Trails to the Past

North Dakota

McLean County

Biographies

North Dakota History and People
S. J. Clarke Publishing Company Chicago, Ill. 1917

WILLIAM T. COOPER, The newspaper interests of McLean county have a worthy representative in William T. Cooper, who is now publishing the Benedict Banner. His birth occurred September 19, 1871, in Auburn, Virginia, of which state his parents, William V. and Mary A. (Terry) Cooper, were also natives. In 1877 the family removed to Montgomery County, Indiana, and resided there until 1889, when they took up their abode in Harrison county, Iowa. There they lived until 1893, when they removed to Polk county, Missouri, but at the end of four years the parents returned to Iowa, their last days being spent in Leon, that state, where the father died in the spring of 1905 and the mother in the following fall. The former was ninety-nine years of age at that time and on the day of his death had walked three miles to mail a letter to our subject. He was a veteran of the Civil war and was with the army in Nebraska for some time, being stationed at Fort Lincoln and Fort Kearney. In his family were nine children, of whom five are still living, namely: William T., of this review; Lunda, the wife of C. A. Rumly, of Decatur county, Iowa; George M., also a resident of that county; Maude; and Bessie.

William T. Cooper was about six years of age when the family left his native state and removed to Indiana, where he attended the district schools in the acquirement of an education.  He went with his parents to Iowa and Missouri and remained in the latter state for two years after they returned to Iowa. There he was married February 26, 1897, to Amanda E. Stocker, a native of Polk county, Missouri, and to them have been born four children: Fred, who is now principal of the village schools of Karlsruhe, North Dakota; Edwin V., who is editor of the Mirror at McLaughlin, South Dakota; Ruby Irene, who is attending high school in Washburn, North Dakota, and resides at home; and Wilmoth, also at home.  Mr. Cooper was engaged in farming in Missouri, and on coming to this state in 1902 took up a homestead in McLean county, one and a half miles west of Benedict. He proved up on the same and farmed there until 1910, when he rented his land and removed to Benedict.  In April of that year he bought the Benedict Banner, which was established February 26, 1908, by Otto H. Lomen, from whom Mr. Cooper purchased it. It is independent in politics and is wisely edited, so that it now enjoys a good circulation. Mr. Cooper is also engaged in job work, for which his office is well equipped, and he still gives considerable attention to his farming interests, which are well managed.

He is now an independent candidate for county commissioner from the third district and has been endorsed by the democratic party. He is chairman of the town council and was president of the Commercial Club of Benedict for three years. He is also past grand of the Odd Fellows lodge at that place and is regarded as one of the most prominent and influential citizens of that village.

ROBERT COTTON, For several years Robert Cotton has been identified with the business and political interests of Wilton and is now serving as mayor of the city. He is a native of Kentucky, born near Mount Eden on the 5th of April 1858, and there he was reared and educated, continuing to reside in that state until 1887. In that year he came to North Dakota and first located near Williamsport in Emmons county, where he took up a homestead and tree claim, proving up on both and remaining there eight years. He then sold out and removed to Bismarck, where as a commission merchant he engaged in buying and selling stock for four years.

In the fall of 1899 Mr. Cotton became a resident of Wilton and embarked in the livery business, conducting a livery barn and also feed and sale stables for twelve years. On disposing of that business he went to Wing, where he also operated a livery stable and dealt in farm machinery and fuel for a year and a half. At the end of that time he sold out and returned to Wilton, where in 1914 he opened a blacksmith shop, which he still conducts.  He is also the owner of six or seven pieces of property which he rents and has a half section of land near Wilton, devoted to farming.

Mr. Cotton was married in Kentucky in 1904 to Miss Mamie Briel, a native of Louisville, that state, and they have a daughter Hazel. As a republican he has taken an active and prominent part in political affairs. He was appointed deputy sheriff of McLean county and served in that capacity for twelve years. During that time he was elected to the village council and continued to fill the position of alderman until chosen major of Wilton in 1912. So ably did he serve in that capacity that he was reelected at the end of his two years term and was again elected in 1916, being the present incumbent. He has given the city a public-spirited and progressive administration, supporting every worthy enterprise for the good of the community, and his fellow citizens have the utmost confidence in him and his ability, fraternally he is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America and the Woodmen of the World.

MRS. L. E. CURRIER, the editor of the McLean County Independent, published at Garrison, is making that journal one of the best country papers published in this part of North Dakota, winning success in a field to which very few women have turned their attention.  She was born in Fullerton, Nebraska, and is a daughter of Theodore Lenker. She remained in her native state until her union with A. B. Currier, who is a stockholder in the Bismarck Motor Car Company.

Following her marriage she resided in Bismarck for a number of years but since 1914 has made her home in Garrison, having assumed active charge in that year of the publication of the McLean County Independent, which is owned by her husband and his brother, Frank Currier. The latter is engaged in the insurance business in Lambert, Montana, and A. B. Currier is quite heavily interested in lands in North Dakota and in Cuba. He has spent considerable time on that island looking after his interests there.  Mrs. Currier takes great pleasure in her work as editor and has a right to be proud of what she has accomplished. The McLean Independent was established as the Knox County Independent in Emmet, Knox county, in April 1904, but three years later was removed to Garrison, where it has since been published. It is one of the older papers of this section and is the official county sheet. It is independent in polities and in all matters affecting the welfare of town and county is progressive and well balanced, always taking the lead in the advocacy of advance steps. The news columns are of the same high standard as the editorial page and the typographical work is excellent, the equipment of the plant including a Cottrell press. The Independent has a large circulation among the representative people of the county and is recognized as a valuable advertising medium. Mrs. Currier not only has a high standing as a newspaper woman but personally is held in high esteem by all who know her and she has many warm friends.

F. O. FREEBERG, cashier of the Mercer State Bank, of Mercer, North Dakota, was born on the 17th of December 1882, in Cannon Falls, Goodhue county, Minnesota, in which city he passed the days of his boyhood and youth. He graduated from high school and later engaged in teaching near Cannon Falls for two years in 1905 and 1906, after which he took a commercial course at the Minneapolis Business College, graduating therefrom in 1907.  Mr. Freeberg’s banking experience was begun as bookkeeper and stenographer in the Farmers & Merchants National Bank of Cannon Falls, Minnesota, in 1907, and he remained there until the fall of 1909, when he went to Kenmare, North Dakota, and accepted a similar position in the First National Bank of that place, serving as such for four months. He then assumed the duties of cashier of the Mercer State Bank, with which he is still affiliated.  This bank was organized in the fall of 1909 with a capital stock of ten thousand dollars and its other officers are: T. L. Beiseker, president; Ole S. Hedahl, vice president; and Robert F.  Boehm, assistant cashier.

On the 15th of June 1910, Mr. Freeberg was united in marriage to Miss Minnie C. Swenson, also a native of Cannon Falls, Minnesota, and to them have been born three children, namely: Cyrus Merwyn, Conrad W. and Phyllis G., all living. The parents are members of the Swedish Lutheran church in Spring Garden, and Mr. Freeberg is also connected with the Modern Samaritans of Duluth, Minnesota. In politics he is a republican, taking the interest of a public-spirited citizen in the welfare of his town, state and. nation. He was born and grew to manhood on the farm, and although engaged in the banking business is still very much interested in and is making a study of the agricultural pursuits of the country, as he realizes that if this great state of North Dakota is to become the greatest state in the Union this must be brought about through diversified farming and the development of the agricultural interests.

JUDGE GEORGE P. GIBSON, who presides over the county court of McLean county, is one of the honored residents of Washburn, where he has engaged in the practice of law for a number of years. He was born in New London, Minnesota, March 30, 1874, of the marriage of James and Evaline (Libby) Gibson. The father’s birth occurred on the 9th of November 1842, in Ayr, Canada. He was a physician and surgeon by profession and for thirty years engaged in practice at Atwater, Minnesota, but passed away on the 22d of January 1916, at Wayzata, that state. The mother, whose natal day was March 10, 1847, was a native of Illinois and died at Atwater in November 1907. They were married in Minnesota and to them were born three children, namely: George P.; Belle, now the wife of Charles Minnick; and Edna, who married Max Goar and lives at Spokane, Washington.

George P. Gibson was graduated from the law school of the University of Minnesota in 1895 and at once located at Langdon, North Dakota. In October of that year he took the state bar examination and after his admission to practice opened an office of his own at Langdon. After two years he went to Milton, North Dakota, where he practiced for a similar length of time and where he was also active in politics. In 1900 he was appointed clerk of the judiciary committee of the state senate and filled that position during the sessions of 1900 and 1901. In May of the latter year he came to Washburn and has since been a member of the local bar. He was retained as counsel in the greater number of cases tried in the local courts and his record shows that he was very successful in winning favorable verdicts. Since 1912 he has given the greater part of his time to the discharge of his duties as county judge and is now republican nominee for third term with no opposition, this indicating the general satisfaction which his services have given.

On the 11th of February 1908 occurred the marriage of Judge Gibson and Josie Nelson, A native of Minnesota. By her first husband she has two children, Jeannette and Myrtle.  Judge Gibson is a strong advocate of republican principles and in addition to the offices mentioned served from 1903 to 1907 as states attorney of Oliver county, having been appointed to that position by the county commissioners. For three years he has been president of the board of education and has given a great deal of thought and effort to the advancement of the schools of the city. He is a member of the Masonic blue lodge at Milton, North Dakota, of the Knights of Pythias at Washburn and of the Independent Order of Foresters at Milton.  The principles which guide his conduct are found in the teachings of the Baptist church, of which he is a member, and his character as well as his ability commands the respect of all who know him.

AUGUST E. JOHNSON, Although born in Sweden, August E. Johnson has spent the greater part of his life in North Dakota and is thus thoroughly familiar with the history of its development and with its still unrealized possibilities. He has taken a prominent part in various lines of activity in McLean county, being connected with important real estate operations, with a number of banks and with public affairs. The major portion of his attention, however, is given to his duties as cashier of the First National Bank of Washburn. He was born in Sweden of the marriage of Andrew and Anna (Beck) Johnson, both of whom died in that country. The father was by occupation a farmer.

August E. Johnson, who is the third in order of birth in a family of five children, all of whom survive, accompanied his maternal uncle, Andrew Beck, to the United States in 1882 and after residing in Pennsylvania for a year came to McLean county, North Dakota, where he completed his education. At length he entered the employ of J. E. Britten, publisher of the McLean County Mail, and remained in the printing business for ten years, being within that time connected with newspapers in a number of Dakota towns and cities, including Bismarck and Washburn. At one time he was part owner of the Steele Ozone, an up-to-date and well patronized weekly journal. In 1896 he was elected auditor of McLean county, which office he filled for six years, and during that time he also engaged in farming and cattle raising upon a tract of land adjoining Washburn which he had purchased.  Early in 1890 he entered the real estate field in partnership with Mr. Klein, and is still financially interested in the Klein Land Agency, which has its headquarters at Washburn and is one of the foremost concerns of the kind in this section of the state. He has also dealt in land independently, and there are few if any men in McLean county better informed on all points of the real estate business than he is. In 1912 he became cashier of the First National Bank of Washburn, in which position he has since served. The institution was organized in 1902 with a capital of twenty-five thousand dollars and now has a surplus of equal amount. Realizing that the success of a bank depends primarily on the confidence of the public, he has made it his first care to conduct the institution upon safe and conservative lines, although extending credit when he could do so without jeopardizing the funds of depositors or stockholders. He is interested financially in the McLean County State Bank of Wilton and in the Baldwin State Bank at Baldwin.

Mr. Johnson was married in 1899 to Miss Clara M. Patterson, a resident of Steele, North Dakota, and a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. C. D. Patterson, pioneers of that city. Her father has passed away, but her mother survives. Mr. and Mrs. Johnson have two children, Louise and Hugh.

The republican party has a stalwart supporter in Mr. Johnson, and he has taken quite an active part in local politics. As previously mentioned, he served for six years as auditor of McLean county, and in 1902 and again in 1906 he was chosen state senator. As a member of the upper house of the legislature he fully justified the trust which his fellow citizens had reposed in him, working consistently for the general good. In 1912 he was honored by election as a delegate to the national convention of his party, and he at all times keeps closely in touch with the political situation. In addition to the offices mentioned he has been called to fill a number of township offices. He belongs to the Elks at Bismarck and to the Knights of Pythias at Washburn, in which he has passed through all of the chairs. His religious faith is indicated by his membership in the Lutheran church, and all business as in other relations of life he has conformed to the highest standards.

JOHN KELLING, manager of the Max Telephone Company, is also engaged on quite an extensive scale in real estate operations and in all that he has undertaken has proved successful.  He was born in Iowa in 1867, a son of George and Mary T. (Beaver) Kelling, who became residents of that state in 1854. They were pioneers of Wright county and for several decades resided upon a homestead there which is still in the possession of the family. The father, who died in 1912, was practically the last survivor of the early settlers and was held in the highest honor throughout the county. The mother died in Iowa. All of their thirteen children are still living.

John Kelling, who is the second in order of birth, was educated in the public schools of Iowa and after putting aside his textbooks remained upon the home farm until he was twenty- five years of age. He then went to Seattle, Washington, where he spent three years, after which he returned to Iowa and purchased a farm which he operated for several years. In the spring of 1902 he came to North Dakota and purchased land in Barnes county. In 1906 he proved up on a homestead in McLean county and during the entire period of his residence here has given much of his time and attention to buying and selling land, gaining a substantial profit from his operations. His residence in Max dates from 1906 and he was active in the real estate field here during the period of the town’s construction.  He is filling the position of manager of the Max Telephone Company and under his direction that concern has prospered greatly. He has excellent judgment, keeps in close touch with everything relating to the business and is characterized by energy and initiative.  In June 1911, Mr. Kelling was married to Miss Minnie Grant, a resident of South Dakota.  Her parents, W. C. and Susie Grant, removed to that state in 1872, being among its pioneers. For the past thirty years Mr. Grant has been a United States government official, his long tenure of office indicating the ability with which he has discharged his duties.  Both he and his wife are still living.

Mr. Kelling supports the republican party at the polls but has never desired office as a reward for his fealty. He is a member of the Yeomen and the Modern Brotherhood of America, both of Max, and in his life exemplifies the spirit of fraternity which is the foundation of those orders. He has unbounded confidence in the future of North Dakota and has thoroughly identified his interests with those of the state, doing everything in his power to promote the general good.

KARL KLEIN, The Klein-Johnson Company of Washburn, McLean county, is widely known throughout this section of North Dakota, in the development of which it has played an important part. Hs assets reach the one hundred-thousand-dollar mark and it has been largely instrumental in bringing about the settlement of the district but is now transferring its activities largely to the banking field. Its president is Karl Klein, who was born December 15, 1876, in southern Russia, where he remained until seventeen years of age. He came to the United States with his parents, Gottlob and Katharine (Bischof) Klein, and the family settled at Fessenden, North Dakota. In 1909 the parents retired and took up their residence in Washburn, where they are now living.

Karl Klein received a good education in his native country and secured a certificate to teach in the schools there although at that time he was only in his teens. After his removal to North Dakota he attended school at Fessenden, thus perfecting his knowledge of English, and later he took a commercial course in a business college at Minneapolis, from which he was graduated in 1912. Recognizing the great value of a knowledge of the law to the business man, he took a legal course in the night school of the law department of the University of Minnesota. In 1898 he came to Washburn, McLean county, and established a real estate business under the firm name of the Klein Land Agency. He was alone for six months but at the end of that time admitted to partnership August E. Johnson and the business was incorporated as the Klein Land Agency, under which name it was conducted until 1915, when it became the Klein-Johnson Company with a capital of thirty thousand dollars. The corporation has also a large surplus and its total assets amount to one hundred thousand dollars. It is very active in promoting emigration to North Dakota and many of the people now living in the central part of the state came here and became landowners through this agency. In 1902 it organized the First National Bank of Washburn, in 1910 established the Baldwin State Bank and in 1915 bought the Wilton State Bank, and the activities of the company are gradually being turned into the banking field.  In addition to the institutions mentioned the company has organized the Farmers State Bank of Malcolm, the Emmet State Bank of Emmet and the Security State Bank of Blackwater. Mr. Klein is vice president of the Baldwin State Bank and the Wilton State Bank and is a director in the First National Bank of Washburn. He owns individually about three thousand acres of land near Washburn, which he is farming on an extensive scale, and his varied and well managed interests yield him a handsome income. In 1909 he was admitted under Judge Winchester to the bar as a land attorney.

Mr. Klein was married in 1901 to Miss Emilia Bibelheimer, a native of southern Russia, who, when five years of age was taken by her parents to Selby, South Dakota, where she lived until her marriage. Mr. and Mrs. Klein have a son and daughter, Ernst E. and Violet Dorothy.

Mr. Klein is a progressive in politics and is now serving as the head of the city government of Washburn, in which capacity he is proving as efficient as in the management of his private business affairs. He is also filling the office of police magistrate, of which he has been the incumbent for the past six years. In religious faith he is a Lutheran and in spite of his many business and political interests finds time to devote to the work of the church.  For many years he has resided in Washburn, and his foresight, energy and sound judgment have been felt in the life of the community in many ways.

P. N. LANGBELL, Among the important factors in the development of McLean county is the Podhola-Langbell Land & Loan Company, of which P. N. Langbell is the president. He is unusually well qualified for work of this nature as he is thoroughly acquainted with conditions in the county and with the possibilities of this section as he has resided here since 1883, or during practically his entire life. His birth occurred in Denmark, June 27, 1878, and he is a son of Jacob Thomas and Mary Langbell, the latter of whom died during his infancy. Jacob T. Langbell engaged in carpentering and contracting in Denmark and following his removal to Henning, Minnesota, in 1880 continued in the same line of work there until 1883. In that year he located in Bismarck, North Dakota, where he followed the carpenter’s trade for a time. In April 1883, he homesteaded land near Cole Harbor and later purchased a ranch in that vicinity, taking up his abode on that place. In 1890 he removed to his homestead and filed on a tree claim three miles east of old Coal Harbor.  In 1902 he sold his holdings there and removed to Alberta, Canada, where he is now farming.

P. N. Langbell received his education in the Cole Harbor schools and after putting aside his textbooks assisted his father until 1903, when he removed to Cole Harbor and turned his attention to the business of locating new settlers. The following year he went to Underwood, where he established a real estate and loan business, at the same time filing on a homestead adjoining the town site. He soon, however, disposed of that property but remained in Underwood until March 1908, when he came to Max. He at once opened an office here and for several years dealt in real estate and loans independently but in 1913 became president of the Podhola-Langbell Land & Loan Company, organized in that year. The other officers are: P. D. Podhola, secretary-treasurer; and M. H. Podhola, vice president; and the concern is incorporated with a capital of twenty-five thousand dollars. The company places first mortgage farm loans, manages farms for nonresidents and buys and sells farm lands. It owns and controls several thousand acres of improved and unimproved land in the vicinity of Max and as its prices are reasonable and its terms liberal it has done much to promote the settlement of the county.

Mr. Langbell was married August 13, 1910, to Miss Helen Duotski, a native of Buffalo, New York, who, however, has resided in Max since childhood. They have three children, namely: Delmer, Kenneth and La Vonne.

Mr. Langbell is a strong republican and for the past eight years has served as county justice, making an excellent record in that office. He has served as clerk of the school board for two years, is a member of the Baptist church and belongs to and is secretary of the Modern Brotherhood of America. As a business man he is energetic, farsighted and progressive, as a citizen he is public-spirited and as a friend he is loyal and sincere, thus manifesting qualities which never fail to win respect and warm regard.

WALTER PERKINS MACOMBER, McLean county has no more prominent citizen than Walter Perkins Macomber, who for several years has been actively identified with its development along business and industrial lines. His early home was in the east, for he was born in Bangor, Maine, on the 10th of May 1859, a son of James and Mercy (Perkins) Macomber. He attended school in the old Pine Tree state during his boyhood and continued his education for a time after his removal to Minnesota. When a young man he became a resident of Anoka, Minnesota, and was soon numbered among the most influential men of that city, being called upon to serve as its mayor for two years.

It was in 1889 that Mr. Macomber came to North Dakota and located upon the boundary line between McLean and Burleigh counties when that section was a pioneer region. He became interested in the coal deposits there and developed productive mines, of which he is the active manager. He has also been identified with other business enterprises of importance and has carried on an extensive trade in land and grain. Farming has also claimed his attention and today he owns over one thousand acres of very valuable land in this state. For several years past he has had charge of the commercial end of the enterprise established by Senator W. D. Washburn under the name of The Washburn Lignite Coal Company, developing coal mines near Wilton, and they have built up one of the most important industries of that section of the state.

On the 23d of August 1877, Mr. Macomber was married in Anoka, Minnesota, to Miss Jeannette L. Kelsey, and they have become the parents of two children: Elizabeth, now the wife of Dr. R. C. Thompson, of Wilton; and Charlotte, the wife of Gilbert W. Stewart, of Wilton.

Although a very modest and unassuming man, Mr. Macomber has always borne an influential part in public affairs and for the past four years has been a member of the state board of parole. He is generous almost to a fault and the city of Wilton has been greatly benefited thereby, for he is always willing to aid any enterprise for the good of the community.  He has a wide acquaintance throughout the state and is recognized everywhere as a public-spirited and progressive citizen.

OTIS F. McGRAY, is devoting his time chiefly to the conduct of his large hardware, furniture, implement and harness business at Garrison and ranks among the leading business men of McLean county. He was born in Prescott, Wisconsin, January 2, 1803, a son of William Frank and Lena (Nelson) McGray. The father was born in Maine but for many years has resided in Wisconsin. For thirty years he held the office of manager of the St. Croix-Brown Corporation of Stillwater, Minnesota, his long incumbency in that position indicating his ability and loyalty to the trust reposed in him. He is still living, as is his wife, who is a native of Norway.

Otis F. McGray grew to manhood in his native town and after completing the course offered in the schools there entered Carleton College at Northfield, Minnesota, which he attended for some time. After leaving that institution he returned to Prescott and remained there until about 1885, when he became assistant manager of the St. Croix-Brown Corporation of Stillwater. Minnesota, removing to that city, where he resided for about fifteen years. At the end of that time he became master of a steamboat belonging to the St. Croix-Brown Corporation and for five years made the run from St. Paul to Winona, Minnesota, his ship being the Columbia, a large pleasure packet. In January 1902, he severed his connection with that company and came to North Dakota, making part of his journey to Coleharbor by stage. There he opened a hardware and implement store, which he conducted for three years, after which he moved the stock to Garrison and erected the building which his store has since occupied. He has been connected with business interests here since the fall of 1905 and in addition to hardware and implements carries a complete line of furniture and also deals in harness. His building is thirty by one hundred feet in dimensions and is well adapted to his needs. His annual business reaches a large volume and in fact is the largest in this section of the state. He also owns about three thousand acres of land and owns stock and is a director in the First National Bank of Garrison.

In 1883, in Prescott, Wisconsin, Mr. McGray was united in marriage to Miss Gertrude Hicks, also of Prescott. They have a son, Frank, who is assisting his father in the store.  Mr. McGray supports the republican party at the polls, is now filling the office of mayor to the satisfaction of his fellow townsmen and has also filled other positions of trust. He belongs to the Masonic blue lodge at Prescott, Wisconsin, the chapter and commandery at Stillwater, Minnesota, and the Mystic Shrine at Fargo, North Dakota, and is likewise identified with the Knights of Pythias at Stillwater. He holds membership in the Congregational church and furthers all movements seeking the moral advancement of his community. His life has been an active and useful one and his reward is not only financial prosperity but also the consciousness that he has had a part in the upbuilding of his town and county.

L. F. MAHOWALD, the owner of a large hardware, harness, implement and furniture business at Garrison, has been identified with the town since it was laid out and erected the first building here. His birth occurred in Mankato, Minnesota, April 11, 1889, and he is a son of John and Catherine (Weber) Mahowald, natives of Germany. The mother was brought to the United States when about two years of age and grew to womanhood near Mankato, while the father emigrated to this country when about twenty-five years old and settled in the same locality. They were married there and the mother is still living in Mankato, but the father passed away in 1909. To them were born fourteen children, of whom ten survive, namely: Frank J., of Mankato, who is a blacksmith and motorcycle dealer; Anna, the wife of J. T. Lorenz, of Bird Island, Minnesota; Tillie, who married Frank Kreutzer, a resident of Mankato; Mary, the wife of J. J. Huettl, of Max; Julia, the wife of John Butzer, of Mankato; L. F.; Joseph J., who is employed by his brother L. F.; Fred, who owns an auto livery and resides in Mankato; George H., a priest stationed at Cleveland, Ohio; and Lillian, the wife of Roy Brooks, of Mankato. A son, Clemens, died at the age of twenty-one years in Minot, and three children died in infancy.

L. F. Mahowald acquired his education in the parochial schools of Mankato and learned the harness maker’s trade at Redwood Falls, Minnesota, under Nick J. Mahowald, for whom he worked for three years. Later he was employed for two years at Bird Island and Madelia, Minnesota, and for a year in Morton, that state. He then opened a harness shop of his own in Mankato, but after eighteen months sold out and in 1902 came to McLean county, North Dakota. He took up as a homestead the northeast quarter of section 21, township 148, range 85, his land being five miles southwest of Garrison. He proved up on his farm and for three years devoted his attention to its cultivation and improvement. In 1904 he went to Larimore, North Dakota, where he worked at the harness trade until the summer of 1905. He then came to Garrison and bought the second lot sold here, the town site having just been opened, and he it was who erected the first building in the town, a structure twenty-four by forty feet, on the same site as his present store building. He put in a good stock of hardware and harness and his business prospered so under his able management that in 1909 he bought the adjoining building, which gave him a ground floor space of twenty-four by sixty feet. In 1910 he found it necessary to add twenty feet to the old building and in 1916 he added forty feet to the new building, making his store proper forty-eight by sixty feet and his warehouse twenty-four by forty feet. In 1910 he put in a complete line of furniture and implements and altogether carries a stock worth about ten thousand dollars. He spares no pains to please his customers and the quality of the goods carried, the reasonable prices and the liberal business policy followed have resulted in the building up of a large patronage. He is also interested in farm lands near Garrison.

In 1901 occurred the marriage of Mr. Mahowald and Miss Anna Heinzen, who was born in Germany but when nine years of age accompanied her parents to the United States, settlement being made at Bird Island, Minnesota, where she remained until her marriage. She has become the mother of three children. Ward Earl, Elvira E. and Leo H.  Mr. Mahowald is a strong republican in politics and has held a number of local offices. He was chosen a member of the first board of trustees of Garrison; in 1909 was elected county commissioner, which office he held for two years, and for the past six years has served on the school board and for the greater part of that time has been president of that body. In that connection he had much to do with the erection of the fine new school building, of which Garrison is justly proud and which makes it possible to give a full four years’ high school course. He belongs to St. Nicholas’ church of Garrison, and fraternally is identified with the Modern Woodmen of America, the Knights of Columbus at Minot, in which he has taken the fourth degree, and the Catholic Order of Foresters. In all the relations of life, business, civic and personal, he has manifested those qualities which everywhere command respect and regard and is accounted one of the leading citizens of Garrison.

SEVART N. MILLER, the efficient and popular young cashier of the First State Bank of Benedict, was born at Blair, Nebraska, in 1883, a son of Nels P. and Stina (Hanson) Miller, both natives of Denmark. When in middle life they removed to the United States and after living in Nebraska for a time located in Iowa, where the father followed diversified farming.  They are now living at Lake Benton, Minnesota. To them have been born seven children, of whom all survive and of whom Sevart N. Miller is the youngest.

The last named was educated in the Minnesota schools and remained upon the home farm until he attained his majority. Later he entered the State Bank of Shelly, Minnesota, as assistant cashier and for about four years was connected with that institution but in 1910 removed to Benedict, North Dakota. He has since resided here and is well known in financial circles, being cashier of the First State Bank, which was organized in 1908. The following purchased the bank in 1910: J. S. Tucker, of Minneapolis; Ben Bear, of Decorah, Iowa; J. W. G. Anderson, of Shelly ; S. N. Miller and F. O. Miller, of Benedict. The present officers are: J. W. G. Anderson, president; F. O. Miller, vice president; and S. N. Miller, cashier. The bank is capitalized at ten thousand dollars and has a surplus of five thousand dollars. Its affairs are well managed and its business has shown a steady and normal growth. S. N. Miller is likewise interested in farming, owning land in McLean county, which he rents.

In 1908 Mr. Miller was united in marriage to Miss Frida 0. Rognlie, a native of Caledonia, North Dakota, and a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. S. B. Rognlie, pioneers of this state.  The father is deceased but the mother is still living. Mr. and Mrs. Miller are the parents of three children, Vivian. Wayne and Sevart.

Mr. Miller is a republican and is now serving as a member of the town board. For the past four years he has also been on the school board and his interest in educational affairs is marked. He was one of the first members of the Odd Fellows lodge at Benedict, in which he has filled all of the chairs, and he has also held all of the offices in the Woodmen lodge at Shelly, Minnesota. He holds membership in the Congregational church at Benedict, of which he is a trustee, and is influential in furthering the work of that organization.

DR. ALLEN S. NICHOLSON, a successful and up-to-date young physician and surgeon residing at Max, McLean county, was born in the province of Prince Edward Island, Canada, January 24, 1882. His parents, Samuel and Anna (Nicholson) Nicholson, were born in Maine and Canada respectively. In his youth the father removed to Prince Edward Island, where he was married and made his home until 1883. In that year he removed with his family to St. Paul, Minnesota, where he engaged in contracting and building for a number of years. He is now living retired and still makes his home in St. Paul. His wife passed away in 1888.

Allen S. Nicholson, who is an only child, was but six months old when taken by his parents to St. Paul, and there he grew to manhood. He was accorded good educational advantages and after graduating from Macalester College in 1899 entered Hamline University, also at St. Paul, where he took a liberal arts course, laying the foundation for his professional success on a broad and thorough general education. He prepared for the practice of medicine in the medical department of the University of Illinois at Chicago, from which he was graduated with the M. D. degree in 1905, and the following year was devoted to work as interne in the West Side Emergency Hospital of Chicago. On the 1st of March, 1906, be located for practice at Denhoff, North Dakota, where he remained until the 6th of March 1907, when he removed to Max, McLean county, where he has since resided. He has built up a large and lucrative general practice and stands high among his brother physicians as well as in the estimation of the general public. He has invested in farm land near Max and derives a gratifying addition to his income from his agricultural interests.

On the 9th of May 1907, at Bismarck, Dr. Nicholson was married to Miss Iva Beamish, who was born in Michigan but came to North Dakota in her girlhood and for a number of years lived at Rugby. To the doctor and his wife has been born one child, Lorne.

The democratic party receives the support of Dr. Nicholson, and he has taken an active part in the municipal government, having served for two years as a member of the village council and being now president of that body. He has many fraternal connections, being a member of the Masonic blue lodge and chapter, the latter of Minot; of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at Benedict, North Dakota, in which he has held office; of the Elks at Minot and of the Modern Woodmen at Max. He also belongs to Epsilon Phi Sigma, a college fraternity. He is a Presbyterian in religious faith and guides his life by high moral standards. He has been honored by election as councilor of the North Dakota State Medical Society and takes a lively interest in the work of that body.

OSCAR A. OLSON, is well known in Max, McLean county, as he holds the responsible position of cashier of the Citizens State Bank. He was born in Clinton, Minnesota, in 1885, and is a son of Andrew and Martha (Anderson) Olson, natives respectively of Sweden and of Norway. In 1876 the father emigrated to the United States and took up a homestead in Bigstone county. Subsequently he removed to Braham, Minnesota, where he now makes his home. His wife also survives. Oscar A. is the oldest living of their eleven children, nine of whom survive.

After completing the work offered in the public schools of Clinton, Minnesota, Oscar A. Olson took a commercial course in the Metropolitan and Caton Business Colleges of Minneapolis and subsequently was for a year employed as a bookkeeper. At length he entered the first National Bank of Braham, Minnesota, as assistant cashier, in which capacity he served for three years. In 1907 he located at Max, North Dakota, and has since been cashier of the Citizens State Bank of this place. The institution was established in 1906 by August Peterson, of Harvey, North Dakota, and is capitalized for ten thousand dollars and has a surplus of equal amount. For thirteen years Mr. Olson has been connected with banking and for nine years has filled the position which he now holds. The satisfactory condition of the finances of the Citizens State Bank is proof of his sound judgment and ability as it is he who directs the policy of the institution. He is a stockholder in the local elevator and likewise owns land in McLean and Ward counties, his holdings totaling nine hundred and sixty acres, from the rental of which he derives a gratifying income.

On the 7th of January 1913, occurred the marriage of Mr. Olson and Miss Emma Stege, who was born in Nicollet, Minnesota, and is a daughter of Herman and Marie Stege, old residents of that state. Two children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Olson, namely, Evelyn Mae and Margaret Marie.

Mr. Olson supports the republican party but is not an office seeker, confining his political activity to the exercise of his right of franchise. He has, however, served as school treasurer and has always maintained a keen interest in all matters pertaining to the schools of his town. Fraternally he is connected with the Modern Woodmen at Max, the Odd Fellows at Ryder, North Dakota, and the Masons, belonging to the blue lodge at Garrison, the chapter and commandery at Minot and Kem Temple of the Mystic Shrine at Grand Forks.  The high standards which have governed his life are further indicated by the fact that he belongs to the Norwegian Lutheran church at Max and he is now an officer of that church.  He is identified with all plans for the furthering of not only the material and civic but also the moral interests of his community.

GEORGE L. ROBINSON, an honored resident of Garrison, McLean county, is one of the few men now living who knew intimately the old frontier life of the west when the white men who ventured into the country claimed by the Indians were in danger of being scalped and when transportation was by means of wagon trains. He is also worthy of recognition as a veteran of the Civil war and his name is inseparably connected with the commercial development of McLean county, in which he established a store at a time when all of his goods had to be freighted from Bismarck. He now owns and manages four stores in this section and likewise has extensive ranching interests and is president of two important business concerns.

Mr. Robinson was born in England in 1842 and was brought by his parents, John and Jane (Laidman) Robinson to the United States, the family home being established in St. Louis, Missouri. The mother died there in 1854 but the father survived for fifty years, passing away in 1904. He was a butcher and pork packer, and his business affairs were well managed, yielding him a gratifying profit. In his family were eight children, of whom George L. is the oldest. The only other surviving member of the family is a sister, Mrs. George Heaton, of Boise City, Idaho.

George L. Robinson received but a limited education in schools although during his long, adventurous life he has gained a wide knowledge and acquired much practical wisdom.  He attended school both in England and in St. Louis as he was but twelve years old when the family removed to this country. In 1859, when a youth of seventeen, he drove an ox team from Kansas City to Albuquerque, New Mexico, for Colonel Will Bent, one of the early freighters of the southwest and a brother of George Bent, the first governor of the territory of New Mexico. In 1860 Mr. Robinson went with a freight train from Kansas City to Fort Bent, Colorado, and the hazard of the undertaking is indicated by the fact that about that time a comrade was scalped by the Indians.  After spending two years upon the frontier Mr. Robinson returned to St. Louis and at the outbreak of the Civil war enlisted in the Sixth Missouri Regiment, with which he served for sixteen months. After receiving his discharge from the army he resided at St. Louis continuously until April 1883, successfully following the butcher’s and packer’s business.

However, the possibilities of the then new and undeveloped territory of Dakota made strong appeal to his pioneer spirit and in the month mentioned he came to what is now North Dakota, settling at Coal Harbor, where he took up a preemption and also a tree claim located near the town. Not long afterward he established a general store at Coal Harbor, which he conducted there until 1905, when the Soo Railroad was built through the state and the old town of Coal Harbor, which was seven miles distant from the railroad, was moved to the new town of Coleharbor, which was named by Mr. Robinson in honor of an official of the Soo Line. For a number of years after he established the business in old Coal Harbor the nearest railroad point was Bismarck, from which all of his goods were freighted. Later a branch of the Soo Line was built and the town of Velva, only fifty miles distant, became his shipping point. This remained the nearest railroad station until the Bismarck & Great Falls Railroad, now a part of the Soo Line, was constructed and the old town of Coal Harbor was moved as previously stated. Mr. Robinson removed his store to Coleharbor and at the same time established another store at Garrison, residing, however, at Coleharbor. In 1916 he purchased a general store at Emmet and also founded another at Dunn Center, in which he owns a half interest. He now lives at Garrison but has personal supervision over the management of all four stores. Although this would be enough to occupy the time and attention of most men he also looks after a large tract of land in North Dakota, mainly in McLean county, which he owns and a part of which he rents. Moreover, he personally manages a cattle ranch located ten miles southeast of Garrison, consisting of two thousand and eighty acres of land, on which he keeps an average of one hundred and fifty head of graded shorthorn cattle. He also has about one hundred head of Shire horses on the ranch and about one hundred Berkshire hogs. His unusual energy and activity also enable him to serve as president of the First National Bank of Washburn, North Dakota, and as president of the Missouri Slope Seed Company, a Garrison business enterprise.

Mr. Robinson was married in St. Louis in 1864 to Miss Janet Sharp, who was born in Scotland but came with her parents to the United States in 1849. They have become the parents of five children: Jesse Thompson, George L. and Peter S., all three deceased; William H. who is now in charge of his father’s general store at Garrison; and Francis, also deceased.

Mr. Robinson votes independently and gives careful study to the issues of each campaign in order that he may cast his ballot intelligently. He was at one time treasurer of McLean county and his record in that capacity was in harmony with his record in other connections. He has reached the age of seventy-four years but has charge of business interests the management of which would tire many a man twenty years his junior His long, active and successful life has brought him prosperity and also the honor and regard of all who know him.

J. A. ROSS, president of the First State Bank of Dogden, McLean county, has been connected with the institution in an official capacity since its organization and to his acumen and enterprise much of its success has been due. He was born in Princeton, Minnesota, May 9, 1874, and is a son of Mr. and Mrs. N. A. Ross, both of whom were born in the east but removed to Minnesota years ago. The father passed away in that state, and the mother is still living there. To them were born three children, of whom A. Ross is the second in order of birth, and all survive.

J. A. Ross was educated in the schools of Minnesota, completing a high school course in Princeton. In 1893 he engaged in the drug business, with which he was connected in Chatfield, Minnesota, for eight years. At the end of that time he aided in organizing the Peoples Telephone Company and devoted three years to the management of that concern.  In 1905 he arrived in North Dakota and at once located on the Dogden town site, which he handled and on which he was the first to settle. In 1906 he, together with E. A. Thayer and A. L. Ober, organized the First State Bank of Dogden with a capital of twenty-five thousand dollars. It was first located in a tent as the town was then in an embryonic state of development, and later it was moved into a barn, where the business was conducted for a time, or until the building in which, it is now located was erected. Mr. Ross was the first cashier of the bank and in 1913 was made president, a position which he has since filled with marked ability. From the beginning the policy of the institution has been such as to win public confidence and the volume of its business has grown steadily. It now has a surplus of five thousand dollars and its affairs are in a very satisfactory condition.  Mr. Ross is also president of the Dogden Farm Land Company, which has important real estate interests in this section of the state.

In October 1896, Mr. Ross was united in marriage to Miss Marcia Dickson, a native of Chatfield, Minnesota, and they have become the parents of three children, namely: Marcia and Evelyn, who are attending St. Mary’s Hall at Faribault, Minnesota; and Marguerite.  Mr. Ross is an adherent of the republican party but has never been an office seeker as his business affairs have required his undivided attention. He belongs to the Masonic order, is a member of El Zagal Temple of the Mystic Shrine at Fargo and is identified with the Odd Fellows at Dogden. He has been a factor in the development of his town from the very beginning until the present, and his public spirit has never been questioned.

GILBERT W. STEWART, editor and proprietor of the Wilton News, embellished at Wilton, North Dakota, was born on the 24th of July 1874, near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, his parents being William G. and Jennie (Wright) Stewart, the former born in York county, Pennsylvania, in 1840, and the latter in Ohio in 1849. The mother is now deceased, but the father, who is a Presbyterian minister, is still living in the Keystone state.

Gilbert W. Stewart passed his boyhood and youth in Pennsylvania and acquired his early education in the public schools near Pittsburgh. Later he was graduated from Washington and Jefferson College at Washington, Pennsylvania, with the degree of A. B., and later entered the Western Theological Seminary at Pittsburgh, having previously determined to enter the ministry of the Presbyterian church. Before attending the last named institution, however, he had taught school for one year and was in the employ of the Westinghouse Air Brake Company for a time.

In 1905 Mr. Stewart came to North Dakota and entered upon his ministerial labors. He began preaching in the wilderness among the cowboys, who played many jokes upon him, so that his life among them was not a particularly enviable one. For two summers he had charge of a church at Haley, North Dakota, seventy-five miles south of Dickinson, and then removed to Wilton as pastor of the Presbyterian church, which he served for two years.  He next had charge of the church at New Salem for a time but later returned to Wilton and on the 1st of September 1910, purchased the Wilton News. This paper was established by M. H. Jewel and John Satterlain of Washburn, who sold it to E. A. Hull, and from him Mr. Stewart purchased it. Under his management it has gained a large circulation and has become a paying enterprise with a good advertising patronage.

It was on the 1st of September 1909, that Mr. Stewart was united in marriage to Miss Charlotte Macomber, a daughter of Walter P. and Jeanette Macomber, who are natives of Maine and Pennsylvania respectively. Mr. and Mrs. Stewart have two children: Gilbert W., Jr., and Jeanette Macomber. They are people of prominence in the community where they reside and wherever known are held in the highest esteem. Mr. Stewart is a progressive republican in politics. Both personally and through his paper he exerts a wide influence for good, doing all in his power to promote the moral and material welfare of town and county.

SWAIN J. SVEINSON, cashier of the Security State Bank of Benedict, is recognized as a man of business insight, unquestioned integrity and enterprise. He is a native of North Dakota, having been born at Cavalier, and is a son of B. and Christine Sveinson, natives of Iceland. They became residents of North Dakota in their youth and were among the first settlers of Cavalier. They learned by experience all of the conditions of the frontier and endured the hardships inseparable from pioneer life. The father has devoted his time to general farming and his well directed efforts have been rewarded by a competence.  Both he and his wife are still living at Cavalier. All o£ their four children, of whom Swain J. is the second in order of birth, survive.

Swain J. Sveinson was educated in the Cavalier schools and in the State Agricultural College at Fargo, which he entered in 1910. After leaving that institution he entered the employ of the First National Bank of Cavalier, in which he served as assistant cashier until 1914, when he became connected with the Security State Bank of Benedict, which had been organized two years previously by Tofflemire Brothers. It is capitalized at ten thousand dollars and has a surplus of one thousand dollars. The first care of the officers is to safeguard the funds of depositors. Mr. Sveinson is not only thoroughly familiar with the details of banking practice but also understands those principles of finance upon which the conduct of a bank is necessarily based. He owns stock in the Security State Bank and also in the First National Bank of Cavalier and likewise has valuable real estate interests.  Mr. Sveinson is a strong advocate of the principles of the democratic party but has never had time to take an active part in politics. He is identified with the Odd Fellows at Benedict and holds membership in the Lutheran church, the teachings of which guide his life. He has a large number of warm friends and all who have come in contact with him acknowledge his ability and probity.

CECIL H. TAYLOR, a pioneer of Garrison, where he established the first general store, organized the post office and served as the first postmaster, is still engaged in business there and is accounted one of its representative citizens. A native of Maryland, he was born in 1879 and is a son of Job and Georgiana Taylor, both natives of Pennsylvania. In 1880 they removed to North Dakota and located at Bismarck. They are now living upon a ranch of six hundred acres in Burleigh county, near Bismarck, upon which the father is raising high grade horses.

Cecil H. Taylor, the youngest of a family of three children, all of whom survive, was but a year old when brought to North Dakota and received his education in the Bismarck schools, completing a high school course. His first business connection was as clerk in a general store conducted by a Mr. Hoskins at Bismarck, in whose employ he remained for three years. During that time, however, he devoted part of his attention to assisting his father with the management of the ranch. In 1903 he organized a post office on the Missouri river, six miles south of what later became Garrison, and in connection with the office established a general store and lumberyard. In 1905 what is now a part of the Soo line was built through that section and the town site of Garrison was laid out. He at once removed his store and lumberyard to the new town, becoming its first merchant, and also organized the post office there and took up the duties of postmaster. He has since sold the lumber business but is still conducting the store under the firm name of Taylor, Baldwin & Company. A complete stock is carried and the growth of the business has necessitated enlargement of the floor space from twenty by forty to fifty by eighty feet. Four clerks are employed and the volume of trade is still showing a steady increase. Mr. Taylor acted as postmaster in addition to looking after his store until December 1913, and performed the work of the office with marked efficiency and dispatch. He owns an interest in the ranch in Burleigh county and derives a gratifying addition to his income therefrom.  In 1907 Mr. Taylor was married to Miss Julie Dale, a resident of Cyrus, Minnesota, and to this union three children have been born, namely: Dale, Paul and Margaret.  Mr. Taylor is an adherent of the republican party and is faithful to all of his obligations as a citizen. He is a member of the Masonic lodge at Garrison, in which he has held all of the offices, and likewise belongs to the Yeomen at Garrison. He contributes to the support of the Congregational church and cooperates with all forces seeking advancement of his community along moral as well as material lines.

FRANK E. WRIGHT, Among the leading citizens of Max, McLean county, is Frank E. Wright, a practicing attorney and also the publisher of the Max Enterprise. He was born in Appleton, Minnesota, November 7, 1884, and is a son of Joseph W. and Jennie B. Wright, natives respectively of Rochester, New York, and of Wisconsin. However, they spent the greater part of their lives in Minnesota.

Frank E. Wright graduated from the Appleton high school and subsequently entered the University of Minnesota, which conferred upon him the Bachelor of Laws degree on the completion of his course in 1907. He began the practice of law in Appleton, being connected for about a year with the firm of Young & McElligott, but in 1908 he located in Max, North Dakota, where he has since remained. He at once opened an office and in a comparatively short time had gained recognition as an attorney of ability. He has built up a good practice but since June 1, 1913, has devoted much of his time and energy to the publication of the Max Enterprise, which he bought on that date. He has likewise met with success in his journalistic venture both from a financial and a professional viewpoint. The reliability, enterprise and progressiveness of the paper is recognized throughout the county and its circulation has shown a gratifying growth.

Mr. Wright was married on the 18th of November 1909, to Miss Lina Pudwell, a native of McIntosh county, North Dakota, and to this union has been born a son, Joseph Wells.  Mr. Wright is a republican and takes an active interest in political and civic affairs. He has thoroughly identified his interests with those of his community and is confident of a splendid future awaiting the state of North Dakota.

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