Memorial Record of Southwestern Minnesota 1897 Lewis Publishing Company Chicago, Illinois ========================================================================== USGENWEB NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the Internet, material may be freely used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material, AND permission is obtained from the contributor of the file. These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by other organizations. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for non-commercial purposes, MUST obtain the written consent of the contributor, OR the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. Made available to The USGenWeb Archives by: Douglas J. Peterson Last Updated: 25 December 2001 ========================================================================== This file contains transcriptions for: Sidney W. Davis William H. Rounseville Thomas McQuat Hon. Charles R. Davis Isaiah Ruble Stephen H. Briggs Willard Thayer Hon. Asa Cheadle Joshua Strong Higgins Hon. Redden H. Everett Isaac Davis J. H. Doty Alexander Pettis Joseph C. Everette Jacob W. Gish Gustav C. Wendelschafer Nelson Goldsmith, Jr. George R. Moler George W. Studley Mahlon R. Everett ---------------------------------------- SIDNEY W. DAVIS Sidney W. Davis is numbered among the honored pioneer settlers of Lesueur County, Minnestoa. He has not only been an eye witness of its growth and development but has also taken an active part in its progress and has been a leading factor in the promotion of its material interests. His name is inseparbly linked with its history, and in this volume he well deserves prominent mention. Mr. Davis was born in Lower Canada, sixty miles from Montreal, June 11, 1825 a son of Orange R. and Adelaide (Barlow) Davis, who were also natives of Lower Canada. When our subject was eight years of age his parents removed to New York, spending the winter of 1837-8 at Sackett's Harbor. In 1839 they emigrated to Pike county, Illinois, locating on a farm three miles from Pittsfield, the county seat. In 1853 the father came to Lesueur county, where the following spring he was joined by his family. They settled on the shore of Lake Emily, two miles east of St. Peter, the first to make a claim in that locality. Indians were numerous in the neighborhood, far outnumbering the white people, and the family, situated thus on the extreme frontier, had to endure all the hardships and privations of pioneer life. The father improved one hundred and sixty acres of land and carried on general farming until 1880, when he removed to St. Peter. His death occurred in 1881, in his eighty-second year. His wife died in 1887, in her eighty- fifth year. They were well known people in the county, respected by all. Sidney W. Davis is the second of their eleven children, seven sons and four daughters. All reached mature years and seven are now living, namely: Ebenezer R.; Isaac; Henry C.; Louisa, wife of Alex. Pettis; Sarah, wife of Solomon H. Pettis, of Lesueur county; Caroline, wife of John Hartew, of Aberdeen, South Dakota; and Harriet, widow of John L. Pettis. Sidney W. Davis spent the greater part of his school life in Pike county, Illinois, being educated in the primitive schools of that period. He assisted in the cultivation of the home farm until he had attained his majority, when he began farming on his own account in Pike county. He was married in 1846 to Miss Mary O. Pettis, of that county, a daughter of Stephen Pettis. They lived a happy married life until July, 1851, when Mrs. Davis died of cholera, leaving two children: Lillian, now wife of William McQuat, of Lesueur county; and Hon. C. R. Davis, a prominent attorney at St. Peter. In 1853 Mr. Davis came to Minnesota, settling in Lesueur county. He pre-empted a claim of one hundred and sixty acres two miles east of Kasota, and with characteristic energy began the development of his land. For several years he successfully carried on general farming and stock-raising, and in 1857 removed to St. Peter, where he opened a meat market. His buisness steadily increased until it had assumed extensive proportions. He not only had a large general trade, but also had a contract to furnish the meat for the State Hospital for the insane for a period of ten years, supplying about nineteen thousand pounds per month. In addition to conducting his store he was also largely engaged in buying and shipping live stock, sending many car-loads of hogs and cattle to Chicago annually. When the time of his contract with the State Hospital had expired he sold his market and devoted his energies alone to the live-stock business, as a member of the firm of Pettis & Davis, his partner being Alva Pettis, and they being the largest live-stock dealers in the Minnesota valley. He also owns two hundred acres of valuable land, which he rents. He is a man of excellent business and executive ability, possessed of sound judgment, keen discrmination and foresight. His efforst in consequence have been crowned with success, and although in earlier years he experienced the trials of pioneer life in Lesueur county he is now one of the substantial citizens of St. Peter. Mr. Davis was again married in 1875, his second union being with Mrs. Lydia Cole, widow of Sylvanus Cole, They have in St. Peter a comfortable and commodious residense in the midst of pleasant surroundings. Mr. Davis served one term as county commissioner of Lesueur county, and was assessor for a number of years. In politics he is a Republican, wamrly supporting that party. He is also a prominent Mason, belonging to both the blue lodge and chapter of St. Peter. (pages 251-252) WILLIAM H. ROUNSEVILLE A man's reputation is the property of the world. The laws of nature forbid isolation. Every human being submits to the controlling influence of others, or as a master spirit wields a power either for good or evil on the masses of mankind. There can be no impropriety in justly scanning the acts of any man as they affect his public and business relations. If he is honest and eminent in his chosen field of labor investigation will brighten his fame and point out the path that others may follow with like success. From the ranks of the quiet, persevering yet prominent citizen-prominent on account of what he has done in commercial circles-there is no one more deserving of mention in a volume of this character than William H. Rounseville, who is also one of the honored pioneers of Nicollet county. He was born October 2, 1840, in Tompkins county, New York, and is a son of Daniel and Amy (Lindsay) Rounseville. The birth of the father also occurred in the same state, while the paternal grandfather, Ebenezer Rounseville, was a native of Massachusetts and of French descent. Our subject was but thirteen years of age when brought to Nicollet county, Minnesota, and in the public schools of St. Peter finished his literary education, which was begun in the Empire state. On laying aside his studies he assisted his father in the cultivation and improvement of the home farm until attaining his majority, when he started out in life on his own account as an agriculturist. For many years previous to his removal to Minnesota, the father had engaged in general merchandising, but here he gave his exclusive attention to his farming interests until 1878, when he came to St. Peter. In that city his wife died in 1893, but he is still living at the ripe old age of seventy-eight years. After carrying on agricultural pursuits for a short time, Mr. Rounseville, of this review, came to St. Peter, where he became interested in the lumber business in connection with C. Snyder & Damren. On the retirement of Mr. Dainren in 1874 the firm name was changed to Rounseville & Snyder, and later our subject bought out his partner's interest, becoming sole proprietor. He was successfully engaged in the lumber trade until 1894, during which time he was largely interested in pine lands in Minnesota and Wisconsin, owned a large sawmill and engaged extensively in the manufacture of lumber. From this business he realized a handsome profit, but having an opportunity to dispose of all his lumber interests at a satisfactory price he sold out in 1894. Much of his pine land was located in Carlton county, Minnesota, and he also owned a large lumber-yard at St. Peter. In 1893 Mr. Rounseville became a stockholder in the St. Peter Furniture Company, which was incorporated in 1891, but the business was established in 1855 by William Klein, who successfully conducted it until his death in 1889. The present officers are William H. Rounseville, president; William Hall, secretary, and J. C. Hulet, treasurer and manager. The firm manufactures tables, stands, chairs, etc., for which it finds a ready sale, and also turns out fine stair work and house trimmings to order. Mr. Rounseville also owns five fine farms in Nicollet and Lesueur counties, of about seven hundred acres, which he rents, and also a substantial and pleasant residence in St. Peter. In connection with his other business he was largely interested at one time in threshing machines, owning and operating twelve steam threshers of the Advance style, manufactured at Battle Creek, Michigan. In 1879, in Nicollet county, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Rounseville and Miss Rebecca Goodman, a native of Goodhue county, Minnesota, and a daughter of John Goodman, a native of England. They have a host of warm friends throughout entire community, and are highly esteemed and respected by all who know them. Mr. Rounseville is a public-spirited, enterprising citizen, taking an active interest in everything tending to promote the welfare, of big town and county, and the success he has achieved throughout life is justly merited. (pages 252-253) THOMAS McQUAT Thomas McQuat, postmaster of Oshawa and one of the leading and influential representatives of the varied business interests of Nicollet county, was born in La Chute, Canada, on the 7th of July, 1835, a son of John and Margaret (Pollock) McOuat, who were natives of Scotland and emigrated to Canada, where both died, the father at the age of seventy-three years, the mother at the age of sixty-four. The paternal grandparents of our subject also spent their last days in Canada, whither they removed on leaving the land of their birth, the land of hills and heather. The maternal grandparents, Thomas and Margaret (Russell) Pollock, were also natives of Scotland, moved to Canada and died in La Chute. Agriculture has been the chief occupation of the family, whose members are honest, industrious people of sterling worth. The subject of this biographical notice was one of a family of ten children, five of whom are yet living. He spent his boyhood days on his father's farm and early became familiar with all the labors connected with its cultivation. On leaving the parental roof he was united in marriage, January 18, 1860, to Miss Agnes Cutler Home, who was born in Burlington, Vermont, a daughter of Thomas and Jane (McAdam) Hume. Her parents and grandparents were born in Scotland, in which country her paternal grandparents died; but her grandparents on her mother's side died at La Chute, Canada, where her father also died; her mother died at Oshawa, Minnesota. Mr. and Mrs. McOuat continued their residence in Canada until 1865, when they came to Minnesota, locating in Dundas, Rice county, where the father rented land for two years. In 1867 he came to Oshawa township, Nicollet county, not long after the organization of the county had been effected, and from that time down to the present has been an important factor in the development and progress of the locality. He purchased eighty acres of land, on which he still resides, and successfully carried on agricultural pursuits; but his efforts have by no means been confined to one line of endeavor. He is a man of great business resources, energy and perseverance, and is quick to recognize an opportune moment and take advantage of the same. He was the first postmaster of the village of Oshawa, and is now serving in that capacity. He had charge of the first elevator and has made the place a considerable grain market. His steady application, his determined effort and his sound judgment have brought him prosperity in his dealing and through his own efforts he has achieved a comfortable competence. Mr. McOuat gives a stalwart support to the principles of the Republican party and is recognized as one of the party leaders in this locality. He cast his first presidential vote for General Grant and has since never wavered in his allegiance to the political organization which he believes will best advance the interests of the nation. He and his family hold membership in the Presbyterian church. Mr. and Mrs. McOuat have three children,but only two are now at home. Frank C. is an enterprising young business man now in charge of one of the grain elevators in Oshawa. He is well educated and his energetic temperament, mental alertness andpowers of concentration will bring him success in the future. Jane M. is still a resident of her parental home, and Margaret P. is an operator at St. Peter for the Chicago & Northwestern Railway Company. All three of the children are very intellectual and enterprising. (pages 266-267) HON. CHARLES R. DAVIS Hon. Charles R. Davis - Whatever may be said of the legal fraternity, it cannot be denied that the members of the bar have been more prominent factors in public affairs than any other class of American people. This is but the natural result of causes which are manifest and require no explanation. The ability and training which qualify one to practic law also qualify him in many respects for duties which lie outside of the diametrical line of his profession and which touch the general interests of society. The subject of this record is a man who has brought his keen discrimination and thorough wisdom to bear not alone in professional paths, but also for the benefit of the community in which he makes his home, and with whose interests he is thoroughly identified. He holds and merits a place among the representative legal practicioners of Nicollet county and is a prominent citizen of St. Peter. Mr. Davis was born September 17, 1849, upon a farm near Pittsfield, in Pike county, Illinois, and is a son of Sidney W. and Mary (Pettis) Davis. His mother, who was a native of Ohio, died in Pike county, Illinois, in 1851. On the paternal side he is of Welsh descent, his great-grandfather coming from Wales, but his grandfather, Orange Davis, was born in Lower Canada, near Quebec. The wife of the latter was born in Montreal, of French parentage. Sidney W. Davis, the father of our subject, was born in Kingston, Canada, in 1825, and with his family removed to northern New York, in 1837, where he remained one year, and then went to Pike county, Illinois, locating upon a farm just outside the corporation limits of Pittsfield, the county seat. On the 10th of May, 1853, with his family he came to Minnesota, and settled upon a farm in Lesueur county, where he continued to engage in general farming and stock-raising until 1867, which year witnessed his arrival in St. Peter. Here he has since resided and for ten years was actively engaged in Merchandising. The boyhood of Charles R. Davis was passed upon the home farm in Lesueur county, and his early education in the village schools of Kasota. Later he pursued his studies in the high school of St. Peter, which at the time was taught by Porter & McGill, the latter subsequently governor of Minnesota. Afterward he was taught at a private school by Professor creary, a noted educator, where he was a classmate of Lieutenant John A. Lundeedn, professor of mathematics at West Point, and in 1857 he took a complete commercial course at the St. Paul Business College. For the ensuing two years he was engaged in teh grocery and produce business at St. Peter, Minnesota. Then, selling out his interest in that business, he took up the study of law, under the preceptorship of Hon. Alfred Wallin, the present chief justice of North Dakota. March 6, 1872, is the date of his admission to the bar. At once he formed a partnership with his former preceptor, under the style of Wallin & Davis, and they engaged actively in general practice, having offices in both St. Peter and New Ulm. Mr. Davis early began his official career, being elected county attorney in 1872, in which capacity he faithfully served for six years. In 1878 he was also elected city clerk and attorney, which former position he has acceptably filled for the alst sixteen years and still continues to do. On the 25th of April, 1888, he was commissioned captain of the National Guards of Minnesota, serving four years. In 1888 he was also elected to the legislature, on the Republican ticket, to represent Nicollet county for a term of two years, and subsequently was made state senator from the seventeenth senatorial district of Minnesota, serving in the sessions of 1891-3. He took a prominent part in the work of those bodies, being a member of several very important committees, among which was that on the judiciary. He took and expecially active part while serving on the committee for the hospital for the insane, and was chairman of that committee. His investigations aroused much antagonism among those who had charge of the financial affairs of that institution. In 1874 Mr. Davis was united in marriage with Miss Emma Haven, who was born and reared in the city of Chicago, and is a daughter of Aaron Haven. Mr. and Mrs. Davis have two children, namely: Isabel H., a graduate of the State University of Minnesota; and Russell. In his social relations, Mr. Davis is connected with Nicollet Lodge, No. 34, F & A. M.; St. Peter Chapter, No. 22, R. A. M.; Mankato Commandery, No. 4, K. T.; Oris Lodge, Scottish Rite, of Mankato; The Mystic Shhrine, Ozman Temple, St. Paul, Minnesota; and also St. Peter Lodge, No. 12, I. O. O. F. He takes quite an active part in politics, local state and national, and has often made speeches throughout his district in behalf fo the Republican party. During the time he served the public in an official capacity he made an admirabel record, and as a lawyer he stands high with the profession. (pages 305-307) ISAIAH RUBLE Isaiah Ruble is one of the most intelligent and respected farmers of Kasota township, Lesueur County, Minnesota, and also belongs to that class of men whose ranks are year by year becoming thinned,- that class of men known during the '60s as the "boys in blue." Mr. Ruble is a native of the Buckeye state and claims Buford, Highland county, as the place of his birth, the date being December 26, 1842. John Ruble, his father, was born in Pennsylvania of German parents, his people for generations being noted for their honesty, industry and sterling worth. He was reared in Pennsylvania and Ohio, brought up to farm life, and in Ohio was united in marriage to Miss Sarah Coffman, a native of that state, her parents also being Germans. John Ruble was a farmer all his life, his political views were those advocated by the Democratic party, and in his Christian life he was earnest and consistent, being a member of the Disciple church. He died at his home in Ohio, leaving a w1dow and ten children, and his widow died of fever two weeks after he passed away. In their family were seven sons and three daughters, and two of the sons are veterans of the late war, George and Isaiah. The children named in order of birth are as follows: Jacob, Joseph, Sarah A., Washington, Magdalena, George, William, Wesley, Isaiah and Rachel. Isaiah Ruble, left an orphan at the age of four years, was taken into the home of John Foreman, by whom he was reared to farm life in Pike county, Illinois, being inured to all kinds of farm work in his youth and receiving his education in the log schoolhouses of that day and place. When the great civil war came on he showed his patriotism by going out and fighting valiantly for the old flag. It was in May, 1862, at the age of 19, that he enlisted as a member of Company K, Second Illinois Cavalry, under Col. Hogg and Captain Jones, and with his command went to the front. The brave colonel was killed in Tennessee. Mr. Ruble was all through the siege of Vicksburg, in the engagement at Holly Springs, and in numerous raids and skirmishes, and at the close of the war in May, 1865, was honorably discharged, returning home with a war record in which he has every reason to take a just pride. During his service he contracted both bronchitis and rheumatism, from the effects of which he has never recovered. Returning to Pike county, Illinois, after the war, he settled down to farming there and made that place his home until 1871, when he came to Minnesota and located in Kasota township, four miles east of St. Peter. In 1886 he moved to his present farm near Kasota, his post-office address, and here he is successfully engaged in farming and stockraising. Mr. Ruble was married in Pike county, Illinois, in December, 1866, to Maria Pettis, daughter of Colonel Stephen Pettis, an officer of the war of 1812 and a well-known and respected pioneer of Pike county. Honorable mention of the Pettis family will be found on another page of this work, in the personal sketch of Alexander Pettis. Previous to her marriage Mrs. Ruble was engaged in teaching, and as a teacher attained popularity and success. They have had five children, viz.: Wells A., who was educated in college at Battle Creek, Michigan, is now engaged in teaching; Mrs. Alice L. Collins, who was before her marriage a teacher; William W., attending college in Battle Creek, Michigan; Albert H., who is now at home; and one that died in infancy, a twin of Alice L. Mr. Ruble cast his first presidential vote for Abraham Lincoln, has ever since supported the Republican party, and in these stirring days of '96 sees no reason to change, his political views. He is a member of A. K. Skaro Post, No. 37, G. A. R., of St. Peter. His church is that of the Seventh Day Adventists, of which he is a stanch and active member. (pages 334-335) STEPHEN H. BRIGGS For many years this gentleman has resided in southwestern Minnesota, and his name is inseparably connected with the agricultural and commerical interests in this region. His thoroughly American spirit and his great energy have enabled him to mount from a lowly position to one of affluence. One of his leading charactersitcs in business affairs as his fine sense of order and complete system, and the habits of giving careful attention to details, without which success in any undertaking is never an assured fact. He is a man of intrinsic worth, esteemed in all the relations of his life, and in this volume well deserves mention. Stephen H. Briggs was born in Broome county, New York, on the 22d of April, 1836, and comes of a family of English origin that was founded in America at an early day. His grandparents were Abiathar and Johanna Rounsville Briggs, New England people who removed to New York and spent their last days in Cortland county. The former died at the age of seventy-eight, the latter at the age of seventy-five. The parents of our subject were Abiathar and Huldah Coombs Briggs. The father was a native of Middleboro, Massachusetts, and served as one of the minute men in the war of 1812. In 1859 he came to Minnesota and died in Traverse at the age of seventy-five. His wife, who was born in Vermont, died in New York, at the age of sixty-seven. Teh first year after the arrival of the family in Minnesota, Mr. Briggs, of this review, engaged in teaching school. He then rented a farm. He had acquired a good education in Cortland Academy of New York, and had successfully followed teaching for one term in the Empire state, three terms in Wisconsin and two in Minnesota, but wishing to acquire some property he at length bought forty acres of land and began its cultivation. As a companion and helpmeet on life's journey he chose Miss Cynthia Doty, and their marriage was celebrated October 28, 1862. The lady was born in Tompkins county, New York, and by her marriage became the mother of nine children, but only three are now living, namely: Frank, who was born in Minnesota and is now managing an elevator and a creamery at Traverse; George A. is operating the home farm; and Mary E., the youngest, is also at home. Upon his marriage Mr. Briggs took up his abode in his present home, but the residence has since been greatly enlarged and remodeled. To his farm he has added from time to time, purchasing an additional forty acres of land as his means would permit, until he now owns a valuable tract of two hundred acres. His business ability is by no means limited to one line of endeavor and he has been the promoter of a number of interests which have added materially to the welfare and advancement of the county. He was manager of a large creamery for five years, and established the grain business which is now conducted by his son. He began buying grain in 1880 and for some years did an extensive business in that line. He carries to successful completion whatever he undertakes, and his connnection with any enterprise therefore insures its presperity. He has steadily worked his way upward from a lowly position to one of affluence, and today is practically living retired in the enjoyment of the fruits of his former toil. In 1875 Mr. Briggs was appointed to the position of county surveyor and filled that position for five years, discharging his duties in a manner most satisfacotry ot his constituents. He has also held a number of township offices, is the present township treasure, has served on the school board for a third of a century and is the present postmaster at Traverse. In his political adherency he is a stalwart Republican and has warmly advocated the principles of that party since casting his first presidential vote for Abraham Lincoln in 1860. He and his family are alwasy numbered among the active supporters of any measure calculated to advance the best interests of the community and are people of sterling worth whose may excellencies of character have won them the high regard of all. (pages 392-393) WILLARD THAYER Willard Thayer came to Minnesota forty years ago, while this state was still a territory, and here he has maintained his home ever since, aiding in the development and progress made in his locality during these four decades. Now well advanced in life, he is comfortably situated in a pleasant home in the town of Cleveland, Le Sueur county. He was one of the brave men who during the dark days of civil strife in the '60s "donned the blue" and fought for the Union. Both as a pioneer citizen and war veteran is he entitled to personal consideration in this work, and briefly a resume of his life is as follows: Willard Thayer was born in Lebanon township, Madison county, New York, July 14, 1827, and is of English and Scottish descent. Israel Thayer, his father, was born in Massachusetts, traced his origin back to England, and was a part icipant in the war of 1812, having served as a member of a heavy artillery, and participated in the battle of Sackett's Harbor. He married Sally Tinsey, a native of New York and a member of a Scotch family. In 1831, accompanied by his wife and children, he moved west as far as Ohio, selecting a location in the deep forest of Medina county, where he cleared a farm and reared his family. By trade he was a hatter. The latter part of his life, however, was spent in the quiet pursuits of the farm. He was sixty-eight years of age at the time of his death, and his widow survived him a number of years, living to the advanced age of eighty-two. They were people of honest worth, Episcopalian in their religious creed, and stood high in the community in which they lived. Their twelve children received the following names, given here in order of birth: Polly, Stephen, Israel, Susan, Dan, Charlotte, Willard, Catharine (first), Jonathan, Catharine (second), Malvina and William. Three of this number became residents of Minnesota, viz.: Israel, now deceased, Mrs. Malvina Halleck, a resident of this township; and Willard , whose name heads this article. Willard Thayer was a small boy at the time of their emigration to Ohio, and on the farm above referred to he passed his boyhood and youth, his lessons being conned in a log schoolhouse hard by and all his home training being conducive to habits of inducstry, honesty and piety. March 13, 1851, in Medina county, he was united in marriage to a Miss Livingston [handwritten over as Zimmerman], who for forty-five years has been the partner of his joys and sorrows. She was born in Wayne county, Ohio, in the year 1839, and is a daughter of Sebastian and Elizabeth (Hoover) Livingston, the former a Pennsylvanian of German descent and the latter a native of Maryland. Mr. Livingston was reared and educated in acounting house in the city of Philadelphia and was in business for himself for many years. He died in Mortville township, Medina county, Ohio, at the advanced age of eighty-nine years. Politically, he was a Whig and his religion was that of the Christian church. He and his wife were the parents of three children, namely: Rebecca, Daniel, and Sarah. In the year 1856 the subject of our sketch and his family came west by boat and rail to St. Paul and thence by ox team across the country to the vicinity of Cleveland, Le Sueur county. Here he settled on a tract of eighty acres, devoted his energies to its improvement and cultivation and made a comfortable home, and here was quietly living when the civil war came on. As the war continued to rage and more troops were needed, Mr. Thayer left his home and family in 1864 and enlisted as a member of the Second Minnesota Volunteer Infantry, under Colonel Bishop. Going south, he joined Sherman's army at Atlanta, was on that memorable march from Atlanta to the sea, thence went up through the Carolinas to Richmond and Washington, and was among the victorious soldiers who participated in the grand review at the capital city The war over, he was honorably discharged and returned home. He continued to reside on his farm until 1889, when he moved into the village of Cleveland, his present home. Here he has an ideal place, nice residence, good barn, orchard, and other improvements all first-class and well kept. His residence was built at a cost of one thousand six hundred dollars. Mr. and Mrs. Thayer have two children: Lucius Daniel, and Sarah Elizabeth, wife of George Davis, of this township. Politically, Mr. Thayer is a staunch "silver" Democrat, and in these latter years which mark the close of the century sees no reason to change his politics. Both he and his wife are members of the Church of God. (pages 400-401) HON. ASA CHEADLE Hon. Asa Cheadle - Among the prominent citizens of Lesueur county and old pioneers of this part of Minnesota, none are better known or more worthy of biographical honors than the venerable gentleman whose name adorns this page and to whose life history we know take pleasure in reverting. He dates his identity with Minnesota from April, 1855. Asa Cheadle was born in Washington county, Ohio, October 1824, and is descended from English ancestors who established their home on American soil long previouis to the revolution. Cyrus Cheadle, his father, was a native of Vermont, and a son of Asa Cheadle, also of New England birth, the latter a veteran of the Revolution and a prominent early pioneer of the Northwest Territory, his settlement in Washington county, Ohio, being in the year 1800 three years before Ohio assumed the dignity of statehood. In Washington county he reared his family and lived and died. Cyrus, his son, was a lad of fourteen years at the time of their settlement there, and on his father's frontier farm he passed from youth to manhood, early becoming familiar with every detail of farming as carried on then and there. Arrived at mature years, he was united in marriage to Miss Abigail Vanclief, a native of the state of Pennsylvania, and a daughter of Peter Vanclief, a Revolutionary soldier and a Pennsylvanian of Holland descent, whose arrival in Washington county, Ohio, was four years previous to that of the Cheadle family. Cyrus Cheadle and wife became the parents of a large family of children, namely: Louisa, Mary Ann, Cutler, Peter, Alfred Vincent, Asa and Chrisotpher C., only thwo of whom, Peter and Asa, are residents of Minnesota. Peter had two sons, M. S. and S. K., who were Union soldiers during the late war. The parents of our subject spent their lives and died at their home in Washington county, Ohio, the father apssing away at the age of sixty-six and the mother at eighty-five. He was a farmer all his life, was a man of broad and liberal views, and in politics held himself independent of party lines. The mother was a Methodist, a devoted Christian woman, and was loved by all who knew her. Asa Cheadle, the immediate subject of this review, was reared to farm life in his native county, receiving a common-school education and early being taught that honesty and industry are at the bottom of all true success. In his early manhood he worked at the carpenter's trade for a time. He was married in Washington county, Ohio, February 4, 1846, to Miss Jemima Witham, a woman of unusually bright intellect and a member of a good family, and one in whom he has found all the best qualities belonging to an ideal wife and helpmate. Mrs. Jemima Cheadle was born in Washington county, Ohio, October 5, 1820, the daughter of early pioneers of that state. Elisha Witham, her father, was a native of Maine and was eight years of age when he accompanied his mother to Ohio, his father, a sea captain, having previous to that time been lost in the deep. Later the widowed mother became the wife of a Mr. Wright, a pioneer of Ohio. In Ohio Elisha Witham grew up and was married to Miss Zilpha Rice, a native of Vermont and a daughter of Nathan Rice, also a native of that state, and who, when a youth of eighteen years, rendered valiant service as a Revolutionary soldier. His wife was near Bunker Hill at the time of the memorable battle there and was an eye witness to it. Elisha and Zilpha Witham were the parents of seven children, viz.: Luceba, Henry, Jemima, Nathan, Amos, Lucy Aromantha and Joshua M. Their father died in Allen county, Indianda, near Fort Wayne, at the age of forty-five years, being taken away in the prime of life. He was by occupation a coooper, in politics a Jackson Democrat, and was Methodistic in his religious faith. His wife died in Washington county, Ohio, in 1875. Returning to the subject of our sketch, we record that after his marriage he continued work at the carpenter's trade in Ohio until 1855, when he came west and took up his abode in Minnesota, making the journey by rail to Galena, Illinois, and by boat the rest of the way to his destination in this state. His first settlement here was on one hundred and fifty acres of land near Cleveland, where he built a log house sixteen by twenty feet in dimensions, the floor being made of boards which he sawed by hand. This rude cabin served him for a home for eight years. Then he sold out and moved to a place two miles above Kasota. In 1888 he again sold out, this time in order to go back to Ohio, where he had in charge the settlement of some business, and where he sojourned for about six years, at the end of that time returning to Minnesota and purchasing his present property, eighty acres of land in section 34 of Kasota township, Kasota his post-office address, and here he has lived and prospered the past two years. This place was formerly known as the James Randolph farm. It is one of the most desirable farms in its locality, well improved and highly cultivated, its large frame house and attractive surroundings, good barn and other farm buildings, wind pump, etc., all giving evidence of thrift and prosperity and at once stamping the owner as a man of intelligence and good judgment as well as industry. Mr. and Mrs. Cheadle are the parents of six children, whose names in order of birth are as follows: Mrs. Sarah Peel, of St. Paul, Minnesota; Charles, a resident near Windom, Minnesota, is married and has one daughter; Mrs. Angeline Reed, who became a resident of Blue Earth county, Minnesota, the mother of thirteen children, and died November 13, 1896; Adalaide, wife of William Moses, of this township, has seven children; Abigail, wife of a Mr. Skmpton, has five children; and Lucy, wife of W. H. Ennis, is a resident of Toledo, Ohio. Three of the daughters, Adalaide, Abigail and Lucy, were before their marriage engaged in teaching and were popular and successful in that profession. Mr. Cheadle has long been an enthusiastic Republican, and has at different times filled varous official positions. He served in a number of township offices, was county commissioner, and in 1860 represented his district in the state legislature of Minnesota, performing his duty in this last named honorable position in such a manner as to reflect credit both upon himself and his constituents. Time has dealt gently with him, and although he has passsed his seventy-second milepost he is still strong and erect and presents a fine physique, being six feet high and weighing two hundred and twenty pounds. Plain in speech, unassuming in manner, strictly honest in all his dealings, frank and jovial in his intercourse with his fellow man, - these qualities combined in his make-up render him one of the most desirable of neighbors and friends and entitled to the high esteem in which he is held by the entire community. (pages 406-408) JOSHUA STRONG HIGGINS Joshua Strong Higgins, a retired lumber manufacturer of Waterville, is numbered among the native sons of Connecticut, his birth having occurred in Chatham, Middlesex county, that state, September 23, 1819. His parents, Ornan and Eleanor P. (Borce) Higgins, were also natives of Connecticut. The father was a farmer by occupation. The paternal grandfather, Moses Higgins, was a native of England, and his wife was born in the same country. The maternal grandfather, James Borce, was born in Connecticut, but was of English lineage. In 1786 he married Keziah Wood, a native of Middlesex county. Joshua Higgins was one of a family of seven children, and was six years of age when his parents removed to New York, locating on a farm near Exeter. Two years later they settled in Smyrna township, Chenango county. New York, and in the midst of the forest the father developed a farm upon which he and his wife spent their remaining days. Joshua attended the district schools near his parents' home and afterward learned the trades of carpenter, joiner and millwright, following those lines of business for a number of years. When a young man of twenty-four he was married, on the 17th of September, 1843, the lady of his choice being Miss Margaret T. Woodman, who was born in Madison county, New York, September 28, 1826, a daughter of Isaac and Roxanna Woodman. Mr. and Mrs. Higgins began their domestic life in Plymouth, New York, where our subject followed the trade of carpentering. He did a good business in that line and erected a number of houses, stores and churches, also built several bridges. Two years later he removed to the town of Granby, Fulton county, New York, near Lake Ontario, where he remained for eighteen months. In 1847 he went with his family to Bureau county, Illinois, and for eight years was identified with the building interests of that locality. The year 1855 witnessed his arrival in Minnesota, at which time he located in Faribault, and secured a claim of one hundred and sixty acres of prairie land. As a contractor and builder he was soon in the enjoyment of an extensive business here and erected a number of mills, also spent nearly two years in the construction of the beautiful Episcopal cathedral in Faribault. Subsequently he removed to Medford, Steele county, where he purchased a sawmill and engaged in the manufacture of lumber for eight years. In 1875 he came to Waterville, erected a sawmill and continued lumber manufacturing until 1894, when he closed out his business. He has sold lumber through all parts of Minnesota, and is one of the most prominent representatives of the industrial interests of the state. Mr. and Mrs. Higgins have one daughter, Calphurnia A., who was married in Medford, June 29, 1870, to George W. Fowler, who is now deceased. Mrs. Fowler has two sons, Byron J. and Leslie M. Fowler. In politics Mr. Higgins was an old-line Whig and voted for General Harrison in 1840, and for Benjamin Harrison in 1892. He served as a member of the board of town supervisors for many years, also of the city council and the school board, and is the present city treasurer. He and his wife have been consistent and faithful members of the Baptist church for a long period. Mrs. Higgins was baptized by Rev. Corey in Chenango county, New York, February 4, 1838; Mr. Higgins was baptized in Faribault, Minnesota, by Rev. H. C. Hazen, February 2, 1858, and their daughter was taken into the church by baptism by the same minister on the 6th of June, 1858. Mr. Higgins has served as deacon of the church for twenty-eight years and as Sunday-school superintendent for sixteen years. He has ever been a strong advocate of temperance principles, using neither intoxicants nor tobacco, and to this is undoubtedly attributable the excellent health which he is now enjoying at the age of seventy-seven years. (pages 408-409) HON. REDDEN H. EVERETT (photo included) On the list of those who have been prominent in the affairs of Lesueur county the name of this gentleman deserves a conspicuous place. He was a leading representative of the agricultural interests of the state and occupied a position of no little prominence in connection with the political interests of this locality. His strict adherence to principle and to his firm convictions has won him the confidence and esteem of all, and in his death the community lost one of its most valued citizens. Mr. Everett was born in Champaign county, Ohio, February 17, 1853, and was a son of Epenetus and Ann (Rittenhouse) Everett. His education was acquired in the state of his nativity, and at the age of twenty-two years he cast his lot with the pioneer settlers of Lesueur county, securing a claim of one hundred and sixty acres in Cleveland township. With characteristic energy he began the development of his land and soon transformed it into a rich and productive farm. On the 8th of January, 1857, he chose as a companion life's journey Miss Mary the youngest daughter of Charles M. and Margaret H. (Rhodes) Flowers. She was a native of Ohio, and at her parents' home grew to womanhood, coming to Minnesota in 1856, where her marriage occurred. Mr. and Mrs. Everett began their domestic life on a farm which he had entered, and here he gave his attention to the cultivation of grain and the raising of livestock. He was very industrious and energetic, possessed keen sagacity in business transactions, and his sound judgment and earnest labor brought to him a handsome competence. As his financial resources were augmented, he added to his landed estate until he owned twelve hundred acres in Lesueur county, and here he extensively carried on farming and also did a large business in buying, selling and shipping stock. He did much for the improvement the grade of live stock in the county, being one of the most successful breeders of shorthorn cattle in this section of Minnesota. Mr. and Mrs. Everett were the parents of ten children,-three sons and seven daughters, namely: Martha E., wife of Jabez Couch, a farmer of Lesueur county; Anna, deceased; Malita, who became the wife of John H. Hartew, a farmer of the same county; Charles F., an agriculturist of Cleveland, Minnesota; Rosa B., wife of W. C. Davis, a Lesueur county farmer; Edward, a farmer the old homestead; Blanche, wife of H. R. Lampman, a ranchman in Dakota; William R., a banker of Waterville; and Emma and Jessie, at home. In August, 1864, Mr. Everett left his family and home to go out in defense of his country, enlisting in Company E, Eleventh Minnesota Volunteer Infantry, and serving in the Army of the Tennessee until the close of the war, honorably discharged in 1865. Several times was he called from private life to public office, and faithfully did he perform all the obligations thus devolved upon him. He elected treasurer of Lesueur county, filling the place for four years. In 1868 he was elected to represent his district in the state legislature, wherein he served on several important committees. For a number of years he also filled the office of county commissioner. In 1872 he was elected treasurer of the State Agricultural Society of Minnesota. Through his influence and energy the county seat of Lesueur county was removed to Cleveland in 1873, where it remained for more than a year. In his views of the great national questions he was primarily a Republican, but in 1872 he cast his vote for Horace Greeley for president of the United States, and after that he acted with the Democratic party. As to religion he was a devoted member of the Methodist Episcopal church, to which denomination Mrs. Everett also belongs. In 1891 she removed to St. Peter, where she still resides, renting her farm. The income from her property supplies her with all the comforts of life, and she lives in a comfortable home in St. Peter, surrounded by many friends. (pages 409-411) ISAAC DAVIS Isaac Davis, one of the highly respected pioneer citizens of Lesueur County, Minnesota, is a Canadian by birth and comes of ancestry which is traced back to the Welsh and french. He was ushered into life near Montreal, Canada March 20, 1835. Orange Davis, his father, was born in Canada, the son of a Welsh father and American mother, and passed his youth and early manhood on a farm in that dominion. He was united in marriage there to Miss Adalaide Barlow, who like himself was a native of Canada, her parents being William Barlow and wife, the latter a French woman. In 1838 Orange Davis and family left their home in the British province of Canada and sought a new location in the United States, making the journey by the lake, canal and river to Pike county, Illinois, that being before there was a railroad within th eborders of that great state which has now a perfect network of railway lines. He settled near Pittsfield, where he improved a farm and where he resided until 1853, at that time coming up into Minnesota and locating on one hundred and fifty- seven acres of land near Lake Emily, where he developed a fine farm. The last two years of his life were spent in St. Peter, where he died at the age of seventy-five years. His good wife lived to be eighty. They were members of the United Brethren Church, stood high in the several communities in which they lived and enjoyed the confidence and esteem of all who knew them. His whole life was devoted to agricultural pursuits, and in politics he harmonized with the Republican party. They were the parents of eleven children, namely: Thomas, deceased; S. W., of St. Peter, Minnesota; Orange R., deceased; Isaac, deceased; Ebenezer, of Kasota, Minnesota; Louisa, wife of Alexander Pettis, of Kasota township, Lesueur county, Minnesota; Isaac, the second in the family to be given this name and the subject of this review; Sarah, wife of S. H. Pettis; Carline Hartew, of North Dakota; Harriet, deceased; and H. C., of this township. Having thus briefly referred to his ancestry, we turn now for an outline of the life of Isaac Davis. He was reared on his father's farm in Pike county, Illinois, and received his education by attending the public schools, by home study and by actual business experience. He was nineteen at the time they moved to Minnesota, and he remained a member of the home circle until his marriage, which important event in his life was consummated in December, 1855, the lady of his choice and whom he wedded being Miss Catharine Pettis. She was born near Warren, Trumbull county, Ohio, a daughter of New England parents and a representative of a family long resident in this county and prominent and influential. Her father Charles Pettis, was a son of Col. Stephen Pettis, of the war of 1812; was born in Vermont, became a pioneer of eastern Ohio, and from there moved to Pike county, Illinois. Her mother, whose maiden name was Sarah Horsford, was a native of Connecticut, and a member of a prominent early family of that state. Charles and Sarah Pettis were parents of nine children, viz.: Stephen, Catharine, John, Eliza, Olive, Malissa, Emily, Charles and Henry. The father of this family was by occupation a farmer and carpenter and in his political views was a Republican. He died at the age of forty-eight years. The mother lived to be seventy-four, a member fo the Advent Church, and a deeply religous woman. After his marriage young Davis and his bride began housekeeping in a little log cabin on a forty-acre tract of land, were industrious and frugal, and as a result of their early years of toil are now in possession of a competency and are surrounded with all the comforts and many of the luxuries of life. Today he is the owner of three hundred acres of land, one of the finest farms in the community; has a commodious and attractive residence, beautiful for situation and surroundings; large barn, sixty-five by fifty-four feet in dimensions, built on rock foundation; modern windmill for pumping water for house and stock,-in short, a model farm. Mr. and Mrs. Davis had twelve children, of whom nine are living, namely: William, Winslow, Charles, Clarence, Edith Glover, George, Cordelia, John and Harry. Edith Glover and Cordelia are engaged in teaching. The three deceased were Orville, who died at the age of twenty-eight; Earnest, at six months; and Stephen at four months. Mr. Davis is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and affiliates with the lodge at St. Peter. Mrs. Davis, like her mother, is a devoted Christian woman and holds to the creed of the Advent Church. (pages 414-415) J. H. DOTY Nature formed with a kindly band the state of Minnesota and adorned the landscape with beauties that no artist can fully portray though his skill be that of a Corot. Some of its scenes are famed in story and in song; others are still awaiting the eloquent words of a pen- picture, or the marvelous power of an artist's hand to call them into notice. In one of the most beautiful valleys that ever came forth from the hand of nature in all perfection stands the little village of Courtland. Not yet has its loveliness been desecrated by the ruthless hand of the man who would transform it into a place of money-making. It remains almost as it came from the hand of the Creator. A brook, fed by innumerable springs, ripples along over its pebbly bed, touched caressingly here and there by the overhanging ferns and grasses which border its banks, dancing in the sunlight and reflecting the glories of the sky on its surface. On either side the grand old oaks of the forest stand guard, and through the vista of the trees may be seen the tasseled corn, the, varying green of the grain fields in the morning sun sparkling with myriads of diamond dewdrops. The Rockies display more grandeur, the canyons and gorges stand forth in all sublimity, but nature has furnished no more peaceful, restful or beautiful spot than this little valley wherein stands the home of J. H. Doty. He comes of a family that has resided in this section of the state since the days when all the land was wild and uncultivated, before forests had been cut or the prairies disturbed by the plowman. His father, William R. Doty, was born in Massachusetts, and reared and educated in New York. He was a representative of an old New England family that for generations was valiant and patriotic in times of war, and prominent and progressive in days of peace. He married Miss Sally Roundsville, also a native of Massachusetts and a member of an influential and well-to-do family. For fifty-five years they traveled life's journey together, when the happy union was then severed by the death of the wife. In 1857 they left their New York home and, came to the territory of Minnesota. On reaching Nicollet county Mr. Doty made a claim on section 4, township 109, range 29, and there he developed a farm, reared his family and made his home for forty years. A little log cabin at first furnished shelter to the family; its furnishings were primitive, its comforts few, but the beautiful panorama of nature was all around them and the fertile lands responded to their labors with abundant harvests. The family courageously bore all the hardships of pioneer life, and as the years passed secured the comforts of the east. Through his earnest labors the father gained prosperity and is now the possessor of an excellent farm, improved with a commodious and tasteful residence, substantial outbuildings and all modern accessories. In the family were four children: Cynthia, wife of Stephen Briggs, of Traverse, Minnesota; J. H., of this review; Delphine, who died at the age of sixteen years; and Elva E., who resides at the old homestead with her father. J. H. Doty assisted in the development of the frontier farm and early learned habits of industry, economy and integrity which have been predominant traits in his character. He was only eleven years of age when he arrived in Nicollet county, his birth having occurred in Dryden, Tompkins county, New York, December 18, 1846. His district-school education was supplemented by a course in the St. Peter high school, and study in the Mankato Normal School. For five terms he was engaged in teaching in Nicollet county, where his ability ranked him with the ablest educators in that locality. In 1876 he came to Courtland, although the village was not then organized. The same year he shipped the first car-load of grain from this place, and has since engaged in dealing in grain and lumber, shipping large quantities of both and doing an extensive business. He owns six hundred and fifty acres of valuable land here, divided into richly cultivated fields and meadows. In connection with his other business interests Mr. Doty has for some years been dealing in stock and now has a dairy in conjunction with which he keeps thirty cows of the Holstein and Jersey bloods. He has a large barn, twenty-six by one hundred and seventy feet, two others, each twenty-six by fifty feet, and a fourth forty-four by fifty feet, thus affording ample room for the shelter of his stock. In 1893 Mr. Doty was instrumental in organizing the Courtland Creamery Company, which that year erected a plant at a cost of five thousand dollars. It was at once put in operation and a successful business has since been conducted, for the product of the creamer compares favorably with that of any similar establishment in the state and commands the highest market prices. The success of this enterprise is largely due to the enterprise and untiring energy of the gentleman whose name introduces this article. In the midst of his fine farm Mr. Doty laid out the village of Courtland and erected there a handsome residence which has since been the home of his family. It stands in the center of the town, is built in a modern and tasteful style of architecture and is supplied with all the latest conveniences, including a water supply. This home is elegantly furnished and surrounded with a beautiful lawn. Its hospitality rivals that of the Kentucky mansions and its doors are ever open for the reception of their many friends. Mr. Doty was married at the age of twenty-five years to Miss Sarah J. Piper, an amiable and accomplished lady who before her marriage engaged in teaching school in St. Peter, They have three children: Mabel, now a student in the State University of Minnesota, Wilber E. and Grace L., at home. Mr. Doty is one of the leading supporters of the Republican party in this section of the state and does all in his power to promote the growth and insure the success of Republicanism. He has served as president of the village and filled other local offices, performing his duties with a promptness and fidelity which has won the commendation of all concerned. He is a public-spirited and progressive citizen whose deep interest in the welfare of the community and its advancement is manifest by the liberal support which he gives all measures calculated to prove of public benefit. (pages 431-433) ALEXANDER PETTIS Alexander Pettis bears a name that belongs in the list of prominent early settlers of Lesueur county, the date of his arrival here being May, 1855. His present home is on a fine farm on section 24, Kasota township, and St. Peter is his post-office address. Thus as a pioneer and leading citizen of his locality his history is of interest in this work, and briefly is as follows: Alexander Pettis was born in Albany, Vermont, March 21, 1823, and comes of a family of Scotch descent, long resident in this country, prominent in peace and valiant in war. His father, Stephen Pettis, a colonel in the war of 1812, was a native of Connecticut and a son of Scotch parents who had settled in New England previous to the Revolutionary war. Their household of faith was Presbyterian. Colonel Pettis married a Miss Olive Hutchins, a native of Vermont and a member of a family long settled in New England. She was a most excellent woman, bright in intellect, amiable in disposition, and loved by all who knew her, and her untimely death in 1830, in the prime of life, was a sad blow to her family and many friends. She died at Mecca, near Warren, in Trumbull county, Ohio, and left a family of four little children, namely: Alexander; Almira, now Mrs. Judds, of Iowa; Matilda, now Mrs. Wing, of Pike county, Illinois; and Mary, who married Mr. Davis, and died in Pike county, Illinois. Previous to his removal to Ohio Colonel Pettis lived for some time at French Mills, Canada, where he built a mill. He left Ohio in 1835 and moved to Pike county, Illinois, settling upon a large tract of land he had purchased, becoming one of the pioneers of that county and developing there a fine farm. He died in Illinois, settling upon a large tract of land he had purchased, becoming one of the pioneers of that county and developing there a fine farm. He died in Illinois, aged seventy-six years, having lived out more than the average life of man. For many years he was identified with the Masonic fraternity and was prominent in the circles of that high order. Of high intellectual powers, wide business experience, broad and generous nature, he was an important factor in his locality and was as highly esteemed as he was well known. Alexander Pettis was a boy of twelve when he accompanied his father and other members of the family to their new home in Pike county, Illinois, and there he was reared and educated, and was for a time engaged in teaching. He was married in Pike county, in 1850, to Miss Louisa Davis, whose life has been blended with his for a period of forty-six years and who still presides over his home, her presence and cheerful companionship having made bright many of the dark places along their pathway in life. She was born in Canada and reared and educated in Pike county, Illinois, her parents being Orange and Adalaide (Barlow) Davis, natives of Canada and pioneers of Illinois. Both her father and mother lived to a ripe old age, the former being eighty and the latter eighty-five at the time of death. In 1855 the spirit of emigration led the subject of our sketch to seek a home in Minnesota, and in the spring of that year he came up the river by boat to Lesueur county, selecting a location on section fifteen, Kasota Township, and there building a cabin and establishing himself and family in pioneer style. Subsequently he sold this place and purchased his present farm, one hundred and twenty acres of valuable land on section 24 of the same township, and with the exception of ten years, when he resided in St. Peter in order to give his children the benefit of good educational advantages, he has maintained his home on this farm. Here he has a beautiful rural home, carries on general farming and stock-raising, and is c omfortabley situtated to enjoy life. Mr. and Mrs. Pettis have three children: Orange Stephen, of Chicago, Illinois; Mary, wife of R. Volk, of St. Peter, Minnesota; and Cornelia May. Both of the daughters were formerly engaged in teaching and Miss Pettis is now at her parental home. In his political views and affiliations Mr. Pettis is strongly Republican and in favor of the "gold standard." For years he served as justice of the peace and as such rendered general satisfaction. He is a man of broad views, firm convictions, progressive spirit, and has a character that is above reproach, his word ever as good as his bond. His genial manner and his fine conversational powers make him companionable and welcome wherever he goes. (pages 434-435) JOSEPH C. EVERETTE The name of this gentleman belongs on the list of pioneer citizens of Lesueur county, Minnesota, he having maintained his home within its borders since the year following the admission of Minnesota into the sisterhood of states. During the civil-war period he showed his patriotism and bravery by "donning the blue," marching forth under the stars and stripes, and fighting valiantly for his country; and both as an early settler and war veteran is his life history of interest in this connection. Joseph C. Everette was born not far from the town of Paris, Champaign county, Ohio, October 2, 1840, a son of prominent early settlers of the Buckeye state. Zenus Everette, his father, was a native of New Jersey, and a son of Zenus Everette, a shoemaker, probably from England. Zenus Everette, Jr., was married in his native state to Miss Elizabeth Young, a native of New Jersey and a representative of a Pennsylvania family of Holland descent, which figured prominently in the early history of this country. This worthy couple became the parents of ten children, namely: George, William, Abbie, Ruhaime, Rebecca, Catharine, Joseph C., Samuel, Asa, and Henry, and all are still living except Asa, who was acidentally killed. The father died in 1845. He was a natural mechanic, handy with any kind of tools and could do the work of either a shoemaker or carpenter. Farming, however, was his life occupation. Politically, he was a Jackson Democrat and religiously he held to the faith of the Methodists. His wife survived him seven years. She was a devoted Christian woman, a beautiful character in every respect, and reared her children so that they were fitted to occupy, as they do, honored and useful positions in life. Joseph C., the subject of our sketch, was only five years old at the time of his father's death and was just entering his 'teens' when he was bereft of his mother's loving care. He was reared in his native county, having but few educational advantages, and at nineteen started west to make his fortune, Lesueur county, Minnesota, being his objective point. Arrived here, he stopped first at the home of Mr. George Smith, an early settler, who lived near Cleveland, and for whom he worked for some time. Later he was in the employ of other farmers of this vicinity, working by the day or month, and thus passed the time until the war came on. He enlisted October 1, 1861, in the Fourth Minnesota Volunteer Infantry, the fortune of which he shared throughout, the rest of the war, and prominent among the engagements in which he participated were those of Corinth, first and second, Iuka, Jackson, Champion Hills, Black River Bridge, siege of Vicksburg, Altona Pass, Savannah and others, and his whole army career from beginning to end was characterized by gallant service. Returning to Lesueur county at the close of the war, he settled on a forty-acre tract of land, six acres of which had been plowed, and in a log cabin on this place he and his wife began housekeeping. Then followed years of toil and privation, crowned finally with a fair degree of success, and today we find him the owner of eighty acres of well improved land, with good buildings thereon, and himself and family comfortably situated to enjoy life. Mr. Everette was married in January, 1865, to Miss Elizabeth Flowers, one of the early teachers of Cleveland township, Lesueur county. She was born near Paris, Champaign county, Ohio, of Holland descent but of ancestry long resident in this country. Her father, Charles Flowers, was of Pennsylvania birth, and her mother, nee Margaret Hooper Roads, was a native of New Jersey, the latter's mother before marriage having been a Miss Elizabeth Tice. The Tices were among the primitive settlers of New Jersey, John and Elizabeth Tice having located there about 1756. They had a numerous progeny, now scattered over various parts of the United States, all respected and many of them prominent and influential people. They were of English origin. Charles Flowers and wife had seven children, viz.: George, William, Isaac, Zephriah, Elizabeth, Mary Ann and Martha. In 1856 the Flowers family came out to Minnesota, and here the father settled on a tract of land in Lesueur county and improved a farm, and here he spent the rest of his life. His death, however, occurred in Winneshiek county, Iowa, he being sixty- -seven years of age when he passed away. By trade he was a stone-cutter, but he was engaged in farming throughout the greater part of his life. His good wife survived him a number of years, living to the advanced age of eighty-three. Both were members of the Methodist Episcopal church. Of Mr. and Mrs. Everette's children, we record that their names in order of birth are as follows: Mary Louisa, a resident of South Dakota; Abbie Smith, Margaret Elizabeth, Martha Alice, wife of Josaiah Pengree, of Otter Tail county, Minnesota; George Henry, at home; John Clark, and Cornelia May, a music teacher. Mr. Everette is a Republican in his political predilections. Fraternally he maintains a membership in the G. A. R., A. K. Skaro Post, No. 37, of St. Peter; and, personally, is a man of frank and genial manner and fine physique, weighing two hundred and thirty pounds. Mrs. Everette is a member of the Methodist Episcopal churh, of which the family are attendants with her. (pages 435-437) JACOB W. GISH Jacob W. Gish, clerk of the district court of Lesueur county, and a resident of Lesueur Center, is one of Minnesota's native sons. He was born on a farm in Waterville township, this county, February 10, 1865, a son of Henry L. and Bridget (Hoban) Gish. His father was born near Dayton, Ohio, February 16, 1838, and was a son of Jacob Gish, a native of Virginia. The grandfather was a native of Baltimore, Maryland, and the great-grandfather, John Gish, was born in Virginia. The maternal grandfather of our subject, John Bonger, was born in France, of German parentage. In the Buckeye state Henry L. Gish spent the days of his boyhood and youth, and from there moved to Indiana, where he obtained a good common-school education. In 1857 he came with his parents to Minnesota, the grandfather securing a claim in Lesueur county, whereon, on he made his home until his death, which occurred November 6, 1892. After his removal to Minnesota, Henry L. Gish engaged in teaching school for two years. In 1862 he responded to the call of his country and enlisted in the Union army as a member of Company I, Fourth Minnesota Infantry, with which he participated in a number of important engagements. In October, 1864, he was honorably discharged and returned home, since which time he has been identified with the agricultural interests of Lesueur county. He is also one of its leading citizens and has taken a prominent part in public affairs. In 1876, on the Democratic ticket, he was elected to represent his district in the legislature, and in 1881 was elected sheriff of the county, serving in that capacity for five years. Fraternally he is a Mason, and is also a member of Maynard Post, No. 29, G. A. R., the first post organized in Lesueur county. Jacob W. Gish is the second in a family of nine children,-five sons and four daughters,-namely: Henry F.; Mary Jane, wife of George J. Dressel; John W.; William G.; Dora L., wife of C. Coon; Lewis, Bertha, Thomas H. and Agnes. Jacob W. Gish spent the greater part of his youth on the home farm in Waterville township, where he assisted in the labor of the fields and attended the district schools of the neighborhood. He afterward entered the high school of Waterville, and on completing his education received the, appointment of deputy register of deeds, serving in that capacity under Patrick Hamell and afterward under Joseph Rachac. In the spring 1887 he was appointed clerk of the district clerk to fill a vacancy caused by the resignation of R. C. Thompson, and in the fall of 1888 was elected to the same office, in which he has since continued. No higher testimonial of his faithfulness and capability than in his continued re-election, and this still further emphasized by the fact that he is a stanch Republican, while Lesueur county is strongly Democratic. In 1889 Mr. Gish was united in marriage Miss Alice Ryan, a daughter of Michael Ryan, both of Lesueur county. The have one son, Edson J. Mr. Gish is a member of Volney Lodge, No. 165, I. O. O. F. In politics he takes a very active and influential part, is recognized as one of the leading Republicans of the state and is as a member of the Republican state central committee, also of the executive committee. (pages 445-446) GUSTAV C. WENDELSCHAFER It has been said that biography yields to no other subject in point of interest and profit; and it is especially interesting to note the progress that has been made along various lines of business by those of foreign birth who have sought homes in America, the readiness with which they adapt themselves to the different modes and customs of this country, recognize the advantages offered and utilize the opportunities which the new world affords. To this class belongs Mr. Wendelschafer, the present efficient county treasurer of Lesueur county. He was born in Mecklenburg, Germany, August 10, 1833, a son of Frederick and Catherine (Trost) Wendelschafer, who were natives of the same country, where they remained until 1853, when they crossed the Atlantic to America. The voyage, covering six weeks, was made in a sailing vessel, which dropped anchor in the harbor of New York. They went to Buffalo, where they spent nearly two months, thence to Chicago, and on a farm near Joliet, Illinois, made their first home in America. In 1856 they came to Lesueur county, Minnesota, and the father secured a patent from the government for one hundred and sixty acres of land, which he cleared and improved, making it a good farm. There he resided until his death in 1870, aged sixty-six years. His wife passed away in 1867. They had four children, Charles, Fred, Gustav and Betty, wife of Gunter Geyer. Mr. Wendelschafer, of this sketch, attended the schools of his native land between the ages of six and fifteen years, and then learned the cabinet-maker's trade, after which he worked as a journeyman in various towns and cities of the fatherland. When a young man of twenty years he came with his parents to America and assisted in the development of farms in Illinois and Minnesota. The claim in this state was heavily timbered and it required much arduous labor to prepare it for the plow. At length he started out in life for himself, and after accumulating some capital he purchased land, to which he has added until he is now the owner of a valuable tract of four hundred and seventy-five acres. Its deep rich soil is admirably adapted to the raising of all kinds of small grain as well as corn, the barns and pastures contain excellent grades of horses, cattle and hogs, and a good set of buildings add to the value and attractive appearance of the place. The farm is now run by his three sons, while Mr. Wendelschafer gives his attention to his duties as county treasurer. In 1857 he married Miss Dora Wilkins, of Will county, Illinois. She was born in Germany, and during her girlhood came to America with her father, Peter Wilkins. Seven children were born to this union, five sons, - Gustave C. H., Fred W., Theodore G., Archibald and Emil, - and two daughters, - Bertha and Alvina. His wife died in 1867. Then he was married again in 1868 to Mary Vonhoff, a native of Germany, and by this marriage have been born three daughters, - Louisa, Emma and Lena, - and one son, - Charles. Mr. Wendelschafer is a member of Cleveland Lodge, No. 47, F. & A. M.; Lesueur Chapter, R. A. M.; and Volney Lodge, No. 165, I. O. O. F. He and his wife are members of the Cleveland Lutheran church. In 1882 he was elected county commissioner and served three years. In 1884 he was elected on the Republican ticket to represent Lesueur county in the state legislature, where he served acceptably for one term. In 1886 he was elected county treasurer for a term of two years, assuming the duties of the office January 1, 1887, since which time he has continuously filled that position, being re-elected in 1896. This fact not only indicates his efficiency and fidelity to duty, but also attests his personal popularity, for the county usually has a Democratic majority of four hundred. In all business relations he is straightforward and honorable and his well-directed efforts have brought to him success. He owns besides his home farm five hundred acres of land in Ottawa and Washington townships, and has all been acquired through his own industry. (pages 456-457) NELSON GOLDSMITH, JR. For a period of 32 years the subject of this sketch has made his home at his present location in Cleveland township, Le Sueur Co., Minn., he having come here at the close of his army service in 1864. Mr. Goldsmith is a Kentuckian by birth, ushered into life in Bullitt Co., Ky. April 11, 1844 and is descended from an old Virginia family. His father, Nelson Goldsmith, Sr., was born in Virginia, and when a young man came west to Indiana, where he was subsequently united in marriage to Miss Nancy Davis a member of one of the pioneer families of Kentucky that had moved up into Indiana. After their marriage they located in Bullitt county, Kentucky, where they made their home until 1864, most of their numerous progeny being born and reared there, and that year they came to Minnesota settling in Le Sueur county, where the closing years of their life were spent and where they died, each having attained a ripe old age, she being seventy-nine and he ninety at death. By trade he was a bricklayer and plaster, which he followed during the early part of his life, but later gave his attention to the quiet pursuits of the farm. He was identified with the Masonic order and both he and his good wife were consistent members of the Christian church, in which for years he was a deacon. In their family were fifteen children, twelve of whom grew to maturity, viz.: Anna, Matilda, Mary A., James D., David, Abigail, Millie, Lucinda, John Thomas, Nelson, Owen, and Nancy. One of their children died in infancy and two in childhood. Nelson, whose name adorns the pages of this work, was reared on his father's farm in Kentucky, brought up to the habits of honesty, industry, and piety, and with no other educational advantages than those of the common schools. In July, 1862, in response to the call made by the nation's executive for more troops to swell the Union army, he enlisted as a member of the Fourth Kentucky Cavalry, under Colonel Bales and Captain Barnett, and was in the service until the following year, when he was honorably discharged on account of disability. During several months of his army life he was sick and in hospital in Louisville. He was at the battle of Chickamauga, but was sick and unable to take part in it, being then in a horizontal position and able to only witness the great battle. Mr. Goldsmith was in the battle of Murfreesboro and all the following battles to that of Chickmauga. In 1864, the year following his honorable discharge, he came to Minnesota, settled in Le Sueur county, and here he has ever maintained his home. Here he owns eighty-three acres of good land, well improved; has a cozy and attractive residence, built at a cost of twelve hundred dollars, surrounded with forest trees and pretty lawn; and is successfully engaged in farming and stockraising. A tubular well run by a windmill furnishes water for stock In short, his is a delightful rural home. Mr. Goldsmith was married in January, 1873, at Kasota, to Miss Mary Helen Miller, a lady of education and culture and previous to her marriage a teacher. Mr and Mrs. Goldsmith have five children, viz.: Huldah Maud, Ralph M., Elmer L., Melville S., and Henry E.; and they have one deceased, -- Winfred, who died at the age of eighteen months. Like most of the survivors of the Union army, Mr. Goldsmith is identified with the Republican party and the G. A. R., his membership in the latter being the A. K. Skaro Post, No. 37, of St. Peter. He is a man of broad views well posted on the topics of the day, and interested in all that pertains to the good of the country. For some years he has been a member of the school board. (pages 468-470) GEORGE R. MOLER George R. Moler figures as one of the respected citizens of Clevelan, Lesueur county, Minnesota, and is veteran of the late war. Following are some of the salient points in his life history, briefly touched upon. George R. Moler claims Ohio as the state of his nativity, his birth having occurred in Gallia county, October 18, 1839, and is of German and English extraction. His father, Alfred Moler, was a Virginian by birth and a son of John Moler, who was born of German parents. In Gallia county, Ohio, to which place Alfred Moler went in early life, he was married to Miss Nancy Watkins, a native of that state and a daughter of James Watkins, who was of English descent. After their marriage they moved to Gallipolis, Ohio, later to Cass county, Indiana, still later to Jackson county, Iowa, and finally to Minnesota, making these various moves with an ox team and wagon. Their first location in Minnesota was in Olmsted county, near Rochester; later they spent two years in Ellysian, Lesueur county, and at this writing we find the venerable Mr. Alfred Moler, now eighty years of age, a resident of Cordova, Lesueur county. He is a cabinetmaker by trade, at which he worked for may years. To him and his wife twelve children were given, viz.: George R., Alfred J., Malissa, Rebecca, Ozias, William, Anna, Alice, Sarah, Louisa, Mary Jane and Ruth,--all still living except Ruth and Ozias. The family was well represented in the Union army, three of the sons marching forth in defense of their county and rendering valiant service as gallant soldiers. Alfred J. was in the Fourth Minnesota Infantry and Ozias in the Second Minnesota Cavalry. The latter died in July, 1894, in Waterville, Minnesota. George R., the direct subject of this review, was a boy of thirteen years of age when he accompanied his parents on their emigration to Iowa, and at the time they came up into Minnesota he was fifteen. Here he passed from youth to manhood. Reared to farm life on the frontier, he of a necessity had limited educational advantages, but he improved his opportunities, attended the public schools and studied at home, and by the time he was grown acquired a fair range of useful information. Early in life he turned his attention to the carpenter's trade, became a first-class mechanic, and has worked at this trade most of the time since reaching adult age. During the war he was in the same company and regiment with his brother, Alfred J.,--Company I, Foruth Minnesota Volunteer Infrantry, under Captain J. H. Parker and Colonel John Sanborn, and was a participant in many of the prominent engagements of the south, a detailed account of which would cover much of the history of the war. Suffice it to say in this connection that his whole service was characterized by true bravery and soldierly conduct, and that, having accompanied General Sherman across the country to Savannah and to the sea and thence north to Richmond and Washington, and having participated in the grand review at the capital city, he returned to Minnestoa, via Louisville, Kentucky, and at Fort Snelling was honorably discharged. With the exception of about eighteen months he spent in Chillicothe, Missouri, he has been a resident of Minnesota ever since the war, and now has a pleasant home in the suburbs of Cleveland. Mr. Moler is a man of family. His first marriage was to Miss Cordelia Heath, daughter of J. M. Heath, and their unio was blessed in the birth of two children, --Ed Riley and Edson A. She died in 1866 and in 1868 he wedded Miss Philena Baker, a native of Michigan and a daughter of James and Nancy Baker. By his present wife Mr. Moler has had five children, three of whom died in childhood of diptheria. Those living are Estella May, wife of George Thayer, of Lesueur county, and Celestia Louisa Gray, wife of Lincoln Gray, of Wisconsin. In his political affiliations Mr. Moler is Democratic, in favor of the free coinage of silver and a strong supporter of William J. Bryan. Mr. Moler is identified with the G. A. R., having his membership in this order at St. Peter, and both he and his wife are devoted and consistent members of the Christian church. He is now constable of Cleveland, giving to the office his best service and performing his duty in a manner creditable alike to himself and those whom he serves. (pages 477-478) GEORGE W. STUDLEY During the dark days of civil war in this country Minnesota, which had only a few years before been admitted into the Union of States, wasnot slow to show the material of which her pioneers were made and sent to the Union ranks her quota of soldiers. Among those of ther citizens who "donned the blue," marched under the stars and stripes, came home veterans and victors and still maintain their home within the borders of this state, is found the subject of this review, Mr. George W. Studley, whose pleasant rural home is on section 18, Cleveland township, Lesueur county, St. Peter his post- office address. Mr. Studley is not a native of this country. He is an Englishman by birth, an American by adoption, a Canadian by early association, and for the past forty years has been a resident of Minnesota, having arrived in Lesueur County in 1856. He was born in Somersetshire, England, July 15, 1821, son of Benjamin F. Studley, a son of Scotch parents and born in Scotland, the Studley family having long been resident of that country. The mother of our subject was by maiden name Miss Fanny Gale. She, too, was a native of Scotland, born in Aberdeen, and her people also had long resided there, her ancestors prominent in peace and patriotic in war. The parents of George W. Studley were residents of Somersetshire, England, until 1833, when they made the Atlantic voyage to the new workd and took up their abode in Canada, near Ottawa, settlignin the deep forest where the father engaged in the lumber business. There he passed the rest of his life and died, being eighty-five years of age at the time of his death. He was inearly life a member of the church of England, but later became identified with the Baptist church, of which he was a consistent member till death, and for years was honored with the office of deacon. His wife survived him ten years, her age at death being ninety, and her father before her lived to be a hundred. She, too, was a Baptist during the latter part of life, and in that faith they reared their family. Of their children, we record that George W., the subject of our sketch is the oldest; and that he and his brother, Henry, now a resident of Colorado, are the only ones of the family born in England, the others being natives of America, and named as follows: Elias, who lives at the old home place; Silas, a resident of Canada West; Simon, who died in Washington territory; Rhoda, Elizabeth and Lydia. George W. Studley was twelve years old when he landed in Canada, and on the frontie grew to manhood, assisting his father in the forest and there developing a strong muscle and a fine physique. Later he learned the trade of millwright, which he followed for a few years in New York and Massachusetts. Also he became an expert carriage, wagon and sleigh maker, and returned to Canada to engage in this buisness. Ill health, however, prevented him from carrying out that intention, and instead he came, in 1856 to Minnesota, hoping for benefit from this climate, and in it he was not disappointed. He settled in Traverse des Soiux, then the leading town in that part of the state, that being before St. Peter sprang into existence; and there he worked at his trade until the outbreak of the civil war. In the winter of 1862 Mr. Studley tendered his service to the Union, and fell in line with Company B, First Minnesota Volunteer Infrantry, with which he served in the Army of the Potomac, his officers being Captain Houston and Colonel Tester. He was in the Wilderness campaign, at Petersburg and Gettysburg, and at Hatcher's Run fell into the hands of the enemy, by whom he was held for twenty-four hours. The rebels, however, had to flee, and in making their escape they were compleeted to leave their prisoners behind, and thus he was released. At the close of the war, in July 1865, he was honorably discharged, coming out of the ranks with the record of a brave, gallant solider who had done his duty well. Returning from the army, Mr. Studley settled at his present location, on section 18, Cleveland township, Lesueur county, here buying a pre-emption claim from which had a few acres broken, and a shanty, and from the time of his settlement here began to accumulate. For severla years he caried on contracting and building. His own residence, modern and complete in every respect, and beautiful both for interio and exterior surroundings, he build at a cost of about two thousand five hundred dollars. His other farm buildings and improvements are of the best, and his farm now comprises two hundred and forty acres. Savage Lake, adjacent to it, furnishes water for stock purposes, and to the stock business Mr. Studley has given considerable attention, keeping a good grade of all kinds of stock and making a specialty of Holstein cattle. Mr. Studley was married in 1854 to Miss Anna Scott, who has been his companion and helpmate for over forty years and who still presides with her charming grace over his pleasant home. She was born near Montreal, Canada, daughter of John and Catharine (McClarren) Scott, natives of Scotland, who came to America in early life and were married in Canada, where they reared their family. Mrs. Studley is one of four daughters, her sisters being Jane, Catherine and Elizabeth. They were reared in the Presbyterian faith. Mr. and Mrs. Studley have five children, namely: Elizabeth, wife of W. F. Davis, was before marriage a teacher; La Grange, who died at the age of twenty-three years; Henry, on the home farm, married Miss Lillie Forsyth; Alice, at home; and Lucinda, wife of Charles Forsyth. All have been fairly educated and are useful and respected members of society. Politically, Mr. Studley has been a Republican all his life; fraternally, he has membership in the G. A. R., A. K. Skaro Post, No. 27, of St. Peter; and religiously, he and his family are identified with the Christian church. (pages 511-513) MAHLON R. EVERETT (photo included) Mahlon R. Everett, banker, attorney and dealer in real estate in Waterville, is one of the most prominent business men in this section of the state. No adequate record of his life can be written until many of the useful enterprises with which he has been connected have completed their full measure of good in the world; yet there is much concerning him that can with profit be set down here as an illustration of what can be done when a man with a clear brain and willing hands applies himself seriously and energetically to the real labors and responsibilities of life. As a business man he ranks with the ablest; as a citizen he is honorable, prompt and true to every engagement, and the esteem which all classes of people accord him he richly merits. A native of Champaign county, Ohio, he was born near St. Paris, January 11, 1842, a son of Epenetus and Nancy (Rittenhouse) Everett. His father was a farmer by occupation and a native of New Jersey, whence he removed with his parents to Ohio in 1828, the family locating in the midst of the heavy forest, where be experienced the hardships of pioneer life and performed the arduous labors of developing a new farm. He made his home, in the Buckeye state until his death, which occurred in 1884, when he had attained the age of eighty-four years. His parents were natives of Germany, and came to America prior to the war of the Revolution, and his farther was a Revolutionary soldier. The mother of our subject was born in New Jersey, and by her marriage had a family of nine children, five sons and four daughters, but only three are now living, a brother and sister of Mahlon R. Everett being residents of Missouri. Mrs. Everett died many years prior to the death of her husband. His three brothers were Union soldiers during the war of the Rebellion, Redden H. Everett, whose biography appears elsewhere, being one of his brothers. Mahlon H. Everett spent his youth on his father's farm, and during the winter season attended the district schools of the neighborhood, and the city schools at Urbana in said county, and afterward attended Wittenberg College at Springfield, Ohio. At an early age he began teaching in Ohio, and subsequently went to California, where he taught school for three years. On the expiration of that period he returned to his native state and soon after came to Minnesota, dating his arrival here in 1867. For more than a year he was successfully engaged in teaching in Lesueur county, and later filled the office of superintendent of schools for the same county for nine years. During that time he took up the study of law, later entered the office of Cadwell & Severance, a well known law firm at LeSueur, Minnesota, and completed his studies under the direction of Judge Cadwell, of LeSueur. In 1872 he was admitted to the bar and entered into partnership with his former preceptor, Judge Cadwell. Said partnership was continued for ten years and then dissolved by mutual consent. In October, 1881, Mr. Everett came to Waterville, where in company with Mr. Green he established the Bank of Waterville, in a building which they erected for that purpose. Besides conducting a general banking business, they handled insurance, collection and real estate. Mr. Green died in 1882, and Mr. Everett carried on the banking business until 1893, when the bank was incorporated under the laws of Minnesota, and Mr. Everett became director and vice president, in which capacities his connection with the institution was continue until 1895, when he established the Everett City Bank of Waterville. He is the sole owner of this bank, and still retains his interests in the State Bank of Waterville. He erected a fine new building located both his bank and law office. His daughter acts as cashier and able assistant. He is recognized as one of the foremost financiers Minnesota, and in addition to his business in Waterville he is connected with H. S. Lewis in the ownership of a bank in Madison Lake, Blue Earth county, Minnesota. In 1872 was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Everett and Miss Maude Chance, sister of Colonel Frank Chance a prominent citizen of Urbana, Ohio. They have four children, a son and three daughters: Grace L., cashier of the Everett City Bank; Maud V., wife of Frank A. Wright, Thomas L. and Marion T. The mother of this family died on the 10th of May, 1887, and her loss was deeply mourned by many friends as well as her immediate family. In 1888 Mr. Everett was elected county attorney of Lesueur county, and in the discharge of his duties gave evidence of his superior powers as an advocate. A prominent Mason, he holds membership in Sakata Lodge, No. 32, F. & A. M.; Waterville Chapter, No. 56, R. A. M.; Faribault Commandery, K. T., and the Mystic Shrine, of St. Paul. He is also a member of the Knights of Pythias fraternity, and the subordinate lodge and encampment of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. During the political campaign just closed, he was an ardent advocate of the free coinage of silver and a firm supporter of William J. Bryan for president- and, being amongst the first to come out in opposition to the gold standard, he was prominently mentioned throughout his district as a candidate for congress, and was heartily supported for the office at the congressional nominating convention by the delegation from his own county, although not a candidate for the office. Strong resolutions were also unanimously adopted at the Democratic county convention, recommending and urging, his candidacy for congressional honors. (pages 513-514) END OF FILE