Charley C. Simonson, son of Carl and Lovisa Olsdotter Simonson, was born November 3, 1875 in Wanamingo Township, Goodhue County, Minnesota. His parents emigrated from Tocksfors, Varmland, Sweden in 1869.
On June 30, 1904, he married Pauline Lovine Helgeson at Kenyon, Minnesota. Pauline, daughter of Peder and Liv Oleson Helgeson, was born October 27, 1883 in Richland Township, Rice County, Minnesota. Pauline's grandparents emigrated from Gol, Hallingdal, Norway in 1852.
Children born to them are:
Irene, married to Lyle L. Dawson, Flasher, North Dakota
Oscar, married to Adra Bunkowske, Argusville, North Dakota
Myrtle, married to Gerhard E. Fredrick, Fargo, North Dakota
J. Victor, married to Judith Tosse, Argusville, North Dakota
and Lyle, married to Clayton E. Kitchen, Fargo, North Dakota. There are 13 grandchildren and 13 great grandchildren.
Charley became interested in settling in North Dakota in the late 1800s when he and his brother went to the Goose River area near Mayville to help with threshing. Charley was a fireman with steam rigs. In the fall of 1903 he bought two quarters of land in Lenora Township, SE quarter of Section 8.
Charley was a member and ardent worker for the Nonpartisan League and was a member of the first team of Farmers Union organizers in the state.
Charley Simonson owned several spirited horses. He broke a bronco and a colt, which he named Cyclone and Spitfire, to drive. One sunny fall afternoon in 1906 he decided to try them on the buggy and visit the Huso family about three miles away. He took his one and one-half year old daughter with him. She soon fell asleep on the seat beside him as they drove quietly along on the dirt road.
Charley noticed there was something wrong with Spitfire's bridle and stopped to correct it. As he was making the adjustment a prairie chicken flew up from the roadside, frightening the horses, who set off at a gallop with the child bouncing on the seat. Charley was knocked off his feet and the buttons, which held the suspenders on his pants snapped off. Holding up his pants he ran as best he could after the racing team.
The Huso brothers in their yard saw the runaway team and the child. Oscar ran for the barn and his saddle horse. The team was out of sight but he found the little girl on the road with blood streaming down her face from a cut on top of her head. Oscar carried the weeping child and went back to meet Charley. He took them to Aneta to the doctor who put stitches in her scalp. To this day she has a scar on her head where no hair grows.
The subdued horses were found the following day in a pasture, badly cut from going through a fence. The top buggy needed much repair and the fancy carriage robe was never found.
He helped organize the Consumers United Store Company The Farmers Union Oil Company The Peoples State Bank all of Aneta.
Charley was the Griggs Company Chairman of the Holiday Association in the thirties. They would bid in machinery at (Foreclosure Sales) for a few cents on the dollar, as it wasn't the farmers fault that there was no rain, and wheat was twenty-five cents per bus. Results were that not many farmers were able to stay on their farm. The Simonsons moved to Aneta in 1908, built a home (now owned by the Carl Tringstads) Charley worked as a salesman for the Lee Implement Company Moving back to the farm in the fall of 1910. Charley and Hans Lund had a threshing rig in partnership and did custom work in the area.
Pauline died March 6, 1929, having had a heart condition for several years. In November 1930 Charley married Ella Skadeland, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Helge H. Skadeland. She was born August 14, 1892 at Portland, North Dakota.
In 1938 the Charley Simonson family moved to a farm in Cass County, near Argusville. Ella died October 20, 1950 in Fargo. Charley died July 1, 1952 in Fargo.
Source: Griggs County History 1879 - 1976 Page 346