Summary of Office Holders 1882-1907
From Early History of the Oakes Community, Dickey County, North Dakota, page 31-
Dickey County was organized from part of LaMoure County in 1882. Governor Ordway of the Territory of Dakota, came personally to Ellendale,
on petition of fifty residents and organized by appointing the following officers:
H. E. Geschke, Commisioner Q. C. Olin, Commisioner A. H. Whitney, Commisioner M. N. Chamberlin, register of deeds George Kreis, Treasurer James Van Meter, Sheriff W. H. Becker, Probate Judge Miss F. F. Arnold (Now Mrs. Bergendahl), superintendent of schools
Our public men since 1882:
*Democrats
+Populists
All others Republican
State Senators M. E. Randall * ..1889-1891 D. P. Kuhn .1891-1893 J. W. Stevens + ..1893-1897 Thomas F. Marshall....1897-1901 D. E. Geer * .. .1901-1905 Truman H. Thatcher....1905-
State Representatives W. B. Allen .. ...1889-1891 A.T. Cole ....1889-1891 W. B. Allen .....1891-1893 J. S. Ritchie .....1891-1893 G. W. Towers+ . .1893-1895 J. W. Caldwell + .1893-1895 Andrew Smith + . .1895-1897 F. W. Brainerd + .....1895-1897 E. F. Dunton ....1897-1899 Theodore Northrop ..1897-1899 John Kennedy . .1899-1901 J. S. Peek ....1899-1901 George Rose . ...1901-1903 A. Strutz ......1901-1903 George Rose 1903-1907 Eugene F. Stevens .....1903-1907 George Rose .....1907- Carl B. Andrus .. 1907-
Probate Judges W.H. Becker 1882-1885 Harris Gleason * ...1885-1887 S. A. Bowes .....1887-1893 G. W. Parkes + .1893-1897 P.S. Randall + ...1897-1899 Alex D. Flemington...1899-1905 George H. Fay ..1905-
Treasurers George Kreis ..1882-1883 Theodore Northrop .1883-1887 C.W. Porter * .....1887-1889 W.W. Millham ....1889-1893 C.W. Palmer + 1893-1897 John Stewart ...1897-1901 H.C. Peek ...1901-1905 Hans Lee 1905-
Clerks of Court T. M. Evans ..1883-1889 H.S. Nichols ..1889-1893 Benjamin Porter * .1893-1897 William Connor .1897-1899 H. H. Perry* .1899-1903 John E. Baker ....1903-
Superintendents of Schools Miss Frances F. Arnold ..1882 C.R. Lindersmith 1884-1887 C.A. Kent * 1887-1895 C.A. Nichols ...1895-1897 W.E. Hicks .1897-1903 W.W. Denning * .1903-1905 Mrs. Geneva M. Lovell ...1905-
Registers of Deeds M.N. Chamberlain 1882-1883 A.L. DeCoster ..1883-1885 Frank Jerabek ...1885-1889 George H. Keyes ..1889-1893 Andrew J. Applequist +....1893-1897 A.L. Beggs ...1897-1901 R.H. Walker * ..1901-1905 W.E. Kellogg 1905-
States Attorneys Henry Dickie...........1885-1887 Alex D. Flemington..1887-1889 J.H. Boyle...............1889-1891 J. M. Austin............1891-1893 W.H. Ellis +............1893-1895 Alex D. Flemington..1895-1897 Benjamin Porter *....1897-1899 Ernest E. Cassels.....1899-1901 S.G. Cady...............1901-1903 George T. Webb *...1903-1905 Ernest E. Cassels......1905-
Sheriffs H.J. VanMeter.......1882-1883 Charles Deming......1883- T.N. Larson...........1883-1885 Jackson Strane ...1885-1887 T.C. Rice ...1887-1889 W.A. Cross ....1889-1893 D.W. Coleman + 1893-1897 M.P. Axtell .1897-1901 S.S. Thompson *....1901-1905 Joseph C. Drew ..1905-
County Commisioners
First District Q.C. Olin George D. Scott J. A. Spellman C.L. Ward E.F. Dunton A.W. McDonald * C.D. Scott *
Second District A.H. Whitney H.J. Perrine Frank Edgerly * H.B. Homedew U.G. Shipard E. A. Hoerman * U. G. Shepard Ralph E. Griffin
Third District H. E. Geschke A.C. Hogaboom Tormod Wettre S.S. Thompson + F. Van Middlesworth * L.C. Stenquist * Eugene F. Stevens
B. L. Adamson Who represents the Fifth Commisioner district is a Republican and was born in Marion county, Ohio on June 18, 1848; assisted his father in farming; worked in a sawmill for three years, being engineer of the mill half this time; came west to Indiana and then back to Ohio; in 1868 he came west again, settling in Champaign county; later conducted a mercantile business in Rankin, which he continued until he was burned out three years later; rebuilt and continued the business for a year when he went to farming; married Miss Mary J. Wilson in Indiana, December 12, 1849; five children, Sarah A., Maude S., Emma J., Cynthia A. and Thomas V., all grown up; also adopted a nephew, son of his youngest sister, who is dead, the boy is now eighteen years of age; came to Dickey county in 1883; farmed from 600 to 800 acres in Lovell township, but of late years has gone more into stock raising; is a great county, he thinks to give a poor man a start; elected in 1904 over J. F. Coleman, Democrat, by 77 majority for four year term.
Source: The 1906 Christmas Supplement of The Oakes Times
Carlos Burton Andrus - of the Twenty-fifth legislative district, Glover, Dickey county, was born at Marilla, Erie county, New York, on June 11, 1869 and is married and has three children. He came to North Dakota from Minnesota in 1886. Is a farmer. Was educated at Marion, Olmsted County, Minn., common schools. He served two years on town board and four years as assessor. He was elected to the house as a Republican.
Source: The Legislative Manual, pub. 1907, pg. 370
John Everett Baker Born in Guelph, Ontario, Canada, July 31, 1868; educated and is a graduate of high school in Canada; came with parent to Dickey county in 1883; lived in Port Emma and Lovell township; married to Miss Mabel A. Foster in February 1900; has one son, Floyd A., five years of age; owns 160 acres of land in Lovell township which he homesteaded; elected clerk of court as a Republican in fall of 1902 and has served four years, in 1904 receiving the highest majority of any man on the ticket; reelected this year for third term over W. C. Fait by 531 majority.
Source: The 1906 Christmas Supplement of The Oakes Times
Note: He moved to Anaheim, California.
Ernest E. Cassels Born in Kentville, Ontario, Canada, September 22, 1869; came west with parents to Watertown, S. D., in 1880, and the following year came to Aberdeen, preceding the railroad; attended school at Aberdeen and later the Northern Indiana Law School, located at Valparaiso, from which he graduated in June 1895; came to Dickey county in 1896 starting a law practice in Ellendale with D. M. Stevens of Aberdeen, under name of Stevens & Cassels, which continued for two years, married Miss Louise Chambers of Prairie du Chien, Wis., on February 28, 1900, and has two boys; elected states attorney in 1898, served two years and was beaten in convention for renomination; was leading candidate for district judge in 1904 being defeated by Judge Allen in convention by only a few votes; again elected states attorney in 1904 and reelected this year without opposition.
Source: The 1906 Christmas Supplement of The Oakes Times
Joseph C. Drew Born in Dodge county, Wisc., August 16, 1857; left Wisconsin for Iowa when seven years of age; was left orphan at age of twelve and spent some years in several states to the south; came to South Dakota in 1880 and to Dickey county in 1882, where he farmed it near Monango until about 1897, when he took charge of the oil tank at Monango for the Standard Oil Co., in which capacity he served seven years; was married to Miss Agnes Orr November 5, 1890 and has two boys and four girls; elected county commissioner from Fourth district as a Republican in 1896 and served four years; elected sheriff in 1904 by majority of 369 over R. O. Smith, Democrat; re-elected this year without opposition, receiving 792 votes. W. D. Huffman, of Oakes, and C. W. Wattles, of Ellendale, are his deputies.
Source: The 1906 Christmas Supplement of The Oakes Times
A.W. Eygabroad Born at Fredericksburg, Iowa on November 5, 1861; raised and educated there; and when twenty-one years of age came to Dakota Territory and settled in Liberty township in what is now South Dakota; married Miss Clara Parks in Iowa fifteen years ago and has one daughter, May, thirteen years of age; moved to Elm township in this county in 1897; elected county auditor as a Republican in 1904, defeating C. C. Misfeldt, Democrat, for a second term by 171 votes; reelected this year.
Source: The 1906 Christmas Supplement of The Oakes Times
George H. Fay Born in Hudson, New Hampshire, February 24, 1842; came with family to Whiteside county, Illinois in 1844, where he passed early days and received his education; studied law and was admitted to practice before the supreme court of Illinois in 1868; veteran of civil war; entered as private of Company B, 34th Illinois Infantry, served little over a year and discharged for disability; again entered Company B, 140th Illinois infantry, served six months and was mustered out; again entered Company B, 147th Illinois as first lieutenant, serving six months as lieutenant and six months as captain; mustered out in February 1866; in the war with Spain in 1898 he was commissioned a major and was paymaster during that short war; married to Miss Amanda Renwick, who has since died leaving two children, Carl and Inez; again married to Miss Anna Brumagim, his present wife in 1876; came to Dakota in 1886 was delegate from McIntosh county to the constitutional convention n 1889, member of house of representatives from same county in 1891-1893; held terms as states attorney and probate judge of McIntosh county; came to Oakes in 1896; was city attorney and city auditor of Oakes; appointed county judge after the death of Judge Flemington in January 1905; reelected in 1906 without opposition.
Source: The 1906 Christmas Supplement of The Oakes Times
Alex D. Flemington A man who had been interested in the affairs of the county since the beginning was Alex D. Flemington, who passed away at the beginning of 1905, after an eight years' illness from paralytic rheumatism. Mr. Flemington was states attorney in the early days, and with W. H. Rowe and L. D. Bartlett, represented this county in the constitutional convention in 1889. He held the office of probate judge for six years prior to his death.
Source: The 1906 Christmas Supplement of The Oakes Times
Ralph E. Griffin Born in Cochituate, Mass., seventeen miles from Boston, in 1876; came to Dickey county with his parents in summer of 1882; educated in public schools and in high school of Ellendale; married Miss May Wheelihan in 1898; has three children, two boys and one girl; lived in Elm township where he owns 320 acres of land; thinks Dickey county is strictly all right; elected as a Republican from the Second district in 1904; by a majority of 32 votes over Emil Retzlaff, Democrat; elected chairman of the county board in which capacity he has served two years; reelected in 1906.
Source: The 1906 Christmas Supplement of The Oakes Times
V. E. Haskins was born in 1872; came to McIntosh county in 1892 and to Dickey county in 1895; married Miss Ada Phillips in 1896 and has three children, two boys and one girl; came to Ellendale to assist the late Judge Flemington in 1902, and was chosen deputy auditor at beginning of Mr. Eygabroad's term in 1905.
Source: The 1906 Christmas Supplement of The Oakes Times
W.E. Kellogg Born at Rose, Wayne county, New York in 1859; educated in common schools and later at Munroe Collegiate Institute; taught school; came to Dickey county in 1883 and homesteaded 160 acres in Whitestone township and now owns 640 acres; believes in diversified farming with especial attention to dairying; married to Miss Cora Lane in 1890 and has four children; served as county commissioner from the Fourth district as a Republican from 1893-1896; elected register of deeds in 1904 by a majority of 522 over A. G. Ramharter, Democrat;
is deputy register.
Source: The 1906 Christmas Supplement of The Oakes Times
Hans Lee Born in Ringeriger, Norway in 1854; raised there and educated in common schools and at Ringeriger's College; also had business course in college in Christiana; came to America in 1878, settling in Freeborn county, Minn.; came to Oakes in 1887 where he was engaged in mercantile business for himself, later entering the employ of P. S. Peabody, general merchant, and continuing with Klein & Sutmar until 1904; married to Miss Bertha Foss in Minneapolis in 1886 and has one son, Theodore, 19 years of age, and now the efficient deputy treasurer; was city treasurer from 1889 until his election as county treasurer by the Republicans in 1904 receiving a majority of 528 votes over L. L. Taylor, Democrat; reelected this year without opposition, and is the most painstaking and competent official the office ever had.
Source: The 1906 Christmas Supplement of The Oakes Times
Mrs. Geneva M. Lovell Born in Independence, Mo. on January 11, 1858; moved to London, Ohio with her parents when two years of age; received education in schools of London, Ohio; taught nine years in city schools or until her marriage with Robert E. Van Meter on July 26, 1883; was in Kansas five and half years, then to St. Paul, then to Fargo, then to Ellendale, arriving there in 1891, where Mr. Van Meter was editor and proprietor of the Ellendale Commercial , succeeding C. C. Bowsfield; Mr. Van Meter met with a gasoline explosion in his printing office in 1895, causing his death; his wife carried on the newspaper until the following year when it was leased to R. W. Farrar, now secretary to Senator P. J. McCumber; has four children; Florence, Edwin, Hattie and Herbert; Mrs. Van Meter was assistant principal of the high school of Ellendale for two terms; married to Thomas Lovell of Ludden in October 1897; taught school at Ludden; moved back to Ellendale in early nineties; was elected as a Republican to the position of county superintendent in 1904 by 263 votes over W. W. Denning, Democrat; reelected in 1906.
Miss Florence Van Meter, the eldest daughter, is deputy superintendent.
Source: The 1906 Christmas Supplement of the Oakes Times
Note: Geneva Lovell passed away Jan. 21, 1921 at Santa Ana, California.
Thomas F. Marshall Born at Hannibal, Mo., March 7, 1854; was educated at State Normal School, Platteville, Wis., learned the profession of surveyor which he followed more or less for twenty-five years; became a resident of Dakota in 1883; came to Oakes, where he still has his home, in 1886, and engaged in business of banking; first mayor of Oakes, served two terms; state senator from Dickey county from 1897-1901; was leading candidate for United States senator in 1899; nominated and elected congressman in 1902, which position he has since held.
Source: The 1906 Christmas Supplement of The Oakes Times Photo taken prior to 1930.
Richard F. Murray Born in Massachusetts to Michael and Mary Murray who emigrated from Ireland; one of ten children; established first lumberyard in Dickey County in Oakes with his brother; married Julia and had four children.
Source: Extraction from the Oakes Centennial Book, pub. 1986
George Rose Born at Thomson, Illinois, July 27, 1861, where he was raised and educated; married to Miss Alice Carey of Thomson in 1882, came to Dickey county the following year, homesteaded a quarter section in Elden township and has five quarter sections of land at same place; is Republican and is serving his fourth term as a representative from the twenty-fifth district to the state legislature; has six children, two boys and four girls; Mrs. Rose died in the fall of 1905; he is now a resident of Ellendale but continues to look after his farm.
Source: The 1906 Christmas Supplement of The Oakes Times
C. D. Scott Born in Columbia county, Wisconsin, in 1862; raised and educated in Mitchell county, Iowa; lived in Minnesota and Iowa before coming to Dakota with his family in April 1883; lived in Ellendale township where he is a successful farmer; married to Miss Mary Pehl November 15, 1891; no children; thinks Dickey county will stand comparison with any part of North Dakota, and North Dakota will hold its own with any other state in the union; elected county commissioner from the First district as a Democrat in 1904 over E. F. Dunton, Republican, by 7 votes.
Source: The 1906 Christmas Supplement of The Oakes Times
L. C. Stenquist Born in Sweden, July 5, 1852; educated in the common schools of that country; learned the trade of a stonecutter and mason; married Miss Margaretta Larson, September 17, 1877; came to this county in 1880, settling in Sioux Falls, Dakota, where his wife died in 1881, leaving two children; came to LaMoure county in 1882 where he took a preemption; came to Dickey county in 1883 and after filing on a tree claim says he had only $3.00 left; now owns a farm of 589 acres, 75 head of stock and a complete set of farm machinery, all paid for; remarried at Lisbon in 1884 to Miss Ida Johnson, who passed away two years ago, leaving four sons; there were two daughters by this marriage but both have passed hence; elected as county commissioner from the Third district in 1902 as a Democrat for a four-year term over J. T. Scott, Republican, by three votes.
Source: The 1906 Christmas Supplement of The Oakes Times
Eugene F. Stevens Born at Lowell, Mass., in 1858; early life spent in Virginia, Vermont and New York state; came west to Iowa when twenty-one years of age; to Dickey county in 1882; proved up on quarter section of land in James River Valley township; owns same land today and has added another quarter section to his holdings; went back to Iowa in 1892 and remained four years, returning here with $1,000 worth of experience; is married and has a family of five children; elected to state legislature as a Republican in 1900 and served four years: elected this year as county commissioner, defeating L. C. Stenquist, Democrat.
Source: The 1906 Christmas Supplement of The Oakes Times
C. W. Sullivan Born in Kingwood, Somerset county, Pennsylvania, April 12, 1876; educated in public schools of Somerset county; employed on father's farm until sixteen years of age, when he was employed in different public works, such as sawmilling, coal mining and carpentering; afterwards learned enameling trade which he followed until he came to Dickey county in spring of 1897; married to Miss Ella M. Wilson on January 10, 1900 and has two children, Joanna and LeRoy, aged six and four years; owns 460 acres and has made all since coming to this county; values his land at $40 per acre and thinks that in the near future improved land in the county will easily bring $50 per acre; was elected commissioner from the Fourth district in 1904 on the Republican ticket, defeating E. G. Sweeney, Democrat, by 68 majority; reelected in 1906 without opposition.
Source: The 1906 Christmas Supplement of The Oakes Times
Truman H. Thatcher Born at Sharon, Vermont, January 28, 1851; moved to Menasha, Wis., when six years of age, where he received his education in the high school; married to Miss Phebe Smith, June 25, 1872; has one daughter, Mrs. J. D. Root, now of Guelph; came to Dickey county in 1883; has farm of 400 acres in Hudson township; elected state senator by Republicans in 1904 over Ed. N. Leiby, Democrat, by majority of 297 votes; is a great believer in this section of the state.
Source: The 1906 Christmas Supplement of The Oakes Times
A special "Thank You" to Alison Ligman who gathered the materials for this page.