History of Dakota Territory, volume III, Part 132

Author: Kingsbury, George Washington, 1837-; Smith, George Martin, 1847-1920
Publication date: 1915
Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : S.J. Clarke Publishing Company
Number of Pages: 1146

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In 1915, after thirty-six years of active practice of the law at Deadwood, Judge A. J. Plowman, one of the best known lawyers and judges of the state,

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retired from active practice. He came to South Dakota in 1879 and thereafter for many years took an active part in politics, and was prominent in the ranks of the republicans of the Black Hills Region and of the whole state. In 1882 he served as territorial district attorney and traveled over the territory between the Great Sioux Reservation and Wyoming. He was prominent in Indian affairs, and was denominated by one of the Indian chiefs as the "little man with the big voice." He was city attorney of Deadwood, county judge and circuit judge; and in 1915 was the Nestor of the Lawrence County bar. At the time of his retirement he was president of the Lawrence County Bar Association.

The seventeenth annual convention of the South Dakota Bar Association was held at Watertown early in September, 1915. There was a large attendance and all had an enjoyable time. The Codington Bar Association formally enter- tained the distinguished guests and furnished them with an eleborate program of amusements. The principal pleasure ground of the association was at the Water- town Country Club on Lake Kampeska, where golf, tennis, boating, fishing and bathing were the attractions. On the program were the following speakers: Charles B. Mills, of Minneapolis, on the subject, "The Relation Between the Banker and the Attorney;" Martin J. Wade, of Iowa, subject, "Back to the Constitution ;" H. J. Bushfield, Miller, subject, "Citizenship for Lawyers." Papers were read by Hon. C. A. Christoferson, Sioux Falls; A. K. Gardner, Huron ; Olaf Iden, Brookings, and John H. Rich, Minneapolis.

It is doubtful if any state has had a stronger or more efficient bench than South Dakota. It can be shown in almost every instance that where any court failed to administer justice promptly it was due to the over-clogging of the docket by which the judge was overworked. For many years three Supreme judges did the work that should have been done by five, seven and nine judges. But relief came at last. Now court conditions are satisfactory as a whole. Today the able and faithful judges and the brilliant bar will rank well with those of any state of the Union.

The judges of the Supreme Court have been :

Dighton Gorson, 1889-1912; Alphonso G. Kellam, 1889-1896 (resigned) ; John E. Bennett, 1889-1894 (died) ; H. G. Fuller, 1894-1908 (appointed in Judge Bennett's place) ; Richard Haney, 1896-1912; Charles S. Whiting, 1908- (ap- pointed to fill Judge Fuller's place) ; Ellison G. Smith, 1909- (appointed under the new law providing for additional judges) ; James H. McCoy, 1909- (appointed under the new law) ; J. H. Gates, 1913 -; Samuel C. Polley, 1913 -.

CHAPTER XXIV

RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS

The first religious organization in either of the Dakotas was a small Roman Catholic congregation established among the French Canadian trappers and half- breed Indians in the employ of the Hudson Bay Company at Pembina in what is now North Dakota. A small chapel was erected there in 1812 and various priests attended this congregation from time to time as the years passed. No doubt other buildings there were used. In 1845 Father Belcourt erected a chapel and also a small convent at what was known as St. Joseph's, but what afterwards became Walhalla.

The Catholics through their explorers, fur traders and adventurers were the. first to invade what is now South Dakota. LeSeuer no doubt visited this region in the year 1700 and Verendrye is known to have been here in 1743 when he planted a leaden plate on the hill at Fort Pierre. An account of the finding of this plate a few years ago will be found elsewhere in this work. The fur traders who came up the Missouri River from St. Louis were nearly all of the Catholic denomination. The Chouteaus, Manuel Lisa, Reconters and Picottes and many others found their way up the Missouri River, visited the Indians in what is now South Dakota, traded with them and no doubt made known to them the religion of the whites, particularly of the Catholics. As early as 1842 Father Ravoux visited what is now Fort Pierre. At that date what is now South Dakota belonged to the jurisdiction of the Catholic bishop of Dubuque, who, in 1842, went down the Mississippi River to St. Louis and while there was earnestly solicited by Catholic fur traders, who had come down from Fort Pierre and who had mar- ried Indian women, to send priests to their homes to give baptism and religious instruction to their wives and children. It was in response to this request that Bishop Grace sent Father Ravous from St. Paul across the country to Fort Pierre and vicinity. On this trip the Father was accompanied and protected by half- breed Indian guides. No doubt after reaching what is now South Dakota he held religious services at the various camps occupied by him on his journey from the eastern border to Fort Pierre. One such celebration of mass occurred at the crossing of the James River, probably in what is now Brown County. In all probability this was the first formal religious service by the Catholics in what is now South Dakota; it was during the summer of 1842. After remaining here some time he returned to St. Paul, but came back two years later by way of Sioux Falls and Vermillion. No doubt he celebrated mass at all these places including Sioux Falls.

Father DeSmet, another Catholic, was here before 1848. He had previously passed westward along the Upper Missouri to the Rocky Mountains and in all probability held services in what is now South Dakota previous to the summer

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of 1848. During the summer of the latter year he came up the Missouri River to the mouth of the Platte, and thence journeyed to the mouth of the Niobrara and there held services among the Poncas. According to Father DeSmet this was the first time the Poncas had ever heard of Jesus Christ from the lips of a minister. When he arrived they were preparing to attack a party of whites who were pass- ing up the river with goods for a fur company, but upon seeing Father DeSmet they refrained from the attack, and instead joyfully joined in welcoming him to their camp. They had learned what his mission was from the half-breeds who lived among them. Continuing his trip up the Niobrara and White rivers he visited the Bad Lands and noted particularly the peculiar formations there. He passed down the Little Missouri to Fort Pierre where he continued his duties as missionary. Father DeSmet continued his labors among the Indians at Pierre and Fort Bouis at the Big Bend until October and then returned to St. Louis for the winter. In June, 1851, in company with Father Christian Hoecken, he came up the river on the steamer St. Ange which was owned by the American Fur Com- pany. Both Fathers while on board were stricken with cholera. Father DeSmet recovered, but Father Hoecken died and was buried at the mouth of the Little Sioux River in western Iowa. Many others died on this vessel on its way up the river. When they reached Big Bend they found smallpox was raging at Fort Bouis, and here Father DeSmet, unafraid, gave assistance to the afflicted. While here he visited Fort Union, Fort Pierre and Arickara and baptised numer- ous children. He passed across the country from Yellowstone to the Oregon Trail and while in the West visited the Black Hills region. On one of the peaks there he engraved a large cross upon a high rock. At Fort Laramie he assisted in a grand council of all the western tribes, which had been called by the Government for the purpose of making a treaty to arrange measures to protect the California trail which already was an important thoroughfare.

Father DeSmet continued his work among the Dakota Indians until 1866 and accomplished a great and important service. The Indians entertained for him the highest respect and consideration and usually were pleased to obey his slightest wish. The Government recognizing his power among the natives, asked him for suggestions as to who should serve as agents among the Indians.

In June, 1850, Father Christian Hoecken, above mentioned, first visited the Sioux Country, where, at Fort Pierre and Fort Bouis, he made many baptisms. The same fall he passed down the Missouri to Vermillion where he baptised several natives and continuing down the river met Major Holton who urged him to return to Fort Pierre. He finally consented, secured a guide at Vermillion, started westward, but was unable to cross the James River, and finally traveled up that stream for several days, but was finally caught in a terrible blizzard and forced to return to Vermillion. Soon afterwards he passed down the river to St. Louis.

It will be seen from a study of the religious history of South Dakota that nearly all the first visits were of a missionary character, more or less self-sacri- ficing in nature and made for the benefit of the natives mainly and also for the few whites. The Catholics who came here were acting under the authority of the Archbishop of St. Louis. This continued until 1867 when, a considerable number of French Catholics having settled in the Dakota Panhandle, Father Pierre Boucher was sent here by Bishop Grace to organize St. Peter's Church at

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Jefferson. Father Boucher became thus the apostolic missionary of the Catholic Church and had jurisdiction over the southern portion of Dakota Territory. While at Jefferson as pastor of that flock he built the first permanent Catholic structure in South Dakota.

The Catholic Church grew slowly at first in this section of the country. The settlers were few and scattered and had many things to think about besides religion. In August, 1879, Rt. Rev. Martin Marty came to the territory as per- fecto apostolic with the power of an administrator of a diocese, and at this time there were but twelve priests and twenty Catholics churches in all of Dakota Territory. Mgr. Marty established his seat of operations at Yankton where the Benedictine Sisters soon established a large convent and where a bishop's resi- dence was erected west of the city on an eminence which became known as Mount Marty.

In the fall of 1889 Dakota ceased to be a vicarate and was erected into two Episcopal Sees by orders from Pope Leo XIII to correspond with the two new states. Rt. Rev. Bishop Marty up to this date had been vicar apostolic of all the Catholic churches of Dakota Territory, but he now became bishop of Sioux Falls diocese. He transferred his residence to Sioux Falls in February, 1889, and by September the See had become fully established, and another likewise had been founded at Jamestown, North Dakota. Located there was Rt. Rev. John Stanley who was appointed from St. Paul. Rev. O. Zarretti, D. D., vicar general to Bishop Marty, was appointed bishop of St. Cloud, Minn. In 1888 Bishop Ireland was made an archbishop and his jurisdiction was extended over Minnesota and Dakota. At that time Dakota was organized into two dioceses called Yankton and Bismarck.

In the 'gos the Benedictine Sisters for North Dakota and South Dakota established headquarters at Pierre. In 1899 they took the Old Park Hotel prop- erty, altered and improved it and soon afterwards opened it as a hospital and school. Later they erected a fine brick structure, and at this day are prosperous both with their academy and their hospital.

In July, 1890, Bishop Marty appointed the following priests as members of the Diocesan Schoolboard: Rev. George Sheehan, Mitchell; Rev. Sylvester Mad- dock, Huron; Rev. Cyrille St. Pierre, Jefferson ; Rev. Thomas F. Hopkins, Yank- ton; Rev. George A. Ricklin, Sioux Falls. This board was authorized to take charge of all the Catholic schools of the state.

In January, 1896, Rt. Rev. Thomas O'Gorman, who was then professor of history in the University of Washington, was elected bishop of Sioux Falls, was consecrated at Washington in April of the same year and was installed in his new office at Sioux Falls in May. Soon afterward he visited Mitchell to inspect matters concerning the church in that city. He spent the day at Alexandria at- tending the celebration of Father Lawlar's fiftieth anniversary as Catholic priest. The bishop was accompanied to Mitchell by a large number of priests, all of whom were met at the train by a large concourse of citizens and the juvenile state band. In the evening the bishop delivered a lecture in the Corn Palace and con- gratulated the people of Mitchell on their industrial success and on the fact that friendly relations existed between the Catholic Church and the other religious denominations of that city.

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At the end of his first six months' service as bishop of South Dakota, Bishop O'Gorman stated in December that matters in the diocese were improving daily and that, with the exception of Sioux Falls parish, none of the churches was incumbered with debt large enough to cause any annoyance. During this six months the bishop confirmed 2,000 people.

Since 1896 the Catholics of South Dakota have been under his jurisdiction. Within a comparatively short time he succeeded in establishing six important hospitals in the state at the following places : Aberdeen, Cascade Springs, Dead- wood, Pierre, Webster and Yankton. He also established Catholic academies at Aberdeen, Elkton, Marion, Sturgis, Vermillion, Jefferson, Tabor, Watertown, Zell and elsewhere. Since the commencement of the twentieth century, he has greatly extended the number of. hospitals and academies as well as the number of churches. The following Catholic orders are represented in the state: Bene- dictine, Mercy, St. Joseph, St. Vincent DePaul, Presentation, and St. Frances Sisters.

In 1903 the Catholic diocese at Sioux Falls was again divided and a See was established at Lead. At this time the new See had a population of about eight thousand. At Deadwood was a total Catholic population of about three thousand five hundred in charge of Very Rev. M. N. Redmond, vicar general. Rev. J. N. Stariha became the bishop of the new See. At this time there were in South Dakota about seventy Catholic churches and seventy other charges.

In 1906 there were in the state 199 organized congregations of the Roman Catholic Church, with a total membership of 61,014, 177 houses of worship, 82 parsonages, 163 Sunday Schools and 6,966 scholars. The state census of 1915 gave the Catholics of South Dakota a membership of 78,769.

In August, 1915, Rt. Rev. Thomas O'Gorman, of Sioux Falls, Catholic bishop of the east diocese of South Dakota, and a large number of other eminent pre- lates of the church from all parts of the Northwest, assembled in Charles Mix County, South Dakota, to take part in the Catholic congress held at the Yankton Indian Agency in honor of the seventy-fifth anniversary of the landing in South Dakota of Father DeSmet, the famous Catholic missionary, who came to com- mence the work of chrisitianizing the Sioux Indians. Present were several thou- sand people to witness the interesting proceedings. At this meeting a few of the older Indians, then mere boys, remembered distinctly the coming of Father DeSmet and the interest shown by the tribe in his teachings and efforts on their behalf. Nearly all the Indians who attended this meeting were the decendants of those who had been converted to Christianity by Father DeSmet and the other missionaries. It was planned at this time to erect a handsome memorial to Father DeSmet. Hundreds of peace pipes were distributed among the Indians present. Father DeSmet landed from a boat on the Missouri River at Vermillion on May 11, 1839, for the purpose of making peace between the Omaha and Sioux Indian tribes and of commening the work of converting the Indians to Christian- ity. The work he accomplished is now an important part of the history of South Dakota. He was so successful that he was generally considered one of the most useful and prominent missionaries in the United States. The celebration was held with great ceremony and the church and its influence was greatly strengthened. among the Indians present.

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The feast of St. Thomas Aquinas, patron of Rt. Rev. Thomas O'Gorman, D. D., is known as Bishop Day's at Columbus College, Chamberlain. On that day a feast is given on the college campus and the students give exhibitions of their class room work, and Thespian training. The program in 1915 was one of much interest. There were rendered oratorical displays, musical productions and dramatic presentations. The program of the day began with the celebration of mass in Sacred Heart Chapel by the president of the college, Rev. M. J. Breen, who delivered an eloquent panegyric on the life and works of Father O'Gorman. In the evening the class of 1915 rendered the following excellent program : Musical selection, College Orchestra; Welcome, J. P. Jordan; "Our Bishop," J. C. Chaloupka; vocal solo, "The Great Beyond," J. Duhamel; "The Ideal Student," J. Larey; "St. Thomas of Aquinas," L. Manley ; violin obligato, "Traumerei," P. Maguire, and J. Bradac; "Benefits of Class Organization," W. Murphy. The exercises closed with the rendition of a one act trial entitled, "Circumstantial Evidence," which was intended to show how an innocent man could be convicted by circumstances alone.

Congregationalism appeared in South Dakota at an early date. The Riggs family entertained favorable views of the Congregational Church. Stephen R. Riggs was himself a Presbyterian, but was a missionary of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, which society was then operating under a plan of union which was accepted by both Presbyterian and Congregational churches. Thus both Congregationalists and Presbyterians claim as their mis- sionaries men sent out under the auspices of the board. So far as known, efforts of Mr. Riggs were introductory for the establishment of evangelical missionary work among the Indians in what is now South Dakota. He and his associates came here to ascertain the moral condition of the Teton Indians west of the Missouri River.

The first work of the Congregationalists among white people in South Dakota was at Yankton, then the territorial capital, but a rough frontier town with about four hundred inhabitants. The American (Congregational) Home Missionary Society established the church at Yankton in response to requests from people then living in that town. Application for a missionary was sent the society and in response Rev. E. W. Cook, of Ripon, Wis., was commissioned for six months in that field. He arrived in March, 1868, held services and on April 6th of the same year organized the first Congregational Church of Yankton. A month later the Sabbath School was organized. After Mr. Cook's term of service expired, the Congregation was served by Rev. J. D. Bell, who worked without a commission until the arrival of Joseph Ward, who reached Yankton in Novem- ber, 1868. At once Mr. Ward became pastor of the Yankton church. He pos- sessed high qualities, and in time became a power in all movements to elevate humanity in the state. So rapidly grew the congregation that in 1869 a church building was commenced and was completed the following year. It was dedi- cated in July, 1870, by Dr. J. E. Roy. Mr. Ward became very active and within six years was considered the leader of a group of twelve Congregational churches in the eastern part of the state.

In the fall of 1869 Rev. Stewart Sheldon came to South Dakota from Michi- gan. He took a claim near Yankton and in time became a useful citizen. His son, Dr. Charles M. Sheldon, is the author of the book called the "Twentieth

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SOUTH DAKOTA: ITS HISTORY AND ITS PEOPLE

Door," and other works. Mr. Sheldon, at the solicitation of Mr. Ward, took up church work and soon became a prominent minister. He first supplied Vermil- lion, Elk Point, Richland and Bon Homme. He traveled far and wide with his buggy and ponies. He began work in 1870 and reported the organization of three churches in one day, July 17th, of that year, the three being at Richmond, Elk Point and Vermillion. At Vermillion services were held in a small store build- ing, in an old schoolhouse, and in an old residence on the outskirts. The first church was built there on the river bottom and was washed away at the time of the great flood in 1881. The second church was built on the hill. At Elk Point progress was even less favorable. The first building occupied was soon destroyed by fire. Another occupied for a short time was blown down. In the fall of 1870 Mr. Sheldon went to Canton and preached in a log house with a thatched roof and ground floor and received ten new members as a result of his first visit. On the evening of the same day he held services at Sioux Falls, one of the meetings there being held in the old barracks formerly used by the soldiers as a protection against the Indians. He effected an organization there and soon afterwards a house was built and the congregation grew rapidly. Four years later he built a church at Springfield, but a visit of the grasshoppers checked operations there for a while. Of the group of ten churches formed in the first six years, seven re- mained Congregational, three united with other denominations. Later one was washed away and destroyed and one died from natural causes.

In 1871 the Congregational General Association of Dakota was organized and a constitution was prepared and adopted and was signed by three ministers and five delegates who were present. The object of the first ministers and mission- aries was evangelism.and education. At all meetings these points were brought cut and emphasized. Another early minister of the Congregationalists was Rev. L. Bridgman, who came from Wisconsin and preached for some time in this por- tion of the state. At one of the meetings of the Congregationalists the Woman's Missionary Society of Yankton provided a program and on this occasion the audience was addressed by Nathan Ford of Illinois. This was regarded as the first public Woman's Missionary meeting of the Congregational Church held in Dakota Territory.

At one of the meetings there were in attendance three ministers from else- where, Rev. A. Potter, United Brethren; Rev. J. Cole, of the Methodist Episco- pal Church; and Rev. J. Runyan, of the Wesleyan Methodist Church. It was about this time, October, 1872, that the Canton Church was dedicated; $500 was raised at the dedication to complete the payment of bills. The fifth meeting of the association was held at Santee, Neb., in October, 1873, in the Indian mission station which had been used for many years by Rev. A. L. Riggs. On this occa- sion resolutions were passed to promote fellowship between the Indian churches and the white churches and to hold closer relations for the mutual benefit of the Indians and the whites. There was present on this occasion Rev. J. E. Joy, rep- resentative of the Home Missionary Society. At the seventh meeting of the Congregational Association in Sioux Falls, W. S. Bell was present. He was connected prominently with the development of Congregationalism in South Da- kota and was continued until 1890, when he was transferred to Montana. At the annual meeting in Canton in 1875 a resolution inquiring whether the time had not arrived to make a movement to secure a Christian college for Dakota, was

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passed. At this time, 1875, there were in South Dakota seven local associations of Congregationalists as follows: Black Hills, Central, Dakota (Indian), Ger- man, Northern, Plankinton, and Yankton. These united formed the General Association of Congregational Churches of South Dakota. During the next few years there were organized congregations at Medary, Aurora, Watertown, Fort Pierre, Pierre, Fort Sully, Mandan, Rockport, Redfield, and elsewhere. During this period Rev. D. B. Nichols arrived. About this time Congregational work was commenced in the Black Hills by Rev. Lanson P. Norcross, a missionary sent out by the American Home Missionary Society. He reached Deadwood in No- vember, 1876, and held services the following Sabbath in the dining-room of the old Centennial Hotel. He held services also in the Inter-Ocean Hotel. Here on December 3d of the same year a Congregational Sunday School of about forty members was organized. The church organization proper was completed January 15. 1877, four women and seven men uniting by letter. This organization was effected in a carpenter shop which had no floor. In June a small frame church structure was built.

In 1878 Rev. J. W. Pickett came to the Hills as a general missionary. He visited all the towns and mining camps and preached at all places and organized Congregational societies at Lead City, Spearfish, Rapid City and elsewhere. He also organized several Sunday schools in the Southern Hills and at Rockerville. He was really the projector of the Spearfish Academy which later passed to another denomination. Mr. Pickett organized the Black Hills Association of Congregational Churches and the Black Hills Bible Society.

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History of Dakota Territory, volume III, Part 132

Author: Kingsbury, George Washington, 1837-; Smith, George Martin, 1847-1920 Publication date: 1915 Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : S.J. Clarke Publishing Company Number of Pages: 1146

Author: Kingsbury, George Washington, 1837-; Smith, George Martin, 1847-1920
Publication date: 1915
Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : S.J. Clarke Publishing Company
Number of Pages: 1146