History of Dakota Territory, volume V, Part 142

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 1869, in Norway, Mr. Oien was joined in wedlock to Miss Anna Kilness, by whom he has had seven children, six of whom survive, as follows: Halver, an agriculturist of Roberts county, this state; Herman and Martin, who follow farming in Minnehaha county ; Gustaf, an agriculturist residing in Montana; George, at home; and Joseph, who operates the home farm.

In his political views Mr. Oien is a stanch republican, loyally supporting the men and measures of that party. During the past fifteen or sixteen years he has served as a mem- ber of the school board, exerting his best efforts to advance the cause of education. Both he and his wife are devoted and consistent members of the Norwegian Lutheran church and exemplify its teachings in their daily lives. He has never had occasion to regret his determination to seek a home in the new world, for through the wise utilization of the oppor- tunities here afforded he has reached the desired goal. He has now passed the seventy- second milestone on life's journey and ean look back upon an active, useful and honorable career.

GEORGE H. RANDALL.

George H. Randall, the president of the Merchants Loan & Trust Company of Rapid ('ity, is well known throughout the Black Hills region and is a man of influence in financial cireles of that locality. He was born in Juneau county, Wisconsin, on the 24th of February, 1862, upon a farm belonging to his father, Benjamin Randall. The latter was born in the state of New York, but in 1845 removed to Wisconsin, settling upon the homestead where he continued to reside until his death in 1863 shortly after his enlistment in the Union army. His wife, who was in her maidenhood Miss Mary Hoke, was born in Pennsylvania, her family having removed there from New England. She was descended from the Hoke family of early colonial times. Mr. and Mrs. Randall were the parents of eight children, of whom George H. is the youngest.

The last named received his education in the public and high schools of Elroy, Wis- consin, and in the Elroy Seminary. After leaving school he became a clerk in the postoffice at Salem, South Dakota, where he located in 1881. He served for four years as deputy postmaster and for the same length of time as postmaster. For four years he held the office of county treasurer of MeCook county and for six years was mayor of Salem. In 1889 he entered the banking business, hecoming cashier of the MeCook County State Bank and so continuing for four years. In 1893 he established the Canova State Bank at Canova, South Dakota, and remained as owner and president of that institution until 1907, when he sold his interest therein and devoted the following two years to travel. In 1909 he removed to Rapid City and organized the Merchants Loan & Trust Company, of which he became presi- dent and executive head. He has since remained in control of that institution and the success and solidity of the bank is a tribute to his ability as a financier. He is able to maintain a nice balance between that conservatism which safeguards the interests of depositors and the progressiveness that is necessary in keeping abreast of the times. As a result of his wise policy the Merchants Loan & Trust Company enjoys the confidence of the business public and also pays good dividends. Mr. Randall is interested in a number of other business enterprises and is one of the foremost men in the commercial and financial life of Rapid City. He also owns extensive farm and ranch lands and raises many horses and cattle annually.

The marriage of Mr. Randall and Miss Alma C. Runkel was solemnized on the 26th of June. 1884. Mrs. Randall is a daughter of Henry and Marie (Sebatzel) Runkel, of Mauston. Wisconsin, and the mother of four children. Phillip L. was educated in the Sioux Falls high school, the Bishop Scott Academy of Portland, Oregon, and Mankato College at Mankate. Minnesota, and is now the efficient cashier of the Merchants Loan & Trust Company. May is a graduate of the Seattle (Wash.) high school and gave her hand in marriage to Ward Stanley, of Hot Springs, South Dakota. Marguerite is an alumna of the Rapid City high school and Gertrude is attending high school there.

GEORGE H. RANDALL

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Mr. Randall is an independent demoerat and has taken a very active part in state and local political affairs. He has for many years been a member of the county and state committees and in 1892 was a delegate to the national convention of his party. Although he has served his community in various public capacities, he has never had any ambition for greater political honors. Fraternally he is a thirty-second degree Mason and a member of the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. He has never outgrown his love of outdoor life and finds needed recreation in hunting and fishing. He is a lover of fine stock and devotes much time to the breeding of blooded horses and cattle upon his ranch and he bas made a study of all phases of modern agriculture, using the latest methods in the cultivation of his fields. Ile was one of the first to see the close connection that exists between good roads and prosperity for a community and was an advocate of improved highways at a time when spending money for that purpose was looked upon as useless waste by the majority of the people. His attitude upon the good roads movement is characteristic of the man, as he 19 always interested in anything that he believes will work toward the public good and 19 willing to support such a movement even if it is for the time being unpopular. When he came to South Dakota he had no capital other than a keen mind, great energy and unlimited ambition and determination and the success that he has achieved along material lines is av effective rebuke to those who maintain that it is impossible to prosper financially unless one has special advantages to begin with. In gaining the success that is measured by wealth he has not forgotten that there are other values in life and has in all of his relations with his fellowmen closely observed principles of fair dealing and integrity, thus gaining the sincere respect of all who know him.

CHARLES B. FRENEY.

Charles B. Freney is proprietor of a job printing establishment in Yankton, where he has conducted business since 1900. He was born in Sioux City, lowa, in 1874. His father, William Freney, who died at Yankton, June 28, 1897, was one of the pioneers of this section of the northwest. and was identified with the printing business from the infancy of the industry in the Dakotas. He was also among the first to become connected with journalistic interests in Sioux City and was editor and proprietor of the old Sioux City Register, which was the leading democratie paper of western lowa and of the Dakotas through the decade between 1860 and 1870. This paper wielded a wide influence over not only state and territorial but also national affairs, being both the molder and the mirror of public opinion in the west. Mr. Freney was a man of strong convictions and never deviated from a course which he believed to be right for the individual or for the community. He labored untiringly for the best interests of the people at large and made his paper the advocate of all measures which he deemed of genuine public worth. He possessed the spirit of the pioneer and realized the opportunities afforded to the early settler to upbuild the community upon broad and stable foundations that would make for the development of a greater commonwealth. He had many devoted friends, who recog- mized the sterling quality of his character, and wherever he was known was spoken of in terms of the highest regard. He had a very wide acquaintance in both Sioux City and Yankton and, indeed, throughout this section of the country. A native of Wisconsin, he was born near Madi- son on the 12th of February, 1838. and had learned the printer's trade in the office of the Argus-Democrat at Madison, entering upon an apprenticeship there in 1853. Five years later he removed to Sioux City, where he continued to follow the printer's trade until he became asso- ciated with F. M. Ziebach in the publication of the Sioux City Register in 1860. The following year the firm established the Dakotan in Yankton, this being the first paper published within the territory after its organization. In 1862 Mr. Freney disposed of his interest in that jour- nal but continued the publication of the Sioux City Register until 1872 or 1873. Not long afterward he again came to Yankton, where he continued to make his home until his death save for a brief period in 1879 and 1880 when he was engaged in the publication of the Citizen of Scotland. His life work constituted a potent force in the growth and development of the section in which he made his home and he was numbered among the honored pioneer citizens, who laid broad and deep the foundation for the present prosperity and progress of this part of the country. On the 1st of January, 1867, he married Miss Corinthia D. Booge, a daughter of

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the late Charles P. Booge, of Sioux City. She still survives him, together with their son and daughter, Charles and Nellie.

The son was educated in the public schools of Yankton, which he attended to the age of seventeen years, when he started out upon his business career in the capacity of devil in a printing office in Yankton. After becoming a journeyman printer he traveled over a large part of the United States, working at his trade in various towns and cities. Eventually he took up his ahode in Yankton and was with the firm of Bowen & Kingsbury, on the Dakota Press and Dakotan for five years. Afterward be came associated with J. T. Sargent on the Dakota Herald of Yankton and in 1900 engaged in business on his own account as a job printer. He is now well established in this line and has one of the most completely equipped job printing offices in his part of the state, using the latest improved machinery and facilities for turning out first-class work. The product of his plant is always neat and embodies the highest stand- ards of the printer's art, and his fair prices and honorable dealing have been features in winning him a growing success.

A democrat in his political views, Mr. Freney was elected on the party's ticket to the office of city alderman, in which be served from 1900 until 1912. He was also secretary of the fire department and there is no movement or measure instituted for the benefit of Yankton and of the state that does not receive his hearty endorsement and co-operation. He belongs to the Yankton fire department and is vice president of the South Dakota Firemen's Asso- ciation. He is also well known in fraternal circles as a member of the Elks lodge No. 994, the Fraternal Order of Eagles, the Knights of the Maccabees and the Fraternal Order of the Mystic Circle. His religious faith is that of the Episcopal church. The various interests of his life are well balanced, making his a symmetrically rounded character, and the force of his nature and the strength of his business enterprise are winning for him a creditable position among the representative residents of Yankton.

HON. JOHN E. PEARSON.

Hon. John E. Pearson has ably represented his district in the state senate, proving him- self a legislator of distinction. He is also a progressive and prosperous agriculturist. residing on section 16, Benton township, Minnehaha county. He was born in Sweden, June 3, 1868, a son of Nils and Netta (Knutson) Pearson. The father came to the United States in 1869, locating in Wisconsin. A year later he removed to Kansas, but at the end of six months returned to Wisconsin, settling in Lafayette county. In 1871 he was able to send for his family, who joined him in the new world, remaining in Wisconsin until 1878, when a removal was made to South Dakota. The family home was established on section 7, Benton township, Minnehaha county. the father filing on a homestead there, but another man had also settled on the same quarter and a contest arose, which was settled by each man receiving eighty acres. In 1880 the family removed to Sioux Falls, where the father was foreman in a stone quarry, operating the first drill for the building of the Queen B mill. In 1884 he purchased his present farm of four hundred acres on section 15, Benton township, where he has since resided. He is a man of excellent judgment and has taken part in public affairs, serving as a member of the town board and in other ways influencing the progress of the community.

John E. Pearson was reared at home and was a pupil in the public schools, passing from grade to grade until the course was completed. He also attended the Baptist College in Sioux Falls. Upon reaching mature years he was associated with his father in the latter's farming operations until 1902, when he located on his present farm, which he had purchased in the early '90s by an agreement with his father. Since locating upon this property he has con- tinued to make it his home, has followed general farming, and has taken much interest in the breeding of horses. He is known as one of the progressive farmers in his section. He is a member of the board of directors of the New Hope Grain Company and is secretary and treasurer of the Crooks Lumber Company.

Mr. Pearson is a republican in his political allegiance and has taken an active part in politics. He is at present chairman of the town board of Benton township and represented his distriet in the state senate in the session of 1911. He was again reelected to the 1915 session. Fraternally he is a member of Hartford Lodge, No. 136, A. F. & A. M .; and of New

HON. JOHN E. PEARSON

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HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA

Hope Camp, No. 6509, M. W. A., in which he served as clerk for five years. The honor which has come to him in election to the state senate has been amply deserved, as he is a man of much practical wisdom and of undoubted integrity of character.

Mr. Pearson has visited, on several occasions, many places of interest in the East, and in the summer of 1911 took a trip to Europe, visiting the countries of Sweden. Denmark, and some of England.

JOSEPH OIEN.

Joseph Oien, an enterprising and progressive young agriculturist and worthy native son of Minnehaha county, South Dakota, is engaged in farming on an extensive scale, operating his father's home place of four hundred and forty acres on section 25, Dell Rapids township. His birth there occurred on the 20th of November, 1883, his parents being H. H. and Anna (Kilness) Oien, of whom more extended mention is made on another page of this work.

Joseph Oien was reared at home and in the acquirement of an education attended the public schools, also pursuing a course of study in the Sioux Falls Business College. On attain- ing his majority he began farming in association with his brothers, George and Gustaf, con- ducting his interests in partnership with them until 1913, when he took charge of the home farm. He has since operated the place independently and in its management displays excellent business ability as well as a thorough knowledge of agriculture, following the most modern, practical and effective methods of farming.

On the 18th of October, 1913, Mr. Oien was united in marriage to Miss Tilda Nyhus, of Minnehaha county, South Dakota, her father being T. H. Nyhus, a prominent agriculturist of Sverdrup township. Mr. Oien gives his political allegiance to the republican party, and his religious faith is indicated by his membership in the Lutheran synod, to which his wife also belongs. In the community where his entire life has been spent he is well known and highly esteemed for his many excellent traits of character and genuine personal worth.

MARTIN N. GRAFF.

Martin N. Graff, a well known farmer residing on section 25, Brandon township, was born on the 28th of September, 1871, and has the honor of being the first white child born in that township. He is a son of Nils and Elise ( Axelson) Graff, the former a native of Sweden and the latter of Norway, both living near the boundary line between those countries. They were married in Norway and in 1869 came to the United States, locating first in Allamakee county, Iowa, where they remained for a period of one year. In 1870 they came north to South Dakota and the father homesteaded the northwest quarter of section 35, Brandon township, Minne- haha county. The region had not been thrown open for settlement very long and Mr. Graff was the first to take up a homestead in Brandon township. He subsequently took up a tree claim and from time to time purchased land until he was the owner of about one thousand acres. He later. however, gave each of his four sons a farm and about four or five years ago he retired from active life and took up his residence in Brandon, where he has since made his home. He is by trade a carpenter, and after his sons were large enough to take care of the work of the farm he gave much of his time to carpentering and building, erecting most of the farm houses in the surrounding region. He is one of the best known men of his township and has taken a prominent part in public affairs, serving for years in various township offices.

Martin N. Graff attended the common schools in the acquirement of his education and later was a student for three years at Sioux Falls College. At the age of twenty-one he hecame a teacher, his educational training well fitting him for that profession. He taught for three years in the district schools but eventually decided that agriculture offered better opportuni- ties, and he has since given his attention to farming. For several years he and his brother assisted their father in the cultivation of his land, but the father, feeling that their years of labor on the farms was entitled to recognition, gave each of them a tract. and Martin N. Graff is now the owner of a quarter section of land which he operates. He also farms another quar-

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ter section which belongs to his father. He is officially connected with many financial and business enterprises, being a stockholder, secretary and a member of the board of directors of the Farmers Elevator Company of Brandon, a stockholder and secretary of the Red Rock Telephone Company, and president and director of the Brandon Savings Bank. These invest- ments are an indication of his faith in the future of the county.

Mr. Graff was married in 1895 to Miss Thora Lommen, a native of Lincoln county. Her father, Peder Lommen, who was born in Norway, was one of the first settlers of Lincoln county and did his share in the development of that region. Two children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Graff: Norton P., who is in his third year in the preparatory department of the Lutheran Normal College at Sioux Falls; and Lester E.

Mr. and Mrs. Graff belong to the Norwegian Lutheran church, of which he is secretary. He gives his political allegiance to the republican party and has held a number of local offices, being at present chairman of the town board and having served as a member thereof for five or six years. He is also chairman of the school board and has taken an active interest in edn- cational matters for some years past. As a farmer, as a leader in church work, and as a man of affairs, Mr. Graff holds a position of prominence in his county and is accorded a high place in the estimation of all who know him.

EDMUND D. PUTNAM, M. D.

Dr. Edmund D. Putnam, one of the leading eye, car, nose and throat specialists in Sioux Falls, practicing in partnership with his brother, Dr. Fred I. Putnam, was born in Aurora- ville, Wisconsin, June 16, 1873. He is a son of Herbert L. and Laura C. (Hale) Putnam, both of English ancestry.

Dr. Putnam acquired his preliminary education in Atkinson, Nebraska, graduating from the high school. He afterward entered the medical department of the State University of Nebraska and received the degree of M. D. from that institution in 1897. He began the practice of his profession at Lake Park, Iowa, in 1898 and so continued until 1903, when he resumed his studies, spending two years in post-graduate work, taking a course in Chicago and studying also under Dr. Harold Gifford at Omaha, Nebraska. In 1905 he came to Sioux Falls, where he has since specialized in the treatment of diseases of the eye, ear, nose and throat. Since 1909 he has been in partnership with his brother, and the association has been productive of excellent results, both partners controlling a large and representative practice. Dr. Edmund D. Putnam is a member of the American Medical Association, the State and Seventh District Medical Societies, and the Sionx Valley Medical Association, of which he is now president, keeping thus in touch with the most advanced thought of his profession.

On the 8th of June, 1898, at Atkinson, Nebraska, Dr. Putnam married Miss Adelaide A. Burleson, a daughter of Ira J. Burleson, a veteran of the Civil war. Dr. and Mrs. Put- nam have three children, Gertrude D., Helen G. and Edmund D., Jr.

The doctor is a member of the Congregational church and gives his political allegiance to the republican party. He is a thirty-second degree Scottish Rite Mason, belongs to the Knights of Pythias, and is prominent in the affairs of the Elks and the Country Clubs. He has made wise use of his talents and powers, and his ability, natural and acquired, has placed him in a leading position among the physicians of Sioux Falls.

IVER O. HAUGEN.

Iver O. Haugen, a resident of Minnehaha county, South Dakota, for the past thirty-six years, is widely known as one of the substantial agrieulturists and foremost citizens of Dell Rapids township. His hirth occurred in Norway on the 6th of September, 1855, his parents being Ole and Sarah Haugen, both of whom passed away in that country.

Iver O. Haugen was reared at home and attended the common schools in the aequire-

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ment of an education. In 1873, when a young man of eighteen years, he crossed the Atlantic to the United States, locating in Goodhue county, Minnesota, where for about five years he was employed as a farm hand. In 1878 he removed to Minnehaha county, South Dakota, and the same year homesteaded the south half of the northwest quarter of section 34, Dell Rapids township, where he erected a small frame honse and where he lived for abont seven- teen years. In the spring of 1894 he purchased and located on his present home farm of one hundred and sixty acres on section 27 and has resided thereon continuously during the intervening two decades. He likewise still owns his homestead and enjoys an enviable repu- tation as one of the successful and enterprising agriculturists of the community. He is a stockholder in the Baltic Cooperative Lumber Company and also a member of its board of directors.

In 1879 Mr. Haugen was united in marriage to Miss Dora Johnson, a native of Norway and a daughter of John Stenmoe, who emigrated to the United States in 1869, locating in Goodhe county, Minnesota. Subsequently he removed to Todd county, Minnesota, and there spent the remainder of his life. His daughter Dora came to South Dakota in 1879 and about three weeks later gave her hand in marriage to Iver O. Hangen. To our subject and his wife have been born six children, four of whom survive, as follows: Oliver, at home; Sophia C., who is the wife of Emil Hanson, a homesteader in Montana: Julia, who is the wife of Hilmer Wilkinson, of Sionx Falls, South Dakota; and George, at home.

Mr. Haugen gives his political allegiance to the republican party, believing firmly in its principles. He has ably served as a member of the town board and for abont eighteen years has been a member of the school board, of which he acts as chairman at the present time. Fraternally he is identified with the Modern Brotherhood of America and in religious faith is a Lutheran, his wife and children also belonging to that church. Mr. Haugen is a man of high moral character, industrions and enterprising, and his honesty and integrity have always merited him the confidence and respect of his neighbors. Coming to the new world as a young man of eighteen years, he eagerly availed himself of the opportunities here afforded and has now long enjoyed the prosperity which was his goal.

JULIUS BERKLEY.

Julius Berkley, who carries on general farming in Volin precinct of Yankton county, dates his residence in Dakota from the 9th of July, 1880, and in the intervening period of thirty-five years he has won a substantial measure of success and also the goodwill and the high regard of many with whom he has been associated. He was born in Richland county, Wisconsin, May 28, 1855, but spent the greater part of his boyhood and youth in Grant county, that state. His parents were John J. and Lena (Larson) Berkley, natives of Nor- way. On removing to the west Mr. Berkley spent two years in southwestern Nebraska, where he homesteaded, proved up a claim and then sold. His dwelling was a sod house and he went through all of the experiences of pioneer life on the frontier. There were antelope in the district at the time and other kinds of wild game and wild animals. After coming to South Dakota Mr. Berkley lived at Gayville for four years and was employed in the store of Bagstad & Company. The family lived in this district at the time of the flood when all of the women and children of the househokl were taken to high ground. In addi- tion to clerking in a store Mr. Berkley cooked in the hotel for the few men who remained in the village. He remained in the store until 1884, when he purchased the Giddings farm in Volin precinct, and to the property has added until he is now the owner of six hundred and eighty acres of rich and valuable land on section 34 of Volin precinct.

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History of Dakota Territory, volume V, Part 142

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