History of Dakota Territory, volume V, Part 129

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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In Hamilton, New York, in 1870, Judge Keith was united in marriage to Miss Mary Spear, and they became the parents of three children: Flora; Albert J., a practicing attorney of Sioux Falls; and Edwin S., who is living in Bremerton, Washington.

Judge Keith was a thirty-second degree Mason and past exalted ruler and distriet deputy of the Elks. He was also an active member of the Baptist church, and gave willing and valuable assistance to the pastor and to the building committee at the time of the construction of the new house of worship. He held the position of trustee of the Colgate University of New York and for a number of years was a member of the board of trustees of the Sioux Falls College. His death occurred July 22, 1910. His residence in Sioux Falls had covered the period of its greatest growth and most substantial development. He was much interested in all that affected its welfare and upbuilding and ofttimes his example was a guiding spirit for others in relation to public affairs. He belonged to that class of men who have come from the east to the northwest and have been prominent in the

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upbuilding of a great empire in this section of the country, bringing with them the experience of the east, its knowledge and its culture and adding thereto the indomitable energy and enterprise which have led to the rapid and substantial development of this section.

JOHN F. WHITLOCK.

John F. Whitlock, of Gettysburg, is at present representing the thirty-sixth district in the state senate, in which position he is now serving his fifth term. He is also prominent in business and financial circles, being president of the Potter County Bank at Gettysburg and the owner of considerable land in South Dakota. He was born in Fulton county, New York, Fehrnary 5, 1858, a son of George W. and Fanny (Bonte) Whitlock, also natives of the Empire state. On removing westward the family located in Livingston county, Illinois, where the father carried on agricultural pursuits until his demise. The mother also died in that state.

John F. Whitlock is the youngest in a family of six children and after attending the public schools in Livingston county became a student in the State University of Illinois at Champaign. In the fall of 1882 he came to South Dakota. In 1910 he removed to Gettys- burg, and since 1912 he has been president of the Potter County Bank at that place. His duties in that connection require much of his time and he spares no effort in looking after the interests of the institution, which does a large general banking business.

Mr. Whitlock is a republican and is now serving his fifth term as a member of the state legislature. He has proved an efficient worker for the good of the public, both in committee rooms and on the floor of the senate, and his record is one that is highly creditable to him. Fraternally he is a Mason, belonging to the blue lodge at Gettysburg, of which he is past master; the chapter at Fanlkton; and the commandery at Aberdeen.

SENATOR ALFRED BEARD KITTREDGE.

The life record of Senator Alfred Beard Kittredge was one which reflected signal credit and honor upon the state which honored him. He was the first man through whom South Dakota gained distinction in international relations, coming through his appointment as a member of the interoceanic canals committee. In every important position in which he was found he rose equal to the occasion and became a guiding and directing force in shaping public opinion and action. It has been said: "The biography of A. B. Kittredge and the history of South Dakota for twenty-five years are one and inseparable."

It is claimed that one cannot properly estimate or analyze character without knowing of the ancestry back of the individual. Senator Kittredge was fortunate in that he came of ancestry honorable and distinguished and he was fortunate in that his lines of life were cast in harmony therewith. The records give account of his lineage as far back as 1590. It is traced in unbroken line on the maternal side to Nicholas Clapp, who was born in 1612 and who died at Dorchester, Massachusetts, November 24, 1679. On the paternal side he . was descended from Dr. John Kittredge, who was born in England in 1620 and reached the shores of the new world in 1660. Among the connections of the Kittredge family were those who in 1593, for meritorious achievements and high station in life, were granted a coat of arms by the crown: a sable shield, with a lion d'or rampant; the crest a mural coronet over which rests a gold lion's head in profile, facing the left. On the streamer beneath the shield appears the motto: "Ne Pars Sincera Trahetur"-"Let naught that is good be lost." This coat of arms is still in possession of the Kittredge family and is prized very highly by them. In the maternal line Senator Kittredge was connected with the Livermores and Shermans, prominent New England families. Dr. John Kittredge, who became the founder of the American line, settled at Billerica, Massachusetts, in 1660 and participated in King Philip's war, 1675. He figured prominently in early colonial history and passed away in 1676. His son, Dr. John Kittredge, Jr., also took an active and leading

JOHN F. WHITLOCK

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part in the early wars of the colonists, while another ancestor, Jonathan Kittredge, won distinction in the hard fought Indian battle at Lovewell's Pond, in Wakefield, Massachusetts, on the 15th of April, 1775, losing his life in that engagement. Others of the name also won distinetion in the early colonial wars and in connection with professional and business interests. The third generation in America was represented by John Kittredge, who became a physician, and all of his eight sons followed in his professional footsteps.

Joshua Kittredge, the great-grandfather of Senator Kittredge, was born in Billerica, Massachusetts, in 1760 or 1761 and prior to the war for independence removed to Mount Vernon, New Hampshire, where he joined the Revolutionary forces in 1777 with a company of volunteers, being at the time but seventeen years of age. When American liberty had been achieved he settled at Nelson, New Hampshire, where he married and in 1833 passed away. His son Herbert was married in 1828 to Sarah Livermore and they became the grandparents of Senator Kittredge. His grandparents in the maternal line were Henry and Laura (Beard) Holmes. The two families were united through the marriage of Russell Herbert Kittredge and Laura Frances Holmes. They became the parents of two sons and two daughters: Professor H. W. Kittredge, of Westfield, Massachusetts; Mrs. Fanny K. Pearson, of Gardner, Massachusetts; Mrs. Mary Hall, of Wakefield, Massa- chusetts; and Alfred Beard. The father is still living, at an advanced age, at East Jaffrey, New Hampshire.

It was while the family home was maintained in the village of Nelson, Cheshire county, New Hampshire, that Senator Kittredge was born March 28, 1861. He spent the first fourteen years of his life upon the old homestead with the usual experiences of the farm lad. working in the field as age and strength permitted and also learning and loving every phase of nature. The men who became acquainted with nature, knowing her force, her resources and her beauties, usually place a more correct estimate on life and the work of man than those who are city bred and Senator Kittredge early learned lessons which constituted forces in his sound judgment throughout his later years. He supplemented a public-school education by study under a private tutor and then entered Yale University in June, 1878, completing a course in the academic department by graduation with the class of 1882. For a year thereafter he was a law student in the office of Judge Veasey at Rutland, Vermont, and later studied with the firm of Bachelor & Faulkner, of Keene, New Hampshire. He became a law student at Yale in 1884, completing the course in 1885, and was then admitted to the bar of Connecticut upon examination before the supreme court of the state.

Senator Kittredge was then twenty-four years of age. He heard and heeded the eall of the west, which he regarded as the land of opportunity. Moreover, ability, learning and laudable ambition fitted him for leadership and it was not surprising that when in 1885 he made his way to Sioux Falls, then a small western village, he came almost immediately into prominence. His jovial disposition and keen discernment gained him friends, while his knowledge of the law and ability to correctly apply its principles brought him imme- diate success at the bar. In addition to his practice he acted as correspondent for the St. Paul Pioneer Press and later he entered into partnership with C. H. Winsor. The rapid growth of their clientage forced him to abandon his newspaper correspondenee and he remained in partnership with Mr. Winsor until 1895, gaining a place among the foremost representatives of the bar in the state. It has been said that it is doubtful if any other lawyer of South Dakota ever won so large a percentage of his cases. He never spoke in court unless it was absolutely necessary but when he did "his English was like a stream of pure water, clear and limpid." He ever displayed inherent honesty, regard for the rights of opposing counsel, courtesy to the bench, a retentive memory, wide range of knowledge of all phases of law and an overpowering personality. He had, too, a magnificent physique and a clear, resonant voice and that his ability was widely recognized is indieated by the fact that prominent lawyers all over the state consulted him upon intricate problems.

Not only at the bar but in the public life of the state did Mr. Kittredge become a recog- nized leader. He was a stalwart republican, never wavering in his allegiance to the party, which, recognizing his ability for leadership, called him to the front ranks. In 1900 he accompanied Senator Marcus N. Hanna, of Ohio, on his great speech-making trip through South Dakota. At that time there was a most bitter contest between Senator Pettigrew and Mr. Kittredge for control of the state legislature, which would he called upon to elect a Vol. V-47

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United States senator to succeed Mr. Pettigrew. Later during Theodore Roosevelt's administration when he visited Sioux Falls and Mr. Kittredge was asked to introduce him, he showed his appreciation of the fact that the people had gathered to hear the nation's executive and no one else by the brevity of his introduction, which was only two words. Pointing to Mr. Roosevelt, he said: "the president." The crowd was astonished but applauded vociferously. Mr. Kittredge had been a resident of South Dakota for only two years when he was made chairman of the Minnehaha county republican committee. He never sought office for himself but when urged to become a candidate he accepted, believing it to he the duty of every individual to serve his country in the way in which he was called upon to do. On the 11th of July, 1901, Governor Herreid appointed Mr. Kittredge to the United States senate. Twelve years before, in 1889, Minnehaha county had elected him a member of the first state senate and had returned him to the upper house in 1891. His record as one of the state senators was unassailable, for he displayed initiative, pro- gressiveness and public spirit. In 1892 he was elected a member of the republican national committee from South Dakota and following the death of Senator Kyle, when it became neces- sary to fill the vacancy, Governor Herreid named Mr. Kittredge as the man, saying: "When by the death of Senator Kyle it became my duty to appoint a United States senator from our state, my own estimate of Mr. Kittredge as a great jurist and a man convinced me that he was the man for the place and if I appointed him that he would soon develop into a great statesman." In accepting the office Mr. Kittredge wired: "Thank you. I will do my best to bring credit to the state, party, yourself and our friends," and he lived fully up to this pledge.

Senator Kittredge determined his course upon any public question by answering the query, "What is the right thing to do?" Taking his place as a member of the United States senate, he had the unusnal distinction of being appointed to two of the most important committees-an honor that seldom comes to a new member. He was made a member of the committee on interoceanie canals and of the judiciary committee and following the death of Marcus N. Hanna, of Ohio, he was made chairman of the canal committee. This brought him into prominent relations with national and international affairs. He investigated and reported on the title to the Panama route and his report, which consisted of fifteen printed pages, was approved by the president. sanctioned by the department of justice and adopted unanimously without the alteration of a word or syllable by the United States senate. His report on the type of canal, whether a sea level or lock canal, was even a greater effort. It was one of the best scientific treatises on canal construction ever published, in which he pleaded earnestly for an "ideal canal," which should be a sea level one. As chairman of the canal commission he made a trip to Panama accompanied by Mr. Taft, then secretary of war, and a number of able engineers.

The judiciary committee, of which Senator Kittredge was made a member, handled problems of constitutional law and is usually formed of older representatives of the upper house. When the question of the lumber trust came before the people Senator Kittredge brought to the study of the problem the usual thoroughness with which he attacked any question. He never expressed himself until he was sure of his ground and for two years he quietly gathered evidence against the illegal combination and when, without previous announcement, for there was nothing spectacular in any of his public movements, he rose one day in the United States senate and offered a resolution for the investigation of the lumber trust, a profound impression was created. Not a sound was to be heard in the senate chamber for a few moments following his speech, which, without superfluous words, was an arraignment of the facts, neat and terse. It was on the 6th of December, 1906. that the original resolution calling for an investigation of the trust was offered and on the 18th of January following Senator Kittredge moved a modification of the previous resolution, which was agreed to, and in this connection he made one of his most memorable speeches. He intro- duced in the senate and aided in securing the passage of the copyright law, which protected both authors and artists in their work, and he was instrumental in securing larger pensions for the veterans of the Civil war. He stood with the opposition against Mormonism when the great question of allowing Smoot, of Utah, to retain his seat in the senate was up for settlement. He was heard as an earnest and ofttimes eloquent speaker on the floor of the senate and was frequently called upon on other occasions to address public assemblages, delivering on Memorial Day of 1907 a most masterful address at Woonsocket, South Dakota.

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In 1908 Senator Kittredge was a candidate for renomination but was defeated by Coe I. Crawford, then governor. There were many elements that entered into this, including a strong spirit of unrest in republican circles, the spread of the insurgent idea, which had its inception in the repeated successes of Robert LaFollette, of Wisconsin, and other causes. Mr. Kittredge lost, but the contest was so elose that a change of but six votes in one ward of Sioux Falls would have saved the state for him. Mr. Kittredge ever worked earnestly for the interests of the people. He stood for their interests against excessive freight and passenger rates on the railroads and delivered a great speech on the subject in the auditorium of Sioux Falls. On various occasions, as in this instance, his words awakened the warmest enthusiasm. He was sparing of words, never superfluous, carefully thinking out his utter- ances and making them count.

On the 4th of March, 1909, Senator Kittredge returned to Sioux Falls and resumed the private practice of law. He was accorded an extensive clientage, particularly in the field of corporation law, his business becoming so large that he could scarcely handle it. In October, 1910, after trying a severely contested case during which he became greatly heated, he contracted a severe cold when returning to his office in Sioux Falls and from that time on his heath failed until he passed away on the 4th of May, 1911. His funeral was attended by many distinguished men outside of Sioux Falls beside his fellow townsmen and the people of the state have honored him as they have but one other man by placing a marhle bust of him in the capitol building, while other friends contributed large sums to secure two oil paintings, one of which hangs in the state capitol at Pierre and the other in the Cataract Hotel at Sioux Falls. When the marble bust was unveiled on the 15th of January, 1913, it was made a memorable occasion in which both houses of the legislature participated. Lieutenant Governor E. L. Abel, of Huron, presided and delivered the first address. Numer- ous letters from prominent men in national life were read, among them letters from Presi- dent Taft, Senator Julius C. Burrows of Michigan, Senator Knute Nelson of Minnesota, Senator J. H. Gallinger of New Hampshire, and Congressman E. W. Martin, all speaking in the highest terms of Mr. Kittredge as a man, as a public official and as a statesman. He was a tremendous worker, whether in public life or before the bar, and his ability placed him in a most enviable position among the distinguished representatives of the northwest. Of him it has been said: "Regardless of what the future may bring Senator Kittredge will remain a great character in the history of South Dakota and will ever be revered and admired by his many friends, whom he never betrayed." No man of his ability and influence could take an active part in public life without meeting opposition, yet those who differed from him in opinion respected him for the honesty of his views and for his unfaltering allegiance to a cause which he championed. His life was honorable in its purposes and far-reaching and beneficial in its results.

JUDGE JOHN E. CARLAND.

Judge John E. Carland is now a resident of Washington, D. C., but for a considerable period was a prominent representative of the legal profession and of the judiciary in South Dakota. He was born in Oswego county, New York, December 11, 1854. and received his professional training in the law school of the State University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, being admitted to the har by the supreme court of that state in October, 1875. He after- ward spent two years in gaining practical experience in the office of Hon. John G. Hawley, a distinguished attorney of Detroit, Michigan, and in August, 1877, he removed to Bismarck, North Dakota, where he entered upon the private practice of law. His ability there was soon recognized and he became city attorney, which position he filled for about four years, while for one year he was county attorney. In April, 1885, he was elected mayor of Bismarck. but in May following received the appointment of United States district attorney for the territory of Dakota and accordingly resigned the mayoralty in order to accept the other posi- tion, which he continued to fill for about three years, or until March, 1888. At that date he was honored with appointment of associate justice of the supreme court of the territory of Dakota and hecame judge of the fourth judicial district, remaining in that connection until April, 1889, when he resigned. In May of the same year he was elected a member of the con-

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stitutional convention which framed the organic law of North Dakota. His party nominated him for the chairmanship of the convention but it was in the minority and therefore he was not elected. He took a prominent part in the deliberations of the convention, however, and was appointed chairman of the judicial department.

When the convention was over and the important work of its members was concluded Judge Carland removed to South Dakota, settling in Sioux Falls, where he entered into part- nership with T. B. MeMartin to enter upon the practice of law under the firm style of McMartin & Carland. That relation was maintained until the 23d of September, 1893, after which Judge Carland practiced alone, handling some of the most important litigation ever heard in the courts of the state. He was also employed on very important cases in the United States courts and gained prominence by winning an important verdict in the case of Fuller- ton against the Homestake Mining Company. Later he was appointed assistant United States attorney to conduct the case of the United States against the Homestake Mining Company, in which the government brought suit to recover seven hundred thousand dollars for the illegal cutting of timher belonging to the government.

On the 3d of September, 1896, he received the appointment of United States district judge for the district of South Dakota, an appointment which was very gratifying to the people generally and to the members of the bar as well, for they realized the fact that they had gained an able and upright judge for federal court service, one in whom all had the greatest confidence, resting upon his marked ability and professional integrity. He had long been numbered among the eminent lawyers of the state and he possessed in marked degree a judicial temperament, having the ability to readily analyze every case and situation and recognize the relation of fact to legal principles. Later he was appointed United States cirenit judge and now resides in Washington, D. C.

Judge Carland has ever been a genial, kind-hearted man, whose many sterling traits and characteristics have won him the esteem of all. He has left the impress of his indi- viduahty for good upon the history of South Dakota, especially in its judiciary department, and his record is well worthy of emulation by those who are called upon for judicial service.

REV. H. R. BEST, D.D.

The most widely known Baptist minister in South Dakota is the Rev. H. R. Best, pastor of the City Temple of Sioux Falls. He has continued his labors there for twelve years and his influence is immeasurable, its broadening circles making his life one of great benefit and value in the advancement of moral force in this state. Rev. Best was born in Mis- sonri a little more than forty years ago and in young manhood met all of the experiences of frontier life in western Texas. His conversion from agnosticism to Christianity turned the whole current of his life. He had hitherto had ideas of devoting his attention to the law and to politics, hut the change in his views led him to take np the work of the min- istry, his preparation therefor being largely made in Baylor University in Waco, Texas. After receiving his literary and theological training he entered upon mission work in Okla- homa under the Home Mission Society of New York city and later accepted a call to the pastorate of the First Baptist church of Nevada, Missouri. His labors there were most effective, resulting largely in a growth in the church membership, while tangible evidence of his efforts was seen in the fine church edifice erected during his pastorate.

Dr. Best went from Nevada, Missouri, to Winfield, Kansas, where his work was un- usually successful, the membership of the church being doubled and the parsonage erected. He did not confine his efforts entirely to the restricted lines of church work, but became an active factor in civic affairs and constantly gave himself to every line of progress and improvement. He served as superintendent of the great Chautauqua there and continued his labors in Winfield until he removed to Sioux Falls, becoming pastor of the First Baptist church, known as the City Temple. This is largely the creation of his own brain, the crys- tallization of his ideals. The church edifice for beauty and utility is recognized as a triumph in architecture, while the membership of the church has more than doubled, the organization being today recognized as an institution of power not only in the moral and civic life of the city and state, but even beyond the borders of South Dakota. He has made

REV. H. R. BEST. D. D.

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the church a religious magnet, and it is almost as effective in a social way, for it has become the stimulating center of a higher order of entertainment for young and old.

Dr. Best was united in marriage to Miss Lena Kinnison, of Gorman, Texas, and they have become the parents of four children: Oren M., who is in business in Sioux Falls; Frederick Virgel, a student of medicine in the University of Minnesota; Henry Randolph, who died at the age of sixteen years; and Ethel Louise.

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History of Dakota Territory, volume V, Part 129

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