LOUIS E. JOHNSON, is a very progressive citizen of Lamoure county, his home being one of the excellent farms of Grand Rapids township, situated on section 8. He readily recognizes and utilizes opportunities and in his vocabulary there is no such word as fail. Michigan claims him as a native son, his birth having occurred in Muskegon, September 15, 1884, his parents being Erick and Mary (Jacobson) Johnson, both of whom were natives of Sweden and came to the new world in young manhood and womanhood. They settled at Wien, Missouri, where they were subsequently married, and soon afterward they removed to Chicago, where they lived for a number of years. Later they became residents of Muskegon, Michigan,, and in 1885 established their home in Minneapolis, whence in 1895 they came to North Dakota, locating in Lamoure county, Mr. Johnson trading his Minneapolis property for his home farm, comprising seven hundred and twenty acres of rich and arable land. Thereon he resided up to the time of his demise, which occurred September 8, 1909. His widow still survives and resides on the old home place.

Louis E. Johnson spent his boyhood and youth under the parental roof and largely acquired his education in the graded schools of Minneapolis and the district schools of Lamoure county. In the spring preceding his father’s death he rented the home place and began farming on his own account and has since had charge of the development and cultivation of the place. He also rents three hundred and twenty acres adjoining and is operating the entire tract. He devotes some attention to the raising of shorthorn cattle but the greater part of his time is given to the cultivation of the soil in the production of such grains as are best adapted to climatic conditions here.

Mr. Johnson is a member of La Moure Lodge, No. 20, I. 0. 0. F., and of the Brotherhood of American Yeomen and has many friends in those organizations but is best known as one of the progressive citizens and successful farmers of Lamoure county.

F. W. KEMPF, mayor of Kulm and identified with its business interests as a photographer, was born in Hastings, Minnesota, September 8, 1876, a son of August and Julia Kempf, who were born near Berlin, Germany, and were there reared and married. They had one child before they emigrated to the new world, at which time they became residents of Columbus, Texas, where the father engaged in the stock business for a number of years.  From that point he removed northward to Hastings, Minnesota, where he conducted a butchering business, remaining active along that line until he put aside business cares, spending his remaining days in the enjoyment of a well earned rest. He died in St. Paul in 1915, having for a number of years survived his wife, who passed away in Winthrop, Minnesota, in 1902.

F. W. Kempf pursued his education in the schools of Winthrop until he had completed the high school course, after which he attended the Hastings (Minn.) Commercial College.  For some years thereafter he was identified with newspaper work and with various other lines of business. In 1903 he came to North Dakota and the following year was appointed assistant secretary of the North Dakota state senate, in which important position he served acceptably during three sessions. Prior to his removal to this state he engaged in photography in Winthrop and in Mankato, Minnesota, and following his removal to Kulm he established a photographic studio in that city, where he has since continued, his ability as a representative of the art bringing to him a liberal and well deserved patronage.

In his fraternal relations Mr. Kempf is connected with Bismarck Lodge, No. 1199, B. P.  O. E., with the Royal Neighbors, and with the Modern Woodmen of America. Politically he is an earnest republican and for several years has served as constable and chief of police of Kulm, and in 1916 he was elected mayor of the city, receiving all but two votes east for the office, a fact which indicates his personal popularity and the confidence and trust reposed in him. He is a member of the German Lutheran church and his influence officially and personally is always on the side of right, progress and improvement.

ARTHUR J. KESLER, cashier of the First National Bank of Edgeley, which is the leading banking institution of Lamoure county, was born in Fenton, Michigan, April 12, 1872 a son of John B. and Louisa A. (Watton) Kesler, the former a native of Michigan and the latter of England. The mother came to the United States when a child of seven years in company with her parents, who settled in Vermont but afterward removed to Detroit, Michigan.  On attaining adult age John B. Kesler engaged in merchandising at Fenton, Michigan, and for many years was prominently identified with the commercial interests of that town and of Middleville but in 1883 disposed of his interests in Michigan and came to North Dakota, entering actively upon the pioneer work which has led to the modern day development. He arrived in Lamoure county in June and homesteaded the southwest quarter of section 28, Nora township, on which he located. In September the family followed and located at LaMoure for the winter. A year later Mr. Kesler built a store building and stocked it with a line of general merchandise, this being the first building erected in the town of St.  George, a town that has now passed out of existence. After the founding of the town of Edgeley Mr. Kesler removed his business to that point and continued actively and successfully in merchandising until about 1910, when he retired from active business to enjoy in well earned rest the fruits of his former toil. In 1913 he removed to Fargo, where he still resides, his income being sufficient to supply him with all the comforts and some of the luxuries of life.

Arthur J. Kesler was educated in the district schools, also in the University of Dakota at Vermillion, South Dakota, and at the Red River Valley University at Wahpeton, North Dakota. After completing his studies he assisted his father in the store until July, 1903, when he was offered and accepted the position of cashier in the State Bank of Edgeley.  Two years later the bank was reorganized as the First National Bank and Mr. Kesler has remained as cashier of the institution, taking a most prominent part in the development and upbuilding of the bank to its present enviable position, its high standing and the volume of its business giving it rank as the leading banking institution of Lamoure county.

In 1906 Mr. Kesler was united in marriage to Miss Anna M. Anderson, of Edgeley, by whom he has three children, namely: Edith V., Lucille K. and Clifford A. In his political views Mr. Kesler is an earnest republican who does not hesitate to announce his honest opinions yet has never been bitterly aggressive, nor has he ever placed partisanship before the public welfare. At the present writing, in 1916, he is city treasurer of Edgeley. Both he and his wife are loyal members of the Methodist Episcopal church and Mr. Kesler is prominent in Masonic circles, belonging to Maple River Lodge, No. 41, A. F. & A. M., of Edgeley; and Dakota Consistory, No. 1, A. &, A. S. R. He is likewise identified with Pomona Valley Lodge, No. 63, K. P., the Woodmen of the World and the Ancient Order of United Workmen. He has become widely and favorably known as a business man and citizen, occupying a prominent position in banking circles, his colleagues and contemporaries entertaining for him high regard and goodwill because of the methods which he has followed and the spirit which he has displayed.

CHARLES H. KINNEY, residing on section 17, Grand Rapids township, Lamoure county, is engaged in farming nine hundred and sixty acres of land and is also identified with the grain trade as a stockholder of the Equity Elevator Company of Grand Rapids and the Farmers Elevator Company of that place. He was born in Rockford, Illinois, February 13, 1859, a son of Thomas and Jane (Burns) Kinney, who were natives of Ireland and came to America at an early day, settling in Utica, New York. After four years there spent they removed westward to Rockford, Illinois, and the father occupied a position as bookkeeper for three years. He then went to Wisconsin, where he purchased land and began farming.  With the outbreak of the Civil war he responded to the country’s need for military support in 1861, joining the boys in blue of Company A, Thirty-first Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, with which he served until the close of hostilities. He participated in many hotly contested engagements and was wounded while at the front. With a most creditable military record he returned to his Wisconsin home and there engaged in farming throughout his remaining days, his death occurring in 1878, while his widow survived until 1905.

Charles H. Kinney passed almost all of his minority in Wisconsin, being reared in the usual manner of farm lads. The public schools afforded him his educational privileges and he remained with his parents until he reached the age of twenty-one years. In 1882 he arrived in Lamoure county. North Dakota, and filed on land south of Grand Rapids, developing a farm which he cultivated for eight years. He then sold that property and purchased his present place of five hundred and eighty acres a mile and a half from Grand Rapids, on section 17, Grand Rapids township. He expects soon to undertake the work of improving the place, but at the present time is living on a rented place and farms nine hundred and sixty acres. Much of this is under cultivation, utilized in the production of wheat, corn, oats and other cereals, and he is also engaged quite extensively in stock raising.  At the present time he is milking sixteen cows. He also makes a specialty of raising Buff Wyandotte chickens. Of the Farmers Elevator Company and the Equity Elevator Company at Grand Rapids he is a stockholder and of the former is one of the directors. He also operates a threshing outfit and does a big business along that line. Diligence and determination actuate him at every point in his business career and are bringing to him the substantial results of well defined labor.

On the 14th of April, 1887, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Kinney and Miss Daisy I Shiek, a daughter of Carl and Louisa Shiek, mentioned elsewhere in this work in connection with the sketch of C. W. Shiek. They have become parents of sixteen children, seven sons and nine daughters: Joseph, Louise, Edna, Charles, Arthur, Raphael, Paul, Florence, Margaret, John, Nellie, Beatrice, Gertrude, Everett, Muriel and Miriam. The two last named are twins.

The religious faith of the family is that of the Catholic church and Mr. Kinney gives his political allegiance to the democratic party. He has been a member of the school board for eighteen years serving as president for a part of that time, and he has also occupied the position of constable in his township, but he prefers to concentrate his thought, energies and attention upon his farming interests and the acquirement of a competence to provide for his family.

HANS KNUDSON, the owner of a well improved farm on section 14, Adrian township, Lamoure county, was born in Denmark, August 19, 1864, a son of Knute and Marie Knudson, who were also natives of that country. The father, who was a carpenter, worked at his trade throughout his entire life in Denmark, his labors being ended in death in January 1898. His widow survived him for thirteen years, passing away in March 1911.

Hans Knudson was reared and educated in Denmark, there remaining until 1884, when he crossed the Atlantic, attracted by the favorable reports which he had heard concerning the opportunities offered in the United States. Making his way to Minnesota, he purchased land in Cottonwood county, becoming the owner of one hundred and sixty acres. Later he went to Clay county, where he bought three hundred and twenty acres, and there he engaged in general farming until 1901. when he sold that property and removed to Lamoure county, North Dakota, where he invested in fourteen hundred acres situated on sections 13, 14 and 23, Adrian township, his buildings being on section 14. He has made splendid improvements upon the place, converting it into a valuable and productive farm which “constitutes one of the attractive features of the landscape. Every accessory of the model farm property is here found and the methods which he employs in its further development bring him substantial results. He is also a stockholder in the Equity Elevator at Adrian.

In July 1887, Mr. Knudson was married to Miss Carrie Emilly and they have become the parents of ten children. Agnes, Mamie, Elmer, Francis and Elvina, twins, Roy, Knute, Bert, Glenn and Grover. Politically Mr. Knudson is a republican and has filled the offices of township trustee and school director. He and his wife hold membership in the Presbyterian church and guide their lives by its teachings, their many substantial and admirable qualities gaining for them a large circle of friends in the community.

JOHN E. LAINGEN, Lamoure county has various banking establishments whose stability has been an element in the growth and development of that section of the state. Active in financial circles there is John E. Laingen, cashier of the Farmers & Merchants State Bank of Berlin. He was born at Lake Crystal, Minnesota, June 13, 1886 a son of Peter and Ranang (Kjestad) Laingen, both of whom were natives of Christiania, Norway, whence they came to the United States in early manhood and womanhood, becoming residents of Blue Earth county, Minnesota, near Lake Crystal, where they were subsequently married. Prior to his marriage the father purchased a farm here on which he resided to the time of his death, living on the old homestead for about forty-eight years. He passed away in 1915, while his wife died in 1911

Reared under the parental roof, John E. Laingen attended the public schools and was graduated from the high school at Lake Crystal with the class of 1903. He afterward became a student in the Mankato (Minn.) Business College and is numbered among its alumni of 1905. The following year, on the 1^st of September 1906, he removed to Berlin, North Dakota, and was one of the factors in the organization of the State Bank, of which he was made assistant cashier. Six years later he left that institution and organized the Farmers & Merchants State Bank, receiving the charter and opening the doors for business on the 24th of August 1913, becoming cashier of the institution. On the 30th of January 1916, he succeeded in consolidating the State Bank of Berlin and the Farmers & Merchants State Bank, merging the former into the latter, under which name business has since been conducted, Mr. Laingen remaining as cashier and an active force in shaping the policy and directing the interests of the institution. He closely studies the business and its opportunities and is continually reaching out along broadening lines to promote the success of the institution and make it a factor in the business development of the community as well.  He has made Judicious investment in farm lands and is now the owner of three hundred and twenty acres in Lamoure county.

On the 29th of June 1910, Mr. Laingen was united in marriage to Miss Luella Peterson, of Berlin, North Dakota, who was born in Lansing, Iowa. They have one child, Ruth Almeda. His life exemplifies the beneficent spirit of the Masonic fraternity, in which he has attained high rank, having membership in Mackay Lodge, No. 18, A. F. & A. M.; Edgeley Chapter, No. 22, R. A. M.; Jamestown Commandery, K. T. ; and the Order of the Eastern Star, to which his wife also belongs. Mr. Laingen is a stalwart republican and is the present village treasurer. In community affairs he is deeply interested, his influence being always on the side of progress and improvement. He belongs to the Lutheran church, which indicates that he is not neglectful of moral obligations. In a word, as has been shadowed forth between the lines of this review, he is one of the well-known and successful citizens of Lamoure county.

C. E. LARSON, one of the owners and the manager of the elevator of the Dickey Grain Company in the town of Dickey and well known as a former capable sheriff of Lamoure county, was born in Wisconsin on the 10th of January 1859, a son of Erick and Amanda (Evans) Larson, both of whom wore natives of Norway, whence they came to the new world in young manhood and womanhood. They made their way to Green county, Wisconsin, where they were married and there both passed away in 1876, there being but three months between the dates of their deaths.

C. E. Larson acquired a common school education and was but seventeen years of age when his parents passed away. Thrown upon his own resources, he began earning his living as a farm hand and was thus employed in Wisconsin for five years. In 1882 he came to North Dakota, settling in Lamoure county, where he homesteaded one hundred and sixty acres of land in Sheridan township, on which he resided for two decades. During that period he also took up a tree claim of eighty acres and made purchase of an additional tract of three hundred and twenty acres. He bent his energies to the development and improvement of the property and his labors soon wrought a marked transformation in its appearance. In the fall of 1902 he was elected county sheriff and removed to La Moure to assume the duties of that position, in which he made such an excellent record that he was reelected in 1904, serving for two terms and retiring from the office as he had entered it—with the confidence and goodwill of all law-abiding citizens. In the spring of 1907 Mr. Larson removed to Dickey and purchased a hardware store, which he conducted for five years. In 1913 he joined W. D. Paton and H. D. Bloss in the purchase of the Monarch elevator, of which he was made manager. Two years later five farmers were admitted to a share in the ownership and the business was incorporated under the name of the Dickey Grain Company, Mr. Larson still remaining as manager. He was also the principal organizer and promoter of the Farmers & Merchants State Bank and served as its president for one year, while through the succeeding six years he occupied the position of vice president, and he still owns stock in the bank.  His property holdings also include six hundred and forty acres of valuable farm land in Lamoure county and thus his interests and possessions have become extensive and important, making him one of the substantial citizens of his section of the state.

In 1888 Mr. Larson was united in marriage to Miss Helena Schmoker, of Lamoure county, who was born in Wisconsin. They are the parents of four children, two sons and two daughters, as follows: Amanda, a graduate of the State Normal School at Valley City, North Dakota, and now the wife of Connie R. Arduser, cashier of the First State Bank at Adrian, North Dakota; Irwin, who is employed in the Chamber of Commerce at Minneapolis, Minnesota; Myrtle, a student in the State Normal School at Valley City; and Edward, at home.

In his political views Mr. Larson has ever been an earnest republican and has served as chairman of the town board for a number of years. His interest in the public welfare is deep and sincere and he would at any time sacrifice personal affairs rather than retard public progress. Fraternally he is identified with Dickey Lodge No. 63, A. F. & A. M.; the Order of the Eastern Star, to which his wife also belongs; the Modern Woodmen of America; and the Ancient Order of United Workmen. He and his wife hold membership in the Episcopal church and his aid and influence can ever be counted upon to further plans and measures for the general good. There have been no spectacular phases in his career but his entire life is one in which there has been manifest a recognition of the rights and privileges of others and of the obligations of citizenship, and through his entire career he has never been neglectful of any duty that has devolved upon him.

MARION CHARLES LASELL, is the youngest son and next youngest child of a family of nine, and was born June 6, 1873, in a log cabin in Sumner township, Fillmore county, Minnesota, about fourteen miles from Rochester, which was the main trading point. His father, Zara Dana Lasell, was a descendant of the Grovners, Danas, Bishops and Cargills, of New York, New Hampshire and Quebec. His mother, Roxanna Moon Lund, was a first cousin of Grace Darling of lighthouse fame. They came to Minnesota from Morgan, Vermont, in 1856, and were of that sturdy stock so often found among the pioneers in those early days.

He attended country school in the winter until ho had mastered the three R’s fairly well, but quit school in 1885 and became the main help upon the farm, his brothers in the meantime having gone for themselves. When seventeen years of age, his father gave him his time, and he started west, going to Olympia, Washington, where he worked in the logging camps, sawmills and grading camps, at various times changing his home, living on Heartstein island, Puget Sound, at Seattle, Tacoma and Olympia, Washington, Portland and Salem, Oregon, and San Francisco and Red Bluff, California, each in turn. He finally returned east and located in Roberts county, South Dakota, where his father had filed upon a homestead. For the next few years he worked upon the farm, in the store, in the print shop, machine shop and coal sheds. He taught school for three months in the spring of 1893 in Day county. He taught the following two winters and worked on his father’s farm in the summer. Beginning with the spring of 1895 he spent forty weeks at Valparaiso, Indiana. He returned to South Dakota, assisted his father upon the farm and taught school. In the spring of 1898 he returned to Valparaiso, where he spent the next two years, graduating in the commercial, teacher’s and scientific courses, completing a special mathematic course which included surveying and then taking up the study of law. He was admitted to practice law in Indiana.  October 3, 1900 he spent some time in the law office of 0. R. Williams at Chesterton, Indiana.

In June 1901, he was married to Miss May Dennison, of Goshen, Indiana. That fall the young couple settled at La Moure, North Dakota, where the young wife died February 5, 1902. She was buried beside her mother near Goshen.

March 24, 1902, Mr. Lasell was admitted to the bar in North Dakota. At that time he was more than fifteen hundred dollars in debt, and without any tangible property except a Code and a few other law books. From that time on, his progress, both in the financial and business world, has been continuous. After the first two or three years of his career, as an attorney, he was never without some help in the office, and at times has had as many as two attorneys and two stenographers employed, and for five years prior to 1912, there was not a term of court in Lamoure county, in which he was not interested in more than two-thirds of the cases upon the calendar. There were no important actions in which he was not interested, upon one side or the other. No case was so trivial or none so large, that he would not take it if it was a worthy matter, and he had the reputation of appealing any case, either great or small, where he had not received fair treatment and a proper decision. His real estate holdings are large. He owned at one time more than thirty-five hundred town lots in the city of La Moure, besides farm lands in many counties throughout the state. In the fall of 1912, he turned his law business over to Harold F. Knopp, who was then in his employ.

April 2, 1913, he was married to Etta Wharton at Mansfield, Ohio. To this union was born one son, Robert Marion Lasell, August 19, 1914. Directly after this marriage he moved to Aberdeen, South Dakota, where he took up his duties as president of the Western Finance Company, general Manager of the Farmers Equity Mutual Insurance Company and also senior member of the law firm of Lasell & Lasell, consisting of himself, G. G. Lasell, a brother, and H. D. Lasell, a nephew.

No history of North Dakota would be complete without his biography. He is the first attorney in the state to bring an action before the railroad commissioners to compel elevators to comply with the law, and the record of his dealings as an attorney, business man and financier is known throughout the state.

GEORGE H. LEICK, cashier of the State Bank of Grand Rapids, was born in Madelia, Minnesota, May 14, 1887, a son of Nicholas and Elizabeth (Debeck) Leick, both of whom are natives of Luxemburg, Germany. In young manhood and womanhood they came to the United States and were married in Wisconsin, where they resided until 1871, when they removed to Madelia, Minnesota, where they still make their home. The father devoted his active life to the occupation of farming but has lived retired since 1900, enjoying a rest which he has truly earned and richly deserves.

While spending his youthful days under the parental roof George H. Leick attended the public schools of Madelia and afterward benefited by instruction in the commercial college of Mankato, Minnesota, from which institution he was graduated in June 1909. He then went to St. Paul, where he was employed in various ways until January 1910, when he came to North Dakota and made his initial step in connection with the banking business as assistant cashier of the Security State Bank at Strasburg. In July 1911, he went to Adrian, where he was assistant cashier of the First State Bank until the 15th of December following, when he was advanced to the position of cashier. On the 20th of March 1912, he was offered and accepted the cashier ship of the State Bank of Grand Rapids, in which position he has since served, the institution finding in him an efficient officer and the public a courteous and obliging representative.

On the 10th of June 1913, Mr. Leick was united in marriage to Miss Mary Belle McKinnon, of Mapleton, Minnesota, and they have two children, Bernard M. and Elizabeth M. The parents are members of the Catholic church and Mr. Leick is identified with the Knights of Columbus. In politics he is a democrat and has served as clerk of the school board but has never been ambitious to hold political office, feeling that his best chance of success is by giving undivided attention to the business interests entrusted to his care.

JOHN M. LEPPERT, president of the Farmers & Merchants State Bank of Berlin, has in various public and private connections so directed his interests and affairs as to become well established in public opinion as a representative and valued citizen of Lamoure county. He was born in Allamakee county, Iowa, January 25, 1871, a son of Andrew and Eva (Manderscheid) Leppert, who were natives of Germany and in early manhood and womanhood came to the United States, establishing their home in Allamakee county among the pioneer settlers. They were subsequently married there and settled upon land which the father purchased from the government. He continued his residence there to the time of his death and, adding to his holdings, acquired four hundred acres of valuable farm land which he brought to a high state of cultivation. He died about 1883 or 1884, at the comparatively early age of fifty-six years, and is survived by his widow, who at the age of seventy-five years now resides with a daughter at Church, Iowa.

John M. Leppert supplemented a district school education by study in the normal school at Decorah, Iowa, and in the Valder Business College at that place. He afterward took a course in telegraphy at Janesville, Wisconsin, but did not adopt that calling as a source of livelihood. Instead he accepted the proffered position of secretary of the creamery at Church, Iowa, in which capacity he served for eight years. He continued in that connection until 1903, when he resigned to become a candidate for the office of county treasurer in Allamakee county and won victory at the polls, serving in that position for five years, his second term expiring on the 1st of January 1909. He then determined to enter the banking business and looked around for a suitable location. In the summer of that year he came to Berlin, North Dakota, and purchased an interest in the State Bank of Berlin, of which he was made cashier, acting in that capacity until the State Bank was consolidated with and merged into the Farmers & Merchants State Bank, of which Mr. Leppert was chosen president, continuing at the head of the institution since that time. He is an energetic and farsighted business man and his well-directed efforts are an element in the growing success of the bank.

On the 17th of December 1908, Mr. Leppert was united in marriage to Miss Nettie McMillan, of Waukon, Iowa. Politically a republican, Mr. Leppert has always stanchly indorsed the principles of the party and has been active in its local circles. At the present time he is serving as a member of the town board of Berlin and also as a member of the school board. He and his wife are very active and earnest workers in the Methodist Episcopal church and he is serving on its board of trustees. His interest has been by no means confined to material things. On the contrary he is interested in all that pertains to public progress and improvement, to educational and moral advancement and thus has become a citizen of value to the community.

DAVID LLOYD, President of the First National Bank of La Moure, was born in Wales on the 20^th of May 1849, a son of David and Ann (Roberts) Lloyd, who came to the United States in 1850 and settled in Iowa county, Wisconsin, where the father took up a homestead and resided to the time of his death, which occurred in 1888. For fifteen years he had survived his wife, who passed away in 1873.

David Lloyd supplemented his common school education, acquired in Wisconsin, by study in the State Normal School at Whitewater, but in the interval, when but seventeen years of age, he had taken up the profession of teaching and for fifteen years he continued to teach during the winter months, while in the summer seasons he devoted his attention to farming. It was in 1883 that he arrived in La Moure and through the intervening period, covering a third of a century, he has been closely identified with the business development and public interests of his city. He first engaged in the lumber trade in partnership with his brother-in-law, A. J. Lockman, organizing the Wisconsin Lumber Company. The first lumber that was shipped into La Moure by train was consigned to this firm and as the years passed they built up an extensive business, their sales amounting to a million and a quarter feet of lumber annually. Mr. Lloyd remained an active member of that firm for twelve years, at the end of which time he sold his interests in the business in order to give his attention exclusively to the buying and selling of land and to making loans on farm mortgages, having established business along those lines in 1885. In the past thirty-one years he has loaned three million dollars and has never made a foreclosure during that period—a fact which indicates the sterling character of the man. On many occasions he has extended time of payment and thus assisted the settlers to secure title to their property. In connection with his brother Robert he owns six thousand acres of land in North and South Dakota and they are also extensive holders of bank stock in Mount Horeb, Ridgeway and Arena, Wisconsin.  They likewise have large investments in Wisconsin farm lands and in town property.

Mr. Lloyd belongs to Mackay Lodge, No. 18, F. & A. M., of La Moure. For forty-six years he has been affiliated with the Masonic fraternity, having joined the lodge in Mazomanie, Wisconsin, in 1870. He has taken the degrees of the Lodge of Perfection in the Scottish Rite at Fargo and in his life he exemplifies the beneficent spirit of the craft. It is this spirit which has been manifest in his business relations, prompting him to extend a helping hand on many occasions. He has never believed that success in business must be sought at the cost of other men’s prosperity. On the contrary, he has adopted constructive measures, building up rather than destroying and knowing that what helps one helps the entire community.  His efforts have been a most potent force in developing various sections of the northwest and such citizens are the real founders and promoters of the commonwealth.

D. L. MANNING, manager for the Farmers Elevator Company at Nortonville, dates his residence in North Dakota from 1904 and throughout the entire period has been a representative of the grain trade. He was born in Hardin county, Iowa, April 4, 1883, and is a son of Edgar and Matilda (Teeple) Manning, the former a native of Canada and the latter of Illinois. The father was a mason by trade and followed that pursuit throughout his entire life. At an early day he removed to Hubbard, Hardin county, Iowa, where he continued his residence until death called him in 1907. His widow still survives.

The youthful days of D. L. Manning were spent in his parents’ home at Hubbard, after which he devoted two years to study in Sioux City, Iowa. He was but twenty-one years of age when in 1904 he left his native state and removed to Edgeley, North Dakota, where he worked as second man in an elevator for two years. He was afterward manager for the elevator company at Jud for two years, after which he rented land and carried on farming until 1913. In that year he went to Nortonville to accept the position of manager for the Farmers Elevator Company, in which capacity he has since continued, thus having charge of important grain trade interests in the town.

On the 26th of August 1908, Mr. Manning was married to Miss Edith Withnell, and to them have been born two children: Merle, whose natal day was July 9, 1910; and one who died at the age of eighteen days.

Mr. Manning is connected with the Knights of Pythias and with the Woodmen of the World and the rules which further govern his conduct are manifest in the fact that he is a loyal member of the Methodist church. His political support is given to the republican party and he keeps well versed on the questions and issues of the day but he does not seek nor desire office, for it is his ambition to attain honorable success in business and he believes this can best be achieved by close application and persistent energy in the control of the interests entrusted to his care.

WILLIAM T. MARTIN, president of the First National Bank of Edgeley, was born in England on the 14th of May 1869, a son of William M. and Harriett (Beard) Martin, both of whom lived and died in Essex county, England, where the father was a horticulturist and merchant. Reared in that country, their son, William T. Martin attended the public schools and afterward had the benefit of a course in the Cedar Rapids (la.) Business College following his emigration to the new world. He arrived in the United States in 1884, prior to attaining his sixteenth year. After completing his business course he went to work for an uncle, a prominent farmer of Cerro Gordo county, Iowa, and since 1891 he has been continuously connected with North Dakota, having arrived here in the month of June, after which he took up his abode on a homestead comprising the southeast quarter of section 8, Glen township, Lamoure county. That place is the present site of the town of Alfred. After taking up his abode there Mr. Martin made a specialty of the sheep industry, in which he was very successful, running six thousand head at the time of his retirement from the business in 1896. He then came to Edgeley and engaged in the real estate and loan business, while in 1900 he became actively interested in banking as the successor of A. E. Gardner in the office of president of the State Bank of Edgeley, which institution was nationalized as the First National Bank in 1905. At that date the capital stock was increased from ten to twenty-five thousand dollars and a progressive spirit has been infused into the institution that has made it one of the reliable financial concerns of the county, enjoying a growing business. In January 1910, the capital stock was again increased and now stands at fifty thousand dollars, making this one of the leading and most stable financial institutions of the county. Mr. Martin has invested largely in land, having extensive holdings in Lamoure, Stutsman and Dickey counties.

In November 1897, Mr. Martin was united in marriage to Miss Jeddah Raney, of Colfax, Iowa, by whom he has four children, two sons and two daughters, namely: Glenn W., who is in the sophomore year in high school; Merle H., a freshman in the high school; Neva L.; and Wayne A. In politics Mr. Martin is a republican and fraternally is connected with Maple River Lodge, No. 41, F. & A. M. He and his wife are consistent members of the Methodist Episcopal church and he is serving on the official board and as treasurer of the church. For several years he was treasurer of the board of education and is much interested in the success and development of the school system. A review of his life points to many things that are commendable and worthy of emulation. He arrived in New York city a lad of fifteen years, with ten dollars in his pocket. On leaving Iowa he drove to North Dakota with horse and buggy and his fortune has wholly been made in Lamoure county, showing the wonderful possibilities offered by this section of the state to the man who finds opportunity his incentive and who has the ability to grasp the situation.

JACKSON G. McCLEARY, living on section 8, Saratoga township, Lamoure county, has for ten years resided in that part of the state, having previously made his home in Iowa and South Dakota. He was born and reared, however, in Iowa, his birth having occurred in Polk county, April 16, 1866, his parents being Abel J. and Emily C. (Hedge) McCIeary, the former a native of Indiana and the latter of Ohio. The father, who was a farmer by occupation, removed to Polk county, Iowa, in 1854 in company with his parents. There he was reared and finally he purchased land and engaged in farming on his own account, remaining for many years one of the representative agriculturists of the district. In 1896 he retired from active business and removed to Mitchellville, Iowa, where he now resides at the age of seventy-two years, while his wife has reached the age of seventy-one.

Jackson G. McCIeary was reared and educated in his native county and through the period of his boyhood and youth when not occupied with the duties of the schoolroom he assisted his father in the work of the fields. He remained on the home farm until he reached the age of twenty-four, when he went to the western coast, there spending about eight months. Following his return to Iowa he bought eighty acres near his father’s farm and further developed and improved that property, cultivating his land there for ten years. In 1901 he went to South Dakota and bought three hundred and twenty-eight acres which he cultivated for five years, coming in 1906 to North Dakota, at which time he invested in land two and a half miles from Adrian, his farm comprising section 8, the west half of section 5 and the southeast quarter of section 6, Saratoga township. He has since given his attention to the further improvement of this property, which is one of the valuable farms of the district, carefully and systematically cultivated, his labors being attended with substantial success. He is extensively engaged in raising cattle in addition to producing the usual crops and he now ships about a carload of cattle each year. He is also president of the Farmers Elevator Company of Adrian, which was organized in 1907.

On the 5th of March 1890, Mr. McCIeary was united in marriage to Miss Lydia M.  Garber, and to them were born nine children: Vera and Veran, twins, Blanche, Goldie, Ward, Clair, Fay, Ferd and Ile. The religious faith of the family is that of the Methodist church and in his political views Mr. McCIeary is a democrat. He has served as supervisor and road overseer in his township and is the present assessor. The cause of education finds in him a stalwart champion who has done good service for the schools as a director. His life has in a measure been quietly and uneventfully passed, but he belongs to that class of representative citizens who find in the workaday world an incentive for their best efforts and who constitute the chief element in the substantial upbuilding of county and state.

DR. H. JOHN MOVIUS, who is engaged in the practice of medicine at Edgeley, was born at Lidgerwood, North Dakota, April 14, 1888, a son of Ernest F. and Mary (Rosencrans) Movius, who were natives of Germany. The father and mother emigrated to America about the time they reached manhood and womanhood, settling in Minnesota, where they lived for a time, but afterward removing to North Dakota. The father had partially prepared for the ministry in his native country and completed his studies in the new world after which he engaged in preaching for the Evangelical denomination and was for eighteen years presiding elder. He retired from the ministry on account of heart trouble and then engaged in the lumber business in Lidgerwood, but is now living retired at the age of sixty-two years while his wife has reached the age of fifty-eight years.

Dr. Movius completed a high school education at Lidgerwood and afterward won his Bachelor of Arts degree upon the completion of a classical course in the University of North Dakota, being numbered among the alumni of 1911. He next entered Rush Medical College at Chicago and graduated with the class of 1913, after which he spent six months as an interne in the Presbyterian Hospital of that city and twelve months in the City Hospital at St. Louis, Missouri. He then went to Washington with the intention of locating in that state, but did not like the country and retraced his steps as far east as Edgeley, where he opened an office in January 1915, and entered upon the active practice of medicine, in which he is now meeting with splendid success. Aside from his practice he is a stockholder in the Provident Life Insurance Company of Bismarck and the American Druggists’ Syndicate and he is also the owner of a quarter section of land in Lamoure county.

On the 20th of June 1914, Dr. Movius was married to Miss Mabel Price, a daughter of Edward and Etta (Groene) Price, who were natives of St. Louis. The father died in 1905 and the mother is now living with Dr. and Mrs. Movius, who have one child, H. John, born May 5, 1915.

Fraternally Dr. Movius is connected with the Masons, the Elks, the Knights of Pythias, the Woodmen of the World, the Yoemen and also Alpha Kappa Kappa, a Greek letter fraternity, while of the Phi Delta Theta he is an honorary. His political allegiance is given to the republican party and his religious faith is indicated in his membership in the Presbyterian church, to the teachings of which lie is most loyal. Along professional lines he is connected with the Bismarck State Medical Society and the American Medical Association and thus he keeps in close touch with the advance of the profession and his ability is evidenced by the large practice which he now enjoys.

CHARLES W. NELSON, a leading merchant and business man of Verona, was born in Maine, December 1, 1876, a son of Peter and Cornelia Nelson, who were natives of Sweden, where they were reared and married. One child was born to them when they left their native country to become residents of the new world. They settled in Maine and in 1884 Mr. Nelson came to North Dakota, taking up a homestead in Dickey county, where he carried on agricultural pursuits for a number of years. Ultimately he came to make his home with his son Charles, his wife having died ere the removal from Maine.

Charles W. Nelson obtained a public school education and on reaching manhood began farming for himself in Dickey county. About 1901 he removed to Richland county where for five years he was extensively engaged in raising shorthorn cattle and Percheron horses. The year 1900 witnessed his arrival in Verona, at which date he established a mercantile store and has since been prominently identified with the commercial interests of the town, being recognized as the leading merchant of Verona. The stock which he carries is large, attractive and carefully selected and his reasonable prices, combined with the integrity of his business methods, have brought to him success. In addition to his mercantile interests he has four hundred and eighty acres of valuable farm land in Lamoure county.

In 1911 Mr. Nelson was united in marriage to Miss Emma White, of Lamoure county, who passed away two years later. A republican in politics, Mr. Nelson has been active locally in party ranks, serving for four years as a member of the town board, during one year as chairman. Fraternally he is identified with Mackay Lodge, No. 18, A. F. & A. M.; Dakota Consistory, No. 1. A. & A. S. R., of Fargo: and EI Zagal Temple, A. A. 0. N. M. S., of Fargo. His religious faith is that of the Lutheran church. Honorable principles have actuated him at every point in his career and his success has been built upon honesty as well as close application and industry.

HENRY NEVERMAN, who has won a creditable position in financial circles in the southeastern part of the state, is well known as the president of the Farmers National Bank of La Moure. Practically his entire life has been spent in this country, although he is of German birth, his natal day being June 14, 1858. His parents, Fred and Sophia (Lang) Neverman came to the United States with their family in 1864 and in New York city, within a week after landing, the father died. The mother afterward took her children to, Wisconsin, settling in Columbia county, and later she became the wife of Christopher Lang, a farmer of that county, there continuing her residence to the time of her death.

Henry Neverman was reared in Wisconsin and obtained a district school education.  He began working as a farm hand in early manhood and had previously had practical experience in farm work through the assistance -which he rendered on the home place. In the spring of 1880 he came to North Dakota, settling in Grand Rapids township, and on the 2d of April he filed on a homestead and on a tree claim and two years later took up a preemption claim. Subsequently he purchased other land from time to time. He was the first settler in the county and therefore took the initial step in bringing about present-day progress and prosperity. His investments have been most judiciously made, his sound judgment enabling him to wisely choose the properties which he purchased, and today his holdings embrace fifteen hundred and five acres of valuable North Dakota land. His present financial condition is in marked contrast to his possessions at the time of his arrival, for he then possessed twenty dollars in money and a rifle. About 1906 he left the farm and removed to La Moure, while two of his sons remain upon the home place, active in its cultivation.  Before leaving the farm, in 1905, Mr. Neverman was one of the prime movers in the organization of the Farmers State Bank, winch was nationalized in 1910 as the Farmers National Bank. Upon the organization of the institution he was chosen its vice president and upon the death of the president in 1913 he assumed the duties of the office, to which he was elected at the regular annual election of the bank on the 1st of January 1914. He has since remained the chief executive officer of the bank and throughout the period of its existence his activity, keen insight and progressive spirit have been dominant elements in winning success for the institution.

On the 6th of April, 1885, Mr. Neverman was united in marriage to Miss Augusta Siedschlag, of Columbus, Wisconsin, who was born in Germany and emigrated to the United States in the early ‘80s. To them have been born six children, live of whom still survive, as follows: Carl, who is living on one of his father’s farms; Ida, the assistant cashier of the Farmers National Bank of La Moure; Henry A., operating one of his father’s farms; Esther, a student in Macalester College of St. Paul; and George who attends the La Moure graded schools. Fraternally Mr. Neverman is identified with the Masonic order, belonging to Mackay Lodge, No. 18, A. F. & A. M.; Dakota Consistory, No. 1, A. & A. S. R., of Fargo; and El Zagal Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S. The daughters, Ida and Esther Neverman, belong to Bartholomew Chapter of the Order of the Eastern Star.

In politics Mr. Neverman is a democrat and served as chairman of the town board of Grand Rapids for several years and was also assessor of Grand Rapids township for two or three terms. He likewise served as school treasurer and director there for several years and he has been a member of the board of aldermen of La Moure for seven years, taking a most active and helpful interest in promoting those projects which work for civic righteousness and improvement. He and his family worship in the Presbyterian church and they are well known socially, theirs being a most hospitable home at which their many friends delight to gather. A most creditable record is that of Mr. Neverman, whose progressive spirit is manifest in his splendid success, based upon unremitting industry and unflagging diligence. He has largely placed his money in the safest of all investments—real estate—and has ever followed constructive methods in business, never winning his success at the price of another’s failure.