Page:History of Goodhue County, Minnesota.djvu/969

 HISTOHY OF GOODHUE COUNTY 831 through, the members of the Elcoek family hauled their grain to Red Wing, the journey taking two or three days. The roads were poor and the loads heavy, and the subject of this sketch has many interesting stories to tell of some of these early trips. Eugene L. Blaker, and his brother Frank J. Blaker are pro- prietors of "Brookside Farm" of Cherry Grove, in which town- ship both were born, the former Nov. 26, 1868 and the latter Dec. 20, 1870. The father, Jacob Blaker, a native of Pennsyl- vania, came to Minnesota and located in Pine Island, where he was married to Jane Root, a daughter of Byington and Maria Root, who came to Cherry Grove township in 1856 and pre- empted 160 acres on which the father erected a house, barns and other necessary buildings, carried on general farming, and to his original purchase later added 80 acres more. Mr. Root died in November, 1881. Jacob Blaker died April 6, 1881, aged 53 years. His wife now lives with her sons. Eugene was educated in the public schools of Cherry Grove, and the high school of Zumbrota and Kenyan after which he taught school in the county for three years. In 1889 he took up the management of the homestead, with his brother Frank, and they have since continued to carry on general farming and stock raising, owning a farm of 240 acres and renting 160 acres which they also cultivate. They have gradually made improve- ments on the house and buildings in general having a barn 40x88, a good granary, a hog house and machine sheds. March 1, 1889 Eugene was married to Elizabeth Frederick of Dodge county, daughter of Peter and Mary (Stewart), the former a native of New York and the latter of Wisconsin. They came to Minnesota and located in Dodge county, where they pur- chased a farm on which they still reside. Mr. and Mrs. Blaker have three children : Mabel D., born June 6, 1900; Elmer P., born November 2, 1903 ; and Francis E., born December 15, 1907. E. L. Blaker lost his right arm in the corn shredder November 5, 1904. He has an artificial arm, carries on all the farm and dairy work, the same as usual and has no difficulty in doing team work, or in driving and running all kinds of machinery about the farm. Frank Blaker was married June 1, 1904 to Hannah Arvidson, of Cannon Falls, by whom he has two daugh- ters ; Bernice E., born April 2, 1906, and Helen G., born Janu- ary 22, 1909. The Blakers have one sister Mary E. who married Clarence E. Fitzgarald of Iowa, June 28, 1905, Mabel D. another sister died August 24, 1889, aged 17 years. E. L. Blaker is a Republican in politics, and has held several offices, having been supervisor, justice of the peace, director of school district 85, road overseer, and in 1900, census enumerator. He is also in-