| Summary: | A history of Edgeley, North Dakota with family biographies. [147] pages : illustrations, portraits 29 cm. BERNHAGEN, John W.: 1865 - 1942 Wife: Emilia Fredrick Mr. Bernhagen was born in Germany in I865. In 1879 he came to Watertown, Wis., where he worked as farm hand. He married in I885. In 1889 they moved to Bird Island, Minn., where they lived on a farm. In 1915, they came to Edgeley and lived on a farm until they retired and moved to Edgeley, He died in 1942, His wife and 5 children proceeded him in death. Children: Mrs, Carl Beebe; Mrs, Ella Cofell; Edward Bernhagen; Richard Bernhagen; all of Edgeley, Mrs, Emil Radke; Mrs. Jerry Forst; Henry; Johnny; Mrs. Orville Miller; Paul. BETHKE, Ludwig (Louie): 1861 - 1951 Wife: Bertha Schulz: 1864 - 1927 Mr. and Mrs, Ludwig Bethke were pioneer homesteaders in Nora township and are one of the few pioneers having descendants still on the homestead in I96I. Mr. Bethke, the pioneer homesteader came to America in 1870 when 18 years of age. His parents were too old to travel with him. A sister did settle in Wisconsin where Ludwig came first. Mrs, Bertha Bethke', his wife came to America with her parents in 1881 going to Wis., near where Mr. Bethke lived. They were married in 1886 and came to D. T. in the fall of that year. They went to the Ferdinand Hartwig home in Willowbank township where they stayed during the time Ludwig was building a small house and sod barn on their home stead in Nora twp. He and his wife each filed on a quarter of land. They moved to their home in time to start the spring work. Mr. and Mrs. Bethke were parents of nine children: Sophia; Marie; Clara; Otto; Edward; Arthur: Minnie; Alice; and Fred. Mr, Bethke was a progressive farmer always anxious to try new seeds, tree plantings, machinery and methods of farming. He was among the first to acquire new things such as cream separator, and had the first windmill in the community. He was very proud of his surrey and top buggy and the snappy horses on his farm. Mr. Bethke loved music and saw to it that the members of his family had music lessons. The local band held practice sessions in his granary with him playing the tuba. Mr. Bethke held to the belief that an education was a must for his children. Minnie was one of the five graduating from Edgeley High School in the Class of 1915. She was also the first member of the group to graduate from the University of N. D. (Class of 1918). She then taught at the home school and later in the Edgeley High School. Marie and Clara took dressmaking at the Ellendale Normal School and sewed for the neighbors. Alice taught in Montana. The boys took business courses and held positions of various kinds, as well as farming. Mr. Bethke built a large stucco house in Edgeley when he moved there in 1917 where he lived until hi3 death at the age of 70. (The Hazzard place) Mrs, Bethke was the daughter of Ferdinand and Wilemina Schultz whose de*» scendants are still living in this community or are buried here. Mrs. Bethke died in 1927. Children: Otto, son of Ludwig Bethke, homesteaded in Brown County Montana, in 1915» and married Amelia Mueller (Daughter of Mrs, Wilke of Diesem, N. D, ) the same year. After several years of homestead- ing they gave the place up and returned to settle on a farm in Nora twp. They were the parents of four boys: Lyle, Howard, James and Louis. Scanned with a Zeutschel Zeta book scanner at 300 dpi. Edited with Multi-Page TIFF Editor.
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