Biographie Index

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

JAMES A. ATKINSON, occupies a prominent place as a real estate dealer of Sykeston, Wells County. To his influence is due much of the present solid prosperity of Wells and Stutsman counties, wherein he has operated extensively. He is a man who commands respect wherever he is known and ably seconds all projects which tend to the protection and up building of the business interests of his locality.

Our subject was born in Belmont County, Ohio, August I, 1839, and was a son of Charles and Susan (Bowman) Atkinson, the former of English and the latter of Swiss descent. His father was a farmer by occupation and was born in America. Mr. Atkinson was raised on his father's farm in Ohio and attended the country schools and at the age of twenty years went to Davenport, Iowa, in company with his father and settled in the country and later started in the coffee and spice business in Davenport and was engaged in business and also in farming in Iowa for about twenty years. He went to Jamestown, North Dakota, in the spring of 1880 and began farming and dealing in real estate and was among the early business men of Jamestown and had a large farm south of there. He became interested in Wells County lands in 1882, since which time J. A. Atkinson & Son have aided as much perhaps as any other firm in the development of the possibilities of the agricultural and stock raising and dairying interests of North Dakota, and they now conduct an extensive real estate business in Sykeston, where the family located in 1895.

Our subject was married, at Davenport, Iowa, in 1867, to Miss Sophia Severn, who is of English descent, and a daughter of John Severn, of Toronto, Ontario. Mr. and Mrs. Atkinson are the parents of five children, as follows: Laura A., Edith S., Charles S., Annie L. and Ralph J. The four older children were born in Iowa and the last named in North Dakota. Mr. Atkinson is a member of the Masonic fraternity and has passed the thirty-second degree of the order. Politically, he is a Republican and has taken an active part in affairs pertaining to local government.

ARTHUR N. BEISEKER, founder and cashier of the German State Bank, of Harvey, North Dakota, is a young man of exceptional business and executive ability, and has made a success of his business in North Dakota. The bank of which he is cashier is one of the oldest and best established institutions of the county, and carries the heaviest deposits of any bank in Harvey.

Mr. Beiseker was born in Austin, Mower county, Minnesota, January 1, 1879. He was the sixth in a family of nine children. His father, Charles N. Beiseker, was a native of Berlin, Germany, and was a cooper by trade. He enlisted from New York in the Civil war, and served three years and four months in the Army of the Potomac and participated in the battle of Fair Oaks and also Gettysburg. The mother of our subject, who bore the maiden name of Kate R. Reilly, was of Irish descent and was born in Ireland, and emigrated to America when twelve years of age and settled in Wisconsin.

Mr. Beiseker was reared in Austin, Minnesota, and attended the Minneapolis Business College. His first work for himself was in the Sykeston Bank, at Sykeston, North Dakota, where he went in 1894, and the following year the bank was removed to Fessenden, during the county-seat war, and became the Wells County State Bank. Our subject worked there until 1897, in which year he and his brother, T. L. Beiseker, and Charles H. Davidson, Jr., established the German State Bank, of Harvey, the pioneer bank of that thriving town. They began operations January 28, 1898, with the following officers: T. L. Beiseker, president; Charles H. Davidson, Jr., vice-president, and Arthur N. Beiseker, cashier, under which management it has since been conducted.

Mr. Beiseker is one of the youngest men to fill the position of bank cashier in the state of North Dakota, and has met with success in his business career, and is one of the rapidly rising business men of that region. He is a Republican in political sentiment, and is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America.

GEORGE BILLIGMEIER, an enterprising and thorough business man and merchant of Harvey, Wells county. North Dakota, is a native of Russia, where he was born June 5, 1866. His father was a blacksmith and followed that occupation in Russia, to which country his father, the grandfather of our subject, removed from Wurtemburg, Germany. In 1873, when George Billigmeier was only about six years of age, his father and family came to America, and were among the earliest settlers of Bon Homme county. South Dakota. There our subject worked on the farm and attended school. At the age of nineteen years he started out for himself, and for one year worked at blacksmithing. For another year and a half he worked in the pump and wind-mill business at Scotland, South Dakota, and then clerked a few months in a hardware store. In 1893 he went to Eureka, South Dakota, and clerked one and a half years in a hardware store. He then taught a country school about six months, and in 1895 returned to Scotland and worked for two years in the pump and wind-mill business.

In 1898 Mr. Billigmeier came to Fessenden, North Dakota, and engaged in the hardware and furniture business with George Gackle,, the firm name being George Gackle & Company. He soon after sold his interest to Schlechter Brothers, and came to Harvey, and in December, 1898, he and Mr. Gackle purchased the business of Smith & Dorn, and formed the partnership of Gackle & Billigmeier, in the hardware business. They started in a rented building, 24x60 feet, with an addition 24x32 feet, but in 1899 they erected their own building, 44x60 feet, with an addition in the rear occupied by a tin shop and storage room. The upper story of the building is also used as ware rooms. Their stock at first was valued at eighteen hundred dollars. They now carry a heavy stock of hardware and furniture valued at seven thousand dollars, and also carry a line of harness, etc. They conduct the most extensive business in their line in the city and one of the largest in the county.

Mr. Billigmeier was married, April 7, 1898, to Miss Amelia Gross. Mrs. Billigmeier is a daughter of John Gross, a general merchant, who went from Germany to Russia, and thence to the United States and is now a resident of North Dakota. Mr. Billigmeier is a Republican, and has been active in, the local public affairs of his county. He now holds the office of township supervisor. He is one of the pioneer business men of Harvey, and has witnessed the great development that has taken place in recent years in North Dakota.

MARSHALL BRINTON, County judge of Wells County, North Dakota, is a gentleman of exemplary character, and is widely and favorably known. He is the owner of one of the finest farms in the vicinity of Fessenden, and until recently resided thereon and engaged extensively in general farming and sheep culture. He is a man of intelligence and active public spirit, and has been a potent factor in promoting the political and social welfare of that region.

Our subject was born on a farm near Philadelphia. Pennsylvania, in 1839, and represents the eighth generation descended from William Brinton, who went to Pennsylvania with William Penn in 1682. William Brinton participated in the battle of Brandywine. The father of our subject, Joseph E.  Brinton, was a farmer by occupation, and the mother of our subject, who bore the maiden name of Mary Marshall, came from England in 1810, at the age of three years, and settled in Pennsylvania. The paternal grandmother of our subject was of Irish descent.

Marshall Brinton was the eldest in a family of seven children, and was raised on a farm and attended the common schools and the high schools and received a liberal education. After leaving home he first worked in the milling business, and manufactured flour for the city of Wilmington; then drifted westward and north and located in the copper mines of Michigan, and was connected with mining properties there several years. He taught school several terms in Michigan, and clerked in the office of the mining company, and then assumed charge of the surface work, and later furnished lumber, wood and fuel, under contract, for the mining company. He was in Michigan from 1872-83, except nine months spent in the Black Hills, in 1879, and spent two thousand dollars prospecting and made nothing. He was postmaster at Delaware Mine. Michigan, several years, and was elected township superintendent of schools, and later made a member of the board of County school superintendents, or school examiners, as they are known in that state. He settled in Wells County, North Dakota, in township 146, range 69. in 1884, and his farm was one and a half miles from Sykeston. He took a pre-emption in 1883 and built a claim shanty and began farming, and the following year located permanently on the place. His buildings were the best in the County at the time and were destroyed by fire in 1890, the fire starting by accident. He then removed to the homestead on section 32 in the same township and range, where he continued farming until 1896, and then removed to Fessenden. He was employed as clerk in the County offices there, and in May, 1897. was appointed County judge to fill a vacancy, and in 1898 he was elected to the same office, which he is now filling. He has three hundred and twenty acres of land in Wells County, on which he has arrangements for the operation of general farming, and his barn is a substantial, commodious structure, 64x92 feet, while the land is equal to any in the County.

Mr. Brinton was one of the organizers of Wells County, and was the first public officer in the County, being appointed County commissioner by Governor Ordway. He was the first acting County superintendent of schools, and organized the first seven schools of the County, and was elected a second time as superintendent. He is a member of the Congregational church, and is active in church work, and organized Sunday schools in northern Michigan while a resident of that state. He is prominent in secret society circles, has held all the chairs in the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, is a Master Mason, and a member of the Knights of the Maccabees, and is record-keeper for the local lodge of the last named order. In politics he is a Republican, and during the 1896 campaign and since, he has taken a leading and active part in the affairs and interests of the Republican party of Wells County.

CHARLES V. BROWN, an energetic and well-known citizen of Cathay, Wells county, has embarked in various enterprises in North Dakota, in all of which he has met with success. He is now the owner of over nine hundred acres of land in that vicinity, and also conducts a farming implement business in the town of Cathay.

Our subject was born in Champaign county. Illinois, in 1859, in the town of Mahomet. His father, T. M. Brown, was a general merchant in Mahomet. The mother of our subject, whose maiden name was Deborah Mitchell, was of American descent, and her people came to America from England prior to Revolutionary times.

Mr. Brown was raised in Mahomet and attended the public schools, and at the age of eighteen years began work in his father's store, and remained there until 1881, when his father disposed of the business. In the spring of 1882 our subject went to Jamestown. North Dakota, and worked in the office of "The Jamestown Alert" a part of the time for one year, handling the circulation of that sheet. During the time he was thus employed he took land in Wells county, near Cathay, and built a shanty, and began the improvement of his farm, and worked in Jamestown. He took up his residence permanently in Wells county, in the spring of 1883, and remained in Sykeston. He was elected county clerk and register of deeds in 1884, and was the first to fill that office in the county, and in 1885 he took the census of Wells county, the first census taken, and the inhabitants numbered one hundred and eighty-two. Our subject served in county offices three terms, and in 1891 established the implement business at Sykeston in partnership with D. J. Lloyd. He continued in business there two years, and in the spring of 1893 the firm established the business at Cathay and Fessenden, Mr. Brown taking the Cathay business under his supervision and Mr. Lloyd assuming charge of the business at Fessenden. Their store building was moved to Fessenden, and the residence of our subject was moved to Cathay. The partnership was dissolved in 1897, and the Fessenden business sold to H. L. Biseker. Mr. Brown was among the first business men of Cathay, and the building was the second business building in the town. He has a well-developed farm of nine hundred and sixty acres, and engages chiefly in grain raising, but of late has given some attention to stock raising.

Our subject was married, in 1887, to Miss Elizabeth Moore. Mrs. Brown was born and raised in Illinois, and was a daughter of John Moore, a pioneer of Illinois, and later of North Dakota, who conducted a hotel in Carrington. Three children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Brown, as follows: Floyd Hawthorn, born April 16, 1889; Deborah, born January 1, 1895; and Charles Rudyard, born March 13, 1899. Mr. Brown was a member of the constitutional convention at Bismarck in 1889, and has taken an active interest in the organization of state and county, and is widely and favorably known. He was among the first settlers of Wells county, and in the early days was station agent for the Northern Pacific Railroad at Sykeston for about four years. He held various county offices, and is an efficient and popular man. He was engaged in loaning money for Graves & Vinton, of St. Paul, Minnesota, in early times, and was well acquainted with that region.

GEORGE BRYNJULSON, county sheriff of Wells county, residing in Fessenden, carries on an extensive farm near that city and is one of the wide-awake and well-to-do citizens of the county. He began for himself in North Dakota without means and has steadily risen by his own efforts and is now possessed of a comfortable competence and an enviable reputation.

Our subject was born on a farm in Telemarken, Norway, in 1858. His father, Talaf Brynjulson, was a farmer and came to America in 1861 and settled in Wisconsin. The mother of our subject bore the maiden name of Aslang Jorgendatter. Seven children were born to this worthy couple, our subject being the second in order of birth. He was reared on a farm in Wisconsin until eight years of age and then removed to Lincoln county, South Dakota. The father took government land in 1868 and still resides thereon. Our subject remained on the farm in South Dakota and attended the country school. There were but few settlers in that locality during their early residence there and they lived under the protection of government Winchesters and experienced four Indian scares. Mr. Brynjulson left home at the age of seventeen years and drifted through the country in South Dakota. following the stone mason's trade from 1875-1894. In 1883 he went to Jamestown and spent three years in the vicinity of that city and Bismarck working at his trade. He settled on land in township 147, range 71, in Wells county, taking it under a "squatter's right," in 1883 and 1885 took up his residence thereon. He had a sod shanty, but no barn and farmed with oxen the first six years and from 1883-1887 lived alone and engaged in grain raising principally. He followed the stone mason's trade and farming and threshing in South Dakota from 1891 to the summer of 1893 and then returned to his North Dakota farm. August 19, 1896, fire destroyed his barn, a fine structure, and his son, John, who was in the burning building, lost his life. He has had varied experiences with prairie fires and severe storms and in 1886, while on his way to South Dakota via the stage, stopped to take dinner and started for Ellendale, when a storm broke and they lost their road. Mr. Brynjulson was the only one familiar with the prairie and he guided the party for some time, but they finally refused to follow him farther and he left them and walked to Ellendale and then sent a team to meet them. One of the occupants of the stage, a young lady, afterward died from the exposure. Our subject has added to his possessions and is now the owner of four hundred and eighty acres of land, on which he has erected a set of good buildings. His barn was blown to pieces during the summer of 1899 and he has since built a 40x64-foot structure with basement, and he also has a large granary and other farm buildings. A grove of trees is near the house and the entire farm presents a pleasing appearance.

Our subject was married, in 1887, to Miss Hannah Dolan, a native of Norway. Mrs. Brynjulson was a daughter of Gerhart Dolan, who still resides in Norway. Mrs. Brynjulson died November 15, 1890, leaving two children, Tolaf and John, the latter now deceased. Mr. Brynjulson was married to Miss Ella Dolan, a native of Telemarken, Norway, in 1894. Mrs. Brynjulson came to America in 1892. Three children have been born to this union, as follows: Alma, Beatta and Olga. Mr. Brynjulson was elected sheriff of Wells county in 1896, and his popularity is best evidenced by the fact that he was re-elected in 1898, and is now serving his second term. He also holds the office of postmaster at Bawdon, North Dakota, his appointment being made March 30, 1900. He has held numerous school offices and takes an active interest in affairs of a public nature. Politically, he is a Republican and an earnest worker for party principles.

ALTON G. COVELL. one of the leading merchants of Sykeston, Wells county, is also interested largely in farming and stock raising near that city. He is a man of excellent education and has attained a prominent position as a worthy citizen and business man.

Our subject was born on a farm in Erie county. Pennsylvania. June 8, 1854. His father, W. W. Covell, was of English descent and was a farmer throughout his career. The great-grandfather of our subject, James Covell. served in the Revolutionary war. The mother of our subject, whose maiden name was Ellen E. Barber, was of English descent and her family settled in Rhode Island in colonial times.

Mr. Covell was the fourth in a family of seven children and attended the country schools and took an academic course and began reading law in 1877 and was admitted to the bar in 1880 in Pennsylvania.  A partnership was then formed with his brother, C. L. Covell, and he remained with him two years and in 1883 came to North Dakota and located at Carrington and began the practice of his profession, in which he continued there three years. He located at Sykeston in 1886 and practiced law exclusively three years and during 1888-1889 was postmaster at Sykeston. He established a general store in 1890 and now conducts one of the most extensive business concerns of that city. He was elected state's attorney in 1888 and served one term. He purchased a farm of four hundred and eighty acres in 1891, on which he has a complete set of good farm buildings and engages principally in stock raising.

Our subject was married, in 1885, to Miss E. C. Butts. Mrs. Covell was born and raised in Minnesota and is of English-German descent, a daughter of D. J. Butts, who is engaged in farming in North Dakota, and was an early settler of that state, having settled there in 1881. Four children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Covell, as follows: William M., born March 23. 1886; Ellen E., born March 8, 1888; Clarence L., born March 8, 1890, and Alice R., born June 14, 1895. Mr. Covell was appointed United States commissioner in 1898 by Judge Amidon, of Fargo, and now serves in that capacity He is a member of the Congregational church and is a man of exemplary character and deservedly popular with the people.

JOHN M. COVELL. Among the foreign-born residents of Wells county, who are thoroughly identified with American progress, may be noted Mr. Covell. He owns a farm in section 24, of township 147, range 70, where the usual improvements have been made and such arrangements consummated as make it a comfortable home.

Our subject is a native of Wales and was born May 13, 1856. His father, Joseph Covell, was a farmer in Wales. The mother of our subject bore the maiden name of Margaret Evans. Mr. Covell was the third in a family of six children and was raised on a farm and received a limited schooling. His mother died when he was but ten years of age and he then left home and earned his own livelihood from that time, working at farm labor. He went to Wisconsin in 1882 and spent two years in Winnebago county, working at farm labor, and in 1884 went to Wells county. North Dakota. He entered claim to government land in township 147, range 70, and settled on section 26, and then worked for others the first year and in 1885 began farming his land. He had one year's savings to make a start with and built a shanty 12x12 feet and bought three old horses and had a dugout for a barn. His first crop yielded twenty-four and a half bushels per acre, and he had about twenty-five acres. His residence, built in 1892, was destroyed by fire, caused by a defective flue, in 1895, and in 1887 fire destroyed his dugout barn and two horses. He has had many exciting experiences with prairie fires. He now has a farm of six hundred and forty acres, with about five hundred under cultivation, and has a fine grove started. He has erected a complete set of good farm buildings and with the necessary machinery is fitted for general farming and his estate evidences good management. He has twenty-three head of cattle and eleven horses and follows mixed farming.

Mr. Covell visited Wales in 1893 and upon his return was accompanied by Miss Deana Williams. Miss Williams filed on land in North Dakota and presently became the wife of Mr. Covell. Three children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Covell, as follows: Jennie, Nellie and Emily. Mr. Covell is a Republican in political faith and has attended several conventions as a delegate and is an earnest worker for party principles.

HERBERT J. FINCHER, one of the pioneer settlers of Wells county, North Dakota, has been engaged in various enterprises in that locality, in all of which he has met with good success. He is a carpenter and mason by trade and follows the former in Manfred at present.

Our subject was born in Spencerport, Monroe county, New York, August 8, 1861. His father, Jesse E. Fincher, was a carpenter by trade, and the family came to America in early Colonial days. The grandmother of our subject. Betsy Colby, was the first white girl born in Monroe county, New York, the family coming from England to Vermont and later settling in New York state. The grandfather of our subject, David R. Hitchcock, served in the war of 1812.

Our subject was the second in order of birth and the only son in a family of three children, and at the age of four years went with his parents to Pennsylvania, and his father worked at carpentering at Corea. When he was five years of age the family settled in Washtenaw county. Michigan, where our subject was reared. He received a common-school education and later attended the Seminary, and he learned the carpenter's trade with his father. In 1886 he went to Wells county. North Dakota. and entered claim to government land. He had a span of mules and one horse, and he erected a claim shanty and a sod barn, and after the first year farmed with oxen five or six years. The Soo Railroad was built through that locality in 1893 and the town of Manfred was started, the town site being the homestead farm owned by his father. Jesse E. Fincher. Our subject's house was the first house in the town, with the exception of the railroad section house, and was a 22x24-foot building one story in height. Mr. Fincher carried mail under a government contract between Fessenden and Oberon for three years, since which time he has devoted his time to plying his trade, and is one of the skilled workmen of that town. During pioneer days for the first two or three years he derived a great share of his income from hauling buffalo bones to market, and his nearest railroad town was Sykeston, twenty-five miles distant.

Our subject was married, at the age of twenty-two years, to Miss Eliza Cone. Mrs. Fincher was born on a farm in Monroe county, Michigan, and was a daughter of Erastus S. Cone, a merchant and land owner. Her family are Americans for many generations back. Five children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Fincher, as follows: Jennie M, born November 19, 1885; Jessie J., born February 24, 1888; Cora M., born November 18, 1889; Grace A., born August 9, 1895; and Nellie H., born August 17, 1897. The eldest was born in Michigan and the other children were born in Wells county, North Dakota. Mr. Fincher and wife are members of the Congregational church, and Mr. and Mrs. Fincher hold membership in the Brotherhood of American Yeomen. He is independent in political faith.

ALFRED D. FROST. The mature years of this gentleman have been devoted to the pursuit of agriculture, and he has met with marked success and is now the owner of a fine farm of six hundred and forty acres in township 150, range 72, in Wells county. His residence is located in section 35, and his home is pleasantly located and comfortable in every particular.

Our subject was born on a farm in Ottawa county, Michigan, in 1851. His father, Oliver Frost, was an American by birth, and followed farming as his occupation. The family have been in America many generations and served in the Revolutionary war, as did also members of the family of our subject's mother. The mother was of American birth and bore the maiden name of Margaret Thompson.

Mr. Frost was the second in a family of five children, and was raised on the home farm and attended the country schools. He assisted with the work, as his father died when our subject was but twelve years of age. When sixteen years of age Mr. Frost left home and followed farming and lumbering in Michigan for six or eight years. He went to Texas in 1877 and from there to Manitoba, and in 1869 began railroading on the Canadian Pacific Railroad, and remained in Manitoba six years. He went to Devils Lake, North Dakota, in 1886, and railroad work on the Great Northern between Devils Lake and Great Falls. Montana. claimed his attention during two summers. From 1887-92 he resided in St. Paul and there engaged in teaming, and in the summers of 1892-93 did grading for the Soo line between Valley City and Portal, North Dakota. He located his homestead in Wells county, in 1893 and the following year became a permanent resident of the place. He erected a small house, which he has since improved and enlarged. and his residence together with a large barn, machine shed, granary, and the usual farm buildings complete a good farm. He has a grove covering two acres of land, and the farm is well adapted to general farming. He cultivates about four hundred and seventy-five acres of land, and has the balance of his farm in pasture. He has met with success in grain raising, and during the season of 1899 operated three self binders. He is interested to some extent in stock raising and has from thirty to sixty head, but devotes his attention chiefly to wheat raising.

Our subject was married, in 1876. to Miss Jennie Stotter. Mrs. Frost was born and raised in Canada, and was a daughter of Abraham Stoffer, a mill owner, and now a resident of Dakota. Her grandparents were from Pennsylvania and the grandfather served in the war of 1812. Mr. and Mrs. Frost are the parents of five children as follows: Oliver C, born in Trinity county, Texas, January 5. 1878: Glenn, born in St. Paul. Minnesota, September 26, 1889: Stanley Dewitt, born in St. Paul, February 7, 1891 ; Bud, born in Wells county, North Dakota, August 20, 1895, and Effie, born in Manitoba in 1881, died at the age of eleven months. Mr. Frost keeps pace with the times in local affairs and is a Republican in political faith, and is one of the highly respected men of northwest Wells county.

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