I am searching for relatives from Germany or from Michigan that had either Franz or Charles W Meinhold in their family tree. We know Franz (Frank) came here from Germany,owned a grist mill in Chelsea Michigan in the 1800's and his two boys Max and Charlie helped to run it even after Frank was killed in an accident at his mill, until it was auctioned off.. The boys married and eventually moved to Montana and bought land in the Homestead Act. They toughed it out for a few years then decided that dry land farming was not for them, so they moved from there to Hanson Massachusettes. If you know anyone who was related or is related to either Charles Meinhold or Ada Freeman, or even anyone who may have known them,please let me know. Some of our family history is missing and we would love to fill in the blanks.

Photographs of the people from the old country and how they created new lives from the swamps and farmlands they found west of the Mississippi. I also encourage other families to add photos and stories of the homesteaders in their past. Please leave a comment on what you think of this site, there is so much to write about and things to uncover from our past. Welcome.

Between 1890 and 1910 North Dakota's

population more than doubled in

part due to immigrants from abroad and in

part due to settlers from the east eager

for their own piece of land. These

turn-of-the-century settlers often lived

in sod houses like the one pictured here.