Northup Family Quick Access
Maternal Great Grand-Parents of David Samuelson
Maternal/Paternal Great Grand Father David Samuelson's Paternal Great Grand Father on his Mother's side is Archibald Ambrose Northup. He was born on September 24, 1878 in Tracey, Minnesota; Lyon County. Archie walked 3 and a half miles to school in the prairie country around Amiret, Minnesota, where they lived when he was born. Archie rode a bicycle up to Ottertail from the farm in Lyon County. The trip took 11 days from Oct 5th to the 16th. They hewed a home of logs in the dense woods on the banks of the Ottertail River. He loved to fish and trap, so this country was to his liking, and he never got over it to his dying day, leaving his home in the suburbs of Chicago in his old age to die on the land he loved in Ottertail County. In the Fall of 1905, he met and married Myrtle Johnson. She was the daughter of Parker and Ella Johnson. Archie and Myrtle started house-keeping in a house on the East side of West Lost Lake about a mile from his parents, Charles and Eliza. The second place burned in a fire caused by a chimney fire. That place was only about a quarter mile from the home place. Then they moved to the Johnson house. Wesley, the second child, was born there. This was just up the hill from Phelps Mill, which Archie helped build. Next, he built a house of Balm of Gilead logs on a place they called the 48 acres across the river. Here, Archie made his first real attempt to make a living farming, raising sugar cane and onions to sell. He had a cane mill for squeezing the canes and vats for cooking the sorghum. Other people brought in cane for him to process. Margie was born in that house.

Archie and Myrtle were brought to Aurora, Illinois by son, Dean where they lived most of their later years until finally in the Summer of 1958, Archie bought a string of traps and packed up a few things and headed "Home" where he died that Winter in the old house he had built in Maine Township on 19 February 1959. As we read in a recent e-mail by Duane Hanson, He and his Mother, Margie Hanson found him there, where he had been trying to light a fire using a milk carton as kindling. It was an apparent heart attack, though he had never complained of chest pains, etc. Mom, Helen says she still has a letter somewhere that he had written a day or so earlier asking them to pick him up, so he must have realized he was in trouble.

Archie Ambrose Northup as a Young Man.
David Samuelson's Paternal Great GrandMother on his Mother's side was Myrtle Johnson. She was the daughter of Parker and Ella Johnson, born July 24,1893, the 7th of 7 children. She had two brothers and four sisters. In the Fall of 1905, she met Archie Northup, son of Charles Wesley Northup and Eliza Blanche Durrin. They were married on September 12, 1909. They lived in several places in Ottertail County. The last one was on Dead Lake on Hwy 35 South of Dent, Minnesota. Archie and Myrtle went with their son, Dean and his family to Aurora, Illinois to live with them in the later years of their life, where Myrtle became active with the Gray Ladies. She had bad diabetes and took shots for many years to keep it under control. Some years after Archie left for Minnesota and died in 1959, Myrtle fell and broke a hip. Dean brought her to Minnesota to live in a rest home. She died in the living room at Vyron and Helen's place in Puposky while watching television on December 6, 1966.

In a letter she wrote at Dean's place, she says, "My Great Grandfather Jacob Johnson was born in Holland & came to America before the Revolutionary War. He was married twice. His first wife had two sons & one daughter. His second wife was born on the ocean coming over from Holland. Their son, Isaac J. was my grandfather. Born in 1812 & died in 1907 in Fergus Falls. He was married to Almira Hale who was half Irish & half Welch but born in America in 1816 & died in 1888. Their son Parker Samuel was born in Madison, Wis. Apr.17, 1847 & died in Battleford, Saskatchewan, Can. in 1937 at 89 yr 7 mo. old. My mother, Ella Ellise Davis was born in Sparta, Wis. Dec. 19, 1854 & died in Bigger, Sask. in 1922. Ella was descended from the Thomas Barnard who was one of the original ten owners of Nantucket Island, purchased from the Indians. My Grandfather, Isaac had two half bro's. who settled in Tenn. & one of whom he alway's believed to be the father of Pres. Andrew Johnson, who was a taylor." I have since found this to not likely be the case, however, as Andrew Johnson's Father was Jacob Johnson, B. 1780, who married Mary MacDonough. His Father is listed as Andrew Johnson, born in 1749 in Augusta County, Va. The family was from Virginia and predates the time of Isaac's Father Jacob coming to America from Holland.

Maternal/Paternal Great Grand Mother
Myrtle Johnson as a Young Lady
Maternal/Maternal Great Grand Father David Samuelson's Maternal Great Grand Father on his Mother's side was Norman Lewis Knox, born April 7, 1894 in Red Wood Falls, MN, the son of Myron Wesley and Hattie (Gardiner) Knox on 7 Apr 1894. He married Esther Clara Viola FLEISHMAN on 21 Jun 1916 and they had ten children. She died May 30, 1937 in Bemidji, MN., and he remarried Kathryn Poppenburg Abt. 1940 (d: in St. Paul, MN ?? ). He remarried again to Olga Hegge Abt. 1945 d: in Bemidji, MN. Norman died October 27, 1954 in Pleasant Valley, MN.

Norman's ancestors were very active educators and were involved in several early schools. Myron and Hattie donated the ten acres that the Pleasant Valley School was built on. They were also very active with the church at Pleasant Valley, and with The Pleasant Valley Farmer's Club that was largely responsible for bringing many families to the area. They home-steaded on the Mud River South and East of where the Pleasant Valley School sits today. When Norman and Esther were married, they moved to Ten Mile Lake in the next section to the West and raised their ten children there. Norman donated the one acre that the Pleasant Valley Church was built on, and did much to get it established. Norman started a milk and grocery route to the farmers in the area. He would pick up their milk and cream in the morning, bring it to town and bring their empty cans and whatever groceries they wanted back home in the evening. Eventually, he had several truckers working at one time, various routes, including for a time, Vyron Northup, who married his second daughter in 1936, the year before Esther died.

Norman died October 27, 1954 in his home in Pleasant Valley, MN. shortly after returning from a trip to California. It is thought he had a heart attack brought on somewhat by the stress of that trip.

Norman L. Knox as a Baby


David Samuelson's Maternal Great GrandMother on his Mother's side was Esther Clara Viola Fleischman. She was born, the daughter of Charles and Martha (Krueger) Fleischman on 3 Mar 1895. The Fleishman's first homesteaded in Port Hope township on the shore of Gull Lake near what is now Tenstrike. Close neighbors were the Schulke's . They later moved to a farm in Hagali Township near Sandy Lake East of Nebish and South on what is now County Road 23 at Route #309. Esther married Norman Lewis Knox on 21 Jun 1916 and they had ten children. She died on May 30, 1937 in Bemidji, MN. The Fleischman family has many tragic tales to tell. The family was broken up and the children placed in various Foster Homes and Orphanages. Esther died at an early age as did her Mother before her. In both cases the diseases are easily treated today. Her sister, Beatrice married a Walter Knipple, and they raised a large family in Wausau, Wisconsin. Her sister, Maybelle married Benoni Nelson and there are some of their descendents still living in the Blackduck area. Her sister Maude married Guy Cohenour, who was abusive to both Maude and the children. In about 1929, the State took all seven of the children at that time and put them in the Sparta Children's Home. Guy was put into prison for one year, but after he got out, Maude went back to him and had several more children. Then she divorced him and married John McGraw. They had two children and she divorced him and remarried Guy Cohenour for financial considerations. They never lived together after that. Maude died 12/20/1979 of cardio vascular disease. Guy died 05/16/1966 of prostate cancer. One brother, Hiram died in the Children's home in Owatonna not quite 10 years old. There were many other tragic circumstances surrounding this family. Several of us attended the Memorial Service for the youngest brother, Fred in Bemidji a few years back. Maternal/Maternal Great Grand Mother
Esther Fleischman as a Young Lady
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