SANDER E. LEE, cashier and one of the directors of the Gwinner State Bank at Gwinner, Sargent county, was born at Gol Hallingdal, Norway, on the 8th of November 1875. His education was partly acquired in his native country where he remained until he reached the age of seventeen years and then sailed from Christiania for the United States, landing at New York, he did not tarry on the Atlantic coast, but at once made his way across the country to Town and established his home near Sioux Rapids owing to the fact that he had relatives living in that locality, he there obtained his English education and remained in that locality for about eleven years. During that period he had engaged to some extent in farming, part of the time on his own account, and he there also learned the creamery business and conducted a creamery in that district. For one year he was connected with a general merchandising store at Wyndmere, North Dakota, to which place he removed in 1904.  After living there for a year, he organized the Wyndmere Creamery Company of which he was made manager for two years, but at the end of that time he turned his attention to the banking business, becoming assistant cashier of the Bank of Wyndmere, in which connection he continued for nine months.

At the end of that period Mr. Lee removed to Gwinner in November, 1907, and took charge of the Gwinner State Bank as cashier. This bank was organized in 1904 with a capital stock of $10,000.00, its first officers being T. F. Marshall, president; A. N. Carlblom, vice president: J. E. Boundy, cashier, with F. W. Vail and H. C. McCarthy also on the board of directors. The present officers are A. N. Carlblom, president: H. H. Berg, of Milnor, vice president; S. E. Lee, cashier, and E. O. Johnson, assistant cashier. The capital stock of the company was increased to $20,000.00 in 1912 and the surplus and undivided profits now aggregate $4,000.00. Moreover, in 1931 they built a new bank building at a cost of $8,500.00 which is very complete in its equipment. In addition to his bank interests Mr. Lee is connected with farming and now cultivates a half section of land of which one hundred and sixty acres arc in White Stone Hill township, Sargent county, and the other tract of one hundred and sixty acres is in Roseau county, Minnesota. He wisely and carefully directs his business interests and is winning therefrom a substantial measure of success.

On the 7th of May, 1908, Mr. Lee was married in Sioux Rapids, Iowa, to Miss Lyda Anderson, who was born near that city March 10, 1884. They have become the parents of three children, Emmet, Sylvan and Margaret. The parents are members of the Lutheran church and are much esteemed by reason of their sterling worth throughout the community in which they live. In his political views Mr. Lee is an earnest republican and active in township and county affairs, having filled a number of offices the duties of which he has dis-charged with promptness and fidelity. He is regarded as a valuable addition to the business circles of Sargent county for he is active with those men whose efforts are constituting a strengthening force in the development and upbuilding of the district.

EDMOND C. LEWIS, of Milnor, is engaged in the real estate business and is also interested in farming and the qualities of a substantial, enterprising business man are his.  He was born in Ashland, New York, October 19, 1877, and is a son of Daniel L. and Fidelia Lewis, the former a native of Sunside and the latter of Ashland, New York. They continued their residence in the Empire state throughout their entire lives and there reared their family.

Edmond C. Lewis acquired his education in the schools of New York and continued his residence there until 1900, when, at the age of twenty-three, he determined to try his fortune west of the Mississippi river and went to Minnesota, settling in Grant county, where he remained for two years. In 1902 he arrived in Milnor, North Dakota, where he established a land office, and through the intervening period to the present, covering fourteen years, he has been continuously engaged in the real estate business and is thoroughly familiar with property values throughout the southeastern section of the state. Moreover, he has negotiated many important realty transfers and has thus contributed to the material development, settlement and upbuilding of Sargent county. He is likewise interested in farming, owning land in this county, and his well-managed agricultural interests are one of the sources of his growing success.

In June. 1907, Mr. Lewis was united in marriage to Miss Harriet I. Woodruff, a native of Minneapolis. They have become the parents of three children, Fidelia, Eleanor and Winnifred.  The parents hold membership in the Presbyterian church and Mr. Lewis is identified with Anchor Lodge, No. 27, A. F. & A. M., and with the Yeomen. His political endorsement is given to the republican party and wide reading has kept him in touch with the vital and significant issues and problems of the day, but he does not seek nor desire office, preferring to concentrate his energies upon his business affairs. He does everything possible for the development and welfare of his section of the state, however, and his devotion to the general good is widely recognized.

JAY H. MALTBY, owner and publisher of the Forman Independent News, has been identified with that paper for about thirteen years and his work in that connection has resulted in giving to the community a newspaper of interest and value to its readers, he was born in the state of New York and there resided during his early boyhood, after which he accompanied his parents on their removal westward to Detroit, Minnesota, where he became foreman of a newspaper known as the Detroit Record, continuing in that position for several years. When quite young he spent two years with the Bottineau Pioneer of North Dakota.  In 1892 he became connected with the Milnor Teller, which he continued to publish for nine years, at the end of which time he sold the paper and removed to Buffalo, North Dakota, where he published the Buffalo Express. There he continued for six months, when he went to Davenport and published the Davenport News for two years. In July 1903, he moved his plant to Forman and began the publication of the Forman News, the first issue being brought from the press on the 31st of July 1903. He continued the publication of that paper until 1911 and on the 30th of October of that year he purchased the Sargent County Independent, which had been established in May, 1888. He then consolidated the two papers, bringing out the first issue of the Forman Independent News on the 20th of October 1911.  This he still publishes and has made it an attractive journal for the people of the district, being given to the dissemination of local as well as general news. Through the columns of the paper he enters upon a frank and free discussion of many important public problems and his articles are most interesting and readable and the political complexion of the paper reflects his belief in the efficacy and value of republican principles.

Mr. Maltby was married in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to Miss Alice Hostetter, who was born in southern Minnesota and there continued to make her home up to the time of her marriage. They have a family of seven children: Allan J., who is now assistant editor of the paper; and Violet, Belva, George D., Floy, Francis V. and Anna, all at home.  Mr. Maltby belongs to the Masonic lodge at Milnor, of which he is a past master, and he also has membership with the Yeomen at Mapleton and with the Ancient Order of United Workmen at Forman. His political allegiance has always been given to the republican party and for four years he filled the office of justice of the peace at Forman, making a creditable record by the fair and impartial manner in which he discharged his duties and rendered his decisions, he now concentrates his entire interest in the paper and has a substantial plant, well equipped with modern machinery and presses, he is a well known newspaper man of his section of the state, his record being at all times an expression of the highest standards in newspaper publication.

DUGALD J. MCKENZIE, member of the firm of McKenzie & Leslie, of Forman, was born near Inverness, in the province of Quebec, Canada, November 13, 1853, a son of John and Katherine (Brodie) McKenzie, who throughout their entire lives remained in eastern Canada.

Their son Dugald J. McKenzie, pursued his education in the public schools of his home locality until he reached the age of sixteen years, when he crossed the border into the United States and for two years was a resident of St. Johnsbury, Vermont. He then went to Lowell, Massachusetts, where he learned and followed the carpenter’s trade and was foreman of construction work at that point until about twenty-five years of age. He then returned to his old home in Canada in order to supplement his early schooling by further intellectual training, and for one year was a student in a normal school, after which he went through the Inverness high school, from which he was graduated. He afterwards went upon the lecture platform as a representative of the Independent Order of Good Templars and was largely instrumental in establishing the Scott act, a temperance or local option measure. He did everything in his power to promote temperance sentiment and place limitations upon the liquor traffic. Two years were devoted to that work, in which he covered the country very thoroughly. He afterward traveled for it year as a representative of the firm of Parker, Fry & Cory, of Littleton, New Hampshire, devoting a year to patent rights work.

On the 21st of December 1881, Mr. McKenzie was married to Miss Jarthat McKen, a native of Picton, Nova Scotia, the marriage being celebrated at Lowell, Massachusetts. Mrs. McKenzie passed away at Rutland, Sargent county, North Dakota, July 10, 1890, and her death was the occasion of widespread regret, for she had won many friends in the community.

On the 25th of September, 1887 Mr. McKenzie brought his family to North Dakota, settling at Milnor, and was pastor of the Presbyterian church at that place, doing good work for the moral development of the community. However, he abandoned the work of the ministry and on the 17th of June 1890, was elected superintendent of schools of Sargent county and remained in that position for four years, his labors being effective in the extension and improvement of the school system. In October 1894, he entered into partnership with E. W. Thorp under the firm style of Thorp & McKenzie and opened a law office and loan, collection and real estate agency. This relation was maintained until August 1, 1897, when Mr. McKenzie entered into partnership with J. E. Bishop and A. M. Groner under the firm style of Bishop, Groner & McKenzie. In 1908 Mr. Groner died, at which time the firm was reorganized under the style of Bishop & McKenzie. That partnership was discontinued in July, 1911, after which Mr. McKenzie was joined by A. Leslie in organizing the firm of McKenzie & Leslie for the further conduct of a law, loan, collection and real estate business. In 1901 he organized the Sargent County Abstract & Title Guarantee Company and is still conducting business under that name, having the only undertaking of the kind in Sargent county.

In 1904 Mr. McKenzie was again married, his second union being with Eva Walker, who died in 1911. There were two children by his first marriage: Marion, now the wife of A Leslie; and Helen, who married M. B. Lyken.

In his political views Mr. McKenzie is a republican and for many years has served as a member of the village board, doing everything in his power to further public progress in the community in which he lives. In 1908 he became a candidate for state treasurer, but was defeated. His position on the party ticket, however, indicates his prominence in political circles as he received the strength of the party vote. His activities have always had to do with those things which touch the general interests of society and his influence and labors have been along the lines of uplift and improvement.

DR. JAMES D. MCKENZIE, who was one of the well known residents of Milnor, was an active and successful medical practitioner of that town. He was born in Inverness, in the province of Quebec, Canada, March 28, 1840, and pursued his education at St. Francis Academy, in that country, and in Oberlin College at Oberlin, Ohio, where he studied for a year, there completing his more specifically literary course. His choice of a life work fell upon the practice of medicine and in preparation for the profession lie entered the medical department of the State University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, from which he was graduated, winning his professional degree. In 1866 he entered upon active practice in Vermont and while there residing was made superintendent of schools in his locality. He afterward became a resident of the village of Floyd, Iowa, practicing there for about six years, at the end of which time he removed to Fargo, North Dakota, where he opened an office and continued in active practice for four years. He was afterward appointed to the position of postmaster at Portland, North Dakota, and while acting in that capacity he continued in the practice of medicine and also conducted a drug store, remaining in business there for about a year. He then returned to Fargo and opened a drug store. In 1885, however, he sold the store and removed to Milnor, where he opened an office for the practice of medicine and at the same time conducted a drug business. His ability as a practitioner was widely recognized throughout the community and his professional business grew to large proportions.  He kept in close touch with the trend of modern thought in relation to medical science, was most careful in the diagnosis of his cases and successful in his practice. His death occurred April 12, 1908.

It was on the 20th of December 1864, that Mr. McKenzie was united in marriage to Miss Margaret Arkley, also a native of that county, and they became the parents of a son, Clyde J., who operates a sheep ranch in Alberta, Canada. Mrs. McKenzie still makes her home in Milnor, where she has many warm friends, while the hospitality of her own home is greatly enjoyed by those who know her.

Deep regret was felt at the passing of Dr. McKenzie, not only because of his professional worth but also because of his many sterling traits of character as manifested in warm friendship and a spirit of helpfulness. He was much interested in politics and his influence carried considerable weight in the councils of his party. He became a member of the state central committee and did everything in his power to further the interests of the party and he also served on the board of health for about twelve years. He was a member of the North Dakota State Medical Society and was keenly interested in all those problems, the solution of which tends to bring to man the key to the complex mystery which we call life.

JENS PEDERSEN, a pioneer merchant of Milnor and one of the substantial citizens that Denmark has furnished to Sargent county, was born on the island of Falster, on the Danish coast, June 19, 1855, a son of Peder and Marie (Rasmussen) Paulson. The father, who was a wagon maker by trade, died when his son Jens was but seven years of age. Following the death of her husband Mrs. Paulson was married again, becoming the wife of Rasmus Christofferson, who came with his family to the new world in 1873 and settled in Michigan.  Jens Pedersen did not remain there but continued on to St. Paul and soon afterward went to work in Minneapolis. He had previously learned the blacksmith’s trade and he secured employment in a carriage shop in Minneapolis, in which he remained for four and a half years. He then removed to Renville county, Minnesota, where he embarked in business independently, opening a blacksmith shop which he carefully and successfully conducted. He also purchased one hundred and twenty-seven acres of land, which he cultivated in connection with his other interests, and subsequently a further purchase added one hundred and sixty acres to his holdings.

While residing upon his farm Mr. Pedersen was married in 1878 to Miss Marie Hoff, who was born in Norway, near Drammen, but came to the United States with her parents, Christian and Turina (Olsen) Hoff, who settled in Cottonwood county, Minnesota.  For three years Mr. Pedersen resided in Renville county and afterward removed to Richland county, North Dakota, in 1882, after having disposed of the interests which he had previously held. He settled three miles east of McLeod, in Richland county, and as land in that locality was still in the possession of the government, he homesteaded one hundred and sixty acres, on which he built a log house. In the spring of 1883, however, he left that place and went to Sargent county, opening a blacksmith shop in the town of Linton, two and a half miles east of Milnor. He continued to engage in blacksmithing there until the latter part of August 1883, when he bought city lots in the new town of Milnor, which was opened up by the railroad on the 14th of August 1883. He built a shop and also a dwelling, the shop being just across the street from the site of his present store. All of the buildings in the town of Linton were then removed to Milnor but Mr. Pedersen built a home in the west part of the village, three blocks from the main street. His was the first building erected in the village and he continued to engage in blacksmithing there until 1889. In the meantime he purchased a half section of land in Milnor township adjoining the town site and this he developed and cultivated, while engaging at the same time in blacksmithing. In 1889 he established a store for the sale of farm implements in the next block south of his blacksmith shop, purchasing property there for the purpose. He continued in that business until the fall of 1898, when he sold the building for a creamery, having assisted in organizing the Milnor Creamery Company, a cooperative creamery. The enterprise, however, did not prove profitable and was discontinued. Mr. Pedersen later purchased the Helgerson-Skjenstad-Burch general store, which had been established and conducted at Linton by Nathan Linton and had been removed to Milnor when the town was changed. This was practically the first store in the county. Mr. Pedersen carried on business in the same location until 1905, when a fire occurred, destroying the building, although he saved much of the stock. He afterward erected a cement and brick building nearly fireproof and in the meantime he has largely increased his stock and has won a growing trade. The store was called the Pioneer Store by Mr. Linton and is still conducted under that name. In 1913 Mr. Pedersen erected a solid concrete warehouse adjoining his store. In 1903 he disposed of his farm lands and is now engaged in general merchandise business and is a stockholder in the Milnor National Bank and a stockholder and the vice president of the Farmers Mill and Grain Company and one of its directors.

Mr. Pedersen has one of the fine homes of his town and also has five acres across the street, extending down to the lake. In politics he is a democrat and in 1885 and 1886 served as county commissioner. He is a member of the executive committee of the democratic state central committee and is one of the recognized leaders of his party in the southeastern section of North Dakota. He has been a delegate to the national convention and he does everything in his power to promote the growth and ensure the success of the party. Fraternally he is connected with the Modern Woodmen of America, while his religious faith is indicated by his membership in the Lutheran church at Milnor. His life has ever been characterized by strong purpose and close application, and progressiveness and even-paced energy have carried him into important commercial and business relations. At the same time his interests have been of public benefit, for in all that he has done his work has contributed to general progress and improvement.

JUDGE HERODOTUS H. TAYLOR, judge of the county court of Sargent county, was born in Troy, Spencer county, Indiana, November 25, 1856, a son of Green B. and Christine (Fisher) Taylor. The father was a river man and in 1870 removed to Evansville, Indiana, where he operated a line of steamboats on the Ohio and Mississippi rivers for many years, in 1883 he came with his son, Judge Taylor, to North Dakota, settling in Sargent county, in that section which became Taylor township, being named in honor of the father. He secured a quarter section of government land, upon which he resided until his death in 1900, after which his remains were taken to Evansville for interment. His political allegiance was given to the republican party and in matters of citizenship his attitude was ever one of loyalty and progressiveness. His wife died during the boyhood of their son Herodotus, who was one of a family of eight children: Alice, James, Elizabeth and Timour T., all now deceased; Herodotus H.; Lola and Homer, who have also passed away; and Green B., living in Taylor township, Sargent county, whither he removed with his father and brother.

In early boyhood Herodotus H. Taylor entered the public schools of Evansville, passing through consecutive grades to his graduation from the high school. Subsequently he was employed in it commission house for two years and for three years he was engaged in farming, two years of that time being spent in Kentucky and one year in Indiana. As previously stated, he came to North Dakota in 1883 and secured a quarter section of land in Taylor township, Sargent county. The journey was made to Lisbon by rail, from which point he had to take his things by wagon freight to his farm, a distance of fifty miles, for no railroad had been built into Sargent county at that time. Not a furrow had been turned nor an improvement made upon his place, but with characteristic energy he began the development of his property and for sixteen years was engaged in the cultivation of about a section of land.  He afterward disposed of his farm and removed to Forman, where he retired from active business cares. He had won a substantial measure of success through his well-directed efforts, but he could not be content without some occupation or pursuit, for indolence and idleness are utterly foreign to his nature. After serving in the office of register of deeds for six years he established a bank at Cogswell in 1904, calling it the Sargent County State Bank, of which he became the cashier and one of the directors, so continuing for about eight years. He then went to Oakes, where he was connected for a time with the First National Bank and in the meantime sold his interest in the bank at Cogswell. In his business affairs he has enjoyed an unsullied reputation for reliability as well as determination and enterprise.

On the 20th of January 1895, Judge Taylor was married to Miss Minnie L. Burns, a native of Michigan, born near Six Lakes. Removing to North Dakota, she was married in this state, and they have become the parents of three children: Mildred, a graduate of the high school: and Vivian and Florence, who are attending school.

Judge Taylor belongs to Holden Fleece Lodge, No. 31, A. F. & A. M., of Forman, and Ivanhoe Commandery, of Lisbon. He gives his political allegiance to the republican party and in 1898 was elected on that ticket register of deeds of Sargent county, at which time he took up his abode in Forman, where he now makes his home. He retired from that office after an incumbency of six years with the goodwill and confidence of all concerned and in 1914 he was elected to the office of judge of the county court and in 1916 again became a candidate with-out opposition, a fact which indicates how excellent was the record which he made during his first term in office, His course upon the bench has been in harmony with his record as a man and citizen, characterized by thoroughness, by devotion to duty and by the utmost loyalty to the trusts given to his care.

HENRY B. THOMPSON, an attorney at Milnor, has been successfully engaged in the practice of law in Sargent county since 1905. Advancement at the bar is proverbially slow and yet he has made substantial progress, gaining a clientage that many an older lawyer might well envy. His home has never been far from the place of his present residence, for he was born just across the line in Minnesota at Fergus Falls on the 26^th of May 1878, his parents being Bernt and Inger (Guldseth) Thompson, who were born, reared and married in Norway. It was in the year 1867 that they bade adieu to friends and native land and sailed for the new world making their way to Minnesota. They settled in Ottertail county, near Fergus Falls, and there resided until called to their final rest, the death of the father occurring in 1902, while the mother survived for two years, passing away in 1904. They had a family of eleven children, five of whom have passed away. Of the six surviving there is one daughter and of the five sons who are yet living three are lawyers and two are farmers.

Henry B. Thompson is the youngest of this family. Liberal educational opportunities were accorded him, of which he made good use. He supplemented his public school training by study in the Park Region College at Fergus Falls and in the Minneapolis Academy, being graduated from the latter institution. He then determined to make the practice of law his life work and with that end in view matriculated in the State University of North Dakota at Grand Forks, entering the law department, in which he completed his course in 1904. The following year he came to Sargent county and opened an office in Milnor, where he has since gained a large and distinctively representative clientage. He handles his legal interests with ability, carefully preparing his cases and presenting his cause with clearness and force. His ability in this direction is now widely recognized and he has been called to the office of city attorney.

In his political views Mr. Thompson is a democrat, believing firmly in the principles of the party, and his religious faith is indicated by his membership in the Lutheran church at Fergus Falls. His entire life has been passed in the district in which he still makes his home and among his stanch friends are those who have known him from his boyhood to the present, a fact which indicates that his entire life has been honorable and straightforward.

CHARLEY A. WALLOCH, proprietor of the only implement business at Forman, was born at Yankton, South Dakota, in 1879, a son of Joseph and Mary (Serulech) Walloch. The father, a native of Germany, came to the United States in 1864 and settled first in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he remained for five years. He afterward removed to South Dakota, where he still makes his home, devoting his time and energies to the occupation of farming.  His wife, who was born in Prussia, Germany, passed away in 1898.

Charley A. Walloch was the third in order of birth in a family of seven children. He pursued his education in the schools of Yankton and of St. Paul, Minnesota, and after his textbooks were put aside he was employed for a short time on the railroad and afterward entered the employ of a St. Paul land company, with which he continued for four years. He was ambitious, however, to engage in business on his own account and carefully saved his earnings until the sum was sufficient to enable him to start in business for himself. He then established a hardware store in Forman in the year 1909 and he bought out an implement business in Forman, to which he added a complete line of hardware. The trade has grown gradually from the beginning, and owing to the enterprise and resourcefulness of the owner, the undertaking has become an assured success. In addition to capably managing his mercantile interests Mr. Walloch also acts as manager of the Forman electric light plant, of which he is half owner. He is the only implement dealer of his town and aside from his other interests he is a stockholder in the First National Bank of Forman.  For seven years he has been most actively identified with the business life of the community and his well directed efforts constitute a strong element in his increasing prosperity.  In his political views Mr. Walloch is a republican and his religious faith is evidenced in his membership in the Catholic church, of which he is one of the trustees. Recently he has been appointed a member of the Forman school board and he is willing at all times to aid and cooperate in any measure that he deems beneficial to the community.

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