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

BERNARD HAGGERTY, one of the first settlers of Harvey township, Grand Forks county, has made a success of agricultural pursuits and is among the foremost men of his community. He is a native of Canada, and was born in Ottowa, in November, 1840.

The parents of our subject, Martin and Bridget (Masterson) Haggerty, were natives of Ireland and came to Canada about 1838 and were seventeen weeks on the voyage. They settled in Canada and spent the rest of their lives' there. They were the parents of seven children, four sons and three daughters, who are now living, but our subject is the only one of the family located in North Dakota.

Mr. Haggerty was reared in Canada and received his education there and made his home in Canada until 1874, when he went to Grand Forks county. North Dakota. He settled near Mento and entered a homestead claim and the same fall went to Harvey township, where he took land as a preemption and has resided thereon since that date. He was has resided thereon since that date. He was among the first settlers north of Grand Forks and was the first to put his plow in the ground in this vicinity, and experienced the hardships of pioneer life. He now owns three quarter-sections of land and has placed valuable improvements on his home farm and is one of the substantial men of Harvey township. He engages in general farming and has made a success of the work in North Dakota.

Our subject was married in Canada, in 1867, to Ellen Ferry, a native of Canada . Mr. and Mrs. Haggerty are the parents of two children, named as follows: John and Kate. Mr. Haggerty is a gentleman of active public spirit and assisted in the organization of his township and is always standing on the side of right and justice and promoting any enterprise which tends to strengthen or extend the great agricultural interests of his township and county. He is well and favorably known and deservedly so, as his influence is for good and his name is beyond reproach.

CHARLES HARSHMAN. The wonderful natural resources of North Dakota have called many from professional and business careers into the favored calling of the agriculturist, and among them may be mentioned the gentleman whose name appears in this article. He is a lawyer by profession and a farmer by choice. He has demonstrated that the agricultural wealth and attractions of Grand Forks county are more alluring to the average man than the endless intricacies of the law.

Mr. Harshman was born in River Falls, Pierce county, Wisconsin, January 25, 1860. His parents, Jacob and Alvina (Walden) Harshman, were both natives of Ohio. The father prepared himself for the medical profession, taking a course in the Western Reserve Medical College, of Cleveland, Ohio. He practiced his profession for ten years in Wisconsin, and then took up agriculture, which he now follows. In this family were two children, a son, our present subject, and a daughter, Mrs. J. W. Scott, mention of whom will be found elsewhere in this volume.

Charles Harshman was reared and educated in Wisconsin and was given a course in the Fourth Normal School. He then read law under Judge Smith, of Superior, Wisconsin, and in 1881 entered the law department of Michigan University, at Ann Arbor, spending one year there. He then came to North Dakota, but in 1889 again entered the same university, spending another year there, and in 1893 again returned to the .same institution and graduated from its classical course.

Mr. Harshman came to Gilby township. Grand Forks county, in 1882, and purchased the farm on which he now resides. The land was then all wild and he proceeded to clear and improve it. He has made it his home continuously since. He now owns and farms eight hundred acres and has one of the finest and most valuable estates in North Dakota. He practiced his profession in Grand Forks four years, from 1890 to 1894, in partnership with F. H. McDermott, and is still a member of the North Dakota bar, but does only a little local practice, his attention being devoted to his agricultural pursuits.

Mr. Harshman was married, in 1899, in Wisconsin, to Miss Julia Swanby. Mrs. Harshman is a native of Wisconsin, also, and to this union one child has been born. Charles S. In politics Mr. Harshman is a Republican, and while taking an intelligent and commendable interest in public affairs, has never sought nor accepted political preferment.

He is a member of the Masonic fraternity and of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He is one of the best posted men in North Dakota on the history and development of the state and is esteemed and respected for his honesty and good citizenship.

JOHN HARVEY. This gentleman is one of the representative citizens of the township which bears his name, and he is a pioneer settler of that region. He has devoted his attention entirely to farming, and has prospered in his calling and is now proprietor of one of the best farms of his locality.

Our subject was born in Carlton county, Canada, January 26, 1851, and was a son of William and Catherine (Ferry) Harvey, a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this work. Mr. Harvey was reared and educated in Canada and followed agricultural pursuits there until 1874, when he went to Grand Forks county. North Dakota, arriving there May 8, and in June of that year filed claim to his present farm. He made some improvements thereon and in 1878 began permanent resilience and has lived there continuously since that date. He now has a thoroughly improved and highly cultivated property comprising five hundred acres, and follows general farming with most successful results.

Our subject was married, in 1877, to Annie Sullivan, a native also of Canada . Mr. and Mrs. Harvey are the parents of three sons now living, who are named as follows: Herbert G., William E. and James J. The family are members of the Catholic church and are highly esteemed in the community in which they have spent the past quarter of a century. Mr. Harvey is a Republican in political sentiment and is earnest in his convictions. He assisted in the organization of his township, and is now acting as supervisor and has served as school director since 1885. He is actively interested in educational advancement or the up building of his community socially and aids in the promotion of every public enterprise.

WILLIAM HARVEY, deceased. Among the earliest pioneers of Grand Forks county. North Dakota, the name of William Harvey is given a foremost place. He settled in that county in 1877 and the township of Harvey, in which he made his residence, was named in his honor. He acquired a good property and conducted farming until his death and the homestead is now occupied by his family, the mother residing with the two sons, James and Robert, who successfully operate the farm.

Our subject was a native of Scotland and was born near Glasgow, in 1820. He was a son of John and Mary (Mason) Harvey, and the family emigrated to Lower Canada about 1823 and the parents died in Upper Canada.

Mr. Harvey was reared and educated in Canada and remained there and followed farming until 1877, when he went to North Dakota, and at once located in Grand Forks county, entering homestead and preemption claims to land in Harvey township, and there passed the remainder of his life. He was a successful farmer and well versed in his calling, as he has devoted his entire time and attention to the details of his work.

Our subject was married, in 1849, to Catherine Ferry, a native of Ireland, who was born in county Farmaugh, and came to Canada with her parents when a child and was reared there. Ten children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Harvey, who are named as follows: John, Mary, William, Katherine, Peter, Matthew (deceased), Robert, Edward, James M. and Alice. Since the father's death it has devolved upon the sons to conduct the farm and James and Robert remain on the homestead with the mother, and the present well known estate evidences most careful management and close attention to the various details of farm life.

Mr. Harvey died in Grand Forks county. North Dakota , in 1883. He was a consistent member of the Catholic church and in his demise the county lost a worthy citizen and the community an estimable gentleman. He assisted in the organization of the township and served as supervisor until his death. He devoted his career to agricultural pursuits and owned a section of land.

JOHN W. HARRISON. Among the Canadian people who have made their homes in Grand Forks county, and by their energy and good management added to the wealth and prosperity of the county, and by their law-abiding and orderly conduct raised the standard of good citizenship in the state, none is more deserving of mention than the gentleman whose name introduces this article. He is a pioneer of Levant township, on section 17 of which he still resides.

Mr. Harrison was born in Ontario. Canada, June 26, 1845. His parents were William and Louisa (Watts) Harrison, the former a native of Wexford, Ireland, and the latter of Somerset county, England. The father emigrated to Canada about the year 1830 and is still living there, at the age of eighty-six years. He has four sons and three daughters, our subject being the only one of the children in North Dakota.

John W. Harrison was reared to the age of thirteen years at his home in Canada. At that age he ran away and began steam boating on the St. Lawrence river and the Great Lakes, and followed that calling for eighteen years, being employed a good share of the time as engineer. In 1880 he came to Grand Forks county and filed a claim to a tract of land in section 17, Levant township, where he now resides. He has made many improvements and has greatly enhanced the value of his farm. He has prospered and owns a half section of land and is one of the substantial agriculturists of his county.

Mr. Harrison was married in Canada, in 1877, to Miss Eliza Pritchard, who was born in London, England. To Mr. and Mrs. Harrison six children have been born, as follows: Edith, William, Herbert, Steadman, Grace and Elida. In his political views Mr. Harrison is independent, and has given his support to such measures as he deems best calculated to advance the welfare of his fellow men. He has never sought office. He assisted in organizing the first school in the district in which he lives and has been chairman of the board continuously for sixteen years.

LOUIS K. HASSELL, one of the widely known men of North Dakota, is now serving as chief deputy sheriff of Grand Forks county, and formerly served as clerk of court of the first district. He is a native of Norway, and was born near Hamar, August 19, 1862.

The parents of our subject. Christian and Oline (Fremstad) Hassell, were natives of Norway, the mother being of German parentage. In 1881 the parents of our subject emigrated to the United States, and settled in Walsh county. North Dakota. The father still resides there, and the mother is deceased. They were the parents of four sons and one daughter, of whom two sons are now living.

Mr. Hassell was reared and educated in Norway and at the age of eighteen years came with his parents to America, and arrived in Grand Forks in June, 1881. He soon afterward entered the law office of Major Hamilton, and after a short time in the fall of 1881 he was chosen editor of the "Grand Forks Tidende," a Norwegian paper, and he edited the same until the fall of 1883, when he was appointed deputy city auditor and treasurer. He served one year in that capacity, and was then appointed clerk in the office of register of deeds, and remained thus engaged until January 1, 1887. Then he founded the "Normanden," the only Scandinavian paper of Grand Forks, and operated the same a year and a half, and then disposed of the paper and worked for J. P. Bray in the county auditor's office until October 1, 1889. He was elected clerk of the district court, and was re-elected to that office four times, and since his retirement from that position has been employed as deputy sheriff. He is faithful in his duties and well merits the trust reposed in him by the people.

Our subject was married, in 1886, to Sophia A. Anderson, a native of Norway. Four children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Hassell, named as follows: Clarence L., Selma L., Olga O. and Agnes F., all of whom are living. Mr. Hassell is prominent in secret society circles, and holds membership in the following orders: Masonic fraternity, Elks, Knights of Pythias and Ancient Order of United Workmen. He is a stanch Republican, and has been identified with the movements of that party since he attained his majority.

CLARK W. HOLMES, a prosperous farmer residing on section 20, Union township, is one of the early settlers of Grand Forks county who has contributed so much to its prosperity and rapid growth.

Mr. Holmes was born in Utica, Oneida county, New York, April 2, 1850. His parents, Stephen V. R. Holmes and Ruby (Barnett) Holmes, were natives of New York, the father born in Oneida county, New York, and dying in Knox county, Illinois. The mother still survives. They were the parents of two children, a son and a daughter, of whom our subject is the younger.

Clark W. Holmes, when three years old, accompanied his parents to Knox county, Illinois, where they settled on a farm near Oneida. There our subject was reared to manhood and received a common-school education. In the spring of 1882 he came to Grand Forks county. North Dakota, and filed a homestead claim to the tract of land where he now resides. He has added to his possessions, and is now the owner of four hundred and eighty acres of well improved and valuable land, upon which he has erected substantial buildings and has equipped his farm with all modern improvements for farm work.

Mr. Holmes was married in Grand Forks county to Miss Adelia Wyman, the daughter of Holmes Wyman, of whom mention will be found elsewhere in this volume. Mrs. Holmes was born in Henry county, Illinois, and accompanied her parents to Grand Forks county. To Mr. and Mrs. Holmes two children have been born, namely: Van R. and Fern G. Mr. Holmes has taken an active part in public affairs of a local nature and has been chosen to fill some of the township offices. He is well known and held in high regard by all who know him.

DAVID M. HOLMES, ex-county treasurer of Grand Forks county, is one of the oldest settlers of the "valley," and is closely connected in its history and development. He is now engaged in the real estate, loans and insurance business in Grand Forks and is one of the best known men of the locality.

Our subject was born in Northumberland county, Pennsylvania, July 29, 1851, and was a son of Hugh and Jane (Love) Holmes, both of whom were natives of Pennsylvania. His father was a blacksmith by trade and was a soldier in the Mexican war. He became a resident of North Dakota in 1882 and died there in 1884, aged eighty-four years. The family was of English extraction and was among the early settlers of Connecticut. The family on the maternal side settled in Pennsylvania in 1700, and the family of Love was well known there.

Our subject was reared in Pennsylvania. He received a liberal education there, making a study of telegraphy, and for twenty years worked in the employ of the Western Union, the American and the old Northwestern Telegraph Companies. He became a resident of North Dakota in 1871, locating at Fort Abercrombie, and removing to Grand Forks in the spring of 1872, where he spent four years on surveys and then entered the employ of the Northwestern Telegraph Company as operator, and also worked for the Hudson's Bay Company and remained with them until 1875, in the fall of which year he was elected register of deeds. He resigned his office in 1876, went to Deadwood, South Dakota, and remained there a short time and then returned to Grand Forks and in 1877 was again elected register of deeds and served two years in that office, at the same time holding the offices of county superintendent and county surveyor. He engaged in the drug trade in 1877 and established the first drug store in Grand Forks and followed that business until 1894. when he was elected county treasurer and filled the office until 1898. He also served two terms as mayor of the city and has served as member of the school board.' He now has a good business and carries extensive re now has a good business and carries extensive real estate investments.

Our subject was married, in 1879, to Miss Rebecca Schlaberg, a native of Illinois . Mr. and Mrs. Holmes are the parents of three children, one son and two daughters. named as follows: Jessie S., Vivian A. and Frank B. Our subject is a member of the Masonic fraternity and Knights of Pythias. He has been a life-long Democrat and is prominent in party matters.

ALBERT A. HOOD, a leading land owner and agriculturist, of Grand Forks county, resides on section 17. Fairfield township, where he has a comfortable home surrounded by all the conveniences of modern farm life.

Mr. Hood was born near Wheeling, West Virginia, December 5, 1859. His parents were Samuel and Elsie (Galiher) Hood, the former a native of West Virginia and the latter of Pennsylvania. They reared a family of seven children, of whom Albert A. was the sixth in order of birth. He was reared on his father's farm near Wheeling, and received a common school education. He was a pupil during the first term of free school held in the second public school house built in West Virginia outside the cities. Mr. Hood remained on the home farm near Wheeling until 1882, when he came to Dakota and filed a pre-emption claim to one hundred and sixty acres of land in section 32, Fairfield township, Grand Forks county, and the following: year he filed a homestead claim to a quarter-section in section 17, of the same township, where he has since made his home. He has made substantial and convenient improvements and has greatly enhanced the value of the farm. He is now the owner of two thousand two hundred and forty acres of valuable land, all located in Fairfield township, and has been successful in his undertakings since locating in the county.

Mr. Hood was married in Wheeling, West Virginia, to Miss Lillie Carnaham. Mrs. Hood was born and reared to womanhood in Wheeling. To Mr. and Mrs. Hood four children have been born, as follows: Naomi Lee, Louise, Josephine and Virginia. Mr. Hood has taken an active part in public affairs and has held various township offices. He is president of the school board and takes much interest in educational matters. He enjoys the confidence and respect of the entire community, and has a host of warm personal friends.

DR. SAMUEL H. IRWIN, Ph. D., M. D. C. M. For nearly fifteen years the gentleman above named has stood at the head of the medical fraternity in Grand Forks county. He has continued a general practice of his profession in the city of Grand Forks during these many years, and has a host of friends there and in the vicinity of the city and has earned a good practice and enviable name..

Our subject was born in Ontario, Canada, September 3, 1859. His parents, John and Julia (Love) Irwin, were natives of Ireland, and Canada, respectively. The father was a contractor and went to Canada when a child in the '20s, and later in life, in 1873, moved to Pennsylvania and his death occurred in that state.

Mr. Irwin was the only son in a family of three children, and he was raised in Canada, and received his education there. Later he read medicine with Doctor Blackstock, of Hillsdale, Canada. He entered Trinity College in 1882 and graduated in June, 1886, He then spent one year in Bellevue Hospital, New York, and also in Toronto, Canada. He went to Grand Forks. North Dakota, in 1887,and began the practice of his profession, and has followed a general practice there since that date. He is a member of the state and county medical societies, and also tlie American Medical Association, and by examination is a fellow of Trinity College. He is well read in his profession and is always a student as well as practitioner and has built up an extensive and profitable patronage.

Our subject was married, in May, 1887. to Miss Eunice Lumonis, a native of Canada . Two children, one son and one daughter, have been born to bless the home of Mr. and Mrs. Irwin. Mr. Irwin has been one of the important factors in the up building of Grand Forks , and his name is one of the well known ones of Dakota's latter day history.

CYRUS H. JENKS. superintendent of the Northern division of the Great Northern Railroad, is a man of thorough knowledge in railroad work, and has spent thirty years in this line, he was born in Boone county, Illinois, November 29, 1844.

The parents of our subject, Cyrus C. and Elizabeth (Ouilliams) Jenks, were from New York and Isle of Man. respectively. The father was a carpenter, brick mason, and also engaged in teaching, and moved to Illinois in 1821 and to Minnesota in 1848. settling in St. Anthony, and was the first school teacher and first constable of Minneapolis. He was born August 4, 1808, and was three times married, and was the father of thirteen children. In company with Morton M. Goodhue he printed the first issue of the "Pioneer," which later became the "Pioneer Press," of St. Paul. He made the brick from which old Fort Ridgeley was built. This pioneer of Illinois and Minnesota died in 1897.

Our subject was five years of age when he removed with his parents to St. Anthony, and was educated there and at Rockford. He enlisted, in 1862, in Company B, Sixth Minnesota Volunteer Infantry, and served until August, 1865, and was in the Sixteenth Army Corps of the Army of the Gulf, previous to which he had been in the Indian service and assisted in the capture of the Indians of Mankato and Spirit Lake, after which he was sent south and was at Spanish Fort and Fort Blakeley and also participated in numerous minor engagements. He returned to Minnesota after the war and located at Rockford, and in 1870 engaged with the Great Northern Railroad Company as brakeman, and rose rapidly in rank and soon was a conductor of freight and passenger trains, and in 1882 went to Crookston, Minnesota, as assistant superintendent of the Northern division and served as such until 1887, when he assumed charge of the Dakota division and was superintendent there until 1892, and was then transferred to the Northern division for one year and then given the Montana Central for one year, after which he returned to the Northern division and has held the office at Grand Forks continuously since that time. He assisted in building the road and is one of the few men left who began railroad life as early as 1870.

Our subject was married, in 1867, to Hattie E. Hayford, a native of New York. Two children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Jenks, as follows: Charles O.. and Lotta O., now Mrs. C. C. Shapleigh, of Moorehead. Mr. Jenks is prominent in affairs of the Masonic fraternity and has passed the degrees of all the departments of the order. He is a man of excellent business capacity and is highly esteemed throughout the locality in which he makes his home.

HENRY JOHNSON, one of the substantial agriculturists of Grand Forks county, resides on his estate in Lakeville township, of which he is a pioneer.

Mr. Johnson was born in Norway July 3, 1853. His parents were John and Annie (Hansen) Higeson, natives of Norway, who emigrated to America in 1885 and settled in Grand Forks county. Both parents died in 1890. They had a family of six sons and two daughters, four of the sons being now deceased. Henry Johnson was reared in Norway and came to the United States in 1874. He first settled in Rice county, Minnesota, where he resided until 1878, when he came to Grand Forks county and filed a homestead claim on land in section 27, Lakeville township, where he now resides. He improved his land and erected good buildings and is now the owner of two hundred and eighty acres, comprising one of the most valuable pieces of property in the county.

Mr. Johnson was married in 1879 to Miss Renda Peterson, who is also a native of Norway. To this union six children have been born, as follows : Annie, Peter, Helford, John, Victor and Mamie. The family are members of the Lutheran church. Mr. Johnson is independent in his political views, and takes a strong interest in public affairs. He has served as a member of the town board and was active in the organization of the township.

ISAAC N. JOHNSON. It is profitable as well as interesting to recount the experiences and recollections of the pioneers of any country, and especially while they are still fresh in the minds of the men who form the subject of the early history of a community. Among the earliest settlers of Johnstown township. Grand Forks county, North Dakota, none is deserving more particular mention than the venerable gentleman whose name heads this review.

Mr. Johnson was born in Monroe county. New York, October 8, 1825. His parents were Newton and Emily (Demming) Johnson, who were natives of Orange county. New York, and Hartford, Connecticut, respectively. The father was a farmer, and was reared from the age of three years in Seneca county, was a farmer, and was reared from the age of three years in Seneca county, New York, and spent his life there, with the exception of ten years spent at Charli, Monroe county, being one of the first settlers of Seneca county, locating there in 1797, at which time his parents settled there. His death occurred September 9, 1854. The grandfather of our subject was Isaac Johnson, a native of New Jersey, who participated in the Revolutionary war, and his father. Jasper Johnson, was one of the first settlers in Newark, New Jersey, going to that place from Long Island, but was originally from Connecticut. The father of Jasper Johnson was one of the pilgrims who came over from England shortly after the arrival of the Mayflower. The Johnson's have been mostly farmers and merchants as far back as the family can be traced.

Isaac N. Johnson was reared and educated in the state of New York, attending school and working on the farm until he reached manhood. He then farmed in that state until 1876. He then devoted three years to life and fire insurance business. On September 9. 1879, he arrived in Johnstown township. Grand Forks county. North Dakota, and soon after filed a homestead claim and a tree claim to the north half of section 21. He took up his residence thereon, and has since made it his home. He was among the first settlers of the township. his brother and one other settler only living between his home and Forest river. The township was not organized until the following year, when it was called "Johnstown." Mr. Johnson was chairman of the board of judges who were appointed on organization, and was elected justice of the peace. The village of Johnstown now stands on his old homestead.

Mr. Johnson was married, in 1849, to Matilda Hutchins, a native of Ovid, Seneca county. New York. To this union two children were born, their son. Wilber H.. being the only one living. The mother died in 1896. Mr. Johnson was married to Mrs. Mary A. (Ray) Lindsey, in 1897. Mr. Johnson has been a member of the Presbyterian church since 1842, and has been a Republican since the organization of that party in 1856.

HON. MARTIN N. JOHNSON, Petersburg, North Dakota, was born on a farm in Racine county, Wisconsin, in March, 1850. His father, the Rev. Nelson Johnson, was born in Norway and came to this country in 1839 and was married here to Anna Selheim, a native of Norway. He was a Methodist Episcopal clergyman for twenty-five years. He was also a farmer and kept close to the soil. The family moved to Iowa in 1850, and there the subject of this article was reared to manhood and educated for his life work. He was prepared for college and attended the Upper Iowa University at Fayette. From that excellent school he went to the State University and took the full four-years classical course there and was graduated with the class of 1873. He became a teacher after his graduation and taught for two years in the California Military Academy at Oakland. In 1875 he returned to Iowa and was elected to the legislature from Winneshiek county. This was his first entry into politics, he being twenty-five years old at that time. The next year he was a presidential elector on the Republican ticket and helped to elect President Hayes. In 1877 he was elected a senator in the state legislature and served four years in that capacity. In 1882 he came to North Dakota. He settled on un-surveyed public land and opened a farm where he still resides, near what is now the village of Petersburg, and twenty-two miles from Larimore, which was then the nearest railroad station.

The country was wild prairie for miles around, and the habitation that sheltered our subject from the weather the first winter was a sod shanty, such as the first settlers usually built and used in that country at that time. much of the farming and other work in those days was done with oxen, and Mr. Johnson used some oxen, but depended mainly on horses. Today he owns a farm of two thousand five hundred acres. He cultivates about one thousand acres, has as much more fenced in for pastures, and has about five hundred acres in meadow and prairie. He has large and commodious barns with room for one hundred and twenty-five head o£ cattle and horses. He owns a grist-mill and owns a cream separator which is operated by a gasoline engine. Butter from the Johnson farm sells readily for two cents more than the best creamery, which bespeaks its quality.

One of the striking features of the farm which takes the eye of the visitor to the place is the grain elevator built from original plans prepared by Mr. Johnson and constructed under his own supervision. A technical description would puzzle the reader, but as an elevator for his farm, and as adapted to the uses it serves, one can hardly imagine an improvement. It has a capacity of thirty thousand bushels in twenty-four bins, and uses no machinery-only gravity-to move the grain, hence its name, the "Gravity Elevator." Mr. Johnson also has some fine-bred stock, especially Jersey cattle and Percheron horses.

For the first four years after his arrival in the territory of Dakota, Mr. Johnson devoted all his attention to farming. In 1886 he was elected district attorney, and again in 1888, serving four years in that capacity. In 1889 he was sent as a delegate to the constitutional convention at Bismarck, and was a hard-working and faithful member of that important body. He was chairman of t and faithful member of that important body. He was chairman of the committee on corporations and had a hand in the shaping of legislation on prohibition and education. That year he was a candidate for the United States senate before the first legislature, and in the Republican caucus had forty-two votes out of the eighty cast, and was entitled to the united vote of the party in the joint convention. The other thirty-eight Republican votes were divided among seven competitors who finally combined with ten Democrats and thus secured his defeat. This ungenerous treatment, however, so far from eliminating Mr. Johnson from the field as a leader of the people made him in some respects the strongest man in the new state. In 1890 he was sent to the United States congress as a representative, and was three times re-nominated by acclamation, and has served eight years in the lower house of congress, alike to his credit and to the satisfaction of the people. He has held a prominent place in the arena of politics, and has served on .some of the most important house committees, among them being those on coinage, weights and measures, and ways and means. He stood consistently for sound money and a protective tariff.

Mr. Johnson is a devoted member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and has served as a member of the general conference of that church, which was held in Chicago during the month of May, 1900. Our subject and Miss Stella White were married in 1879. She is a daughter of Amos White, and her ancestors have lived in America for two hundred and fifty years. She is a lady of many charms and graces and is a graduate of the University of Iowa, from the same course her husband followed. They are the parents of four children: Edyth and Nellie, born in Iowa; Ralph, in Dakota; and Florence, in Washington, D. C.

In visiting Mr. Johnson's farm and home one cannot but be impressed with his genial manner and kindness; his love of family and home, and his firmness in standing for those principles which he believes right. A more pleasant hour can seldom be spent than with him on the farm.

DR. SAMUEL PAIGE JOHNSON, the pioneer dentist of the city of Grand Forks, and the second to locate within the limits of the state, is one of the most widely known men in North Dakota.

Dr. Johnson is a native of Essex county. New York, and was born February 4, 1852. His parents, Samuel and Lura (Fisher) Johnson, were natives of New York, and the father died when our subject was an infant. To the public schools of his native state, principally the union free schools of West Port, our subject is indebted for his preliminary education. In 1873 he went to Minneapolis, Minnesota, and there entered the State University, and was in attendance at that institution for three years. In 1877 he began the study of dentistry in the Minneapolis Dental College, having studied prior to that time for three years under the instruction of Dr. Bowman, of Minneapolis. He began the practice of his profession in Minneapolis, and continued there three years, until he came to Grand F three years, until he came to Grand Forks in the spring of 1881. He opened an office in Grand Forks and has continued to practice there since.

In 1887 Dr. Johnson took a special course of lectures under Dr. Howard, of Chicago , and has been a constant student of the art and science to which he has devoted so much attention. He is a member of the State Dental Society of North Dakota, and was secretary for seven years of the state dental examining board. He has made a success of his profession, and has built up a large and well established practice. The first wife of Dr. Johnson was Miss Lucy A. Pierce, whom he married in Minnesota in 1881. She died in 1887, leaving no children, and Dr. Johnson was again married in 1889 in the state of Wisconsin to Miss Laura B. Bowman. To Dr. and Mrs. Johnson two children have been born, one son and one daughter. Dr. Johnson is a highly esteemed member of the community, and is popular in social circles. He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and of the American Yeomen. He has attained a degree of renown for his inimitable lectures and impersonations, and is well known throughout the state, as well as in the neighboring states of Minnesota and Wisconsin , where he has attracted attention by his humorous productions from the platform.

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