Albert Anson Booth (October 17, 1850 – June 7, 1914) was an

American pioneer American pioneers, also known as American settlers, were European American,Asian American, and African American settlers who migrated westward from the British Thirteen Colonies and later the United States of America to settle and develop areas ...

and early settler and county official in

Barnes County, North Dakota Barnes County is a county in the U.S. state of North Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 10,853, and was estimated to be 10,798 in 2024, The county seat and the largest city is Valley City. History In 1872–1873, the territori ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

North Dakota North Dakota ( ) is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota people, Dakota and Sioux peoples. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minneso ...

. He helped found Edna Township in Barnes County and served on its township board and as a county commissioner.

Early life

Albert Booth was born in Waukau,

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

, October 17, 1850, to Elliot and Phercelia (Fitch) Booth. His father was a

miner A miner is a person who extracts ore, coal, chalk, clay, or other minerals from the earth through mining. There are two senses in which the term is used. In its narrowest sense, a miner is someone who works at the rock face (mining), face; cutt ...

during the

Gold Rush of 1849 The California gold rush (1848–1855) began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California from the rest of the Uni ...

. As a child, the family moved to

Syracuse Syracuse most commonly refers to: * Syracuse, Sicily, Italy; in the province of Syracuse * Syracuse, New York, USA; in the Syracuse metropolitan area Syracuse may also refer to: Places * Syracuse railway station (disambiguation) Italy * Provi ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, where he lived until 1869. After returning to Wisconsin, he took up residence in

Fond du Lac, Wisconsin Fond du Lac () is a city in Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. It is located at the southern end of Lake Winnebago and had a population of 44,678 at the 2020 census. The city forms the core of the Fond du Lac met ...

where he worked as a

machinist A machinist is a tradesperson or trained professional who operates machine tools, and has the ability to set up tools such as milling machines, grinders, lathes, and drilling machines. A competent machinist will generally have a strong mechan ...

and logger for the Hamilton Finley Lumber Company. His father died in Stockton,

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, in 1885, and his mother died in Fond du Lac in 1876. Booth was a member of the Masons, the

Independent Order of Odd Fellows The Independent Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF) is a non-political, non-sectarian international fraternal order of Odd Fellowship. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Wildey in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Evolving from the Odd Fellows, Order ...

, and the

Ancient Order of United Workmen The Ancient Order of United Workmen (AOUW) was a fraternal organization in the United States and Canada, providing mutual social and financial support after the American Civil War. It was the first of the "fraternal benefit societies", organizati ...

North Dakota

Albert Booth moved to Barnes County on May 24, 1879, where he established a

homestead Homestead may refer to: *Homestead (building), a farmhouse and its adjacent outbuildings; by extension, it can mean any small cluster of houses * Nguni homestead, a cluster of houses inhabited by a single extended family, typically with a kraal ...

Section Section, Sectioning, or Sectioned may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Section (music), a complete, but not independent, musical idea * Section (typography), a subdivision, especially of a chapter, in books and documents ** Section sig ...

24 of

Township A township is a form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Canad ...

142N, R60W. Even though it was far from the nearest railroad, he established a successful stock farm where he raised registered

shorthorn cattle The Shorthorn breed of cattle originated in the North East of England in the late eighteenth century. The breed was developed as dual-purpose, suitable for both dairy and beef production; however, certain blood lines within the breed always em ...

. He married Eliza Carter of New York in

Waupun, Wisconsin Waupun is a city in Dodge and Fond du Lac counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The population was 11,344 at the 2020 census. Of this, 7,795 were in Dodge County, and 3,549 were in Fond du Lac County. In Fond du Lac County, the Town of Waup ...

on December 17, 1879. They had eight children: Edna, Alice, Elizabeth, Leila, twins Albert and Blanche, Frank, and Roy. Edna (born 1881) was the first white child born in the township, and it was after her that Edna Township is named. Booth also established a rural

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...

out of his home on July 25, 1882, also originally named Edna, but ultimately named Booth. The post office was discontinued on November 14, 1884. Booth, a Republican, was not particularly active in politics, but did serve both as a

county commissioner A county commission (or a board of county commissioners) is a group of elected officials (county commissioners) collectively charged with administering the County (United States)#County government, county government in some U.S. state, states of ...

and chairman of the township board of supervisors. He died in 1914 in

Cass County, North Dakota Cass County is a county in the U.S. state of North Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 184,525, making it the most populous county in North Dakota, and was estimated to be 200,945 in 2024. It contains over 25.23% of the state' ...

References

''This article incorporates text from the Compendium of History and Biography of North Dakota (1900), a publication now in the public domain.'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Booth, Albert A. American pioneers County commissioners in North Dakota People from Barnes County, North Dakota People from Cass County, North Dakota People from Dakota Territory 1850 births 1914 deaths North Dakota Republicans People from Waukau, Wisconsin 19th-century North Dakota politicians