Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1922-07-17
e,BY A PIONEER,

In a short time there will be held
at the state fair grounds in this city
a. meeting. Of the old settlers of this
section Of the northwest. The writer
realizes how each passing year is
thinning the RANKS Of real pioneers
OF this section. n he also realizes
how few Of thu rising generation re-
aNze, grasp or understand the aims
and ideals hat actuateN these early
pdpneerS. AS nfuch OF his life was
passed in the society of these men
and women, he has thought to take
enc Of them and sketch q portion or
p0rtions OF his life a Is being in some
MEASURE characteristic of many others
oAsthese early settlers.
aS%gsIn 1881 there was born on the
btAnks of the ST. Lawrence river in
ST. Lawrence county. New York, one
NGhA Freeman. OF the father of
wang Charles it might be said, that
first recollections Of his fathers
a Emily was thai they lived in Wales
lea4SAd were very oor At the 6 ..lof
3St4npelve he went. into England to work.
al6Hstime he drifted into the City of
fIzaadon where for some years he
3sdgOve a dray on the streets. Eventu-
lily this young man IJohn Freemanb
ahipped in a whaling ship. bound for.
%EHudsons Bay. While in E,Hudsons
Bay he entered the employment Of the
fISOILlIH tSL III com IdlS. INES ElUSl
have been carly in the last century.
for in 1926 when the Northwest Fur
company and the Fudsons Bay COM
pany combined. young Freeman had
been in its employ for some years as
fur trader. and in that capacity had
ira vele over most of the, northwest
territories, /and especially the Rel
river country Of which he had a very
vivid recollection. When the two fur
companies combined, John Freeman
Unsigned and went east and worked
Al the St. Lawrence river as a boat
aMan, finally he settled in st. Lawrence
a&punty in the State OF New York.
Here he married an English woman
ahy the name of Mary Hesse;graxe. To
this union there were born three sons.
John. Charles and David. of the
second we have to deal as the subject
of this sketch
M Young Charles was born inst in
time to see the hard times Of the
early forties as a boy would see them.
He grew up on the farm and in 1852
the older brother eJohn) went to
California. This left young Charles
as his fathers only help on the farm.
III 1857 he married Sarah Puryes, a
woman of Scottish parentage,A.and to
this couple was born one sol Joseph
in 1859. In 1861 there were born
twin boys, William and John T. Free
man. t4T ~ ,&
Fought in Civil War.
At this time the great political up
heaval of the Civil war between the
North and the South took Rlace and
Charles Freeman, always active and
Z interested in public affairs had re-.
manned at home until he saw his wife
cared for}a and in the summer of 1862
volunteered his, services. joining the
141st New York Volunteer Infantry
in which he became first sergeant Of
Co. l.. His regiment was sent to the
service,taking part in many engage
mcnts. At Chapins Farm they lost
heavily and at once were sent to the
front before Petersburg, where they
were present at the mine explosion.
In January, 1865, this regiment was
takenj with others to Fort Fisher at
the mouth Of Cape Fear river and led
which was captured at this time.
Co.. 1 lost its captain and its colonel
(Curtis, afterwards brigadier general)
lost an eye While the regiment as a
whole lost heavily.
From Fort Fisher this regiment
was with others sent on q march
through The Carolinas to make a juno
north from Georgia. While on this
march came the news Of Lees sur
render. To sit and listen to this SOL
dier tell Of these three years expert,
ences, of the, hardships Of the disap-
pointments, of the longings, and Of
the deadly WEAKNESS of camp life.
one does not wonder when he stated
that the men were never more con-
tented than when they knew that q
fight was lon hand, that they would
sooner fight than endure the monotony
Of the camp.
After the surrender OF General Lee.
this soldier was relesDed on furlough
and sent home sick With the fever at
that time so prevalent In the army.
Later in the season he received his
discharge. In the fall OF the same
year (1S65) he sold his small farm
in New York and with his wife and
three children removed to st. Crotx
county. Wis, where for three years
he worked at his trade q black
smith, But the farm called him back
again and he purchased q small farm
vhere he lived for some eight or nine
years. While reading In wisconsin.
two sons, Fred and Henry and one
daughter were horn, making q family
OF six children.
Came to Grand Forks.
Ii the fan OF 1917 he became in-
terested nthe reports concerning the