Dickey County Pioneers

Dickey County NDGenWeb- Pioneers First settlers into Dickey County in 1881 were: F. M. DANN; E. J. HERMAN; A. S. JACKSON; Herbert WELLS. They came in the fall of 1881 and spent the winter in claim shanties in what is now Ellendale. Mrs. BISHOP came from Fargo who kept a hotel. Then came Thomas SHIMMIN and Nels KNUDSON. By 1882, many settlers were coming.2
The first County Commissioners elected July 1, 1882 were2:
GESCHKE, H. E.
OLIN, Q. C.
WHITNEY, A. H.

The first county meeting was held August 1882 and officers appointed were2:
ARNOLD, Miss E. F.
BECKER, W. H.
BROWN, J. E.
CALDWELL, W. A.
CHAMBERLAIN, M. N.
DUNCAN, Dr. W. F.
KREIS, George
SCOTT, J. A.
STEPHENSON, J. L.
VAN METER, H. J.

Many of the early pioneers were listed in a 1930 edition of the History of Dickey County edited by R. M. Black and published by the Dickey County Historical Society1. Another source giving names of Dickey county pioneers is the book Cemeteries of North Dakota, North Half Dickey County, Volume 18, compiled by the Red River Valley Genealogy Society, pub. 1987.2 Independently submitted Dickey County Pioneers3
This listing of pioneers is organized by townships.

TOWNSHIPS OF DICKEY COUNTY
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Albertha Township
Burnett, William
Filvie, George
Hart, Orville Childs came in 1882 from Lake Lillian, Minnesota
Hambrook, Mark
Heller, Mr.
Johnson, Peder came in 1882 from Minnesota
Kosel, John
McCabe Family
McKinney, R.
Mosher, James
Parks, Harding
Rau, Jacob
Saunders, C. L.
Saunders, E. M.
Shimmin, Thomas came in 1882 from Lancaster, Wisconsin
Traagesund, Christ (later known as Ole Olson)
Wicks, Ed
Wolff, Chris
Wolff, Jacob
Wolff, John

Bear Creek Township(Oakes)
Babcock, L.B.
Brown, John A., (1852-murdered in 1896)
Christianson, Anton
Dill, George (1851-1932)
Jones, John
Kenkel, Herman
Mills, William, erected the first house in 1882
Nelson, John (1849-1916)
Nelson, Mons (1852-1928)
Singleton, Thomas (1853-1934)
Singleton, W.R. (1872-1956)

Clement Township
Anderson, Isaac, brother of Swan
Anderson, Louis, came in 1884 from Iowa
Anderson, Swan, came in 1884 from Iowa
Bratland, Martin
Denning, J. H. came in 1883 from Illinois
Edwardson, Nick (1854-1900)
Gronbeck, Henry (1856-1941)
Gronbeck, Nicolai (1833-1910)
Johnson, Andrew, came in 1884 from Iowa (1855-1934)
Johnson, Swan (1852-1930)
Mfalmquist, Peter, came in 1884 from Iowa
Nelson, Louis
Olson, Ivar, came in 1883 (1845-1937)
Pederson, Arne (1858-1935)
Pederson, Herman S. (1854-1927)
Stevens, Charles
Swanson, Alexander (1855-1950)

Early settlers of Divide Township
Anderson, Pel, (1853-1940) first came to Oakes , then on to Divide Twp. in 1890.
Andrus, Sylvester (1838-1895) came in 1883 from Minnesota
Dethlefson, Julius, (1864-1936) came from Germany in 1883
Fallon, Richard
Hansen, Henry (1838-1917) came in 1883 from Fort Ransom.
Stevens, Burton H., (1866-1947) came to Glover in 1886
Stevens, E. F. (1858-1953)

Ellendale Township
Bjornstad, Nels
Griffin, Alonzo came in 1882, was born in Nova Scotia
Hull, L. H., came in 1882
Kilby, Joe came in 1882
McDonald, A. W. came in 1884 from Ontario, Canada
McGlynn, Jim, came in 1882 from Wisconsin; started a lumberyard in Ellendale
McShane, Patrick came in 1882 from Wisconsin Falls
Pehl, Andrew came in May 1883
Saunders, Charles came in Aug. 1884, later relocated to Albertha Twp. in 1895
Ed M. Saunders came in 1883, later relocated to Albertha Twp. in 1895
Saunders, Steve came in 1882
Scott, John J. came in 1882 from Lyle, Minnesota
Sperry, H. H. came in 1882 from Eaton Rapids, Michigan
Ward, Charles
Wright, Alexander came from Scotland

Elm Township
Anderson, A. J.
Anderson, Frank
Bartlett, L. D., Dr.; member of committee which framed the state constitution in 1889.
Gray, Everett
Helm, Jim, arrived in 1883 with the Monteith family
Hickey, John
Keogh, John, came in 1882; brother of Mrs. Patrick Whelan
Monteith, David came in 1883 from Lancaster, Wisconsin
Monteith, Miles came in 1883; cousin of David Monteith
Whelan, Patrick came in 1883 from Quebec, Canada

German Township, organized in 1912 from Whitestone Township
Bader, Daniel
Bader, Samuel, came from Russia to McIntosh County in 1883, then to Dickey.
Bartel, John
Gohner
Hille, Simeon
Henneberg
Hildebrand, Fredrick (1867-1929)
Hilscher
Lay, Jacob
Lemke, Adam, (1861-1948) came in 1885
Miller, John S.
Montaney, George R., (1868-1952) came from Wisconsin
Motz, John
Retzlaff, Carl, came from Russia in 1892.
Retzlaff, Otto, (1909-1974) son of Carl
Retzlaff, Reinhold
Rutschke, Fred

Grand Valley Township
Benson, Charles, came in 1883 with M. M. Cook and James Hyde
Bristol, Pelg
Bristol, S. A.
Cook, M. M. came in 1883 from Charlotte, Michigan
Edgerley, Frank
Haas, Adam came in 1883
Halstead, Charles
Hyde, James G. came in 1883 from Charlotte, Michigan
Martin, August
McConville, Henry
Rasmussen, Peter
Shepard, U. G.
Vennum Family

Hamburg Township
Fiechtner, Gust (1872-1958)
Fiechtner, Wm. (!870-1943)
Gebhardt, Jake (1869-1953)
Kellogg, Elmer
Kellogg, Frank
Kellogg, W.E. (Kellogg brothers came from New York in 1883)
Lane, George M and Hannah Mary [Duncan] came from Unadilla, Michigan in May of 1883
Oster, Gottlieb (1857-1927)
Peek, H.C., came from PA in 1882
Roessler, Gottlieb
Speidel, George (1855-1932)
Speidel, Reihholdt
Taylor, Wm.
Wilson, J.C. came from PA in 1882

Hudson Township (including the town of Guelph)
Baker, George M. (1837-19130 came in 1883 from Guelph, Ontario, Canada
Batchelor, Carlton
Bateman, William
Brown, Phillip, school first began in his claim shanty
Courtney, Frank (1865-1939) came in 1894 from Michigan
Davis
Denning, J. H.
Eldridge, Hiram
Ellsworth, Henry
Freeman, Lanse
Hall, Mary and two daughters
Hall, William, son of Mary Hall
Hodge, David (1858-1934) came in 1883 from Drayton, Ontario, Canada
Hofer, Frank
Huffman, Dan a veteran of the Civil War from Ohio
Kendall, John came in 1882 from Michigan, originally from England
Keyes, George
Kunrath, George, (1866-1948); brother of John Kunrath
Kunrath, John (1854-1931); came in 1883 from Germany
Ladd, George H. (bro-in-law of Truman Thatcher)
McLean, George came in 1882 from Canada
Millham, T. W.
Morgan, James A. came in 1883 from Goshen, Ohio
Patchett, John and dau. Libby
Puffer, Myron H. (1842-1921); came in 1883 from Wisconsin
Robinson, Ed
Root, Jason D.
Thatcher, Fred
Thatcher, Truman (1851-1932); came in 1883 from Wisconsin

James River Valley Township
Bergstrom, Peter B., (1856-1936) came in 1883.
Ekern, L. P. came in 1888.
Glover, Samuel
Johnson, Swen Henry, came in 1886
Olson, Andrew, came in 1888
Ulness, Elling O., came from Kindred, Dakota Territory in 1883.
Whitfield, George, came to Dakota from Hamilton, Ontario in 1881
Whitfield, Harker, bro. of George, came in 1883.

Kent Township
Barnaby, Henry
Bean, E. A.
Blumer, Joe
Bodette, William
Bowerman, B. F.
Cross, A. N.
Doyle, Thomas
Echterbach, John
Gilbert, E. S.
Hatfield, George
Higgs, J. W.
Hoffoss, Arne
Hoffoss, Ingar
Hofoss, Peter
Leonard, F. J.
Lindahl, J. O.
McCormick, Benjamin
McPherson, William
Metcalf, George
Mangold, E. A.
McNichol., Robert
Mayhew, Thomas
Noer, Ole
Noer, Martin
Olds, Albert
Olds, John M.
Pryor, A. S.
Redmond, Anna (later Mrs. James Pollock) came in 1883
Roberts, H. J.
Roberts, W. N.
Sutton, A. F.
Stewart, John

Kentner Township
Bucklin, Norton
Canfield, Ross, came from Livonia, New York
Collins, S. M.
Fountain, E. B.
Hayden, Carl
Humphrey, Eli
Kent, M. B.
Kentner, E. W.
Kentner, S. R.
Long, D. H.
Morrison, J. W.
Tibbetts, Byron H. came from Concord, Minnesota, d. 1905 while fighting a prairie fire.

Keystone Township
Beaver, Mr. (a Civil War Vet)
Burton, Jacob
Caldwell, W.A.
Carney, Patrick3 (click here for obituary - CARNEY)
Cartrite, David
Fait, Clark
Feathers, George
Fenton, Jason
Haggerty, J. F.
Knox, W.B.
Livingston, C.E.
Lloyd, John
Lloyd, Will
Magoffin, Beriah, from Kentucky
Oldfield, John
Pomeroy, Mrs.
Shear, C.K.
Spink, Lewis
Wilson, Mr.

Lovell Township
Allen, W. B.
Eaton, H. F.
Greenwood, Gilbert
Jones, Tom
Kennedy
Lovell, Alanson and sons were the first settlers in Lovell Twp.
Lovell, Egbert, son of Alanson
Lovell, Ogden, son of Alanson
Lovell, Thomas, son of Alanson
Randall, Frank E. came in 1883 from Ortonville, Minnesota
Shaw, Frank

Maple Township
Hancock, Alonzo, came in 1882 from Beurent, Illinois
Ingraham, Thomas, came in 1882 from Beurent, Illinois
Sweet, E.F., came in 1882 from New York

Northwest Township
Blanford
Hartman, August, came from Kansas, brother-in-law of Joe Hollan
Hollan, Joe
Jones
Mouldenhour, John, was the first Russian to locate in NW part of county
Schniker, Samuel, was the second Russian to locate in NW part of county

Port Emma Township
Bush, T. W.
Cowley, Daniel from Wisconsin
Erickson, Jerry
Johnson, Matt
Korpua, John
Pikkaraisen, Erik came in 1882 from Calumet, Michigan.
Pyokko from Michigan
Wattula, William
Witham, N. D., Rev. came in 1883 from Beddeford, Maine

Porter Township
Alcorn, M. C., came from Pennsylvania
Alexanderson, Alexander came in July 1882
Anderson, Nils Peter, (1858-1925) came in Aug. 1882
Alin, Alex, came in Aug. 1882
Barta, Joseph, (1851-died Aug. 30, 1918, kicked by a horse)
Barta, Joseph Jr. (1883-died July 17, 1920, also by a horse).
Dreunner, Henry C. of Erie, PA, took one of the first claims in Apr. 1882
Gordon, Benjamin, First death in twp. On June 30, 1889, age 45.
Keep, David S., came from PA, died 1891 in Pennsylvania
Krook, Raynard (1857-1948) came in Aug. 1882
Peterson, Swan, (born in Sweden 1836-1920), came in July 1882
Shauble, Wm. J. of Erie, Pennsylvania was one of first claimants in Apr. 1882
Porter Township - additional pioneers from the 1930 Dickey County History
Alin, Sam
Anderson, Albin
Anderson, Andrew J.
Anderson, J. M.
Archer, Charles M.
Beaver, Frank
Beaver, James H.
Corliss, Calvin H.
Cox, N. E.
Darby, S. H.
Deane, Frank T.
Deane, Robert
Hay, Robert
Hoffer, Austin
Johnson, George P.
Jones, Thomas
Kelsh, T. J.
Larson, Carl
Larson, Hans
Meyer, Guy
Nelson, John P.
Pazandak, Joseph
Ubben, Evert
Ulmer, J. G.
Van Middlesworth, Edward
Van Middlesworth, Frank E.
Yokum, Noah
Youngquist, Henning
Youngquist, R. N.
Zimbleman, Henry W.

Potsdam Township- Settlers from Michigan included
Bradford
Childson
Cook
Curtts
Dean
Freeman
Gamble
Kelly
Knox
Suvus
Jork
McKee
Noval
Noyes
O'Connover
Peterson
Schmidt
Thornburg
Stephenson
Stevenson
Webb
Young

Riverdale Township
Anderson, A. J. came from Sweden in 1884
Jenson, Hans
Leffingwell, William H. came in 1882 from Kalamazoo Co., Michigan
Lowe, Hans came in 1883, originally from Denmark
Millham, T. W.

Valley Township
Brown, Fred W. came in 1882 from New Jersey
Campbell, H. H. came in 1882 from New Jersey, later returned to New Jersey in 1889.
Fallenslee, Albert
Foley, John A.
Halloway, James came in 1882 from New Jersey, he later went back east.
Handell, John
Harris, Frank came in 1882 from Iowa
Harris, Reuben came in 1882 from Iowa
Hunter, Frank
Johnstonbaugh, R.
King, Paul
Merrifield, G. H. came in 1882 from Wisconsin
Pactstone, Arthur
Ponoyer, I. M.
Rogers, A., came in 1882
Rogers, Frank
Rogers, George
Russell, Wilbur F.
Schwartz, Charles
Schwartz, Stephen
Shear, C. P.
Smith, Alva, came in 1882
Smith, Joseph W.
Smith, O. J., came in 1882
Stephenson, John, came in 1882 from Illinois
Stephenson, William, came in 1882 from Illinois
Stevenson, N. G.

Van Meter Township
Billey, Oscar
Brown, John C. came in 1883 from Eaton Rapids, Michigan
Brown, W. P.
Bunker, James from Hudson, Wisconsin
Chambers, Mrs. Mary (sister of the Van Meter bros.)
Davis, W. W.
Dinsmore, Henry, Civil War Veteran
Dyer, Mrs. (sister of the Van Meter bros.)
Gamble
Geschke, H. E.
Gidner, Fred
Green, John A.
Hughes, Emily V. (later Mrs. Ackley)
Laubach, J. C. came from Indiana
Leiby, Ed N. was the first to establish a residence
Mallory, W. H. H., Civil War Veteran, came in 1882 from Eaton Rapids, Michigan.
McLeod, Dan
Meachen, Justin
Morrison, C. A.
Mullen, James
Mullen, R. J.
Perry, Charles, bro. of Hon. H. H. Perry of Ellendale.
Peterson, August came in 1883
Pollock, James came in 1882 from Huron County, Ontario, Canada
Sefton, Thomas
St. Ores, Will
Upton, Thomas
Van Meter, E. W.
Van Meter, H. J.
Van Meter, John H.
Van Vleck, Irving
Wadsworth, Ben
Watson, Clara, from Hudson, Wisconsin.
Wilkinson, L. W.
Wilson, Arthur G.
Wilson, Ed
Wilson, Jess

Whitestone Township
The following were landowners in 1886; not all of them were residents of the township.
Anderson
Bequet
Birdseye
Blythe
Campbell
Cookingham
Davis
Drew
Ellis
Erickson
Gudber
Gray
Graham
Hanson
Hofry
Hollister
Hofler
Kilbury
Larsen
McMillen
Moon
Nelson
Norgon
Olson
Pierce
Quivey
Reeves
Stewart
Smith
Strand
Tollefson
Warner
Warren

Wright Township
Anderson, Charles, came abt. 1882
Anderson, Fred, came abt. 1882
Arndt, Carl, (1829-1901), came in 1883.
Berg, Peter, (1831-1892), came in 1882
Bowen, Albert, came in 1882
Connor, George
Connor, William
Ford family
Holm, Lars, came from Minn. and took a claim in 1882
Howe, Andrew E., (1858-1931) came in 1882
Jorgenson, Peter, (1845-1922) came from Minn. and took a claim in 1882
Larkin, Roy and mother
Lewis family, Mrs. Lewis was sister to Mrs. Jorgenson and the Thompson brothers.
Mattson, James, came in 1883
Mattson, Martin G., (1862-1927) came in 1883
Ostrom, Gunder
Tangen, Mr.
Thompson, George
Thompson, S. S.
Strutz, Gust (1860-1945)
Watts, Walter
Wright, Wilson, came in 1882
Note: I believe the “James Mattson” listed above as arriving in 1883 should actually be Jacob G. Mattson,
who was the brother of the Martin G. Mattson, who follows in the list.
Jacob G. Mattson was my great grandfather and donor of the land for the St. Ansgar Lutheran Church--
which I’m not sure is in Dickey or LaMoure county. The only time I recall being at the church was
for my grandfather Jul Mattson’s funeral. Submitted by Stacie Mattson (May 2010) -csk

Yorktown Township
White, E.F. came in the spring of 1883 from New York
White, George, came in the spring of 1883 from New York
White, Rev. G.S., came in the spring of 1882 from New York to select government land
Yorktown Township - Additional Pioneers from the 1930 Dickey County History
(from a list of the first settlers or squatters who filed in the township in 1883-1884)
Anderson, John
Arndt, Robert
Barnes, Ira A.
Birdsell, C. A
Bucklin, Mrs. Bell
Cook, R. D.
Cox, M. Sr.
Craig, David
Crocker, Z.
Crowell, Lafayette
Curtis, James
Dawe, J. A.
Earl, George
Elners, Jacob
Enger, Ole
Fell, E. A.
Flagg, M. P.
Fort, Garret
Gamber, B. M.
Gilbert, William
Gregg, William
Harrison, Joseph
Hewitt, Miss
Hogaboom, A. C.
Hoganson, Annie
Hoganson, Julius
Holms, Miss Carrie
Holms, E. C.
Holms, Ser
Holway, H. P.
Hunter, John
Hunter, Sol
Jennings, Morg
Johnson, Charles
Kellet, George
Kelly, Matt
Kerr, James
Kessler, Sam
Killmer, Luke
Larkin, Mrs.
Lewis, Mrs. Alida
Lick, Frank
Lindell, Otto
Lippincott, George
Main, W. H.
McKorkell, A. C.
McLean, Neil
Mead, Dr.
Mead, Sidney
Merchant, Guidean
Merchant, M. F. Dr.
Morgan, N.
Morey, A. P.
Morey, G. F.
Morrison, George
Morrison, Charles
Nelson, B. L.
Nelson, Carl
Palmer, C. W.
Peck, H. H.
Pierce, George
Priest, Mrs. M. B.
Roundy, C. A.
Seward, W. H.
Sloan, William
Smith, Alex
Spiller, Mrs.
Swanson, Gil
Uecker, William, Sr.
Vanfleect, George, Sr.
Van Middlesworth, Frank
Wells, A. J.
West, Elizabeth
White, Albert
Williams, Dell
Wippich, Ernest
Young, Charles

Young Township
Clark, Mrs. Emma B. (was a sister of Mrs. Walter Webb)
Glenn, C. M. (Mrs. Glenn was a sister of the Webb brothers)
Hyde, Mrs. J. G. was a sister of the Webb brothers
Jones family
Manns family
Northrop family
Sweeney, E. A. from Michigan (Mrs. Sweeney was a sister of the Webb brothers)
Warren family
Webb, C.M.
Webb, Richard
Webb, Walter
Young, Chris












Lane, George M and Hannah Mary [Duncan]
"My name is John Lane Lowrey. My grandfather was George Emerson Lane, who was born on a homestead in Hamburg Township on the 4th of November 1884. His older sister Cora married Willard E Kellogg. As you well know, the Kellogg's (now Ken) still farm and ranch on the original Kellogg - Lane property. WE's property was the section next to the Lane's. I have been to the property nearly every summer of my life visiting my relatives.
"George Emerson Lane was one of 6 children of George M Lane and Hannah Mary Duncan Lane, who came from Unadilla, MI in May of 1883. Hannah Mary [Duncan] Lane's brother was William Titus Duncan (unfortunately in historic records he is noted as W F Duncan). He came the summer before, in 1882 and is listed as one of the founding citizens of Dickey County. His homestead was in the Lane family until the 1930's when my grandfather sold it.
"My grandfather George worked as a cashier at the First Bank of Ellendale for nearly twenty years, then bought the First National Bank of Hecla, where he was President for over 30 years. My mother Eleanor was the only child of George Emerson and Eunice [Owen] Lane, who met as children in Ellendale -- the Owens farmed property in Fullerton from around the turn of the 1900's. My mother lived in Hecla until she went away to the University in Minneapolis, where she met my father." Contributed by John Lane Lowrey (Feb 2014) -csk
E.F. Sweet
Hon. Edwin F. Sweet who has been connected with this district since its early history, was born at Dansville, New York in the famous Geneseo Valley. Educated in the public schools at Yale and Michigan University Law School; is by profession a Lawyer at Grand Rapids, Michigan. Married to Sophia F. Fuller 1876. Member of the Grand Rapids Board of Education ('99-'04). Mayor of Grand Rapids, 1904-1906. Member of Congress from Fifth District of Michigan, 1911 to March 1913. Assistant Secretary of Commerce, 1913-1921 – Wilson's Administration. Member of the American Canadian Fishery Commission; Federal Electric Railways Commission; War Industries Boards. Came to North Dakota in 1882 and has a large land holdings; has done much toward making Fullerton and vicinity the place it now is. Mr. Sweet gave the right of way to the “Soo” Railroad In 1887, donated town lots to several who erected places of business; giving a plot of his tree claim west of the village for a cemetery; the lots for the Union Church; also the base ball park. Source Citation: A History of Dickey County by the Dickey County Historical Society, Ellendale, ND.
The Society , 1930. p.213.

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