USA > South Dakota > Jerauld County > A history of Jerauld county, South Dakota > Part 33
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Harry Sheffield owns 240 acres in the north half of section one in Dale township. A part of this farm was once owned by B. B. Beadel and part by Anthony C. Bixler. Both of them left the state about the time it was admitted to the Union and their land was used by different persons for various purposes untid 1901 when Mr. Sheffield bought it. Since then the Anglo-Saxon grit and untiring energy of this English lad has made it bring forth the crops that have made him prosperous and independent. He has been for several years the clerk of the civil township of Dale. Several weeks ago, when writing of a trip through Alpena township I mentioned the trip made by Mrs. Sheffield from England with her boys to join her husband who had come on some months before. Harry was one of the boys. His farm is a good one and at the time of my visit he was softly and carefully uttering ejaculations at the perversity of a twine binder that seemed to object to doing just one more harvest before going to that rest accorded to all good binders when their days of work are done.
The sun was just sinking behind the hills as I left Mr. Sheffield's place to retrace my way to the banks of Sand Creek to angle with hook and fly for the speckled trout, that I knew was not there. A few chubs, shiners, crawfish and bullheads were landed and then, after eating a lunch
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to dispel a part of my "fisherman's luck," I climbed to the top of a hay stack and slept soundly until morning.
Across the road, south, is the quarter section where Wood Richardson had his soldier's homestead. He was a good fellow, but like many an- other good fellow he got disgusted with the "hard times" and went away practically abandoning land that today is worth half a hundred dollars per acre. This land is the NE of 24.
The NW of 24 was a tree claim, held by A. Huxtable, who never did anything with it. It is now one of the many valuable quarters in the township.
Without stopping again I went on past the SE of 14 where S. E. Mann had a timber culture entry in the early days; past the NE of 26, once owned by Mike Lynch; along the south line of the land held when the country was new by Ed Crawford, and where the first school in the town- ship was taught, until I reached the corners at the Dale Center school house. These corners are interesting. The NW of 23 is owned and oc- cupied by Geo. H. Young, one of the few men in the county who are still living on the land they got from Uncle Sam 26 years ago. He owns a half section, having purchased the NW of 14 in 1895, upon which proof was inade by Mrs. Ed Eddy of Chery township. Mr. Young has good soil on his farm and knows how to make the best of it. He cultivates 160 acres of his land, using the balance for meadows and pasture.
NE of 22 was obtained from the government by Andrew Mercer, for four years sheriff of the county and the man who proposed the name adopted for this township.
The SE of 15 was where Ely W. Chapman made his homestead entry in 1882. He held on as long as he could and then quit. He had the dis- tinction of being the only man to be convicted of a crime in Jerauld county on a plea of "not guilty." It was one of those court mistakes that do some- times occur. There is no question now but that E. W. Chapman was not guilty of the crime with which he was charged. In 1894 this farm was purchased by J. H. Young, a son of Geo. H. Young. He is a good deal of a horticulturist and besides other fruits has an acre of grape vines growing in good condition. I stayed with George Young over night and the next morning started back east to take a look at some farms of especial interest, one of which I had passed the previous evening.
A mile east of the Dale Center school house is a beautiful pond, com- paratively deep, with high banks. It stretches across the section line and so the road curves to the south onto the NE of 23. This pond, or lake, furnishes the best of fish, bull-heads, for many families in the neighbor- hood. Although it is but two miles from Sand Creek its fish are so much better in firmness and taste that they are sought in preference to those in
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the stream. The lake covers about eight or ten acres and lies mostly on the farm of Wm. Daleske, who settled on the SE of 14 in 1893 and put down an artesian well. The well supplies the water for the lake. The fish were put in the pond as soon as it was filled with water and now the supply of them is abundant. All the improvements on this farm are good. This thrifty farmer owns the SW of 14, the SW of 13, and the NE of 23, in addition to the quarter upon which his buildings are located, making a full section in all.
Nearly a mile north of the residence of Mr. Daleske, but on the NE of the same section is the dwelling of Ernest Schmidt. He has three quarters but the land is not all together. In addition to the NE of 14 he owns the NE of 15 and the NW of 24. Of this land 160 acres are in crop this year. He also has a good artesian well which affords abundance of water for all purposes on the farm, and fills a deep valley in which large numbers of fish can be taken at any time. This well was drilled in 1898. Mr. Schmidt took the NE of 14 in 1883, as a homestead, and has resided there ever since.
Across the road north from Ernest Schmidt is the homestead of his brother, Dan Schmidt. The two brothers came to the Territory of Da- kota at nearly the same time and took as homesteads, quarters lying side by side. Dan also took the SW of 12, putting upon it his tree claim right. At that time Dr. Wheelan had a filing on the NW of 13, and Mr. Fenste- maker on the SW of II. These two tracts Dan Schmidt has added to his farm and also the NW of II, and the NE of 24. A detached quarter, the SW of 24, is also owned by Mr. Schmidt, but is occupied by his son- in-law, Frank Detleff. Dan Schmidt has the honor of being the first to put down an artesian well in Jerauld county. It was an expensive venture in those days, but he was full of the confidence that he still has in South Dakota. He made the try and won. Since then hundreds of wells have been dug in the adjacent country. Dan Schmidt's success in getting a deep well gave renewed hope to his neighbors and revived their confi- dence in the wealth hidden in the earth if they would but go after it. The creameries, stock-raising, sheep raising and the ultimate success in all lines of agriculture, that has prevailed in this and adjoining counties are in a great measure due to the success of this German farmer in his efforts to get a supply of water from the deep-hidden streams of the earth. I crank from the well. The water is cool and refreshing, and the supply as abundant as when the drill point first tapped the fountain in 1886. This is a German home, retaining many of the customs of the fatherland. It was about ten o'clock in the forenoon when I arrived on my wheel at the farm. I met a sweet-faced German lassie taking a generous mid-fore- noon lunch to the men in the harvest field. With his fertile fields, his large
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herds, his private fishing pond and his beautiful home Dan Schmidt is enjoying a quiet prosperity that any one might envy.
From here I wheeled north on a fairly good road to Wahls farm and then took the hill road west. On one of the highest points I stopped a few moments and looked over the ground where Jack Crawford, now of Watertown, had his residence and blacksmith shop at the time he was "holding down" the SE of 3. The shop was near the highway and passing teamsters could, early and late, hear the clang of hammer and anvil long before they reached the shop. The light of his forge could be seen by the settlers miles around long after the shades of night had set- tled over the lonely hill tops. Jack was a busy workman and hundreds of acres of prairie sod where broken up with the lays he sharpened.
A mile and a half further west and I stopped to have a look at a new home located on the SW of 4, where four years ago was nothing but raw prairie. Tom Yegge, a son of C. M. Cegge, whose farm near Al- pena I had visited a few weeks before, came on to this quarter in 1905. now has a good start made toward making a fine place. Tom is a "chip off the old block." His beginning with fruit is great. The late frost last spring destroyed the fruit crop for this year, but that occurs so seldom that he is not in the least discouraged. If I am not mistaken, Tom Yegge and John Young will show to the rising generation as fine grapes, pears and apples as can be grown in any of the northern states. But Tom has not devoted all his time to horticulture. A small, but comfortable house. good stables and 65 acres of good crops are other results of his three years work on this quarter section.
I then turned south on the road between sections 8 and 9, toward Wessington Springs. Years ago Frank Eastman had a pre-emption. filing on the NW of 9, and as such proved up on it and got a patent signed by Grover Cleveland. That was all that Frank did with it except to add a mortgage. In 1902 Ernest Scott came to South Dakota with his father, John Scott, and settled on this quarter. Now a neat new house, com- fortable outbuildings and 80 acres of cultivation are indications of the prosperity that has attended the young farmer's efforts.
Again I passed along the west side of the school section and saw the same little pile of lumber lying just as it did when I came this way in May. But there is no water in the creek, now, (that's an Irish bull) and so the crossing is good enough. It reminded me of the Arkansas Traveler.
On section 21 are two good new houses. B. F. Gebhart is on the NW quarter and his father-in-law, W. R. Winter, has the south half. They came on here last year from Buffalo county and began to develop the farms. No one in the county has done better than they. The substantial buildings and other improvements show that they have been busy.
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Away back in the '8os and 'gos Joe Scott tried hard on the NE of 29 to battle against adversity in the form of poor crops and low prices. After a long struggle in which he won the respect of all his neighbors and acquaintances, he gave it up and moved away. In the spring of 1907 a gentleman named J. H. McVey, came here from Montezuma, Iowa, in search of a new home. He saw this tract and determined to make his try on it. When I called there I found him on a binder harvesting a splendid crop and ready to compare his farm as to intrinsic value, with anything anywhere. He has added to the Scott farm the E half of the NW of the same section and he certainly has a farm hard to beat.
At supper time I again rolled into Wessington Springs.
One morning in September I mounted the bike and started out to follow the wind in a run up.through Chery township to spend a day about the lakes in the north part of Harmony, said to be "alive with ducks." As much as possible, I followed the old road along the foot of the hills. I "hit" it occassionally until I reached the first site of the old Elmer post- office. Here I received the first letters addressed to me in Dakota Terri- tory, in November, 1883. It was the P. O. for the village of Wessington Springs and vicinity for several months. An assistant post master general under Arthur wanted the office to bear his name, and so designated it, giving the name of Wessington to a new office on the C. & N. W. Ry. in Beadie county, at the north end of the range of hills. The name of Elmer was finally dropped, at the earnest request of the office patrons and it has ever since been. Wessington Springs. The two names, Wessington and Wessington Springs, cause no end of trouble to mail agents and postmas- ters, for people will not remember that one place is not the other.
When I arrived at the place where Uncle Peter and Aunt Sarah dwelt. long before the town, now with its thousand inhabitants, was thought of. I had to open a gate, cross the gulch and take to the hills. That was the last of the old road. Thereafter I had to lead the wheel in cattle and sheep pastures and lift it over fences, for a bicycle is not of much account in a hurdle race.
At the Wallace ranch I crossed the "draw" by the side of the old bridge built by the county twenty-two years ago. There was no water near it, so the crossing was easy. I leaned the wheel against the wire fence and went to the well for a drink. I am not disposed to praise that well very much, but the water was wet. The ranch is one of the best in the county, affording abundance of grass in the summer and natural pro- tection from all storms in the winter, while the bubbling springs furnish plenty of water for stock. This place is historic in many respects. Two townships were named here. The returns of the election in 1883, separ- ating Jerauld county from Aurora, were brought to this place by mes-
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sengers from all parts of the county. H. J. Wallace, who owned the ranch for many years, was probably the most popular man the county ever had. At his first election as county treasurer he received more votes than any other candidate ever voted for in the county-only two votes being cast against him. He served three terms as county treasurer, two terms as county surveyor and when the office of state surveyor was created in 1893 he was appointed by Gov. Sheldon to fill the position.
The next stop was at W. F. Yegge's, who is clerk of the civil township of Chery. He owns the N half of 21. The NE quarter which Frank Simons abandoned, after seven years residence, Mr. Yegge took as a homestead in 1896. He afterwards purchased the NW quarter which was homesteaded by Joe Geopfert in 1883. A small stock of well selected groceries is kept by Mr. Yegge, who for several years was the master of Stock postoffice. I worked at the civil township records until near sun down and then leaving the job unfinished, I started on. I followed the section line until I got lost and confused among the hills and gulches and after much leading and pushing, but no riding, arrived with the wheel at the McCloud farm on section 18.
No one ever knew the hospitality of Aaron McCloud to fail. A hearty welcome, a good supper, and a splendid night's rest banished all remnem- berance of the evening's experience in taking the bike through the deep ravines and monstrously heavy grass of that hilly region. Nine years be- fore I had visited this place in company with J. R. Eddy. Then nothing but blackened ruins marked the places where his buildings had stood. A prairie fire, driven by a furious wind, had devastated his farm and left him houseless and destitute so far as personal property is concerned. No one is destitute in the worst sense of the word, who has the pluck shown by this old settler and his wife. The old man's story surely had in it much of the pathetic. He and his wife had together climbed the hill of life, toiling, struggling, always ready to extend a hand of willing helpfulness to another, and just as they could see an easy road before then, they had to stand helpless while the earnings of a life time went up in smoke. Then came the wonder part of it. For a moment only they seemed dazed with their loss. Then realizing that once more they were at the foot of the hill, they touched shoulders and began to climb. Today the old hero and his hero wife, have a house of which they are, and the county may well be, proud. I picked grapes from his vineyard, saw him gather as fine vegetables as can be found in the county, went through his comfortable house and barn, and looked over his 480 acres and was astonished to find that in nine years they had done what many have taken a life time to do, and all that after passing
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the age of 60 years. Possibly they could not have done it in any other country.
Bidding the McClouds good morning I peddaled north until I had passed the homesteads of Gene Lewis, Dave Lewis and Silas Kinney, and then turned west, passing the claims of Benjamin Drake, Hiram Crosby and D. V. K. Funk, the latter having married the widow Berger, whose husband was killed by lightning on this claim the SW of I, in the sum- mer of 1883. I did not stop again until I had reached the lakes of north- ern Harmony. Ever since the first settlement of the county these lakes have been the resort of sportsmen in the duck shooting season. In the early days a number of expert marksmen lived in this vicinity, who spent many pleasant hours on the banks of these ponds. Among them were Jeff Sickler, now in California, Will Miller, whose present address I do not know, Wm. Titus, now of Wessington Springs and Joe Collier, now a resident of Alpena. Among the many others who enjoyed the sport was one who was known and loved by all who lived on the west side of the county. A. N. Alward was a true gentleman and a true sportsman. He was with me at the time he lost his famous hunting dog, "Sport." For 16 years the dog had been his constant attendant, but on that occa- sion was too infirm to make the trip. We spent the day on the banks of Ponton's lake. The old man was constantly talking of the fine qualities of his dog and finally quoted all of Eliza Cook's 'splendid poem about the Indian king and his dog. He said he had not thought of it before for thirty years, yet so good was his memory that he repeated it all without missing a line. Ducks were thick that day, but neither of us got a bird. although each of us shot away two boxes of shells. Want of skill could account for this lack of success on my part, but some other reason must account for Alward's failure. When he returned to Templeton, where he was then living, the old dog was dead. It was the last dog he ever owned, and during the balance of his life he hunted but little.
The lake by which we spent that day is on the south half of SW of 3. That 80-acre tract was taken as a pre-emption by August Ponto in the spring of 1884. He lived there working hard and "keeping bach," until the $100 mortgage he gave when he made proof took it and he moved from it, putting a homestead filing on the NE of 2, where he died a few years later.
Section 22 of Harmony township has had considerable to do with its history. The first religious services were held in Peter Welfing's sod shanty on the northwest quarter. The preaching was by Wm. Marshall. Mr. and Mrs. Huntley and others, as occasion offered.
Close to the southwest corner stake of this section a meeting was held in April. 1884, to determine the course to be pursued in regard to the
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public schools of the township. It was held in the open air. I do not remember all'who were present, but among them were O. O. and C. W. England, I. N. Rich, C. W. and C. Mills, O. J. Marshall, Daniel Mitchell, Louis Nordyke, James Grieve, Clayton Brown, and his son, William, H. A. Peirce, J. R. and Siegel Eddy, George Brady, W. T. Hammack, John Murphy, C. G. Smith, Peter Welfing and myself. As a result of this meeting one of the school houses was located at the northwest corner of the SW of 26, James Grieve, who owned that quarter, donating the use of the ground needed for that purpose. The land upon which this im- portant meeting was held was then a tree claim owned by Col. Geddes of Huron. He tried several times to get the required number of trees started but failed utterly. This quarter with the Welfing claim north of it afterward became the home of H. T. Gilbert, who married Marion Grieve and together they made of it one of the best paying farms of the township. The northeast quarter of this section was in later years the scene of a terrible tragedy. Alba Eddy who had been one of the school boys of the township, had when he became of age obtained this quarter section as a homestead. He married Francis Andrews and here they lived, prospering more than any other young settlers of the township. He be- came the owner of all the east half of the section and also of the SE of 21. One morning he went out to shoot a dog that had become a nuisance about the place. The report of the gun was heard by Mrs. Eddy and the children who were in the house. A few moments later his lifeless form was found with his head terribly mangled. The charge had entered the back part of the brain and death was instantaneous. How it happened will never be known.
The meeting above mentioned was held in the open near where the section lines cross. A few feet to the west, on section 21, was G. W. Titus' sod shanty. To the south of that was the residence of Wm. Titus, while a few rods east, on the NW of 27 was the sod house of James Grieve in which he lived while holding his pre-emption. He afterward moved onto the SW of 26 where he had placed his homestead filing. Upon that he built a more comfortable home, and there lived until his death a few years later. His son, Walter, still occupies the old home- stead and this year has built a splendid 8-room house that excels any other farm home in that part of the county. At the time of my visit he was the township clerk and from his books I obtained the story of the organ- ization of Harmony township.
From Mrs. Fee, school clerk, I obtained the school records of Har- mony township, and taking them to the Templeton school house I spent a half day in making extracts from the entries made by the clerks during the last 24 years. School houses in Jerauld county, like its post offices
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and postmasters have been subject to removals, and the Grieve school house was no exception. In the early 'gos it was moved from its original site to the southeast corner of the SE of 26, where it has remained to the present time. It is kept locked and is one of the few school houses in the county that are well protected from prairie fires.
Over in Marlar township I found George Scofield on section 25. A part of this farm was once owned by Mr. De Lap, who now lives out in Oregon, and part by Mr. Lamb, who has a railroad contract out west somewhere. When the first school census was taken in 1884, the name of George Scofield appeared among the children of school age. He is now clerk of the school township of which he was then a pupil. George has seen the ups and downs of frontier life since his boyhood days, but has stuck by Marlar township in which he has prospered.
My next objective point was the home of W. W. Yates on the S half of 31. Before reaching there, however, I stopped for dinner with J. J. Groub on the SW of 33. When the railroad follows the telephone into this region this farm will be as desirable as any in the county. Without being rough it has an elevation that enables its occupants to see all over. Gann Valley and the country away off toward Kimball and Chamberlain ; the location of the old town of Waterbury, once a thriving prairie vil- lage, but now reduced to one lone residence and that occupied by a bachelor, and then across Crow Creek into Logan township and beyond that across Smith Creek toward White Lake in Aurora county. I was as well pleased with the beautiful view from the farm of John Groub as any I have seen in the county. But the view is not all. One branch of Crow Creek heads at a big spring on one part of this farm that affords abundance of water for any number of animals. It is one of the com- paratively few really big springs of the county. The land has a gradual slope to the south and is of good soil and nearly all tillable, but John and "Trix" are devoting their attention mainly to cattle and horses, of which they have some splendid specimens. The residence of the Groub family on the SW of 33 dates back only to 1900. Prior to that on the 6th day of May. 1883, they settled on sections 19 and 20 of this township. The family had come from Harrison county, Missouri, and while driving about over the section upon which they made their home, they met an- other man who was also looking for land. A greeting and a few mo- ments talk revealed the fact that the stranger was also from Harrison county, Missouri. Their first meeting was on section 19 in the township that was afterward to bear the stranger's name ; he was Mr. B. F. Mar- laur. The first settlers in range 67, which in Jerauld county includes Marlar, Crow and Logan townships, supposed they were taking homes in Buffalo county. This erroneous idea continued until after the election of
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delegates to the constitutional convention that met that summer in Sioux Falls. The township in which the Groubs took their claims was then un- surveyed and the settlers could only guess at the lay of it, or hire a sur- veyor to run the lines for them. From the lines in the township south that had been surveyed, they were enabled, generally, to locate their claims so as to avoid trouble when the plats were finally published. The same condition prevailed in most of the western townships of the county. John Groub placed his filing on the SE of 19. Geo. Groub took the S half of thie SW of 20 and the N half of the NW of 29 and their father secured a homestead right on the NE of 30. The John Groub .house still stands on the SE of 20. The father, Z. Groub, was for several years one of the magistrates of the county. When the family decided to do stock raising instead of farming they removed to their present location on section 33. Among the amusing things connected with their first few weeks' ex- perience in their Dokato home was that of John in trying to send a letter to friends back in Missouri. He wrote the letter and went to the town of Waterbury, about six miles away to get an envelope and stamp. When he arrived at the village he was directed to the postoffice. He found Miss Francis Waterbury, now Mrs. Mount of Wausa, Neb., in charge. He asked for a stamp and envelope but was informed that she had none and that she did not know where he could get them unless it was at the black- smith shop kept by Mr. Dement. Wondering at the "slackness of Uncle Sam" in not keeping his postoffice supplied with stamps he went to the place indicated and found that the blacksmith had a bunch of envelopes and 50 cents in postage stamps, all there was in town. He obtained what he wanted and then learned that there was no postoffice in the town. Twice a week E. S. Waterbury, who founded the village, went to Kim- ball, twenty-four miles away and brought up the mail for the people, who had settled in this locality. This service was rendered free of charge. People got their mail at his residence, hence it was called the postoffice.
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