Family:Ralph Beal and Frieda Morgan (1)

Ralph and Frieda were married at 4 o'clock in the afternoon at the home of Frieda's parents, Curtis and Elise Morgan located 2 miles North of Round Lake. Clara Morgan, sister of the bride, was maid of honor and Jesse Beal, brother of the groom, was best man. (Three years later Jesse and Clara married. Aunt Edith Willardson played the wedding processional. A memorable event occured for Paul Morgan, Emil and Carl Horstman when they snitched wedding cigars and became quite ill. A dinner was served for about 50 guests following the wedding. The Beals came from England, immigrating to the area via Somerset County, Pennsylvania and Hudson, Iowa, where Ralph was born on November 22, 1891. His mother's family, the Kistners, came from Germany. Ralph spent his early boyhood in the Esterville, Iowa area, his teen years near Yankton, South Dakota, and his early adult years near Milan, Minnesota. The Morgan origin is Welsh and they came to the area by way of Pennsylvania and Butler County, Iowa. In 1869, Frieda's Grandfather homesteaded the farm where David Robinson lives today. Her mother's family, the Antritters, came from Germany. They lived in France and then came to the Boyden-Hull, Iowa area. Her Grandfather Antritter moved to the farm now owned by Stan Block. The county line didn't prove to be too much of a barrier and Curtis Morgan and Caroline Elizabeth (Elise)Antritter became acquainted and married and eventually Frieda was born on October 8, 1896 in one of the homes still occupied in the north part of Round Lake. They moved to the farm now occupied by Brent Wintz and later to the farm west of the lake where she grew up. From Milan, Ralph went to Mankato Commercial College where he met and became a friend of Delbert Coyer. When the term ended in the spring he told Delbert he'd go home with him if he'd get him a summer job. The small town grapevine was just as efficient then as it is today and it was soon learned that Phillip Horstman wanted a hired hand. Well, there was only a fence between the Morgan and Horstman farms and it didn't take long for Ralph and Frieda to get acquainted, leading to their marriage on September 5, 1917. Two weeks after their marriage, on September 19th, Ralph left for military service, later serving in France. He was discharged April 17, 1919. In March 1920, they moved to the farm now owned by Reinard Bosma, living there forty years until retirement in 1960. Here they raised a family of three; Stanley, Mary Elizabeth (Betty)and Barbara. Their marriage knew four wars, the roaring twenties, the 1929 crash, the Great Depression, the Dust Bowl, the Dirty Thirties and the Blizzard of the Century.

Jesse, Clara, Frieda, and Ralph Beal celebrate 50th

Ralph and Frieda sometime after November of 1939.

Four Generations - Elise, Betty and Linda, Frieda

Freida and May Beal, Elsie Weaver, Ralph and Fred Beal

Tombstone of Ralph and Frieda Beal at Round Lake Cemetery, MN

1.   In an email from Stanley Beal, Ralph and Frieda's son, on January 28, 2009, Stanley relates that in 1928 Ralph drove Curtis and Elise Morgan's new Whippet down to Waterloo to visit family as both the Beals and the Morgans had family there. Stanley's sister Mary Elizabeth (Betty) was along. He relates that when they arrived in Waterloo the adults went to the first talking movie, Al Jolson's, "The Jazz Singer". On the way home they stopped at the Grotto in West Bend, Iowa. It was just getting started. The kids did get to take part in that segment of the trip!