BIOGRAPHIES: Otto G. MANSTAD, Barron Township, Barron Co., WI ************************************************************************ USGENWEB ARCHIVES NOTICE: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by any other organization or persons. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material, 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. The submitter has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives to store the file permanently for free access. Transcribed by Kate Wilson. Edited and submitted by Vic Gulickson 3 January 2004 ************************************************************************ Otto G. Manstad, a capable and respected citizen of Section 12, Barron Township, was born in Norway Feb. 2, 1858, the son of Gilbert and Helena Manstad, who were born, lived and died in Norway, he being a veterinary surgeon by profession. Otto G. was the oldest of eight children. He was educated in his native land, and as a youth became a sailor, following the sea for ten years. In 1884 he came to America and located in Sumner Township, this county. For several years he farmed and did carpenter work. In 1891 he purchased 80 acres of wild land in Section 12, Barron Township. He erected a log house, started clearing the land, and for a time lived alone. Then he brought his wife to the place and they started to establish their fortunes. In the years that have passed since then, he has cleared up the land and developed a good place. At first he had but little to do with. Grain was harvested with a cradle. It was two years before he got his first cow. The wife spent her spare time in spinning and weaving, making knitted socks, mittens and jackets from the yarn she spun, and fine dresses and table cloths from the linen she wove. In 1907 Mr. Manstad built an eleven-room frame house, two stories high, and in 1913 he built a barn, 36 by 82 feet in dimensions, with a full basement, and with a silo in the barn. The place is now as good as any that can be found in the neighborhood. Mr. Manstad carries on general farming and raises good Durham and Guernsey cattle. He is a stockholder in the Farmers’ Store at Rice Lake. He served three years as town treasurer and four years as town clerk and for eleven years was school clerk. Mr. Manstad was married May 3, 1897, in the log house on his farm, to Julia Banden, who was born in Norway Sept. 17, 1866, and came to America with her brother, Martin, about 1880. Mr. and Mrs. Manstad have one son, in whom they take just pride. This son, Helmer 0. by name, was born on the home place March 6, 1899. He attended the schools of the neighborhood, went through the Rice Lake High School, and took a year’s course in the Hunt Business College at Eau Claire, Wis. He is now chief clerk in the office of the "Omaha" line at Altoona, in Eau Claire County, this state. --Transcribed from: History of Barron Co., Wisconsin, H. C. Cooper, Jr., & Co., 1922, pg. 150. © All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm