Charles Whitcher (1878-1952) was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, the son of Charles A. and Sarah (Stafford) Whitcher, who came from Syracuse, New York as pioneers to Minnesota in 1880. Charles Whitcher and Pearl Bigelow (1882-1962) were married at Eau Claire, Wisconsin, in 1901. In the spring of 1905 Charles Whitcher with his wife and daughter Edna, as well as his brother Ed and wife of St. Paul, Minnesota, came to West Fargo, North Dakota, to reap a harvest which they had heard so much about. They had the most beautiful crops, the wheat was nearly shoulder high. About the first of July the rains came and everything was flooded. Crops were partly ripe and gradually broke over, so there was nothing to harvest. As has so often been said in 1975, it was the worst in seventy years. The two Whitcher families had nothing to stay for and returned to St. Paul. Charles drove a street car and Ed worked at the Golden Rule store. During the winter J. H. Whitcher of Getchell Prairie, Barnes County, seeking relatives, contacted Charles and proved they were distant relatives. J. H. Whitcher "Uncle Jimmie" as he was called, urged Charles and family to come again to North Dakota to farm. In February 26, 1906 the Charles Whitchers moved to the Page Persons farm near J. H. Whitchers. In the spring Mr. Persons added several rooms to the small one room house which took all summer; meantime the family lived and cooked for the carpenters in a cook car. That fall, November 5th, another daughter, a red haired girl named Harriett, was born. The; Whitchers lived in Getchell Prairie until 1932 when they moved to Grafton where they farmed until 1948 and retired to Valley City, North Dakota. In 1921 Edna Whitcher was married to John Naekel of Green Township. His parents were pioneers in Barnes County. His father, Joseph Peter Naekel, was born in Coblenz, Germany in 1841, educated there and taught school there and served in two wars. His mother, Katherine Kramer, also came from a pioneer family. The John Naekels have six children: Charles; Doris - Mrs. Frederick Johnson; Ruth - Mrs. Whitaker; Shirley - Mrs. Henry Kucyka; Donna - Mrs. Erling Beyer and James.
Harriet Whitcher married Harvey E. (Bill) Keene in 1929. They have four children: Patsy - Mrs. Leonard ?aun; Thomas; Terrance; Gail - Mrs. Dwayne Bailey.
Source: Barnes County History 1976 Page 265