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Perry A. Scroggie
Born September 1, 1880 |
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| Perry Alvin Scroggie was born in Onslow, Iowa on September 1, 1880, the second child of George Scroggie and Margaret Isabell Moncrief. He attended elementary and high school until 1896 when he quit school to help work the family farm after his mother died. In the 1910 census, Perry was listed as a farm laborer on his father's farm at the age of 29, while his brother James and sister Jessie had left the family farm by this time.
Perry married Laura Jane Coburn on September 12, 1910 in Onslow, IA. They lived on a farm near his father's until about 1916. They had two children while living in Iowa, Donald William (b. 9/12/1912) and Dorothy Isabelle (b. 1/19/1915). They moved to Ruthton, MN, Pipestone County, about 1916. This farm was a half section (320 acres) of raw land, no buildings, owned by Perry's uncle Charles R. Scroggie. They lived in a tent while the house and barn and other farm buildings were built. They lived on this farm for about six years, during which they had two more children—Charles Burton (b. 1/24/1917) and Blanch Katherine (b. 4/20/1919). About 1921, Uncle Charlie sold the farm and Perry bought a quarter section (160 acres) farm four miles northeast of Ruthton. The farm was located in Lincoln County and the mailing address and county seat was Tyler, MN. They lived on this farm until 1929, during which time their last child, George Perry was born (b. 1/10/1924). During these years, Perry owned and operated a threshing machine and every summer would thresh his own grain crops and also several neighbor's. This was sort of a co-op deal that farmers helped each other to get the crops harvested. During this period, Perry and Laura were members of the Ruthton Methodist Church in Ruthton. Perry sang in the choir and was on the board of the church. Perry sold the farm in 1929 and moved the family to Ruthton for about one year. He actually considered moving to the state of Washington and made a trip out there and stayed with his brother James. However, either the stock market crash that year and the ensuing depression or the lack of opportunities in Washington caused him to dismiss the idea. Instead, he bought livestock while in Ruthton in preparation for moving to another farm. They then rented a farm about 1 1/2 miles southeast of Ruthton, across the road from the John Coburn family, Laura's brother. The Scroggie and Coburn cousins grew up there together and have many pleasant memories (and photos) of family gatherings. When William Coburn (Laura's father) died in 1917, Perry and John Coburn traveled to South Dakota to return his body to Ruthton, MN for burial. Catherine (McBurney) Coburn returned with them and lived alternatively with the Coburns and Scroggie's until her death at the Scroggies home in 1936. In 1936, Perry bought a small forty acre farm on the edge of Ruthton. He worked this farm for ten years, until he sold it about 1946 and moved into the town of Ruthton. Perry died there on March 25, 1952 and is buried in the Ruthton cemetery 1/2 mile north of town. Written & Submitted by: Mike Scroggie CBS & MCS 3/27/1997 |
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© Copyright 1997-2013, The Art Department, © Copyright 2014-2020, Richard Harrison.
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