BIOGRAPHIES: Peter SOCKNESS, Barron Township, Barron County, WI ==================================================================== USGENWEB NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the Internet, data may be used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material. These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or for presentation by other persons or organizations. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for purposes other than stated above must obtain the written consent of the file contributor, or the legal representative of the contributor, 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. This file was contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by: Vic Gulickson 30 October 2000 ==================================================================== Peter Sockness, a retired farmer of Barron Township, was born in Trondjem, Norway, Sept. 9, 1866, son of Ole and Mary (Oyen) Sockness, the latterof whom died in Norway, and the former of whom came to America, settled on a farm in South Dakota, and there spent the remainder of his life. There were eight children in the family, the seven besides Peter, being: Erick, of Wheeler, Wis.; Ole, who died in Menomonie, Wis.; Gertrude, wife of Sever Stein, of South Dakota; Mary, wife of Peter Ranbraut, of North Dakota; Sever, of Phillips, Wis.; and Sarah and Andrew, who live in Norway. Peter came to America in the spring of 1888, and found his first employment with Knapp, Stout & Co., at Menomonie, Wis. Next, with headquarters at Eau Claire, he worked in the lumber woods in the winter seasons and in sawmills in the summer. In 1894 he went to Minneapolis. It was in 1898 that he located permanently in Barron County, and bought 80 acres of wild land in Barron Township, to the development of which he devoted his attention. He now has a good farm of 200 acres, five miles northwest of Barron City, with 75 acres under the plow. The house is a frame structure of two stories, the barn is commodious, the silo is adequate for its needs, and the other buildings are all in good condition. The place is well equipped with tools, implements and machinery, and well fenced. Mr. Sockness carried on general farming and made a specialty of dairying, with a good herd of Shorthorn cattle. He is now practically retired, having rented the farm to his sons, Olaf and Ingwald. He is well liked in the community; he served one term as town supervisor, but declined to qualify for the second; he did good work for three years as a director of his school district, and he has also in other ways demonstrated his worth as a public spirited citizen. His financial interests include stock in the Barron Co-operative Creamery. Mr. Sockness married Inga Olson who was born in Trondjem, Norway, April 21, 1865, daughter of Ole and Carrie Olson. Her parents died in Norway. She came to America in the fall of 1890 with her sister, Mary, now Mrs. Michael Nelson, of Minneapolis. Her brother, Ole O., is living in Norway. Mr. and Mrs. Sockness have five children: Marie Christine, born June 3, 1897; Olaf Ole, born Aug. 28, 1898; Ingwald Palmer, born July 20, 1900; Martha Galena, born Jan. 4, 1902, a graduate of the Eau Claire Business College, and Anna Elina, born Aug. 7, 1904. --Taken from: History of Barron Co., Wisconsin, H. C. Cooper, Jr., & Co., 1922, pp. 140-141.