Arthur W. and Beulah E. Miller

Mrs. Arthur W. (Beulah E. Moen) Miller is the daughter of Sever K. Moen and Hattie Marie Jacobson (Moen) of Northern Lenora Township.  Her Mother, Hattie, was born in Lenora Township on July 10, 1888 to Christian Jacobson and Ingeborg Hegna (Jacobson).  Her Father, Sever, was born in Griggs County on August 13, 1882, the son of Knudt S. Moen and Sissel Odegard (Moen).  Sever K. Moen and Hattie Jacobson were united in marriage on June 24, 1909 and started farming on land located in Section 4 and Section 5 in Lenora Township.  The farm buildings were and still are located in the NE quarter of Section 4.

Arthur W. Miller is the son of Peter Miller and Mary Flagstad (Miller) of Pilot Mound Township.  His mother, Mary, was born on September 12, 1864 in Lesja, Guldbrandsdalen, Norway to Pedra and Kari Flagstad.  She came to Sacred Heart, Minnesota in 1879 at the age of 15 with relatives.  Later some relatives and she came to Cooperstown looking for land and work.  Mary worked for a time as a domestic at one of the early hotels in Cooperstown.  Mary was a cousin to the world-renowned Norwegian operatic soprano, Kirsten Flagstad.

Arthur's father, Peter, was born on October 11, 1864 in Fron, Guldbrandsdalen, Norway to Gunder and Kari Flagestad.  (Note difference in spelling of Flagestad and Flagstad)  Upon his arrival to this country Gunder changed his name to Hans Carl Miller.  They had a number of children, four of which settled in Griggs County.  They were:

  1. Peter,

  2. Anton,

  3. Emil and

  4. Hannah (who became Mrs. Hans Helland and farmed West of Binford). 

Peter, Anton, and Emil all worked at various times at the R. C. Cooper bonanza farm.

Peter Miller and Mary Flagstad were married on June 9, 1890 and homesteaded in Pilot Mound Township a few miles South of the present home farm, which is located on the East 1/2 of Section 7.

In the early days of homesteading, with neighbors far apart and the men folks away working, the women would become very lonely and oftentimes frightened.  Mary, the young pioneer wife had a couple of frightening experiences.  Once while doing routine housework in the late afternoon, she looked out a window only to look into the face of an Indian man peering in at her.  The Indian was friendly and was just passing through.  Another experience was with a sheep buck owned by a neighbor named Pratt.  Mary had hung out the laundry to dry, toward evening she looked out the window, and the bed sheet was walking around the yard.  The sheep buck had got the sheet tangled in his horns and was playing ghost to a lonely pioneer woman.

Peter and Mary had 10 children - 8 of which lived to reach adulthood.  They are:

  1. Carl,

  2. Theodore,

  3. Hilma,

  4. Clara,

  5. Henry,

  6. Marie,

  7. Elmer, and

  8. Arthur.

Peter Miller died at home on January 25, 1928 and Mary died at 90 years of age on November 20, 1954.  They are buried at the Bethlehem Lutheran Cemetery in Willow Township.

Arthur W. Miller and Beulah E. Moen were married at Aneta, North Dakota on April 9, 1936 and farmed in Lenora Township until 1941 at which time they farmed 3 miles North of Cooperstown.  In 1945, they purchased the Reverend Halling farm on the West edge of Binford where they lived and raised their family of two children.  Their son Dennis was born in McVille, North Dakota on April 11, 1940 and their daughter Dianne was born on July 12, 1943 in Cooperstown.  They moved to their present farm located in Section 18 in Willow Township just East of the ball diamond at Red Willow Lake in 1958.

Source: Griggs County History 1879 - 1976 Page 498