BIOGRAPHIES OF EMMONS COUNTY
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ANDREW MARSH

Andrew was born in Chicago in 1847. He enlisted in Company H, 153rd Illinois Infantry as a Private on 8 February 1865 and was discharged on 26 August 1865. He started receiving his pension on 11 October 1890. Andrew died on 8 December 1913 in Brown County, South Dakota and is buried in the Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Cemetery in Kenel, Corson County, South Dakota. Burial Memorial
The following is from the 1976 Emmons County History book, Page 142: "ANDREW MARSH (1847-1913). Andrew Marsh was born in Illinois, joined the Union Army at the age of 18, and was discharged in Kentucky in 1865. After the Civil War, he and two brothers started for the west, but failing to agree on destination, went their separate ways. Andrew came to Dakota where he became a "woodhawk", supplying the steamboats on the Missouri. In 1876 he accompanied the army to the Black Hills, furnishing wild game for the troops. On returning from the Hills, he worked for James Gayton at Horsehead bottoms and married a Ree girl. Shortly after their marriage she was shot and killed by Indians. He remarried, this time a Sioux. [Note: More information is known and has been updated in the below Families article.] They were the parents of 13 chidlren [sic], some dying at birth. All of the men married to Indian women were entitled to a section of land, but when Mr. Marsh refused to divulge his life history to the Washington officials, he was denied his share. Andrew had the contract to cut the first logs to build Fort Yates, and ran a ferry boat at Winona when it was a booming little town. Later he moved south of Pollock and operated a small store which became a popular gathering place. The lively accounts of his earlier experiences never failed to interest his listeners."
Obituary [ Emmons County Recorder, 18 December 1913 ]
Marsh and Silk Families Article by Mary E. Corcoran


MATTHIAS MASTEL

Matthias was born to the very large family of Peter and Adelheid Mastel in Hague on 20 July 1916. Matthias had at least 13 known siblings and worked on the farm most of his young life.
He registered on for the armed forces on 16 October 1940 while he was living in Bismarck and working for Capital City Bottling Works while living with his brother Larry. He then entered the U. S. Army at Fort Snelling, Hennepin County, Minnesota on 24 April 1941. He served with the 164th Infantry, a unit of the North Dakota National Guard, which was activated into Federal service 10 February 1941 at Williston and then on 24 May 1942 reformed into the 164th Infantry Americal Division. He was promoted to Technical Sergeant while in the 164th. On 8 January 1945, the Division had begun movement to Leyte and Samar to take part in cleaning out remaining Japanese forces on those islands, and to invade Biri, Capul, Ticao, and Burias. It was during this effort that Matthias was killed in action on 21 February 1945. Matthias was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star.
Burial, Tombstone Photo, Links to Some Family


ALEXANDER MATERI

Alexander was born in Strasburg on 11 January 1924 to Jacob and Josephine Bichler Materi. His siblings included; Agnes, Peter, Albert (1926-), Joseph, Baldwin, and Marie (1934-).
Alexander enlisted in the U. S. Army for World War II. He was a Private serving in Company K, 116th Infantry Regiment, 29th Division when he was fatally wounded in action on 30 August 1944 near La Trinite during the Battle for Brest, France. He died of his wounds on 1 September in a field hospital.
Burial, Gravemarker Cross, Photo
Memorial, Tombstone Photo, Photo at Strasburg cemetery.

ROBERT W. MAXWELL

Robert was born 4 August 1836 in Port Jefferson, Shelby County, Ohio and died 26 October 1908 in Arlington, Snohomish County, Washington.
Robert enlisted as a Private on 22 April 1861 in Company G, 11th Infantry Regiment Indiana. He mustered out on 4 August 1861 at Indianapolis, Indiana. On 15 July 1862, Robert enlisted in Company B, Indiana 72nd Infantry Regiment as a Sergeant. He was promoted to Full 2nd Lieutenant on 2 February 1863 and Full 1st Lieutenant on 17 February 1863. He mustered out on 24 July 1865 at Nashville, Tennessee. He received a pension 27 September 1890 in North Dakota and his wife Mary received a widow's pension on 11 January 1909 in Washington.
In the 1890 Veterans Federal Census he is in Emmons County.
He secured a land patent in Section 10, Township 132, Range 77 (Beaver area).
He is buried in Snohomish County, Washington. Tombstone Photo, Death Announcement, Family Information.
GEORGE MCALLISTER

George was born in 1842 in Bowling Green, Martin County, Kentucky.
On 24 May 1861 he enlisted in Company B, 16th Illinois Infantry from Macomb, Mcdonough County, Illinois. He was promoted to 2nd Lieutenant on 15 November 1862 and mustered out on 31 December 1864.
In the early 1900's he owned land in Township 130N 78W in Section 25 and in 1910 he was living in Glencoe Township.
In 1920 George was living in the Illinois Sailors and Soldiers Home in Quincy and died on 8 August 1924.


JOHN "JACK" MCCRORY

U.S. National Homes for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, 1866-1938, (Battle Mountain Sanitarium, Hot Springs, Fall River County, South Dakota) indicates he enlisted 11 August 1862 at Fort Snelling, Minnesota, 10th Company, Minnesota Infantry, Discharged on 19 August 1865 at Fort Snelling, born in New York 17 April 1842, died 20 March 1933 of stomach hemmorage. While disabled he was 5'7", blue eyes, white, grey hair, occupation rancher. Nearest relative on admission is grandson John McCrory, Jr., Linton, ND. Admitted 28 May 1932. Personal effects released to son Thomas McCrory.
U.S. Civil War Soldiers, 1861-1865 (Surname spelled McCrora) - Enlisted as a Private, discharged as a Major.
American Civil War Soldiers (Surname spelled McCrora) - Enlisted as a Private on 11 August 1862 at the age of 19 into Company A, 10th Infantry Regiment Minnesota. Mustered out of Company A, 10th Infantry Regiment Minnesota on 19 Aug 1865 at Fort Snelling, Minnesota.
1930 Census, Township 130, Emmons County, widowed. father: scottish, mother: irish.
1900, 1910 Census, Winona, Emmons County. wife Mary L. born 1849 in Illinois.
Photo.
There is another biography in 1976 Emmons County History, Page 138.
Buried Linton Cemetery, Obituary, Tombstone Picture, Link to Mary's Memorial.
Several parcels of land; Recordings, Plot Map.
He is mentioned in these articles: Article 1, Article 2.
JAMES S. MCGEE

CHARLES FLETCHER MCINTYRE

POISONED
Death of an Old Resident of Emmons County
by Mary Corcoran

On November 19, 1897 the Emmons County Record reported the death of Charles McIntyre, a well-known Emmons County resident. McIntyre had been in Sublette’s, a Mandan saloon, on Thursday, November 7th, and was served ammonia by mistake. Peter Shier, Sheriff of Emmons County, serving his first term as Sheriff, gave the details. McIntyre and Leonard Brickley, another Emmons County farmer, met William Wade, the first sheriff of Emmons County, at Sublette’s for a drink. McIntyre and Brickley ordered whiskey, and Wade, who seldom drank anything strong, ordered selzer. The bartender, McSorley, poured generous glasses of whiskey for both men, followed by a “tracer” or after-drink in smaller glasses. The two “tracers” were quickly swallowed, but Mr. Wade noticed something wrong with his, and did not finish it. The “tracers” were soon proved to be ammonia, in a soda bottle, which had been used for cleaning. Leonard Brickley’s portion was the smallest, but he still became very ill, and unable to speak above a whisper. McIntyre died the following Saturday from his fatal draught.
Charles Fletcher McIntyre was an old Emmons County settler who was chosen to be County Assessor in territorial times, and continued in that post. He knew practically everyone, as he would visit farms and homesteads to assess taxes. He had served as a juror on the Cadotte portion of the Spicer murder trial in June 1897. He was born 06 May 1847 in New York, and had served in the Civil War in the 1st Wisconsin Light Artillery Brigade from December 1863 to June 1865. He married Edna A. Greeno in 1872. Edna was born in 1854 in Malone, Franklin Co. NY and died 23 November 1933 in Long Beach, CA after being hit by a car. The McIntyres had five children. They had previously de-camped to Burleigh County for a few years, but moved back in 1896 to the old Badger Ranch in Hampton. The newspaper called the move “a wholesome addition to the Hampton scene.” The entire family was in the process of moving to Walla Walla, Washington and had their train tickets for the move.
McIntyre’s death was not without controversy. He drank his ammonia tracer on Thursday night in Mandan, Burleigh County, ND. The following Saturday night, a masked band of men would overpower the guard at the Williamsport Jail and hang the three accused suspects of the Spicer murder, which occurred nine months earlier in 1897 in Winona. At noon that day, The North Dakota Supreme Court had over-turned the murder conviction of Alex Cadotte, which meant that all the remaining Spicer murder suspects would be go free, as the testimony of the co-conspirators was deemed inadmissible as evidence.
The stories making the rounds were that McIntyre, Brickley and Wade were the forefront of a gang who were sent to Bismarck to “free” the other two suspects in the Spicer murder, who were lodged in the Bismarck jail. It was said that only the death of McIntyre thwarted this devious plan. The rumors were rife in Emmons County, but they were patently ridiculous. The poisoning took place two days before the Williamsport lynching. The participants were unlikely: the former County Assessor, McIntyre, and the former Emmons County Sheriff and U.S. Marshall, William Wade, and family man and farmer Leonard Brickley. It made a salacious story with a conspiracy plot, jail outbreak, and derring-do, but it was completely fantasized. Later, friends of Charles McIntyre would say that Charlie would have loved the story.

Contributed by Mary Corcoran
Article on Death

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Charles was born 6 May 1847 in New York. He died 13 November 1897 in Mandan, Morton County, North Dakota.
In 1885 Dakota Territory Census and in the 1890 Veterans Schedules, Charles and his family are living in Emmons County. He owned land in Sections 18 and 19 of Township 135, Range 78. In the Willamette Valley, Oregon, Death Records - 1838-2006, it indicates he was formerly from Hampton.
Charles enlisted from Sparta, Monroe County, Wisconsin on 2 December 1863 into 1st Wisconsin Light Artillery Battery. He received a promotion to Full Artificer. Charles was discharged on 21 June 1865. He started receiving his pension on 28 June 1865. His pension record indicates a spousal widow's pension to Caroline on 21 December 1911 but it also lists his wife, Edna, as a "contest widow" under the dates of 15 June 1909 and 10 October 1917. This writer could not find a connection of this Caroline to this Charles whereas there are many records indicating the wife of Charles is Edna. There is an older Charles in Missouri who served in the Civil War with a wife named Caroline. His children included William (1875-), Archibald (1877-1962), Emmet Chester (1879-1922), Cora (1886-1901), and George Elmer (1888-).
Charles is buried in the Lee Mission Cemetery in Salem, Marion County, Oregon.
Burial, Tombstone Picture.
GEORGE H. MCLAIN

In records his surname is spelled McLain, McClain, McLean.
George was born 10 March 1844 and died 4 October 1907 in Emmons County.
There are two civil war records for a George Mclain and George Mclean enlisting in the 137th Infantry Indiana Regiment. One is Company D 137th Regiment, Indiana Infantry (100 days, 1864) and the other is Company E, Indiana 137th Infantry on 26 May 1864 and mustering out on 21 September 1864 at Indianapolis, Indiana. In the 1890 Veterans Federal Census it indicates he enlisted 1 May 1864 and was discharged on 3 November 1864. He started receiving a Civil War pension in North Dakota on 1 December 1892 and his widow Kate started receiving a widows pension on 9 December 1907 in North Dakota.
In the 1900 Census, the family is living in Winchester.
He secured a land patent in Section 28, Township 133, Range 77.
George is buried in Linton Cemetery. Burial, Tombstone Photo.
JAMES MCRAY

James was born in Michigan in September 1827. He died 5 January 1901 at the Soldiers Home, Hot Springs, South Dakota.
On 8 February 1865 he enlisted as a Private in Company H, Minnesota 1st Heavy Artillery Regiment in St. Paul, Minnesota and promoted to Full Sergeant on 20 February 1865. He mustered out on 27 September 1865. He started receiving a pension in North Dakota on 25 June 1880.
In the 1890 Veterans Federal Census he is in Winona by 1900 widowed James is living with his son and his family in Winona.
James is buried in the State Home Cemetery, Hot Springs, Fall River County, South Dakota. Burial, Tombstone Picture.

CLEMENS J. MEIER

Clemens was born on 26 February 1920 to Michael and Margaret Bosch Meier in North Dakota. Siblings of Clemens included: Benedict, Leo, Peter, Michael, Edward, Matthew, Robert, and Lorna (1931-2007).
He was a veteran of World War II having served in Company B of the 209th Engineer Combat Battalion as a Private. In June 1944 the Company was involved in the Battle of Myitkyina in Burma where he was participating in daily patrols and during one of these patrols on 5 June 1944, and during enemy action, he was killed instantly by machine gun fire. He was awarded the Purple Heart posthumously.
Burial, Tombstone Photo, Links to Some Family Members
JAMES DAVID MERRILL

James was born in Pennsylvania in 1841. He died 9 January 1922 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
On 16 October 1861 he enlisted in Company E, Minnesota 3rd Infantry Regiment and promoted to Full 2nd Lieutenant on 21 October 1864. On his promotion date he mustered out of the 3rd Infantry and was commissioned an officer in Company D, U.S. Colored Troops 112th Infantry Regiment. He mustered out on 21 February 1865. He started receiving a pension in North Dakota on 25 March 1890.
In the 1890 Veterans Federal Census he is in Emmons County and by 1900 widowed James is living in Standing Rock Indian Reservation until 1920 when he is in Minneapolis.
He secured several land patents Section 4, Township 130, Range 79 and in Section 32, Township 131, Range 79 (Winona, Fort Yates area).

Grand Forks Herald 2 February 1922

James is buried in a military plot in the Lakewood Cemetery, Minneapolis. Burial.
SEVERENE ANDREAS "SHORTY" MIKALSON

North Dakota History and People - Outlines of American History
Volume II
The E. J. Clarke Publishing Company
1917 - Chicago

S. A. Mikalson, [he used his initials in most cases; his given name is Severene or Severine] actively and successfully engaged in business at Hazelton under the name of the Hazelton Mercantile Company, is one of the substantial citizens that Wisconsin has furnished to North Dakota. He was born in the Badger state November 33, 1873, a son of Andrew and Annie (Hegna) Mikalson, who were natives of Norway and came to the new world in the '50s, settling in Columbia county, Wisconsin. The father was a farmer by occupation and homesteaded in that county, after which his children developed and operated the farm, while he sailed on the Great Lakes and also on the ocean. In 1883 he went to Brown county. South Dakota, where he again took up land, personally giving his attention to its development and improvement until his death in 1892. His widow survived until 1903 and passed away in North Dakota.
S. A. Mikalson was reared and educated in South Dakota, largely spending his youth at Aberdeen. He remained with his parents until he attained his majority and in 1900 he removed to Emmons county, North Dakota, becoming an important factor in agricultural circles there. He operated a ranch of six hundred and forty acres in that county, his attention being largely given to the raising of cattle and horses. In 1905 he purchased a stock of general merchandise at Hazelton and conducted a store in connection with his brother for seven years, but in 1912 their business was destroyed by fire. The brother then removed to Montana but S. A. Mikalson resumed business in Hazelton, erecting a new building and putting in a new stock of goods. His interests are now conducted under the name of the Hazelton Mercantile Company, his partner being John Baker, a ranchman. The trade is now large and gratifying and S. A. Mikalson has ever recognized the fact that satisfied patrons are the best advertisement.
In June, 1913, occurred the marriage of Mr. Mikalson and Miss Marie Adolph and to them have been born two children: Albert, whose birth occurred February 10, 1915; and Klaine, who was born in March, 1916. Mr. and Mrs. Mikalson hold membership in the Lutheran church and he also belongs to the Knights of Pythias fraternity. Politically he is an earnest republican and has filled a number of local offices. He served as deputy sheriff of Emmons county for four years and has been nominated for the office of sheriff on the republican ticket. He was also supervisor of Hazelton township for two terms and has been president of the school board for five years. He has thus ever recognized his duties of citizenship and to all such has given loyal support.
Emmons County Land Patent
Burial Memorial

ELLEN MORAN FLYNN KELLY

ALBERT MORRISON
Two Civil War Vets
The Winona Times reported in 1899 that "Albert Morrison and William Southwick are busy on the former's gasoline boat." Both men served in the Civil War: Southwick for the 33rd Wisconsin Regiment, and later the 1st Michigan Heavy Artillery. Morrison served for the 18th Indiana Infantry. Southwick lived in Winchester, and boarded at Deputy Sheriff Mathy Chase's hotel. Morrison lived in Winona with his wife Martha Roberts (b.1851). What did they have in common? They had the same mother, and were half-brothers, brought up in different families after their mother died in 1846. Their mother, Sarah Mitchell, born in England (1813-1846) married William's father, Robert Southwick in 1835 in Cuyahoga, OH. After he died, she married Albert's father, Charles Morrison.
Amazingly, despite being brought up apart, the men re-connected and came to the Dakotas together. Both men had suffered injuries during the Civil War. Albert Morrison who was born in January 1841 in Ohio, was a musician in the drum corps, suffered deafness caused by bursting shells being fired, as well as an abdominal rupture, caused when loading a wagon. William Southwick also suffered injuries.
Albert Morrison died in 1924 in Deerfield, Lenawee, MI. He had operated the ferryboat between Winona, Emmons County, ND and Ft. Yates in 1900. Martha Roberts Logue Morrison died in 1928 in Deerfield, MI as well.
His half brother, William Southwick died in December 1911 in Spokane, Washington.
The above was written and contributed by Mary E. Corcoran

Albert was born in January 1841 in Ohio. In some records his middle initial is S., some F., and in some H. He enlisted into Company E on 16 August 1861 from Martin County, Indiana; promoted to Full Musician; mustered out on 28 August 1865 at Savannah, Georgia. He and Martha married on 31 December 1899 in Deerfield, Lenawee County, Michigan. He began drawing his pension on 20 June 1879 and his wife received a widow's pension starting 20 March 1925 in Michigan.
DR. WILLIAM MUENCH

The Allopath: Dr. William Muench of Emmonsburg, Emmons County, North Dakota
By Mary E. Corcoran

Dr. William Muench was an early Emmons County doctor, whose specialty was designated as an "Allopath." He preferred not to practice medicine, and only responded to emergencies, referring most of his patients to hospitals in Bismarck. An Allopath was closest to today’s homeopathic practitioners. He believed in combatting disease through drugs and surgery.. Dr. Muench was the only doctor in the vicinity for many years, and he set broken bones, stitched up cuts, and treated a variety of
illnesses. When doctors finally set up regular practice, Dr. Muench ceased his ministrations, although doctors often sought him out for help in difficult operations.
He farmed in Emmonsburg, Emmons County, and owned several parcels of land near Beaver Creek.. He also served many years as the Postmaster of Emmonsburg, and was appointed a U.S. Court Commissioner for final proofs and land filings, until his death.
He was born in Eberfield, Prussia, near Cologne, in May 1855, emigrating to the United States in 1876 at age twenty. He spent 17 years in the U.S. Army from 1877 to 1894. He served at Ft. Ringgold on the Rio Grande in Texas, at Fort Totten, ND, and Ft. Meade SD. The last seven years were spent as a Hospital Steward. Dr. Muench suffered from frozen limbs, from his Army career, which forced him to retire on disability from his last enlistment. He was discharged at Ft. Yates in November of 1893.
Dr. Muench was married to Irish born Eliza Gardner in 1887, and they had two children, Otto Walter, born 1888, at Ft. Ringgold, TX, (1888-1972) and daughter Marie Isabelle, born (July 1896- 1971) in Emmons County. Otto married Nellie Powers, daughter of Annie McElderry, whose father was a French-Canadian fur trapper and trader for the American Fur Company, and whose mother was a Blackfoot Sioux (Sihasapa) named Wikogli, or Clear or Transparent Woman. Wikogli was the daughter of Kangi Iotanke or Sitting Crow, who died at Standing Rock around 1885.
Nellie Powers’ father was John Joseph Powers, an engineer and former soldier at Standing Rock Agency. He married her mother Annie McEdlerry in 1882. The Powers farmed in Emmons County. All the McElderry and Powers families, minus the husbands, were enrolled at Standing Rock agency.
Otto Muench operated a store, then a wholesale drug store in Thunder Hawk, SD. Nellie Powers Muench (b. 20 January 1891 Standing Rock. ND) died in 1927.
Marie married first, Robert Southwick with daughter Elizabeth (1911-1985), and second Carl Langerman (1885-1979).
Dr. Muench sold his farm in Emmonsburg and built a house in Linton, where he lived the rest of his life. Dr. Muench died suddenly, 14 August 1911 in Linton, Emmons County, ND.
Dr. Muench was a rarity in pioneer days, a trained medical professional who hurried to the bedside of those who needed him desperately in trying times.
(Photo courtesy of Blaine Langerman)
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Several references within the Emmons County History with a short biography on Page 137.
William's Burial, Tombstone Picture
Eliza's Burial, Tombstone Picture