Emil G. Linke Papers

Collection

Identifier: Mss 357-Mss 1596.18

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The Emil G. Linke Papers document a rural Cass County, North Dakota building contractor and carpenter during the first two decades of the twentieth century. The business ledgers document in good detail Linke‟s building projects and those employed by him, together with costs and wages paid. The complimenting architectural drawings document only a portion of all his contractor work, but give a view into the building trends during this time period in North Dakota. The papers have been organized into two series: Business Records and Architectural Drawings. The Business Records Series consists primarily of four ledgers kept by Linke that document his construction business from circa 1900 to 1916. The ledgers list, generally in chronological order, construction and repair jobs done by Linke, recording each day‟s labor, amount charged and whether paid. There also appears to be recorded wages paid to employees of Linke. Interspersed within the pages are loose receipts and invoices. Also included in this series are blank business forms used by Linke. There are two letters related to the Casselton State Bank taking over ownership of Farmers Security Bank of Chaffee, both dated July 14, 1930. The small collection of newspaper clippings were found in one of the ledgers and removed to their own file. Most deal with North Dakota politics and government from circa 1919. There are two stock certificates, both issued to E.G. Linke, one by the Equity Co-Operative Packing Company for five shares, 1919, and the other by Chaffee Mercantile Company for two shares, 1912. The Equity stock includes a letter to stockholders acknowledging the purchase of the stock. The Architectural Drawings Series consists of pencil and ink drawings of exterior and interior of buildings, primarily barns and some houses, constructed or at least proposed by Emil Linke. They have been organized by town in Cass County, N.D., with the remainder under Rural Cass County. There are a number of drawings for both barns and houses with no names given. Finally the series includes a set of blueprints (five sheets) for a Sears Roebuck & Co. house. Linke‟s drawings are on a single sheet of heavy paper showing in most cases both exterior and interior renditions of the structure. Most are not detailed drawings in comparison to professional architects‟ drawings, but they do give dimensions and other general details of the building‟s construction. For most, the name of the individual for whom built, date, and its location is recorded on the sheet.

Dates

1900-1930

Creator

Linke, Emil G., 1873-1942. (Person)

Access

The collection is open under the rules and regulations of the Institute.

Copyrights

Copyrights to this collection is held by the Institute.

Biography

Emil G. Linke was born June 13, 1873 near Winona, Minnesota. In the spring of 1881 he moved with his parents and family to a farm near Lynchburg, N.D. He attended the Goshen School. On January 10, 1901 he married Lizzie Fox. Emil met Lizzie through his brother Julius. who married Lizzie‟s sister Rose in 1897. Lizzie Fox was born February 19, 1878 at Lake Crystal, Minnesota, the daughter of German immigrants George and Dora (Reipke) Fox. Emil and Lizzie had two children, Myrtle and Gorden. Emil was a carpenter and building contractor for twenty-five years and for the last twenty-two years of his life he farmed near Chaffee, N.D. He died of a heart attack on May 27, 1942. He is buried in Watson Cemetery, Leonard, N.D. He was a member of the Presbyterian Church in Casselton. After Emil‟s death Lizzie moved to Casselton, N.D. where she died October 3, 1962. (information taken from Linke-Busswitz Family History, 1800-1984)