O.K. EARLE

Early civic leader Oliver Keese (O.K.) Earle was born in 1857 in Worcester, Massachusetts. The Earle and Keese families were Quakers from New York. Earle came to Minneapolis in 1877 to visit relative Henry F. Brown, and stayed to raise Shorthorn and Jersey cattle, sheep, and hogs on his 89 acres in Section 16. Earle was a major instigator in incorporating St. Louis Park as a village, served on the Village Council and the Board of Education. He was also appointed the first Postmaster, although Joseph Hamilton was the first to do permanent service. He was an incorporator of the St. Louis Park Land and Improvement Company, established in 1886.

Earle married Emma Tyler (Turner?) Laycock on January 2, 1879, at the Centenary Methodist Episcopal Church in Minneapolis. Emma’s parents were William and Mary Anne Laycock. Emma was born in 1858 and died on August 21, 1943 in Minneapolis. She is buried at Lakewood Cemetery.

The Earles had six children: William, Mary, Margaret (all died young) and Walter K. Earle, Florence Earle Wichman, and Olive Earle Olson.

O.K. died in 1932.

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This information comes from a variety of sources: newspapers, books, yearbooks, phone directories, interviews, etc. Given the varied sources, we cannot guarantee that all of this information is correct, and welcome any additions and corrections. Please contact us with your contributions and comments.