History of Dakota Territory, volume V, Part 43

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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Robert M. Burlingame attended the public schools in the acquirement of an education and subsequently identified himself with the drug business, becoming a registered pharmacist. He then determined upon the practice of medicine as a life work and entered the Minneapolis College of Physicians and Surgeons of Hamline University, from which institution he was graduated with the degree of M. D., C. M., in 1899. Locating for practice at Adrian, Minne- sota, he there remained for one year and afterward followed his profession in Hendricks, Minnesota, for three and a half years. On the expiration of that period he came to South Dakota, arriving on February 15, 1904, in Watertown, where he has practiced successfully during the eleven years that have since intervened. An extensive and lucrative patronage is accorded him, for he has demonstrated his skill in the successful treatment of many difficult cases and has won the confidence and esteem of his patients and fellow practitioners. He is a valued member of the Watertown Medical Society and thus keeps in close touch with the advanced thought of the profession.

DR. ROBERT M. BURLINGAME

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HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA

On the 7th of October, 1908, Dr. Burlingame was united in marriage to Miss Maude Sears, a native of South Dakota, and a daughter of Joseph F. and Margaret Sears, of Watertown, this state, who settled here in pioneer times.

In politics Dr. Burlingame is a stanch republican. He served for three years as captain of Company D, Fourth Regiment, National Guard of South Dakota, and is afforded needed recrea- tion hy camping with the militia. He belongs to the grand encampment of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, being at present the grand high priest, and is also connected with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. His religious faith is that of the Presbyterian church, while his wife is a devoted member of the Episcopal church. They are well known socially in their home community and have a large circle of warm friends who esteem them for their many excellent traits of character as well as for their hospitality and kindly spirit.

JUDGE JOHN HOWARD GATES.

Judge John Howard Gates of Sioux Falls, supreme court Judge of South Dakota, was horn in Waterloo, Black Hawk connty, Iowa, October 26, 1865, a son of John C. and Adelia (St. John) Gates. The father, a native of Ontario county, New York, was born February 16, 1838, a son of Joseph B. Gates, who was born on the old family homestead in the Empire state and there spent his entire life. He was a son of Daniel Gates, who came from Rutland, Vermont, and whose father took up land in the Phelps & Gorham purchase about 1790. There the Gates family followed farming and the great-great-grandfather and the great-grandfather of Judge Gates continned to live there throughout their lives. The Gates family are direct descendants of John and Priscilla (Mullens) Alden. The great-great-grandfather, Daniel Gates, was the second husband of Milcah Ludden, who was born April 7, 1765, and was a daughter of Benjamin and Esther (Capen) Ludden. The latter was a daughter of John and Ruth (Thayer) Capen, and Ruth Thayer was a daughter of Ephraim and Sarah (Bass) Thayer. The ancestry is still traced back in the maternal line through Sarah Bass, a daughter of John and Ruth (Alden) Bass, the latter a daughter of John and Priscilla (Mullens) Alden.

John C. Gates, father of Judge Gates, was reared on the old homestead in the Empire state and was educated at Genesee College at Lima, New York, of which school his wife, who hore the maiden name of Adelia St. John, was also a graduate. In fact they completed their course in the same year, 1863, and in March, 1864, they were married, removing in September of the same year to Waterloo, Iowa. The wife, who was born in Newark, Wayne county, New York, February 25, 1841, died in Waterloo on the 1st of February, 1873. The St. John family comes of French Huguenot ancestry and was established on American soil soon after the Mayflower brought its cargo of passengers to the new world. The line of descent is traced down through John St. John, who was born in Norwalk, Connecticut, in April, 1735. He became a very prominent man of notable strength of character and held many important positions of trust. He was very prominent in the work of the church, in which he filled the position of deacon. At the time of the Revolutionary war he served as a captain in the Fifth Connecticut Regiment and he lived for some years to enjoy the fruits of liberty, passing away April 16, 1816. His son, John St. John, II, was born July 15, 1764, in Wilton, Connecticut, and died in Westport, New York, April 26, 1854. His son, Josiah St. John, was horn February 19, 1792, became a veteran of the War of 1812 and resided in Arcadia, New York, his death there occurring April 7, 1857. He was the father of Elon St. John, who was born May 9, 1816, and died September 29, 1893. It was his daughter Adelia who in March, 1864, became the wife of John C. Gates. Following their removal to Iowa, John C. Gates was variously employed until he became deputy county auditor of Black Hawk county in 1871-2 and in the fall of the latter year he was elected clerk of the courts and was continued in the office by reelection until he had filled that position for eight years. During that period he read law and was admitted to practice. At the end of his official term, in 1881, he formed a partnership with Lore Alford and conducted an abstract business for many years but finally disposed of the abstract business. The law firm, however, continned until 1899, when Mr. Alford passed away. The firm then became Gates & Lifring and so continnes, although Mr. Gates is now practically retired from active connection with the bar. He has always taken a deep and helpful interest in politics and his opinions have long carried weight

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in the local councils of the republican party, while his efforts have been an element in promot- ing its success at the polls. His life has ever conformed to the teachings of the Methodist Epis- copal church, of which he is a most active, earnest and conscientious member. Only two chil- dren of the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. John C. Gates lived to adult age: Judge Gates; and Fanny C., now dean of the College of Women of Grinnell College at Grinnell, Iowa.

Judge Gates attended the public schools until graduated from the East Waterloo high school with the class of 1882 and in the fall of 1883 he became a student in the Iowa State University. During the periods of vacation, while he was pursuing his college course, he worked in his father's abstract office and from September, 1884 to September, 1885 he was employed in the First National Bank of Waterloo. Resuming his studies, he was graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Philosophy in 1888 and during the period of his college days he was a member of the Irving Institute, a literary society of prominence, and became a member of the Beta Theta Pi, a Greek letter fraternity. In September, 1888, he accepted a clerical position with the law firm of Bailey & Davis of Sioux Falls, with which he remained for a year, although in the meantime a change in the partnership led to the organization of the firm of Bailey, Davis & Lyon. For the further study of law Judge Gates matriculated in the Columbia University Law School of New York city in September, 1889, returning to Sioux Falls in August, 1890, after which he was admitted to the bar on the 2d of December of that year. It was then that the firm of Davis, Lyon & Gates was formed, of which Judge Gates continued as a member until January 1, 1913, when he was elevated to the bench of the supreme court, having been elected in November, 1912 from the second supreme court district. In the meantime he had been called to other offices in the line of his profession, having served in 1893-4 by appointment as city attorney of Sioux Falls. In 1896 he was defeated for the office of states attorney of Minnehaha county. On the 16th of August, 1909, he was appointed by Hon. J. E. Carland, district judge, as special master in the South Dakota railroad rate cases. His report was filed in September, 1911, and his action in this matter attracted statewide attention, his principal contentions being ultimately sustained by the United States supreme court on the Minnesota rate cases. Judge Gates gained an enviable reputation through his conduct of these cases and introduced a formula for use in apportion- ing earnings that is used today by the state and inter-state commissions. Since the 7th of Jannary, 1913, he has sat upon the bench of the supreme court of South Dakota, proving him- self the peer of the ablest members of that court of last resort, his decisions indicating strong mentality, careful analysis, a thorough knowledge of the law and an unbiased judgment. His legal learning, his analytical mind, the readiness with which he grasps the point in an argument all combine to make him one of the most capable jurists that has ever graced the supreme court and the public and the profession acknowledge him the peer of any member of that highest judicial body of the state. He is a member of the American Bar Association, one of the charter members of the South Dakota State Bar Association and for many years was treasurer of the Minnehaha County Bar Association.

On the 13th of November, 1899, Judge Gates was married to Miss Mary Edna Carter, a native of New London, Wisconsin, and a daughter of Jervis W. Carter, a pioneer of Dakota territory who served as district attorney under Judge Kidder in territorial days. Judge and Mrs. Gates have three children: Beatrice, John Carter and Hobart Hare.

Judge Gates and his family take very active and prominent part in the work of the Episcopal church and he has been a chancellor of the missionary distriet of South Dakota for that church for many years. He was formerly vestryman and warden of Calvary chureh at Sioux Falls and is now warden of Trinity church in Pierre. He served as a delegate from South Dakota to the general convention of the Episcopal church in New York in 1913 and he is now a member of the provincial court of review of the Province of the Northwest of the Episcopal church. His interest in church work has been most keen and has found tangible evidence in farreaching and beneficial efforts for the upbuilding of the cause. He is also deeply interested in education and from 1906 until 1908 was a member of the board at Sioux Falls, during which period the high school building was constructed, a work for which he was largely responsible. His political allegiance has always been given the republican party and he is a stanch supporter of its principles. In fraternal circles, too, he is well known, holding mem- bership in Minnehaha Lodge, No. 5, F. & A. M., of Sioux Falls, of which he is a past master ; Sioux Falls Chapter, No. 2, R. A. M .; Cyrene Commandery, No. 2, K. T .; El Riad Temple of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine at Sioux Falls; and the Elks lodge of that place. He is also

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a member of the South Dakota Society of Sons of American Revolution. His professional prominence, his activity in Masonic and church circles and his public-spirited citizenship have brought him a wide acquaintance and his record is an honor to the state which has honored him.

JOSEPH E. LABRIE.

Joseph E. Labrie has been engaged in carrying on a land, loan and insurance business at Doland in partnership with Miles McNickle since 1904. He came to South Dakota in 1880 from Kankakee county, Illinois, and was the first Illinois man to take up his abode in Spink county. He is, however, a Canadian by birth, having been born at St. Johns, Quebec, on the 17th of March, 1845, and is a brother of A. F. Labrie, of Redfield. The family is of French origin. The great-grandfather of our subject, Captain De La Brie, furnished equipment for two hundred and fifty men and accompanied General Lafayette to the new world from France in order to render the colonies assistance in their struggle for independence. After the war had ended the Captain and his men did not return to France but settled in Canada, which was then a French possession. There they became trappers, hunters and fur traders. In 1847 the Labrie family emigrated from Canada to the United States and settled at Kankakee, Illinois, with other French Canadians.

Joseph E. Labrie attended the public schools until he attained the age of thirteen years and then concentrated his efforts upon the work of the home farm, for he was the eldest son of the family and his services were needed. He remained under the parental roof until after the Civil war broke out, when, in 1862, he volunteered for service in the northern army, becom- ing a member of the Seventy-sixth Illinois Infantry. He remained at the front until hos- tilities ceased and saw much hard service up and down the Mississippi river, being in the battles of Vicksburg and Mobile besides many other engagements. He was also with the army that was sent to the Texas border to drive Maximilian back. After the war he returned to his home and remained with his parents until his marriage, which occurred in 1868. At that time he began farming on his own account on land which he had previously purchased after returning from the army.

As previously stated, it was in 1880 that he arrived in Spink county, South Dakota, where he secured a tract of unbroken prairie land. With characteristic energy lie began its develop- ment and broke abont sixteen hundred acres in the first two years. He remained upon his farms until 1886 and succeeded in bringing the land to a high state of cultivation. He has ever been recognized as a man of the utmost energy, determination and enterprise and his industry has brought excellent results. In 1886 he abandoned farming and took up his abode in Doland, where he accepted the position of cashier in the First National Bank, filling that position for a decade. He then turned his attention to the loan, land and insurance business in partnership with his brother who is in Redfield. From the outset the business has con- stantly grown and since 1904 has been conducted by the present firm. He has thoroughly acquainted himself with land values and has thus been able to make judicious purchases and profitable sales. During the period of his residence in this state he has acquired four and a half sections, which are still owned by the family. In addition to his real-estate operations he has placed many loans and also written a large amount of insurance, the different branches of his business proving profitable. He has erected a number of buildings upon his farms and also in the town and has thus contributed in large measure to the substantial improvement of the county.

On the 26th of December, 1868, at Manteno, Illinois, Mr. Labrie was united in marriage to Miss Rosalie Senchall, her parents being Oliver and Josephine Senchall, of Chicago. Both are now deceased, passing away in Ashton, South Dakota. They were pioneers of Spink county, settling there in 1881. Mr. and Mrs. Labrie have four children, as follows: Oliver J., who follows farming in Spink county; R. William, who is engaged in business as a dealer in agricultural implements at Doland, and is a member of the state legislature; Daisy G., the wife of S. W. Clark, of Redfield, South Dakota; and Blanche, who gave her hand in marriage to Miles MeNickle, the partner of her father.

In his political views Mr. Labrie is a republican and keeps well informed on the questions and issues of the day but has never sought nor desired public office. In the lapel of his coat

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he wears the little bronze button that indicates him a member of the Grand Army of the Republic. His life has been a husy and useful one. He came to Dakota to find a location for some of his people who wanted to leave Kankakee county, Illinois, and eventually eighty- seven families from that locality settled in his vicinity. For thirty-five years he has resided in South Dakota and has been a witness of much of its growth and development. He was here for nine years before the territorial form of government was put aside and that of state- hood assumed and in all the intervening years to the present he has borne his part in the work of general advancement and improvement, being today one of the prosperous, progressive and valued citizens of Spink county.

JOHN E. JOHNSON.

John E. Johnson, residing on section 28, Logan township, owns an entire section of valu- able land in one body and has long been numbered among the foremost agriculturists and lead- ing citizens of Minnehaha county. He has also served as a member of the board of county commissioners for the past eight years and has made a splendid record in this connection. His birth occurred in Norway on the 22d of December, 1847, his parents being Johan and Isabelle (Erickson) Johnson, who emigrated to the United States in 1859. They located first in Winneshiek county, Iowa, and the following year removed to Fillmore county, Minnesota, where the father settled on a piece of school land of which he acquired one hundred and twenty acres. At the end of thirteen years' residence in the Gopher state he came to South Dakota in 1872, leaving our subject on the home farm in Minnesota. Here he preempted a quarter section, one hundred and twenty acres of which lay in Edison township and forty acres in Sverdrup township. After proving up on this place Johan Johnson homesteaded a quarter section lying in sections 29 and 30, Edison township. He also took up an eighty aere tree claim on section 31, so that his holdings embraced four hundred acres. He remained a resident of Edison township until within a short time prior to his demise, spending his last days in the home of a sister at Grafton, North Dakota. His death occurred in 1905, when he had attained the age of eighty-three years, while his wife was called to her final rest in 1885, when about sixty-five years old.

John E. Johnson was reared under the parental roof and attended the common schools in the acquirement of an education. After attaining his majority he devoted his attention to farming, working a part of the time for neighbors and the remainder of the time for his father. In 1872 he undertook the management of the home farm in Minnesota, where he carried on agricultural pursuits for another year. In 1873 he followed his father to South Dakota and took up a preemption of one hundred and sixty acres, comprising the north- west quarter of section 34, Logan township, Minnehaha county, proving up on this place. The following spring he entered the southeast quarter of section 28 as a homestead and sub- sequently took up a tree claim of one hundred and sixty acres comprising the northeast quarter of section 33, while later he purchased the northeast quarter of seetion 28. In 1877, on account of the hard times and lack of funds, he sold his preemption for four hundred dollars in order to procure sufficient money to replace his old sod house with a more habitable abode, erecting a two-room frame dwelling. In 1901 he bought back his preemption, paying five thousand dollars for the same land which he had sold for four hundred dollars. He now owns an even section of fertile, productive land in one hody. In 1901 he removed to the state of Washington and in association with his only brother, Thomas Johnson, erected a shingle mill. The venture promised to he very profitable, but his brother died, and in 1902 Mr. Johnson of this review returned to his home in South Dakota. His undertakings as an agricul- turist have been attended with a gratifying and well merited measure of prosperity and he is also a stockholder in the Farmers Cooperative Lumber Company of Dell Rapids.

On the 4th of June, 1876, Mr. Johnson was united in marriage to Miss Sarah Gilbertson, a native of Wisconsin and a daughter of Ole and Helga Gilbertson, who were born in Nor- way and came to the United States as children. Our subject and his wife have three chil- dren, as follows: Stella A., who is the wife of Adolph Anderson, of Valley Springs; Gisle J., who operates the home farm; and Lulla T., who gave her hand in marriage to George Bieber, of Jasper, Minnesota.

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JOHN E. JOHNSON AND FAMILY

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HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA

Mr. Johnson is a republican in politics and for many years has been a dominant factor in the local ranks of the party. He served as district clerk prior to the organization of the township and was subsequently elected township assessor, acting in the latter capacity con- tinuously until 1906. In that year he was chosen county commsisioner and has since dis- charged the duties of that important office in a most creditable and commendable manner. His religious faith is indicated by his membership in the Lutheran synod, to which his wife also belongs. The period of his residence in Minnehaha county covers four decades and his record is that of one of its best known and most esteemed citizens.

DR. EDDISON MOSIMAN.

Dr. Eddison Mosiman, scholar, educator, author and now president of the South Dakota Mennonite College at Freeman, was born on a farm near Middletown, Ohio, October 15, 1878, a son of Christian and Anna (Kinsinger) Mosiman, both of whom were natives of Butler county, Ohio. The paternal grandparents emigrated from Alsace in the vicinity of Colmar and Muehlhausen. The maternal grandparents emigrated from Rhenish Bavaria near Zwei- bruecken.

Endowed by nature with keen mentality, Dr. Mosiman eagerly embraced his opportunities for acquiring an education. He spent the first eighteen years of his life upon the home farm and made his initial step in the educational field as teacher of a country school in Butler county, Ohio, for a term of nine months in 1897-8. This stimulated more than ever his desire to advance his own education and he entered Wittenberg College Academy at Springfield, Ohio, where he studied through the scholastic year of 1898-9. He next entered Wittenberg College and on the completion of the classical course won his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1903. He next became instructor in the Mennonite Educational Institute at Gretna, Manitoba, Canada, where he continued until 1906, when he became a student in the McCormick Theological Seminary at Chicago, Illinois, which conferred upon him the degree of Bachelor of Divinity in 1912. In the same year the University of Chicago conferred upon him the Master of Arts degree. While at the McCormick Theological Seminary he won the T. B. Blackstone New Testament Fellowship, which gave him the privilege of two years of study and travel abroad. Accordingly he entered the University of Berlin, where he studied through the winter semester of 1909 and 1910. In the latter year he was a student in the University of Heidelberg through the summer semester and received from that institution the degree of Doctor of Theology. He studied in the University of Leipzig through the winter semester of 1910-11 and was a student in the University of Marburg, Germany, in the summer semester of 1911. Upon his return to his native land he became instructor in Greek and philosophy at the Central Men- nonite College, now Bluffton College and Mennonite Seminary, at Bluffton, Ohio, with which he was connected for two years, and in 1913 he accepted the call to the presidency of the South Dakota Mennonite College, known as Freeman College, at Freeman.

While Dr. Mosiman was in Germany one of the best known publishers of that country, J. C. B. Mohr, of Tuebingen, issued his book, "Das Zungenreden, geschichtlich und psychologish untersucht (The Gift of Tongues, historically and scientifically investigated)." This has been recognized by German scholars as the best critical production in German on the subject. From the German press concerning this work the following excerpts have been made:

"Eine bedeutende wissenschaftliche Arbeit."-Der Wahrheitszeuge, Kassel, June 10, 1911.

"Es ist eine ruhige, solid wissenschaftliche Arbeit, auf umfangreichen historischen und psychologischen Studien bernhend. . Sein Buch sei allen Interessierten sehr empfolen." -Ev. Kirchenhlatt, Schlesien.

"Sie ist wohl die einzige umfassende und grundliche, welche wir neber das Zungenreden haben."-Auf der Warte. No. 45, 1911.

"Ein englischer Theologe gibt hier die deutsche Bearbeitung seiner intressanten Unter- suchung ueber, die Glossolalie. . Am interessantesten ist der Versuch, die eigenartige Erscheinung psychologisch zu erklaren."-Schwaeb. Merkur. 6-10, 1911.

"Eine lehreiche Studie, die auch der Nichttheologe mit Gewinn lesen wird. . . . Man sieht, es ist ein weites, buntes Feld, das sich der Forschung bietet. Und Mosiman ist ein kundiger Fuehrer."-Christl. Freiheit, No. 44, 1911.

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"Die Schrift von Mosiman ist eine gruendliche, sachkundige und mit Beruecksichtigung der einschlaegigen Literatur musterhafte Arbeit. Es wird jeder, der sich ein selbstaendiges Urteil ueber den Gegenstand bilden moechte, nach Mosimans Schrift greifen muessen."-Der Oelberg, No. 3, 1911.

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History of Dakota Territory, volume V, Part 43

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