Fifty Years In The Northwest by William H. C. Folsom

brothers of Charles Vitalis, residing in the town of Franconia. AUGUST J. ANDERSON was born near Wexico, Sweden, in 1860; came to America with his parents in 1869, and to Franconia. At thirteen years of age he commenced clerking for C. Vitalis, with whom he continued until 1873, when he associated himself with him in the mercantile business. He visited Europe in 1883. FRANK N. PETERSON.--Mr. Peterson came to America in 1865, and in 1866 settled in the valley of the St. Croix. He attended school at Carver, Minnesota, one year, when he became a traveling salesman for Leopold & Co., of Chicago, and in 1881 settled in Franconia. He organized the lumbering firm of Borens Brothers & Peterson, which continued until 1886, when a new organization was formed, called the Franconia Lumber Company, consisting of P. Jordan, Sam Mathews, of Stillwater, and the subject of our sketch. [Illustration: FRANK N. PETERSON.] Mr. Peterson has been the president of Franconia since its incorporation. In 1869 he married Miss Ingur Johnson, daughter of Eric Johnson, a pioneer of St. Peter, Minnesota, and is the father of two children, Axel, a promising son, who died in February, 1885, at fourteen years of age, and Maria, now a student in the Ladies' Seminary at Faribault, who is developing marked ability as a pencil artist. Mr. Peterson owns one of the finest houses in the valley, romantically situated, which is supplied with pure spring water. It is a pride to the village and attracts general attention. He is also the inventor and patentee of the Lindholm & Peterson adding machine. HARRIS. The town of Harris contains twenty-four sections of township 36, range 21, the four western tiers of sections. The soil is a sandy loam with clay subsoil. The town is well watered and drained by Goose creek, which entering the town from the northwest, and bending at first southward, then eastward, leaves the town near its southeastern line in section 22. The timber consisted originally of oak openings and pine; 10,000,000 feet of the latter have been removed from the southeastern portion. Luxuriant wild meadows are found along Goose creek. The first improvement was a farm, made by W. H. C. Folsom in sections 21 and 22 in 1854. The first permanent settler was Henry H. Sevy, who located on this farm in 1856. The town of Harris was organized in 1884. HARRIS VILLAGE. A charter organizing Harris village was granted by the district court, under the general law, in 1882. A question arose as to the legality of the act. A subsequent legislature, by legislative act, confirmed all similarly organized villages in the State. The supreme court decided the organization of such villages illegal and the legislative act sanctioning it unconstitutional. It was subsequently organized legally. The village was surveyed by A. D. Miller and platted in May, 1873, in the south half of section 21, township 36, range 21, Philip S. Harris and N. D. Miller, proprietors. It derived its name from Philip S. Harris, a prominent officer of the St. Paul & Duluth railroad. Fred Wolf was the first settler, in 1870, and first merchant and first railroad agent, in 1873. He acted as postmaster subsequently and filled other offices of trust. His interests are intimately blended with those of the village. Isaac Savage was the second settler and merchant. He was the first postmaster, in 1873. The first school was taught by Mary Gwinn, in 1873. The first marriage was that of M. P. Smith and Charlotte Swenson. The first child born was Brague, son of W. D. Sayers. The first death was that of Isaac Morrill. A good school house was built in 1877. The village is rapidly growing. It has an extensive trade in hay, wood, ties and piles. Wheat shipments are large. It has four stores, two hotels, three elevators, three hay presses, two wagon and smith shops, one agricultural warehouse, one skating rink, one livery stable, two saloons, one meat shop and a railroad depot. LENT. This town includes the whole of township 34, range 21. It is well watered and drained by Sunrise river, but has no lakes. The soil is a sandy loam; the timber chiefly oak openings. The early settlers were Harvey Lent, from whom the town derived its name, William Robinson, James Buchanan, who raised the first crops in 1855, Joshua Dawson, Jesse Moore and others. The town was organized in 1872. The first supervisors were Dawson, Moore and Robinson. The first post office was established in 1875, at Stacy, a railroad station on the St. Paul & Duluth railroad, which traverses this town from south to north. Frank Dawson was the first postmaster. NESSELL. Nessell includes township 37, range 22. The surface was originally covered with a growth of hardwood, with some pine. Of the latter, about 10,000,000 feet has been cut. The soil is adapted to wheat culture. It is well watered. Rush lake occupies a nearly central position, and is a beautiful sheet of water with about fourteen miles of meandering shore line, crystal clear, and deep, well stocked with fish, and bordered with groves of maple, oak and linden. The town was set off from Rush Lake and organized in 1870. The first supervisors were Wm. H. McCray, John H. Breit and Matts Colleen. The town is settled by a class of industrious, upright people. There are three churches, with prosperous societies, the Swedish Baptist, the Swedish Lutheran and German Lutheran. Martin Linnell was the first child born. The first marriage was that of Wm. Vanetta and Anna Johnson, in 1861. Alice Draper taught the first school. Rev. Cedarstam preached the first sermon. ROBERT NESSELL was the oldest settler. The town was named for him. He was born in Germany in 1834; came to America in 1847, and to Minnesota in 1854. He was married at Sunrise to Kate Torbert, of Shafer, in 1856, and the same year located his present home. Other early settlers are John H. Breit, John Lindsey, P. Kelley, and the Jarchow brothers. STEPHEN B. CLARK made Nessell his home in 1867. Mr. Clark was born in Vermont in 1830; came to Marine in 1851. He served three years during the Rebellion in the Second Wisconsin Cavalry. He removed to Rush City in 1856. RUSH SEBA. Rush Seba comprises township 37, range 21, and fractional part of township 37, range 20, consisting of about ten sections, irregularly bounded by the St. Croix river. It is timbered with hardwood, has good soil, chiefly a black clay loam, with clay subsoil, and is well watered by Rush river and Rock creek and tributaries. Wild meadows and marshes are intermingled with the timber. The town was organized in 1858, with George B. Folsom, Robert Newell and Timothy Ward as supervisors. A post office was established in 1859, in section 14, George B. Folsom, postmaster. George B. Folsom was the first settler, raising the first crops in the town in 1855. The St. Paul & Duluth railroad traverses the town from south to north. It was built in 1868, and a branch road to Grantsburg, Wisconsin, was built in 1884. Josephine Blanding taught the first school, in 1856. The first death was that of James Ward, who died from accidental poisoning. RUSH CITY. In 1868, at the completion of the St. Paul & Duluth railroad, a depot was built and a station established at the crossing of Rush river, around which rapidly grew up the village of Rush City. It was surveyed and platted by Benjamin W. Brunson, surveyor, in January, 1870, in the northeast quarter of section 21, township 37, range 26. The Western Land Association, L. Mendenhall, agent, was proprietor. Thomas Flynn was the first settler, he having in 1857 pre-empted the land which afterward became the site of the village. Among the improvements in 1869 was a steam saw mill, built by Taylor & Co. This mill was burned in 1879, at a loss of $13,000. Rush City was incorporated in 1874. Frank H. Pratt was president of the first village council. Rush City has now a commodious town hall, an exchange bank, one elevator, one foundry, a good school house, built at a cost of $3,000; a good graded school, under the supervision of Prof. V. D. Eddy; a lodge of Ancient Order United Workmen (No. 42), a board of trade, a Woman's Christian Temperance Union Association, a Sons of Temperance lodge, a post of the Grand Army of the Republic (Ellsworth Post, No. 58), and a masonic organization (Jasper Lodge). The following denominations have churches and societies: Catholic, Episcopalian, German Lutheran, Swedish Lutheran, and Swedish Evangelical. The Catholics are building a church at a cost of $10,000. THOMAS FLYNN was born in county Mayo, Ireland, 1828. He came to America in 1831, and lived in Canada East until 1857; when he located in Minnesota, pre-empting the northeast quarter of section 21, township 37, range 21. His farm became the site of the village of Rush City in 1868, and in 1869 he built the first frame house in its limits. Mr. Flynn has been married three times, losing each of his wives by death. He has two sons living, James H. and Frank A. PATRICK H. FLYNN was born in county Mayo, Ireland, in 1829; came to America in 1831; lived in Canada East until 1857, and coming to Minnesota pre-empted the northwest quarter of section 21. He was married in 1857 to Margaret Kelly, of Illinois. They have two sons and two daughters living. Mr. Flynn, in 1880, erected the Globe Hotel in Rush City, where he now resides. RUFUS CROCKER was the second settler in Rush Seba. He was the first justice of the peace and held other offices. Mr. Crocker was married to Miss Mercy Hewson, of Isanti county. He is now a citizen of Rock Creek. FRANK H. PRATT was born in Skowhegan, Maine, in 1836. His father, Henry P. Pratt, a veteran editor, who had served twenty years on the Kennebec _Journal_, and later was connected with the Somerset _Journal_ and Skowhegan _People's Press_, came to St. Paul in 1854 with his family, and was associated with John P. Owens as assistant editor of the St. Paul _Minnesotian_. On Sunday, May 6, 1855, Mr. Pratt went on board the steamer Royal Arch, which had landed at the St. Paul levee that morning with a cargo of passengers, sick, dying and dead of cholera. Thirteen had already died on the boat. Mr. Pratt, Sr., went on board to alleviate the sufferings of the sick and dying, and in consequence, within two days, himself sickened and died. The writer and his family were passengers on the Royal Arch, and witnesses to these scenes of suffering and death and Mr. Pratt's heroic self-devotion. After his father's death Frank continued in the office of the _Minnesotian_ as printer. He worked also in the offices of the St. Paul and St. Peter _Tribune_ and the Prescott _Transcript_. In 1858-59 he served as local editor and foreman in the _Transcript_ office. In 1860 he removed to Taylor's Falls, and established the Taylor's Falls _Reporter_, the first newspaper published in Chisago county. In 1862 he enlisted in Company C. of the Seventh Minnesota Volunteer Infantry; was commissioned second lieutenant, and served until he resigned his office in the latter part of 1864, having been promoted to the captaincy of Company C. After the war he located in Sunrise City, and engaged in mercantile pursuits. In 1872 he removed to Rush City, continued in mercantile business, and took an active part in all enterprises looking to the welfare of the city. He built a store, elevator and a fine residence, which was burned in 1881. Mr. Pratt represented his district in the sixteenth legislature. He was married to Helen A. Bossout, at St. Paul, in 1858. They have one son, Fred, and three daughters. Mr. Pratt moved to St. Paul in 1882, where he died, March 25, 1884. Fred, his son, succeeds him in business in Rush City. He is married to a daughter of Jonathan Chase, of East Minneapolis. VOLORO D. EDDY was born in Java, Wyoming county, New York, Sept. 7, 1840; received a common school education supplemented by two years' attendance at Griffith Institute, Springfield, New York; gave up his school to enlist in his country's service, as a member of the "Ellsworth Avengers" (the Forty-fourth New York Volunteers). The regiment was mustered into service at Albany, New York, Aug. 8, 1861. He served in this regiment until June 5, 1864, when he was taken prisoner at Old Church, Virginia. He endured the horrors of prison life until Feb. 26, 1865, and was discharged from service May 20,