Trails to the Past

Steele County North Dakota Biographies

Compendium of History and Biography
of North Dakota
Published by George A. Ogle & CO. in 1900

HALVOR J. RINDY. With no other resources than those which nature bestowed upon him, this gentleman began his life work, and his present comfortable circumstances are the pleasing result of his capacity for well-directed labor and his persistent efforts. He is now the owner of a fine farm in Primrose township. Steele county, and his home is on section 24, where he has added a complete set of farm buildings, and enjoys rural life. His farm is supplied with an abundance of water by the south and is admirably adapted to general farming, in fork of the Goose river running through the place, which he is engaged.

Our subject was born in Tellemarken, Norway , November 23, 1858. and was the second in a family of seven children, born to John and Susana (Nelson) Rindy. His father died in 1866, and the mother now resides with our subject. The family left Christiania . Norway , in a sailing craft, in May. 1866, and after a voyage of fourteen weeks arrived at Quebec, Canada . Dane county, Wisconsin , was their objective point, and after their arrival there the father purchased a farm of eighty acres, but his death occurred soon afterward and the family was left without support. Each of the children then was forced to lend their aid toward the livelihood, and our subject began at the age of twelve years to support himself and add his mite to the support of his widowed mother. He went to Minnesota and worked a short time, and in the spring of 1879 went to Dakota and began work in Traill county, and also entered claim to the land on which he now resides. He worked for others and also improved his own farm some, and in the fall of 1881 took a team and six head of cattle from Minnesota , and began farming on his place. He built a 14x16-foot log house with mud shingles, and had a comfortable pioneer home, and the second year his cultivated acres increased from ten to twenty-four. He has added valuable improvements, including a commodious and substantial barn, erected in 1898, and has gathered around him the comforts and conveniences of modern farming. He breeds the short horn Durham cattle, and keeps about twenty head of stock. Mr. Rindy was married in 1881 to Miss Maggie Brader. Thirteen children, seven of whom are living, have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Rindy, and bear the following names : John H.; Fredrick J., deceased ; Maria S., Fredrick N.: Henry W., deceased; Hilda M.. deceased: Hilda M.; Clara J., deceased; Lilly A., William H., Clara: Tilda J., deceased; and Oscar E., deceased. Mr. Rindy is a member of the Lutheran church, and is an exemplary citizen. He is the present township clerk, and has served in that capacity since the organization of the township. He was elected county commissioner for the third district in 1893, and has twice been re-elected to that office, and is now serving his third term. He is a stanch Republican in political faith, and is a member of the Republican county central committee.

HALTIN C. RUD, a successful farmer of Steele county, whose valuable farm is in section 6, Primrose township, is one of the pioneers of Steele county. Mr. Rud was born in Norway, near Christiania, August 27, 1845. He was the second child and eldest son born to Christopher and Anne Rud, both now deceased. He remained at home until he was twenty years of age, and then came to America. He first settled in Goodhue county, Minnesota, where he farmed for two years. He then went to the pineries of Wisconsin for another two years, returning to Goodhue county at the end of that time. He purchased a small farm there, and was soon after joined by the family from Norway. In June, 1879, having sold his Minnesota farm, he shipped his personal effects to Fargo. Dakota, and thence direct to his farm, which he had located on the middle branch of Goose river, thus becoming one of the earliest settlers in Primrose township. He constructed a dugout and for three weary years lived there the life of a bachelor. He has succeeded in improving his farm, and is now the owner of four hundred acres of valuable land, which yields a handsome income annually.

Mr. Rud was married, in 1888, to Miss Lizzie Rubbins, who died in 1893, leaving two children, namely, Carl and Julia. In 1896 Mr. Rud was married to Miss Jennie Malset, and to this union one child has been born, namely, Lizzie. Mr. Rud is a Republican and a member of the Lutheran church. He has materially assisted in the establishment of the church in his locality, and is a valued member. For several years he has been a member of the township board, and attends most of the county conventions of his party.

GEORGE D. SLINGSBY, one of the well-known agriculturists of Riverside township, in Steele county, has a pleasant home on section 34, and is a man of honest principles and industrious habits. It is not until recent years that he has prospered in his chosen calling, owing to failure of crops in whole or part, but despite the early discouragements, he has worked persistently and is now the owner of one of the fine farms of that locality.

Our subject was born in Winnebago county, Wisconsin, October 23, 1859, and was the eldest son born to George and Elizabeth (Slingsby) Slingsby, who are now living in California. He was reared on the home farm, and after attaining his majority left home and began work in the woods and on the river. He went to North Dakota in the spring of 1882, and soon afterward filed claim to land, but until 1885 spent a great portion of his time in Wisconsin, visiting his farm occasionally. He went to Dakota for permanent residence in 1885, and began his work on the farm with one old team, the extent of his personal property at the time. Crops were poor until 1891, in which year one hundred and sixty acres of land averaged thirty-three bushels per acre, and he has since enjoyed prosperity. He has a pleasant farm, and has added such improvements as are to be found on the model farm.

Our subject was married, in 1885, to Miss Mary E. Lowe. Mr. and Mrs. Slingsby have been the parents of three children, as follows: George, deceased; Emma and Mabel G. Mr. Slingsby is a member of the Masonic fraternity and Modern Woodmen of America. He is a citizen of true worth in Steele county, and is a man who keeps pace with the times in all public measures, and in political sentiment is a Republican.

IVER THOMPSON, one of the most prominent and successful farmers of Enger township, Steele county, is possessed of an energetic character and a capacity for well-directed labor which have placed him foremost in his calling. He owns a tract of seven hundred acres, and his handsome residence on section 18 furnishes every comfort and many of the luxuries of life.

Our subject was born in Hedalen, Walders, Norway, September 12, 1855, and was a son of Torgrem and Guniheld (Hagen) Fecher. The mother now makes her home with our subject. The family came to America, in 1865, and settled in Dane county, Wisconsin, and the father died about four months after their arrival in this country, leaving his family, consisting of his wife, his father, and six young children without support. Our subject was the eldest of the children, and they were very poor. He secured work at whatever he could do, and for about six years his entire earnings he contributed toward the support of the family. He received a limited education, two or three terms sufficing. When nineteen years of age he bought a farm of eighty acres in Floyd county, Iowa, and took his mother and smaller children there to reside with him. He was confronted by hard times and lost his property on account of debts, and in the spring of 1881 gathered his personal effects and went to Dakota, and after some time spent in looking for a location, settled on section 18, in Enger township, Steele county. His mother and family joined him in the spring of 1882, and made their home in a 12x14-foot shanty. Here success attended him, and his farm work was soon on a firm basis. He worked early and late and accomplished much in a short time, and has since prospered. His residence which he now occupies was erected in 1897, and bespeaks good taste in its design and appointments.

Our subject was married, in 1888, to Miss Ida Olson. One child, a daughter, has been born to Mr. and Mrs. Thompson, who bears the name of Geneva . Mr. Thompson is a man of active public spirit, and has served several terms as township and school clerk. Politically, he is a Republican, and has attended numerous county conventions of his party.

HON. ELMER D. WALLACE, one of the most prominent men of Steele county, conducts an extensive agricultural business in Edendale township, and makes his home on section seven. There is probably no other man in that region who takes a more active interest in public affairs than Mr.  Wallace, and he has served his county and state faithfully and well in various official positions and has gained the confidence and esteem of his fellow men.

Our subject was born in Macomb county, Michigan. July 5. 1844, and was the oldest son and second child in a family of four children born to Robert H. and Sylvia (Steward) Wallace. The family is of Scotch origin. When our subject was eight years of age the family removed to Detroit, where the father engaged in the general merchandise business.

Mr. Wallace was educated in the Detroit public and high schools, and at the age of fourteen years he was apprenticed to the druggist's trade.  He entered the service of the Union army as a private August 13, 1862. and was soon afterward placed on the non-commissioned staff as hospital steward of the regiment, in which capacity, and as brigade hospital steward, he served about two years, when he was commissioned first lieutenant. After his return from the war he engaged for a time in the drug business, and later in the produce business, and in the spring of 1881 went to Dakota and secured land near his present home. He now operates a farm of one thousand eight hundred acres, and it is one of the best tracts in the county.  Our subject was married in 1871 to Miss Annie L. Briggs, a native of Michigan. Two children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Wallace, as follows: Fannie and Clara. The latter is, at the date of this sketch, a student of the North Dakota University at Grand Forks. Mr. Wallace was elected a delegate to the constitutional convention for North Dakota in 1889, and took an active part in forming the constitution of the state. He served as chairman of the committee on public debts and public works, and as such was instrumental in fixing a low limit to the state debt, thus saving, as he thinks, millions of dollars to the people of the state. He was approved as candidate on the fusion ticket in 1892 for lieutenant-governor, and was elected by a large majority, and as president of the senate won the respect and confidence of his constituents. He supports the independent party in politics, and believes prohibition to be the proper policy for North Dakota.

JOHN J. WAMBERG, The business interests of Hope, Steele county, have an able representative in the gentleman above named. He is a man of excellent characteristics and business tact, and the firm of Wamberg & Jacobson is well known as the leading drug firm of that locality. They also have extensive farm interests near the city.

Our subject was born in the vicinity of Bergen, Norway, February 14, 1854. and was the fourth in a family of five children born to John H. and Gertrude (Espe) Wamberg. The father died when our subject was but two years of age, and he was reared to the age of fourteen years by his grandparents. The mother, with our subject and two other children, came to America in 1869, and made a home with the eldest son of the family, who several years previously had settled in Crawford county, Wisconsin. Our subject worked at farm labor and also railroading and in the Michigan woods two years, and in 1872 entered a general store at Rising Sun, Wisconsin, where he worked about one year and then went to Iowa, and during the winter of 1873-74 he attended the Breckenridge Institute at Decorah, Iowa. He secured a position in a drug store in that city in the spring of 1874, where he continued employed until the spring of 1881, when he went to Valley City, Barnes county, Dakota, and there established in the drug and grocery business. After one year he removed the store to Hope, in Steele county, and his was the first established drug store in the village. He combined general merchandising with the other lines, and Mr. Jacobson was his partner from the establishment of the business. The mercantile business was disposed of in 1894, since which time drugs has been the sole line carried. The extensive farming interests which the firm also owns claims a share of their attention. They are well-known and successful business men.

Mr. Wamberg was married, in 1884, to Miss Christina A. Neisheim. Mr. and Mrs. Wamberg have been the parents of five children, as follows: Gertrude, deceased; William Floyd, deceased; Wilma, deceased; John C.; and Sibyl. Mr. Wamberg is a member of the Masonic fraternity, and is a thirty-second-degree member, and also affiliates with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Modern Woodmen of America and Brotherhood of Americian Yeomen. He is prominent in public affairs, and was elected railroad commissioner of the state in 1894. He is a stanch Republican, and is a favorite delegate to the state conventions, and in 1892 was nominated as presidential elector, and was the only Republican who carried the ticket, and he ran ahead of the party ticket. He was a member of the Republican state central committee two terms, and served one term as chairman of the Republican county central committee.

GEORGE A. WARNER, a prominent business man of Hope. North Dakota, is one of the wide-awake and well-to-do citizens of Steele county. He has prospered in whatever enterprise he has engaged, and his persistent efforts and business ability have placed him in an enviable position, and he now enjoys an extensive patronage as an agricultural implement dealer. He has a pleasant residence property in the city of Hope, in which city he has resided for the past nine years.

Our subject was born in DeKalb county, Illinois. August 9, 1857. and was the oldest son and second child in a family of eleven children born to Alfred F. and Betsy (Baker) Warner. His father now makes his home in Hope, North Dakota, with his daughter. Mrs. Milligan. Mr. Warner was reared to farm work, and at the age of twenty-two years rented land and began for himself, and in 1884. with his personal effects, went to Dakota. He purchased two sections of land in Bergen township and became one of the most extensive farmers of the township, where he remained until 1891. when he went to Hope, and. in company with Mr. Luce, established the agricultural implement business. Mr. Warner began his present business alone in 1898. and has established an excellent trade, and is well known throughout that region as a man of extensive business interests. He had a few horses and a small amount of money when he located in Dakota, but his push and energy have placed him among the foremost business men of his locality. He was successful as a farmer, and his land yielded bountifully, three years averaging over thirty-five bushels per acre.

Our subject was married, in 1882, to Miss Atha Long. One daughter has been born to Mr. and Mrs. Warner, upon whom they have bestowed the name of Mabel A. Mr. Warner is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and Modern Woodmen of America. Politically he is a Republican, and has attended the county and state conventions of his party, and stands firmly for the principles advocated. He is a citizen of true worth and well merits his success.

JUDGE WASHINGTON I. WARREY. This gentleman is widely known as an intelligent and worthy citizen of Sherbrooke, Steele County, and his labors as county judge of Steele County are beyond criticism. He is outspoken and generous and is always found standing on the side of right and justice, and working for the interests of his fellowmen.

Mr. Warrey was born in Rensselaer County.  New York, August 23, 1855, and he and his younger sister were the only children born to Robert and Hannah (Carver) Warrey. The father had been married previous to this union with our subject's mother, and was the father of three children by his first marriage; and the mother of our subject, by a previous marriage to a Mr. Simmons, was the mother of three children, the family thus consisting of eight children. When our subject was a child the family removed to Binghamton, New York, where the father worked at contracting and building.  He was an architect and designer, and also worked at practical carpenter work, and during the Civil war was in charge of the force of pontoon and bridge builders. He died when our subject was nine years of age, and the lad soon went to live with a farmer for two years, and in 1867, after the death of his mother, he took up his residence with an uncle, who was appointed his guardian. When seventeen years of age he became apprenticed to the mason's trade, but he was possessed of a desire for a more liberal education, and when nineteen years of age he accordingly entered Delaware Literary Institute, at Franklin, New York, where he remained four years. He worked his way through this institution, but his studies were continually interrupted by several terms of school which he taught in the village and country. He descended from a family of educators. A number of his mother's near relatives were prominent among the leading professors in Amherst College and other universities of the east. His ambition, however, was to perfect himself for the practice of law. He went to Wyandotte, Kansas, in 1880, and worked at carpenter work and later joined the police force, studying law in the meantime, but this double duty was undermining his health and he again began the carpenter work and became foreman of a crew for the Kansas City, Fort Scott & Memphis Railroad Company, building station and section houses. He did not gain in health, and in August, 1884, went to Fargo. North Dakota, and worked at carpenter work there for a short time and then located in Steele county, North Dakota. He taught school several winters in Steele and Cass counties, and in the spring of 1885 tiled a claim to land in Broadlawn township, and until 1893 he was engaged in contract work with headquarters at Hope. He purchased a building at Sherbrooke in June. 1893. and began hotel keeping, and also established a livery barn, and in 1897 also engaged in the general merchandise business, in which work he is now engaged, and is a successful business man.

Our subject was married, in 1888, to Miss Rose L. Wallace, a resident of Page, Cass county, North Dakota. Four children have been born to bless the home of Mr. and Mrs. Warrey, as follows: Victor I., Edward R., Lillian E. and Washington I. 

The public record of Mr. Warrey is worthy of note. He was elected county surveyor in 1890. and while serving thus was also deputy sheriff of Steele county, and in 1894 was elected county judge, and is now serving his third term, and since taking up his residence in Sherbrooke has twice served as deputy sheriff. He is prominent in secret society circles and holds membership in the following orders: Masonic, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and Modern Woodmen of America. In political sentiment he is a Republican, and is a man of deep thought and deservedly popular with the people.

JOHN A. WHITE, whose career in Dakota has been one of continued success, is one of the most extensive land owners of Steele county, and his home in section 11, in Melrose township, is among the highly cultivated and finely improved estates of that region. He is the possessor of nineteen hundred and twenty acres of land-three sections-most of which is under plow, and he has successfully raised the small grains and is recognized among the progressive and leading farmers of his community.

Our subject was born in Trumbull county, Ohio, October 31, 1836, and was the second in order of birth in a family of eight children born to Uriah B. and Mary (Warren) White. Little is known of the ancestors of his father, but his mother is a direct descendant of General Warren of Revolutionary times. Our subject's father was a contractor and builder and also engaged in farming, and our subject followed farming on the home place until eighteen years of age, when he joined a force of civil engineers as rod man and was engaged one year on experimental lines and one year on construction. He entered the Kings Academy in Ohio, and graduated from that institution with the class of 1857, after which he erected a saw-mill in Polk county, Iowa, and there engaged in the lumber business eleven years, after which he began farming and stock raising. Ill health demanded a change from that locality and in the spring of 1885 he went to Dakota and purchased section 11, in Melrose township, with stock and improvements thereon. In 1883-1884 he made a trip through parts of South Dakota, the Black Hills and much of North Dakota by team, and his health began steadily improving. He has since resided in Steele county and now enjoys a comfortable home and handsome annual income. His buildings are commodious and substantial structures and his crops are of the finest and above the average yield. The profits of the crop in 1891 covered the original cost of the land cropped, and in 1898 he exceeded the crop of 1891, which was seventeen thousand bushels of wheat, by five hundred bushels, more land being under cultivation.

Our subject was married, in 1858, to Miss Florida Boone. Seven children, six daughters and one son, have been born to Mr. and Mrs. White, as follows : William N., a graduate of Ames College, now farming in Melrose township ; George A., a graduate of Ames College, and now secretary of the Duplex Typewriter Company, of Des Moines, Iowa; Jessie O., now Mrs. L. H. Page, of Minneapolis, Minnesota; E. Joetta, deceased; Cora, attending the ladies' department of Rush Medical College, at Chicago; Susie B., a graduate of Emerson's School of Oratory, at Boston, and now completing a postgraduate course, and Mamie, a student of music at Cornell and also in Boston. Mr. White is a supporter of the Episcopalian denomination and is an exemplary citizen. He has served his community as a member of the township board since the organization of the township and is deservedly popular with the people among whom he has resided for so many years. In political sentiment he is a Democrat.

CHARLES H. WILLIAMS, who with his son. Hector C, conducts a farm of three hundred and twenty acres of land in Colgate township, is one of the pioneer settlers of that region, and is well known as an intelligent and well-to-do agriculturist. He was born in Ontario. Canada, June 24, 1833.

Our subject's parents, Daniel and Catherine (Howell) Williams, were of Welch and English-Irish extraction respectively, and were the parents of seven children, of whom our subject was the youngest son and fifth child in order of birth.

When seventeen years of age Mr. Williams came with an older brother to the Michigan woods, and was engaged at lumbering during fourteen years during which time he purchased and improved a farm in Saginaw county, Michigan, upon which he finally settled and followed farming solely, but on a small scale. He lost heavily in the great Michigan fire. October 8, 1871, and in 1872 went to Grant county, Wisconsin, where he followed farming. He came to Tower City, North Dakota, October 6, 1880, and spent that fall finding a satisfactory location. After selecting the farm on which he now resides he returned to Wisconsin and in the spring of 1881 moved his personal effects to his farm and erected a 12x16 foot shanty, which was soon enlarged to the pretentious dimensions of 16x24 feet, which was known for many years as the largest house in the township. Our subject was the first settler of Colgate township and his buildings were the first erected. Wild game was plentiful at the time and he has dined from bison, has hunted grouse, and has seen geese in such large flocks and so tame as to pay little heed to a team driven among them. The crops were uniformly good until 1888, when in August of that year they were frozen and had to be burned on the ground. The succeeding crop was lost by drought, and it was not until 1891, the great crop year, that prosperity again seemed at hand, since which time the crops have yielded a good income.

Our subject was married, in 1856, to Miss Sarah Harris, a native of Canada. Mr. and Mrs. Williams have been the parents of eight children, as follows : Leonora, now Mrs. W. C. Gray, of Cass county. North Dakota; Benjamin T., engaged in the implement business in Wisconsin; Edward G., deceased; Daniel, a telegrapher in Wyoming; Charles L., a resident of Steele county: Yager, deceased ; and Hector C, who is at present conducting the home farm. Mr. Williams assisted in the organization of Steele county and Colgate township, and served as chairman of the first board of trustees of Colgate township, which office he held six years. He is a stanch Republican, and during the campaigns he is a representative leader of his party, and lends his influence by voice and pen for the principles of Republicanism, and is a well-known attendant of county conventions.

OLAUS W. WILLIAMS, one of the well-known pioneers of Steele county, is the present county treasurer, and is an efficient and popular officer. He has followed farming during his entire career in that locality, but spent two years in Dakota, in Traill county, before locating on his present homestead in 1883. He is now the owner of one-half section of land, on which he has placed modern improvements, and his farm buildings on section 22, in Golden Lake township, furnishes the conveniences and comforts of a model farm. Mr. Williams resides in Sherbrooke at present.

Our subject was born near Christiania, Norway, April 24, 1850, and was the eldest in a family of six children born to William and Karen (Erickson) Williams, both of whom are now residing in Filmore county. Minnesota. The family came, to America in 1866, and the father with his two eldest sons invested in farm land in .Alamakee county. Iowa, where they remained until the spring of 1875, when they removed to Filmore county, Minnesota, and purchased the farm on which the parents still reside.

Our subject remained at home until the spring of 1881, when he went to Red River Valley and located at Mayville, Traill county, Dakota, and his wife joined him there in the fall of that year. He worked two years in a blacksmith shop and livery barn, and in the meantime prospected for land, and in August, 1882, filed claim to the land on which he now resides, and is his homestead farm. He moved to his farm the following spring, and soon began wheat cultivation. He now has a well-equipped farm, and is among the substantial men of his community.

Mr. Williams was married in June. 1880, to Miss Johannah Gorder. Four children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Williams, as follows: Julia Valdine, Cora, Emma and Otilia.. Mr. Williams was elected county commissioner for the fourth district in 1891, and served two terms, when he was elected to a third term, but resigned after one year's service, to accept the office of county treasurer. He is strong in his convictions for right and is an advocate of reform principles, and was an organizer and supporter of the Populist party, with which he is now Identified.