Page:History of Goodhue County, Minnesota.djvu/959

 HISTOKY OF GOODHUE COTOT1 821 .Mr. Starz was married February 26, 1891, in Minneola township, to Anna M. Kalass, borD July 13, 1867, daughter of Christian K;il,iss. The children of this union are: Herberl II.. born De- eember 1. 1891; Sophia R.. born July 10, 1897, and died May 18, 1899; Edward C. II.. born February 28, 190] ; Edm 1 L. 0., horn June 22, 1903; Malinda R., bom April 11. 1905, and Christian S., horn July 24. 1908. Mr. Starz voles the Republican ticket, and attends the German Lutheran Church. At the present time he is town clerk, which position he has held since 1903. He is a pro- gressive farmer and a hard worker and has a large circle of friends. John O. Vollan was horn in Minneola. in which township he still resides, in 1872, son of Ole H. and Mali (Langness) Vollan, both natives of Norway. Ole H. came to America with his par- ents, John P. and Beret (Sagen) Vollan, in 1858, and located in Minneola township. Here they purchased eighty acres of land in section 8. which they cleared and cultivated, and engaged in farming. They erected a home, barn and other buildings neces- sary, and added eighty acres more .of land to their farm. The mother, Beret, died in 1879, and the father, John P., in 1893. Ole H. was married in 1868 to Mali Langness, daughter of Ole and Gertrude (Fundaune) Langness. natives of Norway, who came to this country in 1866, locating in Minneola township, where they remained but a short time, removing to South Dakota, where they engaged in farming. The father, Ole Langness, died in 1896, and the mother, Gertrude, in 1899. There were four children in the Vollan home — Beret, who lives at home; John O. the sub- ject of this sketch, who manages the homestead; Ole O. and Hans, who are both deceased. John received his education in the com- mon schools and worked with his father on the farm until in 1898, when he entered business in a general store at Zumbrota. which he conducted for one year, after which he sold and re- turned home and took .charge of the farm in 1900, his father retir- ing from active life, but still remaining on the homestead. John O. has made a great many improvements on the farm and build- ings, and rents eighty acres, carrying on a general line of farm- ing, dairying and stock raising. He is single. Mr. Vollan is Republican in politics, and is a member of the Lutheran Church. Sven E. Swenson, one of those men whose industry and per- severance has assisted in the development of the agricultural resources of Minneola township, is a native born son, having first seen the light of day in Minneola, July 29, 1867. His parents were Erick and Susanna Swenson, substantial farmers. He lived on a farm in his youth, took advantage of the educational opportunities offered in his neighborhood and then attended St. Olaf 's College at Northfield, Minn., where he proved a capable