WILLIAM KILLEEN
William was born about 1838 in Ireland. He enlisted in Company E, New York 82nd Infantry on 17 August 1862 and was discharged as a Sergeant on 1 September 1865. He started drawing his pension in Minnesota on 8 August 1890. He married Susie V. Hacker in Clay County on 1 January 1880. In the 1880 and 1890 census records he is in Glyndon and after that is in Washington state. In 1920 he is a widow and living in the Washington Soldiers Home in Orting, Pierce County, Washington. William died on 10 December 1925 in the Soldiers Home and is buried at the Washington Soldiers Home Cemetery. Burial, Tombstone Picture.
CHARLES BRIGHAM KITTREDGE
Charles was born 29 September 1841. He enlisted in Company G, 46th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry on 15 October 1862 and was discharged on 29 July 1863 in Hampden Park, Springfield, Massachusetts. He started drawing his pension in Minnesota on 18 January 1892 and his wife, Katharine S., started drawing a widow's pension on 16 July 1928 in Washington. In the 1880 and 1900 census records his family lived in Glyndon. By 1910 the family was in Washington where Charles died on 4 July 1928. Burial, Portrait, Tombstone Picture.
NELS MARTINUS KLEPPE
From the History of Clay and Norman Counties (1918), Page 331
"Nels M. Kleppe, justice of the peace in and for Spring Prairie township, Clay county, and for many years engaged in the grain business at Averill, but who is now giving his chief attention to his quarter-section farm in the immediate vicinity of that village, is a native of the kingdom
of Norway, but has been a resident of this country and of Minnesota since he was an infant. He was born on November 22, 1885, son of S. R. and Nellie (Nelson) Kleppe, also natives of Norway, who came to this country in 1886 and located in Yellow Medicine county, this state remaining there about sixteen years, at the end of which time they moved to Lyon county. In this latter county S. R. Kleppe spent his last days and his widow is still living there. Of the children born to them three survive, those besides the subject of this sketch being Rasmus and Sikke.
As noted above, Nels M. Kleppe was but a babe in arms when his parents came from Norway to Minnesota and his youth was spent in Yellow Medicine county, where he received the greater part of his schooling. After the family moved to Lyon county he became a valued assistant in the labors of the home farm there and remained there until 1908, when he came up into the Red River country and located at Averill, being there engaged as grain buyer for the Minnesota & Western Grain Company, and continued thus engaged until 1915, since which time he has been chiefly engaged in farming, operating a fine farm of one hundred and sixty acres nearby the village. In the meantime, in 1912, he married Mrs. Effie Johnson, who was then and still is conducting a general store at Averill, and
until he took up active farming assisted in the management of the store as well as looking after his grain business. Mr. Kleppe has given close attention to the general civic affairs of his home community since locating here and for the past six years has been serving as justice of the peace.
Mrs. Kleppe was born, Effie Hawkins, on a pioneer farm in Rockwell township, in the adjoining county of Norman, daughter of Christian Ingebright and Johanna Johnson (Slater) Hawkins, the former a native of Norway and the latter of Sweden, who were married in Minnesota and became pioneers of Norman county, where Christian Hawkins spent his last days. His widow is still living. She was born in Sweden and was but six years of age when she came to this country with her parents, Peter and Mary (Johnson) Slater, who first settled in Washington county, this state, later moving to Carver county, where they spent their last days. Christian Hawkins came to the United States from Norway when about twenty-one years of age and located at Minneapolis, where he became engaged working at his trade as a tailor. He married about 1876 and about two years later, after a year spent at Fergus Falls, homesteaded a quarter of a section of land six miles east of Borup, in Norman county. Upon his retirement from the farm he moved to Averill and later to Ada, where be died in May, 1905, at the age of sixty-four years. His father died in Norway and his mother later married again and came to this country. Christian Hawkins helped to organize the first church established in the vicinity of Borup.
On October 30, 1897, Effie Hawkins was united in marriage to John Johnson, who was born in Sweden on September 17, 1867, son of John
and Johanna Johnson, who spent all their lives in their native Sweden. When twenty years of age the younger John Johnson came to the United States and after a while located at Felton, in Clay county, later moving to Averill, where in March, 1898, he started the first store established in that village and also operated a farm in that vicinity. Mr. Johnson was for years a member of the school board at Averill and credit was due him for the movement which led to the erection of the school house there. Though reared as a Lutheran he helped to organize the Congregational church at Felton and also aided in the organization of the church at Averill. John Johnson
died on February 20, 1911, leaving a widow and four children, Clara, Evelyn, Leonard and Ruby."
Nels died 28 September 1945 in Fargo, Cass County, North Dakota after an accident. Nels Burial, Family Links
Effie died 18 August 1918 in Fargo after an illness. Effie Burial, Tombstone Picture, Family Links
CARL JOHAN KNUTSON
Carl J. Knutson is a farmer in Eglon township, Clay County, with a
varied and interesting history, and is a living demonstration of the
fact that no difficulties and hindrances are enough to defeat a man
determined to rise to dignity and independence in the great northwest if
he is only willing to be industrious, honest and persistent.
Mr. Knutson was born in Walders, Norway, in 1851/1853, and was left
fatherless when a young child, and when he was about six or seven years
old the family came to the United States settling on a farm in Houston
County, Minnesota. There he was reared and given such education as the
public schools of the day afforded. When he was about nineteen years old
he struck out in the world for himself, and in 1871 came to Eglon
township, Clay county, where he was employed by the farmers of that
community for a number of years.
At the time of his arrival in Clay
county he visited Moorhead, which then gave little promise of its future
importance, as it consisted of a few tents and shanties. In 1872, and
again in the summer of 1873, Mr. Knutson took service as a boat hand on
the Red River, and made many trips to Winnipeg. Later he was employed on
the famous Dalrymple farm, and in the course of the next few years
travelled all over the northern part of the state and largely over North
Dakota. When the Northern Pacific and the Great Northern Railroads were
put through Clay County he was engaged in the work.
Mr. Knutson was married in 1880 to Martina Olson. She was born in
Norway, and came to the United States in 1871. She lived two and a half
years in Texas, and lived in North Dakota before coming into Minnesota
in 1876. They have four children: Christ, who was born in 1881; Ida O.,
born in 1883; Ole A., in 1884; and Ollie, in 1887. All were born in
Eglon Township, where the wife had previously taken a homestead farm and
in 1880 engaged in its development.
He also bought railroad land and
began farming with a fine tract of land at his command. Beginning with
very little, he farmed with oxen some six or seven years. His first crop
of wheat was one hundred and fifty-five bushels from eight acres. While
Mr. Knutson has no very phenomenal crops to report, he has kept steadily
at work, and he and his wife now own a fine farm of two hundred and
sixty acres, with about one hundred and sixty under cultivation.
In his political views he affiliates with the Populist party, and has
been assessor of the town many years, and school clerk some fourteen
years. He helped organize the school district, and was chairman of the
board of supervisors five years, his term of office expiring in March,
1901. He has taken an active and leading part in local politics, and has
been a delegate to many conventions.
Mr. Knutson and his family are
members of the Lutheran Church, and are among the most respected and
popular people of the community.
Biography provided by Margit Bakke at margit@eot.com
MAX KOCH
See Maximilian K. Cook Biography Data
AANUND O. KRAGNES
Taken from "Norvegian, Foreign Stamps and Postmarks Related to Norway/Minnesota - Norwegian Emigration to the United States. "Kragnes, MN, (1884-1935), town center, railway station and municipality in Clay County. Named after Aanund Ole Kraaknes. It was probably a hard name to have over there, and he changed it to Andrew O. Kragnes. He was a distinguished farmer who came from Houston County in 1872. He was born in Norway and came to the United States in 1852 with the parents who settled in the Houston County. He helped with the development of society, he built grain silo, log storage, shop and started machine agency."
In at least 2006, 2008, and 2009 Aanund is one of two Civil War veterans celebrated by the Concordia Cemetery Association; however, no other records can be found for him. It is assumed that his Civil War records are under a different name.
Burial, Tombstone Picture.
ARTHUR FREDRICK KRUEGER
The surname in some records is Kruger and Kruegger.
Arthur was born to John and Ernestine Krueger in Humboldt Township, Clay County on 4 January 1893. Known siblings are: George, Ida (Dec 1888-), and John.
Arthur registered for the World War I draft from Barnesville on 5 June 1917 and enlisted on 25 May 1918. While serving as a Private in the 111th Infantry, 25th Division in Company H he was killed in action in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive. He was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart.
Arthur is buried in Rosemound Cemetery at Barnsville. Burial, Portrait, Tombstone.
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