Richland County North Dakota Biographies

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

IVER A. CASPERSON, who is successfully engaged in merchandising in Walcott, Richland county, was born in Norway, March 27, 1864, a son of Casper and Ingeborg (Peterson) Olsen. The father, who was born in 1823, died in 1913, but the mother, whose birth occurred in 1827, is still living and makes her home with the subject of this review. They were married in Norway in 1848 and remained in that country until 1882 when they emigrated to the United States and located in Walcott, North Dakota. The father spent the rest of his life in honorable retirement, having accumulated a competence. He was a very active member of the Lutheran church and in his daily life exemplified the teachings of Christianity. To him and his wife were born four children, namely: Mrs. Anna Farup, who died in 1914; Mrs. M. N. Wigtil, a widow residing in Walcott; 0. C, who is farming three hundred and twenty acres of land three miles from Walcott; and Iver A.

Iver A. Casperson was reared upon a farm and early became accustomed to agricultural work. On beginning his independent career he worked as a farm hand and when he had acquired sufficient capital he invested in land, which he cultivated for a time. He then supplemented the education which he had previously acquired by attending school at Willmore Seminary, after which he engaged in teaching in English schools for ten years. In 1895 he entered the business world, becoming clerk in a store, in which capacity he worked for six years. At the end of that time he purchased an interest in a mercantile establishment and is now a large stockholder in the Walcott Mercantile Company, which owns a large store and which has built up an extensive and profitable patronage. They carry a well selected stock of general merchandise and spare no pains to satisfy the wants of their customers.

In 1897 Mr. Casperson was united in marriage to Miss Anna Anderson, a daughter of Carl Anderson, an early settler of North Dakota and a successful farmer. Mr. and Mrs.  Casperson have six children: Mabel and Charles, who are attending high school; Aleta and Inga, who are in school; Elmer; and Mildred.

Mr. Casperson casts his ballot in support of the candidates and measures of the republican party and for fifteen years served as township school treasurer, while for eight years he was clerk of Walcott. He holds membership in the Lutheran church and in all the relations of life he measures up to high standards of manhood. He is considered one of the valuable citizens of Walcott and his personal friends are many.

BRADLEY W. CLABAUGH, the owner and editor of the Fairmount News, is one of the well known, influential citizens of Richland county. He was born in Frederick, Maryland, January 12, 1867, of the marriage of Norman B. and Margaret (Fout) Clabaugh, both natives of that state, the former born on the 31st of August 1818 and the latter in 1821. The Clabaugh family is of Scotch descent but has been established in the United States for many years. The parents of our subject were married in Maryland and passed away in that state, the father in 1892 and the mother in 1887. The former was a millwright and inventor and was a man of good business judgment. In politics he supported the democratic party and for one term he served as sheriff of his county. His religious faith was that of the Lutheran church. To him and his wife were born ten children; G. M. D., who is a coach trimmer residing in Frederick, Maryland; Mary, the wife of William Seachrist, a dairyman living in Maryland; Bruce. who is deceased; Charles B., an engineer living in Frederick; William F., who owns a lime kiln in Keller, West Virginia; Susie, the wife of Fitzbugh Hamer, a painter of Frederick, Maryland; Addie W., who is living in Washington, D. C., Bradley W.; R. L.. a barber living in Washington, D. C.; and Alvah, a resident of Baltimore.

Bradley W. Clabaugh was reared under the parental roof and received his education in the schools of Frederick, in 1884 when seventeen years of age, he entered a newspaper office and learned the printer’s trade, with which he has since been connected. After a time he went to Butte, Montana, and while there worked on the leading papers of the state, thus gaining valuable experience. In 1888 he joined the Typographical Union at Baltimore. In 1896 he removed to Fairmount, North Dakota, and established the Fairmount News, which he has since conducted and which has a circulation of twelve hundred. The paper gives the local news and also brief accounts of happenings of general interest and it has gained an enviable reputation for reliability. Mr. Clabaugh also does considerable job printing, for which his office is well equipped.

In 1895 occurred the marriage of Mr. Clabaugh and Miss Wilhelmina Wiedeman, a native of Wisconsin, and they have two children: Vera M., who was graduated from the high school at Fairmount, and also from the Valley City Normal School and is now acting as assistant postmistress at Fairmount under her mother, the present postmistress; and Delwin B., who is attending school.

Mr. Clabaugh is a democrat in politics and his advice is often sought in party councils, he belongs to the Masonic order and the Knights of Pythias, and his wife is a member of the Eastern Star, in which she has served as worthy matron for a number of years. She is also a member of the Federated Women’s Clubs, and her religious faith is indicated by the fact that she is a member of the Congregational church. Mr. Clabaugh devotes his time and energy almost exclusively to his newspaper and printing business and the success which he has gained is largely attributable to the fact that he has continued to engage in the same business which he entered as a young man.

A. G. DIVET, who is a member of the firm of Purcell & Divet, the leading law firm of Wahpeton, is one of the well known residents of that city. In addition to law practice he is serving as a member of the state legislature. A native of Minnesota, he was born in Byron, Olmsted county, on the 10th of January, 1870, a son of Daniel and Harriet L.  (Sykes) Divet. The father was born in Pennsylvania in 1835 and is still living, but the mother, whose birth occurred in Canada in 1845, died in 1906. The paternal grandfather was Michael Divet, a native of Ireland, who on emigrating to the United States settled first in Pennsylvania and later in Wisconsin. He was a pioneer of the latter state and there engaged in farming for many years. His religious faith was that of the Catholic church.  The maternal grandfather, Victor Sykes, was born in Canada but in the early history of Wisconsin became a resident of that state and there he passed the remainder of his life.  The parents of our subject were married in Minnesota, the father having moved there from Dane county, Wisconsin, in 1860. In 1879 he and his family came to North Dakota, settling in Richland county, he engaged in agricultural pursuits and met with gratifying success in his chosen occupation. In early manhood he went to California and later to Colorado, where he mined for gold, but later he concentrated his efforts upon farming. On removing to this state he took up a homestead and tree claim and later he traded for other land in this state, becoming in time the owner of two thousand acres of excellent land.  He now resides with a daughter in Morton county at an advanced age, but is still alert and interested in the happenings of the day. He is unusually well read and during his active life was a power in his community. In politics he is a stalwart republican. To him and his wife were born seven children, five of whom are still living, namely: A. G.; Eunice, the widow of Joseph Glyn, of Morton county, who was a successful farmer; Lorena, who resides upon the homestead in Morton county; Sykes, who is farming near Hutchinson, Minnesota; and Walter, of Lisbon, who is court stenographer for his district.

A. G. Divet received his early education in the common schools of Minnesota and North Dakota and later attended the academy at Madison. Wisconsin, for about two years, after which he studied law in connection with the discharge of his duties as court reporter, which office he held for six years. After being admitted to the bar he located at Forman, this state, for practice, but two years later returned to Wahpeton and become associated in practice with Senator William K. Purcell. As time has passed they have gained prominence at the bar of the state and the firm of Purcell & Divet is recognized as the leading one in the city of Wahpeton and the second one in the state. They engage in general practice, have not only a large but also an important clientage and are known in adjoining states as well as throughout North Dakota. They are also heavily interested in farming, owning a large ranch near Wahpeton, and it is characteristic of their enterprise and progressiveness that they were the first successful alfalfa growers in the state. They carry on diversified farming, raising corn, oats, wheat, cattle and hogs. They have all the latest equipment for scientific farming and in their methods utilize the discoveries of investigators along various phases of farming. In the seven years that they have owned the farm they have expended thirty-five thousand dollars in improving it, and it is now one of the show places of Richland county. They manage the farm well and derive a handsome income therefrom.

Mr. Divet was married in 1895 to Miss Nora Russell, who was born in Goodhue county, Minnesota, a daughter of Elijah Russell, a successful merchant. Mr. and Mrs. Divet have two children; Donovan, who has completed two years of the academic course in the State University of Minnesota and is now a freshman in the school of law; and Rushby, who is sixteen years of age and is in high school.

Mr. and Mrs. Divet belong to the Congregational church, in the work of which they take an active part. Mr. Divet has been chairman of the board of trustees for many years and at times has filled pulpits in this section of the state. He is identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and with the Knights of Pythias, and in the latter organization has passed through all the chairs. His political allegiance is given to the republican party and ho is recognized as a leader in public affairs. He is now serving his second term as a member of the state legislature and is making a creditable record in that capacity, proving not only public-spirited but also discriminating in his support of or opposition to various measures. He is not only respected for his ability and esteemed because of his unquestioned integrity but he is also held in warm personal regard by those who have been intimately associated with him.

JAMES A. DWYER, a well known attorney residing in Hankinson, Richland county, was born in Akron, Ohio, on the 1st of May, 1861, a son of Andrew and Catherine (Dwyer) Dwyer. The father, who was born in Ireland in 1828, died in November, 1898, and the mother, whose birth occurred in 1835, passed away in October, 1902. They were married in Ohio, where the father had removed as a young man. On beginning his independent career he went to Australia from Ireland and for a time he worked on a ship. He then came to America and was foreman in the building of the old Erie Railroad and subsequently entered the employ of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad, being one of the first agents of that road in Wisconsin. He also followed agricultural pursuits in that state, He served in the Union army in the latter part of the Civil war and participated in the second battle of Nashville. In politics he was a democrat and he served a county treasurer and county commissioner of Sauk county, Wisconsin. His religious faith was that of the Catholic church. To him and his wife were born eleven children, six of whom are still living, namely: James A.; William, a prosperous farmer living in Loretta, Wisconsin; Thomas, a lumber cruiser of northern Minnesota; Andrew, who lives in Bear Valley, Wisconsin, and has gained gratifying success as a general merchant and implement dealer; Maria, the wife of James P. Smith, a retired farmer, who is now in the meat business at Madison, Wisconsin; and Mary, the wife of M. J. Griffin, a traveling man of Baraboo, Wisconsin. The paternal grandfather died in Ireland, and the grandmother passed away in Australia.

James A. Dwyer received an excellent education, attending the schools at Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and the University of Wisconsin for one year, beginning his law studies at the latter institution. He then went, to Milwaukee and learned telegraphy, which he followed for eleven years, during which time he continued his preparation for the practice of law.  He was admitted to the bar of North Dakota on the 20th of March, 1898, but had practiced his profession for two years previously. Since his admission to the bar he has practiced in Hankinson and has met with a gratifying measure of success, his clients coming from all parts of this section and from Minnesota. He has also served as attorney for the Soo Line since 1900, and it is well recognized by his colleagues and by the general public that he is well versed in the law and that he is convincing in his presentation of his cause in the court. He owns lands in McLean county and Williams county, North Dakota.

On the 26th of April, 1890, Mr. Dwyer married Miss Lillian D. Pettit, a native of Syracuse, New York, who came to North Dakota with her sister about 1888. Mr. Dwyer is independent in politics, believing that the welfare of the country can best be served by voting for the best man irrespective of party. His religious faith is that of the Roman Catholic church, whose teachings have guided him throughout life. He is not only respected for his professional attainments but is also held in high esteem because of his integrity and probity.

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