Compendium of History and Biography
of North Dakota
Published by George A. Ogle & CO. in 1900

WALLACE GALEHOUSE. the efficient postmaster of Carrington, and one of the leading merchants of that thriving town, is a gentleman of excellent business tact and has made a success in North Dakota. He has resided in Foster county many years, and was a well-known agriculturist of that locality, but the comfortable circumstances which now surround him have been acquired through his present business, due to his earnest industry and careful management.

Our subject was born in Danville, Vermillion county, Illinois, April 16, 1860, and was a son of J. E. and Mary (Gohn) Galehouse, both of whom were Americans by birth and of German descent. His father was in the agricultural implement business and moved to North Dakota in 1885 and settled at Carrington.

Mr. Galehouse was the oldest in a family of six children, five sons and one daughter, and was raised in that city and educated in the high schools. He started in the agricultural implement business at the age of eighteen or nineteen years and followed  the same until he went to North Dakota, in the spring of 1884. He took land as a pre-emption in May of that year, and erected an 8x12-foot shanty, and worked for others at farming and driving ox-teams and other work, and the following year his father and the family moved to Dakota. He had a few teams and a wagon and industriously set about his farming, but the first five years on the whole were unprofitable, and he made little headway. He was appointed postmaster of Carrington by President Harrison in 1889, and during the early part of 1892 made a trip to California, remaining there until the spring of 1894, when he returned to Dakota and established a  clothing and gents' furnishing goods store. He started his present business in a 20x20-foot rented building, and now owns and occupies a 22x48-foot building, which he acquired by purchase, and also purchased the building adjoining. He has increased his stock and now carries a complete line, one of the largest in the locality, and conducts the only exclusive clothing store in Carrington and enjoys an extensive trade.

Mr. Galehouse takes an active part in state and county affairs, and is an earnest supporter of every public enterprise. Politically he is a Republican, and has attended numerous state and county conventions of his party. He was appointed postmaster of Carrington a second time, under the McKinley administration, which position he still holds. He is a young man of good business capacity and is deservedly held in the highest esteem.

EDWARD T. HALAAS, . For the past eighteen years this gentleman has tilled the soil of Foster county, and he now has one of the finest farms of the county, his home being located in township 147 range 66. He has made a success of general farming and is held in a high esteem as a farmer and citizen of true worth.

He was born on a farm near Christiansund, Norway, August 8, 1863. His father, Thorstein Erikson Halaas, was a farmer and carpenter by trade and lived and died in Norway. The mother of our subject, who bore the maiden name of Randi Oleson. came to America in 1892 after the death of our subject's father and now makes her home in Fargo, North Dakota.

Mr. Halaas is the fifth in a family of eight children and was raised on the farm and at the age of thirteen years left home and hired out to farm work for two years, and then went to Christiansund and worked in a general store for his uncle, P. Oleson, and remained there three years. He came to America at the age of eighteen years, landing at Boston, and at once went to Milan, Chippewa county, Minnesota, where he hired out at farming and also attended English school. He came to North Dakota in the spring of 1883 and traveled over the northern part of the state in quest of a location, and in May hired out on a farm in Grand Forks county. He located on un-surveyed land in Foster county in December, 1883, and built a shanty, 6x8 feet, and a sod barn, and farmed with oxen three years. He raised his first crop in 1884 and in 1885 raised eighteen to twenty bushels of wheat per acre. He lived alone the first four years and during the early days had many exciting experiences with prairie fires, and in 1897 fire destroyed his barn and seventy-five tons of hay, twenty-nine head of hogs, six work horses and a full blooded Shire stallion, valued at six hundred dollars, the loss amounting to three thousand dollars, with no insurance. He now has a farm of twelve hundred and eighty acres, with all but a half-section under cultivation and one hundred and sixty acres in pasture. He has two sets of farm buildings and his residence and surrounding buildings are substantial and commodious and furnish a home of comfort and are as good as any in that region. Mr. Halaas began life in North Dakota with very little means, having only enough to file his claim and erect a shanty, and the other means with which he purchased his early supplies was on borrowed money, which he worked out. He now has one of the finest farms of Foster county and in 1895 raised ten thousand bushels of grain.

Our subject was county assessor in 1890, 1891 and 1892, and in 1892 was elected county commissioner, and is now serving his third term in that capacity. He is actively interested in the general welfare of his community and is deservedly popular with the people among whom he has lived for so many years. He holds membership in the Ancient Order of United Workmen and in political sentiment is a Republican. Mr. Halaas was married, July 14, 1887, to Lina B. Rusten, who was born in Norway, near the city of Hamar, in 1858, daughter of Borger and Ely Rusten. To Mr. and Mrs. Halaas six children have been born: Theodore, Ralph, Ole, Leonard, Olga and Cora.

JOHN A. HALE. This gentleman is one of the extensive agriculturists and stock raisers of township 147, range 66, in Foster county, and has been identified with the farming interests of that locality from its early settlement. He has a well-improved estate,, and is held in high esteem as an energetic and worthy citizen.

Our subject was born on a farm near Whitehall, Trempealeau county, Wisconsin, February 8, 1864. His father, George H. Hale, was born in Connecticut, as were also his ancestors for two hundred years. The family originally came from Wales. The father of our subject was a farmer by occupation and served as a soldier of the Civil war, while the mother bore the maiden name of Mina C. Wegner. She was born in Germany and came to America when about seven years of age.

Our subject is the elder of two children, and was raised on the farm and attended the country school and assisted with the farm work. He removed with his parents to St. Paul, Minnesota, when about fourteen years of age, and there attended the city schools, removed with the family to North Dakota in the spring of 1882. They lived in Jamestown one summer and then went to Carrington in 1883, and the father took land in the fall of that year and moved thereon, and until 1887 our subject was associated with him in farming, and then worked for others about two years before he began farming for himself. He took land in section 21, township 147, range 66, and raised his first crop in 1889. He now has a farm of eight hundred acres, with seven hundred under cultivation, and has a complete set of good buildings thereon. His machinery includes a twenty-five-horse-power steam threshing rig, and he has followed grain farming most extensively, but of late is interested in cattle raising. In 1891 and 1895 his farm yielded well and he has made a success of grain farming.

Our subject was married in the fall of 1891, to Miss Addie B. Pease, who was born in Dane county, Wisconsin. Her father, Elijah D. Pease, was a native of New York state, and was a farmer by occupation. Three children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Hale, as follows: Ruth, born July 7, 1893; Harry, born December 1, 1894. and Leslie, born January 20, 1896. Mr. Hale is well known throughout his community, and was assessor in the third district in 1896 and 1897. He holds membership in the Ancient Order of United Workmen, and politically is associated with the Republican party.

HALVER S. HALVORSON, who has been identified with the development of Foster county, North Dakota, for the past twenty years, is a gentleman of good business qualifications, and has made a success of farming and mercantile pursuits. He is one of the most extensive implement dealers and also carries hardware and feed, and deals in live stock in McHenry, under the firm name of Halvorson & Company.

Our subject was born on a farm in Trempealeau county, Wisconsin, October 24, 1875. His father was a farmer and came from Norway about 1866 with his family and settled in Wisconsin, where he took land as a homestead. He died in North Dakota in 1883, where he became an early settler. Halver S., when six years of age, went with his parents to the western part of Traill county, now known as Griggs county, where the father took government land near Cooperstown. He built a small claim shanty and a sod barn and began farming with oxen. The father followed farming there two years, when he became sick and died. Mr. Halverson had a limited amount of schooling and was early put to work, and when large enough began working for others. He spent much of his time in Cooperstown working at general merchandise, machinery and live stock business. Mr. Halvorson is in full charge of his business and was the pioneer implement and live stock dealer of McHenry. He has a good store building, with machine shed, several warehouses and storage building, barn, and so forth, and enjoys remarkable success, and keeps from four to five men employed a good share of the time. He has extensive farming interests, and is interested in the general welfare of his community. He holds membership in the Ancient Order of United Workmen and Modern Woodmen of America.

JOHN E. INDERGAARD. Foremost among the pioneers to settle in Foster County, North Dakota, must be mentioned John E. Indergaard. Mr.  Indergaard is a native of Norway, where he was born on a farm January 14, 1862. 

The father of our subject, Elling Indergaard Jemne, was a farmer, and his grandfather, Jergan Eastman, was a blacksmith and farmer, while his grandfather, Ole Jemne, was a farmer. Knute Jemne, uncle of our subject, was a soldier in the Norwegian army. In a family of eight children, John E. Indergaard was the third in order of birth.  He grew to manhood in his native land and attended the public schools until he was twenty years old.  He then came to America, and landing in New York, proceeded west to Minnesota. There he worked for one year on a farm, and then came to Foster County in 1883, and took up government land. He put up a claim shanty, ten by ten feet, and started to improve his land. At that time he owned one team of oxen, five or six dollars in cash, and from these humble beginnings he has built up his present comfortable fortune. He worked for others a good portion of the first two years. In 1885 he raised a crop of wheat of only ten acres, and this yielded him seventeen bushels to the acre. He lived the life of a bachelor for eight years, and in that time had made substantial improvements on his land. He sold his farm in 1892, and located on section 10, township 147, range 66, where he still lives. 

In 1894 Mr. Indergaard married Miss Bertha Rooldson, daughter of Sivert Rooldson, one of the earliest settlers of North Dakota. Mrs. Indergaard was born in Norway, and came to America with her parents when she was but one year old. Mr. and Mrs. Indergaard are the parents of the following children: Elling M., Sidney E., and Edna R., all natives of North Dakota.

Mr. Indergaard has been a very successful farmer, and is now the owner of about eight hundred acres of excellent land, five hundred acres of which are in a good state of cultivation. His estate is furnished with a valuable set of farm buildings, with ample machinery, and is well stocked. In 1891 his farm produced seven thousand bushels of grain. 

Mr. Indergaard takes an active interest in political matters. He is a Republican in political faith.  He is a valued citizen, and has helped to develop the natural wealth of Foster County in no small degree. He has witnessed the marvelous changes that have taken place in North Dakota, and his influence has always been directed to the best interests and advancement of the state and county.

WILLIAM JONES, the owner of one of the finest and most extensive farms in Foster county, is a native of Crawford county, Wisconsin, where he was born in 1862. His parents were both of English birth and came to America in 1850. The father, Thomas Jones, served ninety days in the army in our Civil war, and died of disease in Chattanooga, Tennessee, while in the service. The mother of our subject bore her husband five children, of whom William was the youngest. He was but an infant at the time of his father's death. He was reared on the farm and attended the country schools. At the age of twenty-seven years he came to North Dakota, arriving in Foster county, in 1883. He had three horses and one hundred and fifty dollars in money. He took land in section 32, township 145, range 62, and erected upon it a claim shanty. His first crop was in 1884, when he raised twelve hundred bushels of oats and one thousand bushels of wheat. He lived alone the first year, but the second year his sister and mother joined him. His greatest crop was in 1899, when he raised a total of fourteen thousand, five hundred bushels of grain. He is now the owner of sixteen hundred acres, and at one time owned a still larger acreage. His land is all under cultivation, and he has good buildings of all kinds, including an eighteen thousand bushel capacity elevator. He has one of the very largest and best improved farms in the county, with all modern machinery and thoroughly stocked. He runs four self-binders and could sell out at any time for at least thirty-five thousand dollars.

Mr. Jones was married, in 1887. to Miss Catherine McKennon. Mrs. Jones is a native of Wisconsin and daughter of Edward McKennon, who is one of the early settlers of Dakota. Mr. and Mrs. Jones have four children. Mr. Jones is a Republican and takes a strong interest in all questions of a public nature. He is a member of the A. O. U. W. and the Modern Woodmen of America.