History of Dakota Territory, volume V, Part 124

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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Elmo W. Dunn was educated in the public schools and high school and when his text- books were put aside concentrated his efforts upon general agricultural pursuits. The old homestead upon which he was reared is still in possession of the family but his mother is now living in Flandreau. When nineteen years of age he began farming on his own account, being given his present place by his parents, who in 1882 purchased a relinquishment of it. He is now busily, actively and successfully engaged in farming three hundred and fifty-five acres of rich and valuable land, which is also well stocked, for he has upon the place one hundred head of cattle and twenty head of horses. He employs three men to assist him in carrying on the farm work, which is conducted along progressive lines, bringing to him sub- stantial prosperity.

On the 19th of October, 1904, Mr. Dunn married Miss Myrtie Daily, a daughter of Wil- liam Daily, a pioneer. The children of this marriage are Wilna, William and Mildred. The religious faith of the family is that of the Methodist church and the political belief of Mr. Dunn is that of the republican party. Fraternally he is connected with the Odd Fellows. He has never sought nor desired political office, but is a public-spirited, progressive citizen who favors many plans and measures for the general good. He is a stalwart champion of the good roads movement and his interest in South Dakota's development has been manifest in many tangible and helpful ways.

DON E. HOPKINS.

Among the successful business men of Presho, Lyman county, is Don E. Hopkins, who does the most extensive loan, land and abstract business in the county. He was born in York, Nebraska, August 31, 1885, a son of George Hopkins, who was born in Cambridge- shire, England, but emigrated to the United States in 1866 and settled in Shenandoah, Iowa, whence he removed to Nebraska, where he died in 1912. He was a clothing merchant and won a gratifying measure of success in business. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Margaret Dickey, is a native of Pennsylvania and is now living at Presho. They were the parents of three children, of whom the subject of this review is the second in order of birth.

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Don E. Hopkins attended the York (Neb.) high school and also the York Business Col- lege, after which he entered the Northwestern University at Evanston, Illinois, which con- ferred upon him the degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1908. On leaving school he located in Minneapolis and engaged in the lumber business there for about a year, but at the end of that time came to South Dakota, locating at Presho, where he took charge of an abstract business, which he purchased in 1913. In addition to the abstract business he deals in land and in loans and has gained a large patronage as he is energetic, possesses excellent judg- ment and keeps informed as to local business conditions. He also owns valuable farm lands in Lyman county and is one of the substantial men of Presho.

On the 1st of June, 1911, occurred the marriage of Mr. Hopkins and Miss Agnes Regnier, of Marshall. Minnesota, a daughter of Joseph I. and Zepherine Regnier.

Mr. Hopkins is a republican and takes the interest of a good citizen in public affairs although he is not an office seeker. He is identified with the Masonic order and is also a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon, a college fraternity. He has always been fond of outdoor sports and while in college played on his class football team and also on the baseball team. When he can spare the time from his business he goes hunting and fishing and finds that such recreation increases his efficiency as well as affords him pleasure. He is greatly in favor of good roads and, in fact, cooperates in all movements seeking the community advancement, as he possesses marked public spirit. His success is based upon integrity and enterprise and personally he is popular.

GRANVILLE H. TWINING, M. D.

Dr. Granville H. Twining, a physician and surgeon of Mobridge, was born in Adams county, Iowa, on the 25th of July, 1876, a son of Lauriston and Laura (Bodkin) Twining, the former a native of Iowa City, Iowa, and the latter of Piqua, Ohio. The paternal grand- father, the Rev. E. W. Twining, was a Methodist minister and was one of the well known pioneer divines of Iowa. Lauriston Twining after pursuing a course in the Iowa State Uni- versity studied law under J. F. MeJunkin, was admitted to the har and practiced for many years in Corning and Des Moines, Iowa, making a specialty of real-estate law. His two brothers, J. L. and Edward Twining, were physicians. The father died in 1895 but the mother survives and makes her home in Des Moines.

Broad educational advantages were accorded Dr. Twining, who supplemented his public- school course hy study in the Northwestern University at Evanston, Illinois. where he was graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Science in the class of 1905, while the degree of Master of Science was conferred upon him by the same institution in 1906. In the fall of the latter year he entered the medical department of the lowa State University, where he pursued a two years' course and then matriculated in Rush Medical College of Chicago, which he also attended for two years, being graduated with the class of 1910. He afterward received the appointment to the position of interne in the Presbyterian Hospital of Chicago under Dr. A. D. Bevan. This gave him broad and valuable experience such as can be gained in no other way as well as in hospital work. He next entered the service of the Milwaukee Railroad Company in its hospital at St. Joe, Idaho, but accepted this only as a temporary position preparatory to locating in Mobridge, to which place he removed in June, 1911. He has since had charge of the Mobridge Hospital, which institution is conducted by the employes of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad Company. Dr. Twining acts as district sur- geon for the road and in addition to his hospital work has built up an extensive private practice and has won an enviable and well deserved reputation as an able and successful prac- titioner and a skilled surgeon. During the Spanish-American war he served in the Philip- pines in the capacity of hospital steward. He enlisted in Des Moines as a member of Company H and subsequently was transferred to the medical department. His enlistment immediately followed his high-school graduation and his experience in the Philippines no doubt shaped his entire career. His professional connections are with the Aberdeen District Med- ical Society, the South Dakota State Medical Society and the American Medical Association and thus he keeps in touch with the advancement and with the improved methods of the medical fraternity.

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On the 24th of June, 1911, Dr. Twining was united in marriage to Miss Wilhelmina M. Sommer, of Chicago, Illinois. In his political views Dr. Twining is a republican and his religious faith is that of the United church. while his wife is a member of the Lutheran church. His fraternal connections are with Mobridge Lodge, No. 164, A. F. & A. M .; Selby Chapter, No. 43, R. A. M .; Damascus Commandery, No. 10, K. T .. of Aberdeen; and Yelduz Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S., of Aberdeen. He is likewise a member of Aberdeen Lodge, No. 1046, B. P. O. E .. and Mobridge Lodge, No. 205, I. O. O. F. His professional work has ever been of increasing importance and responsibility and his broad study and experience have enabled him to meet his duties in a most efficient manner. His work is always conscien- tiously performed and his ability produces results highly gratifying to his patrons.

J. KNAPP BROWN.

J. Knapp Brown, president and general manager of Knapp Brown & Company, auto- mobile distributors, has made his home in Sioux Falls continuously since 1907 and for the past three years has been engaged in his present line of business. He is a native son of the city of St. Louis, Missouri, his birth having there occurred on Christmas Day of 1880. His parents are William E. and Elizabeth (Knapp) Brown, the former a native of Athens, Ohio, and now a resident of Fort Madison, Iowa, where he is engaged in the lumher business as manager of the Hawkeye Lumber Company. He is a son of Daniel T. Brown, a native of the state of New York.

In 1885 William E. Brown removed with his family to Fort Madison, Iowa, and there J. Knapp Brown pursued his education, putting aside his textbooks at the age of eighteen years. He remained at Fort Madison through the ensuing four years and subsequently went upon the road as a traveling salesman out of Minneapolis for the National Biscuit Company for three years. On the expiration of that period he came to Sioux Falls in 1907 and three years later, or in 1910, he began dealing in automobiles, selling the Franklin machine exclusively. The growth of this business is manifest in his trade. He annually places a large number of machines among townsmen and farmers of his part of the state. He is prepared to talk intelligently upon the subject, thoroughly understanding the manufacture of the Franklin machine and its many good points. In December, 1914, Knapp Brown & Company removed to their up-to-date fireproof garage in the Bleeg building on Ninth street, where their business is now conducted.

On the 29th of January, 1912, at Sioux Falls, Mr. Brown was united in marriage to Miss Marguerite Booth. They attend the Episcopal church and Mr. Brown belongs to the Dacotah and the New Country Clubs. He is well known in Masonic circles as a Scottish Rite Mason and a Mystic Shriner. His position upon political questions is never an equivocal one, earnest support being given to the republican party. His business activities are the paramount interest in his life, yet the duties of citizenship are never neglected and he cooperates in many movements for the welfare of Sioux Falls.

HARRY A. DIXSON.

Harry A. Dixson, the president of the First State Bank of Presho, South Dakota, is also interested in other business enterprises of his section and is recognized as a leader in finan- cial and commercial circles of Lyman county. His birth occurred in Seaforth, Canada, May 20, 1866, and he is a son of Samuel and Carrie A. (Smith) Dixson. The father came to the United States from Canada and located in Maquoketa, Iowa, where he engaged in the stock business for some time. He subsequently removed to Dubuque and for twenty-five years traveled for the well known house, Sprague, Warner & Company. He is now engaged in the hotel business at Mankato, Minnesota, and is also vice president of the State Bank of Presbo. To him and his wife have been born seven children, of whom our subject is the eldest.

Harry A. Dixson received his education in the Sabula (Ia.) schools and began his busi- ness career by clerking in a store at Monticello, Iowa. Later he traveled from Dubuque for

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M. M. Walker & Company for ten years, after which he was in the hotel business in Decorah, Iowa, for six years. In 1905 he located in Watertown, South Dakota, and conducted the Arcade Hotel for about a year, but in 1906 removed to Presho and not long after arriving there bought the controlling interest in the First State Bank, of which he was made presi- dent. He has filled that important position continuously since and the success of the bank is due largely to his knowledge of business conditions and his sound judgment. His ability is generally recognized and his integrity is unquestioned. In addition to his interest in the First State Bank he is a stockholder in the Dupree State Bank and owns the Farmers Elevator at Presho. He has a ranch of four hundred and eighty acres, controls a thousand acres, which is stocked with three thousand sheep, one hundred and fifty cattle and one hundred horses, and also has another ranch of similar size, on which he has raised six thousand bushels of grain. His various interests return him a handsome income.

Mr. Dixson was married on the 10th of June, 1896, to Miss Lotta A. Francisco, a daughter of Andrew J. and Lena (Ousley) Francisco, of Boscobel, Wisconsin. Mr. Dixson gives his political allegiance to the progressive republican party and served as a delegate to the state convention in 1912. His religious faith is that of the Christian Science church and frater- nally he is identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He is fond of all outdoor sports, especially hunting and fishing, and finds that he can work more efficiently when he takes needed recreation. He is heartily in favor of the good roads movement and is always ready to do all in his power to promote the advancement of the general welfare. He has great faith in the future of South Dakota and owes much of his success to the fact that he has demonstrated his confidence in the state by making investments within its borders.

HON. I. C. TAYLOR.

Hon. I. C. Taylor, the period of whose residence in South Dakota covers more than a third of a century, is one of the foremost citizens of Egan, where he is now serving for the fifth term as mayor. His birth occurred in Blackhawk county, Iowa, on the 30th of October, 1857, his parents being Samuel S. and Margaret (Clark) Taylor, who were born, reared and married in Bedford county, Pennsylvania. They removed to Iowa in 1852 and purchased a farm in Blackhawk county, that state. In the fall of 1880 they came to South Dakota, Samuel S. Taylor buying a farm which adjoins the present town limits of Egan. He erected a commodious hotel building in Egan in 1881 and for about twenty years conducted a suc- cessful and popular hostelry. Our subject wrecked the structure in 1909. When Samuel S. Taylor passed away in Egan, in 1905, the community mourned the loss of one of its most esteemed and substantial citizens. His widow still survives and makes her home in Sioux Falls.

I. C. Taylor was reared in his parents' home in the Hawkeye state and acquired his education in the public schools. As a young man he clerked in his father's hotel at Jesup, Iowa, and after coming to South Dakota was associated with his father in the hotel business at Egan for a number of years. In subsequent years Mr. Taylor has been successfully engaged in the real-estate business and in the breeding of registered shorthorn cattle. He is a heavy landowner in Moody county, owning several farms there, and also owns lands in Hamlin county, South Dakota, and in Minnesota, as well as city property in Los Angeles, California. A man of excellent executive ability and keen discernment, success has attended his business undertakings and he has long been numbered among the prosperous and leading citizens of his community.

In 1891 Mr. Taylor was united in marriage to Miss Carrie Keller, who was born, reared and educated in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They have become the parents of seven children, as follows: Hortense, who is the wife of H. W. Farris, of Los Angeles, California; Lottie; Ethel; Edith; Marie; Nellie; and Natalie. The family has permanent residence in Los Angeles, where the daughters are being educated.

Mr. Taylor gives his political allegiance to the republican party and is now serving for the fifth term as mayor of Egan, his reelections standing in incontrovertible proof of his popularity and capability as city executive. He has instituted and inaugurated many movements of a beneficial nature and his administration has been characterized by progress,

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reform and improvement along various lines. A constantly broadening mind and social disposition have rendered him popular and he is well known among the best and most influen- tial people of his community, who entertain for him the warm personal regard which is always given genuine worth.

FRED McPHERSON NEWMAN, M. D.

Dr. Fred McPherson Newman, a leading and prosperous citizen of Lyman county, South Dakota, has been actively engaged in the practice of medicine at Presho during the past decade, also owns the city's largest drug store and is now serving as its mayor. His birth occurred in Clarksville, Iowa, on the 25th of January, 1873, his parents being Hiram and Euphemia (Gabby) Newman, who were natives of Ohio and Pennsylvania respectively. The father made his way to Iowa in 1858, covering the distance of ninety miles from Dubuque to his homestead on foot and becoming one of the pioneer agriculturists of the state. His demise occurred in 1909, when he had attained the age of eighty-two years, while his wife passed away in 1912, when sixty-nine years old. They became the parents of five children, of whom our subject was the fourth born. His surviving sister, Mary, is the wife of Oscar Heiserman, of West Union, Iowa, and he also had two half brothers: Frank, who is deceased; and Granville, a resident of Vienna, South Dakota.

Fred McPherson Newman acquired his early education in the grammar and high schools of his native town and subsequently attended the University of Iowa for two years, while later he spent a similar period as a student in the Northwestern University of Chicago, which institution conferred upon him the degree of M. D. in 1903. He had devoted two years to preparatory work in Cornell College of Mount Vernon, Iowa, and acquired a liberal education through his own efforts, earning the money with which to pay his expenses. Well qualified for the practice of his chosen profession, he opened an office at Rembrandt and at the end of a year went to Stacyville, Iowa, where he spent another period of twelve months. In 1905 he removed to Presho, South Dakota, which place has since remained the scene of his professional labors and where he has been accorded a gratifying and growing practice that now covers a territory many miles in extent. He is widely recognized as an able and success- ful representative of the profession and keeps in close touch with its steady advance through his membership in the district and state medical societies and the American Medical Asso- ciation. The financial success that has come to him is indicated in the fact that he is now the proprietor of Presho's largest drug store and also owns a half section of land in Lyman county.

On the 29th of June, 1904, Dr. Newman was united in marriage to Miss Maggiebell, daughter of Edward Lonie, of Stacyville, Iowa. They have two children, Fred Kenneth and Ruth Nedra. Politically the Doctor is a progressive republican but at local elections casts an independent ballot. His fellow townsmen have honored him by election to the office of mayor and his administration has brought many needed reforms and improvements. He is a worthy exemplar of the Masonic fraternity, belonging to Butler Lodge, No. 84, A. F. & A. M., of Clarksville, Butler county, Iowa, and he is also a charter member of Alpha Omega Alpha. In both professional and social circles of the community he enjoys an enviable reputation.

THOMAS J. BALL.

Thomas J. Ball, postmaster of Mitchell, was born in Dublin, Ireland, on the 17th of May, 1851, a son of John and Sarah Ball, both of whom have passed away. He was educated in the public schools of his native land but when fourteen years of age left home and crossed the Atlantic to the United States, locating in Jersey City. Two years later he removed to Mas- sachusetts and after residing there for a year went to Montreal, Canada, where he remained for a year. In 1871 he arrived in Chicago and lived in the neighborhood of that city for ten years and was there married. His next removal was to Algona, Iowa, but after remaining there

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for a year and a half he came to South Dakota, locating near the James river in the vicinity of the present site of Mitchell. At that time. however, the city had not been located. He opened a small hardware store on the river and when the railroad came through and Mitchell was established he moved his stock to the new town, which he helped to found. He drove many of the stakes when the streets were laid out and was otherwise connected with the development of Mitchell. He had great faith in the future of the new town and when he met Senator Ed Johnson he immediately told him of the prosperous city that was destined to grow up on the prairie. He was engaged in the hardware business in Mitchell for two years, but at the end of that time disposed of his stock and entered the real-estate field. Six years later he was appointed mail carrier by President Cleveland and held that position for two decades. He was one of the first carriers in the city and was also one of the most efficient and most popular. His long connection with the postoffice familiarized him with many phases of work and it was generally admitted that President Wilson made a wise appointment when Mr. Ball was made postmaster of Mitchell. He is the present incumbent and the mails are handled promptly and accurately. He is systematic in all that he does and the work of the office is always done at the proper time and in an efficient manner.

Mr. Ball was married in April, 1874, to Miss Hattie Christina Carlson, and their chil- dren are: Dr. W. R. Ball, of Mitchell; Sadie, who is now Mrs. Charles Weller; Nellie, the wife of Frank Shepperd; and Inez M., who married Judge William Herbert, of Mitchell.

Mr. Ball is a democrat and is stanch in his support of that party. His religious faith is indicated by his membership in the Episcopal church and fraternally he is connected with the Woodmen, the Workmen, the Odd Fellows and the Knights of Pythias. While operating in the real-estate field he erected one hundred and ninety houses in Mitchell, which he sold, thus inducing people to settle in the city. He owns one hundred and sixty acres of good land and is quite well-to-do. He is well known throughout his section of the state and his ability and integrity inspire confidence in all who are acquainted with him.

JOEL WEBSTER PARKER.

In the later years of his life Joel Webster Parker was a man of patriarchal appearance. His hair was silvered over and his long flowing white beard made him seem venerable but "though the snows of many winters were on his head, the flowers of spring blossomed in his heart." In other words Mr. Parker remained young in spirit and in interests and his life was one of intense usefulness. For a considerable period he was closely associated with the lumber trade in Sioux Falls and that he embodied the highest principles of manhood and conduct in his business affairs was indicated by the high regard in which he was everywhere held by his contemporaries and his colleagues. He was descended in both the paternal and maternal lines from English ancestry, although both the Parker and Benham families were early established on New England soil. His maternal grand- mother was a consin to Noah Webster. His father, Joel Parker, Sr., was born in Berkshire county, Massachusetts, and wedded Mary Benham, a native of Hartford, Connecticut. They were married at Bridgewater, Oneida county, New York, and in Sangerfield, that county, their son, Joel Webster, was born March 28, 1817. Several moves were made in the Empire state, the last to the town of Jerusalem, Yates county, and thence in 1835 the family removed to New London, Huron county, Ohio.

Webster Parker, as the subject of this review was called, remained at the paternal homestead during the greater part of his youth, dividing his time between the work of the fields and his books, making good use of such opportunities for education as fell to his lot. In 1841 he left Ohio for what was then the far west and for several years traveled through the lead mining region of northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin, selling merchandise from a wagon, as was the general custom of the locality and period. He was a commercial traveler of those early days in the west, carrying not a sample case but his own stock in trade. A letter dated 1845, from one relative to another, says: "He has a very pleasant, comfortable conveyance and he drives an elegant span of horses, to which he is very much attached." It is certain that the young man received a warm welcome wherever he went in that new western country, his genial disposition winning him many friends. In 1846 he settled at Babel, Illinois, where he opened a store and a few years

JOEL W. PARKER

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later he engaged in farming for a time. But the mercantile business better suited his inclinations and in 1852 he located at Warren, Jo Daviess county, Illinois, where be soon developed a profitable business, in which he engaged for sixteen years, conducting a general store. In 1868 he removed to Hillsboro, Vernon county, Wisconsin, where he was the proprietor of a general store until 1875, when he went to Millston, Jackson county, Wis- consin. At that place he engaged not only in merchandising but also in the lumber business. That move, however, was made only as a temporary one and in 1879 he came to Dakota and established his home in Sioux Falls, which was then a little village upon the frontier and gave little promise of becoming the progressive, enterprising city which it is today. Here he entered into partnership with his son, James W. Parker, for the conduct of a lumberyard, business being carried on under the firm name of J. W. Parker & Son. With the admission of James W. Leverett to the firm the style of the Sioux Falls Lumber Company was assumed and the business during the lifetime of James W. Parker was conducted under that name. In 1886, Mr. Parker disposed of his interest and devoted his efforts largely to the management of his investments and property holdings. Success attended him upon the journey of life because his methods were reliable, his enterprise unfaltering and his judgment sound and discriminating. Of slight physique, but endowed with indomitable energy and courage, he faced bravely the exigencies of business life.

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History of Dakota Territory, volume V, Part 124

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