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

JOHN MAGUIRE, a leading pioneer of Harvey township. Grand Forks county, has won for himself an enviable place in the esteem and confidence of the entire community in which he has so long made his home.

Mr. Maguire was born in Lanark county, Canada, February 9, 1847. His parents, Michael and Ann (Diffley) Maguire, were natives of Ireland and emigrated to America while still in their youth. They were married in Canada and there the father died in 1872 and the mother in 1888 They were the parents of a family of seven sons and one daughter, all but one of whom are still living, five being residents of North Dakota.

Our subject was reared in Canada and came to the United States in 1865, first locating in Pennsylvania. He returned to Canada in 1868 and in 1871 went to Minnesota and took up his residence in Mankato. He went to Sioux City, Iowa, but soon returned to Mankato, and in 1882 he came to Grand Forks county, where he has since resided. He is the owner of a valuable property and has gained the esteem and respect of all with whom he has come in contact during his long residence in the county. He is an energetic and industrious worker and is regarded as one of the substantial citizens of the county and a valued member of the community.

Mr. Maguire was married, in 1881, to Miss Maggie Faughnan, who is also a native of Canada . They have one son, John J. The family worships at the Catholic church, of which they are devout members. Mr. Maguire is township supervisor and has been school clerk for many years and for six years justice of the peace.

ANGUS F. McDONALD. This gentleman is widely known as an early settler and prosperous farmer of Turtle River township. Grand Forks county. He located there among the first settlers and has remained and aided in making that region famous as an agricultural district, hie now conducts an extensive farm and has gained his possessions single handed and is one of the deservedly popular citizens of his community.

Our subject is a native of Ontario, Canada, and was born March 13, 1845. His parents, Finnin and Mary (McDonald) McDonald, were natives of Scotland and Ontario, respectively, and the father emigrated to Canada with his parents about 1830. He grew to manhood in Canada and followed farming there until 1869, when he went to Glyndon, Minnesota, and his death occurred at Crookston in 1891. The mother died in 1880. This worthy couple reared nine children, four sons and five daughters, of whom two sons and two daughters now reside in North Dakota.

Mr. McDonald passed his boyhood and early youth in his native place and at the age of sixteen years went to Peshtigo, Wisconsin, where he remained four years and then moved to Stillwater, Minnesota. He followed lumbering and railroad work there and in 1869 came to Grand Forks, North Dakota, and from there followed the river in the boat service six years. He entered a preemption claim to land in Turtle River township, Grand Forks county, in 1874, and has made his residence there since that date. He now has eighteen hundred acres of choice land, all of which is well improved, and he has met with unbounded success in his calling.

Our subject was married, in 1880, to Maggie Ferry, a sister of Michael Ferry, a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this work. Mr. and Mrs. Mc Donald are the parents of five children, who are named as follows: .Finnin M., Peter A., John, Mary L. and Annie. Mr. Mc Donald and family are members of the Catholic church and take an active interest in the work of the denomination. Mr. Mc Donald has served on the township board in Turtle River township and has held other local offices, and his public spirit has never been called in question.

JOHN A. McDONALD, one of the pioneers of Turtle River township. Grand Forks county, was born in the province of Ontario, Canada, May 4, 1852, and is a brother of Angus McDonald, a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this volume, he was reared in Canada to the age of sixteen years, and in 1868 came to the United States and worked for the Northern Pacific Railroad in Minnesota. He soon returned to Canada, but in 1872 came with the family to Fargo, North Dakota, and worked for a year and a half in the construction department of the Northern Pacific Railroad. In 1876 he took up the quarter-section where he now lives as a homestead and has continued to live there ever since. He is now the owner of a half-section of valuable lands, upon which he has placed permanent improvements.

Mr. Mc Donald was married, in 1880, to Mary Harvey, a daughter of William Harvey (deceased). Mr. and Mrs. Mc Donald are the parents of three children, named as follows: Ethel E., Laura A. and Agnes J. All members of the family are communicants of the Catholic church. In politics Mr. Mc Donald is a Republican and has been chosen to many of the local offices. He is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America and is highly respected and esteemed in the community in which he lives.

MATHEW McGINNlS, who enjoys the distinction of being one of the oldest resident pioneers of Grand Forks county. North Dakota, is successfully pursuing farming on three hundred and nineteen acres of land in Harvey township. He was born in county Louthe, Ireland, September 8, 1844.

The parents of our subject, Thomas and Ann (Skelly) McGinnis, were natives of Ireland and passed their lives there, and our subject was reared and educated m his native isle. He came to America in 1869 and located in Connecticut and after one year moved to Minnesota, and in 1871 squatted on the land on which he now resides, and in 1874 entered claim to land as a pre-emption. He was the first settler on the river north of Grand Forks and south of Pembina, and his farm comprises over three hundred acres of good land, including one hundred acres of timber land. His home is pleasantly situated and is comfortable in every particular, and he has met with remarkable success in his calling.

Mr. McGinnis was married in Ireland , in 1869, to Catherine Blunt. One daughter has been born to Mr. and Mrs. McGinnis, upon whom they have bestowed the name of Maggie. Mr. McGinnis assisted in the organization of his township and served as county commissioner from 1876 to 1882. He also served on the township board and in numerous school offices, and is a man of most active public spirit. He and his family are consistent members of the Catholic church and are held in the highest esteem in the community in which they have spent the past quarter of a century. Mr. McGinnis is one of the oldest settlers living in North Dakota , and he braved the dangers of pioneer life as well as the hardships, and after having labored persistently for many years he has succeeded in acquiring a valuable property and an enviable reputation. His farm is one of the best in that locality and bears little semblance to the land as he first beheld it in the days of the trapper and the huntsman and the land as nature made it.

ARTHUR McINTYRE. In the vast agricultural interests of North Dakota a leading part is taken by the farmers of Grand Forks county. Prominent among this number may be mentioned Arthur Mclntyre. He is a man of enterprising spirit, energetic and possessed of intelligence and honesty and is deserving of a place in the annals of the state. His home is in Grand Forks township and he has acquired a good fortune.

Our subject is a native of county Renfrew, Canada, and was born August 20, 1853. His parents, Arthur and Charlotte (Childerhose) Mclntyre, were natives of North Ireland and emigrated to Canada about 1842 and spent their lives there. The father died in 1892, but the mother is still living. They were the parents of twelve children, of whom our subject and four sisters reside in Grand Forks county. North Dakota. The grandfather o Grand Forks county. North Dakota. The grandfather of our subject, James Mclntyre, died in Canada.

Mr. Mclntyre was reared and educated in Canada and went to North Dakota in 1888. He purchased the quarter-section of land on which he now resides, and he has placed valuable improvements there, including a handsome brick house, one of the finest in the county. Every appointment of the home evidences culture and refinement and all conveniences for the family are carefully looked after. Mr. Mclntyre is one of the substantial men of his community and may well be proud of the result of his labors in North Dakota.

Our subject was married, in 1896, to Miss Aggie Smith, a native of Canada also. Mrs. Mclntyre presides over the household with true dignity and bears a fair share of the good management of the home, which has such pleasing results. Mr. Mclntyre is a gentleman of active public interest and keeps pace with the times and casts his influence for good government and social improvement.

JAMES MURPHY, one of the earliest settlers of Ferry township, still resides in said township, where he has a pleasant home surrounded by all the conveniences and most of the comforts of modern farm life.

Mr. Murphy was born in county Wexford, Ireland, April 15, 1852. His parents. Arthur and Mary (Thorp) Murphy, were natives of county Wexford. They were farming people, and came to America, in 1852, and settled in Lanark county. Upper Canada. In 1880 they came to Grand Forks county and purchased land in Ferry township. Here they farmed for several years, and then moved to Grand Forks, where the father died in 1891. The mother still resides in that city. They were the parents of two sons and two daughters, all living in the United States.

The subject of this biography was reared in Canada, where he received a fair education and learned the baker's trade. He followed his trade in Canada for four and a half years, and then, in 1878, came to Grand Forks. He only remained a short time, but soon afterward returned to Grand Forks county and purchased land in 1880. The land was all wild, and there was little evidence of civilization in Ferry township, where he took up his residence. Today he is the owner of a valuable farm of two hundred and fifty acres, all well improved and under a high state of cultivation.

Mr. Murphy was married in 1876, to Miss Ann Sherlock. Mrs. Murphy is also a native of Canada . They have ten children, named as follows : G. Joseph, Mary, Maggie. James. Jr., Annie, Arthur, Hellen, Michael, Elizabeth and Isabella. They are all members of the Catholic church, and the family is highly respected in the community. Mr. Murphy has taken an active part in public affairs of a local nature, and has served as supervisor and chairman of the board. He has been a county commissioner since 1891, and has held a number of school and township offices. In political faith he is a Republican.

JOHN NAGLE, one of the pioneer settlers of Ferry township. Grand Forks county, resides on section 1, and has acquired a comfortable competence and an enviable reputation. His life and labors in North Dakota extend over a period of nearly a quarter of a century and he has always been found standing on the side of right and justice and manifesting the true spirit of American progress.

Our subject was born in Ontario, Canada, June 5, 1848, and was a son of William and Eliza J. (Nugent) Nagle, further notice of whom appears in the sketch of William Nagle, brother of our subject. Mr. Nagle was reared and educated in Canada and followed farming there and also worked in the woods and in the fall of 1877 went to North Dakota. In the fall of that year he filed claim to the land on which he now resides and has continued his residence since that date. He now has three quarter-sections of land, all of which is fully improved and he has placed valuable improvements thereon and conducts the farm economically and profitably. He was one of the very first settlers of that section and saw many Indians during the first few years of his residence there.

Our subject was married, in 1880, to Amelia O'Brien, a native of Canada . Mrs. Nagle was a daughter of John and Annora (O' Donnell) O'Brien, who were natives of Ireland and came to Canada in 1847 and from there went to Grand Forks, North Dakota , in 1872. They settled on the Minnesota side of the Red river, and there spent the remainder of their lives. Mr. and Mrs. Nagle are the parents of ten children, named in order of birth as follows: Elizabeth J. Ellen, Annora F., Annie, Thomas, John, William, Mary, Amelia and Sylvester E. The family are consistent members of the Catholic church and are well and favorably known. Mr. Nagle is a .gentleman of true citizenship and has served as school treasurer and assisted in the organization of his township. He has a host of friends and enjoys the confidence of all.

WILLIAM NAGLE, one of the early pioneers of Grand Forks county, enjoys a comfortable home and the highest regard of his associates. He has devoted his life to agricultural pursuits and his present estate is successfully managed and ranks among the best cultivated tracts of land in his vicinity. He resides on section 12 in Ferry township, near the town of Manvel. North Dakota.

Our subject is a native of Canada , and was born November 13, 1851. His parents, William and Eliza J. (Nugent) Nagle, were also natives of Canada, where the father died. The mother survives and makes her home in Grand Forks county, North Dakota. The family of children born to this worthy couple consisted of three sons and three daughters, of whom two sons and one daughter now reside in North Dakota.

Mr. Nagle was reared and educated in Canada and remained there until 1878, when he went to Grand Forks and entered claim to land west of Manvel of the same year. In 1889 purchased the farm he now owns, where he has resided since that date, and now has five hundred and sixty acres of good land, on which he has erected a complete set of substantial farm buildings and has added other valuable improvements and carefully and economically conducts the estate.

Our subject was married in North Dakota in 1882 to Sarah Doyl, a native also of Canada . Mr. and Mrs. Nagle are the parents of eight children now living, who are named in order of birth as follows: William, Isabella, Walter, Thomas, Maggie, Leshe, Edward and Bertha I. The family are members of the Catholic church and enjoy the highest esteem of the community where they make their home. Mr. Nagle is a man who keeps abreast of the times in all public affairs, and stands for the principles of the Republican party in politics. He is firm in his adherence to the right, and to his friends, and his popularity is well merited.

WILLIAM C. NASH, who enjoys the distinction of being the first to settle in the vicinity of Grand Forks, is now one of the widely known and most honored men of the state. He resides at East Grand Forks on a pleasant farm, where he located in 1870.

Our subject was born in Newcastle. Pennsylvania, June I. 1833, and was a son of Ephraim and Lois (Warner) Nash. His parents were natives of New York, and they removed to Pennsylvania and engaged in farming, and later returned to New York, where they died. The family originally came from Massachusetts. Our subject has three brothers, two of whom now reside in Washington and one in Minnesota.

Our subject passed his boyhood in New York and Michigan, attending school at Adrian, of the latter state, for three years, and in 1854 he went to Harrisburg. Kentucky, where he followed general merchandising until 1860. He then accompanied General Hatch on his campaign through' the northwest after Indians, and he accompanied the expedition as far as Pembina, North Dakota,  spending the winters of 1863-64 in Forts Garrey and Pembina, Canada, and while there acted as agent for the government, and succeeded in bringing Little Six and Medicine Bottle, two Indian chiefs, back to the United States under arrest. He spent the following summer in Chicago, and in the fall was appointed suttler at Fort Abercrombie, and held that position five years, during which time he was contracting, and in 1870 built the post at Pembina, and made the first brick used in Dakota. He went to East Grand Forks in 1870, and entered claim to the land on which he now resides, and he was the first settler of that region, and has held continuous residence there since that date. He was engaged in carrying United States mail in the early days from Fort Abercrombie to Pembina, and used dogs and sleds for the purpose, and he served four years as postmaster in East Grand Forks. His home was used by the early settlers as a temporary fort.

Our subject was married in St. Peter , Minnesota , in 1869, to Miss Ida V. Slaughter, a native of Minnesota . Her family was one of the old families of Virginia, Seven children, four sons and three daughters, have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Nash. Mr. Nash has been a member of the Masonic fraternity for the past forty-three years, and is well known in Masonic circles. He is a Democrat politically, but never sought public preferment or filled public office.

JOHN NELSON. This gentleman is acting as register of deeds of Grand Forks County, to which office he has been twice elected. He is a man of sterling characteristics and is ably and faithfully discharging his official duties and is held in the highest esteem by all with whom he has to do.

Our subject is a native of Ireland, and was born in County Armagh, January 18, 1844, and is a son of David and Alice (Speer) Nelson, both of whom were natives of Ireland. The parents were farmers by occupation and spent their lives in Ireland. The father died in 1882 and the mother in 1895.  Mr. Nelson is the eldest of three sons, and is the only one in the United States. He was reared and educated in his native isle and spent two years in Armagh College, and then began his business career as clerk in a general store. He emigrated to America in 1868. landing at New York, and at once located in Henry County, Illinois, where he established a mercantile business in Morristown and remained there three years, and then removed to Cambridge in the same County, and there followed farming until he removed to Dakota in 1882. He located in Larimore, Grand Forks County, when he went to North Dakota, and purchased land and also acted as agent for the Standard Oil Company and the Great Northern Express Company, and also handled wood, ice, and general dray business. He continued thus engaged until his election to his present office as register of deeds in 1896. His re-election in 1898 is best evidence of his efficient work and popularity. 

Our subject was married, in 1868. to Miss Charlotte E. Mellroy, a native of Ireland. Five sons and one daughter have been born to Mr. and Mrs.  Nelson, named as follows: Clement W., Horace C, Allice A., Albert T., Henry R. and Vance W. R., all of whom are living. Mr. Nelson is a member of the Masonic fraternity. He is an active participant in public affairs of local importance, and while a resident of Larimore acted as alderman for ten years and was also a member of the school board.  Since attaining his citizenship in the United States he has been identified with the Republican party politically, and is stanch for his party principles.

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