Fifty Years In The Northwest / With An Introduction And Appendix Containing Reminiscences, Incidents And Notes

by William H. C. Folsom

STEARNS, ANOKA AND SHERBURNE COUNTIES.

STEARNS COUNTY.

Stearns county derived its name from Hon. Charles T. Stearns, a prominent citizen of St. Cloud, a representative of the precinct of St. Anthony Falls in the fifth and sixth territorial councils.

It is bounded on the north by Todd and Morrison counties, on the east by Benton, Sherburne and Wright counties, the Mississippi forming the dividing line against Benton and Sherburne, and Clearwater against Wright county, on the south by Kandiyohi and Mecker, and on the west by Pope county. It contains an area equal to thirty-six townships. It is a fine agricultural county and is well watered by the tributaries of the Mississippi, the principal of which is Sauk river. It has also an abundance of small lakes. Its oldest settlement and principal city is St. Cloud, and among its most flourishing villages are Sauk Centre, Fair Haven, Clearwater, Melrose, St. Joseph, Albany, Paynesville, Richmond, and Cold Springs.

The county was organized in 1855, under the legislative act of that year. Gov. Willis A. Gorman appointed the following commissioners: David T. Wood, John Ferschniller and John L. Wilson. They held their first meeting at the house of John L. Wilson, April 9, 1855. J. L. Wilson acted as chairman. The board appointed the following county officers: Charles Ketchum, clerk; Robert B. Blake, treasurer; L. B. Hammond, sheriff; N. N. Smith, judge of probate; R. B. Blake, surveyor; and John Harry Weltshimer, assessor. The board established three precincts, viz.: St. Augusta, St. Cloud and Tamarack. The judges of election for St. Augusta were John M. Feble, John G. Lodenbeck and Anton Emholt; for St. Cloud, Joseph Demil, L. B. Hammond and Battise Arsenan; for Tamarack, Henry Foster, Louis Amel and John Smith. License was granted to Joseph P. Wilson, George F. Brott, L. B. Hammond, and O. Carter to run a ferry across the Mississippi river. April 30, 1855, Farmington precinct was established. John M. Lindeman, Jacob C. Staples and D. T. Wood were judges of election. July 5, 1855, the first rate of taxation was fixed for the county at one per cent.

The first license to sell spirituous liquors was granted to Anton Edelbrock. The first order issued was to pay for county books, $31.86, to John L. Wilson. Ordered that Washington avenue and St. Augusta street be adopted as county roads. Aug. 27, 1855, it was ordered that Chippewa Agency precinct (now in Crow Wing county) be and remain as it was when a part of Benton county, and J. D. Crittenden, Truman Warren and D. B. Herriman were appointed judges of election. It was ordered that Long Prairie precinct (now in Todd county) remain as it was when a part of Benton county, and Anson Northrup, Lewis Stone and Harman Becker were appointed judges of election. On Jan. 6, 1856, a new board of commissioners qualified, consisting of Anton Edelbrock, chairman, Reuben M. Richardson, and M. J. Orth. H. C. Waite was appointed prosecuting attorney. The county was organized for judicial purposes in 1855, and the counties of Crow Wing and Todd were attached. The first term of court was held June 25, 1855; Hon. Moses Sherburne, presiding, Taylor Dudley, clerk, and Joseph Edelbrock, sheriff. The writer is indebted to the efficient clerk of court of 1887, A. L. Cramb, for collecting data, as the old records are quite unintelligible.

Judge E. O. Hamlin held the first term of court under the state organization. At the session of the commissioners in July, 1856, the first bonds of the county were ordered for building a court house, amounting to $7,000, at twelve per cent interest for eight years. The bonds were offered in New York City by an agent. These bonds were lost, and only two of them were recovered. At the session of the commissioners for August, the donation of John L. Wilson of four blocks of ground, containing eight acres, for court house purposes, was accepted. Three-fourths of the ground was sold by the county, and the funds received from the sale, together with $6,000 in bonds issued in 1857, and other bonds issued later, were used in erecting the court house.

ST. CLOUD.

The eastern side of the Mississippi river was the first settled. As early as 1848 David Gilman had located at a point now called Watab. During the ensuing year, Jeremiah Russell, Philip Beaupre and James Beatty were keeping trading posts at Sauk Rapids. In 1849 J. Q. A. and W. H. Wood, brothers, located there. In 1854 the Rapids had become quite a point with its Indian trading posts, its stores and its United States land office. Among the early residents were many subsequently identified with the interests of St. Cloud. In the spring of 1854 John L. Wilson crossed the river at the point now known as the upper landing, then covered with a dense growth of trees and underbrush. On the adjoining prairie, a Norwegian, Ole Burgerson by name, had staked out a claim and put up a shanty. Mr. Wilson purchased his interest and in June of the same year erected a frame dwelling (still standing) near the railroad bridge. Nicholas Lake put up a blacksmith shop near by. During this year James Hitchins put up a small log dwelling for Gen. S. B. Lowry, who platted the township of Acadia, now Lowry's addition to St. Cloud. A post office was established here through his influence. The same year Brott & Co. laid out St. Cloud city. The earliest claimants of the town site, owning claims fronting on the river, were S. B. Lowry, Ole Burgerson, Martin Woolley, and Michael Zoms. John L. Wilson having purchased the claim of Ole Burgerson, platted the village of St. Cloud, and this was the first recorded of any of the St. Cloud plats. The village of St. Cloud made but little progress until 1856, when a hotel known as the Stearns House, now used in connection with the normal school, was built, a ferry established and other improvements made. A notable incident connected with this ferry is the fact that the Rev. Abbot Alexius Edelbrock, now president of St. John's University, then a lad of thirteen years of age, was ferryman, he being the son of the proprietor of the ferry. The craft was swung back and forth like a pendulum, by the current acting against its keel, being fastened by a long rope some distance up the river. It was not therefore beyond the ability of so youthful a ferryman to manage. The post office, established first at Acadia, became the St. Cloud post office and Joseph Edelbrock was appointed postmaster. He was reappointed by President Cleveland to the same position in 1886. The first newspaper in St. Cloud was the Visitor, established in 1857, by the gifted and somewhat erratic journalist and reformer, Jane Grey Swisshelm. This paper had but a brief and troubled career—the advanced views and dictatorial style of its publisher and editor proving somewhat distasteful to the community at large. Mrs. Swisshelm, who had already won a national reputation, went to Washington, became a contributor to the New York Tribune, and had thereafter a somewhat variable, and upon the whole brilliant, career as a lecturer, editor and reformer. She was amongst the strongest, though not the most radical, of the advocates of woman's rights. She was not a woman suffragist, but directed her efforts chiefly toward establishing the legal identity of married women. She was also very pronounced in her anti-slavery views.

The first records of the organization of St. Cloud as a village have been lost. It was reorganized by legislative enactment in 1862, and the following were the first officers: Mayor, Judge L. A. Evans; councilmen, H. C. Burbank, John W. Tenvoorde, Joseph Broker and Barney Overbeck; clerk, A. B. Curry.

St. Cloud was organized as a city in 1868, under the following officers: Mayor, Judge E. O. Hamlin; aldermen, L. A. Evans, president; Peter Smith, Thomas Smith, T. C. Alden, Leander Gorton, T. R. Bennett, O. Tenny, C. Bridgman, Andrew Fritz, L. R. Roberts, Lewis Clarke, H. C. Burbank; clerk, N. F. Barnes. The city government has been judiciously managed. The United States land office, established first at Sauk Rapids in 1853, was removed to St. Cloud in May, 1858. The first receiver was W. H. Wood. His successors have been S. B. Hayes, C. A. Gilman, W. B. Mitchell, H. G. Burbank, Ole Peterson, and C. F. McDonald, the present incumbent. The first register was George W. Sweet. His successors have been W. A. Caruthers, T. C. McClure, H. C. Waite, H. L. Gordon, J. A. Brower, and D. H. Freeman.

The city has paid for various improvements as follows: City water works on the Holly system, $25,000; city bridge over the Mississippi, 500 feet in length, $12,000; to the Manitoba railroad in real estate and bonds, $100,000; in cash, $27,000; gas works, $10,000. The fire department is well equipped. An electric light plant has been established. Considerable money and work have been expended in dredging Lake George, a beautiful lake about fifty-five acres in extent, lying in the heart of the city, and surrounding it with parks. Street cars have been introduced and altogether the city has made most commendable advancement in all those things that pertain to beauty and comfort.

Not less rapid and substantial are its advances in commerce and manufactures. Before the completion of the railway it had regular communication by water with all river points, and since its facilities for transportation have made it the peer of any inland city of its size in the State. The railroads of St. Cloud are the Manitoba with its various branches and the Northern Pacific, the latter passing through East St. Cloud. Among the improvements of which its citizens are justly proud we may mention the St. Cloud dam, constructed in 1886, at a cost of $200,000. The city gave $100,000 for this improvement. The dam has for its foundation the underlying granite of this section. It is intended as a permanent structure and must conduce largely to the growth and prosperity of the city. The dam has 10 feet head of water and furnishes 1,500 horse power. A flour mill with a capacity of 300 barrels per day is run by the water power. The Phœnix Iron Works, established at a cost of $175,000, give employment to 100 men. Bridgman's steam saw mill has a capacity of about 40,000 feet of lumber per day.

St. Cloud is backed by a rich agricultural and timbered district. In the vicinity are valuable quarries of jasper, and of gray and red granite. Two granite polishing works, operated by steam, are located near the city. These quarries stretch away to the northeast, through the counties of Benton, Morrison, Mille Lacs and Kanabec. They give employment to 1,000 men. The Manitoba Railroad Company has purchased recently about 400 acres of land, on which to build extensive shops and stock yards, calculated to give employment, when completed, to 1,000 men. The principal hotels are the Grand Central and the West House.

The first bank in St. Cloud was established by Waite & McClure in 1859. This bank, a private institution, was the beginning of the banking system in St. Cloud. It is now operated by N. P. Clarke. The First National Bank was organized as a private bank in 1867, with a capital stock of $25,000; James A. Bell, president; Joseph G. Smith, cashier. It was reorganized as a state bank in 1879, with a capital stock of $50,000. In 1886 it was reorganized as a national bank. The first board of officers have served continuously to date. The business of the bank amounts to over $300,000. The German American National Bank was organized in 1883; Chas. A. Hull, president; Edgar Hull, cashier; capital stock $50,000. The business (in 1886) amounts to $250,000. The present board of officers are: F. E. Searle, president; John Cooper, vice president; F. M. Morgan, cashier.

St. Cloud has many fine buildings. The court house cost $40,000, and four school buildings an aggregate of $75,000. The bishop's cathedral cost $40,000, and the Catholic church $30,000. The Episcopalians, Presbyterians, Baptists, Methodists, Congregationalists, and Lutherans have organizations and good church buildings. The normal school buildings located here cost $100,000. St. Cloud University is a flourishing institution. St. John's University, although located in the adjoining town of St. Joseph, has been identified more or less with the interests of St. Cloud, and deserves mention in its history. It was originally located two miles south of St. Cloud, but was subsequently removed to a point northwest, a mile distant from the thriving village of Collegeville.

The university owes its existence to the zeal, energy and self devotion of the Benedictine Fathers, a colony of whom came to America in 1846. This colony settled first in Westmoreland, Pennsylvania, but in 1856, at the invitation of Bishop Cretin, came to Minnesota, where, the year following, they commenced their educational work on the banks of the Mississippi near St. Cloud. The school was commenced as a seminary, but in 1869 the state legislature granted authority to confer degrees, and in 1883 formally changed the name from St. John's Seminary to St. John's University. The buildings are ample and commodious, and located pleasantly on the banks of a beautiful lake. The faculty consists of Rt. Rev. Alexius Edelbrock and twenty-two professors. In 1885 St. Benedict's Hospital was erected at a cost of about $15,000. It is under the supervision of the Benedictine Nuns. The state reformatory was located at East St. Cloud in 1887.

LA SAUK,

Formerly St. Joe, adjoining St. Cloud on the north, had a saw and flour mill erected in 1855. These mills were burned in 1886, and rebuilt in 1887. Amongst the early settlers were J. H. Lineman in 1854, J. A. Upham and George Rieder in 1855.

Peter Schaeler, a farmer, a native of Germany, came to America in 1850, and to St. Joseph in 1856. John, his only son, retains the old homestead, and was in 1883 engaged in the insurance business in St. Cloud.

John L. Wilson was born in Columbia, Washington county, Maine, in 1820. He came to Minnesota in 1851, locating at St. Anthony, but in the following year removed to Sauk Rapids and in 1854 to St. Cloud. The first deed on record in Stearns county was from John L. Wilson to L. C. Kenna, and bears date of 1855. In 1855 he was married to Harriet N. Corbett. They have three children living.

Charles T. Stearns, from whom the county took its name, has been for many years a resident of Louisiana, and is a wealthy planter.

Henry G. Fillmore, a nephew of President Fillmore, was born in the state of New York in the '20s, and came to Watab in 1848. He has lived in St. Cloud many years.

Nathaniel Getchell was born in Washington county, Maine, in 1828. He came to St. Anthony in 1852, and to Stearns county in 1855.

James Keough came from Ireland to America in 1850, and directly to Watab. He settled in St. Cloud in 1854, was married in 1855, and has a large family.

Loren W. Collins was born in Lowell, Massachusetts, Aug. 22, 1839. He received a common school education; came to Hastings, Minnesota, some time prior to the Rebellion, studied law with Smith & Crosby and was admitted to practice, but in August, 1862, entered the service of his country in Company F, Seventh Minnesota Volunteers, of which company he was commissioned second lieutenant, and a year later first lieutenant. He was discharged with his regiment at the close of the war, and returned to his law practice. In 1866 he removed to St. Cloud and practiced law. He served as county attorney a number of years; was a member of the Minnesota house of representatives in 1881-83; was appointed judge of the Seventh Judicial district April 8, 1883, and elected to that office in 1884. Nov. 12, 1887, he was appointed to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Judge Berry, an appointment that gives general satisfaction, Judge Collins having won an enviable reputation as a jurist and as a man.

Henry C. Waite was born in Albany county, New York, in 1830; graduated at Union College, Schenectady, New York; was admitted to practice law in 1852, and the same year came to Iowa. A year later he removed to Wisconsin, and located at Madison, where he practiced law two years. In May, 1855, he came to St. Cloud, where he has since continuously resided. The first ten years of his residence in St. Cloud he devoted to the practice of his profession, after which he devoted his time to farming and milling.

Mr. Waite was a member of the constitutional convention in 1857. He also served several terms in the senate and house. During President Lincoln's administration he served as register of the land office. He was married to Maria D. Clark in 1860. He has two sons.

Gen. S. B. Lowry was the son of the devoted and zealous missionary, Rev. David Lowry, who labored among the Winnebagoes in Northern Iowa in the '30s and '40s. He located first at Brockway, ten miles above St. Cloud, and established a trading post, but in 1853 removed to St. Cloud, where he surveyed and platted the village of Acadia, afterward known as "Lowry's addition." He made St. Cloud his home until his death, which occurred in 1861.

Anthony Edelbrock was the first resident of St. Cloud. His oldest son was the first child born there. This son died in infancy. His second son became the abbot of St. John's University. Mr. Edelbrock is now a resident of Missouri.

Joseph Edelbrock was born in Westphalia, Prussia, in 1826. He learned the trade of a carpenter, came to America in 1847, and lived in Chicago until 1855, when he came to St. Cloud and engaged in mercantile pursuits. He is the oldest merchant continuously in business in the city. He served as sheriff two years and as register of deeds four years. He was married in Chicago in 1852, and has six children living. A daughter, the second child born in St. Cloud, is the wife of Peter E. Kaiser.

John Rengel, made a claim here in 1855. He has been and still is a prosperous citizen. He has a family of ten children.

Louis A. Evans was born near Philadelphia, Nov. 2, 1822. His forefathers came to America with William Penn and bought of him a township of land, on which still reside many of his descendants. His father served as a soldier in the war of 1812. Louis was educated at the graded schools in Philadelphia; was apprenticed to a piano maker, and worked at his trade at Cincinnati, Ohio, Clinton, Mississippi, and New Orleans until 1856, when he came to St. Cloud, where he still resides. During his residence he has served as postmaster, judge of probate, clerk of the district court, editor of the St. Cloud Times, mayor of St. Cloud, and president of the council and member of the house and senate of the state legislature. He was married to Elisabeth W. Libby in 1871.

Ambrose Freeman.—We have no datum as to when Mr. Freeman came to St. Cloud, but it was probably prior to 1860. He was a stonemason, and while working on a cellar wall heard the report of the Sioux uprising and massacre (in 1862), and, dropping his tools, hurried off to satisfy himself as to the truth of the reports, called a meeting of citizens, and organized a company of twenty-five volunteers to assist in caring for the wounded and burying the dead. On his return he was commissioned captain of the Northern Rangers and marched with his command to the relief of Forest City and Fort Abercrombie. He was with Gen. Sibley's command in 1863, and while riding over the prairie was shot with an arrow by an Indian, and expired instantly.

Nathan F. Barnes has lived a somewhat eventful life. He was born at Portland, Maine, June 26, 1817; received an academic education; served as a midshipman in the navy from 1834 to 1839, visiting many parts of the globe. In 1840 he commenced the study of law, was admitted to practice in 1843 and practiced awhile at Conway, New Hampshire, where in 1844 he was married. In 1850 he was appointed mail agent on the Isthmus route to California, served six years, and then located in California. Two years later, in 1858, he removed to Alexandria, Minnesota. During the Sioux massacre he and Andreas Darling were the only persons remaining in the neighborhood who escaped being killed. In 1865 he came to St. Cloud, where he has been an active and prominent citizen. He served many years as city clerk and city justice and was elected to the house of the state legislature in 1875. He was influential in securing the location of the normal school in St. Cloud. One son, Percival S., died in the Saulsbury prison during the Civil War. He has one son and one daughter living.

Nehemiah P. Clark was born in Worcester county, Massachusetts, April 8, 1836. In his youth he attended school in Kentucky and at seventeen years of age was clerking in a store at Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. In 1856 he came to St. Cloud and engaged actively in business, selling goods, farming, staging, lumbering, and dealing in pine lands. He has a farm in Le Sauk of 2,000 acres, a creamery, a cheese factory, and one of the largest and best herds of cattle, horses, hogs and sheep in the State. For office and official honors he has no taste. He served, however, as president of the State Agricultural Society in 1886.

Oscar E. Garrison was born at Fort Ann, New York, in 1825, and was early thrown upon his own resources. He came to Minnesota in 1850, and built the first house on the shores of Lake Minnetonka where Wayzata is now located. In 1850 he surveyed and platted the village of Wayzata. In 1860 he came to St. Cloud. He made a land claim in Polk county in 1862 and narrowly escaped being murdered by the Sioux at their uprising. His house and property were destroyed. While hiding with his wife and four-year-old son, Indians passed within twenty feet of him. After a perilous night journey, during which he came almost within touching distance of sleeping Indians, he arrived safely at Sauk Centre.

The Gilman Family.—The Gilman family of which Charles A. is a descendant came to America from Hingham, England, with the Folsoms, in 1638, and are the founders of the town of Hingham, Massachusetts. The Gilmans were renowned for their loyalty to the colonies, and later to the state and national government.

Charles A. Gilman was born in Gilmanton, New Hampshire, Feb. 9, 1833. His youth was spent at home, where he received a common school and academic education, the latter at Gilmanton Academy. He taught school during the winters. In 1855 he came to Sauk Rapids, Benton county, where he engaged in farming and real estate business; he also filled the offices of auditor and register of deeds. In 1861 he removed to St. Cloud, having been appointed register of the United States land office for that place. He served seven years as register and receiver. He studied law, and was admitted to practice in 1876. Mr. Gilman has lived a busy life, and besides his real estate, law, surveying and exploring business, he has taken a conspicuous position in the politics of his State, having served as state senator in the years 1868-69, and as representative from 1875 to 1879. In 1878-79 he served as speaker of the house. From 1881 to 1884 he was lieutenant governor of the State. He was elected to the legislature several times as a Republican, when the district was strongly Democratic, a high compliment to his ability and integrity. He was married to Hester Cronk, at Sauk Rapids, Jan. 1, 1857. They have six children living. He has lived at St. Cloud since 1861, where he has a delightful home.

Of St. Cloud citizens not elsewhere mentioned in this work, and who have been prominent in advancing its interests, are Charles Bridgman, Henry G. Mitchell and son, C. F. McDonald, Lewis Clark, Alonzo F. Cramb, C. F. Davis, Levi S. Geer, Josiah G. Hayward, David L. Kiehle, A. Montgomery, Overbeck brothers, John H. Owen, and John Cooper. St. Cloud has furnished three able jurists for the supreme bench in this district, E. O. Hamlin, J. M. McKelvy and L. W. Collins.

ANOKA COUNTY.

Anoka county was organized in 1857, the nucleus or first settlement being a small village on the Mississippi, at the month of Rum river, named Anoka, from a Chippewa word meaning work or labor. The county has a fine location on the east bank of the Mississippi. Its boundaries on the north are Isanti county, on the east Chisago and Washington counties, on the south Ramsey county, and on the west Sherburne county and the Mississippi river. Rum river flows in a southeasterly direction through the county, and by this river, its tributaries and those of the Mississippi and St. Croix, the county is well watered and drained. The valleys of these streams furnish many fine natural meadows. The soil is a black sandy loam with clay subsoil. Townships 31, 32 and 33, range 22, are drained by the tributaries of the St. Croix. Originally consisting of oak openings, natural meadows and tamarack swamps, interspersed with small lakes, with excellent roads, school houses, churches and town organizations, the county is well settled and has many fine farms under a high state of cultivation. Its proximity to the pineries of Rum river and to the markets of Minneapolis and St. Paul makes it a desirable location for the lumbermen and farmers.

The county is subdivided into the following townships: Anoka, Bethel, Blaine, Burns, Centreville, Columbus, Fridley, Grow, Ham Lake, Linwood, Oak Grove, Ramsey, and St. Francis. The Northern Pacific and St. Paul, Minneapolis & Manitoba railroads traverse this county near its western boundary, following the course of the Mississippi river. Outside of Anoka the first settlement in the county was within the bounds of the present town of Ramsey. Nathan Shumway, Cornelius Pitman and Daniel Hawthorne settled there in 1850.

The first county commissioners were appointed by the governor. They were E. C. H. Davis, J. P. Austin and Silas O. Lum. They met June 30, 1857, and appointed the following officers: Sheriff, James C. Frost; treasurer, James M. McGlauflin; coroner, Joseph C. Varney; assessors, Daniel Robbins, S. L. Guice, Francis Peeler. The first deed on record in the county bears date of June 30, 1857. It conveys the northwest quarter of section 26, township 33, range 24, from Nathaniel S. Davis to Mary S. Small, for a consideration of five hundred dollars. There is, however, a transcript of a deed from Ramsey county bearing original date of Sept. 11, 1849, conveying the north half of the northwest quarter of section 35, township 31, range 24, from Abel Bloodgood, of Minnesota Territory, to Henry M. Rice, for a consideration of two hundred dollars. The first town plat, that of Anoka, bears date of July 5, 1854.

ANOKA.

This town lies on the east shore of the Mississippi and includes part of fractional township 31, range 24. It is watered by Rum river, which traverses the northwestern part, and by Coon creek in the eastern part. The town originally was chiefly prairie. Its early history is included in that of Anoka county.

ANOKA CITY.

The county seat of Anoka county is located on the Mississippi at the mouth of Rum river and dates its settlement to the year 1847, when Thomas Holmes located on the east bank of the river, and built the first log house for a trading post. Aaron Betts, in the employ of Holmes, brought his family with him, the first family in the town. In the winter of 1847-48 Holmes sold out to Simeon P. Folsom, whose family was the second in the town. Mr. Folsom raised the first crop in the township. In September, 1848, Mr. Folsom removed to Sherburne county, selling out his claim to Louis Roberts. In the winter of the same year Wm. Dahl took possession for Mr. Roberts. In the spring of 1849 Antoine Roberts, brother of Louis, came from Prairie du Chien, took possession of the home, and lived there some years, when he was killed by an Indian. When the land on which the improvements were made was brought into market Louis Roberts entered it.

In 1851 Anton Guion entered a quarter section of land on the west side. He immediately sold his claim to Henry M. Rice, who bought it with the intention of platting it as a town site. His brother, Orrin Rice, occupied it and made improvements. Rum river has a fall of five feet, which is fully utilized at Anoka.

In 1851 Geo. W. Branch took up a claim on the west side, and built a house near what is now the corner of Main and Ferry streets. This was the first frame house in Anoka, which, from this time forward, grew almost imperceptibly into a village, till in 1855 the census showed nearly 300 inhabitants. In 1860 the population was 602, and in 1886, 5,000. Anoka was incorporated as a city in 1878, with the following board of officers: Mayor, G. W. Church; aldermen, D. C. Dunham, D. H. Lane, L. G. Browning, A. Davis, H. N. Seelye, and J. H. Pierce; treasurer, H. E. Lepper; justices of the peace, W. W. Fitch and E. S. Teller; constables, George Geddes and Norman McLean. At that time the city was divided into two wards, the First including the east side, and the Second the west side, of Rum river. In 1881 the west side was changed to the First ward, and the east side became the Second and Third wards.

In 1853 Ed. I. Shaw built and opened the first store. It was on the west side, and the building still stands, and is known as the Schuler building. It is now the hospital: Caleb and W. H. Woodbury erected a saw mill on the east side. It was subsequently owned by Woodbury, Shaw & Farnham. During the same year a bridge was built across Rum river by the government; Orrin Rice, contractor. The first flour will was finished in 1855. It was burned ten days after with $5,000 worth of wheat and corn a total loss, as there was no insurance. It was owned by A. P. Lane, Caleb and Henry Woodbury. The mill was rebuilt by Caleb Woodbury and Wm. L. Barnes. In 1855 H. L. Ticknor erected and opened the first store on the east side. Rev. Royal Twitchell preached the first sermon and taught the first school. The first mill was utilized on Sundays as a church.

The Congregationalists organized the first church in Anoka in 1855, and erected a church building in 1857. The Baptists and Catholics organized in 1856, the Methodists and Episcopalians in 1860, the Universalists in 1867, the Swedish Lutherans in 1870, the Adventists in 1880, and the Free Methodists in 1882. The Masons organized a lodge in 1866, the Knights of Pythias in 1872, the United Workmen in 1877, the Patrons of Husbandry in 1874, and the Odd Fellows in 1882.

Anoka has suffered from time to time by fires. A flour mill, two saw mills, half a dozen hotels, and a large number of stores have been burned at different times, and twice the business part of the city has been destroyed. Aug. 16, 1884, the entire business portion of the city, including 60 business blocks and the Washburn mills, was consumed. The loss amounted to $750,000, on which there was an insurance of $316,000. The burnt district has since been handsomely rebuilt, and the Washburn flour mill has been replaced with a superior building, five stories high, 60 × 180, ground plan, and rising to the height of 112 feet. This is one of the finest mills in the State.

The court house is valued at $35,000, the city hall at $12,000, and four school buildings at $75,000. The bridge across the Mississippi, a fine structure, 700 feet long, was built at a cost of $100,000. Street cars have been introduced on some of the streets. The principal manufactories are the Lincoln flouring mill, with a capacity of seven hundred bushels per day, owned by the Washburn Mill Company; four saw mills belonging to the Washburn Mill Company, with a capacity of 50,000,000 feet per year; the Anoka Sash and Door Factory, one of the most thriving industries in the city, Jonas Morell, manager; a starch factory, a boot and shoe company, with a capital of $30,000, recently organized. Other industries are well represented; the whole giving employment to over 1,000 men.

The First National Bank of Anoka was organized as a private banking institution in 1872. It became a state bank in 1882, with a capital stock of $25,000, and a national bank in 1883, with a paid up capital of $50,000. The officers are: President, H. L. Ticknor; cashier, B. F. Pratt. The Anoka National Bank was organized in 1883, with a paid up capital of $100,000. The officers are: President, W. D. Washburn; vice president, C. C. Crane; cashier. C. S. Guderian.

BETHEL

Includes township 33 and the twelve south sections of township 34, range 23. Its surface is partially prairie land, and is dotted with small lakes. The first settlers were Quakers, with the exception of Rice, Price, O. Evans and Robert Minard, who came in 1855. Bethel post office is located at what is known as Bethel Corners. The town was organized in 1858. The first supervisors were O. Evans, W. Dickens and R. Price.

BLAINE,

Named in honor of James G. Blaine, embraces township 31, range 23. It was originally included in Anoka, but was set off and organized in 1877. The first supervisors were Moses Ripley, George Tisdale and Richard de Long. The records have not been kept with sufficient accuracy to enable us to determine who were the first settlers. It appears, however, that the first comers abandoned their claims. Green Chambers is the first settler recorded. He came in 1865.

BURNS

Includes township 33, range 25, and is in the northwestern part of the county. The soil is clay loam, and in the western part are many lakes. Of these Twin lakes are ninety feet in depth. The first settler was John Derigan, who was also one of the first settlers of Elk River township, in Sherburne county. The town was organized in 1869. The supervisors were John D. Keen, John A. Mussey and W. D. Le Clair. A German Lutheran church was built in 1878.

CENTREVILLE

Includes township 31, range 22. It is the oldest settlement in the county, Alphonse Jarvis having located here in 1840. Frank Lamott settled here in 1849. The first considerable settlement was made on Rice lake, in 1850, by F. W. Traverse and other German families. A French colony settled in the eastern part of the town in 1852. Prominent among these colonists were Francis X. Levalle and brother, Oliver and Frank Dupre, Francis Lamott and Oliver Peltier. The town was organized in 1857, with the following commissioners: Oliver Peltier, chairman; Francis Lamott, treasurer, and Stephen Ward. The town was originally a timbered and meadow district. It has a good black loam soil, and is well watered by Rice lake and numerous small streams. It contains a number of ancient mounds. Its nearest railroad station is Centreville, on the St. Paul & Duluth road, an Washington county.

CENTREVILLE VILLAGE

Was platted in 1853, by Peltier, Lavalle & Lamott. It contains a substantial brick church known as the Church of St. Genevieve of Paris, built in 1859. The congregation numbers about four hundred.

COLUMBUS,

Township 32, range 22, was settled in 1855 by James Starkey, Isaac Conway, John Kleiner and Henry Batzle. Mr. Conway became a dealer in real estate, and removed to California where he died.

James Starkey figured prominently in the early history of the Territory and State, but may be mentioned here as the founder of the village of Columbus, in 1855 and 1856. He expended $60,000 in building a hotel and other improvements, not a vestige of which now remains.

FRIDLEY.

This town, including fractional township 30, range 24, was organized as Manomin county in 1857, and held that organization, with A. M. Fridley as chairman of county commissioners, until 1870, when it was disorganized and attached to Anoka county, retaining Manomin as its town name until 1879, when it was changed to Fridley by legislative enactment. John Sullivan, G. W. Thurber and Thomas Casey were the first supervisors. The town contains about thirteen sections of land in the eastern part of township 30, range 24, pleasantly located on the east bank of the Mississippi. It is traversed by Rice creek.

John Banfil settled here in 1848 and was the first postmaster of the village of Manomin, of which he was proprietor. He represented the Twenty-fourth district as senator in the first state legislature. He removed to Bayfield, Wisconsin, and died there in 1886. It has been improved by the introduction of large manufacturing establishments. A flouring mill was built in 1871. In 1887 $100,000 was expended in manufactories, and real estate to the amount of $400,000 changed hands. It has one church building (Episcopal), erected in 1858.

GROW

Includes township 32, range 24. It is watered by Rum river and Coon creek. George Branch settled here in 1853, and about the same period, J. C. Frost, Joseph McKinney, Andrew J. Smith and Walter D. Gary. The town was organized in 1857 as Round Lake, but changed to Grow in 1860, in honor of Senator Grow of Pennsylvania. The first supervisors were Silas O. Lum, W. W. Hank and Wm. Staples. The town records were burned in 1856. In 1873 the Catholics erected a church building.

HAM LAKE,

Formerly a part of Grow, was set off and organized in 1871. It includes township 32, range 23. It was settled chiefly by Swedes and Norwegians, of whom Matts Gilbertson, of Norway, was first to locate here. There were many transient persons among the first comers, but the first permanent settler of any nationality was Josiah Hart, from Vermont, who came in 1857. He died in 1876. John Scully came in 1858. The first supervisors were John Rowe, A. B. Lingard and C. Olsen. The Swedes and Norwegians have each a house of worship.

LINWOOD.

This town, consisting of township 33, and twelve sections of township 34, range 22, lies in the northeastern part of the county. It is well watered and traversed by a chain of lakes. The first settlement was by Joseph Sanson, a German, who located here in 1855. W. Dickens, an Englishman, came in 1857. Linwood was set off from Bethel and Columbus, and organized September, 1871. The first town officers were J. G. Green, F. McGregor and Michael Hurley. There is a post office in the village of Linwood. A Methodist church was built in 1873, and a saw and feed mill, by Shanton & Haskell, in 1875.

L. S. Arnold, a native of Montreal, Canada, born in 1820, came to Minnesota in 1847. He seems to have made his home at Linwood, which he left, but after living some years in Michigan and Missouri, he again returned in 1866.

Samuel Ridge came to Linwood in 1860.

J. G. Green, born in 1819, located here in 1863, and since 1867 has served as postmaster in Linwood village. He has served several years as county commissioner. The Green brothers are descendants of the Plymouth Pilgrims.

G. W. Haskell was an early settler. He originally came from Skowhegan, Maine. He died in 1885.

Michael M. Ryan was born in Ireland in 1845. He came to America in 1858 and settled in Linwood with his father's family. Two brothers enlisted as volunteers during the Civil War, and died in the service.

The Hurley Family come to Linwood some time in the '50s. The sons are prominent business men at North Branch, Pine City and Hinckley. The father moved to North Branch in 1887.

OAK GROVE

Includes township 33, range 24. It abounds in small lakes and the Rum river drains the western portion. The first settlers were David Rogers, Moses Seeley and James Nutter, in 1855. Dennis Mahoney, of Ireland, born in 1813, came to Oak Grove in 1856, held the office of supervisor fourteen years, and that of justice of the peace continuously to the present. The town was organized in 1857, with the following supervisors: A. W. Norris, Dennis E. Mahoney and Peter Brennan. Rose, daughter of William Smith, was the first child born.

RAMSEY,

Named in honor of the first territorial governor, occupies fractional township 32, range 25, in the western part of the county, on the Mississippi river. It was organized in 1857 as Watertown, which name was changed to Dover, and then to Ramsey, in 1885. In 1849 an Indian trading house was opened in section 19, by T. A. Holmes and Thomas Beatty. The first permanent settlement was made by a New England colony in 1850, amongst whom were P. Shumway and sons (John and Peter), Nathan and Benjamin Shumway, and Cornelius Pitman. In 1852 the town plat of Itasca was surveyed in sections 19 and 30. William Vincent, Thomas Miller and J. C. Bowers came to Ramsey in 1852. Mr. Bowers was postmaster for twenty-five years at Itasca, and died Oct. 4, 1879. The first supervisors were Jared Benson, Isaac Varney and Cornelius Pitman.

ST. FRANCIS

Includes the two southern tiers of sections of township 34, ranges 24 and 25. The first settlers were George Armsby and E. Fowler, in 1855. The town was organized in 1857, but the records have been lost. Dwight Woodbury, who has been prominent in the history of the county, located a water power flour and saw mill and built a hotel on Rum river where the village of St. Francis has since been built, and surveyed the village plat. The mills were destroyed by fire in 1869, but were immediately rebuilt. In 1880 a bridge across Rum river was built at an expense of $7,000. Mr. Woodbury's investments have been over $25,000. Mr. Streetly opened the first store and was first postmaster at St. Francis.

AN INDIAN RIOT.

In the fall of 1847 a German baron, a single man, and Wm. Noot and wife settled on Big island, in the Mississippi, about two miles above the mouth of Rum river. They were traders. In March, 1848, in consequence of the revolution in Germany, the baron returned to his native land. Noot remained until June, when the Winnebago Indians were removed by Gen. Fletcher. Pending their removal the Winnebagoes made a raid on the trading post, confiscated the whisky and provisions and fastened Noot in a stable and his wife and child in a small cabin, where they were found by S. P. Folsom the same day, surrounded by drunken Indians and in imminent peril. Noot appealed to Folsom for aid. The Indians, however, were furious and threatened Folsom's life. The chief, "Whistling Thunder," used his influence in a novel way to quiet the turbulent, by placing before them all that remained of the barrel of whisky, which they eagerly drank. Folsom then released Noot. The wife, who had been previously released, ran with her child, frightened out of her wits, no one knew whither. After a long search the captain found her, and at great risk took her across a slough to the mainland in a canoe, which nearly sank before the shore was reached. Noot afterward went to St. Paul and purchased eighty acres of land, now in the heart of the city. He was a member of the house, Fourth and Fifth Minnesota legislatures. At present he resides at Big Lake, Sherburne county.

Jared Benson.—Mr. Benson was the son of Jared and Sallie Taft Benson, and was born in Blackstone. Massachusetts, Nov. 8, 1821. The farm on which he was born was purchased of the Indians by his great, great grandfather. His paternal grandfather, Benoni Benson, and his maternal grandfather, Ebenezer Taft, served in the Revolutionary War, the former as a lieutenant. Jared Benson, his father, served in the war of 1812.

Mr. Benson had a fair common school education and occupied himself in farming until 1844, when he joined the corps of engineers who were locating the Providence & Worcester railroad. He was afterward agent for the company and superintendent of transportation. In 1856 he came to Minnesota, locating at Anoka and engaging chiefly in farming and stock raising. He has served his townsmen as justice of the peace and county commissioner. For some years he has been a director of the St. Paul & Pacific railroad. He served as clerk of the house of representatives in 1859-60, and was afterward member and speaker of the house for three years, including the extra session of 1862. He was revenue collector for his district in 1870-72, and was again elected to the legislature in 1878. He was married to Martha Taft, of Mendon, Massachusetts, Feb. 5, 1857. They have five children.

James C. Frost was born in Rumford, Oxford county, Maine, in 1816. He was raised on a farm. On reaching his majority he came to Jefferson county, Wisconsin, where he lived fourteen years. In 1852 he came to St. Anthony and in 1853 to Anoka. He held the office of postmaster several years and was again reappointed in 1888; served fifteen years as sheriff and as a member of the legislature in 1857-58. He was in the employ of the St. Paul & Pacific Railroad Company for nine years. He was married in 1840 and has a family of eight daughters.

A. J. McKenney, born in Lowell, Maine, Feb. 20, 1829, came to St. Anthony in 1850 and followed lumbering until 1854, when he came to Ramsey, Anoka county, and located in section 2 as a farmer. He has been a prominent citizen.

John Henry Batzle was born in Wurtemburg, Germany, in 1830; came to America in 1837; lived in New York until 1855, when he came to Minnesota and located in what is now the town of Columbus, Anoka county, where he engaged in farming. He has been a member of the Methodist church for twenty-five years. He is in every way much esteemed as a citizen. He was married in 1854, but has no children.

John R. Bean was born at Salmon Falls, New Hampshire, April 25, 1831; came to St. Anthony in 1849 and to Ramsey, Anoka county, in 1850, where he made a farm in section 33. He says this was the first farming done in Anoka county. From 1850 to 1859 he lived alternately at his home in St. Anthony and his farm in Ramsey. In 1870 he removed to Anoka city, where he is engaged in lumbering.

William Staples was born in 1815, in York county, Maine, where he was married in 1840. He came to St. Anthony in 1850. He has lived in the town of Grow, of which he was one of the founders, for many years. He is a farmer and brickmason.

Abraham McCormack Fridley was born May 21, 1818, at Corning, Steuben county, New York. His parents were Pennsylvanians, of German descent. He received a common school education. At the age of twenty-one years he was appointed deputy sheriff of Steuben county, and was afterward collector of canal tolls at Corning. In April, 1851, he was appointed by President Fillmore agent for the Winnebago Indians then at Long Prairie, Todd county. In that year he was also admitted to practice law. In 1853 he removed to St. Paul and was elected sheriff of Ramsey county. The next year he removed to St. Anthony Falls and was elected to the house of the territorial legislature. A little later he removed to Manomin, now Fridley. He was elected a representative in the legislatures of 1869-70-71 and 79. For many years he cultivated a large farm at Becker. For ten years he has been in the employ of the Manitoba railroad as land agent. He is a Democrat, and in 1860 was delegate to the conventions at Charleston and Baltimore. Mr. Fridley died March 26, 1888, leaving a widow and three sons, Henry C., Frank and David H.

Capt. James Starkey was born in England in 1818. He came to America in 1849 and located in St. Paul in 1850. He removed to the town of Columbus, Anoka county, in 1855, and was active in promoting its interests. His first enterprise, the building up of the village of Columbus, was not successful. In 1857, by order of Gov. Medary, he commanded a military expedition against the Chippewas at Sunrise Prairie, the object being to compel them to return to their reservation, an expedition attended with some tragical results, as elsewhere narrated. Capt. Starkey took part in the Civil War as captain of a cavalry company. He was the first to survey a road through the country lying between St. Paul and Lake Superior. He was a representative of the first state legislature. Since 1865 Capt. Starkey has resided at St. Paul, and is at present prominent as a citizen and as an official in West St. Paul.

SHERBURNE COUNTY.

Prior to its organization, Sherburne was part of Benton county. It was named in honor of Judge Moses Sherburne, an appointee to the bench of the supreme court of Minnesota Territory. The county is bounded on the north by Benton, on the east by Anoka and Isanti counties, and on the south by the Mississippi river. It is somewhat irregularly timbered with pine and hardwood, interspersed with oak openings, rolling prairie lands and natural meadows. The surface is generally undulating. A prominent ridge of high land, from three to five miles wide, extends from Elk river in a northeasterly direction into Anoka county. The county is well watered by tributaries of the Mississippi, Elk and St. Louis rivers, and has besides many clear and sparkling lakes. The soil is mostly sandy loam with clay subsoil, and valuable granite quarries are found in the northern tier of towns.

David Faribault was the first settler or trader, he having established a post on the Elk river in 1846, where he made a garden and raised potatoes. In September, 1848, H. M. Rice and S. P. Folsom bought Faribault's improvements, and Folsom moved his family to the place and built a log cabin on what is now Auditor's addition to Elk River village. He was succeeded in the ownership by Pierre Bottineau.

The county was organized in 1856, under territorial law. The governor, Willis A. Gorman, appointed J. H. Stevenson, Ephriam Nickerson and Eli J. Cutter commissioners (Stevenson being chairman); Eli Houghton, treasurer; H. J. Putnam, register of deeds; Andrew Boyington, judge of probate; John G. Jamieson, county attorney; Orlando Bailey, sheriff. The first commissioners' meeting was held at the house of Joseph Brown, at the village of Humboldt, which was made the county seat and so remained until 1867, when it was removed to Elk River village. The county was attached to Benton for judicial purposes until 1862. Prior to this Mr. Brown's house was used for county commissioners' meetings and for courtrooms until burned down some years later, when the commissioners met at the house of John E. Putnam.

A court house was built at Elk River on lots donated by J. Q. A. Nickerson, the village donating $1,000 and the county the remainder necessary for the building.

Prior to the formation of the state government, the county was divided into election precincts. The first term of district court was held at Humboldt in December, 1862; Judge C. E. Vanderburgh, presiding; J. E. Putnam acting as clerk. The first commissioners who held their meeting at Elk River were H. Houlton, chairman; A. Boyington and O. Bailey. The first meetings were held at the house of J. Q. A. Nickerson.

In 1867 the St. Paul, Minneapolis & Manitoba railroad was completed through the county on a line parallel with the general course of the Mississippi river. The North Pacific railroad, since built, runs parallel on the same grade. The depots were built upon the same plan and placed on opposite sides of the two tracks. The stations are Elk River, Big Lake, Becker, Clear Lake, and East St. Cloud. The Manitoba has a branch line from Elk River to Princeton and Milacca, built in 1884.

The first deed recorded was transcribed from the Benton county records, transfers of property from James Beatty to Richard Chute and David Olmstead, and bears date of July 28, 1851.

TOWNS.

The towns in Sherburne are: Baldwin, deriving its name from F. Eugene Baldwin, an old citizen; Big Lake, from the lake on which located; Becker, from Hon. G. L. Becker, of St. Paul; Blue Hill, from a high hill in the town; Clear Lake, from a lake of that name; Elk River, from the river on the shore of which it is located; Haven, from Hon. John Ormsby Haven, who represented his district in the state senate in 1872-73; Livonia, from the christian name of the wife of an old citizen; Orrock, from Reuben Orrock, a pioneer, originally from Scotland; and Palmer, from Dr. Palmer, of Sauk Centre.

Elk River was the first town organized, and included the whole county. The first election was held Sept. 30, 1858, at which the following board of officers was elected: Moderator, Alden B. Heath; supervisors, J. G. Jamieson, Alden B. Heath, J. Q. A. Nickerson; clerk, George H. Davis.

VILLAGES OF SHERBURNE COUNTY.

Orono, a post office, was established at Orono in 1850. The office was merged into the Elk River post office in 1853. This post office, with the mills erected in 1851, became the nucleus of the Elk River settlement, which some years later became Elk River village, within the corporate limits of which Orono is now situated. Orono was surveyed and platted May, 1855; Ard Godfrey, proprietor.

ELK RIVER,

Located originally about a mile below Orono, was not platted as a village until 1865. J. Q. A. and Julia Nickerson were the proprietors. It is on the east bank of the Mississippi, at its junction with Elk river, above which it now extends a distance of two miles. It has a pleasant location. It was incorporated in 1881, with C. S. Wheaton, president; W. T. Struble, recorder; N. K. Whittemore, H. P. Burrell and L. Pollard, commissioners. Elk river affords a fine water power with ten feet head. Mills were erected here in 1851. A great fire in May, 1887, destroyed mill property valued at $50,000. Since the fire a flour mill with a capacity of 250 barrels a day has been completed at a cost of $25,000. A saw mill is also in process of construction. The village has an elevator with a capacity of 10,000 bushels, 2 town halls, 3 churches, Episcopal, Free Will Baptist and Congregational; a first class school building, with rooms for four departments; a school building at Orono, with two departments; and two railroad depots, built at a cost of $9,000.

In June, 1885, a private bank was incorporated as the Bank of Elk River.

EAST ST. CLOUD,

In the town of Haven, is a thriving village. It has one of the best granite quarries in the State. The State, in 1887, located here its reformatory school, receiving a donation of two hundred acres of land, covered with gray and variegated granite. The village was surveyed and platted in August, 1853; Geo. F. Brott & Co., proprietors.

CLEAR LAKE

Was surveyed and platted March 24, 1882; Alanson Potter and wife, proprietors.

BECKER

Was surveyed and platted Dec. 5, 1870; J. Freeman and H. C. Fridley, proprietors. Mr. Vadnais was the first settler, in 1855.

BIG LAKE,

Originally Humboldt village, is located on Elk river, ten miles above its junction with the Mississippi. Its first settler was Joseph Brown, a veteran pioneer, but not to be confounded with the invincible Joe R. Brown, elsewhere referred to. Mr. Brown came here in 1848, and made substantial improvements. He died in 1886. His family still reside here. James Ely and Newell Houghton also settled here in 1884. Mr. Houghton was killed at the New Ulm massacre in 1862.

John Quincy Adams Nickerson was born in New Salem, Franklin county, Maine, March 30, 1825. He received an academic education; taught school and followed farming in Maine. In 1849 he came to St. Anthony Falls, and in 1853 settled at Elk River, which then contained but one house, a hewed log structure, which he, in company with B. F. Hildreth, purchased for a hotel. The house has been enlarged from time to time, and has been continuously under the charge of Mr. Nickerson. He has besides employed much of his time in farming and lumbering, and has dealt in village lots. He was appointed postmaster at an early day. He has filled various responsible offices, among them that of county treasurer and town and county supervisor. He was married to Julia A. Farnham, of St. Anthony Falls, Oct. 2, 1852. They have five children.

Henry Bittner was born in Bavaria in 1799; came to America in his boyhood; enlisted in the United States Army in 1835; served in the Mexican War; was present at the battle of Buena Vista, and when the American forces were surrounded performed a daring feat, carrying a dispatch from Gen. Taylor through the Mexican lines to an American fort. He was a target for the bullets of the Mexican Army, but arrived at his destination severely wounded. He was discharged on account of his wounds. In 1855 he came to Clear Lake and made him a home. He offered himself as a volunteer during the late Civil War, but was not received on account of age and disability. He died at his home at Clear Lake in 1885.

Francis De Lille, of French descent, was born in Canada in 1782. He came with his family to St. Anthony in 1848, and in 1852 to Elk River, where he occupied the first house built in the lower town. He settled on a farm, where he lived the remainder of his life. He died April 18, 1874, under peculiar circumstances. He was a devout Catholic, and died suddenly in the church while kneeling during a part of the service. His widow and youngest son reside at the old homestead.

Mrs. De Lille, formerly Catharine Queenan, of Ireland, is one of the oldest settlers of Sherburne county. She has eight children living, Mary F., married and living in Dakota; Frank, Agnes; Elisabeth, married to Peter Trump of Taylor's Falls; Harriet, wife of Joseph Holt, of Taylor's Falls; Joseph F., Rosanna and Sarah, all married.

Howard M. Atkins was born in New Sharon, Franklin county, Maine, May 11, 1838. His father was stricken down by lightning, leaving him at the age of thirteen to assist in taking care of the family. Howard was near his father and was struck senseless by the same flash that deprived him of a father. Recovering, he set himself earnestly and seriously to the duties of life, performed his allotted tasks about the household, and succeeded in obtaining a good high school education. He came to Princeton, Mille Lacs county, in 1856, studied law and was admitted to practice in Mille Lacs county in 1863. Subsequently he practiced law five years in St. Cloud. He came to Elk River in 1876. He has held official positions in Mille Lacs, Stearns and Sherburne counties. Mr. Atkins has acquired an honorable position through his own exertions and richly deserves the respect of his fellow citizens. He was married in 1862 to Virginia Sinclair, of Illinois. They have two sons and four daughters.

B. F. Hildreth was born in Milford, Maine, March, 1822. He learned the trade of a blacksmith and came to St. Anthony in 1849, and the year following did part of the crew work of the first steamer launched on the Mississippi above the falls. Since then he has engaged chiefly in lumbering and farming. In 1850 he was married to M. E. Farnham, of St. Anthony. He removed to Elk River in 1873.

Samuel Hayden was born Oct. 12, 1806, at Madison, Maine. He came to Livonia, Sherburne county, in 1856. He has a family of four sons and three daughters, residents of Minnesota. His brother, the Hon. Wentworth Hayden, was a member of the constitutional convention of 1857.

The writer of these sketches had known Mr. Samuel Hayden in early life, and distinctly remembered seeing him the winter of 1827, driving an ox team in the pineries on Dead river, Maine. He was then a young man of twenty-one, and the writer was a boy of ten. Sixty years later they met in Sherburne county, and the writer recognized in the aged man of eighty-one years the young man of twenty-one, though for the moment unable to call his name. It is seldom that memory bridges so wide a chasm.

Joseph Jerome settled in the town of Haven in 1846, and is therefore among the first of the pioneers. In 1848 he sold his property to Samuel Sturgis and removed to Michigan.

Joshua O. Cater came from Stafford county, New Hampshire, and was one of the earliest settlers of the town of Haven, where he still lives.

J. F. Bean also came from New Hampshire to Sherburne county, and is now a resident of Livonia, and postmaster at Lake Fremont.

J. H. Felch, of Maine, an early settler of Livonia, is now living at Elk River.

James Brady came to Palmer in 1855. He died about 1868.

Joshua Briggs settled in Palmer in 1855, and died there in 1881.

Robert Orrock, for whom the town of Orrock was named, died at his home, at a good old age, January, 1885.

John G. Jamieson died at Elk River in 1869.

A. B. Heath removed to Oregon in 1873, where he still lives.

Dr. B. R. Palmer, for whom the town of Palmer was named, was a resident of Sauk Centre and died there in 1885.

Judge Moses Sherburne, for whom the county was named, died at Elk River in 1869.

Chas. F. George, who settled in Santiago in 1856, is at present chairman of the board of county commissioners.

Royal George, a pioneer of the same date, returned to Vermont, where he died in 1887.

W. L. Babcock, a merchant of Santiago, still resides here.

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