Nels P. Synoground Biography


	This biography is from "Memorial and biographical record; an illustrated
 	compendium of biography, containing a compendium of local biography,
	including biographical sketches of prominent old settlers and 
	representative citizens of South Dakota..." Published by G. A. Ogle & 
	Co., Chicago, 1899. Pages 937-938

	Scan, OCR and editing by Maurice Krueger,mkrueger@iw.net, 1998. 

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NELS P. SYNOGROUND, a prosperous and enterprising farmer of Hanson 
township, in Brown county, is one of the pioneer settlers of that 
region, and has by dint of his own efforts gained a fine estate and a 
high reputation. 

Our subject was born in Holstein, Denmark, in 1853, and was the son of 
Peter and Ida (Christianson) Synoground, natives of Denmark. The father 
was a liveryman, and the grandfather of our subject, Nels P. 
Synoground, was a wealthy farmer, but prior to his death met with 
financial reverses and died a poor man. The grandfather of our subject 
on the mother's side, Andrew Paulson, was the owner of a small farm in 
Denmark. In a family of six children, with one sister older than our 
subject, he was one of twins, and was raised in the village of 
Synebert, and attended the village school. He worked on a farm from 
nine years of age until he was fifteen years old, when he left home and 
took a position as teamster for a physician of Copenhagen, Denmark. He 
later clerked in a provision store for a year and a half, and at the 
age of seventeen came to America, landing at Quebec, Canada. He went 
direct from that point to Chicago, Illinois, and soon located in Lesan, 
Iowa, where he worked at farm work and in the warehouse for one year. 
He then went to St. Paul, Minnesota, and drove an ice wagon two years, 
later going to Stillwater, then returned to Iowa, and again to 
Minnesota, where in Duluth he was engaged in hauling supplies for the 
construction crew on the Northern Pacific railroad, going into North 
Dakota. He spent six months at teaming and then worked on a farm near 
St. Paul, and then went to Rochester, Minnesota, working at farm work 
and also in an elevator. He went to Dalrymple, North Dakota, in 1876, 
and work d on the Dalrymple farm, sowing the first crop of grain on 
that well-known estate. He was then employed by Peter Simms to run one 
of his thirty breaking plows, and remained there three and a half 
years. He spent part of the time hauling government supplies to several 
forts, and the last trip was from Bismarck to the Black Hills. Every 
man in the expedition was well armed for Indian attacks and our subject 
was the best shot of the crew and furnished the game for the camp. 

Mr. Synoground went to Brown county, South Dakota, in the spring of 
1880 and took up the south half of the northwest quarter of section 11, 
and also took as a homestead the southwest quarter of the same section, 
on which he erected a 12 x 12 shanty. He had two old horses and a wagon 
and borrowed money with which to purchase a breaking plow. He broke 
some land the first year and worked on the grading for the Milwaukee 
railroad from Groton to Aberdeen. He wintered in the shanty and his 
nearest neighbor was three miles away, and at one time his horses were 
snow bound in the stable for three months, and on several mornings he 
took out the window of his shanty as an exit, and shoveled the snow 
inside until he could make a way through the snow, when he shoveled the 
snow outside. He raised a small crop of corn and potatoes the first 
year, and also engaged in railroad work, and the same in 1882. He now 
owns seven hundred acres of land, all but one hundred and forty acres 
of which is under cultivation, the balance being reserved for pasture. 
He has eight or ten acres in trees, and a well-improved farm. His 
residence, two stories in height and built in two parts, is a 
commodious structure and is a fit habitation, and his barn, granary, 
wind mill, grinding mill and saw mill, the last two run by wind-mill 
power, are of the most improved style and his machinery of the latest 
pattern. He has fourteen head of cattle, eighteen work horses and six 
colts, and is engaged to some extent in stock raising, but makes grain 
raising his principal business. He has traveled over the greater 
portion of the Dakotas, and is well versed on the country, and made a 
judicious selection of his farm, and has met with marked success in his 
calling. 

Our subject was married in 1880 to Eda Mausth, the daughter of Ole 
Mausth, who was a farmer of Norway. Mrs. Synoground was born and raised 
in Norway and came to America in company with her brother, in 1877. 
Twelve children, ten of whom are living, have been born to Mr. and Mrs. 
Synoground, named as follows: Edmund, Ole, Sever, Millie, August, 
Jennie, Ollie, Laura, George, Johnie, all of whom were born in Dakota. 
Our subject is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America, and has 
served as justice of the peace, and is a prominent citizen of Hanson 
township. Politically he is a Republican and stands firmly for the 
principles of his party.