Towner County, ND, Hansboro, Founding of Hansboro

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The following are excerpts from the booklet entitled Marking the 50th Anniversary of the
Founding of Hansboro, North Dakota, June 22, 1955.

Transcribed August, 2000 by:  Mary Lindbo, mjlindbo@msn.com


A HALF CENTURY OF HANSBORO HISTORY - By F. L. Leftwich

It is fitting that as the village of Hansboro prepares to celebrate its 50th anniversary, we
pause and review its history.

Hansboro derived its name from U. S. Sen. H. C. Hansborough of North Dakota. The village came
into being in the fall of 1905. When the railroad arrived here, this was a well settled
community. Some of the pioneers of that time came as early as 1883 and 1884.

Before the advent of the Great Northern branch line, the settlers traded and transacted
business at Rolla and Cartwright, Manitoba. Thomas L. Lawson finished surveying the townsite
for the Dakota Development Co. August 30, 1905 and building started in the town, the first
lumber being hauled from Rolla.

F. H. Murdick and James Moylon built a hotel that year. Nelson and Paetow also erected a hotel
and started a much larger one, which was never finished. The Hansboro State Bank started in the
fall of 1905 in the building now occupied by the Friends in Council library and the bank
building was the first on the townsite. Mr. Hannafin was cashier and in July 1906, C. E.
Blackorby and others purchased the bank and Mr. Blackorby became cashier. The Bank of Hansboro,
with B. L. Thomas in charge, also was opened in 1906.

D. A. Blackburn opened a drugstore in the building later purchased by J. B. Smith, who started
a confectionery store. Mr. and Mrs. Smith have resided here continuously since 1906. Other
pioneer business places and shops were the R. L. Boise tin ship, Ed Lakeman's barber shop, Nels
Johnson's and Chris Orton's meat markets and Jake Rabinovich's restaurant. Besides these, Wm.
Hooser and had a pool room, with the town hall upstairs. J. R. Wills did some draying and later
had the post office with a store in connection. The pool room was later taken over by Frank
Grimes and about 1919 by E. L. Clattubuck.

C. H. Browne launched the Hansboro Pioneer in 1906 and it was published until 1921. Other
editors included Mr. Gilmore, Mr. and Mrs. Crowell, Mr. and Mrs. Oliver and D. D. Finley. Mrs.
Browne operated a millinery shop in the newspaper building, later selling out to Mrs. Bob
McKee.

Neil McKay started a blacksmith shop, believed by many to be the first business established in
Hansboro. Later operators of the same shop were Geo. Walker and Ernie Dillon. Knight and Rognas
moved their store in from the Knight farm and J. R. Crum was in charge of it at an early date.

Van Order and Sande erected a new building for their store, which still stands and is now
occupied by B. R. Kyes. Alex Messer moved his business establishment in from what was then
called Antwerp, and along with J. O. Fernyhough, got the store started in the fall of 1905. Mr.
Messer was postmaster at Antwerp and was appointed as Hansboro's first postmaster December 18,
1905. Other postmasters were J. R. Wills in 1908; Janet Lymburn in 1924 and Clara Leftwich, the
present postmaster in 1942.

Two lumber yards were established in 1905. The Imperial Lumber Co. building still stands and is
operated by Mrs. Emma Ward. The John D. Gruber Lumber Co. handled hardware and machinery and
also operated an elevator. Part of this building now houses a garage.

Four grain elevators were established in time to handle most of the 1905 crop and later a
bonded elevator was added to handle Canadian grain. The first grain buyers were E. E.
McDougall, J. H. Schmidt, Ira Moore and John Brown. Mr. McDougall also was the first depot
agent.

George Wilson started a livery barn the first fall and later purchased one of the first cars
sold in this community for use in his business. Jack Carey worked for Mr. Wilson moving to St.
John many years later.

The M. E. Church was built and dedicated in 1906. Rev. Edward Burling, the first pastor, was
followed in 1907 by Rev. J. H. Kensit. The Catholic Church was built in 1927 and we now have a
Lutheran Church, established in 1951. A school building was moved in from near Dunseith for
this church.

Hansboro school was ready in February 1907. Johnny Smith was the first clerk. Only two
teachers' terms were completed the first year. The two teachers were Amy Brightbill from the
North Sidney school and John Parks from the South school. Harriet Manning finished out Mr.
Parks' term. In 1907-08 four teachers were employed - Mayme Sorenson, Emma Eastgate, Katie Haas
and Villia Murdick.

The Brown brothers, Sam and John, started their hardware store in 1908, and John and Oscar
Anderson came in 1911 and purchased the Nelson & Paetow hardware. They also had the bulk oil
station, furnishing gas and oil for most of the first cars and tractors in this district. Geo.
Olson came in 1910 and purchased the Rognas store, which his son, R. B. Olson, still operates.

We acquired our first electric lights in 1917. Abner Blackorby, who for some years operated a
garage and sold the first Ford cars here, started an electric light plant, which was later
purchased by the town. We now receive electric power from the Baker Electric Co-operative,
whose service is available to all farms in the community.

The village did not organize a governing body until 1917. Before that time it was under the
supervision of the Sidney township board. Customs service was established here when the
railroad came in, and the first customs man was W. C. Briggs, who had his office in the depot.
Later C. A. Weeden and his family came and he served as customs officer 30 years.

Dr. Robertson was the first physician in Hansboro and Dr. J. S. Hamilton came in 1906 and was
here until about 1916. Other early residents include the families of John Wilson, Wm. Geary,
John Diggins, Geo. Laing, Fred Kellog and Fred Wilkinson. Wm. Haas and J. M. Brayton were the
first lumberyard managers. Bert Johnstone became a barber here almost 40 years ago and has been
here since, with the exception of nine years spent in California. Some later business people
were Maurice Griver, Lucy Nelson and son, Glenn and G. E. Geyer.

P. E. Orton built a new town hall after our last fire in 1935. He later became county
commissioner for the 5th district and is serving his third term. Orville Orton purchased
Penny's Bar and still operates it.


We have had a series of disastrous fires here, dating back to 1908 and we did not have any fire
fighting equipment until 1952, when the Hansboro American Legion Post No. 31 purchased a fire
truck for the town and community. We now have a new fire hall and have organized a Fire
Department with C. H. Seghers as fire marshal.

Some of the earlier contractors who did construction work in the new town were McGregor Bros. &
Bell, Wm. Maughn and Wm. Burns, Ole Mattison, Bob McKee, Joe Davidson and Wm. Carr.

The brief history necessarily deals with the business and professional people of the town.
While there is no desire to omit mention of anyone, it has not been possible to deal adequately
with the many residents who have come and gone, or even those who have all through the years
since the pioneer days. The writer regrets that space does not permit a more detailed account.


MRS. LYMBURN RECALLS EARLY YEARS

Mrs. Annie Lymburn, 84, a member of a prominent pioneer family of the Hansboro community, has
been a resident of the neighborhood sine 1885. She came with her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Thomas
Brown. The Brown family came from Peterborough County, Ontario, where Mrs. Lymburn was born, to
Brandon, Manitoba, on an immigrant train in 1883. They came to this area by wagon team and
located near Milford, Manitoba. She was married to Hugh Lymburn, December 8, 1892 in her
father's home. The couple lived two miles and two miles east of Hansboro. Mr. Lymburn died in
June of last year.

Neighbors recalled by Mrs. Lymburn were James Dunphy and R. C. Cowan. Both had families. Mr.
Cowan later became a doctor and operated a drugstore in Rolla for some time.

Mrs. Lymburn remembers when the railroad came to Hansboro and the excitement its arrival
occasioned. She witnessed the birth of Hansboro and after 50 years still recalls much of what
took place in those formative days. She is a typical North Dakota pioneer, who rates the honor
and admiration that is the due to the courageous men and women who faced hardship and travail
in the tremendous task of building for the future.

Her children are Roy T. Lymburn, Tacoma, Washington; Richard M. Lymburn, Mankato, Minnesota and
Hugh S. Lymburn, Derrick, North Dakota.

Hugh Lymburn was born December 16, 1886, in Glasgow Scotland. He immigrated to Ontario about
1872 and in 1884 he located at Devils Lake. From there he drove stock on foot and by team and
wagon to the Hansboro area, where he homesteaded in 1887.


COMMUNITIY'S OLDEST BUILDING

The house believed to be the oldest building in the Hansboro community was built of oak logs by
Henry Edminson filed on land a half mile east of the present Hansboro townsite. John D. Pound
later purchased the land and after 70 years the building is still intact. The logs were hauled
from St. John.


FERNYHOUGHS IN AREA IN EARLY PERIOD

Representative pioneers of the Hansboro community are Mr. and Mrs. J. O. Fernyhough, who now
live in Hansboro. Mr. Fernyhough is 88. He was born in England and came to Winnipeg, Manitoba
in 1882. They first settled near Cartwright, Manitoba but not long afterward came down to the
Hansboro area, making the trip with an ox team and wagon. In the group were Mr. Fernyhough, his
parents, Mr. and Mrs. Charles Fernyhough, two other sons and a sister. They settled a mile
north and 1 1/2 miles west of Hansboro.

Mrs. Fernyhough, 90, came from Ontario to Emerson, Manitoba in 1884 with her parents, Mr. and
Mrs. Hiram Wood and several brothers and sisters. The family first located near Rolla. Mr.
Wood, who later became a Towner County probate judge, at first hauled wheat to Churchs Ferry
and Devils Lake. He was a great friend of the Indians and for years held rebellious Indians in
the Turtle Mountains in check. They called him the "Great White Chief".

Mr. and Mrs. Fernyhough were married at Rolla in 1891 and settled on the farm near Hansboro.
Mr. Fernyhough was in business in Hansboro two years and they afterward lived on the farm,
moving to Hansboro in 1927.

They have experienced the vicissitudes of a long, rugged pioneer existence and now, in their
later years, recall with nostalgic interest those hard years. Among their neighbors were the
Edminsons, James O'Laughlin and Elias Shannon who homesteaded the townsite.

Their children are Mrs. Ira Corson, Crookston, Minnesota; Mrs. John T. Anderson, Hansboro; Mrs.
Emil Pfeifle, Tacoma, Washington; Mrs. Ray Johnson, Devils Lake and Mrs. Leonard Graetz,
Hansboro.


JOHNNY SMITH CAME IN 1906

A well-known figure in Hansboro is Johnny Smith who located in the town in 1906. He was born in
Ontario and got out this way, he says, because his grandmother, Jean Brown, had located on a
homestead near Minto.

Johnny has a copy of Vol. 1, No. 23, of the Hansboro Pioneer and he has a notebook continuing a
copy of the program of the dedication of the Methodist Church in Hansboro, Sunday, August 12,
1906.

The pastor was Edwin Burling. The program began with an overture by the Badger band, followed
by a voluntary by Miss R. Long. There was a prayer by Rev. C. A. Bates and Elder J. G. Moore
presided at the dedication ceremony. Then there was a solo by Goldurn Pickall. Dr. E. P.
Robertson delivered the sermon. Rev. Bates also delivered an address and Rev. Burling sang a
solo. Other parts of the service included an address by Rev. Moore and prayer by Rev. W. C.
Chew.

The notebook gives the founding date of the Pioneer as March 5, 1906 and the copy Mr. Smith has
is dated August 6, 1906. It contains an advertisement of a confectionery store operated by Mr.
Smith, in which he is described as "The Peanut Man".

Incidentally Johnny is a cousin of Mary Pickford, whose surname is also Smith. Johnny's wife is
the former Marie Kozel. They have a daughter, Mrs. Vera Wilhelmina Seghers of Hansboro.


BJORGUMS ARE REAL OLDTIMES

Mr. and Mrs. Ole Peterson Bjorgum who reside three miles east and two miles south of Hansboro
located on their farm in 1900, five years before the founding of the town. Both are 88 years
old and both were born in Norway.

Mr. Bjorgum came to America in 1887 and lived at Ishpeming, Michigan, 5 1/2 years. Then he came
as far as Grafton, coming on from there to the farm in this vicinity. Among the neighbors he
recalls were Swan Olson, Tom Rod and John Scott, for whom a lake nearby was named.

Mrs. Bjorgum, formerly Olea Uggerud, came to this area at the time of her marriage on February
14, 1896 at Grafton. She had come from Norway with her family some time before. Her father's
name was Ole Uggerud.

The children of Mr. and Mrs. Bjorgum are Gilbert, who lives a mile northwest of his parents'
home; Ole, Rolla; Joseph, St. Thomas; Mrs. Martin Lund, Hoffman, Minnesota and Olger, one mile
south of the home farm.

This worthy couple has contributed materially to the growth of the Hansboro community and are
deserving of great credit for their services. When the pioneers are honored during the
celebration, they will receive their full share of credit.


VILLAGE ELECTION DATE WAS OCTOBER 2, 1917

The certificate of election covering Hansboro's first village election on file in the office of
the Towner County Auditor in the courthouse in Cando, contains the names of D. B. McDonald and
George Wilson as inspectors of election. The election date was October 2, 1917 and those
elected were:

Trustees: Fred Kellogg, 1st District; Charles Tribble, 2nd District; George Wilson, 3rd
District; clerk, George H. McLean; assessor, J. B. Smith; treasurer, D. B. McDonald; marshal,
R. P. Kessler and justice of the peace, G. E. Geyer.

The county records show that Hansboro village was incorporated July 31, 1917.

The first village minutes shows that a meeting was held in December 1917 (no date is given).
The first trustees listed in the local records are J. H. Poyzer, F. A. Kellogg and G. A. Olson.
Since the first village warrants were issued December 20, 1917, the organization meeting
apparently took place on that date or a day or two earlier. As the county records show that the
election date was October 2, 1917, it seems probable that Mr. Tribble did not qualify and his
place was taken by Mr. Poyzer.


JOHN D. POUND AMONG FIRST SETTLERS

Among the first settlers in the community was John D. Pound of Tilsonberg, Ontario. He arrived
here in 1886 and bought the Edminson land. He had one of the first post offices and was the
first to successfully plant trees in this community. His son, John W. Pound, also came to this
country in the spring of 1886 and bought land north and west of what is known as Pound's Lake.
He was a member of the House of Representatives at Bismarck from 1908-1910.

On December 19, 188, he was married to Mary Wilson, daughter of John Wilson. Fifteen children
were born to this union. Three daughters, Minnie, Mildred and Kathleen died in infancy and
another daughter, Mary, in 1920 at the age of 13. The oldest son, Edwin, passed away in March
of 1954 at the age of 64. The remaining family consists of Wilmar, Hansboro; Leland, Ancaster,
Ontario; Eva (Mrs. George Brassard), Indus, Albert; John, Sarles; Clara (Mrs. Arthur Wilson),
Nanaimo, British Columbia; Hattie (Mrs. Rex Bunn), Brooks, Alberta; Harold, Hansboro; Fred,
Grand Forks; Olive (Mrs. Bob Thompson, Innisfall, Alberta and Alma (Mrs. Floyd Amble), Sarles.
This family lived at Atlee and Calgary, Alberta from 1912-1919. John W. Pound passed away in
January of 1945 at the age of 81 and Mary Pound in December of 1947 at the age of 76.


NOTE 60TH AND 30TH ANNIVERSARIES (Published December 8, 1952)

Relatives held open house Monday afternoon from 2 to 5 p. m. in honor of Mr. and Mrs. Hugh
Lymburn's 60th wedding anniversary. They have been residents of this community more than 60
years and are real pioneers.

Many friends called to wish them a happy day and enjoyed a cup of tea and cake while visiting
with them. Three nieces were in charge of serving - Mrs. Leon Agarand, Mrs. Wm. Wilson, pouring
and Mrs. Mac Pownell cutting the cake, which was presented to the Lymburns by Mrs. James Brown.
The centerpiece was a lovely bouquet of flowers sent them by a niece and nephew, Mr. and Mrs.
Charlie Brown of Canada.

The relatives attending from a distance were Mr. and Mrs. Wm. Wilson (Thurza Brown) of Chinook,
Alberta, Canada; Mrs. Mac Pownell (Mabel Brown) of Devils Lake and Charles Brown of Rolla. The
relatives remained for the evening during which a short program was given, including two duets
by Maureen Brown and Lou Anne Cowan. A humorous sketch, "A Small Boy's First Recitation", which
was given by Wm. Wilson, caused much laughter. Old songs were sung by all and old time pictures
were viewed. Reminiscing brought many memories back more than the 60 years in northern Towner
County.

Mr. and Mrs. Lee Leftwich were present in the evening, celebrating their 30th wedding
anniversary on the same date. Lee is a new of the Lymburns.


MEMBERS OF THE 1911 HANSBORO BASEBALL TEAM

E. E. McDougall, George Clancy, Carl Whiting, Lou McAneney, Howard Geary, (first name unknown)
Buffin, Prof. K. A. Rygh, Oscar Anderson, Bob Lloyd, (first name unknown) Flick and "Slim"
remembered in Hansboro only by that sobriquet.


MEMBERS OF THE 1953 CHAMPION HANSBORO BASEBALL TEAM

Hansboro's 1953 baseball team was entered in two leagues and won both the Towner County League
and the Border League championships. They played 43 games, winning 33, losing 8 and tying 2.
Members were: Frank Garrison, Marlin Halone, Nolen Ness, Glenn Nelson, Harry Bucholz, Hank
Lemieux, Estol Lawler, John Dacoteau, Willard Hendrickson, Irvin Koistinen, Milton Martin,
Pette Zaste, Warren Lawler, Ralph Olson, Jr. and Lee Leftwich, manager.


MEMBERS OF AN EARLY-DAY HANSBORO BAND

Isadore Henle, Charles Tribble, Fred Grey, L. Sande, Bill Galbraith, Joe Davidson, Ed Grey,
William Wilson, Leon Agarand, W. E. Dishey and (first name unknown)  Van Order.


HUGO GAILFUS, PIONEER OF COMMUNITY, ACTIVE AT 92

There were some hardy men in the Hansboro community in the pioneer period. One of these was
Hugo Gailfus, who at 92 is still "quite a man". When a representative of the 50th Anniversary
Committed called on Mr. Gailfus a few days ago at his farm home two miles south and six miles
west of Hansboro, he found him sawing wood with a one-man crosscut saw.

Reminiscing for the benefit of the Committee member, who was seeking information for this
article, the nonagenarian recalled that in 1880 he migrated with his mother to Manitoba to
Ontario. He was born at Ayton, Ontario, March 24, 1863. They landed at Emerson, Manitoba and
walked, driving cattle ahead of them to Clearwater, Manitoba to the new location with oxen and
sled part of the way and with a wagon drawn by oxen the last part of the trip.

In 1890 Mr. Gailfus went to Gretna, Manitoba where he resided with a relative until 1896. He
then returned to North Dakota and homesteaded his present farm.

Mr. Gailfus married Lilah Bower in 1901. They were the parents of a son who did not survive.
His wife died in 1902 and in 1904 he married Mary Hilgardner. By this marriage there are six
surviving children: Mrs. James Bush (Ruth), International Falls, Minnesota; Mrs. Nestor
Juntunen (Vivian), rural Rolla; Myron Gailfus, Rolla; Olivia Gailfus, at home; Mrs. Kathleen
Mader, Portland, Oregon and Mrs. Melvin Gessner (Dulcie), Walkerton, Indiana. Mr. Gailfus'
second wife died a number of years ago.

His closest neighbor in the early days was John Cain, who lived about two miles to the west. He
also mentioned Mr. Cowan, referred to in other articles in this booklet and Garet Locklin, also
mentioned in another pioneer days story.

Mr. Gailfus recalled that in the early years settlers broke up four or five acre patches with
oxen. His first grain crop totaled only 40 bushels of wheat and he had to take it to a neighbor
to get it threshed. He first hauled his grain to Churchs Ferry and made one trip to Willow
City, before the Great Northern line to St. John was built.

The pioneer took an active part in the affairs of the Picton community until recent years,
serving on township and school boards, and, in spite of his age (he was then over 80) acted as
chairman of war bond drives.


EARLY DAY TEACHER RECALLS FORMER PUPILS

Experience as a school teacher about the time Hansboro was founded are recalled by Mrs. E. E.
McDougall, 70. She taught a school in Dash township, Towner County in 1906 and had grades 1, 2
and 3 in the Hansboro school in the 1907-1908 school years. Pupils recalled by Mrs. McDougall
include F. L. Leftwich, Lynch Leftwich, P. E. (Penny) Orton, Theodore Orton, Lucy and Ethel
Lawler, Velma Murdick (her sister), Mae Moore, Robt. Knight, Frances Crum and Clair "Peck"
Wilson. Mrs. McDougall was formerly Villia Murdick.

E. E. McDougall boarded at her father's hotel during Hansboro's early days, from which "point
of vantage" he had opportunity to act as her escort. Being a baseball player, he naturally took
her to ball games. At that time he was manager of the Farmers Grain co. elevator in Hansboro, a
position he held about 13 years.

They were married in 1911 and until 1915, when they moved to their farm home in Picton
Township, four miles west and two miles south of Hansboro. Two children were born to the couple
in Hansboro and three more in Picton Township. They are: Mrs. John Robinson (Jean), Monticello,
Illinois; Mrs. Jessie Brown, Honolulu, Hawaii; Frank McDougall, Salinas, California; Mrs. Olaf
Lindbo (Ella), Rolla, North Dakota and James McDougall on the home farm.

The former teacher was born October 23, 1884 in Dakota Territory on a farm near DeSmet, South
Dakota. She moved with the family to Cando in January 1903, remaining there three years. Her
father moved to Hansboro in 1905 and opened a hotel, the family following him in 1906.

Frank Murdick, Mrs. McDougall's father, loved to tell stories about the terrors of the South
Dakota weather. Nothing in North Dakota could compare with it, according to him. Our winters
were for "sissies". One of his favorite expressions (after it had been raining for three days
and nights) was: "It's nothing but a South Dakota dew; it's blowing dust in my garden right
now. "


A. C. CLUB ORGANIZED IN 1946

The A. C. Club was organized on October 12, 1946 with the assistance of the Friends-In-Council
Club, for the pursuit of creative arts and culture by the young married women. The charter
members are Mrs. Earl Parslow, Mrs. Ralph Stephens, Mrs. Hubert Seghers, Mrs. Herman Nelson,
Mrs. Harold Pound, Mrs. Estol Lawler, Mrs. Howard Brown, Mrs. Walter Lentz, Mrs. Wesley Kakela
and Mrs. Merle Brown.

The first officers of the club were: President, Mrs. Estol Lawler; vice president, Mrs. Walter
Lentz; secretary, Mrs. Earl Parslow and treasurer, Mrs. Harold Pound.

The present officers are: President, Mrs. Merle Brown; vice president, Mrs. Dale Urness;
secretary, Mrs. Granville Ward and treasurer, Mrs. Estol Lawler.


CANADIANS VALUED FRIENDS

Following is a list of Canadian residents who traveled back and forth from Canada to the United
States in the early years and won friends in the Hansboro area. (That was in the days when
strict border regulations were not necessary):

Dr. Davidson, who administered to American patients, Ned Owens, two men named Moore and Burns,
Tom Robinson, George Way, Jack Mooney, Dave Waldy, a man named Stead, Jack McKalvie, Jim
McIntyre and Charles Manning, in many cases there were several persons bearing the same family
name.

The people of the Hansboro community greatly appreciated the friendship of these Canadians and
their associations with them, just as they appreciate the friendship of and association with
Canadians today.


LAWRENCES PROMINENT PIONEERS OF HANSBORO COMMUNITY

The following sketch deals with a prominent pioneer couple of the Hansboro community:

Claud Lawrence was born September 15, 1878, near Annada, Missouri. He came to North Dakota with
his father, two brothers and a sister in 1886 and they settled on land 1/4 mile west of what is
now Hansboro, George Benton Lawrence, father of Claud Lawrence of the Civil War from 1860 and
1865 and his great grandfather, Capt. John H. Lawrence, volunteered under Gen. George
Washington and served from 1776 to 1783. Claud Lawrence was married to Melvina Ines Shoemaker
at Rolla, May 19, 1901. Their attendants were Melita McLaughlin, F. E. Lawrence, Clara Lang and
William Wilson. There were sic children born to Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence of which four survive,
Dorsey L. Lawrence, Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Mrs. Earl Lindsley (Bessie), Astoria, Oregon; George
E. Lawrence, Langdon, North Dakota; Chief Warrant Officer Guy L. Lawrence, Fort Benjamin
Harrison, Indianapolis, Indiana.

Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in 1951 with all of their
children present. Mr. Lawrence died in 1952 and their oldest child, Mrs. Carl Johnson (Hazel)
died in 1954. Mrs. Lawrence has lived in Hansboro and within one mile of Hansboro for the past
54 years.

Mrs. Claud Lawrence (nee Melvina Ines Shoemaker) was born April 8, 1884 near Chili, Miami
County, Indiana, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. C. E. Shoemaker. She with her parents, two sisters
and one brother, came to North Dakota with immigrant people from Indiana in April 1898. They
settled on their claim about seven miles southeast of what is now Hansboro. Their first house
on the claim was a sod house, where many happy evenings were spent, when whole families would
come for a night of singing and dancing to the music of a mouth organ or violin. Their
neighbors were the Setter, Lipp, Spangler, Madeford, Hoff, Holder, Brower, Dike, King, Mohler
and Pointsalot families. Mrs. Lawrence met her husband at a prayer meeting at North Sidney
schoolhouse.


C. E. BLACKORBY RECALLS OLD DAYS

C. E. Blackorby, now a leading citizen of Hansboro, engaged in real estate and insurance, and
looking after farming interests, came up from Missouri with his parents as a child. This was in
1886. His parents were Mr. and Mrs. Abner Blackorby and there were eight children in the
family.

"We had to haul water a long distance in Missouri", Mr. Blackorby recalls, "so we were
determined to be near water here. Father chose a location on Pound's Lake, one mile south and 1
1/2 miles east of Hansboro.

The family moved to Cando in 1889, but the elder Blackorby returned to this vicinity in 1895,
establishing his family here five years later. C. E. Blackorby remained in Cando, however,
returning to Hansboro in 1906. He was married to Clara Converse June 4, 1915. She died in 1923.

Mr. Blackorby was a banker in Hansboro 20 years. He and his brother-in-law, C. C. Converse, had
become part owners of the Hansboro State Bank, of which David H. Becher, well-known Grand Forks
banker, served for some time as president. Mr. Converse, by the way, now is a Presbyterian
minister at Ellendale. Mr. Blackorby became the owner of the old bank building and now permits
the Friends-In-Council, a Hansboro organization, to use it without charge for a public library.

Incidentally, Mr. Blackorby was also an educator. He served as Towner County Superintendent of
Schools from 1900 to 1907. He had attended the Mayville State Teachers College and taught
school before assuming the post.

Mr. Blackorby's children are E. C. Blackorby, head of the History Department at the State
Teachers College at Dickinson; Mrs. Elmer Wahlund, Bismarck, and Stewart, Superintendent of the
Calvin school. Mr. Blackorby receives great credit from those who know the family for the way
he "brought up" his motherless children. All three have turned out to be fine citizens.


THE BADGER BRASS BAND

One of the early musical organizations was the Badger Brass band, organized by the late Jay
Hackett, long a Sarles resident. Among the players were Gene and Vic Geyer. The band played on
many occasions in this part of the county.


MICHAEL E. LAWLER EARLY ARRIVAL

Michael E. Lawler came to this territory from Salford, Ontario, in the spring of 1887. He fled
on the southeast quarter of Section 31-164-67.

He and Agnes M. Wilson were united in marriage December 19, 1888. Seven children were born to
this union. Everett, John, Mary (Mrs. Amiss), Lucy, (Mrs. Amble), all residing in this
community; Ralph of Sioux Lookout, Ontario; Ethel (Mrs. Johns) of Brandon, Manitoba and Nora
(Mrs. Ward) of Calgary, Alberta.

In the early days they lived in fear of prairie fires and spent many nights plowing fire guards
to protect their buildings.

They farmed until 1914, when they retired to the village of Hansboro. They celebrated their
golden wedding in 1938.

Mrs. Lawler passed away in 1946, at the age of 76. Mr. Lawler died in 1949, being 87 years old.


JOHN WILSON FAMILY CAME IN 1887

Mr. and Mrs. John Wilson and family of six children came to this territory in 1887 from
Salford, Ontario. They homesteaded a short distance northwest of where Bud Stapleton now lives.
Their home was always open and real hospitality reigned there.

Dad Wilson as everyone called him, organized the first Sunday School in the north end of the
county and acted as superintendent for many years. Later they moved to the village of Hansboro
where he operated a dray line for many years.

They celebrated their golden wedding in 1912 with eighty-four descendants and friends present.

Mrs. Wilson died in 1914 at the age of 71.

Mr. Wilson lived with his children here until 1926, when he went to Oregon to spend his
remaining days with his son, George. He passed away in 1931 at the age of 94 years.


HISTORY OF THE FRIENDS IN COUNCIL CLUB OF HANSBORO, NORTH DAKOTA

Friends in Council Club was organized December 9, 1920 at the school house in response to a
notice printed in the Hansboro News, as follows: "All ladies interested in forming a literary
and social club, please meet at the school house December 9 at eight o'clock". Nine members
responded, three others sent word that they were interested but were prevented from meeting
with us that night. First officers were: President, Mrs. G. H. McLean; Vice President, Mrs. O.
R. Anderson; Secretary, Mrs. F. H. Murdick and Treasurer, Mrs. L. A. Leftwich.

The club joined the General Federation of Women's Clubs in 1925. The club established a library
in 1927 with 144 books and a box from the traveling library, Bismarck, North Dakota, also
generous donations of books from local people. This library has been continued and has shown a
steady growth. It now has 1,272 books and is the main project of the club, along with other
worthwhile projects in which the club takes an active part. The library is housed in a building
owned by C. E. Blackorby, who is the husband of a charter member, who was instrumental in
naming the club after her home club in Cresco, Iowa.

The remaining charter members are: Mrs. W. E. Disher, Mrs. R. B. Olson, Mrs. L. C. Agarand,
Mrs. Bert Johnstone. President officers: President, Mrs. Art Amble; Vice President, Mrs. F. L.
Leftwich; Secretary, Mrs. L. C. Agarand; Treasurer, Mrs. E. Amiss.

The club was hostess to the 33rd annual convention of the second district N. D. F. W. C. in
1940 and joint hostesses with the Cosmos Club of St. John to the 45th annual convention in
1952.

Mrs. Leonard Graetz, a member, has just completed a two-year term of office as president of the
Second District N. D. F. W. C.


SOME EARLY AREA SETTLERS LISTED

Other prominent residents living in and around Hansboro when it was founded were the following
families: Jim Brown, John Pound, Mike Lawler, Wright family, W. E. H. Porter, Bill Williams,
Emory Amiss, Tom Parslow, John Reese, Fred Gray, Wm. Disher, Chas. Tribble, Tom Rod, J. D.
Leftwich, J. W. F. Johnson, Geo. Brown, Joseph Agarand, James Blackorby, Wm. Wilson, Kessler
family, W. B. Underwood, Thos. Moore, Swan Olson, Robert McCauley, Wm. Tackes, Fred Ninke,
David Wampler, Geo. Dale, F. H. Fernyhough, Chas. Bisbee, Claud Lawrence, Frank Graybill, Wm.
Howard, Wm. Seatter, J. O. Carter, Herman Hoerer, John White, A. Dunphy, John Brown, Hugh
Lymburn, Hugh Leslie, Henry Halone, A. C. Anderson, James Cook, John Gretson, Robert Long, P.
W. Flewell, Hector Guilbert, Frank Jodoin, Peter Geyer, Eckerdt family, Martin Barker,
O'Donnell family, McMaster family, James Jarvis and Turcotte family and Bill Cunningham.

Since the best of historians and reporters are not infallible, it is quite probable that there
are individuals and families not mentioned here who should be listed, and no one will regret
the omissions more than the sponsors of this booklet.


EARLIER SKETCHES OF PIONEERS HERE

Presented below in condensed form are articles dealing with Hansboro community pioneers,
written by Win V. Working and published by the Grand Forks Herald in 1936 and 1937.

Christ Orton, farmer near Hansboro, served as a cabin boy and dick hand on ships that
transported tons of the fish from which lutefisk was made from Iceland to Norway. Born at
Sovde, Norway, he went to sea when he was 15 years old, at first on ships that plied the coast
waters and later sailed to Havre and other French ports.

"We had good, stout ships in those days", he said. "They were mainly three-masters, capable of
19 knots in fine weather with a favorable wind. They were a pretty sight on a bright day with
all sails set. "

Out on the cold Atlantic the ship would dip so that he would be soaked by the spray while
clinging to a mast or yardarm.

Mr. Orton's parents immigrated to America before the Civil War, bur returned to Norway shortly
before he was born. He was employed on railroad crews in the upper midwest after coming to this
country and located in the Hansboro area in the latter 1890's. He had moved to the farm on
which he lived in 1937 about 14 years earlier.

Mr. Orton's children are: Charlotte, Spokane, Washington; Rosie, White Plains, New York;
Theodore, Eugene, Oregon and P. E. Orton, Hansboro.


Few persons had the colorful experiences on the northwest frontier that was the lot of Hugh
Leslie, a 1937 Hansboro resident, then 80 years old. He related the following incident about a
near brush with Indians when interviewed in 1937:

"There were five of us, my brother-in-law, R. M. Hanna, his brother, Sidney, Tom Maloney, his
nephew, George and myself. We were traveling with two covered wagons, each drawn by a team of
horses. At the Souris River in Saskatchewan we had to float the wagons across, hanging onto the
horses' tails to get across ourselves because of the current.

"On the other side we spied the Indians, a band of Assiniboines. They were armed and appeared
hostile but we managed to pass their camp without trouble. We wondered at their attitude,
however, as the Assiniboines had been friendly".

That was in 1881, four years before the second Reil rebellion. It was learned later that these
Indians had a white girl captive whom they planned to sell in Missouri. Another party of
whites, larger in number, took the white girl from them. Mr. Leslie's party went on to Fort
Edmonton, Alberta, where Mr. Hanna and George Maloney had a contract to cut hay. A daughter of
Mr. Leslie, Jennie, resides in Hansboro.


(Herald, February 14, 1937)

Oxen, dog teams, mules and horses provided motive power for North Dakota pioneers, but Richard
Cowan, early settler of Sidney Township, Towner County, is the only pioneer of the Hansboro
district known to have used a vaulting pole as a means of locomotion.

How he traveled with the aid of a vaulting pole was explained in historical data compiled by
Mrs. Hugh Lymburn of Hansboro.

"In the fall of 1883", Mrs. Lymburn wrote, "Mr. Cowan and James Dunphy came out from Woodstock,
Ontario, driving overland from St. John. They picked out land and decided to locate east of
Rolla, had logs hauled from the Turtle Mountains for a home and returned to Ontario.

Coming out a second time in 1884, bringing livestock and machinery, they decided to abandon the
site near Rolla and seek a new location. Taking with him lunch and a vaulting pole, Mr. Cowan
started out and when he encountered small streams and narrow ravines, he vaulted them. Vaulting
was a fad in the east at that time and it was a common thing to see young men vaulting their
way along country roads. Percy Cowan, a son of the early-day vaulter, is a Hansboro resident.