| Summary: | Iver Lund and children I to r Iver, John, Martin, Anna Lund Dahl standing Ernest Billing was born in 1861, his wife, Mary, in 1862 Ernest died in 1923, Mary died in 1921. Ernest's parents came from Bavaria, Germany, in 1848. He grew up in Waseca County, Minnesota and married Mary Bock in Richland County, Minnesota in 1882, and they came to Ransom County that year. Mary was a sister of William Bock, who was Elmer Bock's father. For a while they lived in Buttzville where he was foreman for the Buttz farms. Then they moved to Lisbon where he operated an implement business, at first alone, then with a partner, Thomas Gilbertson. He built and lived in the house now owned by Doctor Veitch. Ernest acquired land in sections 10, 11, 14 and 23 in Springer and was one of the early large producers of Durum wheat. He shipped seed by the carload to areas north and west of Devils Lake. He also exhibited Durum wheat at the World's Fair in Paris and also in San Francisco, winning many awards. He sold his implement business in 1910 and devoted his time to farming. Ernest and Mary had four children. Peter was killed in a diving accident in 1904; Walter died in 1963. His wife was Pauline Best; Ella (Mrs. A.H. Vihstadt) had twin sons, Ernest and Edward. She died in 1966; Ida (Mrs. Jay Knapp)hastwo daughters, Harriet and Mary. The Knapps live in Miami, Florida. John Billing, Ernest Billing's nephew, was born in 1883. He came from southern Minnesota as a young man and lived for a while with his uncle Christian. He married Clara Schlaak, and they lived in section 26. Clara, and a daughter, Florence, live in Lisbon. Another daughter, Rosella, is Mrs. Edwin Dick. A son, Walfred, lives in Enderlin. He has three children: David, Dan and Mary Beth (Mrs. James Eckern). Mr. and Mrs. Dick have four children: Dave, Louise, Lyle and Kent. John Billing died in 1946. Frank Connelly was one of the very early settlers in Springer. He first lived on what is known as the Roach farm, then moved to section 20. He was a near casualty in the terrific blizzard of 1888. Frank was cutting wood along the river and did not notice the storm in time. When he realized how bad it was he knew that he could not make it to this home. He had a buffalo hide coat. Finding a strawstack, he burrowed into it, wrapped the buffalo hide coat around himself and lived through the night. The next morning he was able to get home. After Frank's death, a son, Earl, farmed the place until about 1946. Another son was a bridge builder. He built the original bridge, known as the Maddock Bridge, at the Oliver Ford. This is the site of the present bridge by Herert Martinson's farmstead. Partick Cooney (Pat) came in the early eighties. He lived on the NViNEVi of section 17. There was a large family, many boys, but we do not have their names. Punk Hilde recalls how some of them loved to play baseball. Several of the Cooney children died at an early age. Mrs. Cooney was listed as the owner of the farm in 1910. William (Bill) Corrigan was an early settler in the SEVi of section 33, a neighbor of the Humphreys, Fowler and Gordon. The Kelly's, Jim, Roy and Harvey, were other near neighbors that lived just across the township line in Elliott Township. George Johnson Dahl was born in Mo i Rana, Norway, June 10, 1877. He came to this area in 1895 and died in March of 1963. He first worked at the Walker Mill. In 1899, when he married Anna Emilia Lund he had his name legally changed from George Johnson to George J. Dahl. He did this because there was another George Johnson in the same community and their mail got mixed up. Anna was born August 23, 1876, and died December 31, 1966. George and Ann had eight children: Melvin was born May 30, 1900 and died July, 1923; Geneva (Mrs. W. Hanson) was born October 21, 1901 and died in August, 1974; Marie (Mrs. Backman) was born March 21,1904; Arnold was born January 4, 1906; Emma (Mrs. Sonke Jenson) was born October 28, 1908; Harry was born February 4, 1911; Stella (Mrs. Thompson) was born July 7, 1913; and Gladys (Mrs. Humphrey) was born September 8, 1918. (See Jacob Johnson family for more history). Patrick Folvey (Pat) homesteaded the SWVi of section 33. He was a close neighbor of Bill Corrigan and the Humphreys. Later, this quarter was owned by George Warner of Lisbon. Rasmus Frederickson settled in section 18 of Springer. He was still farming this land in 1910. His first wife was Martin Opgaard's sister. They had three children, Peder, Clara and Inga. His second wife was Carrie Lowe, Helmer Lowe's sister. The Fredericksons left Springer and moved to a farm south of Lisbon. All the children moved to South Dakota. 101 Scanned with a Zeutschel Zeta book scanner at 300 dpi. Edited with Multi-Page TIFF Editor.
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