[My father] was born Oct. 23, 1872, about 10 miles northwest of Morris, Illinois, 2 1/2 miles south of the Nettle Creek Store on the west side of Neddle Creek Road ... His parents were born in Norway. When [my father] was 10 years old, he went to Morris, Illinois with his father and his father sent him home with the team and wagon and [my father] never saw his father again till the fall of 1923 when he went to the funeral in North Dakota. His father deserted the family for another woman.

[My father] came to [ ] County in the spring of 1883 with his mother, two brothers, and sister. When he got to [ ] County, he went to strangers to work for his board and go to school. He spent the longest time at the Marsh Hoselton home and went to Quincy School. After he got through with school, he worked for farmers around [ ] and [ ]. The spring of 1893, he and his mother bought a 160 acre farm 1 1/2 miles south and 1 1/4 miles west of the [ ]Church from B.F. Fast for $4,400. ...

February 8, 1898, he bought 120 acres that laid next to the south side of the 160 he had from the Michael Haley heirs, the widow,Amanda, Maggie and J.H. King ... [My father] paid $2,280 for the 120 acres.

About half the land was virgin land covered with Hazel Brush so he hired Wilder Weeks with his big 24 inch one bottom plow to plow it. ...

March 1, 1901, he bought 80 acres from Charley Sadler for $2,800. It was about 1 1/2 west from where he lived then, as the crow flies.

February 20, 1902, he bought 40 acres from C.E. Newman for $1,400, 1 mile south and a little west fom where he lived then. He sold it April 2, 1912 for $2,720.

February 17, 1902, he and his mother bought a 160 acre farm 1 mile south and about 3/4 miles east from [ ] Church, from Mr. Mahony for $6,400. They rented it for five years and then they sold it on June 4, 1907 for $7,100.

June 6, 1907, he bought his mother's interest in the first 160 they bought.

March 12, 1908, he bought 40 acres from Augusta Buffington for $2,200; it fit in to the 120 acres he had bought from Haleys and made square 160 so he had a 320 1 mile long and 1/2 mile altogether.

October 16, 1912, he bought an 80 from B.F. Fast for $8,800. it laid on the north side of the 80 he had bought from Charley Sadler in 1901.

The fall of 1913, he bought a 260 acre farm for $33,800 and he and his family moved there in the spring of 1914. ...

The spring of 1919, he bought a 160 acre farm from Frank Shipper for $28,000. It was about 3/4 miles west of the Holland farm.He would feed a lot of cattle and always had a lot of hired help. I will name a few of the hired men he had down through the years ...

In 1918, the crops dried out and he shipped in corn by the car loads and hauled it out by team and wagon to feed the cattle. In the early 1920's, he lost a lot of money feeding cattle and in the spring of 1925, he lost the Shipper farm and in the spring of 1926, he lost the Holland farm.

In 1930, the bank he did business with went broke and in 1931, he lost all the land he had left. The fall of 1931, the bank receiver had to take and sell all his cattle, hogs, horses and eqpt. because he owed more than it was worth. He grieved and worried so much he lost his health and he passed away September 20, 1938 a broken man.