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

EDWARD BLACKWELL, manager of the Gull River Lumber Company, at Cooperstown, North Dakota, is a man of much business ability.  He was born in Waukeska, Wisconsin, August 25, 1863.

Our subject's father, Charles Blackwell. was a native of New York, and was one of the pioneers of southern Wisconsin.  He was a soldier in the Civil war, and died in a hospital at Memphis, Tennessee.  The mother of our subject bore the maiden name of Jane Moon.

Edward Blackwell was the youngest of four children, two sons and two daughters, and he was reared and educated in his native city, and at the age of sixteen years went to Topeka, Kansas, where he accepted a position with the Kansas Lumber Company, remaining in their employ three years.  He then returned to Wisconsin for a short time, and then went to Fergus Falls. Minnesota, where he was employed with the John McCullough Lumber Company about one year, and then went to Sanborn, North Dakota, and from thence to LaMoure. He soon afterward traveled as lumber salesman through Nebraska, and in the spring of 1885 located at Cooperstown, accepting the position of manager for the Gull River Lumber Company, with which firm he has been connected continuously since. He has successfully conducted the business in that city, and is known as a man of good business principles. 

Our subject was married in St. Clair County.  Michigan, in 1887, to Miss Mary Davis, a daughter of William H. Davis, a farmer of that county. Two children have been born to bless the home of Mr.  and Mrs. Blackwell, named Lillian and Ruth. Mr.  Blackwell is a member of the Masonic fraternity, and Ancient Order of United Workmen. In political sentiment he is a Republican.

JOSEPH BUCHHElT. Griggs county is well known for her pleasant and well regulated farms, and one of these fine tracts is owned and operated by the subject of this review. He is a pioneer settler of that region and has aided materially in bringing the country to its high state of civilization. Mr. Buchheit resides in section 10 in Willow township, and has acquired a comfortable home by dint of faithful efforts and good management.

Our subject was born on a farm in Waterloo county, Ontario, Canada, May 2, 1854. and was the seventh in a family of thirteen children, six sons and seven daughters, born to Jacob and Mary (Buchheit) Buchheit. His parents were natives of Germany, and later emigrated to America, and died at an advanced age in Indiana.

When our subject was eight years of age he removed with his parents to St. Joseph county, Indiana, and they settled on a farm near South Bend, where he attended school and assisted his father until sixteen years of age, when he took a position with Clark, Whitson & Company, of Mishawaka, Indiana, and remained in their employ five years. He then returned home and remained for some time, and in 1880 went to Griggs county, North Dakota. After looking over the county he returned to Mishawaka, and followed clerking there about one year, and in the spring of 1882 again went to Griggs county. North Dakota. He then filed claim to the northeast quarter of section 10, in Willow township, as a pre-emption, since which time he has resided thereon. He is now the possessor of seventeen hundred acres of land, all of which is well improved, and from a limited capital he has gained a comfortable income and is numbered among the substantial men of his locality.

Our subject was married in Fargo, North Dakota, in 1887, to Miss Ella M. Minnick, a native of Indiana, and a daughter of Jacob and Mary Minnick. Mrs. Buchheit's father was a farmer by occupation. Mr. Buchheit takes an active part in local affairs of a public nature, and has held various offices in his township and county. He is the present chairman of the board of county commissioners, having been elected in that capacity on the independent ticket. He is a man who has the interests of his community at heart, and enjoys the confidence and esteem of his fellowmen.

WILL H. CARLETON, County judge of Griggs County, is a gentleman of excellent characteristics, and is highly esteemed throughout that section. He is one of the pioneer settlers of Cooperstown, and has been identified with its financial and social growth, and is deservedly popular as a public-spirited citizen.

Mr. Carleton was born on a farm in St. Clair County, Michigan, December 16, 1853, and was the only son in a family of three children born to Moses F. and Mary (Latham) Carleton. His father was an attorney by profession and was a prominent man in St. Clair County. He served two years in the Fourth Michigan Infantry during the Civil war. The mother of our subject was a native of New York.

Our subject was the eldest in the family of children, and after completing his studies he served as deputy County clerk in his native County for several years, and afterward began reading law in the office of Avery Brothers, at Port Huron, Michigan. . He returned to the farm in the late '70's, and remained two years, and in 1882 went to Griggs County, North Dakota. He filed on land soon after his arrival there and became one of the pioneer settlers of the County.

Our subject was married, in St. Clair County, Michigan, during the late '70s, to Miss Eliza J.  Davis, a native of that County, and a daughter of William H. Davis. Mrs. Carleton's father was a prominent farmer of that County. Mr. Carleton is a man of exceptional ability, and enjoys the confidence of the people. He has served as clerk of the village since its organization, and he served two years as district attorney of the County, and was appointed judge of Griggs County in 1899. He is prominent in the Modern Woodmen of America lodge, and is the clerk of the local camp. Politically Mr. Carleton is a Republican.

T. J. COOPER, now retired from active labors, is the possessor of extensive farm lands in the vicinity of Cooperstown, and makes his home in that city among pleasant surroundings that are the result of a well-spent career. He was one of the pioneers of that region, and was associated with his brother many years in business enterprises, but for the past ten or twelve years has conducted his business alone, and is enjoying his declining years in retirement, although he personally oversees his land interests.

Our. subject was born in Vermont, September 3.  1830. and was a son of Thomas and Caroline (Baker) Cooper. His father was a native of Vermont.  and was a farmer by occupation, and was one of the pioneer settlers of Michigan, where he removed with his family when our subject was but two years of age. They resided there for a number of years, and then located in Minnesota.

T. J. Cooper was the third in a family of eleven children, and was reared in Michigan, and later engaged in farming in Minnesota. He went from there to Colorado and followed mining a number of years in company with his brother, R. C. Cooper, and they continued in business together till 1889, when the partnership was dissolved. Our subject owns two thousand acres of land in the vicinity of Cooperstown, on which he has valuable improvements.

Our subject was married in Red Wing, Minnesota, in 1858, to Miss Mary Washburn, a native of Illinois. Two children have been born to Mr.  and Mrs. Cooper, as follows: Charles L., now a mining engineer of Victor, Colorado; and Julia L., now Mrs. Merriell, of Fruita, Colorado. Her husband is engaged in fruit growing and lumbering.  Mr. Cooper is a member of the Masonic fraternity.  He is a Republican in political sentiment, and is a man who keeps pace with the times, but does not seek public preferment.

EDWIN H. GROVEN, a pioneer merchant of Hannaford, is one of the leading business men of Griggs county. He has built up an extensive patronage and is regarded as a man of practical nature and business capacity. His general merchandise store is fully stocked and he occupies a modern structure of good design and finish.

Our subject was born on a farm in Norway, February 7, 1858. His parents, Halvor and Isabelle (Bjorn) Groven, were natives of Norway, and his father was a farmer by occupation and was a man of more than ordinary prominence in his native land. Our subject was the eldest in a family of six children and resided in his native land until 1871, when he came to America and located at Stoughton, Dane county. Wisconsin, where he worked on a farm near Koshkonong Lake about eighteen months. He went from there to Dakota county. Minnesota, where he worked on a farm one year and then went to Minneapolis, where he attended school one term, and after completing the course went to St. Paul, and was engaged by C. E. Thomas, dealer in general merchandise, as collector. He acted in that capacity about eighteen months and in 1880 went to Griggs county, North Dakota. He shipped horses there for sale and continued in the horse business for a number of years. He purchased the general stock of R. C. Brophy, in Hannaford, in the latter part of the '80s. since which time he has conducted the business with eminent success.

Our subject was married, in Dakota county, Minnesota, in 1887, to Alice Starley, a native of Norway, who came to America when a child. Mr. and Mrs. Groven are the parents of two children, Isabelle and Oscar. Mr. Groven is regarded as one of the most enterprising and successful men of Griggs county, and is widely known as an old settler of that region. He is a Republican in political faith and stands staunchly for the principles of his party, but does not take an active part in public affairs. His strict attention to his business and judicious management have made for him a fortune and a deservedly high standing among the people.

NIELS HEMMINGSON. one of the most progressive and influential citizens of Griggs county, is successfully pursuing agriculture in Greenfield township and is a man of careful methods and practical nature, he makes his home on section l0, of Greenfield township, where he located in pioneer days, and his farm is well improved and convenient to the village of Hannaford. North Dakota.

Our subject was born on the picturesque island of Moen, Denmark, December 22, 1845. and was the tenth in a family of eleven children, seven sons and four daughters, born to Hemming and Caren (Hanson) Rasmussen, both of whom were natives of Denmark. His father was a soldier in the regular army of Denmark and served six years as corporal. His parents died in their native land at an advanced age.

Mr. Hemmingson completed his education in his native land and remained at home until twenty-two years of age, when he emigrated to America to seek his fortune in the New World. He located at Ford county, Illinois, where he worked on a farm for some time and from thence went to Manistee, Michigan, and then went into the pineries and worked during fifteen winters and spent his summers at farm labor in Wisconsin and Minnesota. He went to Griggs county. North Dakota, in 1883 and filed claim to the land on which he now resides. He went to Dakota without means, but is now the fortunate possessor of four hundred and eighty acres of land and has added such improvements to the place as entitle it to rank among the foremost farms of Griggs county.

Our subject was married, in Racine county, Wisconsin in 1873, to Miss Mary Skarie, a native of Norway. Mrs. Hemmingson was born in 1843 and came to America when a child aged four years. One child has been born to bless the home of Mr. and Mrs. Hemmingson, Walter, who at present has charge of the home farm. Mr. Hemmingson is a man who keeps pace with the times in all public affairs and is active in his labors for the advancement of his community. He was appointed county commissioner during territorial days and served on that body twelve years. He has held numerous offices in his township and the honor of christening the township w-as conferred upon him. He is a Republican in political sentiment.

HON. WILLIAM T. McCULLOCH, an extensive land owner and successful farmer of Griggs County, is one of the pioneers of that region, and has acquired his possessions by judicious management and industrious habits. He is a man of active public spirit and his labors for the advancement of his county and township have gained him many friends.  His present home is on section 14, in township 147, range 60.

Our subject was born in Hamilton. Ontario, Canada. November 1, 1842, and was a son of James and Elizabeth McCulloch. He removed to Blanchard township, in Pearth county. Canada, with his parents when he was a young child, and there grew to manhood, and made his home with his parents until twenty-four years of age, when he began farming on rented land in Pearth county, and remained there in that vocation until 1880, when he went to Barnes county, North Dakota, and settled on land northwest of Sanborn, where he lived two years, and then removed to his present land in Griggs county, which he had previously entered claim to.  He erected a shanty thereon and has resided on that tract continuously since 1882. He is now the owner of seventeen hundred acres of land in that vicinity, and has met with unbounded success in his calling.

Our subject was married, at the age of twenty-four years, to Miss Sarah A. Sonsborn, a native of Canada, who was born in 1849. Mrs. McCulloch is a daughter of Andrew and Elizabeth Sonsborn, and her father was a farmer by occupation. Mr.  and Mrs. McCulloch have been the parents of six children, as follows: James A., Elizabeth J., William A., Graham, Maggie and Norman. The eldest daughter, now Mrs. George Pratt, resides north of Cooperstown, North Dakota. Mr. McCulloch served as a state representative from 1891-95, during which time a special session was called to make an appropriation for the World's Columbian Exposition. He is a man who casts his vote and influence for the principles which he thinks will best benefit his county, and he is a leader among his associates, and as a man of extensive financial affairs he is recognized among the leading men of northern Griggs County.

NELSE C. RUKKE, belongs to that class of enterprising and intelligent farmers whose homes are places of social and mental comfort, and whose work as developers of the country is a credit alike to themselves and the community. His estate is in Pilot Mound township, and his pleasant residence is situated in a picturesque spot on the banks of the Sheyenne river, in section I. He was the first settler of that township, and is widely known and highly esteemed.

Our subject was born in Norway, December 4, 1840, and was the seventh in a family of twelve children, six sons and six daughters, born to Christian and Ture (Syverson) Rukke, both of whom died in Minnesota. A brother of our subject, Sever, was a member of the Sixth Minnesota Volunteer Infantry during the Civil war, and died in camp at Helena, Arkansas.

Mr. Rukke came to America with his parents when three years of age. and the family located on a farm in Rock County, Wisconsin, where he received his first educational training, and in 1857 removed with his parents to Brown County, Minnesota, and there grew to manhood and assisted his father on the farm until the breaking out of the Civil war. He enlisted in Company E, Second Minnesota Volunteer Infantry, at St. Peter, Minnesota, in April, 1861, and the regiment was consigned to the Fourteenth Army Corps, under command of General George Thomas. Mr. Rukke served four years, and was wounded at the storming of Missionary Ridge, November 24, 1863, and in consequence was confined in the hospital at Evansville, Indiana, six months. He participated in the battles of Mill Spring, Kentucky; Corinth, Mississippi; Shiloh; Perryville, Kentucky; Chickamauga. Chattanooga and others, and marched three months with Sherman from Dalton to Atlanta.

After his return from the war Mr. Rukke purchased a half-section of railroad land near his father's farm in Minnesota, and there engaged in farming for some years. He was elected County treasurer of Brown County, Minnesota, in 1870, and was elected in the same capacity three times, and after leaving that office he removed to St. Paul, where he became traveling representative for the Walter A. Woods Harvesting Machine Company, under Fuller & Johnson, general agents for the Northwest. He remained with them about six years, and then went to North Dakota and secured a position with Bayam & Hoiland, at Mayville. He was in their employ one year, and in 1884. in company with Mr. Hoiland, engaged in the machine business at Cooperstown, and were the pioneers in that line.  The following year our subject disposed of his interests to Knute Thompson & Finley, and he removed to his farm, where his family had resided since locating in the state. He has continued farming since, and is now the owner of five quarter-sections of well-improved land, all of which is located in Griggs County.

Our subject was married, in 1868. to Miss Guro Odegard, a native of Norway, who was born May 9, 1850, and was a daughter of Thore and Guro Odegard. Mrs. Rukke's father now resides in Cooperstown, North Dakota, and the mother died in that city in 1896, aged seventy-six years. Fight children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Rukke, as follows: Christian W. died at the age of five years; Agnes T.; Christian W.; Elma died at the age of twelve years;; Guy V.; Seward died at the age of three years; Nellie G. and Elma S. Mr. Rukke is prominent in public affairs in his township and County, and served on the first board of County commissioners after the County was organized, and has been chairman of the board of supervisors of his township for the past six years. He is a member of Rockwell Post, G. A. R., at Cooperstown, North Dakota. Politically he is a Republican, and stands firmly for the principles of his party.

PERCY R. TRUBSHAW, editor and proprietor of the "Griggs Courier," and the efficient postmaster of Cooperstown, North Dakota, is a gentleman of ability as a newspaper man, and a citizen of worth. He was born in the world's greatest metropolis, London, England, December 3. 1864.

The father of our subject, John J. Trubshaw, was also born in England, and was a civil engineer in his native country. He was very proficient in railroad construction, and was employed in that capacity in France about eight years. He is at present engaged in rice farming near Jennings, Louisiana. The mother of our subject bore the maiden name of Rose Howard, and she died when our subject was a small boy. The father afterward married Elizabeth E. Phillips.

Our subject resided in the north of England for a number of years and became an apprentice in the office of the "Cannock Advocate," and remained there four years. He emigrated to America in 1881, and went direct to Jamestown, North Dakota, arriving there September 21. He secured a position on the "Alert," and later worked on the "Capital," and subsequently worked on different papers throughout the state. He became manager of the New Rockford "Transcript" in 1885, and acted in that capacity for some time, and in the fall of 1886 went to Cooperstown and worked on the "Courier," and May 11, 1888, purchased the plant, since which time he has been editor and proprietor of the paper. He has met with success in his calling. and the paper is widely circulated, and is considered one of the bright exchanges of the newspaper world of North Dakota. Our subject was appointed postmaster of Cooperstown in 1897, by President McKinley, and is now acting in that capacity.

Our subject was married August 1, 1888, to Miss A. E. Haskell, a daughter of Captain A. Haskell, who resides northwest of Cooperstown on a farm. Mr. and Mrs. Trubshaw are the parents of one child, Maud A.  Mr. Trubshaw has served as justice of the peace in Cooperstown, and has also been a member of the school board. He is a man of intelligence and earnest in his labors for the welfare of his community, but his duties as editor and postmaster claim the greater part of his attention, and he cannot devote time to public affairs. Politically he is a stanch Republican. He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Ancient Order of United Workmen, and Modern Woodmen of America.