The William Steffen Family

William Steffen came to America from Stutzgard, Germany at the age of 17.

He married Elizabeth Danner in 1879.  She was from Fort Wayne, Indiana.  They lived in St. Paul, Minnesota He was a bricklayer by trade.  In 1889 he went to Seattle to help build up after the Seattle Fire.  While walking back to St. Paul, the North Dakota countryside appealed to him.  He returned to the Cooperstown area to homestead in 1890 on the NE quarter of Section 26, Clearfield Township.  A year later his family followed in an immigrant car.  Among their belongings they brought along one cow.  George Paintner came with the Steffen family at the time to look over the land.  He decided to stay and located in Helena Township.

The first furrows on the homestead were turned by a yoke of oxen.  The oxen must have had a built in clock because whether he was in the center of the field or not he would stop at noon.

Besides farming here, William continued his bricklaying.  He helped to build several buildings in Cooperstown.  Among them was the original First National Bank.

Thanksgiving Day of 1900 the home burned with all their belongings, winter's supply of coal and vegetables.

William Steffen died July 1911.  Mrs. Steffen remained on the homestead until her death in November 1942.

They were the parents of twelve children: 

  1. Ferdinand
  2. William
  3. Clarence
  4. Helena
  5. Louise
  6. Myrtle (all deceased).

Surviving are: 

  1. Mrs. Christine Coutts and 
  2. Mrs. Emma Adamson of Billings, Montana
  3. Mrs. Edna Wandke and 
  4. Mrs. Freida Holland of Anacortes, Washington, 
  5. Mrs. Florence Culver of Richy, Montana, 
  6. Erwin Steffen of Cooperstown, North Dakota (refer to Helena Township).

The youngest son CLARENCE remained on the homestead to farm.  He married Nina Keyes on June 16, 1935.  He had served as a board member and V.  President of the Sheyenne Valley Electric Coop.  Board member of Minnkota Power Coop., he was Treasurer of Zion Church for over 35 years, on the Township board for 44 years and also served on the county ASC committee.  He continued to farm with his sons until his death January 15, 1970.

He is survived by his wife Nina who remains on the homestead.  They were the parents of four children: 

  1. Clarence of Luverne, North Dakota who married Mary Arneson they have five children.  
  2. Elizabeth (Mrs. Dennis Flick) who has three children and lives at Billings, Montana.
  3. Audrey is a teacher and lives at Mandan, North Dakota.  
  4. Dale, the oldest son, is now farming the original homestead.  He married Janice Sund.  They have two boys: 
  1. Todd 
  2. William III

Source: Griggs County History 1879 - 1976 page 263