J. A. T. Bjornson, McIntosh County, North Dakota

J. A. T. Bjornson was born January 1, 1861 in Perry township, Dane County,
Wisconsin. His parents were Gabriel Bjornson and Gunhild Torgerson, both born in
Norway. They settled in the southern part of Wisconsin, then a new and unsettled
territory.

He attended public schools at Wisconsin, graduated from Madison High school in
1878 and the University of Wisconsin in 1882.

In August, 1882, after graduation from the University he went to Ada, Minnesota.
He spent four year there and then went west to the little town of Hoskins on
July 12, 1886 where he resided until the removal to Ashley in 1888. In the fall
of 1892 he went to Kulm, LaMoure County. The town was named after a province in
Russia from which many of the original settlers came. It was a great primary
wheat market for years, farmers bringing wheat from far-off Emmons County and
Lowell settlement as well as points in McPherson County, South Dakota.

While living in Kulm, Mr. Bjornson operated a drug store and was elected to
occupy a seat in the North Dakota legislature in 1900 and in 1911 and 1913. He
also served as County Treasurer during the 1928 and 1930 terms.

On July 23, 1894 J. A. T. Bjornson and Miss Flora Ann Milne were married in
Ellemdale, North Dakota. Mr. and Mrs. Bjornson are the parents of six children:
Marvel Bjornson McDonald, Gunhild Bjornson Sullivan, Marion Bjornson Reed, Perry
Milne Bjornson, Ann Elizabeth Bjornson, and J. A. T. Bjornson, Jr. The family
moved to LaMoure in 1911, where Mr. Bjornson was engaged in banking. Since
retiring Mr. and Mrs. Bjornson have spent their time with children in Burbank,
California and Newark, Delaware.