John Frederickson

As printed in 1910

JOHN FREDERICKSON (1879), one of the members and officers of the Lakefield Tile & Drainage company, cement tile manufacturers, has been a resident of Lakefield ever since the founding of the village. He is a native of Norway and was born September 9, 1846. being the son of Frederick and Mary (Kulungstad) Frederickson.

Our subject spent the first twenty-three years of his life in his native land. He was educated in the public schools and later studied the English language under a private tutor. In I8C9 he emigrated to America and during the first three years of his residence in the new world lived at.several different places, working on the railroad. He spent one month in Madelia and then worked on the Omaha road a short time at Mankato. Next he took a ]>position with the Milwaukee road, but a little later went to St. Paul and for two years worked for the Northern Pacific. Ue spent one harvest season working near Hastings, and then again took a position with the Northern Pacific.

[This passage is too damaged in the scanned book to reproduce. See the original book.]

WILLIAM y. lUUGEWAV (189), of Des Moines township, is one of the early settlers of Jackson county, having resided here since he was eleven years of age. He owns twenty-two and one-half acres of land on the Dos Moines river a short distance up from Jackson. He does very little general farming but he is a successful chicken raiser and deals in wood.

The father of our subject is Francis J. Ridgeway, who lives in Jackson and is 75 j-cars of age. He was born in Ohio and moved to Indiana when young, where he was married and lived until 1857. That year he settled in Goodhue county, Minnesota. He enlisted in company F, of the Second Minnesota volunteer infantry, served two years in the army and was discharged on account of disability. Later he reenlisted and fought the Sioux Indians in the Black Hills country one year. During one of the Indian campaigns Francis Ridgeway camped at the Joseph Thomas home where Jackson is now located. After his discharge from the army he lived in Goodhue county until 1860. Then he and family came to.Tackson county, took a homestead on section 14, Wisconsin township, and a tree claim on section 10, of tiio same town.ship, and resided on the farm until 1880. Since then he has resided in Jackson. Francis Ridgeway's first wife, the mother of our subject, was Martha Jane Druley, who was Ixnn in Ohio. She died several years ago at the age of 70 years. Francis Ridgeway later married Mrs. Anna Ridgeway, his brother's widow.

William Ridgeway was born in Goodhue county, Minnesota, November 12, 1858. He accompanied the family to Jackson county in 1860, and until he was twenty-one years of age lived on the farm on section 14, Wisconsin township. After his marriage, which occurred in 1879, he farmer four years in Wisconsin township and then moved to.Jackson. In 1896 Mr. Ridgeway bought the laed he now owns on sections 10 and 11, Des Moines, and that has since been his home. He is a stockholder of the Farmers Mercantile company of Jackson. For three years he was treasurer of his school district.

[This passage is too damaged in the scanned book to reproduce. See the original book.]

As printed in An illustrated history of Jackson County, Minnesota (1910). See the original pages. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.