Louis W. Sauer was born in Indianapolis, Indiana October 26, 1860. His parents were John M. and Rebecca (Appler) Sauer, who came from Germany in 1827. The family later moved to Pennsylvania and John M. Sauer served in the Civil War with a Pennsylvania regiment. After the war the family moved to Minneapolis where John Sauer was a truck gardener.
Louis W. Sauer was reared and educated in the schools of Minneapolis but being of an adventurous nature, traveled extensively in the west before coming to Barnes County in 1883. He homesteaded about three miles north of what is now Fingal, North Dakota and proceeded to improve the land, purchasing additional land until he owned a complete section. His sister, Annie, and her husband, William Kurtz, also came to Barnes County and settled near the Sauer farm.
On March 24, 1896, Louis W. Sauer married Miss Lettie C. Peterson. Eight children were born to this union:
Roy,
Louis, Jr.,
Andrew,
Earl,
Esther,
Ruth,
Grace and
Dorothy Rebecca.
Of these children, Esther (Mrs. Esther S. Johnson, lone, Washington), Roy (Minneapolis, Minnesota) and Andrew (Omaha, Nebraska) survive. Mrs. William Kurtz, over 97 years of age, lives in St. Cloud, Minnesota.
Louis M. Sauer served in the North Dakota State Legislature in 1911 after moving from Barnes County in 1905 to the newly established town of Tolley, North Dakota. Here he opened, in partnership with M. E. Porter, a lumberyard and also a general store in partnership with his brother, Peter Sauer. Louis also owned other property, including over one thousand acres of land in Renville county. Louis W. Sauer passed away in February of 1932 at the age of 89.
Source: Barnes County History 1976 Page 215