Bio of STURMAN, William Sr. (b.1822), 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: April 2004 ========================================================================= 404 HISTORY OF WRIGHT COUNTY William Sturman, Sr., a worthy pioneer, was born in Coshocton county, Ohio, January 1, 1822, and died in Franklin township, Wright county, Minnesota, February 20, 1898. His father was Thomas Sturman, one of the founders of Ohio. The children in the family were four, John, William (Sr.), Riley and Emily. Of these, William (Sr.) and Riley came to Wright county in 1855. William Sturman, Sr., was reared in his native state and as a young man went to Illinois, where he married Sarah Montgomery, a native of that state. In 1855, he started out with a team of horses for Minnesota, bringing with him his wife and his two children, John and Laura (now Mrs. A. L. Hasmer, of the state of Washington). After an overland trip of six weeks they reached Hennepin county, where they decided to locate. A more favorable location, however, presented itself in Wright county, and they accordingly settled on eighty acres in section 25, Franklin township. This homestead is still in the possession of the family. The tract was then covered with heavy woods. No roads led to it, and no buildings stood on it. Mr. Sturman erected a log cabin and cleared the land. During the Indian campaign 405 HISTORY OF WRIGHT COUNTY he served in Hatch's Battalion, and was injured by being thrown from a horse. After the war, he returned to his farm and resumed his work. In addition to clearing his home place, he assisted in chopping out the road between Minneapolis and Watertown. He was an early school teacher and helped to organize district 33, in Franklin township. He was an early school official, and an early assessor, and served on one of the first boards of supervisors. As the years passed, he became prominent in the affairs of the Democratic party, and was a delegate to numerous conventions. At one time he was a candidate for the office of county treasurer on that ticket, but though he ran ahead of his ticket, his party was then in a hopeless minority. Fraternally, he was a member of the I. 0. 0. F. The children in the family were: John, Laura, William, Viola, Clara, Mary, Rosetta, Rosella, Amanda and Robert. Rosetta and Rosella were twins. Rosetta died in infancy. Sarah Montgomery, the wife of William Sturman, Sr., died in February, 1896, at the age of sixty-two. She was the daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth Montgomery, of Illiinois. The children in the Montgomery family were: Sarah, Samuel, William, Joseph, John, Robert, Mary, Amanda and Ellen. The Sturman farm is now conducted by William Sturman, Jr., and Robert Sturman. They carry on general farming and stockraising, and their farm is as good as is to be found in the community. Their acres are well tilled, they have all the latest improved devices and implements, and their grounds and fences are well kept.