History of Dakota Territory, volume V, Part 49

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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Harry D. Brainard, who has been cashier of the Ranchman's State Bank at Fairburn since its organization and is also identified with banking interests elsewhere, was born at Lone Rock, Richland county, Wisconsin, June 22, 1890, a son of Len O. and Louise O. (Ochsner) Brainard. The father is a native of the state of New York and in early life hecame a civil engineer. He afterward engaged in the operation of a flour mill and later turned his attention to merchandising in Wisconsin. Subsequently he became connected with banking at Lone Rock, becoming president of the Farmers Bank, in which capacity he is still serving. He devotes the greater part of his time to his banking interests yet gives careful supervision to his property, having become the owner of considerable valuable real estate. He served on the board of education of Lone Rock for a number of years and has always been ready to aid in matters of public improvement and progress. He married Louise O. Ochsner, who was born in the vicinity of Lone Rock, and they became parents of four children, but Harry D. is the only one now living.

After attending the high school in his native town Harry D. Brainard pursued a con- mercial course at Valparaiso, Indiana, and spent two years as a student in the mechanical engineering department of the State University of Wisconsin. After leaving high school he spent a year on a stock ranch in Colorado and then resumed his studies. When his education was completed he went to the west in the fall of 1909 and entered the Security Savings Bank at Rapid City, South Dakota, in the capacity of bookkeeper. Eighteen months later he was advanced to the position of assistant cashier, in which he continued until May, 1914, when the Ranchman's State Bank at Fairburn was organized. Mr. Brainard assisted in its formation and when it was opened for business on the 1st of July, 1914, he became its cashier and has

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so continued. He is also a stockholder in the Security Savings Bank of Rapid City and is owner of land in this state.

On the 12th of May, 1914, Mr. Brainard was united in marriage to Miss Amy Monheim, who was born in Sturgis, South Dakota, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Monheim, who were early settlers in the Black Hills. The father was born in Germany and wedded Miss Mattie Brook Platt, who was a native of Galesburg, Illinois. During his early childhood John Mon- heim was brought to the new world by his parents, the family settling in Illinois, where he reached adult age. He came to the Hills at an early day and was employed by the Homestake Company in the supply department and the store. He also had charge of the company's store at Brownsville for a number of years. He then went to Sturgis, where he engaged in general merchandising in connection with his brother, and subsequently he conducted an enterprise of that character independently, remaining actively in the business until 1908, when he disposed of his holdings and began the operation of a ranch at Piedmont. He is now engaged in ranching at Rockford, South Dakota. He has been an active business man of the western section of this state and has contributed in no small measure to its development. For two terms he served as mayor of Sturgis. His wife passed away in December, 1908, and thus Mrs. Brainard was left motherless.

In his political views Mr. Brainard is a democrat but has no desire for office. He belongs to the Masonic lodge of Lone Rock, Wisconsin, to the Elks lodge at Rapid City, and to the Odd Fellows at Fairburn. A young man, he possesses the enterprising spirit that has been characteristic of the west and already he has made for himself a creditable position in business circles, while there is every indication that he will make steady advance in the future. He has substantial business qualifications and admirable personal characteristics and is popular with those with whom he has been brought in contact.

JOHN J. MERTENS, M. D.

Dr. John J. Mertens, of Gettysburg, who stands high as a medical practitioner in Potter county, was born at Two Rivers, Wisconsin, July 16, 1869, a son of Christopher and Geneva (Geiger) Mertens, both natives of Germany. The father was born in Prussia on the 13th of February, 1843, and the mother in Wurtemberg, January 1, 1841. Mr. Mertens emigrated to the United States in 1866 and Miss Geneva Geiger came to this country about six years earlier. They were married in Two Rivers, Wisconsin, and Mr. Mertens followed the shoemaker's trade in that state for some time. In 1888 he removed to Faulk county, South Dakota, where he engaged in the real-estate and insurance business until his death in 1907. While living in Prussia he served in the German army and was promoted to the rank of sergeant. He saw active service in the wars against Denmark and Austria. At the time of his death he was a colonel on Governor Elrod's staff. He held the confidence and esteem of his fellow citizens and served as alderman and as justice of the peace at Faulkton. Mrs. Mertens is still living in that city.

Dr. Mertens, who is the oldest ehild and only son of a family of five children, attended the high school at Alma City, Minnesota, where the family resided for ahout ten years before they removed to this state. Later he entered the Medical College of Hamlin University at Minneapolis, and was graduated from that institution with the class of 1903. He began to provide for his own support at the age of fifteen years and at the same time attended school. When about nineteen years old he was employed in a general store in Alma City, Minnesota, and subsequently taught school in that state for two years. He then entered St. Peter's Hospital at St. Peter, Minnesota, in the capacity of a nurse and so continued for two years, after which he entered a medical school, his experience in the hospital having led to his decision to devote his life to the practice of medicine. While taking his medical course he worked for the Minneapolis Journal and also for the street railway company, thus securing the money to pay his expenses. He was in school for five years and after his graduation removed to Potter county, South Dakota, locating at Lebanon, where he practiced for about seven years. At the end of that time he took up his residence in Gettysburg, where he has since remained. He engages in general practice as a physician and surgeon and has gained a large and repre- sentative clientage. He has remained a careful student of his profession and by wide reading

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and through his association with medical societies keeps in touch with the progress that is being made in the field of medical science. He belongs to the Aberdeen District Medical Society, the South Dakota State Medical Society, the Sioux Valley Medical Society and the American Medical Association, and the Chicago & North Western Association of Railway Surgeons.

Dr. Mertens was married on the 23d of June, 1903, to Miss Alberta Gillespie, who was born in Kilbourn, Wisconsin, April 11, 1875, a daughter of Thomas and Martha (Simpson) Gillespie, natives respectively of Vermont and Scotland. The father, who devoted his life to agricultural pursuits, was a pioneer of this state and passed away in Kilbourn in 1914, but the mother is still residing there. Mrs. Mertens died on the 30tb of May, 1914, leaving a daughter, Margaret Gillespie, who is now attending school in Winnetka, Illinois.

Dr. Mertens is a republican, and in 1909 and again in 1911 was elected to represent his district in the state legislature. He is now serving as superintendent of the board of health of Potter county and has also held the office of justice of the peace. He attends the Methodist Episcopal church and conforms his conduct to high standards of ethics. Fraternally he belongs to the Masonic blue lodge at Gettysburg, in which he is steward, to the Eastern Star Chapter at Gettysburg, the Elks lodge at Aberdeen, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at Gettysburg, the Ancient Order of United Workmen, the Modern Woodmen of America and the Modern Brotherhood of America. He is also actively identified with the Theta-Tau Chapter of the Phi Rho Signia of Minneapolis, a medical Greek-letter fraternity. His interest in South Dakota and all that pertains to it is manifested in his membership in the State His- torical Society and in his willingness to do all within his power to promote the further development and progress of the state. He is respected and esteemed for his public spirit as well as for his professional ability and the integrity of his character, and his personal friends are many.

THOMAS HANSON.

Thomas Hanson, deceased, was one of the prominent and influential farmers of Burk township, Minnehaha county. He was born in Bergen, Norway, on the 17th of October, 1851, and emigrated to the United States in 1869, locating in Iowa, where he remained until 1874 and then came to South Dakota. He took up a homestead on section 13, Burk township, Minnehaha county, and also secured the northwest quarter of section 24 under the tree culture laws. He was one of the pioneers of the state and underwent all the hardships and trials which fell to the lot of the early settlers, suffering heavy losses because of the grasshopper plague and in the years of drought.

Mr. Hanson held various township offices and enjoyed an enviable reputation as a repre- sentative agriculturist and respected citizen of his community. His demise occurred on the 18th of February, 1913, and his remains were interred in the Willow Creek cemetery. He had been a resident here for almost four decades and in his passing the state lost one of its honored pioneer settlers. His widow, Mrs. Lena Hanson, who still survives him, is fifty-five years of age.

GEORGE WILLIAM L. SHRIGLEY.

George William L. Shrigley, whose demise occurred on the 22d of August, 1895. was for a number of years actively and successfully identified with agricultural interests in Miner county. owning three hundred and twenty acres of land near Howard. He was born in Chicago, Illinois. on the 5th of December, 1843, his parents being Benjamin and Caroline (Taylor) Shrigley. In 1858 the family established their home in Fillmore county, Minne- sota, where the father was continuously engaged in business as a building contractor until his death in March, 1880.

In the acquirement of an education G. W. L. Shrigley attended the public schools of Chatfield, Minnesota. In 1864, when twenty-one years of age, he enlisted for service in the

G. W. L. SHRIGLEY AND FAMILY

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Union army, remaining with his command until the cessation of hostilities between the north and the south. He then returned to Spring Valley, Minnesota, and there became iden- tified with milling interests, being engaged at work in a flour mill until 1878. In that year he was taken sick and during the following three years was unable to do work of any kind. In 1881 he eame to South Dakota and homesteaded a quarter section of land one-half mile west of Howard, in Miner county. There he devoted his attention to agricultural pursuits throughout the remainder of his life and met with success in his undertakings, eventually purchasing an adjoining tract of one hundred and sixty acres. In his demise, which occurred on the 22d of Angust, 1895, the community lost one of its substantial agriculturists and esteemed citizens.

On the 24th of April. 1875. Mr. Shrigley was united in marriage to Miss Sarah E. McCoy, of Chatfield. Minnesota. Their son, George Ernest, who was born on the 17th of February, 1880, lives with his widowed mother and operates the home place. Mr. Shrigley gave his politieal allegiance to the democracy and was a Presbyterian in religious faith, while fraternally he was identified with the Masons. His widow has now resided in this state for a third of a century and is well known and highly esteemed in her home community.

THEODORE FOSTER RIGGS, M. D.

Thorough preparation for the profession, keen appreciation of its possibilities and a eon- scientious regard for its duties and obligations have placed Theodore Foster Riggs in the foremost rank among the practitioners of medicine and surgery in the capital city of South Dakota. While this state was still under territorial rule the family home was established at Hope Station in what is now Stanley county and there Dr. Riggs was born on the 7th of July, 1874, a son of Thomas Lawrence and Cornelia Margaret (Foster) Riggs. The father is a son of Stephen R. and Mary Ann (Longley) Riggs. The former, born in Steubenville, Ohio, March 23, 1812, was a missionary to the Sioux Indians in the northwest and died at Beloit, Wisconsin, August 24, 1883. His wife, who was born at Hawley, Massachusetts, November 10, 1813, passed away in Beloit, March 22, 1869. The maternal grandparents of Dr. Riggs were John Burt and Catherine (MeGaw) Foster. The former was born in Petersham, Massaclm- setts, June 5, 1819, and the latter at Bangor, Maine, January 10, 1819. Both passed away in the city of Bangor. Their daughter, Mrs. Riggs, was born March 19, 1848, and died on the 5th of August, 1878. She became the wife of Thomas Lawrence Riggs, who was born at Lac qui Parle, Minnesota, June 3, 1847, and in 1868 was graduated from Beloit College of Beloit, Wisconsin, with the Bachelor of Arts degree. He prepared for the ministry in the Chicago Theological Seminary, completing his course in 1872 and has been a Congregational missionary among the Dakota Sioux since then. It was on the 26th of December, 1872, that he wedded Cornelia Margaret Foster. Extended mention of him is made elsewhere in this work.

Their son, Dr. Theodore Foster Riggs, was a student at Beloit College, winning the Bachelor of Arts degree in 1898. Upon the foundation of a broad elassieal course he built the superstructure of professional knowledge, winning his M. D. degree in 1903, on graduation from the Johns Hopkins University at Baltimore, Maryland. He entered upon the practice of surgery in Pierre after having served as resident house officer in the Johns Hopkins Hospital in 1903-4. He was also assistant resident and resident surgeon in the Union Protestant Infirm- ary of Baltimore from 1904 until 1907. The following year he went abroad and did graduate student work in the line of his profession in Berlin and in Berne, Switzerland. In 1908 he acted as private assistant to Dr. A. W. Elting at Albany, New York, subsequent to which time he came to Pierre, where he has since practiced, making a specialty of surgery. He has been a member of the attending staff of St. Mary's Hospital since 1909 and has done much important hospital work along surgical lines. Studying in this great department of the pro- fession, he has gained proficiency that ranks him with the ablest surgeons of the state. Dr. Riggs is a Fellow of American College of Surgeons and is also a member of the Western Surgical Association. He keeps abreast with the best thinking men of the age, with the latest scientific investigations and improvements in the methods of surgical work and dis- plays notable skill in this chosen branch of his profession. He has few outside business interests, save that be is president of the Riggs Irrigation Company at Oahe, South Dakota.

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Dr. Riggs is a republican but has never been an aspirant for office. He has attained high rank in Masonry, holding membership in the lodge, chapter and commandery at Pierre and in El Riad Temple of the Mystic Shrine at Sioux Falls. He became a charter member of the Bachelor Club of Pierre in 1909 and his religious belief is evidenced in his connection with the Congregational church. He is well known in social circles, where his many sterling qual- ities and genial disposition have gained him a host of warm friends.

Dr. Riggs was married January 1, 1914, to Miss Ida Rudolph Smith, who was born April 2, 1883, at Chester Basin, Nova Scotia, a daughter of Edward Curren and Annie Frances (Crosskill) Smith. Her father is deceased but her mother still resides in Chester, Nova Scotia. Mrs. Riggs died February 5, 1915.

DANIEL J. O'KEEFFE.

Daniel J. O'Keeffe, a member of the Potter county har, practicing at Gettysburg, was born in River Falls, Pierce county, Wisconsin, September 30, 1876, a son of John and Julia (O'Connor) O'Keeffe, both of whom were natives of County Cork, Ireland, the former born in the year 1839, and the latter about 1844. They were married on the Emerald isle and crossed the Atlantic to the new world abont 1862, settling first in Vermont, where the father engaged in farming. Later he removed westward to Wisconsin and carried on general agri- cultural pursuits in St. Croix county. He is still a resident of that state but his wife passed away on the 28th of April, 1913.

Their son Daniel J. O'Keeffe attended school in his native county and also became a pupil in the normal school at River Falls, Wisconsin. At the age of eighteen years he took up the profession of teaching and was thns engaged in his native state for three years. Sub- sequent to that time he matriculated in the University of Minnesota as a law student, there completing the regular legal course and graduating with the class of 1901. For two years he was upon the road as a representative of the Minneapolis Times and afterward turned his attention to the real-estate business, opening an office in Gettysburg, South Dakota, continuing active in that field for four years. He then took up the practice of law, which he has sinee followed and he now devotes the major part of his time and attention to his law practice, which is one of growing importance.

On the 4th of October, 1905, Mr. O'Keeffe was united in marriage to Miss Alice Breene, who was born in Reedsburg, Wisconsin, a daughter of William and Agnes (Whity) Breene. The father was a farmer during the greater part of his life but for a number of years has lived retired in Reedsburg, Wisconsin. To Mr. and Mrs. O'Keeffe has been born a daughter, Agnes Lorene, whose birth occurred December 8, 1908. The parents are members of the Roman Catholic church and Mr. O'Keeffe was identified with the Knights of Columbus in Minneapolis. His political allegiance is given to the republican party and he keeps well informed on the questions and issues of the day. For four years he served as states attorney of Potter county, has also been city attorney and filled other local offices.

JAMES S. SMITH.

The Belle Fourche Bee is an excellent, well managed and well edited paper which has a deservedly large circulation in Belle Fourche and the surrounding country. Much of its suc- cess is due to James S. Smith, who is both manager and editor and one of the most capable men connected with the weekly papers of the state. He was born June 22, 1880, the younger of the two children of Luther H. and Ellen (Donoho) Smith. The father was born on the shores of Lake Champlain, New York, in 1834 and the mother in Tennessee in 1840. In early manhood Luther H. Smith came west and in response to President Lincoln's call for troops enlisted in the Union army, becoming a member of the One Hundred and Twenty-seventh Regiment of Illinois Volunteers. He was mustered out before the close of the war because of sickness and about 1867 removed to Kansas City and thence to Fort Scott, that state, where he worked as a bridge carpenter for some time. After that he took np a homestead,

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where he resided until 1884. In that year he removed to Bronson, Kansas, which remained his home until 1911, when he went to Wichita, where he is now living retired. His wife died in 1884.

James S. Smith attended school in Bronson, Kansas, and also a commercial and normal school at Springfield, Missouri. When about fifteen years of age he became a printer's apprentice in Fort Scott and there learned his trade. He remained in that city for a little more than seven years and then returned to Bronson, where he was engaged on newspaper work for one year, after which he was similarly employed at Iola, Kansas, for a year. For the next eighteen months he was connected with the International Correspondence Schools, after which he went to Superior, Nebraska, where he was employed on a newspaper. In the spring of 1904 he removed to Belle Fourche and was employed as a printer in the plant of the Belle Fourche Bee. In 1906 the Bee Publishing Company was organized and he became manager and editor of the paper, in which capacities he is still serving. The Bee is reliable, its news is written in an interesting form and it carries a large number of local advertise- ments. The Bee Publishing Company also does general job work and that branch of its business is especially profitable. It also operates the Butte County Press, which is published at Nisland.

Mr. Smith was married on the 6th of October, 1907, to Miss Iva Hickerson, whose birth occurred at Red Oak, Iowa. Her parents are William E. and Louise (Lovett) Hickerson. Her father was born in Illinois in 1852 and her mother, who is also a native of that state, was horn in Pittsfield in 1856. From Iowa the family removed to Nebraska about 1885 and located near Milford, but later became residents of Seward, that state. Throughout his active busi- ness life Mr. Hickerson followed farming, but is now living retired. Mr. and Mrs. Smith have a son, Frederick Hickerson, born April 6, 1910.

Mr. Smith is a republican but while he is never remiss in the duties of citizenship he has not taken an especially active part in politics. His connection with the Masonic order, in which he belongs to the hlue lodge and chapter, indicates the rules which govern his life. He devotes his entire attention to his duties as manager and editor of the Bee and spares neither labor nor thought in his effort to make it one of the best weekly publications in the state. His success in the field of newspaper work and his praiseworthy traits of character entitle him to the respect of his fellowmen and all who know him hold him in high esteem.

HAROLD EDWARD KELLOGG, M. D.

Dr. Harold Edward Kellogg, engaged in the practice of medicine and surgery, as a mem- ber of the well known and highly regarded firm of Daniels, Goldman & Kellogg of Madison, has in his professional activity held to the highest standards and is constantly striving to broaden his knowledge along lines that mean efficiency. He was born in Lake county, South Dakota, March 11, 1883, and is a son of Edward B. and Nancy J. (Chappell) Kellogg, both of whom were natives of Vermont, in which state they were reared, their marriage heing celebrated at East Richford. Dr. Kellogg comes of a family that has usually heen connected with professional interests. His paternal grandfather, the Rev. Edward Kellogg, and two of his sons were ministers of the gospel and one of them at the time of his death was presi- dent of the South Lancaster (Mass.) conference, while the other son was for years assist- ant editor of the Review and Herald, then published in Battle Creek, Michigan, but now published in Washington, D. C. He is also the editor of several religious works of note. Among the ancestors of the family there were also many physicians and lawyers of promi- nence, including Dr. J. H. Kellogg, of the Battle Creek Sanitarium.

Edward B. Kellogg, the father, was a veteran of the Civil war, serving in Company H, Sixteenth Regiment of Vermont Volunteer Infantry. Such was his loyalty and patriotism that after being mustered out of the service he remained with the Union forces and took part in the hotly contested battle of Gettysburg. He continued his residence in New Eng- land until 1880, when he came west to South Dakota and secured a homestead in Nunda township, Lake county, comprising the southwest quarter of section 7. Two or three years later he purchased a relinquishment on a tree claim adjoining his homestead and there he resided until 1906, when he removed to Madison, where he is now living retired, enjoying

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a rest which he has truly earned and richly deserves. He was among those who aided in the reclamation of this section of the state for the purposes of civilization, and his labors were far-reaching and beneficial.

Reared under the parental roof, Dr. Kellogg mastered the branches of learning taught in the public schools and afterward attended the South Dakota State Normal School at Madison and Union College at Collegeview, Nebraska. He thus acquired a good literary education to serve as the foundation upon which to build the superstructure of professional learning, and in the fall of 1906 he matriculated in the Lincoln Medical College, from which he was graduated with the class of 1910. He served as interne in Esther Hospital at Lin- coln during the last year of his college work, thus putting his theoretical knowledge to the practical test and gaining that broad experience which only hospital work can give. In the following fall he entered upon the active duties of his profession in Madison, becoming the associate of Dr. W. E. Daniels, with whom he has since been connected, and the present firm of Daniels, Goldman & Kellogg ranks today with the foremost representatives of the profession in the state.

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History of Dakota Territory, volume V, Part 49

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