Hitterdal

Red River Valley title page vol 2

Biography of Johannes O. Feragen of Hitterdal, Minnesota

Clay County /

Johannes O. Feragen, born in 1863 on the Feragen farm in Reros, Norway, was the cashier of the Security State Bank in Hitterdal, Minnesota. He emigrated to the U.S. in 1882, initially working on a farm in Clay County before purchasing his own farm in Goose Prairie Township in 1884. Feragen served in various local offices and was a candidate for county auditor. He helped organize the Hitterdal State Bank in 1904, now known as the Security State Bank. Married to Ellen Hitterdal, Feragen had two daughters, Olga and Mabel. He was active in the United Lutheran Church and the Modern Woodmen of America.

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Red River Valley title page vol 2

Biography of Fred Herring of Hawley Minnesota

Clay County /

Fred Herring, a highly regarded citizen of Hawley, Minnesota, was born in Sandford-on-Thames, England, in 1867. After receiving his education in Oxford, he worked as a teacher and later as a bookkeeper in a grocery store with a sub-postal station, gaining valuable knowledge of postal service operations. In 1894, he immigrated to the United States and settled in Hitterdal, Minnesota, before moving to Hawley. Fred became the seventh postmaster of Hawley in 1907, bringing efficiency and systematic methods to his work. He actively participated in social and religious activities, and his commitment to temperance and community improvement earned him widespread respect. Fred and his wife, Victoria, have three children: Made-line E., Bertha E., and William James.

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Red River Valley title page vol 2

Biography of Torkle Austinson of Ulen, Minnesota

Clay County, Freeborn County /

Torkle Austinson, father of Mr. A. T. Austinson, a prominent politician of Ulen township, was born in Hallingdohl, Norway, July 6, 1826, and is now living with his son, in Ambrose, North Dakota. He married Miss Gure Oleson, in Norway, in 1854. She was born, October 7, 1819, and died in the village of Ulen, in 1904, at the age of eighty-three. They emigrated to the United States, in the spring of 1868, in a sailing vessel called “Nordna;” it was a three months’ voyage, provisions ran out, almost causing starvation among the passengers. They first settled in Primrose township,

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