BIOGRAPHIES: John H. BENSEND, Almena Township, Barron County, WI

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This file was contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by:  
Vic Gulickson <vic@indy.net>  14 May 2001	
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John  H.  Bensend,  proprietor  of  Lake View Stock Farm, a substantial and
respected  citizen of section 21, Almena Township, where he has developed a
good farm from the wilderness, was born in Sweden on Dec. 23, 1854, the son
of  Ben  J.  and  Anna Bensend. The father brought the family to America in
1868  and  located in Chicago, where he unloaded boats by contract. In 1874
he  came  to  Trempealeau  County, in this state, and located on a farm. In
1877 he returned to Chicago and was janitor in the Jack Haverly Theater. In
the  fall  of  1881  he  took  up his home with his son, John H. He died in
August,  1895.  His good wife lived to be 93 years old and died in 1917. Of
their  family  of  four sons and three daughters there are now living five:
Andrew,  John  H.,  Christine,  Betty  and Lillie. Christine married Halvor
Anderson  and  lives  near  Whitehall,  Wis.  Betty married Abe Cornwall of
Turtle  Lake,  this county. Lillie married John A. Cornwall, also of Turtle
Lake.  John  H.  was reared and educated in Sweden. He was fourteen when he
came  to  the  United States with his parents. He attended night school and
remained  with his parents, working at farming, lathing and carpenter work.
In  1880  he  went to Longwood, Clark County, and farmed and logged. In the
fall  of  1881 he came to Barron County and bought 112 acres in section 21,
Almena  Township,  which  was all wild and covered with timber, mostly oak.
There  he  began  as  a  real  pioneer.  There  were no public roads in the
vicinity,  neighbors  were  few and far between, there were no comforts and
the  necessities  were  sometimes  lacking.  The  settlers  had to bring in
provisions on their backs from Perley and Turtle Lake. Lumber was hauled in
from  Perley  with  ox teams. There was but little market for anything that
was  raised on the farm. In order to get a little ready money the first few
years,  Mr.  Bensend  worked  about  as a carpenter, leaving his parents in
charge of the farm. In 1879 and 1880 he worked as stage carpenter and night
watchman  in the Jack Haverly Theater in Chicago. Since then he has devoted
his  time  to  the operation and development of his farm. He has a pleasant
home,  a  barn furnished with the James equipment and suitable outbuildings
such  as  silo,  granary and sheds. Here he successfully carries on general
farming  and  dairying.  He  has  a good herd of Holsteins headed by a full
blooded  sire,  his  Duroc-Jersey swine are registered and he also has some
good  horses.  He is interested in the development of the community and has
done excellent service on the school board for nearly twenty years. In 1890
he  took  the  U.  S.  census  for the towns of Almena and Turtle Lake. The
Almena  unit  of  the  Barron  County Farm Bureau has found in him a useful
member.  Mr.  Bensend  was married at Cumberland, this county, on Sept. 17,
1888,  to Anna Schroeder, who was born in Minnesota in September, 1870, the
daughter  of  Fred and Mary Schroeder, who settled in Turtle Lake Township,
Barron  County,  in  1876. The father, a veteran of the Civil War, is dead,
and  the  mother  is still living in Turtle Lake. Mr. and Mrs. Bensend have
seven  children:  Albert,  Mabel,  Lulu,  John, Lillian, Nellie and Dwight.
Albert  is  a  dentist  in  Carthage,  S. D. Mabel married Clarence West of
Almena  Township.  Lulu  married Gordon Findley of Duluth. Nellie is in the
Midway Bank, Minneapolis. John, Lillian and Dwight are at home. John took a
six  months'  course in the Agricultural College of the State University of
Minnesota.  He  married  Lucile  Sanford.  The two deceased brothers of Mr.
Bensend are Gust and Nels. Nels was killed in a "Soo" railroad wreck, while
working  as  a  baggageman.  Gust  bought  and sold several farms in Almena
Township.  His  widow,  Nellis Stowe, a school teacher, now lives in Little
Cedar, Iowa.

--Taken from: History of Barron Co., Wisconsin, H. C. Cooper, Jr., & Co.,
1922, pg. 631-632.