PROSPER H. LAMBERT, assistant cashier and one of the stockholders in the Mohall Security Bank of Mohall, Renville county, was born in Bigstone, South Dakota, June 25, 1886. His father, Louis E. Lambert, was born near Paris, France, and when a youth of seventeen years came to the United States. He was married in Wisconsin to Miss Anna White, a native of that state, and for several years he was employed in lumber mills in Wisconsin but afterward removed to South Dakota, where he worked as a carpenter and builder for eight or ten years. On the expiration of that period he removed to Minnesota, where for the past thirty years he has been engaged in the lumber business, and for twenty years he has been a resident of Renville, Minnesota, taking a most active part in promoting the business development of the city and in other ways contributing to its progress and upbuilding.

Prosper H. Lambert became a pupil in the high school of Renville, Minnesota, and afterward pursued a commercial course in the Minneapolis Business College, completing his studies there in 1905. He then identified himself with the banking business as stenographer and bookkeeper in the First National Bank of Renville, with which institution he remained for the years, rising to the position of assistant cashier. Subsequently he was associated with the Gold-Stabeck Loan & Credit Company of Minneapolis for a year and a half. In 1910 he spent six months in the Mohall Security Bank as assistant cashier and in 1913 he returned to Mohall to again accept that position, in which capacity he has since continued. In July 1916, he purchased stock in the bank and is now one of the large stockholders of the institution.  His long training in the banking business has well qualified him for the responsibilities that devolve upon him in this connection and his enterprise places him with the leading business men of the town.

Mr. Lambert belongs to Minot Lodge, No. 1089, B. P. O. E. He is one of the leading and representative men of Mohall, actuated in all that he does by a spirit of progress and improvement, and he has made for himself a very creditable position both as a business man and citizen.

A. A. LANE, manager of the Farmers Cooperative Elevator at Sherwood and one of the pioneers of Renville county, having homesteaded there in the fall of 1901, was born at Lock, Ohio, August 25, 1873, a son of William H. and Mary (Orr) Lane, who were also natives of the Buckeye state. The father was a practicing physician who in 1882 came to North Dakota, settling at Devils Lake. After practicing there for two years he removed to Cando, where he successfully followed his profession for eighteen years, being recognized as one of the most able and prominent physicians of that part of the state. In 1901 he came with his son, A. A.  Lane, to Renville county and took up a homestead nine miles east of Sherwood, on which he resided until his death in 1912. His widow survives and resides with her son, F. C. Lane, in Saskatchewan, Canada.

Reared in the northwest, A. A. Lane obtained his education in the North Dakota State University at Grand Forks and the Minnesota State Agricultural College, being graduated from the latter institution with the class of 1895. After completing his course there he engaged in farming in Towner county for three years and then went to Aitkin, Minnesota, where he engaged in teaching school for two years. In 1901 he returned to this state, settling in Renville county, where he filed on a homestead nine miles east of Sherwood, securing the northeast quarter of section 30, Wheaton township. There he carried on general agricultural pursuits until 1900, when he took charge of the farmers� elevator in Sherwood, which he has since managed most admirably and profitably. In 1916 the company erected one of the finest elevators in the state.

In 1897 Mr. Lane was married to Miss Iva F. Clark, of Cando, and to them is extended the hospitality of the best homes of Sherwood and the surrounding country. They are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, loyally adhering to its teachings, and Mr. Lane is also a member of Tyrian Lodge, A. F. & A. M., of Sherwood; Sherwood Lodge, No. 95, I. O.  0. F. ; and the Modern Woodmen of America. His political allegiance is given to the republican party but he has never been an aspirant for office, preferring to concentrate his energies upon his business affairs, which include not only the management of the elevator but also a farm of three hundred and twenty acres in Renville and Bottineau counties. He is making steady progress along business lines and already has won a substantial measure of success.

CHARLES LANO, editor and proprietor of the Mohall Tribune-News, published at Mohall, Renville county, was born at Cannon Falls, Minnesota, a son of Anton and Maria (Stern) Lano, who were natives of Germany and in young manhood and womanhood crossed the Atlantic to the new world. They were married in Chicago and afterward removed to Minnesota, Mr. Lano filing on a homestead which constitutes the present site of the city of St.  Peter. The land was so sandy that he gave up his claim and bought on the Cannon river between Red Wing and Northfield. There he carried on general agricultural pursuits and for many years he also burned charcoal, thus adding materially to his income. He died in 1881, while his wife long survived, passing away in 1907.

After completing a course in the Cannon Falls High school at the age of seventeen years Charles Lano left home and started out in the business world on his own account, going to St. Paul, where he engaged in peddling cranberries. Subsequently he worked in various capacities, spending a brief period in railroad work, and later he engaged in well drilling, which business he followed for about five years. In 1896 he returned to Cannon Falls and for four years was assistant postmaster at that place. In 1901 he became associated with the International Harvester Company, which he represented for a year. In 1903 he identified himself with the banking business by securing a position as bookkeeper in a bank at Nerstrand, Minnesota, and in January 1903, he removed to Mohall, North Dakota, and opened the books for the Mohall Security Bank. During the latter part of that year he purchased a well drilling machine and prospected for coal on the Mouse river. He discovered coal for his employers but it was at a depth of two hundred feet and they had not enough capital to develop a mine at that depth. In April 1904, he was appointed postmaster of Mohall and continued to occupy the position until September 1913. Within that period, or in 1911, he bought the Mohall Tribune and in May 1914, he purchased the Mohall News, consolidating the two papers under the name of the Mohall Tribune-News, which is today the leading paper of Renville county. It is published according to the methods of modern journalism and its editorial utterances are bright, trenchant, clearly pointed articles, always commanding attention and many times awakening earnest thought.

Mr. Lano has been a prominent figure in fraternal circles. In 1905 he was associated with H. H. Steele in organizing Mohall Lodge, No. 73, F. & A. M., and he is a member of Jared Consistory, No. 2, A. & A. S. R. of Grand Forks, also of Kem Temple, A. A. 0. N. M.  S., of Grand Forks, and Minot Lodge, No. 6, K. P. He was one of the organizers and stockholders of the Modern Woodmen of America Association which built the Woodmen Hall, a modern brick building, in which a moving picture theater in which he is financially inter csted is being conducted. He took an active part in the division of Ward county and the formation of Renville county and the location of the county seat at Mohall of which he was then postmaster. He is chief of the fire department of Mohall and is thus actively and prominently connected with public interests of moment, lending his aid and support to all movements which are calculated to advance the general welfare and substantially promote public progress.

DR. BERTRAM E. LORD, engaged in the practice of medicine and surgery at Glenburn, is a native of Minnesota, his birth having occurred at Shakopee, October 12, 1880. His father, Charles H. Lord, a native of New Hampshire, accompanied his parents on their westward removal to Minnesota in 1855, at which time the family secured a homestead claim. The grandfather was a physician and there practiced his profession throughout his remaining days, his death occurring in 1880. After his son, Charles H. Lord, had completed his public school education he took up the study of pharmacy, and for fifteen years conducted a drug store at Shakopee. Later he turned his attention to the insurance business and was special adjuster for the Germania Fire Insurance Company for more than twenty years, covering the territory of Minnesota, North and South Dakota and parts of Iowa and Wisconsin. In early manhood he wedded Minnie H. Eckford, a native of St.  Paul, Minnesota, and on the 23d of January 1905, he was called to the home beyond, while his widow now lives in Chicago.

Dr. Lord spent his youthful days in Minneapolis and in Shakopee, Minnesota, and in the pursuit of an education entered Hamline University at St. Paul, from which he was graduated on the completion of a course in medicine with the class of 1903. The same year Dr. Lord located in Glenburn, then a newly established town in Renville county, North Dakota, where he has practiced continuously since, covering a period of thirteen years. A very liberal patronage has been accorded him, for he soon demonstrated his ability to cope with the intricate and complex problems which continually confront the physician. His work has been attended with excellent results, viewed from both a professional and financial standpoint. In addition to his practice he has farming interests, being the owner of a well improved tract of land of one hundred and sixty acres in Ward county, six miles south of Glenburn.

On the 30th of April 1900, Dr. Lord was married to Miss Jennie May Elliott and they have two children: Evelyn, born December 23, 1902; and Kenneth, November 29, 1910.  Dr. Lord exercises his right of franchise in support of the principles and candidates of the republican party. Fraternally he is connected with the Masonic lodge of Glenburn and he is actively interested in all that pertains to the welfare and progress of city and county. For four years he filled the office of village trustee and has also been a member of the town council, while he is now serving for the third year as a member of the school board. He is progressive in citizenship and in his profession has kept in touch with the trend of modern thought and progress which results from scientific investigation and research.

RASMUS MILLER, of Tolley, was born in Schleswig, Germany, in the town of Norhus, December 1, 1875, a son of J. C. and Andrea (Holm) Miller, who were also natives of Germany.  The father followed the profession of school teaching and died in his native country, after which his widow became the wife of Peter Wibeck, with whom she came to the United States, settling first in Winona county, Minnesota, in 1882. After seven years they removed to Buena Vista county, Iowa, where Mr. Wibeck engaged in farming.

Rasmus Miller came with his mother and stepfather to the new world and largely acquired his education in the public schools of this country. When a youth of fourteen years he started to earn his living as clerk in a grocery store at Alta, Iowa, where he remained for three years. Later he was employed on different farms in that state until he reached his twenty-fourth year, when he came to North Dakota and on the 26^th of May 1899, homesteaded in Ward County. He proved up on that property and converted the tract of wild prairie into richly cultivated fields, devoting six years to the development and improvement of the land. In the fall of 1906 he removed to Tolley, where he purchased an implement business from E. C. Tolley, and through the intervening years he has given his attention to the development of his trade in that line. He also handles the Velie automobile and he is likewise a stockholder in the Great Northern Life Insurance Company of Grand Forks, of which he is one of the directors. In addition to his varied commercial and financial interests he owns a half section of land near Tolley, which he rents.

On the 16th of May 1900, at Minot, Mr. Miller was united in marriage to Miss Bena Jensen, a daughter of Jorgen and Stina (Jensen) Jensen, who resided near Donnybrook, North Dakota. There are three children by this marriage: Harold Jesse, Gladys Ethlyn and Irene Ada, all of whom are attending school.

Mr. Miller is a Mason, belonging to the blue lodge at Mohall, and he also has membership in the Elks lodge at Minot. In politics he is a republican and for four terms capably filled the office of president of the village board, while at the present time he is one of the school directors. He belongs to the Commercial Club and is serving on its directorate, and through cooperation with that organization he is doing everything possible to further the welfare and promote the progress of the city in which he lives.

WADE A. MINAR, a well known druggist of Tolley, is a native of Minnesota, his birth occurring in Austin, September 25, 1880, and he is a son of Henry J. and Hattie (Hay) Minar. His father was born in New York and his mother in Brownsdale, Minnesota, in which state they were married. For a number of years Henry J. Minar was identified with the real estate business in Austin, but in 1910 he came to North Dakota and has since made his home in Tolley.

Wade A. Minar is indebted to the public schools for the educational privileges he enjoyed during his boyhood. At the early age of twelve years he became a wage earner, being employed in a grocery store in Austin, Minnesota, where he worked before and after school hours for about three years. He then entered a drug store and began the study of pharmacy.  He was in the employ of two different druggists in Austin for a number of years and in 1898 passed the state examination and was registered as a pharmacist in Minnesota. In 1900 he removed to Courtenay, North Dakota, where he was employed in the drug store of H. J. Murphy, and subsequently he and Mr. Murphy established two branch stores, one at Anamoose and the other at Carpio. Mr. Minar owned a half interest in both establishments, which were sold between 1903 and 1905, and in the latter year he removed to Tolley and established his present business. He carries a fine line of drugs and has built up a good trade. He also owns about a section of valuable farming land in Renville township and in the management of his affairs has displayed excellent business ability and sound judgment.

Mr. Minar was married in 1900 to Miss Theresa Shay, of Pine Island, Minnesota, and to them have been born two daughters, namely: Catherine and Marian. Politically Mr. Minar is an ardent republican and for some years he has efficiently served as a member of the school board. He is a member of the Modem Woodmen of America and also belongs to Minot Lodge, No. 1089, B. P. 0. E.; and Tolley Lodge, I. 0. 0. F. He is one of the representative citizens of his community and stands high in both business and social circles.

CARL A. OWENSON, With the business interests of Renville county, Carl A. Owenson has been identified since 1905 and is today successfully engaged in general merchandising at Tolley. His birth occurred in Danway, Illinois, August 28, 1877, and he is a son of Knute and Sophia (Harne) Owenson, who were born, reared and married in Norway. In the early �70s they came to the United States and located in Illinois, but afterward removed to Hamilton county, Iowa, and still later to Winnebago county, that state, where they spent the remainder of their lives.  The father died in 1893 and the mother in 1895.

Carl A. Owenson obtained a good practical education in the public schools and also took a commercial course at the Metropolitan Business College of Minneapolis, Minnesota. In early life he learned the carpenter�s trade, which he followed at intervals for nine years. On the founding of the town of Tolley, North Dakota, in 1905 he removed to that place and for two years was employed in the hardware store of F. O. Johnson. At the end of that time he purchased an interest in the mercantile business of Fred Schmidt, becoming a member of the firm of Schmidt & Owenson, which was formed in August 1907. ln February 1910, he bought out his partner but in the following August sold the business to W. E. Grinnell. For three years Mr. Owenson was then engaged in the insurance business, but in February 1914, he again embarked in mercantile pursuits, buying the store of William Schmidt, which he has since conducted. He carries a large and well selected stock of general merchandise and enjoys a good patronage. In 1903 he homesteaded in Renville county and later bought an additional one hundred and sixty acres of land cornering on his original tract but has since sold his farm property and now gives his undivided attention to merchandising.

On the 26th of September 1907, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Owenson and Miss Mabel Lyder, of Ellsworth, Iowa, and they have become the parents of two children: Vivian Sophia and Lois Marie. They are consistent members of the Lutheran church, and Mr. Owenson also belongs to the Modern Woodmen of America, and to Minot Lodge, No. 1089, B. P.0. E. He has seen much of this country and has also traveled abroad. In 1901 he went to Seattle, where he worked as a millwright and carpenter for a year and a half, and subsequently was at San Francisco and Los Angeles, whence he removed to Tolley, North Dakota.  He has also made several trips to Iowa and five years ago again went to Seattle. He visited the Louisiana Purchase Exposition at St. Louis and in 1900 made a tour of Europe. The democratic party finds in him a stanch supporter of its principles and he has served as a member of the town board of Tolley. He is an advocate of all worthy measures for the good of the community and is one of the representative citizens of Renville.

EDGAR L. PENN. editor and proprietor of the Sherwood Tribune, published at Sherwood, Renville county, was born in Camden, Carroll county, Indiana, November 23, 1873, his parents being Silas I. and Mary (O�Leary) Penn. The father is a native of Carroll county, Indiana, and of English ancestry, while the mother, who was born in Brooklyn, New York, was of Irish lineage. They were married in his native county, where the mother, who in early childhood was left an orphan, was reared. Mr. Penn is still an active business man of Carroll county, where he ranks with the well-to-do and prominent farmers. In 1892 he lost his first wife, who died leaving five children, three sons and two daughters, since which time he has wedded Miss Mary Otten, by whom he has three children.

Edgar L. Penn was educated in the common and high schools of Camden, Indiana, in the Central Normal College at Danville, that state, and at the Normal University at Marion, Indiana, which institution conferred upon him the Bachelor of Science degree at his graduation with the class of 1900. He took up educational work, to which he devoted his energies for ten years, teaching from 1894 until 1905, at first in the district schools and subsequently in high schools. He proved an able instructor, imparting clearly and readily to others the knowledge that he had acquired. In 1903 he came to North Dakota to accept the position of principal of the schools of Leal, Barnes county, which position he occupied in 1903-04. He then became principal of the Souris schools in 1904-05 and in the fall of the latter year was appointed deputy collector and inspector of customs. He was then sent to Sherwood, where he has since made his home, and in 1907 he purchased the Sherwood Journal, while in December of the same year he bought out the Sherwood Tribune, consolidating the two papers under the latter name. In 1908 he resigned his position as revenue collector in order to give his undivided attention to newspaper work and in the intervening period of eight years he has built up one of the leading weekly publications in Renville county. It has a large circulation, which renders it an excellent advertising medium and its patronage in that connection is now gratifying.

In 1913 Mr. Penn was married to Miss Loretta E. O�Leary, of Alameda, Saskatchewan, Canada. He has a homestead in Montana where the family maintain their residence. Mr.  Penn holds membership in the Methodist Episcopal church, of which he is a trustee, while his wife is a communicant of the Catholic faith. He also belongs to Sherwood Lodge, No.  95, I. 0. 0. F., and passed through all the chairs up to noble grand, and is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America. His political endorsement is given to the republican party and he served as proofreader in the state senate in the session of 1915. His position is never an equivocal one. He stands firmly in support of every principle in which he believes and his influence and aid are always given on the side of progress and improvement.

J. C. PETERS, There is probably no more wide-awake or enterprising business man in Renville county than J. C. Peters, the present cashier of the Mohall State Bank and one of its principal stock holders. He does not confine his attention, however, to the banking business for he is interested in a number of other enterprises and in all his undertakings is meeting with marked success.

Mr. Peters was born in Cottonwood county, Minnesota, on the 2d of October 1884, and is a son of Cornelius and Helena (Foth) Peters, natives of Germany, where they were reared and married and where they continued to reside until after the birth of four of their children.  About 1875 the family sailed for the United States and first located in New Ulm, Minnesota, where the father followed the carpenter�s trade, which he had previously learned, for seven years. At the end of that time he located on a farm in Cottonwood county, the same state, and continued to follow agricultural pursuits throughout the remainder of his life. His death occurred in 1901, but the mother of our subject is still living and resides in Mountain Lake, Minnesota.

During his boyhood J. C. Peters pursued his studies in the public schools of Mountain Lake and later took a business course at the Mankato Commercial College. At the age of nineteen years he began his business training as a delivery boy for a mercantile house in Mountain Lake, with which he was connected for six years, gradually advancing during that time to the position of manager as his employers recognized his worth and ability. On resigning that position he attended the Mankato Commercial College as previously stated and then accepted the management of the silk department and the position of window trimmer of Richard Brothers Glass Block of Mankato, remaining with that firm for nine months. He resigned to come to North Dakota as manager of the dry goods department of the Harvey Mercantile Company of Harvey and filled that position for one year. Since the end of that time he has been identified with the banking business, first as bookkeeper of the First National Bank of Harvey for one year; later as assistant cashier of the First State Bank of Martin, North Dakota; and now as cashier of the Mohall State Bank, having accepted that position in the fall of 1913. Over the financial policies of the last named institution he has since presided and now owns a fourth interest in the business. During his connection with the bank the deposits have increased from thirty-one thousand dollars to about a quarter of a million. Mr. Peters is also president of the Northern Investment Company, capitalized at fifty thousand dollars, and holds a third interest in the Patalas addition to Mohall besides other valuable city real estate. He is agent for the Ford automobile at Mohall and in the past year sold one hundred and twenty-eight cars. He is also county chairman of the Insurance Federation of North Dakota.

In 1911 Mr. Peters was united in marriage to Miss Anna Litke, of Owatonna, Minnesota, and they have two daughters: Lourraine Ellen and Marcella Jeanette. The parents hold membership in the Methodist Episcopal church and Mr. Peters is independent in politics, though he favors the republican party. In the fall of 1913 he organized the Mohall Concert Band and has since acted as president and general manager of that organization, which has become quite prominent in musical circles. He is one of the foremost bankers in the northwestern part of the state and his prominence in business circles is unquestioned.

GEORGE I. RODSATER, a leading attorney of Renville county practicing at Mohall, is a native of Freeborn county, Minnesota. His birth occurred December 20, 1883, his parents being Iver A. and Ingeborg (Anderson) Rodsater, both of whom were natives of Norway.  The mother was an infant of but a year when brought by her parents to the United States but the father was a young man when he crossed the Atlantic. They were married in Freeborn county, Minnesota, where Mrs. Rodsater�s parents had homesteaded in pioneer times. After crossing the Atlantic Iver A. Rodsater took up the occupation of farming and he and his father-in-law became the owners of a section of land, which they held in partnership and which they operated jointly, contributing in large measure to the agricultural development of the region in which they lived. Both Mr. and Mrs. Iver A. Rodsater have now departed this life.

George I. Rodsater was educated in the Luther Academy at Albert Lea, Minnesota, and in Luther College at Decorah, Iowa, being graduated from the latter institution with the degree of Bachelor of Arts as a member of the class of 1906. He then took up the study of law, to which he devoted a year in the University of Minnesota, but completed his course in the North Dakota State University at Grand Forks, being graduated with the class of 1909. He was admitted to practice at the bar of the state and on the 5th of June 1909, following his admission, he entered the law office of George McGee, of Minot, with whom he remained for a year, putting his theoretical knowledge to practical test. In 1910 he arrived in Mohall, where he opened a law office, and on the 1st of January 1911, he formed a partnership with John Swenson under the firm style of Swenson & Rodsater this connection being continued from January 1, 1911 until October, 1915. Since the latter date Mr.  Rodsater has practiced independently and his ability to successfully handle important law cases is shown by the liberal patronage accorded him.

On the 7th of December, 1915, Mr. Rodsater was united in marriage to Miss Bertine Anderson, of Mohall. He is connected with various fraternal and social organizations, belonging to Mohall Lodge, No. 73, A. F. & A. M. Jared Consistory, No. 2, A. & A. S. R., of Grand Forks, and Kem Temple, A. A. 0. N. M. S., while he and his wife are members of the Lutheran church. His political support is given to the republican party and for four years he filled the office of assistant state�s attorney, but he has never sought political preference outside the strict path of his profession, knowing that the law is a jealous mistress and those upon whom she confers her favors are the ones who give to her unfaltering allegiance.

THOMAS ROWAN, postmaster of Sherwood, Renville county, was born in Rice county, Minnesota, January 1, 1866, his parents being Luke and Bridget (Dempsey) Rowan, who were natives of Ireland. Coming to America in early life, they settled in Hastings, Minnesota, and there Luke Rowan was employed for a time, while later he removed to Rice county, Minnesota, filing on land which he converted into a rich and productive farm, continuing its cultivation until 1870, when he removed to Traverse county, Minnesota. There he took up a preemption and operated the farm for several years but eventually retired from active business life and removed to Sherwood, making his home with his son Thomas throughout his remaining days. He died September 24, 1012, having for about two and a half years survived his wife, who passed away on the 13th of March 1910.

Thomas Rowan was reared and educated in Rice county, Minnesota, and remained under the parental roof until he reached the age of twenty-four years. He then began farming in Traverse county, that state, purchasing land which he carefully tilled, developing his place into one of the productive farms of that locality. He resided thereon until 1901, when he removed to Renville county, North Dakota, and took up a homestead, whereon he engaged in general agricultural pursuits until the spring of 1916, when he rented that property and established his home in Sherwood. On the 3d of June of that year he was appointed postmaster and took possession of the office on the 6^th of September, so that he is the present incumbent in the position. While upon the farm he made a specialty of raising thoroughbred horses and shorthorn cattle and his livestock interests contributed in substantial measure to his success.

On the 7th of January 1890, Mr. Rowan was united in marriage to Miss Mary Haney and they have adopted three children, Ray, John and Katherine, aged respectively twentyone, eleven and eight years. The family are adherents of the Catholic church and Mr. Rowan belongs also to the Knights of Columbus. Politically he is a democrat, giving unfaltering allegiance to the party and its principles. From the organization of Calhoun township until his appointment as postmaster he was clerk of that township. His life has been a busy and useful one and his determination and unremitting energy have carried him forward along the path of success.

HON. LOUIS W. SAUER, one of the partners in the firm of Sauer Brothers, general merchants of Tolley, was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, October 26, 1860. The family name indicates his German lineage, his parents, John M. and Rebecca (Appler) Sauer, both being natives of Germany. They came to America in early life and after living for a time in Indianapolis removed with their family to Ohio and later to Pennsylvania. Subsequently they became residents of Minnesota and in the vicinity of Minneapolis Mr. Sauer purchased land and followed gardening throughout his remaining days, his death there occurring April 4, 1916. At the time of the Civil war he responded to the call of the country for aid and served for two years at the front with a Pennsylvania regiment. He had long survived his wife, who passed away in 1886.

Louis W. Sauer was reared and educated in Minneapolis and remained with his parents until after he attained his majority. In 1883 he removed to Barnes county, North Dakota, and filed on a homestead near Valley City, after which he began the arduous task of developing and improving the property, upon which he continued for many years. As his financial resources increased he extended the boundaries of his place, buying more land from time to time until he owned a section. When the town of Tolley was started in 1905 he took up his abode there and established a lumberyard which he conducted for four years. On selling out he turned his attention to general merchandising in partnership, with his brother Peter, and under the firm style of Sauer Brothers they have since conducted a large and growing business. In 1909, they erected a modern two-story cement block building, one hundred and twenty by twenty-four feet, and they now carry an attractive line of goods, while the business methods of the house are bringing to them an increased patronage annually. Louis W. Sauer has also made extensive investments in property and is now the owner of one thousand acres of farm land in Renville county which he rents, thus adding materially to his income.

On the 24th of March 1896, Mr. Sauer was married to Miss Lettie Peterson and they have eight children, namely: Roy, Louis, Andrew, Earl, Esther, Ruth, Grace and Dorothy Rebecca. Mr. and Mrs. Sauer are faithful members of the Methodist church and he is a popular and prominent figure in several fraternal organizations. He has attained the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite in Masonry and he belongs to the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, the Modern Woodmen of America and the Ancient Order of United Workmen. He has always voted with the republican party since age conferred upon him the right of franchise and he has served as a member of the town board at intervals since the town was established. He is now president of the school board and does everything in his power to further local progress and improvement. Still higher political honors, however, have been conferred upon him, as he was elected to represent his district in the state legislature in 1911, serving two years. He was on several committees in the legislature, the more important being those on railways, means, agriculture, education and penal institutions. He is an esteemed and valued resident of Renville county, holding at all times to high standards of manhood and of citizenship.

REV. MICHAEL SCHMITT, pastor of St. Jeromes Catholic church at Mohall, was born at Harper, Keokuk county, Iowa, March 23, 1884, a son of Frank and Margaret (Wehr) Schmitt, both of whom were natives of Germany. Coming to America in the �60s, they settled in Iowa, the father purchasing land in Keokuk county, where he carried on farming for many years. He eventually retired from active business but continued to reside upon his farm until he passed away in February 1910. For about eight years he had survived his wife, who died in July, 1902.

Their son, Michael Schmitt, was reared and educated in the public and parochial schools of Keokuk county, Iowa, and at the age of seventeen years began studying for the priesthood, spending five years as a pupil in St. Francis� Seminary at Milwaukee, Wisconsin, he was afterward for two years a student in St. Ambrose�s College at Davenport, Iowa, and for one year in the Kenrick Seminary at St. Louis, Missouri. He completed his studies in the Seminary of St. Paul in St. Paul, Minnesota, in the year 1912 and immediately afterward came to Mohall, having been appointed to the pastorate of St. .Jeromes church, with which he has since been connected, building up the church here in a most satisfactory manner, he also has charge of St. James� church at Sherwood, St. Philomenas church at Glenburn and Holy Family church at Deering. He is now erecting a fine church edifice at Sherwood at a cost of fifteen thousand dollars and is building a parochial residence at Mohall at a cost of five thousand dollars. He is likewise building a church at Deering and thus the work is being steadily carried forward, he belongs to the Knights of Columbus and he concentrates his entire effort upon the cause to which he has consecrated his life.

JOHN SWENSON, of Mohall, who is filling the office of states attorney of Renville county, was born in Kansas in April 1877, a son of Nels and Betty (Anderson) Swenson, both of whom were natives of Sweden. In the year 1865 the father bade adieu to friends and native land and sailed for the new world, attracted by the favorable reports which he had heard concerning the business opportunities that could be enjoyed on this side of the Atlantic. He made his way to Kansas, where he took up a homestead claim which he developed and improved throughout his remaining days. He died in December 1902, while his widow survived until May, 1915. They were numbered among the worthy and respected residents of the community in which they long lived.

John Swenson spent the period of his early boyhood in Kansas and attended the public schools, but when a lad of only thirteen years he left home and was employed as a farm hand for several years. Since that time he has been dependent entirely upon his own resources and deserves much credit for the success which he has achieved. In 1901 he arrived in Renville county, North Dakota, and for five years was employed in a store in Mohall. Later he proved up on a homestead and afterward went to Grand Forks, where he became a law student in the State University. He was graduated with the class of June 1910, and in the fall of the same year was elected states attorney of Renville county, which position he acceptably filled for two years. The succeeding two years were devoted to the private practice of law but in 1914 he was again elected states attorney and is now occupying that position. He is a strong and forceful lawyer, clear in argument, logical in his deductions.  He still owns his homestead property of one hundred and sixty acres and also a tract of equal size adjoining it, and his farming interests are bringing to him a substantial return.

Mr. Swenson has always voted with the republican party since age conferred upon him the right of franchise and his position upon any vital question is never an equivocal one.  He is a Mason of high rank and has become a member of the Mystic Shrine. His life exemplifies the beneficent spirit of the craft, which is based upon a recognition of the brotherhood of mankind. Whatever success he has achieved is attributable entirely to his own efforts, for by persistent energy he has worked his way upward, utilizing every opportunity that has come to hand, and, prompted by a laudable ambition, he has directed his efforts to a profession where advancement depends entirely upon individual merit and ability.

CHRISTIAN THORESON, a dealer in agricultural implements at Mohall, in which connection he has built up a substantial business, is one of those who became identified with Renville county in the period of its pioneer development by filing on a homestead a mile west of the present town of Mohall in 1901. This district has been characterized by very rapid settlement, growth and improvement, a fact which is attributable in no small measure to Mr. Thoreson, whose labors for the benefit of the county have been effective and far-reaching forces. He was born in Norway on the 13th of November 1850, and is a son of Ole and Johanna (Walstad) Thoreson, who came to the United States in 1855 and settled in Dane county, Wisconsin. Later they removed to Douglas county, Minnesota, and there the mother passed away in the �80s. About 1896 the father came to North Dakota, establishing his home in Cavalier county, where he entered a claim and continued to reside up to the time of his demise, which occurred in 1911.

Christian Thoreson was only five years of age at the time of the emigration to the new world and the district schools of this country afforded him his educational privileges.  His youthful days were spent in the usual manner of farm lads, his time being divided, between the work of the fields and the duties of the schoolroom, with an occasional hour for such sports as attract the attention of a boy. On reaching manhood he began farming on his own account in Douglas county, Minnesota. and became the owner of more than a half section of land. He was closely identified with general agricultural pursuits in that locality until 1886, when he took up his abode in the town of Brandon, Minnesota, and built the Farmers Elevator, which he operated for four years. In 1900 he made a trip to North Dakota and while in this state filed on a homestead a mile west of the present site of Mohall. In 1901 he located on that property and won his title there to.  In 1902 he erected the first store building in Mohall and established a hardware, furniture and implement business, which constantly grew and expanded with the rapid settlement and development of that section of the state. In 1913 he sold his hardware and furniture stock but still continues to deal in agricultural implements and his patronage has now reached extensive and gratifying proportions. He has worked diligently, allowing no obstacle nor difficulty to bar his path if it could be overcome by persistent, earnest and honorable effort. He has extensive holdings in farm lands, owning ten hundred and forty acres, of which four hundred acres is located in Renville county and six hundred and forty acres across the line in Canada.

In November 1870, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Thoreson and Miss Minnie Kollwold, of Minneapolis, Minnesota, who was born in Germany. They became the parents of eleven children, namely: Anna, the wife of C. D. Nelson, of Plentywood, Montana: Agnes, the wife of Howard A. McKenzie, of St. Cloud, Minnesota; Lena, the deceased wife of Alfred Berkie, of Greenbush, Minnesota; Minnie, who married George Keup, of Columbus, North Dakota; Nellie, the wife of John Sheridan, a resident of Renville county; Cora, the wife of Louis Spellum, of Upham, Montana; Emma, a teacher in the public schools of Plentywood, Montana; Gladys, at home; John, who is proprietor of a hardware and implement business at Sherwood, North Dakota; William, who is managing his brother�s hardware business at Sherwood; and Bennie, a hardware merchant of Upham, Montana.

Mr. Thoreson�s study of the political questions and issues of the day has led him to become a supporter of republican principles and he does all in his power to promote the success of the party. He served almost continuously in office since the organization of Mohall until about two years ago, when he withdrew from active participation in political affairs. While living in Minnesota he was for several years a member of the school board and after removing to Mohall he was treasurer of the city for a number of years and for eight years was an alderman. He and his wife are consistent members of the Lutheran church and such is their sterling worth that the hospitality of the best homes of Mohall and the surrounding country is cordially extended to them. While born across the water Mr. Thoreson has spent almost his entire life in the upper Mississippi valley and the spirit of western enterprise and progress finds expression in his business career and in his cooperation with all those forces which work for public progress and improvement.

HENRY P. WEBER, engaged in the abstract business at Mohall, was born in Will county, Illinois, December 18, 1880, a son of Otto A. and Julia (Lee) Weber, the former a native of Germany and the latter of Norway. In early boyhood the father came to the United States and established his home in Illinois. He took up the occupation of farming and bought land in that state which he cultivated for several years. Prior to that time, however, he learned the carpenter�s trade and also followed it to some extent. In 1886 he became a resident of Renville county, Minnesota, where he purchased land and carried on general farming for a number of years or until he retired from active business life. He and his wife are now residents of Franklin, Minnesota.

Henry P. Weber was a lad of but six years at the time of the removal of the family to Minnesota and in that state he pursued his education, remaining under the parental roof until he had attained his majority. He then started out in the business world on his own account and for five years was employed as a bookkeeper in Minot. He afterward filled the office of deputy register of deeds in Ward county for three years, on the expiration of which period he engaged in the abstract business in Minot for two years. In 1910 he arrived in Mohall, where he opened a set of abstract books, and he is now conducting business along that line under the name of the Renville County Abstract Company, in which connection he has gained a large clientage that makes his business a profitable one.

On the 1st of January 1903, Mr. Weber was married to Miss Cecelia Torbenson and they have become parents of three children, Ernest L., Arthur C. and Laura I. Mr. and Mrs. Weber are members of the Lutheran church and his political endorsement is given to the republican party, which finds in him a stalwart champion. He is now serving for the second term as city treasurer of Mohall and he is also a member of the school board, of which he served as clerk for two years. His aid and influence are always given on the side of improvement and advancement and his efforts have been a potent element in the work of public progress in the northern part of the state.

GEORGE R. WHITFORD, The consensus of public opinion names George R. Whitford as the foremost business man of Mohall, for his intense and well directed activities have contributed much to the upbuilding and improvement of the town along many lines. He was born in Cold Springs, Minnesota, December 18, 1878, a son of John and Agnes (Stevens) Whitford, both of whom were natives of Canada, where they were reared and married. In 1856 they crossed the border into the United States, settling in Stearns county, Minnesota. The father was known as the expert sawyer of the northwest and for many years was prominently identified with sawmill work. It was he and his brothers Joe and Jim Ferguson who founded the town of Fergus Falls, and Whitford street, one of the principal residence thoroughfares of that city, was named after the two Whitford brothers. Joe Whitford was a well known Indian trader of the early frontier days and he and John Whitford continued their interests in partnership, the latter operating the sawmills, while the former managed the trading interests. John Whitford died in 1897, at the age of sixty-nine years, and soon afterward his widow removed to Devils Lake, North Dakota, where she passed away on the 18th of January 1910.

Stimulated by the example of his father, George R. Whitford has become a town builder of North Dakota. He was educated in the public schools and in the North Dakota State University, which he attended for a year, supplemented by a commercial course in Caton College of Minneapolis. The ambitious spirit of the youth and the elemental strength of his character were indicated in the fact that in order to secure his college training there he waited on the table to pay his way through school. He also individually paid his tuition in the North Dakota State University, when his textbooks were put aside he secured a position in a mercantile establishment at Devils Lake, where he was employed for a year, and in December 1900, he filed on a homestead nine miles northwest of Mohall in what was then Ward but is now Renville county. In June 1901, he took up his abode upon that place and proved up on the homestead in March 1902. In September of the same year he removed to Mohall and immediately made arrangements for the erection of a store building, in which on the 26th of November 1902, he opened his doors for business as a general merchant. Moreover, he had the distinction of being the first merchant of the town to have his goods shipped in by train, his first consignment coming in on the first freight train that entered Mohall. He remained actively in mercantile business for ten years, during which time he erected three store buildings in the town. He also built the present courthouse and the modern building occupied by the greater store. During this time he did a business amounting to almost nine hundred thousand dollars. His patronage came from a wide territory and he carried everything demanded in general trade, while at all times his earnest efforts to please his patrons, combined with his straight forward methods and the excellent line of goods which he carried, secured for him a growing patronage, making his business one of mammoth proportions, yielding to him a most substantial annual profit. For the past three years Mr. Whitford has not been actively identified with the business, although the Mohall store and the store which he founded in Sherwood in 1912 are still conducted under his name. Since 1913 he has been engaged in real estate operations and is a heavy holder of farm lands in Renville and Bottineau counties.

In February, 1903, at Devils Lake, Mr. Whitford was united in marriage to Miss Charlotte Haslam, of that place, and they have two children, Georgia Evelyn and Josephine Haslam. Mr. Whitford is a loyal member of Mohall Lodge. No. 7.3, A. F. & A. M., and both he and his wife are connected with Mohall Chapter, 0. E. S. of which he is now worthy patron. He likewise belongs to Mohall Lodge, I. 0. 0. F., the Knights of Pythias and the Modern Woodmen of America. His political allegiance is given to the republican party and he was chairman of the committee that brought about the formation of Renville county and was also chairman of the county seat committee. He and his wife attend the Methodist Episcopal church and he is ever ready and willing to aid in the support of those movements which work for the moral progress of the community. In a word, he has been one of the dominant factors in the upbuilding of the city of Mohall along the line of material, political, social and moral progress, being a foremost factor in the advancement of every movement for the town�s best interests. Moreover, his efforts are of a most practical character and he has ever been a man of action rather than of theory.

F. W. WIEBE, is a well known representative of the banking interests of Renville county, now serving as vice president of the Mohall State Bank of Mohall. He was born in Cottonwood county, Minnesota, May 16, 1879, his parents being Wilhelm and Elizabeth (Dickman) Wiebe, who are natives of Germany but removed to Russia after their marriage and remained there until coming to America in 1875. They located in Cottonwood county, Minnesota, where the father homesteaded eighty acres and subsequently purchased more land. Meeting with success in his farming operations he is now able to live retired at Mountain Lake, Minnesota.

At the usual age F. W. Wiebe began his education in the district schools of his native county and he took work in the La Salle Extension University of Chicago. At the early age of ten years he became a wage earner, receiving only thirty dollars, however, for his first year�s work. He was employed on farms up to the time he attained his majority and in 1901 went on the road in the interests of the Golden Valley Land & Cattle Company of St. Paul, which corporation was at that time opening up the Golden Valley in Billings county, North Dakota, on the Montana state line. Mr. Wiebe remained with them for two years and in 1904 went to Harvey, North Dakota, where he was employed as clerk in a mercantile establishment for five years. It was in 1909 that he became identified with the banking business, being appointed assistant cashier of the Hurdsfield State Bank at Hurdsfield, North Dakota, where he remained for four years. In 1913 he went to Montana as a homesteader, filing on a claim in Hill county, which he subsequently proved up, and in 1914 came to Mohall, North Dakota. In June of the latter year he bought an interest in the Mohall State Bank and was made vice president of the institution, which today ranks among the leading banks of Renville county. Mr. Wiebe was placed in charge of the collection and insurance departments and has since built up the largest insurance business in the northwestern part of the state.  He is also treasurer of the Northern Investment Company, which is a fifty thousand dollar corporation, and has been one of the dominant factors in its development. He holds a third interest in the Patalas addition to Mohall and has farm land in Renville county and in Montana.

Mr. Wiebe was married June 8, 1902, to Miss Agatha Peters, of Mountain Lake, Minnesota, a sister of J. C. Peters, cashier of the Mohall State Bank, a sketch of whom appears above. To this union four children have been born, of whom Hilda, born May 3, 1903, is deceased, those still living being Laura Isabelle, born October 29, 1906; Luella Helen, born September 25, 1913; and Walter Wilhelm, born February 1, 1915. Mr. and Mrs. Wiebe are earnest and consistent members of the Congregational church and he is an ardent republican in politics. He is one of the leading citizens and prominent business men of this part of the state and is held in the warmest esteem by all who know him.

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