summit county, Ohio, who was born October 22, 1854, and was a daughter of Ely and Polly Walter. Mr. Walter has followed farming during his entire career, and is now living on the homestead farm in Eaton county, where Mrs. Pierson's mother died in 1891, aged sixty-two years. Mrs. Pierson was the eldest in a family of six children, two sons and four daughters. One child has been born to Mr. and Mrs. Pierson, a daughter, Inez, who was born on the farm in Eaton county, Michigan, April 6, 1868. She is a graduate of the Eaton Rapids high school, and is now Mrs. C. C. Bowsfield. Mr. Bowsfield is a native of Connecticut, and was formerly editor and proprietor of the "Ellendale Commercial," and is now on the editorial staff of the "Chicago Tribune.' He was chief of the senate at Bismarck in 1891, and enrolling and engraving clerk in the constitutional convention in 1889.

Mr. Pierson is active in matters of a public nature, and has held numerous township offices of trust. He is the postmaster at Pierson, which office is at his home, and he is held in the highest esteem by his associates, and has a host of friends in Dickey county.

JAMES POLLOCK, whose farm of one section evidences his prosperity, is a man of thorough and practical knowledge of the pursuit of agriculture. He is one of the pioneer settlers of Dickey county, and it is to his persistent efforts that his success is due. He was not without the experiences which meet every settler in a new country, but his adaptability to circumstances and determination led him forward, and he is now one of the substantial men of his community.

Mr. Pollock was born on a farm in the province of Quebec, Canada, January 26, 1859, and was the eldest in a family of ten children, nine of whom are now living, born to John and Martha Mary (Boyd) Pollock. His father was a native of Ireland, and was a farmer by occupation. While he retains his old homestead in Huron county, Canada, he is now living in North-West territory, Canada.

Our subject resided in his native county until eleven years of age, when his parents moved to Huron county, Ontario, Canada, and there he lived and worked on the farm until the fall of 1882, when he came to the United States and at once went to Dickey county, Dakota, then a territory, where he remained for a short time investigating the general conditions, and returned to Minneapolis. Minnesota, for the winter. He again went to Dickey county, North Dakota, in the spring of 1883. and filed claim to the southwest quarter of section 34, on which he has since resided. He now owns the entire section, and Mrs. Pollock owns a quarter-section directly across the road, in section 33.

Our subject was married in Huron county, Ontario , in 1882, to Grace Turnbull, a daughter of William and Elizabeth Turnbull, who lived on a farm in that county. Three children were born to this union, as follows: Mary E., Alice P. and John B. Mr. Pollock was married in Ellendale , North Dakota , in June, 1896, to Miss Annie Redmond, a native of Iowa , and a daughter of Thomas Redmond. One child has been born to Mr. and Mrs. Pollock, named Kittle D. Mr. Pollock is a member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen, Modern Woodmen of America and the Knights of Pythias. He is prominent in public affairs, and has held numerous township offices, and is highly esteemed.

ERWIN E. TOWN. Among the better class of agriculturists, whose farms evidence enterprise and painstaking care, this gentleman stands in a foremost rank. He has added valuable improvements to his estate and is one of the substantial men of Dickey county. He makes his home on section 11. township 129, range 65, of Spring Valley township, and every appointment bespeaks the good taste of the family.

Our subject was born on a farm in Dane county, Wisconsin, January 4, 1863, and there attended school and resided until eighteen years of age. He was the third in order of birth in a family of eleven children born to Allen and Jane (Haggert) Town. His father was a farmer by occupation and died in Columbia county, Wisconsin, in 1898 and the mother died in the same county in 1892.

After completing his education our subject began railroad work between Winona, Minnesota, and Harvard, Illinois, and continued thus engaged four and a half years, when he returned home for a short time and in March, 1886, went to Dickey county, North Dakota, where he filed claim to land and began farming. He and Mrs. Town each own one quarter-section of land and their home farm is equipped with the most modern and improved machinery and buildings and every arrangement made to lessen the labor incident to farm life.

Our subject was married, in Ellendale, North Dakota, in December, 1893, to Miss Mary Stephens, a native of New Richmond, Wisconsin, who was born in 1870. Mrs. Town was a daughter of Michael and Ellen Stephens. Her father died when she was a small child and her mother was killed in the cyclone which destroyed the town of New Richmond, in the spring of 1899. Mr. and Mrs. Town are the parents of three children, as follows: Ellen, Allen and Marian. Mr. Town has served as assessor of Spring Valley township for the past five years and is a man who takes an active interest in the welfare of his township and county. He is always found standing on the side of right and justice and is highly esteemed throughout the county where he has made his home for so many years. Politically, he is a Republican.

JOHN H. VAN METER, the leading contractor and builder of Dickey County, resides on his homestead farm in Van Meter township. He is the possessor of one half-section of land in section 8, township 129, range 62, but his contracts take his attention so entirely that he rents his land annually and does not attempt farming. He is one of the early settlers and well known as a business man of much ability and a citizen of true worth in his community.

Our subject was born in Newark, Kendall County, Illinois, January 7, 1838. His father. Miles H.  Van Meter, was born in Grayson County, Kentucky, March 6, 1810, and died in Hudson, Wisconsin, May 31, 1898. He was a pilot on the Ohio river when a young man, and went to Illinois in 1836, where he lived on a farm for some time, and in later years he followed the joiner's trade in Wisconsin.   He was captain in the Illinois militia, and had command of a company that was sent to Ottawa, Illinois, to quell the riot there during the construction of the Illinois-Michigan Canal. The mother of our subject bore the maiden name of Mary Litsey, and was a native of Grayson, Kentucky. She died in Hudson, Wisconsin, in the late seventies, and was the mother of nine children, seven sons and two daughters, our subject being the fifth child. Of the other children two daughters and one son are at the old home in Hudson; two of the elder sons, D. K. and M. L., are living in Illinois, and are contractors and builders; one son, E, W., resides at Aberdeen, South Dakota Henry was killed at the battle of Chickamauga; and Abe C. died in the early part of 1899. He was the founder, the editor and proprietor of the "St. Croix (Wisconsin) Republican."

Our subject at the age of fourteen years, went to Hudson, Wisconsin, with his parents, where-he at once secured work on the river, and at nineteen years of age was a first-class pilot, plying between St. Paul and St. Louis. He continued to work on the river during the summers and in the lumber woods during the winters until 1861, when, in May of that year, he answered his country's call and enlisted in the City Guards, of Hudson, Wisconsin, later known as Company G, Fourth Wisconsin Infantry, and in 1863 the regiment was merged into the Fourth Wisconsin Cavalry. In 1861 he was in Maryland and Newport News, and left the lower James the day before the Merrimac came out. They were then ordered to Ship Island, Gulf of Mexico, and from thence to the Mississippi river, and were there during the bombardment of Forts Jackson and St. Phillip, under Farragut. Our subject was a member of one of the four companies sent to the rear of Fort Phillips to cut off the retreat of the garrison at that place, and after capturing the garrison were put into gunboat No. 3 and sent to New Orleans, and our subject landed in that city April 29.  among the first, and on the night of May 8, 1862, he was put into the pilot house of a Mississippi river steamer to pilot an expedition to Vicksburg.  a distance of over four hundred miles, over an up-familiar course, rendering the task a difficult one.  He remained on the river until July, and in the latter part of that month left the canal which he was helping to construct opposite Vicksburg, He was in the hospital at Baton Rouge for a few days, and then participated in the battle of that place, after which they evacuated the city and fell back to New Orleans, and his company was then detached from the regiment and put into the artillery, where he served until the spring of 1863. He was with General Banks on his western Louisiana expedition to Red river, crossing the Mississippi at Bayou Sara, and then went to the rear of Port Hudson to besiege it, and was in the assault May 28, 1863. They were sent to Clinton, Louisiana, June 3. to break up the rebel camp, after which hotly contested engagement they went into the rifle pits at Port Hudson, and there remained until June 14, when the grand assault occurred, when his regiment lost one hundred and sixty men in fifteen minutes. They were compelled to retreat, and July 9 renewed the attack, when the enemy surrendered.  They then went to Baton Rouge and spent the fall and winter of 1863-64 scouting as cavalry, and in February, 1864, about four hundred men re-enlisted after the expiration of their term of service, and were recruited as a full cavalry regiment. Our subject visited his home on a thirty-days' furlough at this time, and during the summer of 1864, and until March, 1865, they were at Highland Stockade and at Baton Rouge, and from the latter place went to New Orleans, and were at the capture of Forts Spanish. Blakesley and Mobile, and were then put in the cavalry service under General Greerson, when they started to join Sherman, who was on his inarch to the sea. They crossed Alabama and the south end of Florida, and after crossing the Chattahoochee river at Eufala, they met some of General Johnston's men, who informed them that he had surrendered to General Sherman, and they then went into camp, and after receiving orders returned to Montgomery, Alabama, where they were divided, and that portion of the brigade to which his regiment belonged sent to Columbus, Mississippi, through the Yazoo country to Vicksburg, and thence to Shreveport, Louisiana, by transport, where they were joined by the Third Michigan and Twelfth New York, and were ordered to San Antonio, Texas, leaving Shreveport July 9. 1865.  After their arrival they made two expeditions into the mountains against the Indians, after which the brigade was divided; the regiment to which our subject belonged, the Fourth Wisconsin, when across the lower plains of western Texas, striking the Rio Grande at Fort McIntosh.   They were the only cavalry regiment stationed on the river, and their work covered a river frontage of two hundred and fifty miles. Our subject assisted in taking prisoners to Brownsville, and he witnessed much of the warfare between General Maximilian and General Corteno at Matamoras. Mexico, he served his country five years, one month and a half, as a brave and loyal soldier, and was mustered out at Brownsville, Texas. May 19, 1866, and June 4 left for his home, where he arrived June 22. 

During the summer after his return from the war, Mr. Van Meter resumed his profession as pilot on the river, and in the spring of 1867 began to learn the builder's art under Alexander Gamble, of Hudson. Wisconsin, for whom he worked five years. He has followed the work continuously since, and has constructed many mills and elevators in North Dakota. He resides on his farm, about two miles from the city of Ellendale, and rents his land. He came to Dickey County. North Dakota, April 15, 1882, and entered claim to his land, and returned to Wisconsin for a full set of tools with which to commence his work, and May 12, 1882, he took up the quarter-section where he now resides. 

Our subject was married in Hudson, Wisconsin. May 29, 1867. to Mary Kennedy, a native of Ireland. Mrs. Van Meter died in Dickey County, North Dakota, April 26, 1886, leaving two children, as follows: Warren W., now a conductor on the Mexican Central Railroad, out of the City of Mexico; and Kate Mabel, now Mrs. P. J. Cruikshanks, of Bozeman, Montana. Mr. Van Meter married Mrs. May J. Sweezey Chapman, in Ellendale, North Dakota, October 20, 1887. Mrs. Van Meter is a native of New York City, and was born July 5, 1836. Her father was a captain in the American merchant marine service, and died in Jackson, Michigan, where also her mother, who bore the maiden name of Marian Hoar, passed away.  Mrs. Van Meter is the mother of three children by her marriage to Mr. Chapman, as follows: William L., a farmer of Kent County, Michigan; Frank D., a passenger conductor on the Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha Railroad; and Rose L., who died aged eight years. The family are attendants of the Baptist church, of which denomination Mrs. Van Meter is a member.  Our subject is commander of John A. Spellman Post, No. 13. G. A. R., Department of North Dakota, and is a prominent citizen. He has held numerous township offices and labors for the better interests of his community. In political sentiment he is a Republican.

WILLIAM A. VENNUM, who has acquired a comfortable income by the exercise of honest industry, is deserving of special mention as a prosperous farmer and worthy citizen of Dickey county. He makes his home in section 1, township 130, range 65, of Spring Valley township, and is surrounded by all the comforts of rural life.

Our subject was born on a farm near Union Grove, in Whiteside county. Illinois, October 25, 1844, and was a son of Thomas Vennum. He was left an orphan when a young child, and at the age of two and a half years was taken to Carroll county, where he made his home with Moses A. Green, and there grew to manhood. At the outbreak of the Civil war he enlisted in Company C. Sixty-fifth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, but was not assigned to service, and in February, 1865, re-enlisted, and his regiment was merged into the Army of the Cumberland. He was discharged from the service at Newburn, North Carolina, and at once returned to Illinois, where he worked at farming for several years in Whiteside and Carroll counties. He went to Dickey county, North Dakota, in 1882, and at once filed a claim to land, and is now the fortunate possessor of one section of well improved land. He owns fifty head of cattle and eight horses. He is a man of practical ideas, and is among the substantial men of his community.

Our subject was married in Morrison, Whiteside county, Illinois, January 28, 1874, to Miss Jane Green, a native of Carroll county, Illinois, who was born August 17. 1852. Four children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Vennum in Carroll county, Illinois, and three have been born in Dickey county, North Dakota. They bear the following names: Martin, Delia, the wife of Carl Woodward, a farmer of Dickey county; Celia, Maud, Ada, Ida and Laura. The eldest son. Martin, is connected with his father on the farm.

P. McHUGH WALKER, M. D. To an able practitioner and a young man who has rapidly risen to prominence in Dakota this review is devoted. Mr. Walker has been a resident of Ellendale a comparatively short time, but has already gained an enviable reputation and commands an extensive practice. He is well learned in his profession and is a close student and a conscientious practitioner.

Our subject was born in Lindsay, Ontario, Canada, May 19, 1876, and was the fourth in a family of nine children born to Andrew W. and Catherine Costello, both of whom were natives of Canada. His father was born in 1832 and the mother in 1844. They are now living in Grafton, North Dakota, where the father conducts the real estate and insurance business and is a successful business man and highly respected.

Our subject removed with his parents to Grafton, North Dakota, in 1882, when he was a child, and there received his early schooling, after which he entered the University of Notre Dame, at South Bend, Indiana, where he took a classical course two years and then attended the Lindsay, Ontario, Collegiate Institute, taking science. He then read medicine in the McGill Medical College, at Montreal, entering the school in 1893 and graduating with the class of 1898. He then made a trip to England for further research and traveled in England, Scotland, Ireland and France and for a time was a student in the University of Edinburg and also spent some time engaged at the Guys Hospital in London. From abroad he returned to Montreal and there remained about three months in the Victoria Hospital and then went to Dakota and after a short visit at his home located in Ellendale in the spring of 1898. He is associated with Dr. Merchant under the firm name of Merchant & Walker, and since establishing in Ellendale has steadily increased his practice. Dr. Walker is a member of the Knights of Pythias and is popular with his associates. He enjoys the confidence of the people and his success is assured in Dakota.