Bio of KERSTEN, Gottlieb (b.1850), Wright Co., MN ========================================================================= 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. If you have found this file through a source other than the MNArchives Table Of Contents you can find other Minnesota related Archives at: http://www.usgwarchives.net/mn/mnfiles.htm Please note the county and type of file at the top of this page to find the submitter information or other files for this county. FileFormat by Terri--MNArchives Made available to The USGenWeb Archives by: Diane Hanson Submitted: November 2006 ========================================================================= 1032 HISTORY OF WRIGHT COUNTY Gottlieb Kersten, a worthy early settler, was born in Germany, February 12, 1850, and died in South Side township, June 30, 1898, son of John and Johanna (Krueger) Kersten. John Kersten was born in Germany and brought his family to America in 1869. He settled first in Carver county, this state, where he lived for many years. He died at the home of his son, section 18, April 17, 1895, at the age of seventy-four. His wife died October 13, 1894, at the age of seventy-six. Gottlieb Kersten came to this country with his parents, and lived with them two years in Carver county before starting out for himself. In 1871 he took a homestead in section 18, South Side township. There he endured all the rigors of pioneer life. The place was covered with timber. He made a small clearing and erected a log house, 16 by 20 feet, with a shake roof, board floor, and home-made furniture. His tools consisted of little more than an axe, a grub hoe and a shovel. Fortunately he had an ox team, and these were of great assistance in clearing the farm. He secured his supplies at Fair Haven. Every time he went there with his ox team, he had to cut out a trail anew, for the trees fell down with such frequency as to make the roads impassable between trips. In 1877 his crops were destroyed by grasshoppers. But in spite of discouragements he kept on, and in time had a well-developed farm. In 1884 he sold out and moved to the southwest quarter of section 16, where he died. He was a good man and a useful citizen, and served as township supervisor for some fifteen years. Gottlieb Kersten was married December 16, 1873, to Johanna Graupmann, who was born in Germany, April 6, 1854, daughter of John and Johanna (Dozey) Graupmann, who came to America in 1869, and located at Glencoe, in McLeod county, where the father died in 1878 at the age of seventy-eight, and the mother July 4, 1864, at the age of forty-eight. Mr. and Mrs. Kersten had six children: Ida, Alex, Frank, Henry, Louis and Minnie. Ida was born December 10, 1874, married Reinhardt Marquardt, lives in South Haven, and has seven children. Alex was born March 12, 1887, married Lousie Ecker, lives at McIntosh, S. D., and has three children. Frank is a prominent man of South Haven. Henry was born May 14, 1882, and died July 13, 1889. Louis was born May 24, 1884, married Mabel Stokes, lives in St. Paul, and has 1033 HISTORY OF WRIGHT COUNTY two children. Minnie was born December 23, 1887, and married Almer Swenson of South Haven.