History of Dakota Territory, volume V, Part 33

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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JOHN H. BINGHAM.

John H. Bingham, who is engaged in the abstract business in Chamberlain, Brule county, was born in Chippewa county, Wisconsin, on the 23d of November, 1872, of the marriage of Orin F. and Catherine Bingham. In 1881 the family removed to South Dakota and located at Bijou Hills, Brule county, where the father homesteaded land which he farmed for a number of years. Both he and his wife have now passed away.

John H. Bingham was but nine years of age when he accompanied the family to this state and continued his education in the public schools. Later he entered Yankton College and upon leaving that institution taught school during the winter and farmed in the spring and summer for about ten years. At the end of that time he removed to Chamberlain and entered the abstract business, in which he has continued to the present time. He has a complete set of abstract books and as he is painstaking in his work has built up an envi- able reputation for accuracy and completeness. He derives a good income from his activity in that field and is recognized as a successful business man.

In April, 1908, occurred the marriage of Mr. Bingham and Miss Kate Boyles, a daughter of Judge Samuel Boyles, of Yankton. Both she and her brother, Virgil D., are writers of national reputation, being the authors of the following novels: "Langford of the Three Bars;" "Homesteaders;" "The Spirit Trail;" and the "Hoosier Volunteers," all of which have had a large sale. Mr. and Mrs. Bingham have a daughter, Martha.

The parents are communicants of the Episcopal church. Mr. Bingham is a member of the Masonic order and of the Eastern Star and his wife also belongs to the latter organiza- tion. His political support is given to the republican party and he has served as city auditor. He is an enthusiastic member of the Commercial Club and has great faith in the future of Chamberlain and Brule county. He is president of the Island Park & Chautauqua Associa- tion. The island on which the meetings are held consists of about one thousand acres and was given to the city of Chamberlain by a special act of congress. It is being developed and is now one of the finest parks in the state. In all public movements relating to the betterment of the community he is a cooperant factor. Both Mr. and Mrs. Bingham are well known and highly esteemed and are numbered among the prominent and valued residents of their city.

ALBERT J. LINDAHL.

Albert J. Lindahl, the efficient treasurer of Grant county, is one of the valued citizens of Milbank. A native of Minnesota, his birth occurred in Willmar, August 6, 1883, and he is a son of Thomas and Hadda (Rungquist) Lindahl, both of whom were born in Sweden, the former in 1847 and the latter in 1853. The maternal grandfather, John Rungquist, emi- grated to America and for a number of years followed farming in South Dakota. Thomas Lindahl came to the United States not long after the elose of the Civil war and first settled in St. Paul, after which he removed successively to Chicago and to Willmar, Minnesota. He purchased land in that locality and was for five years a resident of Kandiyohl county. In 1884 he removed to Grant county, South Dakota, purchased a relinquishment and proved up a claim on which he still resides. He has added to his holdings, which now eomprise four hundred and eighty aeres, and his farm is recognized as one of the most valuable properties in the county. He is also president of the Farmers State Bank of Strandburg. When he came to this state he was a comparatively poor man but, utilizing the opportunities here offered, has gained financial independence. In religious faith he is a Free Baptist and his political allegiance is given to the republican party. He was married in Chicago and to him

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and his wife have been born nine children, namely: Edward, who is deputy treasurer; Clara and Fred, both at home; Albert J .; Harry, who is living in northern Minnesota and who is assistant cashier of a bank; and Robert, Emil, Arthur and Joseph, all at home.

Albert J. Lindahl received his education in the public schools and in the State Agricul- tural College at Brookings, which he attended for two years. He grew to manhood upon his father's farm and continued to give his time to agricultural pursuits until 1909, when he became deputy county treasurer. He held that office until the fall of 1912, when he was elected treasurer, which position he is still filling. He devotes his entire time to the duties of his office and is accurate, systematic and prompt in the performance of the work devolving upon him. He has demonstrated that the confidence placed in his ability and integrity is well founded and his services are very satisfactory to his constituents.

Mr. Lindahl is a stalwart supporter of the principles of the republican party as he believes that they are best calculated to promote the welfare of the country. Fraternally he belongs to Milbank Lodge, No. 20, A. F. & A. M., of which he is secretary, and Milbank Chapter, No. 15, R. A. M. All who know him esteem him highly and he has also made many warm personal friends.

JOHN T. DOYLE.

John T. Doyle, postmaster of Plankinton, was born in Scott county, Iowa, on the 3d of February, 1879, a son of John and Ellen Doyle. The father, who was a farmer, has passed away. John T. Doyle took a commercial course at the Iowa State College, after completing his studies in the public schools, and upon starting out for himself engaged in farming in his native state. In 1901, however, he came to South Dakota, locating first at Alexandria, Hanson county. Some time later he invested in land in Aurora county and then removed to Plankinton, where he engaged in the real-estate business until appointed postmaster by Presi- dent Wilson, taking charge of the office on the 22d of May, 1914. He is naturally methodical and accurate and the affairs of the office are managed efficiently and with dispatch. He is also connected with a number of local concerns, being a stockholder of the Farmers Elevator Company, of the Fair Association and of the Citizens Cooperative Telephone Company.

Mr. Doyle was married on the 28th of April, 1899, to Miss Agnes O'Connor, a daughter of Dennis D. O'Connor. Mr. Doyle is a communicant of the Catholic church and fraternally is connected with Maher Council, Knights of Columbus, at Mitchell, South Dakota. His ballot is cast in support of the measures and candidates of the democratic party, of which he is a stanch adherent. He is energetic, progressive and public-spirited and is justly accounted a valuable citizen of Plankinton.

REV. M. J. BURKEL.

Rev. MI. J. Burkel, pastor of Holy Trinity church at Ethan, was born at Fredonia, Wis- consin, March 8, 1883, a son of John and Susanna (La Fontaine) Burkel. The father was a farmer by occupation but at the time of the Civil war put aside all business and personal considerations and in response to his country's call for aid enlisted in the Union army in 1862, becoming a member of the Wisconsin Volunteers, with which he served until 1864. After the war his attention was given to farming until death ended his labors on the 20th of October, 1912. He had for a number of years survived his wife, who passed away in 1900.

M. J. Bnrkel pursued his early education in the rural schools of his native county and subsequently entered the College of St. Lawrence at Mount Calvary, Wisconsin, where he pursued his studies for four years. He was afterward for six years a student in St. Paul's Seminary at St. Paul, Minnesota, and after having thus prepared for holy orders he was ordained to the priesthood on the 11th of June, 1908, at St. Paul, by Archbishop Ireland. His first mission was as assistant at White Lake, South Dakota, where he remained for six months. Subsequently he spent nine months as assistant pastor of the church at Kimball and still later was assistant at the cathedral in Sioux Falls. He was next assigned as minister

REV. M. J. BURKEL

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of the Catholic church at Orient, Faulk county, where he remained for four years, and while there he was instrumental in securing the erection of a parish honse at a cost of six thousand dollars. On the 1st of September 1914, he came to Ethan, his duties to include pastoral work in connection with the mission at Emsley, nine miles west, having eighty families.

Until the year 1889 the Catholics of Ethan were members of Sts. Peter and Paul church at Starr, but in that year they erected a church, there being nineteen families in the parish. During the winter months services were held once a month on a week day and during the summer months once on a week day and once on a Sunday. The first resident priest was Father Stanton, who was succeeded by Father Lawrence Kerley, who remained until Novem- ber, 1903. No service was then held from that time until August, 1904, when, on the 22d of Angnst, Rev. L. G. Brones was sent to reorganize the parish. Soon after his arrival prepara- tions were made for a new church and two acres of land were purchased April 10, 1904, the new church being dedicated September 21, 1905, by the Right Rev. Bishop O'Gorman. Catholicism has since grown and developed rapidly in Ethan and the work is now being ably carried on by Father Burkel.

In his political views Father Burkel 'is a republican, while fraternally he is connected with the Knights of Columbus and the Mutual Brotherhood of Iowa. He is fond of outdoor life and in that way takes his recreation. He is much interested in South Dakota and its development, and indorses many measures and movements which tend to the upbuilding and progress of the section in which he lives.

H. I. OLSTON.

One of the leading men of his section of the state, H. I. Olston, president of the Mer- chants Exchange Bank of Lake Preston, is widely known and highly respected wherever known. He was born in Bergen, Norway, September 14, 1859, a son of Iver and Kari (Suph- ellen) Olston. Two years later the family emigrated to the United States and located in Minnesota, which remained their home until 1884, when a removal was made to Sonth Dakota and the family located upon a farm north of Lake Preston. H. I. Olston purchased a relinquishment in that vicinity and made extensive improvements upon the land. He had received an excellent education, attending the State Normal School at Mankato, after at- tending the high school at Albert Lea, Minnesota. He had taught school while still living in Minnesota and after removing to South Dakota continued in that profession for two years, teaching in the winter and farming in the summer. In 1886 he removed to the town of Lake Preston and engaged in the real-estate business there for four years, after which he pur- chased an interest in the bank .He also became one of the bank's officials, the first office which he held being that of assistant cashier. His grasp of the principles of banking and his familiarity with banking routine led to his advancement and he was made cashier. Later he was chosen president and for the past ten years has acceptably continued in that im- portant connection. When he entered the bank its deposits totaled twelve thousand dollars and now they aggregate two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. Much of this growth is naturally due to the development of the region served by the bank but much of it is to be attributed to the sagacity and farsightedness of Mr. Olston and his associates, who have so directed the policy of the institution that its growth has kept pace with that of this section of the state.

Mı. Olston was married November 26, 1882, to Miss Lena Guttersen, a daughter of Egil Guttersen, and to them have been born the following children: Ida, now Mrs. Charles Nicoud: Edward and Herbert, both employes in the bank of which their father is president : Arthur, who died November 24, 1911. at the age of twenty-one while a student in the State University of South Dakota at Vermilion: Stella, who is teaching in Mount Vernon; Mae, attending the State University; Clara; Ruth, who died December 24. 1909, when eleven years old: and Helen. Evelin and Mildred, at home.

Mr. Olston is a republican and at one time served as mayor of Lake Preston. He is also vice president of the school board. He is one of the leaders in religions circles in Lake Preston and he has been secretary of the local Lutheran church for twenty-seven years. For the same length of time he has taught in the Sunday school. He has attained

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the thirty-second degree in Masonry, belonging to the consistory at Aberdeen, and also has membership in the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Ancient Order of United Work- men. He has gained considerable wealth, owns quite a little real estate in South Dakota, is a stockholder in the Farmers Elevator and the Lake Preston Milling Company, and is president of the Security Bank of Webster, the Peoples State Bank of Bradley and the Esmond State Bank of Esmond. His opinion carries great weight in financial circles in his part of the state and the influence that his position and knowledge of banking give him is invariably used for the general prosperity and the public good.

ROBERT C. BAKEWELL.

Robert C. Bakewell, the efficient young state's attorney of Aurora county, is a native of Plankinton, horn on the 5th of September, 1886, a son of Samuel H. and Martha (Cawley) Bakewell. The father came to South Dakota in 1881 and was bere married, his wife having been principal of schools in Plankinton before her marriage. The father was a lawyer but after coming to the territory he homesteaded land in Aurora county and resided thereon until he proved up his claim. He then removed to Plankinton and entered upon the practice of his profession. He held many public offices, was for years county attorney and in 1883 was elected probate judge. He was also honored by elevation to the county bench. In 1909 he was appointed to the state board of Charities and Corrections and was a member of that hody when his death occurred. He took much interest in the work of the board and was one of its most valued members.

Robert C. Bakewell entered the public schools at the usual age and was advanced from grade to grade until he was prepared to enter the State University of South Dakota at Ver- million, where he took three years of collegiate work. He then entered the law department of the university, from which he was graduated with the degree of LL. B. in 1907. He returned to Plankinton and entered into partnership with his father, the firm name being Bakewell & Bakewell. Since his father's death he has practiced alone and is today recognized as one of the leading attorneys of his county. He is exceptionally well fitted for the profes- sion by natural ability, early training and thorough study of the principles underlying all systems of law and he also has a detailed knowledge of statutes and precedents. He appears as counsel in much of the important litigation tried in his district and has the respect and confidence of his colleagues as well as of the general public.

On the 2d of March, 1912, Mr. Bakewell married Miss Leonne Irons, a daughter of John and Hattie Irons. Mr. and Mrs. Bakewell have two sons, Samuel Paul and Robert, Jr. Mr. Bakewell is a republican and has always taken a keen interest in local politics. For eight years he served as city attorney and is now state's attorney. In religious faith he is a Prot- estant, while fraternally he is connected with the Elks, Masons and Beta Theta Pi, one of the leading college fraternities. He believes thoroughly in the future of the city and of its institu- tions. He has high rank in his profession and his character is such that he is personally popular and respected and his friends prophesy for him yet greater success in his chosen calling.

PETER E. E. LEE.

Peter E. E. Lee, a real-estate dealer conducting business at Summit, was born in Norway, August 27, 1866. His father, Elling Lee, was horn in that country in 1805 and there wedded Christina Larson, whose birth occurred in 1840. They became the parents of six children, of whom four are living: Annie, the wife of Gust Lee, a resident farmer of Minnesota; Peter E. E .; Mary, who married Ludwig Olson, of Norway; and Nels, a farmer living at Summit. Throughout his entire life the father carried on the work of the fields and his death occurred in Norway in 1885. In 1906 Mrs. Lee eame to America and is now living in Summit. She is a consistent member of the Lutheran church, to which her husband also belonged.

Peter E. E. Lee pursued his education in his native country, completing his course by graduation from a military college there. In 1891 be crossed the water and after living for

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a time in Chicago made his way to Tower, Minnesota, but on the 12th of August, 1894, located in Summit, South Dakota. For a time he engaged in selling nursery stock but about fifteen years ago turned his attention to the real-estate business and sells on commission besides handling property which he purchases outright. He is thoroughly conversant with realty values, knows the property that is upon the market and has won a large clientage that has made his business a profitable one. While the greater part of his time and atten- tion are devoted to his real-estate interests he is also known in financial circles as the vice president of the First State Bank.

In 1906 Mr. Lee married Miss Nina Nelson, a native of Norway, and they have five children: Ethel and Mamie, both in school; Eliza, six years of age; Jerald, five years; and Nina, who is the baby of the honsehold.

Mr. Lee has served as assessor and treasurer of Summit township, to which offices he was elected on the republican ticket, but the honors and emoluments of office have little attraction for him as he prefers to concentrate his energies upon his business affairs and it has been his close application and nnabating energy that have gained for him a creditable place among the prosperous business men of Roberts county.

WILLIAM SCHNEIDER.

William Schneider, of Cleveland township, Bon Homme county, is one of the most progressive farmers of the state and is deservedly successful in his agricultural operations. Mr. Schneider's ancestry is mainly French, although there is a German strain in his lineage, as is indicated by his surname. His father, Eugene Schneider, was an Alsatian by birth and was thoroughly French in his sympathies and tastes. His wife, who bore the name of Margaret Curie, was a native of France and may have belonged to the same family that produced the famous Freneb scientist of that name. Mr. and Mrs. Schneider were the parents of seven sons and one daughter, all of whom still survive but one son. Only two, however, reside in Bon Homme county-William, and a sister, Emily, who is now the wife of Hugh G. Gunn, formerly county commissioner from Scotland.

William Schneider was born in Washington county, Iowa, where his parents had settled in the '50s, his natal day being December 2, 1863. He resided on the home farm until the spring of 1881, becoming familiar in the meantime with all branches of agricultural work. His father had foreseen the value of South Dakota land and had purchased a farm in this state, near which an older brother of our subject had homesteaded two years earlier and was then living. In 1881 he assumed the management of the home farm and thus relieved Wil- liam. who had been operating it for some time. The latter then came to Sonth Dakota, ar- riving here early in March, 1882. He went as far as Mitchell by train and from that point, in company with a neighbor, started overland for Scotland, near which town George Schneider and a sister were living. Towards evening he and his companion began to inquire at the houses along the way if they could obtain a night's lodging, but to their surprise were refused. The settlers were members of a German colony from Russia who had not yet acquired the western spirit of hospitality. The travelers eventually found an empty shed and spent the night there. Mr. Schneider worked for two years in the employ of his brother, but as the crops failed both years received practically nothing for his labor. The second winter his brother and sister went home, intending to be gone bnt two weeks, but it was three months before they returned. During that time he had the entire responsibility of the farm and also had to do all of the necessary bouse work. In the spring of 1885 he left his brother George and joined his brother Louis, who was living near the village of Bon Homme. After remaining in his service for two years William Schneider married and the following spring removed to a farm of his own. After eight years he rented his farm here and removed to Iowa where he lived six years. He then returned to his farm in South Dakota where he has since resided. He purchased the land from his father for sixteen hundred dollars, which was quite an advance over the price paid by his father, which was but three hundred and fifty dollars. At the present time, however, it could not be bought for ten times the amount paid by onr subject, such has been the rapid development of the state and the consequent increase in land values. Mr. Schneider of this review at length purchased a second quarter

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section, paying therefor fifty dollars per acre and that land would now hring more than double the purchase price. His three hundred and twenty acre tract is fertile and produces excellent crops annually. Mr. Selineider possesses the thrift characteristic of the French nation and this trait, in connection with his energy and initiative, has won him gratifying success.

Mr. Schneider was married in Springfield, this state, July 4, 1885, to Miss Maggie Egan, a native of Virginia, who came to Dakota at an early date with her mother Mrs. Patrick McDonald. Mr. and Mrs. Schneider have become the parents of nine children. Frank, their firstborn, died at the age of eight years while attending business college at Grand Island, Nebraska. Mary E. B. at home is an artist in needlework, doing fine embroidery and drawn work. William L. is working in Tyndall. Joseph, Paul, Violet, Edna. Grace and Leo are all at home. Mary, William, Joseph and Violet have attended the Springfield Normal School. Mr. Schneider was reared in the Catholic church and his family are devont communicants thereof.

Mr. Schneider came to this state when there were still many evidences of pioneer life and although buffalo, deer and antelope had disappeared, wolves were still seen occasionally. Twisted hay was the common fuel for the first year or two and one winter he and his brother mowed the long slough grass above the ice of a frozen marsh. Prairie fires were not at all uncommon and while living with his brother in Scotland he had to fight fire for nearly three weeks. On the 12th of January, 1888, he and Albert Eymer went to Bon Homme Island for wood and when the cloud of iee dust enveloped them and the temperature descended . a degree a minute, they started home in haste with their sleighloads of wood. As the storm grew worse rapidly they left their wood and made their way as quickly as possible. homeward. For a time they found shelter in an old log house, but later in the afternoon, seeing no sign of abatement in the storm, they trudged through the blinding ice dust to the old Bon Homme store, where they spent the night. There were twelve or fifteen others who had taken refuge there and about midnight the company made an oyster stew from canned oysters found in the store. The group was in high spirits and the feast was one never to be forgotten. The energy and willingness to take advanced steps that characterized Mr. Schneider in the early days of the state are still salient traits of his character and are mani- fested in his progressive methods of farming. In the summer of 1914 he added to his equip- ment a large traction engine and a gang plow and before August was two-thirds gone he had plowed one hundred and forty acres of land and sowed to wheat all the land he desired to seed that year, although most of his neighbors had plowed but a few rods of land by that time. He is always among the first to adopt any improved machinery and he is always willing to utilize a new method that promises to make farming more efficient. He has contributed much to the development of the agricultural interests of his county and is one of the leaders in the effort to place farming upon a more scientific hasis. He is not only up- to-date and successful as an agriculturist, but as a man he commands the respect of all who know him. his life being upright and honorable.

DAVID O. CROOKS.

A student of history cannot carry his investigations far into the record of Minnehaha county withont learning that the Crooks family has long been prominent not only in the pioneer development but also in the later progress of this section of the state. The enter- prising town in which the subject of this review makes his home was named in honor of the family. The work of progress and development here instituted by the father is still con- tinned by David O. Crooks, who is justly accounted one of the most progressive men of his section.

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History of Dakota Territory, volume V, Part 33

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