History of Dakota Territory, volume V, Part 101

Author: Kingsbury, George Washington, 1837-; Smith, George Martin, 1847-1920
Publication date: 1915
Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : S.J. Clarke Publishing Company
Number of Pages: 1262

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Wilson C. Hicks was educated in the public schools of Prince Edward county and when nineteen years of age matriculated in a business college at Belleville, Ontario, from which he was graduated a year later. Prior to that time, however, he clerked in a store in South Bay, Ontario, thus making his initial step in the business world. After leaving college he became connected with railroad interests as station agent at Ormsby, Ontario, and in 1888 went to Manitoba as agent for the Canadian Pacific Railroad at Killarney, there remaining for about eight months. On the 12th of January, 1889, he took charge of Treherne station in Manitoba, remaining there for twelve years. He then felt entitled to a vacation and after a few months spent in following his inclinations he removed to Roscoe, South Dakota, since which time he bas been identified with this state. After a brief period spent at Roscoe he went to Java, where he arrived on the 1st of May, 1904. and there entered the banking business, buying an interest in the First State Bank of Java, Walworth county, of which he became the cashier. The bank was then capitalized for ten thousand dollars, but in 1914 the capital was raised to fifteen thousand dollars and the institution now has a surplus and undivided profits of five thousand dollars. Mr. Hicks is still cashier and manager of the bank with F. B. Gannon as the president and Jacob Helm as assistant cashier. They conduct a general banking business, make loans and collections and also do an insurance business, representing several fire, tornado and hail insurance companies. Mr. Hicks is also interested in real estate and to quite an extent the bank negotiates farm loans.

On the 23d of April, 1890, Mr. Hicks was married at Treherne, Manitoba, Canada, to Miss Emily Parker, a daughter of John and Elizabeth (Palmer) Parker, natives of England, who in early life went to Ontario, Canada, where they were married. To Mr. and Mrs. Hicks have been born three children. Ethel Margaret, born March 17, 1891, is the wife of John K. MeGuire, now living in Saskatchewan, Canada. George Wilson, horn September 15, 1896, and Charles Lewis, born February 10, 1903, are both attending school.

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Fraternally Mr. Hicks is connected with Java Lodge. No. 177, A. F. & A. M., and has filled all of the chairs, and was district deputy grand master in Canada. He also belongs to the Odd Fellows lodge at Treherne and he has membership in the Elks Lodge No. 1046 at Aberdeen, and with the Modern Woodmen and the Yeomen at Java. In politics he is a democrat and for three years filled the office of town treasurer of Java. He is an advocate of good roads, a supporter of many movements pertaining to the general welfare and is a most progressive business man, his energy and enterprise constituting a dynamic force in the business development of Walworth county.

WILLIAM J. JONES.

More than forty years have passed since William J. Jones became a resident of South Dakota and throughout the intervening period to the present he has been identified with business interests in Minnehaha county, where he still owns the old homestead which he secured in 1873, as well as much other property. He was born in Breconshire, Wales, December 14, 1838, and in 1842 was brought to the United States by his parents, who, making their way to the middle west, settled upon a farm in Kenosha county, Wisconsin. Remaining under the parental roof until seventeen years of age, William J. Jones divided his time between the acquirement of a common-school education and the work of the fields. In the spring of 1856 he started out to make his own way in the world and was employed as a farm hand through the summer, while in the succeeding winter he worked in the pine woods near Green Bay, Wisconsin.

The summer of 1857 witnessed his removal to Allamakee county, Iowa, where he again resumed farm work, being thus engaged nntil the spring of 1859, when he joined with the Argonauts who made their way to Pike's Peak in search of the Golden Fleece. The success that he had wished for did not erown his efforts there, however, and in the fall of the same year he returned to Allamakee county. Subsequently he went to the north Wisconsin pine woods on the Chippewa river and in the spring of 1860 he proceeded down the Mississippi on a raft. Finally, however, he returned to lowa, locating at Clarinda, Page county, where he was employed on a farm, remaining there until the spring of 1861, when he contracted to drive an ox team to Denver, Colorado, and return.

When that task was completed, Mr. Jones offered his services to the government, enlist- ing as a member of Company I, First Nebraska Infantry, with which he went to the front. He was on active duty for a time in the south and later on the plains fighting Indians, for the regiment had been transferred to the cavalry branch of the service. Mr. Jones was mustered ont as commissary sergeant at Omaha, Nebraska, on the 1st of July, 1866, and returned to his honte with a most ereditable military record, having fearlessly and faithfully defended the interests of his country, both in the south and upon the frontier. He then returned to Allamakee county and purchased a farmn. Abont that time he was united in marriage to Miss Susan R. Smith, a native of Indiana and a daughter of Reuben and Martha (Lewis) Smith. On the maternal side she is of Welsh extraction. Her paternal grandfather served for seven years in the Revolutionary war. Mrs. Jones was a girl of seven years on the removal of the family to northeastern Iowa, where she grew to womanhood and was married. She and her husband began their domestic life upon his farm in Allamakee county, where they resided for about seven years. Within that period Mr. Jones was very active in the public life of the community and served on town boards as county commissioner, as tax collector and on sehool boards, proving most eapable and faithful in the discharge of the many duties devolving upon him.

In 1873 Mr. Jones left his home in Iowa and came to South Dakota, taking up a home- stead in Brandon township, Minnehaha county, which is still in his possession. He went back and forth to his old home in Iowa until the spring of 1875, when his family removed to this state. and they have since been residents here. Mr. Jones is an extensive landowner, his holdings comprising seven hundred and twenty acres in Brandon township, four hundred and eighty acres in Clear Lake township and one hundred and sixty acres in Red Rock township, Minnehaha county; three hundred and twenty acres in Meade county; and four hundred and eighty aeres in Stanley county, this state, with an equity in another four

WILLIAM J. JONES

MRS. WILLIAM J. JONES

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hundred and eighty acre tract in the same county. He also owns three hundred and twenty acres in Montana and a quarter section in Wyoming.

To our subject and his wife have been born four children, as follows: E. O. Jones, who is a prominent attorney of Sioux Falls; Frank W., an agrieulturist residing in Fort Bennett, Stanley county; Dr. E. A. D. Jones, a leading physician and surgeon of Garretson, South Dakota; and Lena Lova, who is a noted artist of Long Beach, California. The last named is a graduate of the Chicago School of Art and studied under private tutors in New York city and California.

With the exception of one term's service as county commissioner, Mr. Jones has held no public offiees in South Dakota, but has concentrated his energies upon his private husi- ness affairs, which, capably and intelligently directed, have brought to him a gratifying measure of success. He is persistent and determined in conducting his business interests and energy and enterprise have carried him into important relations.

ADAM PRESSLER.

Adam Pressler has been engaged in the operation of a milling plant at Hosmer since 1904, the business being conducted under the name of the Hosmer Mill Company. He has also installed and is operating an electric light plant and is the owner of mercantile interests and also of valuable land holdings in his part of the state. His life reeord is an indication of what may be accomplished when there is the will to dare and to do. A native of Prussia, a realization of the opportunities offered in the new world led him to eome to America in 1874, at which time he located on a tract of wild land in what is now Hutchinson county, South Dakota. The experiences and hardships of pioneer life eon- fronted him, but with resolnte spirit he set to work to reclaim the land for the purposes of civilization and soon the wild prairie grasses were replaced by waving grain and sub- stantial harvests were annually gathered. For about thirty years Mr. Pressler lived upon his farm and as opportunity offered added to his landed possessions until he is now the owner of five hundred and sixty acres of valuable farm property. He broadened the seope of his activities when in 1903 he removed to Edmunds county and the following year he purchased the mill which he has now been operating for eleven years under the name of the Hosmer Mill Company, the excellence of the output insuring a ready sale of the product. He is also the owner of a half interest in a hardware store in Hosmer and has recently completed an electric light plant, which he is now operating in connection with the mill. His business interests are thus broad and varied and bring to him a substantial return.

In 1892 Mr. Pressler was married to Miss Barbara Goehring, a native of Prussia, and they became the parents of eleven children, eight of whom are living: Adam, who is married and resides in Hosmer; and Martha, Lydia, Emil, Melita, Esther, Huldah and Lea, all yet at home.

Mr. Pressler is a republican and has served as a member of the town board and also of the school board, which indicates that his interests have never been self-centered but extend to those things which are a matter of public concern and which involve every man's obligations to his community. In business his progress has been continuous, but his success has not been gained without self-sacrificing effort. He has worked earnestly and steadily and all that he possesses has come to him as the direet result of his per- severanee.

OSCAR A. CARLBERG.

Osear A. Carlberg, an agriculturist residing on section 3, Grand Meadow township, Minnehaha county, has lived in this state continuously for the past thirty-seven years and is a worthy representative of an honored pioneer family. His birth occurred in Chicago, Illinois, on the 8th of May, 1865, his parents being Anders and Johanna Carlherg, the former a tailor by trade. In 1877 the family eame to South Dakota, loeating permanently in Vol. V-37

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Grand Meadow township, Minnehaha county, where the father had taken up a homestead and tree claim in 1875. Here he carried on farming successfully throughout the remainder of his life, passing away in 1906, while the mother was called to her final rest in 1911. They underwent all of the hardships and privations of the early pioneers and suffered con- siderable loss during the grasshopper plague, their trees being twice destroyed by this insect. Anders Carlberg lived in Minnehaha county for about three decades and was a highly respected citizen who enjoyed an extensive and favorable acquaintance throughout the community.

Oscar A. Carlberg acquired his education in the common schools and as a boy of twelve years did a man's work in assisting his father. He was sent for provisions to Sioux Falls, which was then the nearest trading point and was the only city in this section of the country. There were no roads through the prairies and he marked his way by buffalo bones, for the grass was often higher than his head and a boy might easily he lost. He continued farming after attaining his majority and has always devoted his attention to agricultural pursuits, purchasing one hundred and sixty aeres of land in Grand Meadow township in 1901, for which he paid twenty-two hundred dollars. He improved the property to such an extent that in 1913 he was able to sell the land for eighty dollars an acre. Mr. Carlberg has won a comfortable competence through the careful conduct of his farming interests.

On the 14th of June, 1897, Mr. Carlberg was united in marriage to Miss Oline Tidemann, a daughter of Magnus Tidemann. Their children are as follows: Agnes, Arthur, Mahel, Esther, Luella, Inez, Hilma and Ernest. The first six named are attending school. Mr. Carl- berg is a republican in his political views and has served for a number of years as clerk of the school hoard. His religious faith is that of the Lutheran church. Hunting and fishing afford him recreation and he also finds much pleasure in other out-of-door sports. He is a familiar figure in the community in which he has so long resided, and those who know him respect him for his sterling personal worth, as in all relations of life he measures up to the full standard of honorable, upright manhood.

ALBERT CHAUSSEE.

Albert Chaussee, who is an enterprising and progressive farmer of Fairview township, Clay county, was born in Jefferson county, South Dakota, October 14, 1863, a son of Michel and Alice (King) Chaussee, hoth natives of Canada of French descent. Upon leaving the Dominion they settled in Iowa and in 1863 removed to South Dakota, locating in Union county, where the father took up a homestead. He followed agricultural pursuits throughout his lifetime and won success in that occupation. He passed away in 1889 and the mother died ten years later. They were the parents of twelve children, of whom our subject is the next to the youngest.

Albert Chaussee was reared upon his father's farm and attended school when he had the opportunity until he was thirteen years of age. From that time until he was a young man of twenty-three years he devoted his attention to the work of the homestead and then rented land, which he cultivated for five years. At the end of that time he went to Nebraska and rented a farm there which he operated for twelve years. In 1909 he returned to South Dakota and purchased one hundred and sixty acres of fine land in Clay county five miles northeast of Vermillion. Since his return to this state he has resided upon that farm and he has brought it to a high state of development. He uses modern methods and machinery in the cultivation of the fields and as he also studies the market carefully he is able to sell to advantage.

Mr. Chaussee has been twice married, his first union being with Miss Ruth Witherker, a native of Wisconsin, who hecame his wife in 1884. Four children were born to them. Two died in infancy, Edward is a resident of Duluth, Minnesota, and Herbert is still at home. The wife and mother died in 1898 and in 1902 Mr. Chaussee married Mrs. Georgia (Canton) Telia, a native of Canada and a daughter of Peter Canton. To her and her first husband, Peter Telia, were born three children: Doss, a resident of Sioux City, Iowa, and

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an inspector for the Federal government; Marie, the wife of Joe Carey, a farmer of Elk Point, South Dakota; and Georgia, at home.

Mr. Chaussee is a republican but does not consider himself bound to follow the dictates of party leaders if his judgment counsels otherwise. He has served as road overseer and takes a lively interest in the affairs of local government. He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and has many friends not only in that organization but wherever he is known.

CHRISTIAN CALNEYER FLEISCHER, D. D. S.

Dr. Christian Calmeyer Fleischer, a prominent and successful dentist of Sioux Falls, was horn in La Crosse, Wisconsin, in 1875. He is a son of Frederick and Josephine (Johnson) Fleischer, the former a native of Norway. He came to America in 1861 and died in 1878. His wife survives him and makes her home in Sioux Falls.

Dr. Fleischer acquired his early education in the public schools of La Crosse and later attended the Chicago Dental College, from which he was graduated in 1898 with the degree of D. D. S. He located first at La Crosse and there remained until 1901, when he removed to Sioux Falls, where he has since engaged in practice. He has built up an extensive patronage and is held in high esteem by the local public and his fellow prac- titioners.

Dr. Fleischer is a member of the Lutheran church and gives his political allegiance to the republican party. He belongs to the Elks, the Country and the Dacotah clubs and is a member of the Mystic Shrine. His attention is chiefly given to his profession and he is most conscientious in the performance of all of his duties.

CHARLES W. MORRISON, M. D.

Dr. Charles W. Morrison is one of the leading medical practitioners of Canton, South Dakota, where he has followed his profession continuously for the past nine years, and also conducts a private hospital in the city. His birth occurred in Jefferson, Iowa, on the 15th of June, 1880, his parents being John and Mary (Graham) Morrison, natives of Ireland, who were married in that country. The mother came of Scotch parentage and bore her husband five children while they were still residing in the Emerald isle. In 1874 the family emigrated to the United States, locating in Linn county, Iowa, and removing about three years later to Greene county, that state. John Morrison, who followed general agricultural pursuits throughout his active business career, is now living retired, making his home with our subject. His wife was called to her final rest on the 15th of December, 1913.

Charles W. Morrison was reared under the parental roof and in the acquirement of an education attended the graded and high schools of Grand Junction, Iowa. In 1902 he took up the study of medicine, entering the medical department of Drake University of Des Moines, Iowa, from which institution he was graduated with the class of 1906. In the spring of the latter year he located in Canton, South Dakota, and during the inter- vening nine years has built up an extensive practice there. He also conducts a private hospital, containing ten beds, on the second floor of the Syndicate hlock, and is widely recognized as a prominent medical practitioner of the community. Dr. Morrison keeps in touch with other members of his profession through the medium of the Seventh District of South Dakota Medical Society, the South Dakota State Medical Society, the Sioux Valley Medical Society and the American Medical Association. He has the personality, address and firm but gentle manner so essential in the sick room, and these qualities, when united with his skill as a diagnostician, explain the steady growth of his practice.

On the 25th of December, 1907, Dr. Morrison was united in marriage to Miss Clara M. Pimlott, of Des Moines, Iowa. He is a stalwart champion of the cause of education and for three years served on the school board, acting as its president during one year of that period. He helongs to the Canton Commercial Club and is a public-spirited,

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progressive and representative resident of the city. His religious faith is indicated by his membership in the Methodist Episcopal church, while his wife belongs to the Christian church. He is well informed on all the vital questions and general interests of the day, yet his attention chiefly centers npon his professional duties, which are discharged with a conscientious sense of obligation and an ability that renders him one of the more successful among the younger members of the medical fraternity in South Dakota.

DRS. GEORGE P. AND LEONA A. DIX.

Dr. George P. Dix is engaged in the practice of dentistry in partnership with his daughter, Dr. Leona A. Dix, and both are ranked among the prominent and able repre- sentatives of their profession in Aberdeen. The father was born in Schoolcraft, Michigan, October 1, 1842, and is a son of S. R. Dix, who moved to Wisconsin with his family about the year 1845. He was a tinner and followed his trade in addition to operating a hotel.

Dr. George P. Dix acquired a public-school education and afterward studied dentistry, beginning the practice of his profession in Wisconsin, where he remained for four years. He was one of the pioneers in Dakota, coming overland with ox teams in 1870, at a time when there were no railroads in the territory. He established himself in practice at Yankton and also took up government land in Hutchinson county, where his family resided for some time. He removed to Rockport, South Dakota, in 1879 and to Mitchell in 1882, where for a number of years he was engaged in the practice of his profession. In 1902 he located in Aberdeen, where he has since resided, gaining during the period of his residence there a high place in professional and social circles. His daughter, Dr. Leona A. Dix, is also a member of the dental profession and her ability in her chosen field of work is acknowledged.

In 1868 Dr. George P. Dix was united in marriage to Miss Lucy A. Bangs, of Columbus, Wisconsin, who died in March, 1912. Dr. and Mrs. Dix became the parents of three children: Dr. Leona A., of this review; George Edgar, a traveling salesman residing in Chicago; and Alfred J., born in December, 1885. The last named is a graduate of the Northwestern Dental College of Chicago and is engaged in practice in Mitchell, South Dakota, where he also condnets the opera house.

The family are members of the Methodist church and Dr. George P. Dix belongs to the Elks, the Masons and the Grand Army of the Republic. He has lived in South Dakota for a period of forty-six years and has witnessed a great deal of its development and growth, his activities having been accounted important forces in progress in the various communities in which he has resided. In Aberdeen he is known as a capable dentist and a public-spirited and progressive citizen and is held in high esteem. He is, moreover, entitled to honor as a veteran of the Civil war, having served as a member of Company A, Seventh Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry.

GUST OLSEN.

Gust Olsen, one of the leading agriculturists and prosperous citizens of Minnehaha county, has continuously resided on his present home farm on section 34. Highland township, during the past thirty-eight years, and is now an extensive landowner. His birth occurred in Sweden on the 11th of January, 1848, his father being Olans Callander, who passed away in that country. He was reared under the parental roof and received his education in the common schools. In 1868 he crossed the Atlantic to the United States, landing in New York on the 19th of July of that year. Thence he made his way to Chicago. He had learned the trade of a blacksmith in Sweden and on reaching Chicago went to work at that occupation in the Rock Island Railroad shops. Two years later he entered the employ of the American Bridge Company, and it was while in the service of that concern that he had the distinction of welding the largest bar ever used in bridge work across the Missouri

MR. AND MRS. GUST OLSEN

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river. At the end of about two months, however, be left that employ and returned to the Rock Island Company, working in their Chicago shops until 1876.

In the spring of that year Mr. Olsen came to South Dakota and immediately after his arrival preempted his present home farm. His cash capital consisted of one hundred dollars, but after buying some boards to roof his sod house and after building a little fence and breaking five acres of ground, his funds were exhausted. With the dauntless spirit of yonth, however, he still pressed forward in the direction of his goal. He made his way to Lincoln county, where he secured work in the harvest field, being employed at a wage of two dollars per day. At the end of two and a half days, however, the grasshoppers drove the laborers from the field. Mr. Olsen was three times obliged to cover a distance of about thirty-six miles on foot before he was finally paid for his work. As the years have passed, however, prosperity has crowned his efforts and as an agriculturist he has met with a well deserved measure of success, At the present time he owns three hundred and twenty acres of land in Highland township, Minnehaha county, and two hundred and sixty-five acres lying across the road in Minnesota, as well as an entire section in Kidder county, North Dakota. For a period of twelve years he was successfully engaged in business as a hardware and imple- ment merchant of Sherman. He is likewise a stockholder in the Farmers Elevator Company of Sherman and the Garretson Land & Investment Company.

Mr. Olsen has been married twice. In 1874 he wedded Miss Lena Lee, of Chicago, who was a native of Norway and by whom he had twelve children, six of whom survive. The wife and mother passed away in June, 1893, and the following year Mr. Olsen was again married. his second union being with Miss Gertrude Hanem, who was also born in Norway. To them have been born eleven children, ten of whom survive and all of whom are still at home with the exception of the oldest.

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History of Dakota Territory, volume V, Part 101

Author: Kingsbury, George Washington, 1837-; Smith, George Martin, 1847-1920 Publication date: 1915 Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : S.J. Clarke Publishing Company Number of Pages: 1262

Author: Kingsbury, George Washington, 1837-; Smith, George Martin, 1847-1920
Publication date: 1915
Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : S.J. Clarke Publishing Company
Number of Pages: 1262