| Summary: | COMPENDIUM OF HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHY 965 and also attended St. Johnsbury Academy at St. Johnsbury, Vermont, graduating in the class of 1886. In the fall of that year he entered Amherst College, where he was in attendance one year, and in 1 888 went to Farribault, }iIinnesota, and accepted a position in the ^linnesota School for the Deaf, where he remained as teacher seven years. In July, 1895, he was appointed superintendent of the School for the Deaf at Devils Lake. This is a state institution and under the able management of the present superintendent the attendance is con-santly increasing. Our subject was married, at Faribault, Minne-sota, June 5, 1S90, to ;\Iiss Cora Van Dorin, a na-tive of Fairfield, Iowa, and a daughter of the late Richard \'an Dorin, who was a veteran of the Mexican as well as the Civil war. Mrs. Bangs was educated in the public schools at Fairfield, Iowa, and also attended a private school in that city, known as Axline University, six years. She was engaged in teaching at Council Rluffs in the school for the deaf and at Faribault, Minnesota, in a like institution three years. Since residing in Devils Lake Mrs. Bangs has been matron of the institution of which her husband is superintendent. The buildings are kept in first class order and neat-ness rules throughout and Mrs. Bangs is the right woman in the right place. Mr. and Mrs. Bangs have one daughter, named Gertrude. Mr. Bangs is devoted to his work and the discipline of the school is of a high order and the teachers are thor-oughly trained and efficient. HON. JOHN THORDARSON, one of the early settlers of Pembina county, is well known as a man of good business qualifications and is high- 1}' esteemed by the people among whom he lives. He resides in Hensel and is engaged in buying grain there, and for many years was identified with the farming interests in Pembina county. Our subject is a native of Iceland and was born on the farm Svinarnes-on Eyafjord, Thingeyarsislu, August 20, 1846, and was the oldest of a family ot six children, five sons and one daughter. His father, who still resides in Iceland, was a ship-builder and pilot, ^\l^en fourteen years of age our subject began fishing and at the age of eight-een years shipped on a vessel for a cruise of shark fishing. He took a course in navigation of an old sea captain when twenty-two years of age and was soon afterward made captain of a fishing ves-sel and for six seasons caught sharks among the icebergs. He experienced a ship wreck on the north coast of Iceland and death was escaped by running the ship into the rocky coast as an only means of escape. He embarked for America Au-gust 5, 1873. and arrived at Milwaukee, Wisconsin, November 6, where he obtained work in a ship yard and later in a furniture factory and worked two years in a linseed oil manufactory. In 1877 he went to Winnipeg and in October, 1878, removed with his family to Pembina county. North Dakota, and entered claim to land in Carlisle township, where he lived three years and then sold his in-terests and purchased a farm in Gardar township and lived there until 1891, when he went to Hensel as manager of the lumber \ar(ls of the Robertson Lumber Comi)any, which iiosition he held until 1897, and then began buying grain for McCabc Brothers and has since been stationed in Hensel in that capacity. He has several times been a member of the township and school boards in Pem-bina county. Our subject was married, in 1871, to Miss Rosa Jonson. Seven children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Thorardson, as follows : Emma, a native of Iceland, now Mrs. R. D. Swingel John, operating an elevator at Nash, North Dakota Olof, deceased Franklin, a student at St. Peter, Minnesota; Kris-tian, deceased O. K. Lillian and Kristin. Mr. Thorardson was called upon by the people to serve as a state representative in 1898 and served one term and was an efficient and faithful member of tne general assembly. He served as chairman of the committee on election and privileges and was a member of the following committees : Military, Viarehouse and grain grading, forestry, taxes and tax laws. He is a Republican politically. He holds membership in the Lutheran church and Masonic frata-nity and Independent Order of Foresters. HON. SE\"ERT M. LEE. one of the mo.st successful farmers and popular citizens of Nelson county, resides upon his valuable farm in Ora town-ship, and is the owner of one and one-half sections of land. Mr. Lee was born in Borsen, Preljjeld, Throndhjem, Norway, September 14, 1847. He was the eldest of the three surviving children of Mons and Marrit (Larsdatter) Lee. The father was the owner of the farm Leaklivt. where our sub-ject lived until he was twenty-four years of age Then, in 1871, he came to America, with the inten-tion of remaining three years, becoming better ac-quainted with the world, earning some money, and then it was his intention to return to Norway. He went to ^Michigan and was there employed for ten seasons in the lumber districts. He then converted all his personal property into ready money and started for Dakota. He reached Fargo in July, 1881, and began a search for desirable land. In 1882 he went to Portland. Traill county, and opened a hotel, the Lee House, the first hotel in Portland. In February, 1887, he came to Nelson county and located on land to which he had filed claim in 1883. The first three years were most discouraging : he lost money each year and he was on the point of aban-doning the attempt when, in 1891. he was rewarded by a fine crop and determined to remain. From two hundred acres he harvested seven thousand bushels of wheat. He has since added to his hold-ings by purchase until his tillable lands aggregate Internet Archive
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