Richland County North Dakota Biographies

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

ARTHUR L. PARSONS, an attorney of Lidgerwood, is recognized as one of the able members of the bar of Richland county and has gained a good clientage. He was born in St.  Paul, Minnesota, on the 25th of August 1873, a son of J. S. and Louise (Folsom) Parsons, both of whom were natives of Maine. The father, whose birth occurred in 1840, died in 1915.  The mother, who was born in 1845, passed away in 1913. They were married in the Pine Tree state, but in the ‘60s emigrated westward and located in Illinois, whence in 1870 they removed to St. Paul, Minnesota, where the father engaged in the machine business. In 1899 they came to North Dakota and he took up land in Richland county. He met with gratifying success and from time to time acquired title to additional land until at one time he owned sixteen hundred acres. In 1903 he sold out and during the remainder of his life lived retired. In politics he was a stanch republican and he took a keen interest in public affairs, being especially concerned for the welfare of the school system, serving for some time upon the school board. He was a man of liberal education, a graduate of Bates College of Lewiston, Maine, and his wide knowledge and sound judgment gave him a position of leadership in his community. To him and his wife were born six children, namely: Ottie, the wife of W. J. Medland, a banker of Park River, this state; Arthur L.; Cleve M., an attorney of Hettinger, North Dakota; Roy, who is farming near Chinook, Montana; Stella, who is now Mrs. Downing, residing near Velva, this state; and Ralph I., a wheat buyer living in Canada.  The Parsons family is of English descent but has been established in this country for a number of generations. A great-great-grandfather of our subject participated in the Revolutionary war.

Arthur L. Parsons received his elementary and secondary education in the schools of Geneseo, Illinois, graduating from the high school in 1891. He subsequently entered the College of Law of the Minnesota State University, which conferred upon him the degree of LL. B. in 1896. He was admitted to the bar in Minnesota and also in North Dakota and in the year of his graduation began the active practice of his profession at Lidgerwood, where he has since remained with the exception of two years, during which he was connected with Emerson H. Smith at Fargo. He returned to Lidgerwood in 1907 and the confidence which the general public has in his ability is evidenced by the large and profitable patronage which he enjoys. He prepares his cases carefully and is convincing in the presentation of his argument before the court with the result that he had gained a favorable verdict in most instances. He practices in all the courts and stands high among his professional brethren.  In connection with his law practice he conducts an insurance business and writes many policies annually.

In 1900 occurred the marriage of Mr. Parsons and Miss Floy Goss, of Durand, Wisconsin, by whom he has three children, Ruth, Dorothy and Arthur D.  Mr. Parsons is an adherent of the republican party and for two years was mayor of Lidgerwood, giving the municipality an efficient and businesslike administration. He has been clerk of the school board during the entire period of his residence in Lidgerwood and has also served as city attorney for several terms. His religious faith is that of the Baptist church, and fraternally he is connected with the Masons and the Woodmen, these associations indicating the rules which govern his conduct. He is not only a successful attorney, but is also a public-spirited citizen and a man of unquestioned integrity, and all who have come in contact with him hold him in the highest esteem.

HON. WILLIAM E. PURCELL, former United States senator from North Dakota, is one of the most prominent men in the southeastern part of the state. He is now engaged in the practice of law at Wahpeton and is recognized as the most able attorney in the state. He also has important business interests which connect him with the material development of North Dakota and at all times he is willing to aid in any project calculated to promote its advancement.  Mr. Purcell was born in Flemington, New Jersey, on the 3d of August, 1856, the tenth of eleven children whose parents were Joseph and Johanna (Dugan) Purcell, both natives of Ireland. The father, who was born in 1810, died in 1894, and the mother, whose birth occurred in 1822, passed away in 1880. They were married in Ireland and continued to reside there for a considerable period thereafter, but in 1851 emigrated to the United States with their eight children, one of whom, however, died on the ocean. The family home was established at Flemington, New Jersey, where the father worked as a laborer. Three children were added to the family after the removal to this country. Seven are deceased. Those living are as follows: James served in the Union Army throughout the Civil war and was incarcerated for three months in a Confederate prison. He was captured three times at the battle of Winchester and was also wounded in that engagement. Following the close of hostilities he turned his attention to farming and to the hotel business and as he managed his affairs well he accumulated a competence which now enables him to live retired. He makes his home in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Maggie, now Mrs. Michael Slattery, resides in Flemington, New Jersey. Richard R. is a prominent lawyer of Helena, Montana, and is now serving as mayor of that city; William E., of Wahpeton, completes the family. The parents were members of the Roman Catholic church, and the father gave his political allegiance to the democratic party. The paternal grandfather, John Purcell, was a small farmer who passed his entire life in Ireland. He reached a very advanced age and was highly esteemed by all who knew him. To him and his wife were born fourteen children. The maternal grandfather, Dennis Dugan, who also engaged in farming on a small scale in Ireland, likewise continued to reside in that country until called by death. He had two daughters, both of whom are deceased.

William E. Purcell attended the public schools of his native town and when a boy was compelled to help provide for his own support. He was for a time a hired hand on a farm, was subsequently employed in a pottery and for a short period worked as a laborer.  He attended night school, thus supplementing the education which he had previously acquired.  Believing that the legal profession offered excellent opportunities, he took up the study of law and in February 1880, was admitted to the bar of New Jersey. He still has his certificate of admission, which was signed by Governor George B. McClelland. Mr. Purcell practiced in that state for a year but at the end of that time decided to remove to the west, which he believed had a great future in store. He located at Wahpeton, Richland county, North Dakota, where he at once opened an office for practice. It was not long before his thorough legal knowledge, his keen insight and convincing logic won recognition and for years he has held a foremost place among the lawyers of the state. He has built up a clientage remarkable both for its extent and its importance, and he is without a doubt the best known attorney in North Dakota. He practices in all of the courts in North Dakota and in South Dakota and Minnesota as well.

Mr. Purcell has invested heavily in land in this state and personally oversees his farming interests, which are extensive. He is also vice president of the Peoples Bank and of the First National Bank of Hankinson, and in the management of his business affairs he displays foresight and sound judgment.

Mr. Purcell has not confined his attention to professional and business interests but for years has taken a very active part in public affairs. Since age conferred upon him the right of franchise he has been a stanch adherent of the democratic party and is influential in the state organization. He was a delegate to the national convention at Baltimore in 1912 and also to the convention which nominated Grover Cleveland for a second term, and for two years he served as a member of the democratic national committee. He has held a number of offices of public trust. He served as state’s attorney for Richland county and as United States attorney, to which office he was appointed by President Cleveland on the 5th of April 1888, and which he held until July 1889, when he became a member of the state constitutional convention. He was also a member of the joint committee that apportioned the indebtedness of the territory between the two states of North and South Dakota. For one term he served as state senator and later still higher honor was given him, as he was appointed by Governor John Burke United States senator to fill a vacancy caused by resignation of Fountain L. Thompson. He represented this state in the upper house of congress for about fourteen months and made an excellent record, manifesting a thorough knowledge of conditions in the country and insight as to the probable effect of proposed measures. In 1914 he was a candidate for senator but was defeated.

Mr. Purcell was married on the 3d of April 1889, to Miss Myra E. Stevens, who was born in Lake City, Minnesota, and is a daughter of Mott T. Stevens, who is now engaged in the hardware business at Wahpeton. She is a consistent member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and Mr. Purcell is a communicant of the Roman Catholic church and is also identified with the Knights of Columbus. He is public-spirited to a marked degree and uses his influence for and gives his time and thought to the advancement of his community and state. His interest in the public schools has found expression in able service as a school director, and the moral, civic and material progress of Wahpeton has been furthered by his cooperation in various plans for improvement. As a lawyer he has gained distinction, as a business man he has been successful and as a public official he has ever proved loyal to the trust reposed in him and capable in the discharge of his duties.

W. J. ROBINSON, who is conducting a lumber and coal yard in Wahpeton and who also has other business interests, was born in Ontario, Canada, September 5, 1850. His parents, John and Susanna (Wyley) Robinson, were both born in Ireland, the former in 1822 and the latter in 1827. The paternal grandfather, John Robinson, removed to Ontario from Ireland and lived retired in that province until his demise. The parents of our subject went to Ontario in their youth and were there married. The father engaged in contracting and gained a gratifying measure of success in business. He passed away in Ontario in 1892 but was survived by his wife until 1910. He was an adherent of the conservative party in politics and his religious faith was that of the Methodist Episcopal church. To him and his wife were born nine children, five of whom are still living: W. J.; Mrs. S. M. Gowland, of Fargo, this state; Mrs. A. E. Stewart, of Los Angeles; Mrs. F. R. Barnes, of Fargo: and George A., who is living retired in Huron, South Dakota.

W. J. Robinson was reared at home and gained his education through attending the common schools. lie subsequently was associated with his father in the contracting business until 1879, when he removed to Fargo, North Dakota, where he engaged in that line of work for a rear. He then entered the employ of William White, a lumberman, and remained in that connection for several years, after which he turned his attention to farming in Lamoure county, North Dakota, where he remained for ten years. He took up land there and was successful as an agriculturist, but at length again turned his attention to business pursuits, conducting a lumber yard at Reynolds for three years. He then located in the town of La Moure, where he managed a lumberyard for three years, after which he became a member of the company for which he had been working. In 1900 he purchased an interest in the lumberyard at Wahpeton, where he is still living. The McCulloch-Robinson Lumber Company was incorporated in 1915 with a capital of fifty thousand dollars and with the following officers:   W. J. Robinson, president and treasurer; C. P. Robinson, secretary; John McCulloch, vice president. They operate a coal business in connection with their lumberyard at Wahpeton and also own a lumberyard at Colfax, in addition to which they own a hardware store there. All of their business interests are well managed and return them a good profit. They have gained an enviable reputation for reasonable prices and fair dealing and arc prominent in the business circles of their community.

In March, 1880, Mr. Robinson was united in marriage to Miss Arabella Robertson, like-wise a native of Ontario, by whom he has four children: Charles Percy, who is connects with his father’s hardware store at Colfax; Earl W., who graduated from the Annapolis Naval Academy in 1909 and is serving in the United States navy; Lillian, the wife of Ernest Corchran, who is in the general merchandise business at Colfax; and Clarence, who is attending school.

Mr. Robinson is a republican and has been called to office by his fellow citizens, having served for five or six years as alderman of Wahpeton and for seven years as county commissioner, within which time he served, on the building committee that erected the courthouse at a cost of one hundred and forty-five thousand dollars. He is one of the leaders on the board of commissioners and has been instrumental in securing a number of improvements in the county. Fraternally he is well known, belonging to the Masonic blue lodge, in which he served as treasurer for fourteen years, to the Royal Arch Chapter, the Knights Templar Commandery the consistory and the Shrine, and being also identified with Fergus Falls Lodge, No. 1091, B. P. O. E. of Fergus Falls, Minnesota, and with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in which he is past noble grand. His religious faith is indicated by his membership in the Methodist Episcopal church. When he came to this state in early manhood his capital consisted of but fifteen dollars, but he was enterprising and determined and believed that in this new state he would find opportunities the utilization of which would enable him to gain success. His hope has been realized and he is now one of the substantial men of his community.

DR. ERNEST G. SASSE, has gained a large and representative practice in Lidgerwood, Richland county, and is one of the most up-to-date and progressive physicians in his part of the state, he has never ceased to be a student of his profession and through post-graduate work and wide reading keeps in touch with the latest developments in medical science. He was born in St. Charles, Minnesota, on the 14th of November 1869, a son of Gustav and Caroline (Fitzner) Sasse, the former of whom was born in Landsberg-on-the-Warthe, Germany, in 1843 and the latter in Pilgrims Heim near Breslau, in 1841. John Sasse, the paternal grandfather, was also born in Landsberg-on-the-Warthe, Germany, but in 1845 came to the United States and settled upon a farm near Gloversville, New York. Subsequently be removed westward and his demise occurred at St. Charles, Minnesota, in 1907. The maternal grandfather, Carl Fitzner, was born in Pilgrims Heim, near Breslau, Germany, but became a resident of the United States in 1849. He settled in Wisconsin and engaged in merchandising in West Bend, meeting with gratifying success in business. He passed away in the Badger state in 1883.

Gustav Sasse was but a boy when he accompanied his parents to the United States and he finished his education in this country. For a number of years he engaged in farming, but later conducted a general store at Vienna, South Dakota, and, having accumulated a competence, he retired and moved to Reville, that state, where Mrs. Sasse passed away July 5, 1916. At the time of the Civil war he served in a Wisconsin regiment for three years, thus aiding in the preservation of the Union, His religious faith is that of the German Evangelical church, and fraternally he is connected with the Ancient Order of United Workmen, while in politics he is a stanch republican. To him and his wife were born seven children: Caroline, the wife of Melvin P. Noble, of Reville, who runs a dray line and conducts a coal business at that place; Ernest G., Henry A., who is a druggist of Henry, South Dakota; Carl A., an attorney and editor of the Veblin Advance at Veblin, South Dakota; Edward L., a druggist of Vienna, South Dakota; Edith, who married James F. Ashbaugh, a bank cashier of Murdock, Minnesota; and Esther, the wife of Edward A. Wing, of Brookings, South Dakota, who is a traveling salesman for the C. G. Rice Coal Company.

Ernest G. Sasse attended the public schools of Minnesota and of Henry, South Dakota, and took his preparatory work in the high school at St. Charles, Minnesota. Subsequently he completed a four year’s course in the State College at Brookings, South Dakota, which institution conferred upon him the degree of Bachelor of Science in 1896. Having determined upon the practice of medicine as a life work, he entered the Medical College of Hamline University at Minneapolis, from which he was graduated with the M. D. degree in 1899. He first located at Reville, South Dakota, where he practiced for four years, but in 1904 he removed to Lidgerwood, North Dakota, where he remained a similar length of time, he then went to Montana and practiced at Bridger and Bearcreek, that state. In the spring of 1913 he returned to Lidgerwood, where he has since remained and where he has gained an enviable reputation as a capable and conscientious physician. Dr. Sasse also owns and operates the Lidgerwood Hospital, which is equipped with all modern appliances. He has taken post-graduate work at London, England; Berlin, Germany; and Vienna, Austria, studying abroad during the greater part of the year of 1908 and he has also taken advanced work at San Francisco and Chicago. He finds membership in medical societies of great benefit in keeping in touch with the trend of medical thought and practice and is identified with the county and state medical societies and the American Medical Association.

Dr. Sasse was married on the 10th of February 1913, to Miss Sophia Pearson, who was born in Lanarkshire, Scotland. They have become the parents of two children: Bruce, who was born May 20, 1914; and Douglas, whose birth occurred July 11, 1915.

Dr. Sasse is a republican in politics, but although he takes the interest of a good citizen in public affairs he has never been an office seeker, his professional duties requiring his undivided attention. Fraternally he belongs to the Masonic blue lodge and the Royal Arch chapter and to the Independent Order of Odd Follows and in his life exemplifies the principle8 of fraternity at the basis of those organizations. He also bolds membership in the Methodist Episcopal church, to the support of which he contributes and whose work he furthers in every way possible. He has not only gained recognition professionally, but has also won the personal regard of those who have come in close contact with him, his salient characteristics being such as invariably command respect and esteem.

COLONEL GUSTAV SCHULER, a successful lawyer of Wahpeton, Richland county, was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on the 25th of October, 1852, a son of Dominic and Catherine (Heilman) Schuler, both natives of Germany, the former born in Gabsheim, in the grand duchy of Hesse-Darmstadt in 1829, the latter in northern Germany. The father came to the United States in the latter part of 1818, seeking political freedom here, as owing to the insurrection in Germany in 1818 he was compelled to leave his native land. He first went to Switzerland with others connected with that uprising and thereafter came to this country, settling in New York city, whence he came to Milwaukee, where he made his home. In Milwaukee he engaged in the contracting business for a number of years, after which he entered the employ of the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway Company, with which he remained until he retired. At the time of the Civil war he enlisted in Battery B of the Wisconsin Heavy Artillery and was at the front with his command during the entire enlistment or until the close of the Civil war, thus proving his loyalty to his adopted country. After becoming naturalized, he supported the democratic party but steadfastly refused public office.

He passed away in 1911 and there were many who sincerely mourned his demise, as his salient characteristics were such as to win confidence, esteem and regard. He was married in New York city to Miss Catherine Heilman, who passed to her reward shortly after his demise. She was a woman of remarkable character and had through her own efforts placed herself in an enviable intellectual position, and was the friend and benefactor of all who needed sympathy and assistance. They were the parents of five children, four of whom are still living, namely: Professor D. H., a graduate of the University of Wisconsin, who is engaged in educational work in that state; Eugene, an architect; Gustav, the subject of this sketch; and Miss Katherine, a teacher in the Milwaukee schools. The paternal grandfather was Johann Adam Schuler, a highly intellectual man, who was an educator in Germany.

Colonel Schuler attended the public schools in Milwaukee and took up the study of law under Judge W. H. Timlin, now of the supreme court of Wisconsin. In 1887 he was admitted to the bar, and began the practice of his chosen profession at Kewaunee, Wisconsin, where he remained in practice until the year 1890, when he removed to Wahpeton, North Dakota, where he is still actively engaged in the practice of law. He has a large and representative chentage, which comes not only from this state but also from adjoining states, and he has the confidence and respect of his brother attorneys. He has given especial attention to probate law and is recognized as an authority in that field. In addition to his professional interests he is the owner of considerable land within this state and valuable business property in Wahpeton.

Mr. Schuler is married and his family consists of one daughter living, Mrs. Mable Kachelhoffer, whose husband is a practicing attorney at law at Wahpeton, North Dakota, and two granddaughters, Mable and Julia Zellboefer, of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the daughters of his deceased daughter Grace.

Mr. Schuler is a democrat and takes a prominent part in public affairs. When living in Wisconsin he served as municipal justice of the city of Kewaunee for several terms and has held the office of states attorney in his county here for three terms. He has also taken care of the affairs of the city of Wahpeton, as its city attorney, for three terms.  he is well known in the Sons of Veterans and in 1892 was appointed as provisional colonel of that order, and served as such officer for several years. He manifests his deep loyalty to the best interests of his country in the conscientious discharge of his duties when in public office and in a willingness to subordinate personal interests to the general welfare at all times. Although the success which he has gained financially and professionally is very creditable, it is doubly so, in consideration of the fact that after he readied the age of thirteen years he was wholly dependent upon his own resources in the obtainment of his professional education. The ambition, enterprise and determination which enabled him to secure his education have since been important factors in his career, and it can be truly said of him that he is a self-made man.

H. E. SIEVERT, the owner and publisher of the Wyndmere Pioneer, one of the excellent weekly papers of that section of the state, was born in Calumet county, Wisconsin, March 9, 1889, a son of E. C. and Helena (Bettner) Sievert, born respectively in Calumet county, Wisconsin, in 1863 and in New Richland, Minnesota, in 1870. They were married in the Badger state and resided there for eight years thereafter. At the end of that time they removed to Minnesota and they are now residing at New Richland, that state. The father has a machine, wagon and blacksmith shop and is quite successful in business. In politics he is a republican, while his religious faith is that of the Congregational church. To him and his wife have been born four children: A. F., a druggist of Great Bend, this state; H.  E.; H. W., who is engaged in the lumber business at Freeborn, Minnesota; and Nita Fern, at home.

H. E. Sievert was educated in the New Richland high school, from which he was graduated in 1908. and subsequently he clerked in a store for a year and a half. At the end of that time he entered the newspaper business at New Richland and for two years served as foreman of an office there. In 1913 he removed to Wyndmere, North Dakota, and purchased the Wyndmere Pioneer, which has a circulation of seven hundred. Its news columns are up-to-date and reliable and its editorials are forceful and concise. Mr. Sievert also does job printing and has gained a gratifying patronage along that line. He is a republican and conducts the Pioneer as a republican newspaper. Since becoming a resident of Wyndmere he has gained many personal friends and his ability as a newspaper man is generally recognized.

AUGUST SJOQUIST, a successful merchant of Dwight, was born in Sweden on the 9th of May 1872, a son of Carl and Mary Sjoquist, also natives of that country, who later followed him here. In 1892 he emigrated to the United States and making his way to Richland county, North Dakota, settled in Dwight township.

He received his education in the public schools of Dwight, which he attended during the winter months, and during the summer vacations worked on farms. He took up a quarter section as a homestead in what is now Ibson township, but in 1902 sold that place. He had previously engaged in the mercantile business in Dwight in connection with his brother. Oscar Sjoquist, under the style of Sjoquist Brothers. In 1904 he bought the interest of his brother and has since been sole proprietor of the business. He has erected a large brick business block, in which his store is located and which would be a credit to a town much larger than Dwight. He began as a poor boy, but through industry and good management has built up a large and profitable business. He carries an excellent and varied stock of general merchandise, including seeds, and his reasonable prices and fair dealing commend him to the continued patronage of the public. Being interested in the welfare of the community he is an avowed advocate of diversified farming and improvements of farming facilities.

In May 1902, Mr. Sjoquist was united in marriage to Miss Gena Carlson, who was born in Dwight and is a daughter of Clement Carlson, of Danish descent, an early farmer of Richland county. To this union have been born three children: Evelyn, Carleton and Grace.  Carleton died at the age of ten years, February 7, 1916 from malignant heart disease and his death is deeply mourned by his parents.

Mr. Sjoquist is a republican and takes a keen interest in the affairs of local government.  He has served as postmaster of Dwight since 1906 and has discharged his duties in that capacity with accuracy and dispatch. Fraternally he is connected with the Woodmen. He devotes the greater part of his time to his mercantile business and ranks as a leading citizen of Richland county.

FRED E. SMITH, president of the State School of Science at Wahpeton, is one of the foremost men in educational circles in North Dakota, and the high standard which the institution has attained is in large measure due to him. He has devoted his life to educational work and his natural fitness for that line of activity and his long experience therein eminently qualify him for positions of leadership.

Mr. Smith was born in Tunbridge, Vermont, January 24, 1861, of the marriage of Richard and Jane (Hall) Smith, and is a representative of a family that has long been identified with the history of New England, the American progenitors having settled in Hartford, Connecticut, in 1636. The father was born in Vermont on the 31st of January 1821, a son of Ebenezer Smith, and there grew to manhood. He devoted a number of years to farming, but subsequently turned his attention to milling and was conducting a feed and flour mill at the time of his death. He gave indubitable proof of his patriotism by enlisting in Company E, Second Vermont Volunteer Infantry, for service in the Civil war, and for three years he remained at the front. His political allegiance was given to the republican party, and his religious faith was that of the Congregational church, while fraternally he was a Mason. He passed away in 1896 and had survived his wife for fifteen years, as her demise occurred in 1881, when she was sixty-one years of age, as she was born in Vermont on the 11th of January 1820. They were married in the Green Mountain state and became the parents of four children, two of whom are living, the brother of our subject being Emerson H. an attorney of Fargo.

Fred E. Smith attended the public schools of his native town in the acquirement of his early education and when twenty-one years of age entered Kimball Union Academy at Meriden, New Hampshire, from which he was graduated in 1885. He then matriculated at Dartmouth College, completing a course there in 1889, when the A. B. degree was conferred upon him. In 1901 he graduated from Albany Law School with the degree of LL. B.  In the meantime he had provided for his own support for a number of years, as when seventeen years of age he began teaching, and he worked his way through college.  The energy and determination which enabled him to pay his own expenses while acquiring an education have been factors in his subsequent advancement in his chosen profession.  He taught in various places in the east until 1899, when he accepted a position as superintendent of schools of Fargo, North Dakota, where he remained until 1903. In 1905 he was elected superintendent of the schools of Wahpeton and held that position for five and a half years, making such an excellent record as a school executive that he was elected president of the State School of Science at Wahpeton. This institution is one of the vigorous and growing schools of the state although it has been established for only thirteen years. When it was founded in 1903 it consisted of a small building that had previously belonged to the Red River Valley University. Five new buildings have been erected and equipment has been added as the school has grown, thus affording facilities for efficient training in agriculture, engineering, domestic science and a number of trades. There are also academic and commercial departments and the work done in the school is recognized as being of a high grade. For the scholastic year of 1913 the total enrollment was two hundred and seventy-one students and the faculty numbers sixteen. The institution has been established upon a sound basis and those who are at its head are determined that its development shall keep pace with the needs of the young men and women of the state and that it shall grow with the growth of the state. President Smith keeps in close touch with the trend of educational thought and is always seeking means by which the school may more efficiently serve its purpose of providing technical and industrial training. He has the hearty cooperation of the faculty and also of the student body and has demonstrated that he is the man for the place.

In 1894 Mr. Smith was married to Miss Kate Ticknor, of Lebanon, New Hampshire.  He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and is also a Mason, belonging to the blue lodge, the Royal Arch Chapter and the Knights Templar Commandery. He has served as senior warden in the lodge; has been grand master of the Grand Lodge of North Dakota and is now worshipful master of Wahpeton Lodge, No. 15, A. F. & A. M. In the Odd Fellows he has held the office of grand representative. He is a republican in politics and keeps well informed as to all of the questions of the day but has not sought office outside of the path of his profession. In 1908 he was a candidate for state superintendent of instruction but was defeated. He has thoroughly identified his interests with those of North Dakota and his work is proving of great value to the entire state.

JAMES W. STITELER, who is serving efficiently as cashier of the Farmers National Bank of Lidgerwood, was born in Pennsylvania on the 20th of March 1870. His parents, John C.  and Francis M. (Stewart) Stiteler, were born respectively in Indiana county, Pennsylvania, on the 2d of April 1846, and in Jefferson county, that state, on the 18th of April 1848. The paternal grandfather, William Stiteler, passed his entire life in Pennsylvania and the maternal grandfather, James Stewart, died there. The parents of our subject were married in Pennsylvania in 1875 and in April of the following year removed to Pepin county, Wisconsin, where they remained until the spring of 1881, when they came to North Dakota and settled on a claim near Fairmount, on which the father had filed in April 1880. In 1883 he took up a tree claim near Lidgerwood, to which he removed in 1887. He is a republican and takes the interest of a good citizen in public affairs. He is a member of Lodge, No. 1093, B. P. O.  E., at Fergus Falls and also belongs to the Masonic order. He was a poor man when he came to this state, but now owns a half section of excellent land and also holds title to valuable town property. His wife passed away on the 25th of September 1914, in the faith of the Methodist Episcopal church, to which he also belongs. Our subject is their only child, but they adopted a daughter, Lucille Anderson, who is married and is keeping house for her foster father.

James W. Stiteler received a good education, attending the common schools and the Lidgerwood high school and thus preparing himself for the responsibilities and duties of mature life. On beginning his independent career he worked as a farm hand for some time but subsequently built the Farmers Elevator at Lidgerwood, of which he assumed charge in July, 1906, and which he conducted for four years. He then resigned that position and entered the Lidgerwood National Bank as bookkeeper, remaining there until January 10, 1911, when he became cashier of the Farmers Bank, now known as the Farmers National Bank. The institution has a capital and surplus of sixty thousand dollars and its average deposits are three hundred thousand dollars. He thoroughly understands the routine of banking practice and displays sound judgment in deciding questions of policy that arise from time to time. He has so directed the affairs of the bank that it has gained the confidence of the public and has paid good dividends to its stockholders.

In November 1903, Mr. Stiteler was married to Miss Christine M. Murray, a native of Pictou county, Nova Scotia, and they have become the parents of four children: Frances Evelyn, John H. and Marion all of whom are in school; and Margaret L.

Mr. Stiteler casts his ballot in support of the republican party and is at present, serving as a member of the city council, he is well known fraternally, belonging to Lodge No. 1093, B. O. P. E., at Fergus Falls and to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in the subordinate lodge of which he has passed through all of the chairs and the grand lodge of which he has attended as a delegate five times. His religious faith is that of the Methodist Episcopal church, of which he is a member, and his life is guided by high standards of ethics.

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