ANDREAS ANDERSON, a public-spirited and enterprising farmer of Ramsey county, stands among the foremost men of his calling. He has devoted his life to agricultural pursuits almost exclusively, and is proprietor of as good a farm as can be found within the limits of Bartlett township, his homestead being located there in section 29. Mr. Anderson is possessed of unbounded energy, and has arrived at his present comfortable circumstances by the exercise of earnest industry and strict honesty.

Our subject was born in Norway, July 2, 1850, and was reared in his native land and educated in the common schools. He remained in Norway until the spring of 1871, when he emigrated to America, landing at Quebec, and in May of that year went to Minnesota. He lived in different places until the summer of 1872, when he took up land in Douglas county, Minnesota, where he continued his residence until 1883. In the early spring of that year he went to Ramsey county. North Dakota, and entered claim to the land on which he now resides in Bartlett township. He has placed valuable improvements on his place, and owns and operates five hundred and twenty acres of good land, and has engaged successfully in diversified farming.

Our subject was married in Norway, April 14, 1871, to Miss Martha Christopherson, who was born in Norway , October 7, 1847. Mr. and Mrs. Anderson are the parents of six children, named as follows: Maria, now Mrs. Paul Iverson; Albert; Caroline, now Mrs. Carl J. Arneson: Robert, Carrie, Louise. Mr. Anderson takes a hearty interest in local affairs of importance, and has served as a member of the township board of supervisors and a member of the school board. He keeps pace with the times, and wields an influence for good in his community and sustains good local government.

EDGAR ANDERSON, cashier of the Farmers' Bank of Crary, North Dakota, is one of the prominent business men of Ramsey county and is a gentleman of excellent business qualifications and meets with success in his financial ventures. He is one of the founders of the bank with which he is associated and he has placed it among the sound financial institutions of the county.

Our subject was born in Ossian, Winneshiek county, Iowa, June 26, 1857, and was reared and educated in that county and at the State University and State Normal School, graduating from the latter in 1882. He then entered the law department of the State University, where he graduated in 1883 and was then engaged in teaching in Austin, Texas, three years. He was principal of the East Austin schools three years, when he returned to Iowa and served two years as deputy clerk of the district court. He went to North Dakota in 1893 and was one of the organizers of the banking institution which he has since guided to success.

Our subject was married in Decorah, Iowa , to Miss Anna Hardwick. a native of Germany . Mrs. Anderson died in Grand Forks, North Dakota , November 17, 1898. Two children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Anderson, who are named as follows: Larine C. and Ernest E. Mr. Anderson is a worthy and popular citizen.

THOMAS T. ANDERSON. In whatever vocation engaged the persistent man is the successful man. The subject of this review went to North Dakota in the early days of the settlement of Ramsey county, and by the exercise of judicious care and earnest efforts has become one of the well-to-do and respected citizens of Lake township. He has erected a comfortable residence in section 16, and devotes himself entirely to the prosecution of his farm work. Beginning on the farm, as he did, without much knowledge of how to conduct it, he soon found out that thinking alone would not open it up. The ability to labor was needed, and he had that, for he had been trained to work from childhood up. Mistakes were made which could have been avoided had not experience, which is so much needed by all new beginners, been lacking. Our subject says: "We like to say a word to the young folks that go out for themselves, and especially to the frontier of a new country to take up any occupation, be careful not to contract any more debts than they can possibly help, because in a new country where interest on notes on borrowed money is high they will find out that by the time they have paid their debts they have paid nearly as much in interest, if not more. And I think this is the main cause why it takes so long a time for people to become independent in a new country."

Our subject is a native of Norway, and was born November 14, 1858. He resided in his native land until 1870, when he came with his father to the United States, the mother having died in Norway. Mr. Anderson lived one year in Fillmore county, Minnesota, and then removed to Wisconsin, and resided there until 1885. In April of that year he went to North Dakota, and at once settled on land in Lake township, of Ramsey county, where he has continued his residence since and has acquired a good property. On his home farm good buildings and other valuable improvements have been placed, and modern machinery and methods of conducting the farm are used. Mr. Anderson owns three hundred and twenty acres of land, and is one of the solid men of Lake township.

Our subject was married in Waupaca county, Wisconsin, to Miss Thurine Thompson, who was a native of that county. Four children have been born to bless this union, who are named as follows: Carl T., Ella T., Hannah E. and Thomas E. Mr. Anderson takes a most hearty interest in public matters of importance, and is a member of the township board of supervisors of Lake township, in which office he has served for some years. He is now township clerk and enjoys the confidence of all with whom he has to do. He and family are members of the Norwegian Lutheran church. Mr. Anderson is a gentleman of foreign birth, but it may be said to his credit that he has become thoroughly identified with American progress and is devoted to the interests and welfare of his adopted land.

PROF. DWIGHT F. BANGS, superintendent of the School for the Deaf, a state institution, located atDevils Lake, is too well known to the people of North Dakota to need any introduction. His life has been devoted to this line of work and he is favorably known wherever he has labored.

Mr. Bangs was born at Washington Heights, New York City, July 3, 1863. and one year later removed with his parents to Flint. Michigan, where he was reared and educated. His father. Prof. Egbert L. Bangs, was for many years superintendent of the Michigan School for the Deaf, and there our subject received his knowledge of the sign language. He graduated from the Flint high school and also attended St. Johnsbury Academy at St. Johnsbury, Vermont, graduating in the class of 1886. In the fall of that year he entered Amherst College, where he was in attendance one year, and in 1888 went to Faribault, Minnesota, and accepted a position in the Minnesota School for the Deaf, where he remained as teacher seven years. In July, 1895, he was appointed superintendent of the School for the Deaf at Devils Lake. This is a state institution and under the able management of the present superintendent the attendance is constantly increasing.

Our subject was married, at Faribault, Minnesota, June 5, 1890, to Miss Cora Van Dorin, a native of Fairfield, Iowa , and a daughter of the late Richard Van Dorin, who was a veteran of the Mexican as well as the Civil war. Mrs. Bangs was educated in the public schools at Fairfield, Iowa, and also attended a private school in that city, known as Axline University , six years. She was engaged in teaching at Council Bluffs in the school for the deaf and at Faribault, Minnesota , in a like institution three years. Since residing in Devils Lake Mrs. Bangs has been matron of the institution of which her husband is superintendent. The buildings are kept in first class order and neatness rules throughout and Mrs. Bangs is the right woman in the right place. Mr. and Mrs. Bangs have one daughter, named Gertrude. Mr. Bangs is devoted to his work and the discipline of the school is of a high order and the teachers are thoroughly trained and efficient.

STEPHEN  BRANCHFLOWER is an honored citizen of Lake township, Ramsey county, in section 6, of which he has a pleasant home. He conducts general farming with good results, and has accumulated a fine property. He is among the early settlers of Ramsey county, and is well known in social and business circles.

Our subject was born on a farm in Oxford, Ontario, Canada, May 21, 1842, He was reared in his native place, and continued his residence there until 1887. In March of that year he went to Ramsey county. North Dakota, and soon after his arrival there saw the advantages of farming Dakota land, and filed a claim to the farm on which he has since resided. He owns three hundred and sixty acres of choice land, and is prosecuting his work with the most satisfactory results. The buildings of the place include a fine residence, commodious barns and other necessary farm buildings, and modern machinery and methods are employed in the operation of the place.

Our subject was married, in Oxford county, Ontario, Canada, to Miss Mary Ann Kiteley, a native of Wellington county, Ontario. Mr. and Mrs. Branchflower are the parents of three children, who bear the names: Stephen P., Monroe and Henry A.  Mr. Branchflower and wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and are highly esteemed in the community in which they reside. Since making his location in Ramsey county our subject has been actively interested in public matters, and he has done his full share toward the up building of good local government. He has been called upon by the people to serve as township treasurer, and has always been found faithful and trustworthy in public as well as private affairs.

CATHOLIC CHURCH OF DEVILS LAKE. The first Catholic services held in Devil's Lake were conducted in 1883 by Rev. Thomas M. Cahill and the second resident priest was Rev. Thomas J. Keelan, who was succeeded by Rev. P. M. McGinnis. Mr. McGinnis remained from May, 1885, to November of that year and during his pastorate a frame church was erected and also a pastor's residence. From November, 1885, until July. 1886, Father Jerome Hunt, O. S. B., visited the parish at intervals, and in July, 1886, Rev. Father Claude M. Ebner assumed charge of the mission. Rev. Father Vincent Wehrle succeeded Father Ebner in 1889 and remained pastor until January, 1899. In 1893 he established St. Gall's Monastery on the north bank of Devils lake, which is the center of the Catholic missions of Ramsey and adjoining counties, from Michigan City on the east to Fort Buford on the west, and from the international boundary on the north to the Sioux Indian reservation on the south.

Rev Father Alphonse Hein. O. S. B., the present pastor of the Catholic church, succeeded Rev. Father Wehrle. He is a native of the grand duchy of Baden, Germany, and June 4, 1872, arrived in America. He was educated for the priesthood at St. Clement's College, in Howard county, Maryland, where he remained twelve years and was ordained April 14, 1883. His first charge was in New York City in the Church of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, where he remained until 1892, and was then transferred to Chicago. He there assumed charge of St. Procopius church and remained until 1898, and was then transferred to Devils Lake and took charge of St. Joseph's church. The debt of the church has been paid since he took charge there, and the parish now contains about one hundred and thirty families.

St. Gall's College was established in connection with St. Gall's Monastery by Rev. Father Vincent Wehrle, the building being erected in 1895 and opened for the reception of students in November, 1896. St. Vincent De Paul Hospital was established in 1895 by the Sisters of Mercy.

GEORGE C. CHAMBERS, the efficient and popular postmaster of Churchs Ferry, and editor of the "Churchs Ferry Sun," is a gentleman of excellent business qualifications and enjoys the confidence of the people of his community. He was born inMuscoda, Wisconsin, May 4, 1857.

The mother of our subject died when he was an infant of six months, and he was taken to Fulton county. New York, where he was reared by an aunt. He was educated in the public schools of Albany, New York, and at the high school, and after completing his studies he was engaged in civil engineering in New York and followed that business about one year and then went to McGregor, Iowa, where he engaged in grain buying eight years, and was engaged four years in the same business at Luana, Clayton county, Iowa, or until 1887. In June of that year he went to Churchs Ferry and engaged in the grain business there three years. He purchased the "Churchs Ferry Sun" in 1890, which was established in 1886. by S. A. Nye, formerly of Devils Lake and now of Valley City. The paper has a circulation of about five hundred and is one of the leading papers of the county. Our subject has been editor of the paper since he purchased the same with the exception of one year. He was appointed postmaster of Churchs Ferry in May, 1897, under the administration of President McKinley and has held the office since that date.

Our subject was married in Luana, Iowa, to Miss Neva Burgess, a native of Luana, Iowa , and a daughter of the late William Burgess, who was a prominent stockman of that place. Four children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Chambers, who are named as follows: Cornelia C, Georgia M., Tom W. and Ralph M. Our subject is prominent in local public matters and is a member of the Churchs Ferry school board. He was village assessor for several years. He holds membership in the Masonic fraternity and is a gentleman of strict honesty of word and deed and commands the highest respect of his community.

ROBERT COCHRANE. The gentleman whose name heads this article has been an exemplary citizen of Ramsey county, North Dakota, since 1889, and is an influential member of the community in which he resides.

Mr. Cochrane was born in County Antrim, Ireland, and the date of his birth is July 18, 1868. He spent his boyhood days in the land of his birth. He came to America and settled in the province of Ontario, Canada, where he lived until 1889. In the latter year he came to Ramsey county, North Dakota, where he was employed at farm labor for several years. In 1893 he purchased a tract of land, comprising one hundred and sixty acres, in Dry Lake township, and has since made that his home. He has met with continued success, and has been able to increase his holdings, until he now owns four hundred and eighty acres of the best farming lands in the county, and he has enhanced its value by the erection of good buildings and the addition of many modern improvements and conveniences. He is held in high esteem by his fellow citizens, and is an influential and popular man in his township and county.

HON. JOHN F. COWAN. Whatever else may be said of the legal fraternity, it cannot be denied that members of the bar have been more prominent actors in public affairs than any other class of American people. This is but the natural result of causes which are manifest and require no explanation. The ability and training which qualify one to practice law also qualify him in many respects for the duties which lie outside the strict path of the duties which lie outside the strict path of his profession and which touch the general interests of society. The subject of this record, now attorney-general of North Dakota, is a man who has brought keen discrimination and thorough wisdom to bear not alone in professional paths, but also for the benefit of his county and state, with which interests he has been thoroughly identified.

Mr. Cowan was born in Moffat, Dumfrieshire, Scotland, December 29, 1858, and is a son of Alexander and Nicholas (Montgomery) Cowan, natives of Wigtonshire and Dumfrieshire, respectively. The family emigrated to the new world in 1862 and first located in Ontario, Canada, where the parents continued to make their home until coming to Benson county, North Dakota, in 1855. Here they still reside and have the respect and esteem of the entire community. The grandfather, John Cowan, also came to America in 1862 and spent his remaining days in Canada.

During his boyhood our subject attended the common schools of Canada and the Goderich high school, and then entered the Ottawa Normal School, from which he was graduated in 1877. He next matriculated for the study of medicine in the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario and studied that profession for about two years. Coming to the United States in 1880, he located in Port Huron, Michigan, where he was in the employ of the Chicago & Grand Trunk Railroad Company as clerk for two years. At the end of that time he came to North Dakota and settled near Stump Lake, in Nelson county, where he entered land in 1881, but soon abandoned it and went to Devils Lake. He located on a claim near Grand Harbor, which he proved up and still owns. While holding down that claim he began reading law and later entered the office of John McGee, of Devils Lake, who is now district judge of Hennepin county, Minnesota. He was then a member of the firm of McGee & Morgan, the junior member being the present judge of the second judicial district of North Dakota. Mr. Cowan was admitted to practice in 1885 before the territorial district court, and the same year opened an office at Devils Lake, where he has continued to make his residence, and is now associated with P. J. McClory, under the firm name of Cowan & McClory. In 1884 he was elected justice of the peace of that city; two years later was elected county superintendent of schools of Ramsay county, and re-elected in 1888. In 1890 he was elected state's attorney for the same county and was re-elected in 1892. It was in 1894 that he was first elected attorney-general for the state, and was re-elected in 1896 and 1898, being the only man ever elected three times to the same office in North Dakota, a fact which plainly indicates his efficiency and popularity.

Mr. Cowan was married, in 1885, to Miss Mary Flynn. a native of Minnesota, and to them have been born four children: Lyle A., Frances W., John A. and Kathleen M. Socially Mr. Cowan is a thirty-second-degree Mason, a member of the Mystic Shrine, and also belongs to the Benevolent & Patriotic Order of Elks, the Knights of Pythias and the Ancient Order of United Workmen. He has always supported the Republican party, has stumped the state in its interest, and has been a member of the county and state central committees. He also took an active and prominent part in the organization of the state and is pre-eminently public-spirited and progressive. He has met with excellent success in life and today stands at the head of his profession in the northwest.

E. MILTON CRARY, editor and publisher of the "Ramsey County Courier," published in Crary, North Dakota, is one of the well known newspaper men of the county. He was born on a farm in St. Lawrence county. New York, September 30, 1868, and was reared in that county and educated in the September 30, 1868, and was reared in that county and educated in the common schools and at the State Normal at Potsdam, New York. After leaving the normal school he was engaged in teaching in St. Lawrence county two years and then went to Crary, North Dakota in the fall of 1889. He was engaged in teaching in North Dakota from 1889 to 1897. He established the "Ramsey County Courier" in 1894. This is a Republican paper and has a circulation of about five hundred copies each issue. Mr. Crary established the "Williston Herald" at Williston, North Dakota, in 1899, which has a circulation of five hundred copies, and he is sole owner of both papers, and personally edits the former. He engaged in the real estate and farm loans business in 1897, to which he devotes most of his attention and has made a success of his work.

Our subject was married, in Grand Forks, North Dakota, to Miss Frances Mc Donald, a native of Missouri . Mr. and Mrs. Crary are the parents of one son, named Clayton G. Our subject has held numerous local offices in Stevens township and has served as county justice. During the legislative session of 1896 he was appointed by the speaker of the house as clerk of the supply and expenditure committee and filled the position during that session. He is a member of the Knights of Pythias, Knights of the Maccabees and .Modern Woodmen of America.

WILLIAM A. CRARY, for whom the thriving town of Crary was named, is one of the influential citizens of that locality, and has been closely identified with its history and development. He came to North Dakota in the early days, and has aided in extending its financial interests to a marked degree, and has a pleasant estate and comfortable home in Crary, Ramsey county, at which place he conducted farming successfully for several years.

Our subject was born in Fond du Lac. Wisconsin. July 4, 1858, and when he was two years of age removed with his parents to St. Lawrence county. New York, where he was reared to manhood and received a common school education, and also took a course at the state normal at Potsdam, New York. He went to Floyd county, Iowa, in 1879 and worked on a farm there until the spring of 1880. when he went to Ottertail county, Minnesota, and was there engaged in teaching two years. In the spring of 1883 he went to Ramsey county, North Dakota, and located where the town of Crary now stands in Stevens township, where he entered claim to one hundred and sixty acres of land and resided on section 17. He laid out the town site of Crary, in 1875, and has since held his residence there, and for two years operated a meat market m the town. He is well to do and has gained his possessions by honest work and judicious management.

Our subject was married, at Lakota, Nelson county. North Dakota , to Miss Mary M. .Mc Donald. a native of Missouri . Mr. and Mrs. Crary are the parents of three children, named as follows: Ethel M., Earl H. and James B. Mr. Crary is an active member of the Congregational church with which denomination he has been identified since 1897. He is prominent in public affairs, having held numerous township offices, including supervisor and justice of the peace, and he gives his hearty support to any enterprise which tends to the development of the resources of that region. He is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America.

COLONEL HEBER MANSFIELD CREEL. In compiling a list of the prominent and influential men of North Dakota, a foremost station must be accorded Colonel Creel, of Devils Lake, Ramsey county. He is a man of the highest honor and is respected by all with whom he has to do. He is now acting as inspector and judge advocate general and he is also president of the State Military Band.

Our subject was born in Lafayette county, Missouri, on a farm, November 30, 1853. The family from which he is descended settled in Virginia in 1620. His grandfather was a colonel in the war of 1812, and his uncle, George Creel, was killed in the Mexican war. Stonewall Jackson's mother and Colonel Creel's grandmother were sisters. His grandfather. Dr. David Creel, was foreman of the grand jury which tried Aaron Burr for high treason. He is a cousin of Larry T. Neal, of Ohio, and a second cousin of Hon, George W. Mannapenny, ex-commissioner of Indian affairs, who was a member of the commission who made a treaty with the Utes. The father of our subject was a lawyer and a classmate of Hon. Sunset Cox.

Mr. Creel spent his early life on the home farm and received his elementary schooling by private tutorship. He attended Kemper's Academy at Booneville, Missouri, for one year and Cooper Institute for one year, and then entered the Virginia Military Institute at Lexington, Virginia, where he remained two years and was then appointed by General John B. Clark from the seventh congressional district to the military academy at West Point, and graduated in June, 1877. He was commissioned second lieutenant in the Eighth Cavalry and the same year was promoted to the Seventh United States Cavalry and stationed in Dakota territory and served there five years, when he resigned, in July, 1882. He had charge of the government property and steamboat, "Dr. Burleigh," when Fort Rice was abandoned and the property moved to Fort Yates in 1878. He was with the expedition to locate Fort Meade. He surveyed Devils Lake in 1880, and made a topographical survey of Fort Totten military reservation. In 1881 he was in the Sitting Bull campaign and accompanied that noted warrior and his band to Standing Rock. An engineer officer, he built the military telegraph line from Fort Totten to Larimore. He located the town site of Devils Lake in July. 1882. and the town was first named Creel City, but in 1884 was changed to Devils Lake. His familiarity with the entire country and his credibility as authority on all questions relating to it is evidenced by the fact that Mr. Creel was a witness before congress in 1882, maintaining that a tract of land laying north and west of Devils Lake, comprising 9.500,000 acres, claimed by the Chippewa's and recognized by the interior department, was the sole property of the United States. His testimony and letters to Messers. Windom, Plumb, Cox, Cockerell and Pettigrew elicited from Hiram Price, commissioner of Indian affairs, a lengthy answer. The bill opening this land, being too far down on the calendar, failed to pass, not receiving unanimous consent. Shortly afterwards, Secretary Kirkwood was succeeded by Senator Teller, who, with the legal department, sustained Mr. Creel in his position and this land was thrown open by executive proclamation. Mr. Deering, of Iowa, chairman of the house committee, made an exhaustive report on this matter, embodying Lieutenant Creel's letter and position. Senator Windom's endorsement and Mr. Price's reply.

Our subject has been a resident of the city since its early days and he engaged in farming extensively and owned and operated a fine estate for some years. He also dealt in real estate and loans and also followed the grain business. He has been aggressively active in all measures relating to his town and community and has a comfortable and pleasant home in Devils Lake. Mr. Creel was chairman of the board of county commissioners in Ramsey county in 1885-1886 and register of deeds from January, 1889, to January, 1897, and was acting county surveyor from i88y-1895. He was elected to the state senate in the fall of 1896 and is at present serving a four years term. He was elected as an Independent Republican and was a nominee for congressman in 1898 on the fusion ticket. While a member of the state senate he introduced the bill requiring all applicants for marriage licenses to be previously examined by a board of physicians as to their mental and physical fitness for the marriage state. His bill was freely commented upon by prominent men and newspapers in the United States and England. The following were Mr. Creel's committee assignments: chairman of committee on emigration, member of committees on Indian and Indian affairs, cities and municipalities, military, public land and ways and means. He has served as chairman of the county Republican central committee and was a member of the state central and executive Republican committees. He was a member of the national committee for the Silver Republicans of North Dakota, being chosen to this office in 1897. In 1878, Colonel Creel, then a lieutenant in the Seventh United States Cavalry;_, was detailed by General Sheridan to escort the Northern Cheyenne Indians from the Black Hills to Fort Reno, Indian territory, later held at Sidney Barracks, Nebraska. He accompanied the Thornberg expedition four hundred miles in the Sand hills of Nebraska, after Dull Knife with eight hundred Northern Cheyenne's. He wrote a grammar and dictionary of the Cheyenne or Tsistos language, also a work on the sign language of the North American Indians, which was published by the Smithsonian Institute, Washington, D. C. He is now a director of the Chautauqua Association.

Our subject was married, in Indian Territory, to Miss Alice H. La Rue, a native of Indiana. Mrs. Creel is a daughter of Richard La Rue, whose farm was a part of the city of Richmond, Indiana. Her mother was a sister of Hon. William Holman, for so many years the "watchdog" of the treasury, who secured an amendment to an appropriation bill, which obliged the Northern Pacific Railroad Company to pay the cost of surveying the land granted to them. Her grandfather was one of the framers of the constitution of the state of Indiana. Mr. Creel is prominent in secret society circles and holds membership in the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Modern Woodmen of America and Ashur Zodiac of Fargo.

RICHARD DAELEY, the efficient and popular postmaster of Devils Lake, is well known in that locality and has done much to promote the growth of the city and Ramsey county. He was born in Wellington county, Ontario, Canada. August 16, 1858.

Mr. Daeley spent the early years of his life until sixteen years of age in his native place and then came to the United States and followed the blacksmith trade in different places until January, 1881, when he went to Grand Forks county. North Dakota. He followed his trade there and erected the first building in Larimore and resided in that city until May, 1882, when he first appeared in Ramsey county and has since been a resident of the county. He engaged in farming until the spring of 1892 and then engaged in the grain business until the spring of 1898. He was then appointed postmaster of Devils Lake by President McKinley and is the present incumbent of the office, and faithfully discharging the duties of his position.

Our subject was married, in Larimore, North Dakota, in the fall of 1882 to Miss Anna Welch, a native of Ontario. Mrs. Daeley died in Ramsey county. North Dakota, October 9, 1889. Three children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Daeley, who are named as follows: John A., Mabel and Bertha. Mr. Daeley was married to Minnie E. Kilday, widow of William Kilday, February 22, 1898, at St. Paul, Minnesota. Mrs. Daeley was a daughter of Colonel A. S. Pattee, a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this work. Mrs. Daeley has one son by her former marriage, named Albert.  Our subject has always acted with the Republican party politically and is a man of broad ideas and keeps pace with the times. He is one of the leading citizens of Devils Lake and well deserves the high station which he occupies in the minds of all with whom he is acquainted.