Christian Ness
| Date of Interment or Death | 04/22/1921 |
|---|---|
| Location | Old Fairview |
| Section | D |
| Block-Lot-Grave | 6-5-1s |
Obituary
REP. CHIST NESS DEAD; 40 YEARS A FARMER IN DWIGHT DEATH FOLLOWED SEVERAL DAYS AFTER SERIOUS OPERATION AT NORTHWOOD 8 YEARS CO. COMMISSIONER; 6 YEARS IN LEGISLATURE
Was Instrumental in Building Court House; Father of Anti-Red Flag Bill Passed at Last Election
Christian J. Ness, better known to his friends and the public as Christ Ness, died at Northwood, N.D., Sunday, April 17, several days after he had undergone a serious operation for the removal of gall stones, appendix and other complications. While in the legislature at Bismarck during the winter Mr. Ness suffered from an attack of what was believed to be ptomaine poisoning and had been in poor health ever since. He went to Northwood some time ago for medical advice and treatment. Christian J. Ness was born in Norway October 22, 1857, the third in a family of ten children. He came to America via New York City in May, 1880, going directly to Eau Claire, Wis., where he was employed for two and a half years as blacksmith by a large lumbering company. He then came to Dwight township, Richland county, Dakota and worked for the Great Northern for several months as section hand and bridge builder, then as blacksmith for the Dwight Farm & Land Co., for a few months. In the spring of 1883 he purchased a blacksmith shop in Dwight which he operated for three years. In 1886 he bought a quarter of section 23 in Dwight township, and has farmed continuously until last fall, when he with Mrs. Ness moved to Wahpeton. During the years of his residence in Dwight township he has held many public offices, including justice of the peace, chairman of the board of supervisors, member of the school board, member and chairman of the board of county commissioners, and member of the legislative sessions of 1915, 1919, and 1921. He was assessor of
Dwight township in 1918, 1919, 1920, and had again been elected assessor for 1921. Mr. Ness was elected county commissioner from the second district at the November election in 1902, and was re-elected in 1906. He was chosen as chairman of the board in January 1905 – a position which he held until the end of his term in January 1922. In all he served eight years on the county board, six of which he served as chairman of the board. He was one of the originators of the plan to build a new court house in Richland county, and was largely responsible for the plan of financing the building which enabled the county to pay for it upon completion without issuing bonds. At the November election in 1914 Christ Ness was elected to the legislature as representative from the 12th legislative district. He was defeated in 1916, but again elected in 1918 and 1920. During the legislative sessions he became known as a fearless fighter for what he believed to be the right, and had the respect of even his most bitter political enemies. He was unalterably opposed to socialism and radicalism of all sorts and was the father of a bill which was twice defeated by the house of representatives, prohibiting the display of the red flag as a symbol of revolution and anarchy in North Dakota. This bill became a law when it was finally endorsed by a big majority of the voters in the state at the general election in 1920. April 7, 1883, Mr. Ness was married to Miss Nethie Heitman at Dwight, who with twelve children mourn his death. The twelve children are; Mary (Mrs. Gordon McKay), of Shelton, Wash.; Hilda, (Mrs. C. N. Thompson), Nebish, Minn.; John M., Wahpeton; Connie (Mrs. A. g. Wells), Aurora, Ont., Can.; Olga, who lives with her sister at Shelton, Wash.; Vera, (Mrs. Emil Haas), Turtle Lake, N.D.; Edith, (Mrs. Donald A. Work), Calvin, N.D.; Ragna, who is employed in a bank and Ringstad, Iowa; Harold, residing with Mrs. Wells in Canada; Sigurd,
Conrad, and Rudolph, living at home in Wahpeton. Funeral services will be held Friday afternoon at the Wahpeton Norwegian Lutheran church, at half past two o’clock with the pastor Rev. W. B. Dahl conducting the service. Burial will be in Fairview cemetery. All of the children will be here for the funeral services except Mrs. Donald Work, who was unable to come.
Headstone photograph(s)
Location
Old Fairview is located on the southern half of the cemetery grounds.