Anton Kraabel Explained

Anton Kraabel
Order:9th
Office:List of Lieutenant Governors of North DakotaLieutenant Governor of North Dakota
Term Start:1913
Term End:1915
Governor:L. B. Hanna
Predecessor:Usher L. Burdick
Successor:John H. Fraine
Order2:11th
Office2:List of Lieutenant Governors of North DakotaLieutenant Governor of North Dakota
Term Start2:1917
Term End2:1919
Governor2:Lynn Frazier
Predecessor2:John H. Fraine
Successor2:Howard R. Wood
Birth Date:16 October 1862
Birth Place:Øyer, Gudbrand Valley, Norway
Death Place:Circle, Montana, U.S.
Resting Place:Clifford Cemetery, Clifford, North Dakota, U.S.
Party:Republican
Relatives:A. Thomas Kraabel (grandson)

Anton T. Kraabel (October 16, 1862 – June 17, 1934[1]) was a North Dakota Republican Party politician who served as the ninth and 11th Lieutenant Governor of North Dakota under Governors L. B. Hanna and Lynn Frazier respectively.

Kraabel also served in the North Dakota House from 1903 to 1904 and in the North Dakota Senate from 1905 to 1908.[2] He was the grandfather of American scholar A. Thomas Kraabel.

Early life

Anton T. Kraabel was born in 1862 in Øyer in the Gudbrand Valley, Norway. When Kraabel was four years old, his family including his parents, two brothers and three sisters emigrated to the United States and settled near Coon Valley in southwestern Wisconsin. Two sisters were born to the family afterwards. At the age of sixteen, Kraabel started supporting himself by working on farms and in a sawmill. He later moved to North Dakota where he worked as a peddler, as a hotel manager and a lumber yard manager.

Eventually, he settled in Clifford, North Dakota and began his career as a manager of a general store. He married Maren Oline Oswald in 1892, and they had seven children; three girls and four boys. In 1899, along with several others, he started the Clifford Bank.

Political career

After settling in North Dakota, Kraal became involved in local, county and state politics, beginning as township clerk in 1888 and subsequently as township treasurer. He served in the North Dakota Legislative Assembly from 1903 to 1908; first in the House, and then in the Senate. He was elected Lieutenant Governor of North Dakota in 1912, but was defeated in the 1914 Republican Primary. He ran again for the seat in 1916, and served for another term. In 1918, however, he once again lost the primary for his party.[3] After his political career, he served as a chair and member of several boards. He helped to organize the Traill County Telephone Company and was its president for twelve years.

Death

Kraabel died at the age of 71 in 1934 in Circle, Montana.[4] He is interred at Clifford Cemetery in Clifford, North Dakota.

Notes and References

  1. https://news.google.com/archivesearch?hl=en&ned=us&q=anton+kraabel&ie=UTF-8 Articles on Death of Kraabel
  2. North Dakota Blue Book, 1989
  3. North Dakota Blue Book, 1913
  4. Web site: My Life (unpublished manuscript). Kraabel, Anton T..