ARNA ARNASON, a representative citizen and model farmer of Pembina county, lives in his beautiful home in Park township, where he has met with remarkable success as a farmer and general business man.

Mr. Arnason is a native of Iceland and was born April 10, 1850. He was the fifth of nine children born to Arni and Thornun (Jonsdattir) Thorgrimsson. Mr. Arnason's mother now makes her home with him. Our subject grew to manhood in Iceland and followed farming and fishing until he reached manhood. In the fall of 1882 he came to Dakota and joined his mother, who had taken a homestead in Park township, Pembina county. He took up an adjoining tract and they lived in the same claim shanty up to 1884, when he erected a log house 16x20 feet. In 1895 he built his present residence. He has met with success in farming in Dakota. His home is beautifully located and is supplied with all the comforts and many of the luxuries found in the best country residences. He rents out his farm and is engaged m the real estate and collection business.

Mr. Arnason was married, in 1891, to Miss Minnie G. Baldwin. Mrs. Arnason is a native of Iceland, where she was born in 1868. She came to America in 1888 and joined her mother in Dakota, attending school at St. Thomas, Pembina. Mr. and Mrs. Arnason have two children, namely: Richard B. and Thornun. The family are members of the Lutheran church and Mr. Arnason belongs to the Ancient Order of United Workmen. He is a Democrat in politics and takes an active part in public affairs of a local nature. He is usually chosen as a delegate to county conventions and is a leading party man in the county.

HON. EIRKUR H. BERGMAN, the pioneer merchant of Gardar, is also engaged in farming and handles real estate extensively. He was instrumental in getting many of his countrymen from Iceland to settle in that locality and there is no more progressive and enterprising settlement in Pembina county than that composed mostly of Icelanders in Gardar township. A portrait preserves the countenance of this remarkable man, who has accomplished so much in an alien country.

Mr. Bergman was born in Iceland, April 15, 1852, and was the oldest in a family of three children born to Helmar and Valgerdur (Bergman) Erikson, both of whom are deceased. The father was a fisherman and from the time our subject was eleven years of age he spent much of the time on the water with his father. He was fourteen years of age when the father died, but the mother kept the family together and as our subject neared manhood he heard from fellow countrymen, who emigrated to America, in 1871, of the advantages of this country. He decided to try his fortunes with the others and in 1873 came to America with the first large body of Icelanders, the party numbering two hundred and fifty, most of whom settled in Ontario, but our subject, with five other families, went to Milwaukee and Mr. Bergman worked at farm labor and in the woods for four years. He went to Lyon county, Minnesota, in 1876, and took government land and lived there four years. He was one of the pioneer settlers of that county, but he would penetrate a still newer country and in the fall of 1878 came to Dakota to look over the country for an Icelandic settlement. He viewed the country near Lake Kampeska and Big Stone lake, in what is now South Dakota, and in 1879 visited Pembina county, and decided on the country along the north branch of the Park river. In June, 1880, he pre-empted land in section 16, of Gardar township, on the banks of the above named stream, and built a log cabin, with ceiling and flooring of lumber hauled fifty-five miles from Pembina, and also hauled his farm machinery from there over the unbroken country. The family is the oldest resident family of Gardar township and in the winter of 1881-1882 a post office was established and the name of Gardar chosen at the suggestion of our subject, in honor of a Swedish pioneer of Icelandic history. Mr. Bergman was appointed postmaster of Gardar and has held the office continuously since, with the exception of about four years. He began the real estate and loan business about 1885 and has devoted some attention to this line since that date and about the same time established a general store in Gardar and now has a well-stocked establishment and enjoys a good trade. He owns and operates six hundred and forty acres of land and has made a success of farming.

Our subject was married, in 1873, to Miss Ingeborg Thorlacius, a native of Iceland. Three children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Bergman, named as follows: Fredrik P., now attending St. Peter College, in Minnesota; Hjalmar A., also a student of St. Peter College, and Kristine.

Gardar township was originally organized as a part of Thurgavalla township, and our subject was chosen chairman of the first township board. He was appointed county commissioner in 1885 and later elected to that office. He was elected state representative in 1888 and served one term and was a member of the ways and means committee. He is a Republican politically and is a recognized leader of his party in the southwestern part of Pembina county and is now a member of the county central committee.

REV. FREDRICK J. BERGMANN, pastor of Gardar congregation of the Icelandic Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran church of America, is a gentleman of the highest intelligence and is possessed of excellent education and an earnest desire to serve those among whom he labors. His many friends will be glad to see his portrait in connection with this sketch. He was born in Akureyri, Iceland, April 15, 1858, and was the elder of two children born to Jon and Haldora (Bessason) Bergmann, both of whom now reside with our subject.

Our subject was reared to farm work, but devoted much time to study and entered a Latin school, when he began investigation regarding the New-World, and accordingly emigrated to America in 1875, landing at New York. He went to Toronto, Canada, and worked at railroading there and then went to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he was employed at farm labor and from thence went to Shewano, Wisconsin. He passed the winter there with Rev. Paul Thorlaksson. the pioneer Icelandic minister of America, and through his influence he entered the Lutheran College in Decorah, Iowa, in the fall of 1876. and graduated with the degree of B. A. in 1881. He then began teaching and was engaged most of the time in Goodhue county, Minnesota.

He came to Pembina county. North Dakota, in the spring of 1882. and in company with E. H. Bergman, established a general store at Gardar, and was there one year, during which time he decided to study for the ministry, and he accordingly went to Christiania, Norway, and studied there two years in the University of Norway, and in 1885 went to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and took a theological course at Mt. Ary Theological Seminary, and there was ordained a minister, June 17, 188b, and was at once placed in charge of Gardar congregation. This congregation had been served since 1883 by Rev. H. B. Torgrinson. Our subject began work with these two congregations at Gardar and Mountain and in the fall of 1886 organized the Vidalin and Hallson congregations and also congregations in Pembina, Grafton and Alma, the last named being known as the Pembina Mountain church. The church of Eyford was established in 1888 and at the present time the following churches are under the immediate charge of our subject: Gardar, with a congregation of one hundred and twenty-five families and a handsome church building; Mountain, with about seventy-five families and a hue church building; church of Pembina Mountain at Alma, with about twenty families and a church building, and Eyford, with thirty families and a church building. Of these four churches it may be mentioned that they are without debt and the congregations are in a flourishing condition. Mr. Bergmann resides near Gardar and has a well-improved farm there of one hundred and sixty acres and a pleasant and comfortable home. In 1886 tlie Icelandic Synod held its conference at Gardar and our subject was made vice-president of the Icelandic Lutheran Synod of America and held the position until 1899, and has become thoroughly identified with the advancement of his church. He is an earnest prohibitionist and active temperance worker.

Our subject was married, in 1888, to Miss Gudrun Thorlacius. Six children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Bergman, as follows: Erik, deceased, Maggie, John, Ragnar, Lizzie and Erling. In June, 1900, Rev. Mr. Bergmann received a call from his synod to a professorship in Icelandic language and literature at Gustavus Adolphus College at St. Peter, Minnesota, and now has it under consideration.

HON. JAMES T. BLACKLOCK. deputy collector and inspector of customs at Walhalla port of entry. North Dakota, is well known throughout that region as a business man of excellent qualifications and a worthy citizen. He is a native of Gait, Ontario, Canada, and was born August 9, 1857.

Mr. Blacklock was the only child born to James and Annabel (Stuart) Blacklock, and his father died while our subject was an infant. The mother married a second time when our subject was about three years of age. and he resided with his mother and stepfather until he reached the age of twenty years, and was occupied at farm work and carpentering, and then began farming for himself. He sold his land interests in 1882, and came to Dakota, and soon after went to Winnipeg and there worked three years at carpenter work. He became foreman of a farm near Portage la Prairie, Canada, in 1885, and in 1887 went to Bathgate. Pembina county. North Dakota, and located on rented land, and soon purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land about three miles south of Bathgate. He entered the employ of the Farmers' Alliance Elevator Company about 1891, and in 1897 engaged with the Minnesota & Dakota Elevator Company and was located at Hamilton, and in 1898 was again stationed at Bathgate. He was with the Monarch Elevator Company in 1899, and during the past year his family have resided in Bathgate, but prior to that time lived on the home farm. In February, 1900, he was appointed to his present position and will remove to Walhalla in the near future.

Our subject was married, in 1878. to Miss Barbara Thompson, a native of Canada. Mr. Blacklock was elected by three parties to the lower house in 1894, and served as a member of that body, and successfully introduced many measures which have become important laws, and was instrumental in locating the Blind Asylum at Bathgate. He served as chairman of the apportionment committee, and was a member of the following committees: Judiciary, educational, engrossment, grain and warehouse and steering. He served ten years as chairman of the board of supervisors of his township, and has always taken an active interest in public affairs of local importance. He was president of the Pembina County Fair Association two years, and also held the office of president of the Pembina County Mutual Fire Insurance Company, and was the first to act in that capacity. He served four years as treasurer of School District No. 35 of Hamilton, and in political sentiment is a Republican and upon the organization of the Republican State League was a member of the executive committee, and has attended many county and state conventions of his party. He is prominent in secret society circles, and is a Royal Arch Mason and grand marshal of A. F. & A. M. of North Dakota': past master of Ancient Order of United Workmen, and court deputy four years of the Independent Order of Foresters. Mr. Blacklock is an exemplary citizen and a member of the Presbyterian church.

MAGNUS BRYNJOLFSON, attorney-at-law in Cavalier, Pembina county, is one of the most promising members of his profession in North Dakota. He enjoys the distinction of being the first Icelander,  the distinction of being the first Icelander to be admitted to the bar in America and is widely known as a prominent attorney, his success proving his ability. His life history includes no striking incidents, but he has gained his knowledge by unceasing application and without means has gained an assured position in his adopted land, and a review of his career will be of interest to the readers of this work. Our subject was born in Skjeggstodum, Skagafjardar-syslu, Iceland, May 28, 1866, and is the sixth in a family of seven children born to Brynjolfur and Thorun (Olafsdottir) Brynjolfson. The mother died in 1891 and the father now resides with our subject. The family came to America in 1874 and was a member of the second Icelandic colony to emigrate to this country. They landed at Quebec in October and went to Kenmount, north of Toronto, Canada.

Our subject's father soon located in Halifax county, Nova Scotia, with about ten other families and cleared a small farm in the wilderness, where he lived six years. The Icelandic settlement in Pembina county, North Dakota, came to the notice of our subject, and the family started for the west and spent the winter at Duluth and in April, 1882, arrived at Pembina. Our subject worked on his father's farm at Beaulieu township, and his only schooling was received during eighteen months in the schools of Canada, but in 1887 he had gained a fair knowledge of the English language by home study, and entered the law office of G. H. Megquier, at Pembina, and read law there six months. He was appointed deputy clerk of courts in 1888 and held the position two years, during which time he continued the study of law in spare hours and September 9, 1889, was admitted to the bar. He formed a partnership with Daniel J. Laxdal, in the fall of 1890, and an office was established at Cavalier and this became the pioneer firm of that city. The partnership was dissolved in 1892, since which time our subject has continued his practice alone and has met with unbounded success. Careful research is given every case entrusted to the care of our subject and this, in part, is accountable for his success.

Mr. Brynjolfson was married, in 1898, to Miss Sarah Halldorson. Mrs. Brynjolfson is a native of Iceland and came to America in 1881. She is a graduate of the Grafton high schools and prior to her marriage was one of the well-known instructors in the schools of Pembina county. Mr. Brynjolfson is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and Independent Order of Foresters. Politically, he is a Democrat and stands firmly for the principles of his party. He is a strict anti-fusionist and is a member of the state central committee and has served two years as chairman of the county central committee. He is intelligent and progressive and firm in his convictions.

HON. SKAPTI B. BRYNJOLFSON, who is now retired from active labors, engaged in farming many years in Beaulieu township and has a pleasant home in section 36 that is the center of true and generous hospitality. He settled in the midst of the Icelandic colony of Pembina county, and his countrymen have conferred upon him much honor and he has proven himself worthy of their confidence in every instance.

Our subject was born in Forsealudal,Valley of Shade, Iceland, the place of his nativity being Hunavatnssysla. in the county of Bear Cub Lake. His birth is dated October 29, 1860, and he is the fourth child of seven born to Brynjolfur and Thorun (Olafsdottir) Brynjolfson. Under his father's guidance our subject acquired the rudiments of education in his own tongue and about 1873 a pamphlet written in Danish by a Scandinavian resident of Texas, United States, came into the hands of his father and was read with much interest, as it described life in the New World, and by him was translated into Icelandic and read to the neighbors, and in consequence caused some dissatisfaction among the sturdy people, who for generations had been able to provide little more than the necessaries of life in their native land and heard such glowing accounts of the advantages of the west. A letter later received from friends in Canada caused a general and decided movement, resulting in the formation of a colony for emigration, and in August, 1874, a company of three hundred and fifty-two persons embarked on the ship "St. Patrick," arriving in due season in Quebec. Soon after their arrival in America our subject settled in Halifax county. Nova Scotia, and remained there until 1881, when he went to Duluth and from thence, in the spring of 1882, to Pembina county, North Dakota. The father entered claim to land in Beaulieu township and our subject worked in a flour-mill in Winnipeg and at elevator work in Duluth and during the time applied himself to the study of the English language, gleaning his knowledge from books and papers and made remarkable progress in that direction and as is characteristic of the nationality, acquired a pure pronunciation and thorough understanding, with a good grammatical style, although paying little attention to the study of grammar.

Mr. Brynjolfson went to Dakota for permanent residence in 1885 and assumed charge of his father's farm on section 35, in Beaulieu township, and in 1892 removed to his present location and devoted his attention to general farming until 1897, when he leased the land and now enjoys a well-earned rest from active pursuits.

Our subject was married, November 21, 1892, to Miss Groa Johannesson, a native of Iceland, who came to America in 1873, with the first large Icelandic colony. Mr. and Mrs. Brynjolfson have refined literary tastes and their library contains volumes in English and Icelandic covering a great range of subjects. Our subject has a retentive memory and his mind is stored with folk lore of his native people, and throughout the state of North Dakota there can be found no more entertaining host or charming hostess than these cultured people from far off Iceland . Mr. Brynjolfson was a nominee for state representative in 1889, but was defeated, and in 1890 was elected state senator and served one term. He was chairman of the committee on public health and served on the committee on education and also as a member of the other committees of the session. He introduced many measures that have since become important laws and his services for the welfare of his community commended him to all as a citizen of true public spirit. Politically, he is a Democrat and is strong in his convictions. He holds membership in the Independent Order of Foresters.

CHARLES CAVILEER, known far and wide as the "Father of Pembina," enjoys the unique distinction of being not only the oldest living settler of that portion of the Red river valley, but likewise of the whole state of North Dakota. A full and complete history of the life of this prominent and influential pioneer of pioneers, since coming to this portion of our land, dating as it does from 1851, would present to our minds most clearly the wonderful growth and development that has come to this favored portion of the public. The interest that naturally attends the narration of the life history of the pioneer is, in his case, made doubly strong by the fact that in all the many years of his residence here, he has taken a leading and prominent part in the political, business and official life of this, his adopted home.

Mr. Cavileer was born in Springfield. Clark county, Ohio, March 6, 1818, and is the son of Charles and Rachel (Trease) Cavileer, natives of Maine and Pennsylvania, respectively. Receiving in his native place the rudiments of common-school education, at the age of seventeen he removed to Mount Carmel, Wabash county, Illinois, where he learned the saddler's trade. There he remained, working as a journeyman, until 1841. In that year he moved to Minnesota and for a time made his home at Red Rock, near St. Paul. In 1845, in that young city, Mr. Cavileer established the pioneer harness shop of the state of Minnesota. This he continued for two years. In 1848, in company with a Mr. Dewey, he opened the first drug store in St. Paul and the state. In 1848 Mr. Cavileer was appointed by Governor Alexander Ramsey to the position of first territorial librarian. This office he continued to hold until, in 1851, he was appointed by President Fillmore the first collector of customs for the district of Minnesota. Pembina was the port of entry for the district and thither he moved. He settled down to his official duties, which, at that time, not only had to do with the customs, but he was also the representative of all the other civil branches of the United States government. August 17, 1851, in company with Commodore Norman W. Kittson, he arrived at what is now Pembina. In 1853 Mr. Cavileer, in partnership with N. W. Kittson and W. H. Forbes, engaged in the fur trade. At the end of three years, Mr. Forbes having withdrawn, Mr. Cavileer with Mr. Kittson, formed a partnership with Messrs. Culver, Farrington and Sargent and engaged in same line of business. This continued for two years. These five years were doubtless the most exciting ones in a life replete with adventurous incident. It was during this time that he made regular trips to St. Paul with trains of from eighty to a hundred "Red river carts" loaded with furs and pelts. These trips were long and wearisome and often dangerous from bands of roving Indians and stampeding herds of buffalo.

Mr. Cavileer. in 1863. returned to Pembina, he having, in the discharge of his business cares, resided both at St. Joseph, about thirty miles to the westward, at the foot of the Pembina mountains, and at Winnipeg. In 1864 he was commissioned postmaster, a position which he held until 1884, when the weight of increasing years caused him to resign in favor of his son, Edmund. The original plat of the city of Pembina was laid out by the subject of this sketch and this was added to in the shape of an extensive addition in 1878, when railroad connections with the centers of trade showed the need for enlarging the limits of the city.

In his earlier days Mr. Cavileer was a regular correspondent of the Smithsonian Institute, of Washington, D. C, and to this day likes to write of the incidents of the past. His sketches of pioneer days and graphic descriptions of scenes and characters are the delight of his friends and neighbors, and the old settlers generally. These sketches, which have been mostly for local papers and pioneer society meetings, are in the plain, blunt, straightforward and to the point style of the western plainsman, but have a deep undercurrent of humor wholly his own.

March 13, 1857, Mr. Cavileer was united in marriage with Miss Isabella Murry, who was then sixteen years of age. She was a lassie of Scottish ancestry, daughter of Donald and Jean (Herron) Murry, and was born and lived in the Red river valley of Canada. They made a visit as a bridal tour to his former home in Springfield, Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Cavileer are the parents of five children: Sarah, who died in infancy. Edmund K., William M., Albert D. and Lulah Bell.

FRANCIS DE FOE, whose pleasant and comfortable home is on section 15, Pembina township, is one of the most influential men in Pembina county, and enjoys the confidence of his fellow men to a high degree.

Mr. De Foe is a native of the province of Quebec, born on the banks of the St. Lawrence, February 10, 1848. He was the third child in a family of nine children born to Rafaelle and Lizette De Foe, the family being one of the oldest and best known in Quebec province. The grandfather and two granduncles came from France at an early day. all being tillers of the soil. The father of our subject died in 1876 and the mother in 1877. Mr. De Foe remained at home until he was fifteen years of age, when he went to work in the lumber woods of upper Canada. After four years .here he went to Massachusetts and engaged in broom making. In 1876 he came to North Dakota, by way of Moorehead, and a Red river boat as far as the Canadian border, whence he came to Pembina. He located the homestead on which he now resides, five miles west of Pembina, erecting the log house in which he now lives. He invested in cattle and horses at first and made a success of this line, but eventually sold out his stock and followed farming, and has accumulated a valuable property. He owns about twelve hundred acres of land on the Pembina river with about two hundred acres of timber land.

Mr. De Foe was married, in 1866, to Miss Hermina La Valle, also a native of Quebec province. They have seven children, named as follows: Albert, Francis (deceased), George and Hermina, twins (deceased), Fred, Charles E. and Mary Louise. The home is one of refinement, in which music and art find devotees. Mr. De Foe is giving his children every advantage consistent with their growth and development, and is an affectionate father and devoted husband. Although a Republican for many years, he is now a Democrat, and his influence among his countrymen is very great.

HON. ALEXANDER DUNCAN, one of the well-known farmers of St. Joseph township, Pembina county, North Dakota, is a man of strict integrity and has proven himself worthy of the confidence of his fellow men. He has a fine farm and enjoys a comfortable and happy home.

Our subject was born in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, October 11, 1857, and was the oldest of four children. His father's name was William Duncan. His mother's was Jennie Little. His father died when he was nine years of age. From his thirteenth year until his twenty-first he worked and helped to support his mother and younger members of the family. He came to the United States in the spring of 1880 and homesteaded his present home and spent two' summers and three winters working out on the Canadian Pacific Railroad in summer and in the woods in the winter. In 1883 he settled down for good, with the regulation sod shanty and a yoke of oxen and implement needful to commence farming. He had the usual ups and downs of a new settler, but with persistent efforts succeeded in making a comfortable home.

He was married, in 1886, to Miss Mary Symington. Three children have been born to bless their home, named Jennie, William and Margaret.

Mr. Duncan was a strong Farmer's Alliance man and assisted in the organization of the Independent party in Pembina county and was elected by his party to the state legislature in 1896 and made a good record as a man who was trying to help to make good laws. He would be known as a statesman, not a politician. He is a man of enlightened views and well merits his honor and success.

HON. STEPHEN EYOLFSON, residing in section 34, in Gardar township, Pembina county, is a man of sterling qualities, honest and upright, and a representative farmer of that locality. He was born in Iceland, December 25, 1849, and is now a thorough American citizen.

Our subject was the third in a family of seven children born to Eyolfur and Steiium (Stefansdottir) Magnusson. The father of our subject now resides in Manitoba. Mr. Eyolfson worked as a fisherman and farmer in his native land, and in 1874 went to Denmark in route to Norway, and from there came to America and at once located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he was employed at farming and lumbering, and as foreman in a lumber yard in that city. He went to Winnipeg, Canada, in 1875, and took land and lived there five years, and endured many hardships, being among the first settlers of that locality. He went to Pembina county in the spring of 1880, and worked in Pembina, and also farmed in Joliette township, and in 1883 took land upon which he now resides, and became a resident thereof in 1885. He raises stock and grain, and has about thirty head of cattle, one hundred hogs and fifty sheep, and he now has four hundred and eighty acres of land, the most part under cultivation.

Our subject was married, in 1885, to Miss Gudrun Bjornson. Seven children have been born to Air. and Mrs. Eyolfson, as follows: Thordis, deceased; Cecilia, Thorlak Emmanuel, Thordis, Margret, Pearl and Magnus. Mr. Eyolfson was elected to a seat in the state legislature, in 1894, on the Populist ticket, and served on the committees on banks and banking, corporations (other than municipal), agriculture, highways, bridges and ferries, public debt and state library. He is a leader of his party and is a stanch Farmers' Alliance man. He was elected county commissioner for the second district and has served in all the township offices of importance and is one of the best known and most highly esteemed citizens of his locality. He holds membership in the Lutheran church, and also the Masonic fraternity, Independent Order of Foresters and National Aid Society.

HENRY C. FELDMAN is an honored resident of Pembina, where he resides, retired from active business pursuits, in a comfortable home, and is passing the evening of life enjoying the fruit of his labor.

He was born inBraunschweig, Germany, June 11, 1834, and was the fifth in a family of six children.  The parents of our subject. Christian and Dorthea (Matthias) Feldman, were natives of Germany, and the father was a farmer and lumber merchant.

Our subject was reared in his native land and at the age of sixteen years began working at the carpenter's trade and at nineteen years of age emigrated to America to join his elder brother at Angelica, New York, where he took up cabinet-making and followed that trade until 1855, when he started West, and after some wandering around located in St. Peter. Minnesota, and was one of the first twenty-five settlers of that place to receive free of charge a town lot, and there, with his cousin, opened a cabinet shop. August 19, 1862, he enlisted in Company D, Ninth Minnesota Volunteer Infantry as a private. He served first through the Indian war, being stationed on guard at St. Peter for several months. They were then sent to the front, and by erecting stockades furnished protection for returning settlers. In the fall of 1863 he was sent to Missouri, where he guarded prisoners and had several skirmishes with bushwhackers, and was soon promoted to the rank of corporal. His first engagement was at Guntown, Mississippi, and then followed Tupela, the raid of Oxford, the campaign in Missouri, and Nashville, Tennessee, after which he was promoted to sergeant. Then came the campaign of Mobile, and later Alabama, and he was ordered home and discharged from the service August 24, 1865.

Mr. Feldman resumed his trade in St. Peter and after two years began contracting and building and followed that until the winter of 1878-79, when he was appointed inspector of customs of St. Vincent port of entry, and in the summer of 1871 took up his residence at Pembina. He was appointed deputy collector in the fall of 1882 and was sent to Neche, and remained there until the spring of 1886, when he returned to Pembina and engaged in the flour and feed business, at which he was employed until 1899. He then placed the business in the hands of his son and retired to private life.

Our subject was married, in 1856, to Miss Harriet Voss, a native of Germany. Four sons were born to Mr. and Mrs. Feldman, as follows: William, who died January 28, 1890; Charles H., residing in St. Peter, Minnesota; Frank A., who now has charge of the business formerly owned by his father; and Henry O., now in Idaho. Mr. Feldman is a Royal Arch Mason, and also a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He is prominent in G. A. R. circles, and is an active worker in behalf of Warden Post, No. 12, which was established in 1883 as Warden Post, No. 83. Mr. Feldman served as commander of the post in 1896. He is a stanch Republican politically, and has cast his vote with that party since Lincoln's first election.

WILLIAM H. HASSING, editor and proprietor of "The Weekly X Rays," published in Hamilton, Pembina county, is a young man of rare business ability and foresight, and enjoys success in his newspaper work.

Our subject is a native of Delavan, Minnesota, and was born October 9, 1872. He was the eldest of three children, born to Barnard and Hannah (Goodge) Hassing. who now reside in Cass county. North Dakota, where the father follows agricultural pursuits.

Our subject spent his early boyhood in Iowa, and in 1893, removed with his parents to Dakota, and in that state completed a high school course at Casselton, and later completed a business course in Fargo College, after which he took up newspaper work as his business. He purchased the "Buffalo Express," and edited that sheet for about three years, and in 1898 went to Hamilton and purchased the paper known as "Gilpin's X Rays," which he re-christened "The Weekly X Rays." and continued to publish the paper. Under his management the circulation steadily increased, and the paper is growing in prominence, and its local columns contain bright and well-arranged topics of the day. Editorially the paper deals from a Republican standpoint on political questions of the hour, and altogether is one of the popular and much quoted exchanges of the newspaper world of Pembina county.

Mr. Hassing was married, in 1899, to Miss Hannah M. Roney. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity. Modern Woodmen of America, Ancient Order of United Workmen and is a member of the North Dakota Press Association.

JOHN P. HICKS is one of the oldest prairie farmers in Neche township, Pembina county, and is numbered among the most successful. He was born in Devonshire, England, January 14, 1836, and was one of a family of ten children, two of whom were older than himself.

The parents of our subject, William and Grace (Palmer) Hicks, were natives of England and are both deceased. The father was a tenant farmer in England, and the early days of our subject's life were passed on a farm in that country, and in 1857 the family emigrated to America in hopes of bettering their financial condition. Chicago was their destination, and they soon went to Blackhawk county, Iowa, where their eldest daughter and her husband resided. The father invested in land, and our subject worked with him about three years, and in 1860 went to Colorado, but found mining unprofitable after six months spent there, and then returned to his native country, and in 1862 again set sail for America with his bride. He went at once to Chicago, and there secured employment as driver on a street car, and in 1864 settled on a farm in Iowa, and in the spring of 1877 went to Emerson, Manitoba, to view the Red river valley. Frost had destroyed the crops, and he decided the country was too far north to suit agricultural pursuits, and returned to Iowa, but found the same condition existing there, and in the fall of that year went with his family to a farm near Emerson, Manitoba. He sold his interests there in 1879, and went to his present location, where his efforts have met with marked success. In the early days he invested in stock to some extent, and found it profitable as long as there was "range" for the cattle. He now engages in general farming and also threshing. He introduced one of the first horse-power threshing outfits on the prairie, and every season has operated the machine, and now has an Altman & Taylor steam engine and an Advance separator.

Our subject was married in England, in 1861, to Miss Maria Hicks, daughter of William and Elizabeth Hicks. Seven children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Hicks, named in order of birth as follows: William T., now married and farming in Neche township: Elizabeth A., now Mrs. Harry Vosper ; Tula M., deceased ; Fredrick I., deceased ; George H., engaged in farming with our subject; lola C, deceased: and Grace, at home Mr. Hicks is a member of the Episcopal church and also the Knights of Pythias. He served as chairman of the township board twelve years, and in 1897 was elected county commissioner, and in local matters is heartily interested. He is identified with the Republican party politically, and is strong in his convictions.

JOHN JOHNSON, engaged in diversified farming in section 18. in Gardar township, is one of the progressive and intelligent younger members of the farming community composed mostly of natives of Iceland. The family of which he is a member were among the first of that land to take up their residence in this country, and have become worthy citizens and men of active public spirit, manifesting American progress in connection with the advance of civilization.

Mr. Johnson was born in Iceland, November 1, 1862, and he and an elder sister were the only children born to John and Sigurbjorg (Stephanson) Johnson. The parents now reside with our subject. In the fall of 1873 they joined the first Icelandic emigration colony bound for America and arrived at Quebec, August 25, and were among the ten families who pushed on to Milwaukee. They remained in Dane county, Wisconsin, one year and then removed to Shawano county, Wisconsin, and in the spring of 1880 our subject, with two companions, came to Pembina county. North Dakota, seeking land for a small settlement of some five families of Icelanders. Mr. Johnson located on the land where he now resides and made some improvements and the following fall the father went there and filed claim thereon. The men composing the colony drove overland with cattle from Wisconsin, a distance of nine hundred miles, and the farm which our subject located was on the north fork of the Park river and a beautiful site was chosen and a log house erected, which still stands there among the trees. Three years later a better log house was erected and in 1899 a handsome and commodious residence, fitted with furnace heat and modern improvements, was built and the furnishings and appointments of the home are perfect in every particular and furnishes a home of great comfort and one of the pleasantest in the township. The wealth of the family in the earl\- days consisted of nine head of stock and during those days our subject worked for others and clerked in a store at Gardar for about two years.

Our subject was married, in 1886, to Miss Gudbjorg Peterson, a native of Iceland. Seven children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Johnson, named as follows: Emelia, Stephan, Fredrick, John, Fjola, Sigrun and Clara. Mr. Johnson is a member of the Independent Order of Foresters and Modern Woodmen of America and also holds membership in the Lutheran church. He was elected county commissioner from the second district in 1888 and is a man of active public spirit in county and township affairs and keeps pace' with the times and wields an influence for good in his community.

DANIEL J. LAXDAL, attorney at law, and land commissioner for North Dakota, is a representative member of his profession, and has gained a high position in his locality, and enjoys a good practice in Cavalier, Pembina county.

Our subject was born in Iceland, April 9. 1866, and he and an elder sister constituted the family born to Grimur and Aldis (Jonasdottir or Bergmann) Laxdal. By a former marriage of the father five children were born. The father died in Iceland, and when our subject was ten years of age the mother came to America with her children and step-children, and was one of a colony of one thousand persons who emigrated from Iceland, with Lake Winnipeg as their objective point. The mother of our subject and the children went to Pembina county, North Dakota, in the spring of 1879, and there took land in section 27 in Gardar township. Our subject attended school in Winnipeg two months, but his English education was obtained in the common schools of Pembina county. When thirteen years of age he obtained a position at eight dollars per month, "caring for officers" children at Fort Pembina, and in 1880-81 he worked in a biscuit factory in Winnipeg. He entered the Lutheran College in Iowa, in 1883, and by working hard remained five years, and then when in his senior year accepted a position in the law office of W. J. Kneeshaw, at Pembina, with whom he read law. and two years later in March. 1890. was admitted to the bar. In the fall of that year, in partnership with Magnus Brynjolfson, he established an office in Cavalier, and this became the pioneer law firm of that city. He began alone in 1892 and has since conducted a general law practice, and also deals in real estate, loans and insurance.

Our subject was married, in 1893, to Miss Bessie Rose. Two children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Laxdal, named as follows: Mabel, and Fredrick Eggert. Mr. Laxdal was appointed land commissioner for the state of North Dakota in 1899, and now serves in that capacity. He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Ancient Order of United Workmen, and the Lutheran church. Politically he is a Republican and served ten years as secretary of the county central committee.