FRANK J. EBERL, a well-known and progressive farmer of Kidder county, whose home is located in township 140, range 72, was born in Wisconsin March 1, 1868. His father, Michael Eberl, was born in Germany and was a brewer. He came to America in i860, and in Wisconsin was married to Lydia Fermling. She was also a native of Germany, coming to America in i860. They were the parents of nine children, of whom Frank J. was the eldest. He was reared on the farm and went to work at the age of eight years, receiving limited schooling. When he was eleven years old his mother died and the family scattered, the children working out for themselves.

Mr. Eberl worked out until 1886 in Wisconsin and in that year came to Kidder county. North Dakota. He worked in different parts of the county for the first three years, and in 1889 took a tree claim and started farming for himself. In 1890 he took a pre-emption claim, and in 1893 converted this into a homestead claim. His means were very modest to begin with, but he has worked hard, and by careful management and good judgment has developed an excellent property. He is the owner of one hundred and sixty acres of land, and annually operates about one hundred and eighty acres in crops. He has a complete set of good farm buildings, his barn and granary being the best buildings of the kind in the county.

Mr. Eberl is a Republican in his political views and has taken an active interest in matters of a public nature. He attends all the conventions of his party in the county and is a well-known party man. He is esteemed and respected throughout the county for his industry, integrity and good fellowship. He is a member of the A. O. U. W.

GEORGE M. HOGUE. Among the younger business men of Kidder county who have rapidly risen to the front, may be mentioned Mr. Hogue. He is the popular druggist of Steele, and has followed his vocation there for many years and is very proficient in his line, and owns and operates the only drug store in the city.

Our subject was born on a farm in Guernsey county, Ohio, May 12, 1873, and was a son of S. A. and Cornelia (Farrel) Hogue, both of whom were of American descent and the mother a native of Ohio. The father was a farmer throughout his career, and served as a soldier in the Civil war four years.

Mr. Hogue was reared on the farm and attended the common schools, and at the age of nineteen years began farming for himself; but this venture proved a failure. The family moved to Dakota in 1884, and the father became an old settler and took government land. Our subject entered the drug store of Dr. L. C. Smith, at Steele, when twenty years of age, and clerked for him three years, and in 1896 purchased the store and established his own business. He has the largest and best stock of drugs of any store in the county, and in 1899 passed the examination and became a registered pharmacist. The store was established in 1881 by C. H. Dyer, who sold the same to Dr. Smith about 1885, and it was the second drug store established in Kidder county.

Our subject was married, in 1898, to Miss L. M.  Whitford, a native of Michigan of American descent. Her father, O. A. Whitford, was an old settler of Dakota. Mr. and Mrs. Hogue are the parents of one child, upon whom they have bestowed the name of Clara. The daughter was born in Steele, North Dakota, in 1899. Mr. Hogue has served one term as alderman, and has been elected as city clerk. He is actively interested in local affairs of a public nature, and is identified with the Republican party, politically. He has made many friends in North Dakota, and has successfully conducted his business in Steele.

CHARLES E. HURD, residing in Quinby township, operates one of the most extensive stock and grain farms in Kidder county. Mr. Hurd was born in Morning Sun, Iowa, March 29, 1858. His father, J. L. Hurd, was a druggist, and a native of Vermont. The Hurd family was originally from England, and settled in Vermont prior to the Revolutionary war. The mother of our subject, whose maiden name was Nancy Green, was born in Ohio. Her father, Thomas Green, was a native of Ireland and came to America just prior to the war of 1812. He was a soldier in that war and was taken prisoner with General Hulls army.

Charles E. Hurd was the youngest in a family of six children, and was reared in the village of Morning Sun and attended the village school. At the age of eighteen years he leased land and began farming in Iowa. He sold out his chattels in 1881 and went to Burlington, Iowa, and engaged in the wood and coal business, continuing there three years. In 1884 he disposed of all his Iowa interests and came to Kidder county. North Dakota, took up government land in township 141, range 72, and erected a claim shanty and barn, the latter built of sod. He owned four horses, three of them being blind. He also had about fifty dollars worth of farm machinery. He rented land the first year, and from eighty acres of wheat harvested eighteen hundred and four bushels. He improved his farm and in 1890 turned his attention largely to stock raising. He now conducts both departments, grain growing and stock, and has made a decided success. He cultivates annually about five hundred acres, and his stock interests yield about three thousand dollars per year. He is said to have the most extensive grain farm and stock ranch in Kidder county, and all his operations are conducted on a grand scale, according to modern methods. He is the owner of eight hundred acres of land and controls limitless range for his stock. His farm is equipped with modern conveniences, has seven miles of fencing and a five-acre grove, the best in the county.

Mr. Hurd was married, in 1878, to Miss Celia Allen. Mrs. Hurd spent her girlhood days in Iowa. Her father, Alfred Allen, was one of the earliest settlers of Dakota, and was of Irish descent. Mr. and Mrs. Hurd have three children. Mr. Hurd, though reared under Republican influences, is a Democrat, and takes a deep interest in the affairs of government, and is a public-spirited and patriotic citizen. He is a member of the A. O. U. W. He was among the earliest settlers of Kidder county, and to him is due great credit for the rapid development of the community and county.

ROBERT L. JOHNSTON, one of the substantial farmers of Kidder county, may be numbered among its pioneers, and deserves mention in the history of the early settlement of that section of North Dakota.

Mr. Johnston was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in January, 1850. His father, Robert Johnston, was, in his younger days, a cotton-goods manufacturer. He was born in Scotland, and came to America while still a young man. The mother of our subject was Mary Ann Kirk, before her marriage. She was reared to womanhood in Philadelphia. Her father, William Kirk, was a native of Scotland. The parents of our subject were married in Philadelphia. They became the parents of four children of whom Robert L. was the eldest. His parents moved to Ohio when he was a small child, and he was reared to manhood in Clinton county of that state, on a farm. He attended the public schools, and at the age of twenty-one years accompanied the family to Knox county, Missouri, where he began farming on his own account. In 1883 he went to Dakota, and located in Kidder county, taking up government land. For a time he worked for others, and in 1884 broke a portion of his own land, preparatory to putting in a crop. He met with many discouragements, common to pioneers, and in 1885 lost fifty acres of his first wheat crop by prairie fire. However, he afterwards regained rapidly, as he has raised some excellent crops, that of 1891 yielding twenty-two bushels of wheat to the acre. The crop of 1882, while only yielding only fifteen bushels to the acre, sold at $1.06 to $1.10 per bushel and made him a large profit. He now has one hundred acres of land under a high state of cultivation, and about eighty acres in pasture for his stock. He has fifteen head of grade horses, and is well-to-do in a financial way.

Mr. Johnston takes an active interest in public affairs, and is a stanch supporter of good government. He is Democratic in party faith, and has twice been the nominee for county offices. He takes a strong interest in educational matters, and has been a member of the school board for several years. He is a member in good standing of the Masonic fraternity, and is a popular citizen and valuable member of the community in which he lives.

NICKLAUS KAUTT. This gentleman has devoted his career to agricultural pursuits, and has met with unbounded success in his vocation since taking up his residence in North Dakota, and is now proprietor of one of the fine farms of township 140, range 71, in Kidder county.

Our subject was born in Germany, May 10, 1850. His father, William Kautt, was born in Germany, in October, 1817, and came to America with his family in 1853 and settled in McHenry county, Illinois, where he followed farming. The mother of our subject bore the maiden name of Maria Figen, and was of German descent, and was born in the same place as our subject. The mother died in America when our subject was but five years of age, and he was the second child in her family. The father afterward remarried and our subject had several half brothers and sisters.

Mr. Kautt was reared on a farm in McHenry county, Illinois, and attended the country schools and tile Catholic school at Johnsburg, Illinois, and remained at home part of the time until he was twenty-four years of age. He and the family went to Dakota county, Minnesota, in 1865, and our subject assisted his father and also worked for others, and in 1874 he left home and went to Minneapolis and worked in a lumber mill two years, and in 1876 went to Kavanaugh county, Michigan, where he worked for the government in clearing out a channel into Eagle harbor one summer, and then went into the lumber woods and was thus employed several years. He then spent one winter at bridge work in Duluth, and from there went to North Dakota in the spring of 1878, and went to Fargo where he purchased a team of horses with his savings, and then "squatted" on land and the team he afterward found was mortgaged and the sheriff took them away. He went to Tappen, Kidder county, in 1880, and took government land and built a claim shanty and made a home on section 22, in township 140, range 71, and then worked on the Troy farm at twenty dollars per month, and then hired breaking done on his own farm. He also worked on the Northern Pacific Railroad at section work and on the construction train, and in the fall of 1883 began permanent residence on his place, but he and his wife worked out the first year. Then followed years of success and failure each in turn, and it was not until 1896 that his success was assured. He now engages in grain farming and stock raising and dairying, and has met with unbounded success in diversified farming, and now has one hundred and sixty acres of well-improved land.

Our subject was married in the fall of 1883 to Miss Maria Ludwick, who was born in Austria, Germany, and came to America in October, 1880, with relatives who became early settlers of Dakota. Five children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Kautt, who are named as follows: Annie, Louisa, Katie, Willie and Lena. Mr. Kautt is a Democrat in political sentiment, and is an earnest worker for party principles and has attended numerous county conventions.

WILLIAM  L. KETCHUM, who has made a success of diversified farming in township 140, range 72. is one of the pioneer settlers of that locality. He was born on an island, in New Jersey, in 1853.

The father of our subject, Benjamin Ketchum, died when the boy was only two years of age. The mother was born and reared in New Jersey, and bore the maiden name of Levina Cocks. The grandmother related many stories of her ancestors of Revolutionary times.

Mr. Ketchum was the third in a family of four children, and was reared inGrand Rapids, Wood county, Wisconsin, where his mother moved with her brother in 1855, and they were among the pioneers of Wood county. Our subject left home at the age of eleven years, and worked on a farm south of Portage three years, and removed with the owner of the farm to another farm north of Madison, Wisconsin, and at the age of sixteen years he went to Long Island. New York, and learned the mason's trade, and then returned to Illinois and worked at his trade a few years. At the age of twenty-one he went into the pineries and spent several years lumbering, and worked on the log drives and rafted to Quincy, Illinois. He went to North Dakota in 1882 and bought a relinquishment of land north of Dawson, in township 140, range 72, and has made his home there since that date. Part of the farm is the old battle ground between Colonel Sibley's forces and the Sioux Indians in July, 1863, and Mr. Ketchum has found relics of the battle nearby. He worked for others the first three years, as he had no means with which to improve his farm, and in 1883 built a shanty on the place, and his first crop was raised in 1885. He now has a farm of six hundred and forty acres, and has a complete set of good farm buildings thereon, and all machinery for operating a model farm. He has engaged in wheat and flax raising and stock, and has fourteen head of horses on the farm.

Our subject was married, in 1876, to Miss Ella Stephens. Four children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Ketchum, and are named as follows: Edward, Joseph, Matthew and John. Mr. Ketchum has held various local offices, including a member of the school board, and takes an active part in public affairs. He is a member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen, and politically is a Republican

ROBERT NEWTON MAHIN. Sr. Persistent and honest industry always meets with success. In the life of this gentleman the leading characteristic is industry and with this he has ever coupled honesty and integrity of word and deed, and he is now proprietor of one of the fine farms of Kidder county, North Dakota, his home being located in township 140, range 70.

Our subject was born on a farm in Indiana in 1858. His father, Jabiz Mahin, was born in Ohio and was of Scotch descent, and was a soldier of the Civil war and participated in Morgan's raid. He was a farmer by occupation. The mother of our subject, who bore the maiden name of Abagail Augusta Knowlton, was a native of Maine. The parents of our subject were married in Indiana and reared a family of eight children, of whom our subject was the fourth in order of birth.

Mr. Mahin grew to manhood in Tippecanoe county. Indiana, near the battlefield of Tippecanoe, and attended the country schools. At the age of twenty-one he left home and worked at farm labor three years and in 1882 went to North Dakota and settled in Kidder county, where he entered claim to land and began farming. He built a claim shanty and had a team and plow and lived alone on his farm seven years and his first crop was forty-five acres of wheat and ten acres of oats, which was a good yield, but was followed by a poor yield the next season. He worked for others the first two years in North Dakota and thus provided means with which to make his start at farming his own land. He now owns three hundred and twenty acres of land, of which two hundred acres are under cultivation, and he has a complete set of substantial and commodious buildings and all equipments for operating a model farm, and has engaged in grain raising principally.

Our subject was married, in 1889, to Miss Susan Gutcher. Mrs. Mahin was born in Ohio in 1857 and was a daughter of Andrew Gutcher, a native of Germany . She was raised in Louisville, Ohio . One child has been born to Mr. and Mrs. Mahin, Robert N., who was born in Kidder county. North Dakota , December 25, 1895. Mr. Mahin is a Republican politically, and is a man of firm convictions and takes an active part in local affairs of importance.

JOHN NOONAN, the present popular and efficient sheriff of Kidder county, and one of the earliest settlers in the county, holds first rank among the enterprising agriculturists of the county. His farm is located in township 140, range 71.

John Noonan is a native of Ireland , and was born in 1860. His parents, John and Cecelia (Kilbred) Noonan, were farming people in the Emerald Isle, and our subject, the fifth child in a family of six children, was reared on the farm, and attended the country schools. At the age of twenty years he came to America . He went to Minneapolis and remained six months, and then, in March, 1881, he came to Kidder county. North Dakota . At that time the only signs of civilization between Jamestown and Bismarck were the railroad and section houses, excepting at Tappen, where the Troy farm was located. He took up government land in 1882, but was compelled to work for others as he had no means whatever on arrival in Dakota. He and his brother built a shanty 14x20 feet, on the line dividing their lands, and there they lived together and batched for some time. He raised his first crop in 1885, consisting of sixty acres of wheat, from which he harvested one thousand seven hundred bushels, some of the land yielding forty bushels to the acre. He suffered, however, some losses, as the year following this great crop he lost one hundred tons of hay by a prairie fire. He has engaged extensively in stock raising. In 1889 he started with one cow, and from this small beginning he now has a herd of about sixty head of cattle, besides selling a large number from time to time. He has made a success of agriculture, and is now the owner of three hundred and twenty acres of valuable land, two hundred and fifty acres of which is in a good state of cultivation, and his farm is well stocked and supplied with the best machinery for farm purposes.

Mr. Noonan was married, in 1889, to Miss Johanna Odona. Mrs. Noonan was born in Canada, her father having emigrated to that country from Ireland, his native land. Three children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Noonan, named as follows: Cecelia N., Thomas and Mary, all born in North Dakota. Mr. Noonan has taken an active part in public affairs. He is a Republican in party faith, and in 1898 was elected to the office of sheriff of Kidder county. He has attended a number of state conventions of his party, and was a delegate-elect to the state convention held at Grand Forks in 1900. He was one of the organizers of Kidder county, and is thoroughly conversant with its inmost history, and well deserves a place in tlie annals of North Dakota.