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Trails to the Past
Pierce County North Dakota Biographies
Biographie Index
IVER E. ACKER, a late acquisition to the population of Pierce county, and an energetic and industrious citizen, has begun to make, his home on section 23, township 156. range 74. and is rapidly developing his lands and making many improvements.
Mr. Acker was born in Norway on a farm March 23, 1859. His father was Einar Acker, a farmer in Norway, now deceased. The subject of this article was the fifth in a family of six children, and was reared to the age of fourteen years on a farm in Trondhjem, Norway and attended the country schools. He began work on a railroad there when he was fifteen years of age, and from that time made his own living. He also worked in a paper factory in that country. He married, in 1879, Miss Ingeborg O. Stilen becoming his wife. Her father was a farmer, and an old settler in South Dakota. Mr. and Mrs. Acker have had three children, of whom two are dead, and one child, Elmer, is still living. He was born at Hillsboro, Traill county, North Dakota, in 1891. In 1885 Mr. Acker and his wife came to America, landing at Philadelphia and coming direct to Traill county, North Dakota. There Mr. Acker rented land and farmed. He was compelled to buy machinery and a complete outfit for farm work, having nothing in the world but himself and wife. He engaged in grain raising exclusively, and far wife. He engaged in grain raising exclusively, and farmed there for twelve years, meeting with good success. In 1898 Mr. Acker and his brother, Nels Acker, in company with Jorgen Haar and Mr. Taylor, made a trip to the gold field of Alaska on the Yukon river. They traveled sixteen hundred miles on foot. They did some gold mining and found paying claims, but the Canadian government seized them. Many a night the party slept on the snow and endured hardships and exposure. They spent about nineteen months on the trip, returning in October, 1899.
In the spring of 1900 Mr. Acker came to Pierce county, and settled in section 23, township 156, range 74, and at once began breaking his land. He had visited the county in 1894 and was not unacquainted with its resources. He has a fine piece of land .and will undoubtedly develop it into one of the most valuable farms in the county, as he is endowed with energy, perseverance and endurance, and is a good manager. He is thoroughly acquainted with North Dakota farming and is confident of success.
HENRY W. ELLINGSON, register of deeds of Pierce county, is one of the popular and rising young men of the county and ofNorth
Dakota. He has a valuable farm in the county and is now a resident of the city of Rugby, where he is also interested in the hardware business.
Mr. Ellingson was born in Adams county, Wisconsin, on a farm, August 23, 1872. His parents were born in Norway, his father. Elling Ellingson, having been a farmer all his life. The family came from Norway during the Civil war and located in Wisconsin.
Henry W. Ellingson was the youngest in a family of nine children and was reared to the age of ten years on the farm in Wisconsin, where he worked on the farm and attended the public school. The family came to North
Dakota at that time and settled in Traill county. There they farmed for some time and then came to Pierce county, in 1887. They had looked over the county in 1885 and 1886 and the father took up government land six miles northwest of Rugby. They developed the farm, using oxen for several years and our subject had plenty of hard work and' trying experiences during those early days. In the winter of 1892 their residence burned down, the fire catching from the chimney, and the family was thrown out in the cold.
At the age of twenty-one years, Henry W. Ellingson started out for himself. He engaged in farm work and in 1892 took up government land and put up a shanty for himself. He finally took charge of his father's place and farmed the two tracts together. At the time of leaving his farm he owned one hundred and sixty acres, with all improvements and machinery required in the successful prosecution of agriculture.
Mr. Ellingson was elected in the fall of 1894 to the office of register of deeds, re-elected in 1896, and again in 1898, and is now filling out the close of the third term in that office. He took up his residence in Rugby in 1894. He is a Republican in political faith and has been active in public affairs since his arrival at the age of twenty-one years, having been elected to this important office when he was but twenty-two years old. He is a capable and trustworthy official and enjoys the esteem and confidence of the people of Pierce county.
Mr. Ellingson was married, in 1893, to Miss Annie Mellhose. Mrs. Ellingson was born in Goodhue county. Minnesota, and taught school for many years in North Dakota . Her father is a prominent farmer and old settler of Pierce county. Mr. and Mrs. Ellingson have three children, namely: Nettie, Hattie and Minnie, all born in North Dakota . Mr. Ellingson is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America and is one of the early settlers of the county. He is thoroughly acquainted with the history of its development and progress and is destined to become a leader in his state.
 HON. FINGER T. GRONVOLD. Perhaps no man in Pierce county is better known as a business man and citizen of true worth than the subject of this review. He is a resident of Rugby, where he has extensive mercantile interests and is also engaged in farming near the town of Barton.
Our subject was born on the farm in Sigdal, Norway, April 25, 1868. His father. Thor Gronvold, was a farmer throughout his life and spent his career in Norway. Our subject was the youngest in a family of eight children and was raised on the farm and had limited school advantages. He began for himself at the age of seventeen years and went to America soon afterward, landing at New York, going from there directly to North
Dakota. He spent one year in Traill county, and in 1887 went to Barton. Pierce county, and took government land on which he began farming. He and his brother drove from Traill county and our subject built a small shanty and lived alone many years. He farmed with oxen four years and his first few crops were failures and he worked for others to get a living. He remained on the farm eight years, during which time he secured an English education by attending Grand Forks College three winters, paying his way by his work. The last winter in school he was taken ill with typhoid fever and was sick most of the winter. He was elected county treasurer of Pierce county in the fall of 1894 and re-elected in 1896 and served four years. He was elected to the state legislature in 1898 and is now serving in that capacity and enjoys the confidence of his fellows. In January. 1900, Mr. Gronvold bought an interest in a hardware store with Mr. Henry Ellingson. who established the store in 1899, and our subject and partner have erected a fine store building, with warehouse in the rear and carry a complete line of hardware and farm machinery. Mr. Gronvold retains his farming interests and has a tract of four hundred acres on which he engages in grain raising.
Our subject was married. November 25. 1897. to Alice Egeland. a native of Wisconsin, and daughter of J. M. Egeland, a native of Norway. Mrs. Gronvold taught school in North Dakota and Minnesota three years. One daughter has been born to Mr. and Airs. Gronvold, whose birth is dated May 20, 1900. Our subject is a Republican politically and is prominent in party affairs.
JUDGE EVEN GUNDERSON, county judge of Pierce county, is one of the leading men of his section of the state, and has wielded great influence in the public affairs of Pierce county. His home is now in Rugby, but his farming interests and estate lie two miles west of that city.
Judge Gunderson was born in Winneshiek county, Iowa, on a farm, December 28, 1866. His father, Gunder Helgeson, came to America when but five years of age and located in Iowa. The mother was born in Minnesota, and was a daughter of Evan Spillhaug.
Judge Gunderson is the second child in a family of eight children, and grew to manhood on the farm, receiving the benefits of the public schools only. At the age of twenty-one he left home and came to Pierce county. North Dakota. He took up land in township 156, range 73, two miles west of the city of Rugby. He at once put up a shanty, 16x20 feet, built of sod, and a sod barn, 14x16 feet. His crops of 1888, 1889 and 1890 were failures on account of frost, drought, etc., the latter year yielding him the seed he had planted. The following year he harvested two thousand two hundred bushels of wheat from sixty-five acres. During much of this time he worked for others to meet expenses. He then had five successive crops, and prospered accordingly. He is now the owner of four hundred and eighty acres of good land, three hundred and twenty-five of which is under cultivation and the rest devoted to pasture for stock. His estate is well improved and provided with a complete set of farm buildings.
Judge Gunderson is a Republican in political faith, and has taken a prominent part in the public affairs of his county. He was appointed postmaster of Rugby by President Harrison and served four years. In 1894 he was elected sheriff of Pierce county, serving one term, and in 1896 was elected county judge, and re-elected in 1898, and is now serving his second term. He has attended numerous state conventions of his party, and is known throughout the state. He continues to carry on farming, and enjoys that branch of his occupation. He also owns residence property in Rugby.
Judge Gunderson was married, in 1887, to Miss Eliza Johnson, a daughter of Knute Johnson, a farmer of the state of Iowa. To this union six children have been born, as follows: Gilbert, born in 1888: John, born in 1890; Herbert, deceased, born in 1892; Casper, born in 1894; Stancy and Herbine, born in 1898. All these children are natives of North Dakota, and form an interesting and intelligent family group. Judge Gunderson is thoroughly posted in the history of his county and state, and enjoys the respect and confidence of his fellow men to a high degree.
WELCOME J. HOLBROOK, is well known in Pierce county as a prominent business man and farmer. He resides in Rugby, where he owns a fine residence property, and is also engaged in farming in that vicinity, and also in grain buying.
Our subject was born in Ohio, on a farm in Union county, February 25, 1861. His father. C. B. Holbrook, was a farmer and Methodist Episcopal minister, and the grandfather of our subject, Luther Holbrook, was of American birth and parentage. Our subject's mother was of German descent, and her grandmother, Gearhart. came from Germany.
Our subject was the fifth in a family of seven children, four of whom grew to maturity. He was educated in the common schools, and was reared to farm work, and at the age of eighteen years started for himself. He began farming in' Nebraska. His father was a soldier in the Civil war, and served from 1863 to 1866 through Wyoming, Montana and the west. Finally he returned to Ohio and then went to Iowa and later to Nebraska. Our subject followed farming in that state eight years, but suffered loss of crops by hail and other causes, and in the spring of 1887 settled on government land seven miles southeast of the present town of Rugby. He built a shanty, and oxen and a span of nudes were his first teams. The crop of 1888 was frosted and was a complete failure, but he remained on the farm five years and met with good success. He removed to Rugby in 1890, and engaged in grain buying at that station for the Farmers' Northwest Elevator Company, and was with this company three years, and was then employed by their successors, Heising Elevator Company, and has continued in their employ since. He handles the largest amount of grain of any elevator in the town and does a paying business. He also follows fanning, and has an estate covering four hundred and eighty acres of land, within one and a half miles of Rugby to the west. All the land is cultivated, and he has a complete set of farm buildings thereon and it is one of the finest farms of the county. His residence in Rugby is located on a tract of land 100x300 feet, and is a pleasant and comfortable home.
Our subject was married at the age of twenty years to Miss Mattie Randolph, a daughter of D. B. Randolph, a native of Virginia. Her father was a cooper by trade and served in the Union army. Mrs. Holbrook was reared in Pittsburg. Nine children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Holbrook, who are as follows: Bertie, teaching in Dakota; Bessie, attending high school; Edna, Grace, Ruth, Ralph. Fern, Donald, and an infant, unnamed. Mr. Holbrook has held numerous city offices and takes an active part in prohibition movements. He is a Republican politically. He holds membership in the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and is an officer in the Grand Lodge of Good Templars.
HERBERT C. HURD, the efficient and popular postmaster ofRugby. North
Dakota, is engaged in newspaper work in that city and is senior member of the firm of Hurd & Irwin. He is a young man of energetic character and has prospered 'in his calling.
Our subject was born in a village in Ontario Canada, April 5. 1871. His father, William S. Hurd was a farmer most of his life and settled on a farm m North
Dakota about 1882. He died on his farm near Rugby when our subject was seventeen years of age. The mother of our subject was born iii Ireland and bore the name of Marv T. Hendry. She came to America in 1844 and the parents were married in Canada. Of their family of five children our subject is fourth in order of birth. He was raised on the farm and received a limited education and at the age of eleven years went to North
Dakota with his parents and settled at Grand
Forks where the parents followed farming five years, and then went to Pierce county in 1887 and settled on a farm one mile from Rugby. After the father's death the family moved to Rugby and our subject worked on the "Pierce County Tribune," which was established in June, 1888, by David P. Thomas. Mr. Hurd bought the plant in 1891 and became editor and proprietor. The paper was the second paper of the county, and since 1889 has been the only paper published in the county. Our subject sold a half interest in the paper in 1899 to H. F. Irwin, and the paper is now conducted under the firm name of Hurd & Irwin.
Mr. Hurd was elected clerk of courts in 1892 and served one term. He was appointed postmaster of Rugby in July, 1897, and is serving in that capacity. He continued farming and owns and operates a tract of one hundred and sixty acres.
Our subject was married October 15, 1893, to Anna Gram, a native of Canada. Mrs. Hurd is a lady of accomplished manners and was a teacher prior to her marriage. Mr. and Mrs. Hurd are the parents of one child, Alice H., who was born in December, 1897. Mr. Hurd was one of the early settlers of that locality and can recount many hardships and experiences there. He is prominent in local affairs and a Republican.
H. F. Irwin, Mr. Hurd's partner in the newspaper work, was born in Illinois , May 10. 1872. He was educated in Michigan and learned the printer's trade at Detroit . Michigan , spending fifteen years at newspaper work there. He went to North Dakota in 1899. His father, Bell Irwin, was of English descent and was a general merchant.
KARL JULSRUD, treasurer of Pierce county, is one of its pioneer settlers and most prominent farmers. Mr. Julsrud was born in Askim, Norway, April 27, 1855, and was reared chiefly in Rakkestad. His father, Ole A. Julsrud, was a farmer, and also owned a saw-mill and flouring-mill, a tannery and brick yard, and was a prominent man in his district. He was a soldier three years in the Norwegian army. He lived and died in Norway.
Karl Julsrud was reared at home, and worked at his father's various interests, attended school till he was fourteen or fifteen years of age. and in 1876 started for himself, first working in a machine shop at Sarpsborg, and then taking a course in a technical college at Horton, Norway. He graduated from this institution in 1878, and then did machinist's work for some time. He also served three years in the Norwegian army. In 1882 he came to America, landing in New York, and proceeding west to Chicago. After a short time in the latter city he went up into Michigan and worked in a saw-mill. He then visited St. Paul, Minnesota, and soon after came west to Dakota, reaching Hillsboro in 1882. His first job in that vicinity was firing an engine for a threshing machine. He remained in that county three years, going to the pineries in northern Minnesota during the winter months. In 1884, he with three others, A. R. Ruud, A. O. Ruud and Antun Julsrud, started west in wagons from Traill county, and visited Northwood, Devils Lake, Stump Lake, and spent four weeks in examining the country in the vicinity of these points. They proceeded along the Mouse river as far as Burlington, and went up to Round Lake. From Churchs Ferry to blouse river they found but two settlers. In the spring of 1885 they made a permanent settlement ten miles northwest of Rugby, in the vicinity of Round Lake, putting up their shanties in a cluster, and batched it for the first few years. In 1886 they started breaking their land, using oxen for the first few years. Mr. Julsrud had trying experiences the first few years, his crops failing frequently, and the snow during the winter of 1886 and 1887 completely covering most of their shanties. With the exception of 1896 and 1897 that was the severest winter this region has had since its earliest settlement. In 1890 he found it necessary to work on the Great Northern Railroad to help him out, and joined the constructing forces in the Rocky mountains. He now owns three hundred and twenty acres of excellent land, two hundred of which is under cultivation, and he devotes attention to wheat and stock raising.
In politics Mr. Julsrud is a Republican, and has been active in public affairs of his county. He has held a number of local offices in his township, and was school director about eleven years. In 1898 he was elected county treasurer, and is now serving in that capacity. He has attended numerous state, county and district conventions of his party, and is a leading citizen of the county and influential in the councils of his party. He took part in the organization of Pierce county, and has done much to direct its growth and development.
Mr. Julsrud married, in 1893, Miss Mary Tolsby becoming his wife. Mrs. Julsrud was born in Norway and came to America in 1882. Her father, Andrew Tolsby is a prominent farmer in Pierce county. Mr. and Mrs. Julsrod have two children, Olga and Alma C.
 ANDREW J. LAVIK, the genial and efficient auditor of Pierce county, has been a prominent and leading citizen since the early settlement of this portion of North Dakota. While he has lived most of the time in the city of Rugby, he has also extensive farm interests and is one of the leading agriculturists of the county.
Mr. Lavik was born in Eksingdalen, Norway, November 26, 1860. His father, Johannes J. Lavik, has been a farmer there all his life. The mother of our subject bore the maiden name of Maglie Nommedalen. Andrew J. Lavik was reared on the farm and attended country school. He then started to learn the shoemaker's trade and spent three years as an apprentice, beginning at the age of eighteen years. He then attended high school one year and then, in 1883, came to America, landing in New York, and proceeding to Grant county, Minnesota, where he arrived in the spring of the latter year. He spent two and a half years working on the farm and taught Norwegian school about four months. In 1886 he came to Hillsboro, Traill county. North Dakota, and worked at the machine business and on the farm. In 1887 he went to Montana and worked at railroad grading on the Great Northern Railroad. He had in the meantime, in 1886, taken a homestead claim in Pierce county, three miles southwest of Rugby, and in July, 1887, he returned to Rugby and hired out on a farm. He then clerked in a store in Rugby and it was not until 1889 and 1890 that he got out on his own farm. He has made many and valuable improvements on his land and now owns four hundred and eighty acres, with a complete set of farm buildings and all conveniences for the prosecution of agriculture. He cultivates one hundred and sixty acres, the rest being devoted to pasture and hay.
Mr. Lavik has been active in public affairs since his coming to the county. He was elected register of deeds of Pierce county in 1890, being the second incumbent of that office and was re-elected in 1892, serving two terms. He spent the following two years in railroading and in 1896 was elected county auditor, and was re-elected to that office in 1898.
Mr. Lavik was married, in 1888, to Miss Mary Nelson. Mrs. Lavik was born in Norway and came to America in 1877. To this union four children have been born, namely: Jesse, Marvin, Adolph and Maglie A., all having been born in the city of Rugby. Mr. Lavik is an influential member of his party and has attended many state and county conventions. He assisted in the organization of Pierce county, and has been prominent in its councils since that time.
 JAMES H. LOCKWOOD, is widely known as a progressive and prosperous grain and lumber dealer of Rugby, Pierce county. He deals in lumber, fuel, grain and livery business and has an extensive patronage.
Our subject was born on a farm in the state of New York, in 1853. He was a son of Abram and Harriet (Phillip) Lockwood. His father was a native of Connecticut, of Scotch descent, and the mother was born in St. Lawrence comity. New York, and was of German-Scotch ancestry. Our subject was the third in a family of four children and was raised on a farm and worked with his father. He left home at the age of twenty-one and began farming in Pennsylvania, the family going to that state at the same time. Our subject farmed there several years in Erie county, on rented land. He came to North Dakota in 1882 and settled in Nelson county, and then worked for others in Grand Forks, and his wife taught school there. He came to Rugby in October, 1886, and bought grain for Little & Simons, of Duluth, and was the first to buy grain in Rugby. He handled the grain in sacks and the warehouse was an open platform. He was for some four years engaged in the buying and shipping of buffalo bones. In this business he made $1,500 the first year, and was the first vocation in which he was engaged for himself in North Dakota. He ran a stationary pumping engine one year for the Great Northern Railway, and in the fall of 1888 went to work for the St. Anthony & Dakota Elevator Company, and remained with them until 1899. They erected the first elevator in the town and our subject assumed charge of the same. He started in the grain business for himself in 1899, and built a 25,000-bushels capacity elevator and has a good business in that area. He established a livery barn in 1892, succeeding O. O. Adams in the business, and has continued with good results. In 1895 he succeeded Nels Jacobson in the lumber business, and now conducts one of the largest yards in the county. He has a farm of eight hundred acres, and engages in grain raising almost exclusively.
 Our subject was married, in Erie county, Pennsylvania, in 1874, to Miss Allie E. Osborne, a native of that county, and a daughter of Dr. Robert J. Osborne, a prominent physician of that region. Mrs. Lockwood was a faithful helpmeet through pioneer struggles, and her willing hands and heart performed many duties which helped our subject to succeed. She died in Rugby, North Dakota, June I, 1900, and her portrait in connection with that of Mr. Lockwood gives a pathetic cast to this narrative. The pictures appear on opposite pages. One child was born to Mr. and Mrs. Lockwood, who bears the name of Furdenia M, and was born May 16, 1878. Miss Lockwood is widely known as a vocalist, having spent seven years in study in Minneapolis, under the instruction of Miss Beushley and one year in New York city, the pupil of Madam Bjorkstine. Mr. Lockwood assisted in the organization of the town, and was one of the first board of trustees. He is public-spirited, but does not seek public office. Politically he is a Democrat.
MORRIS MADSEN. A prominent station is accorded this gentleman as an old settler and business man of Rugby, Pierce co settler and business man of Rugby, Pierce county. He conducts a lumber yard in the town and also has extensive farming interests in the vicinity.
Our subject was born in the suburbs of Christiania, Norway, in December, 1860, and is a son of Nels Madsen, a mechanic. The mother died in Norway and our subject and his father came to America in 1865, and in 1868 returned to their native land. Our subject grew to manhood there and attended the city schools, and at the age of eighteen years returned to America and settled at Racine, Wisconsin. His father died in Racine, Wisconsin, in 1879. He followed various occupations including book keeping, clerking and working in a printing office and attended school, and he worked on several papers in Wisconsin. He started in business at Racine, Wisconsin, when he was twenty-one years of age, and carried a line of dry goods, notions, and gents' furnishings, and was in business there until 1887. He came to Rugby, North
Dakota, in 1887, where he started a general store and was one of the pioneer merchants of the town. He also took government land and lived on the farm a portion of the time. He continued in business there until the spring of 1890 when he sold the stock and was appointed county auditor in April, 1890, and served one term. He was deputy treasurer during 1891 and 1892, and was elected county auditor in 1892, and in 1894 was re-elected, serving in that capacity two terms. He established a lumber yard in Rugby in 1896, and enjoys a good trade and has been successful. He is local age a good trade and has been successful. He is local agent for the town site company, and also handles insurance business. He owns a farm of four hundred and eighty acres, on which he conducts grain raising with good results.
Our subject was married, in 1887, to Miss Ingaborg Anderson, a native of Norway, who came to America in 1880. Her father is a watchmaker and jeweler. Mr. and Mrs. Madsen are the parents of five children, who are named as follows: Agnora, Arthur, Oscar, Morris and Harold. Mr. Madsen is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and Woodmen of the World. He is a Republican politically and has been chairman of the county central committee and is prominent in party affairs.
H. J. McDONALD, one of the influential and well-to-do farmers and stock raisers of Pierce county, though recently retired from the active prosecution of agriculture, resides upon his valuable estate township 156, range 73, southeast of Rugby.
Mr. McDonald was born on a farm in the state of New York, January 23, 1857. His father. Donald McDonald, was a farmer, and a native of Scotland, who came to America in 1854. The mother, whose maiden name was Louisa Booksbarker, was a native of Germany, and came to America in .April, 1853. Her marriage to Donald McDonald occurred at Toronto. Canada.
H. J. McDonald was the second child of a family of six children, and was reared on a farm in New York. At the age of ten years he accompanied his parents to Tippecanoe county, Indiana, where he grew to manhood. He received his education in the public schools, and worked for himself most of the time after he was twelve years of age, doing farm work in Indiana and Illinois. In 1887 he came to North Dakota, locating first in Steele county. There he farmed on rented land for eight years, batching it most of the time. In 1804 he came to Pierce county, and located government land a few miles southeast of Rugby. He and John Rattle, mention of whom will be found on another page of this volume. erected a shanty 14x20 feet, on the line of their claims. This building Mr. McDonald now uses as a part of his granary. In 1895 his lands yielded him about one thousand bushels of flax and two thousand bushels of wheat, the wheat yield being thirty bushels per acre. He went into stock raising to some extent also, devoting much attention to sheen the first few years. His only bad luck was in 1899, when he lost about half his crop by bail. He owns four hundred acres, practically all under cultivation, and about one hundred and sixty acres fenced. He has a fine residence, barn and outbuildings, and a complete outfit of farm machinery. His home is surrounded and protected by a grove of trees five acres in extent. In 1900. owing: to ill-health, he sold his horses and rented his lands.
Mr. McDonald was married, June 30. 1896. to Miss M. E. C. Morden. Mrs. McDonald was born in Canada, and was a school teacher for some years. Her father, an old settler of Dakota, is now a resident of Oregon. She came to Dakota with her parents, W. S. and Elizabeth Morden, in the fall of 1882, being then a child of eleven years. Mr. and Mrs. McDonald are the parents of two children, namely: John W., born June 12, 1897, and Grace E., born April 4, 1899. They have a pleasant home, fitted with the comforts and conveniences of modern country life. Mr. McDonald is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. In politics he is independent and takes an active interest in public affairs. He has held local offices, and has the confidence and esteem of all who know him.
JAMES W. MOFFET, a prominent and leading farmer and stock raiser of Pierce county, resides in township 158, range 73, a few miles east of the city of Barton. He is one of the pioneers of the county, and of the state.
Mr. Moffet was born on a farm in Michigan, January 29, 1858. His father, Albert Moffet, was a machinist and farmer. He was of Irish descent, but his family had been many generations in America. The mother of our subject, Mary (Lyon) Moffet, was American born and her parents were also native Americans. She died when our subject was but six or seven years of age.
James W. Moffet was the fifth in a family of nine children, though he has several half brothers and half sisters. He was reared on a farm in Ionia county, Michigan, whither his father had removed, and was employed in a machine shop and saw-mill. James worked and attended school in the district until he arrived at the age of twenty-one years, when he left home and came to North Dakota. He stopped at Fargo, reaching that point July 23, 1879. He filed a claim to land in Traill county in the fall of 1879, and spent the following winter in the Minnesota pineries. The next spring he bought a yoke of oxen and started farming. He erected a shanty, which blew down within a month. He had many trying experiences. He camped out, sleeping under his wagon, and operated his farm until 1885. At that time he came to what is now Pierce county, and filed a claim to government land five miles southeast of where Barton now is, and for the second time became a pioneer. His first crop was practically a failure, but in 1887 he had a yield of twenty bushels of wheat to the acre. In 1891 he lost a barn, 24x32 feet, by a fire in the middle of the day, the origin of which is unknown. He also was unfortunate in the loss of several head of stock at various times. Notwithstanding these reverses he has prospered, and now owns six hundred and forty acres of land in his home farm and three hundred and twenty acres on the Mouse river, the latter furnishing hay and timber. His estate is well improved with good farm buildings and conveniences for farm work, including wind-mill, granary and other outbuildings for shelter of stock and storing of crops. He owns sixty head of cattle, twenty-five head of horses and all needed farm machinery of modern make. His home is surrounded by a grove of twelve acres, the largest and best in the county.
Mr. Moffet has taken an active part in public affairs, and is a Republican in political faith. He was elected a member of the board of county commissioners in 1898, and is now serving in that capacity. He has always been devoted to the best interests of his state and county, and his services are given with this object constantly in view. He has been selected to attend both state and county conventions of his party, and has wielded a strong influence in his county. He came to Dakota with but fifteen dollars, and by hard work and proper management he has become one of the substantial and prosperous citizens of the county, whose zeal and devotion have aided so materially in advancing the prosperity and development of its resources.
 HON. THOMAS H. OKSENDAHL. There is no more enterprising business man in Pierce county, than the subject of this review, who conducts the hardware business in Rugby and is one of the well known and prosperous old settlers of that locality.
He was born on-a farm in Voss, Norway, November 17. 1862. and was the fourth in a family of nine children. Mr. Oksendahl was reared on a farm and received a limited education during his boyhood, but later spent two years in the high schools of his native land. He finished his studies at the age of twenty-one and then came to America with his brother and settled in Grant county, Minnesota. He worked at farm labor there and in 1884 came to Traill county. North Dakota, and worked on a farm and also taught school two winters. He entered Pierce county in the spring of 1886, driving overland from Hillsboro, and traveled with four oxen and a wagon. He camped out during the summer and then took a claim in township 156, range 73. and resided on section 4. He built a shanty and lived alone there several years and farmed with oxen seven years. In 1895 he had a farm of three hundred and twenty acres and engaged in grain raising mostly. He then spent six weeks, looking over Alberta and Northwest Territory in Canada and then returned to Rugby and purchased the hardware store of E. O. Runningen and established himself in that business. He had a small stock, but the business has been successful and a new building now holds a stock valued at five to six thousand dollars, and is 31x75 feet in dimensions, the largest hardware store in the county.
Our subject was married, in 1897, to Miss Julia Hiller. Mrs. Oksendahl was born in Norway and came to America about 1883. She is a daughter of John Hiller. Mr. and Mrs. Oksendahl are the parents of two children, who are as follows: Engwall, born in August, 1898, and Ruby, born in March, 1900. Mr. Oksendahl was clerk of the state senate in 1891 and clerk of the house in 1899. He was deputy register of deeds three years and in 1893 was elected to the state general assembly, serving as representative one term. He assisted in the organization of Pierce county and is prominent in local affairs and is deservedly popular.
JOHN RATTLE, a leading stock man and farmer of Pierce county, resides in township 56, range 73,. He has a fine farm, an abundance of stock and a comfortable and pleasant home.
Mr. Rattle was born in Warren county, Indiana, in 1858. His father, Joseph Rattle, was a farmer and was a native of France, as was also his mother, whose maiden name was Matilday Taylor. Our subject was the sixth in a family of ten children, and was reared on the farm and had little opportunity for schooling. When he was twenty years of age he attended the Valparaiso school for one term. After that he started farming for himself. He also worked out for others on the farm from time to time until 1882. In the summer of that year he came to North Dakota and settled in Goose River valley, near Mayville, and by the following year had his land ready for a crop, which turned out very fair. He farmed with success until 1891, when he sold out and came to Pierce county and filed a claim to a homestead six miles east of Rugby. He at once erected buildings and went into the sheep business. He kept from eight hundred to nine hundred head of sheep and at the same time carried on extensive farming operations. In 1897 he turned his attention more to cattle, and since that time has continued to increase his investment in that line. He owns six hundred and eighty acres, well improved, with a grove of five acres, good buildings and modern farm machinery. He has two complete sets of good farm buildings.
Mr. Rattle was married in New York in 1898 to Miss Carrie McDougal, a native of New York state. They have one child. Mr. Rattle is a Republican and has been chosen to fill many local offices and as a delegate to county conventions of his party. He is a member of the 1. O. O. F. and of the Good Templars.
THEO P. SCOTLAND, Among the business enterprises of Rugby, Pierce county, the general merchandise establishment of Theo. P. Scotland and his father stands in a leading place. Mr. Scotland has been identified with the financial and social development of the town for five years, and is one of the most prominent and highly esteemed citizens of Pierce county.
Our subject was born at Calmar, Iowa, November 21, 1868. His father, P. T. Scotland, was born in Norway and came to America when a child of three years of age. He was a general merchant and implement dealer and traveling salesman. Our subject is the eldest in a family of six children and was raised at Albert Lee, Minnesota, until fifteen years of age, when the family removed to North Dakota. Our subject attended the village schools until fourteen years of age and moved with his parents from Mayville, North Dakota, to Nelson county. North Dakota, in 1884, and they followed farming there until 1890, our subject remaining on the home farm. From 1891-95 he clerked in a general store at Lakota and was also bookkeeper, and in 1895 went to Rugby and established a general store in partnership with O. T. Tofsrud. Our subject soon became sole owner of the business and has since continued the business in partnership with his father. The store was opened August 28, 1895. on the corner of Maine and Second streets, and January 1, 1900, they moved to their present location, and now conduct the largest general store in the town. They carry a complete line of general merchandise and also farm implements and the business steadily increases and success is assured.
Our subject was married, in 1896, to Miss Clara Helland. Mr. Scotland was active in the organization of the town of Rugby and was chairman of the first board of trustees. He is a Republican in political sentiment and is active in the affairs of his party.
HON. OLE T. TOFSRUD. The business and social interests of Rugby and vicinity are ably represented by this gentleman. He is a general merchant of that thriving town, and as a citizen of true worth.
Mr. Tofsrud was born on a farm in Sigdal, Norway, November 24, 1864. His father, Torgos Tofsrud, was a farmer and came to America with his family in 1882. Our subject was raised in Norway and came to America with his parents, soon after which lie began for himself. He took government land at Barton, North
Dakota, and built a sod house in 1885. The nearest railroad station was Devils Lake, seventy miles distant, and he hauled supplies from there. Mr. Tofsrud went across the country with a yoke of oxen and lived alone on his claim three years. He had three successive years of crop failure and in 1890 began working as bookkeeper for the Great Northern Railroad Company in Montana with the graders and followed the work two years. He returned to his farm in 1892 and was then elected treasurer on the Republican ticket and served one term. He entered into partnership with Theo P. Scotland in 1895 in the general merchandise business, but within four months sold his interest to his partner and started a general store at his present location. He has continued there five years with good results and now has a complete line of general merchandise. He has also, kept his farming interests and has three hundred and twenty acres of land on which he conducts grain raising.
Our subject was married, in 1898, to Miss Rogna Hiller, a native of Norway , who came to America when a child. Her father was a farmer and old settler of North Dakota . One daughter has been born to Mr. and Mrs. Tofsrud, who is named Bertha, and was born June 6, 1899. Mr. Tofsrud was among the first settlers of Pierce county, and has built up a good business and aided materially in the development of his locality. He was elected to the state legislature in 1894 and served one term and did very efficient work while a member of that body.
SEVERT TOFTE, one of the hardy and thrifty sons of Norway who has done so much to aid in the development of the great northwest, resides in a pleasant home in section 28, township 157, range 71, Pierce county, North Dakota, and is regarded as one of the substantial and progressive citizens of the county.
Mr. Tofte was born in Norway, May 13, 1872. His father, Ole S. Tofte, a farmer, came to America in 1878, and settled in Rice county, Minnesota, and afterwards became a pioneer of Dakota. This move was made when our subject was fourteen years old, and the family located in Pierce county. The father took up government land in 1886.
Mr. Tofte had received a fair education before coming to Dakota, having attended the city schools of Faribault, Minnesota. At the time they settled in Pierce county they were the only family north of the railroad track, between Knox and Rugby. At the age of fourteen Mr. Tofte began working out, part of the time on section and part time on the railroad, and up to 1896 occasionally returned home to help his parents on the farm. In 1892 he purchased a quarter-section of land and two years later filed a homestead claim to the southwest quarter of section 28, township 157, range 71, put up a claim shanty and improved the land. He now owns four hundred and eighty-seven acres, three hundred and eighty of which is under cultivation and the rest is meadow. He has a valuable estate, well equipped and highly improved.
Mr. Tofte was married, in 189 Mr. Tofte was married, in 1899, to Mrs. Hermanson, whose maiden name was Matilda Johnson, who is a native of Sweden and came to America in 1888. Her father, Johannas Swanson, is a farmer in Sweden. By her first marriage Mrs. Tofte has two children and to her union with Mr. Tofte one child has been born.
 LAWRENCE N. TORSON, the able state's attorney of Pierce county, has made his way to the front ranks of his profession in North Dakota, by dent of close application and natural ability. He is a resident of the city of Rugby, and is regarded as one of the ablest members of the bar not only of Pierce county, but of the state.
Mr. Torson was born in Waupaca county, Wisconsin. July 16, 1859. His parents, Brynjulf and Maria (Nelson) Torsen, were both natives of Norway, born in Kragrero. The father was a shoemaker by trade. He came to America in 1844 and settled in Jefferson county, Wisconsin, but later went to Waupaca county. There our subject was born, the eighth in a family numbering nine children. He was reared on the farm and attended the country schools, and took a course in the high school of La Crosse. At the age of fifteen years he began teaching and followed that calling for twelve years, both in Wisconsin and Minnesota, having located in Moorehead, Minnesota, in 1885. He began the study of law in Moorehead in the office of O. Mosness, and was admitted to the bar in 1887. In 1888 he went to Mayville, North Dakota, and worked in the law office of Robertson and Welch for two years. He came to Towner, North Dakota, in 1889, and practiced law for seven years. While there he was appointed county superintendent of schools in 1890, and elected to that position in 1892 and again in 1894, serving five years. In the fall of 1896 he was elected state's attorney of McHenry county. He resigned the following summer and came to Rugby to accent the office of state's attorney of Pierce county, to which he had been appointed in July. 1897. He was elected to the same office in 1898. and is now a candidate for re-election in 1890.
Mr. Torson was married, in 1882, to Miss Mary Myhron. Mrs. Torson was born in Winchester, Wisconsin, in May, 1860, a daughter of Ole Myhron, who was born in Norway in 1809, and came to America in 1844. becoming an early settler in Wisconsin. To Mr. and Mrs. Torson four children have been born, named as follows: Maria, born in Wisconsin February 16, 1884; Thomas B.. born in North Dakota June 25, 1888; Joseph M., born in North Dakota March 28, 1892, and Mina L., born in North Dakota June 7, 1895.
Mr. Torson is a Republican in politics, though he had been a Democrat prior to 1896. He is a man of broad views and deep penetration. He is a stanch supporter of the public school system, and has always taken a deep interest in educational matter. He has conducted teachers' institutes in Cavalier, Griggs and McHenry counties. He was chosen chairman of the delegation to the state convention at Fargo May 16, 1900.
JAMES A. TYVAND, a leading merchant of Pierce county, located at Barton, has been intimately connected with the growth and development of that section of the state from its first settlement.
Mr. Tyvand was born in Wisconsin on a farm. May 4, 1868. His father, James P. Tyvand, was born in Sanikedal, Norway, and came to America in 1843. He was a farmer all his life. The mother, Ande Jacobson, was also born in Norway in upper Telemarkin, and came to America prior to her marriage. James A. Tyvand is the youngest in a family of ten children born to the worthy couple above mentioned. Six of the children are now living. The parents died when James was fourteen years of age, up to which time he had lived in Wisconsin. He then went to live with a brother in Northwood, Worth county, Iowa, and there grew to manhood. He attended the Decorah Institute of Decorah, Iowa, graduating from the business department at the age of nineteen years. He then came to North Dakota, and took up land in Benson county. He erected a shanty, and began work. He rented land and raised a crop in 1888, which yielded nine bushels to the acre. He then farmed his own land for three years, and rented it out the two years following. In the meantime he went to Wisconsin and secured a position at Stewart, in that state, returning, however, and taking a position in a general store at Leeds, North Dakota. In the spring of 1893 he came to Pierce county, and purchased a general store in Barton, which had been established by Christ Evanson several years before. The building was 20x32 feet, and the stock small. By good business judgment and attention to details of his trade his patronage has constantly increased, and his stock, which has been increased to several times its former proportions, now occupies a store 20x52, with a warehouse 20x38 feet. He has a valuable trade, and his honesty, energy and business acumen have placed him in the front ranks of the business men of the county.
Mr. Tyvand was married, in 1898, to Miss Adelaide McGuire. Mrs. Tyvand was born in the state of New York, and is the daughter of Patrick McGuire, a farmer of North Dakota. Mr. and Mrs. Tyvand have one child, James A., born January 25, 1900. Mr. Tyvand is a Republican in political belief, and has been an active member of his party in the county. He has attended numerous conventions of his party, and has taken an active part in public affairs since coming to the state. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, and is held in high esteem by all who know him. In addition to his mercantile and other property interests, he owns five hundred acres of land in Pierce county, three hundred and fifty of which is cultivated annually, grain raising receiving most of his attention in this department of his business.
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