The Harris Centennial
Harris --The past 100 Years
"K" Biographies
Keifer, King, Kness
Mike Keifer Family
Michael (Mike) Keifer
and Sadie Klett were married February 11, 1896, and
farmed in the Harris area for many years.
On March 1, 1919, Mr. and Mrs. Keifer and their five
youngest children moved from Round Lake, to their
recently purchased farm 2 ½ miles northeast of Harris. A
month later their oldest son, Hollie, returned from
military service in World War I. They lived on this farm
until March 1, 1928, when they moved to a farm three
miles southwest of Harris, on the Harris-Hartley road. It
was while living on this farm that Mr. Keifer was killed
in a car-train crash at the crossing of Highway 9,
between Harris and Ocheyedan, on June 23, 1933.
After Mr. Keifer’s death, Mrs. Keifer made her home
with her youngest daughter, Florence. They lived in
Harris until 1944, when they moved to Spirit Lake. Mrs.
Keifer passed away on Thanksgiving Day, November 25,
1948, at their home in Spirit Lake.
Of the six Keifer children there are just two remaining;
Orville and Florence, both of whom live at Worthington.
Even though we have lived in other localities, our roots
tend to keep growing back in the direction of Harris.
Children: Hollie married Emma Ihnen from Harris. They
were the parents of six children. The family lived most
of their married life in the Tyler-Balaton area in
Minnesota.
Viota, a Harris telephone operator, married George
Miller. They had two sons, Lyle and Dwight. Viola and
George lived in the Harris vicinity until they purchased
a lake resort in 1948, and moved to Park Rapids,
Minnesota. Lyle now resides in Bloomington, Minnesota,
and Dwight at Aitken, Minnesota.
Orville married Grace Burley from Harris. There were
three daughters in the family. Arlene passed away several
years ago. Lois now lives at Worthington, and JoAnn lives
in Vienna, Virginia. The family lived in the Harris,
Spirit Lake, and Worthington areas.
Leora married John Blom from May City, Iowa. They had two
sons. Leora was injured in a basketball game while
playing on the Harris High School team. This injury later
caused her to have sleeping sickness, which was the cause
of her death. She graduated from Harris High School in
1921.
Leon was also a graduate from Harris High School in 1922.
He married Dorothy Nelson from Round Lake. There were no
children. He lived in the Round Lake area and in later
years resided in Minneapolis.
Florence graduated from Harris with the class of 1928.
She had various jobs in Harris, before beginning her
lifetime profession as an automotive accountant, at which
she worked for 31 years. She is single.
Alexander King Family
Alexander (Alec) King, was the son
of Samuel King and Susan Sharp King, who emigrated to the
US from Ireland in 1857. The Samuel Kings lived in the
state of New York, for two years, in Illinois, for
thirteen years where Alec was born, and then moved to
Grundy County, Iowa, in 1872. Alec King married Susan
Elizabeth (Lizzie) Putney, the daughter of Robert Putney
and Catherine Harris Putney, who emigrated to the US from
England in 1870, and moved to Grundy County, Iowa, in
1871.
The Alec Kings moved to a farm near Harris in 1895. At
the same time, Mrs. King’s sisters, Isabel (Belle)
Umland, Laura Umland and Catherine (Kit) Lynde moved to
Harris. Their brother, Ralph, and their widowed mother
moved to Harris a few years later.
The Alec Kings had five children, one of whom died in
infancy. Their daughter, Bertha, born in Grundy County,
married Joe Roszell, a long time rural mail carrier in
Harris. The Joe Roszells were lifelong residents of
Harris, where their five children grew up. Bernard lives
in Indianola, Iowa, Bruce in San Jose, California,
Reginald in Sioux City, Gwendolyn Pawlak in Phoenix,
Arizona, and Phyllis Nichols in Pleasant Hills,
California.
Sam King, the edlest son, was born southeast of Harris,
in 1896, and married Belle McNab, daughter of Mr. and
Mrs. James A. McNab. They lived in Sioux City for many
years, and Sam King now lives in Carlisle, Pennsylvania,
near his two sons, Robert and Richard.
Kenneth King, born on the family farm east of Harris,
married Jenny Brumley, and until his death, ran a barber
shop in the building which also housed the Worthington
Cream Station, which was run by his father, Alec, from
1917, until his death in 1928, and then by his mother,
Lizzie, and his wife Jenny. Jenny passed away during
1988. Their daughters, Shirley and Sharon, live in St.
Paul, Minnesota, and Detroit Lakes, Minnesota,
respectively.
Grace King was born in 1905, on the family farm east of
Harris. She married Ray Alen, who taught in the Harris
High School. They were long time residents of Sioux City,
Iowa, and both passed away in 1988. Both Bertha Roszell
and Grace Allen were known for their outstanding musical
talent as pianists. Grace Allen’s daughter, Mary
Beth Seggerman, lives in Kingsley, Iowa
Submitted by Mary Beth Seggerman.
Enos J. Kness Family
Enos J. Kness was born in Bethlehem,
Pennsylvania, October 5, 1856. He was the son of Mr. and
Mrs. Martin Kness. He married Jennie Collins at Albia,
Iowa, December 8, 1879.
Mr. and Mrs. Kness were blessed with three children: Mrs.
Gracie Gilbert, Cloid and Edgar, all of Harris.
They farmed near Montezuma, Iowa, a few years and in
1901, they moved to a farm near Harris, where they lived
until Enos died November 12, 1928. Jennie lived in Harris
until her death December 18, 1937.