Mr. and Mrs. Pius Elsner were born in Saxony, Germany. Mrs. Elsner was the former Bertha Thiele, also from Saxony. Mr. and Mrs. Elsner came to the United States in 1902, and settled on a farm near Fonda, Iowa, where relatives of Pius were settled. To this union six children were born, namely: Olga (Mrs. R. C. Jongewaard) who lives on a farm at Marion, Arno (deceased); Otto (deceased); Louis, who lives in Marion, North Dakota; Martha (deceased), and Fritz, who resides in Oakes, North Dakota, and manages a service station there.

In 1915 the Elsner family decided to move to North Dakota. Mr. Elsner had made the trip earlier, and when he had located on his farm here and had things in order he sent for Mrs. Elsner and the family. They arrived in Marion by train quite late at ht and due to poor communications, there they found no one to meet them. Their neighbor, George Piehl, had made a trip to Marion that day with his team and wagon and a load of grain. Someone told him of Mrs. Elsner's arrival, and he brought the family to their new home in his lumber wagon, a distance of ten miles in cold winter weather. This was a trip never to be forgotten by Mrs. Elsner and the family.

The Elsners bought the farm they had settled on which was located on the W% of Section 19 in Greenland Township. The children attended Greenland Consolidated School of which Mr. Elsner served on the school board for many years. Mr. Elsner was a butcher by trade, and he worked for the farmers at this trade as a sideline during the winter months. The family lived on the farm in Greenland Twp. until the death of Mr. Elsner in March 1936. Mrs. Elsner then moved to Marion to make her home there until her death in March 1958.

Source: Barnes County History 1976 Page 63