History of Dakota Territory, volume V, Part 87

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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Judge Jarvis has passed through the various departments of Odd Fellowship, belong- ing to Faulkton Lodge, No. 169; to Jarvis Encampment, No. 45, named in his honor; and Canton Success, No. 3, at Mitchell, South Dakota. He also has membership in Phil H. Sheridan Post, No. 72, G. A. R., of which he has served as commander. In politics he has always been a stalwart republican and held various local offices previous to being called to the bench. Reelection has returned him to the position and he is making a splendid officer. One of his pronounced characteristics has always been his fidelity to duty, whether it be the duty of military service, of public office or the obligations that the individual owes to his fellowmen. He has held to high ideals, has looked at life from a broad viewpoint and has made his efforts count for good in the world's work.

MILTON FREASE.

Milton Frease, a resident of New Underwood, is engaged in the live-stock business, mak- ing a specialty of the breeding of Polled Durham cattle. He owns a valuable ranch property and success is attending his efforts in its management. Mr. Frease is a native of Pennsyl- vania. He was born at Nescopeck, January 7, 1845, a son of Samuel and Catherine (Slager) Frease, natives of New Jersey and Pennsylvania respectively. The father was a farmer by occupation and never came to the west, both he and his wife passing away in the Keystone state.

Milton Frease attended school in Pennsylvania and was a student in a select school at Cutler, Ohio. In 1864, when a youth of nineteen, he enlisted as a private of Company G, One Hundred and Ninety-ninth Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, with which he served until the close of the war, being mustered out at Philadelphia. He was wounded hy a gunshot in the battle near Petersburg and was in the hospital for two months before he was discharged. After leaving the army he remained at home until the following year. when he removed to Ohio. He spent about four months in that state and then journeyed westward, traveling across the country. He first stopped at Julesburg, Colorado, for a time and then proceeded to Sedgwick in eastern Colorado. He was employed on construction work on the Union Pacific Railroad for about two years, after which he returned to Colorado and engaged in the cattle business for about seven years. At the end of that time he went on the Platte river and thence to the Republican, where he engaged in the cattle business. On the 1st of August, 1880, he came to South Dakota and settled at Rapid City, having his herds located on Elk creek and Belle Fourche river. He remained at Rapid City until 1890, when he removed to his ranch three miles west of New Underwood, there remaining until he took up his abode in the town. He is still engaged in the stock business and is breeding Polled Durham cattle, keeping a number of fine head on hand. He has more than two sections of land, constituting a valuable ranch property of which about one hundred and fifty acres is devoted to the raising of alfalfa.

In September, 1887, Mr. Frease was married to Miss Hattie Ryan, a native of Indiana and a daughter of George and Mary Ryan, both natives of Indiana. The father devoted practically his entire life to farming and in the summer of 1880 became a resident of Pen- nington county, South Dakota, where he carried on general agricultural pursuits and stock- raising. He also carefully managed his ranch until the fall of 1914, when he removed to the vicinity of Roseburg, Oregon, where he is now living retired. He has held various local offices and has done official service in connection with the schools. To Mr. and Mrs. Frease have been born five children: Paul, who married Miss Rimer and resides on his father's ranch ; Hazel, who is attending school at Brookings, South Dakota, where she is preparing for teach- ing; Katherine, also in the Brookings school; and Helen and Russell, both at home.

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Mr. Frease and his family attend the Congregational church, although he is not a mem- ber. His political allegiance is given the republican party and he served for one term as county treasurer and for one term as county commissioner. He was also a member of the legislature for one term, having been elected to that office in 1907. He has been treasurer of the school board of the twenty-sixth independent distriet for twenty years and is still acting in that capacity. He is interested in all that pertains to the work of publie progress and improvement in his community and his work has been an effective force for advancing the general good. In Masonry he has advanced through various degrees from the blue lodge to the Shrine and he is a member of Naja Temple of Deadwood. He likewise belongs to the Knights of Pythias, was master of the exchequer for nine years at Rapid City and is a mem- ber of the Elks lodge at Rapid City.

JOHN F. COLE.

John F. Cole has been identified with business circles of Onida, Sully county, for a num- ber of years and still owns a drug store in that town. He is now, however, giving the greater part of his time and energy to the discharge of his duties as county treasurer. A native of Ashland, Ohio, he was born July 5, 1848. His parents, Samuel and Sarah (Ross) Cole, were born in Ohio and Maryland respectively, but in 1848 they removed to Mahaska county. Iowa, where the father followed agricultural pursuits until 1863, when he removed with his family to the vicinity of Ottumwa, Wapello county, that state. He died upon his farm in that locality in 1879. He was not only an agriculturist but was also a local minister in the Methodist Episcopal church. His widow returned to Mahaska county after his demise and passed away at Cedar in 1898 when she had reached the advanced age of eighty eight, as she was born on the 13th of June, 1810.

John F. Cole, who is the seventh in order of birth in a family of ten children, attended school in Tahor. Iowa, and was also a student in the Central University of Iowa at Pella. When nineteen years of age he began working for others and thus secured the money which enabled him to complete his education. Upon leaving school he returned to the home farm and continued to follow agricultural pursuits in Iowa until 1883. During a part of that time, however, he was associated with his brother in the conduct of a drug store at Bussey, that state. In 1883 he came to South Dakota and located at Clifton, then the county seat of Sully county. For three years he concentrated his energies upon farming but at the end of that time embarked in the drug business at Clifton, where he only remained for a short time, however, as he sold his interest there and took up his residence in Onida, where he and his brother established a drug store. His brother withdrew from the firm in 1890 and John F. Cole has since conducted the store alone. He is a stockholder in the First State Bank and likewise owns land in South Dakota. Aside from the interests already mentioned he owns stoek in the Union Savings Association in Sioux Falls. In the early days of his residence in this state, both while living in Clifton and after his removal to Onida, he also engaged in the livery and feed business. He is now the incumbent in the office of county treasurer and has proven without a doubt his ability to discharge the important duties devolving upon him with accuracy and dispatch. He is not only efficient but he is also courteous, and his services are proving very satisfactory to the people of the county.

Mr. Cole was married on the 31st of December, 1874, to Miss Belle B. Barritt, who is a native of Ohio and a daughter of Thomas H. and Mary (Porter) Barritt, both natives of Kentucky. The father was educated for the law but because of failing health turned his attention to farming and stock-raising. In 1862 he removed to Wapello county, Iowa, and passed the remainder of his life there. To Mr. and Mrs. Cole have been born three children. Linnie, whose birth occurred in 1876, passed away in 1893. Maud is now the wife of C. R. Garner, the present mayor of Onida and a real-estate agent in that city. To their union has been born a daughter, Audrey Belle, who is attending school. Mrs. Garner is deputy county treasurer. J. Ford was born on the 18th of June, 1899, and is at home.

Mr. Cole is a stalwart republican and served for fifteen years as justice of the peace, making an excellent record in that connection. Fraternally he is a member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen, in which he has held all of the chairs, and for twenty-five years

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HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA

he has served in one official capacity or another in that organization. There has never heen any question either as to his integrity or his ability, and Sully county is fortunate in having such a man as custodian of the public funds.

WILLIS E. BENEDICT.

Willis E. Benedict, engaged in the practice of law in Belle Fourche and financially inter- ested in other business affairs and property in Butte county, was born in Lafayette county, Wisconsin, near Belmont, July 16, 1858, a son of Hiram F. and Lydia A. (Thompson) Bene- diet, who were natives of New York, born December 26, 1830, and September 26, 1832, respectively. The father learned the carpenter's trade in early life and in 1871 came to South Dakota, settling in Lincoln county, near Canton, where he homesteaded. In connec- tion with the development of his land he worked at his trade in that county up to the time of his death, which occurred in 1901. He proved a worthy and influential citizen and held various offices in connection with the schools, the cause of education finding in him a stalwart champion.

In a family of four children Willis E. Benedict was the eldest and his education was acquired through attendance at the schools of Darlington, Wisconsin, and of Lincoln county, this state, attending the latter through the winter terms. That district was then a frontier settlement and the schools of the county had not attained their present condition of excel- lence, but he made good use of his opportunities and throughout his life has embraced every chance to further his knowledge. When sixteen years of age he taught in the rural schools of Lincoln county but continued to reside at home until he attained his majority. He was then a reporter and assistant on the Sioux Valley News at Canton until he was elected county superintendent in 1884. He occupied that position acceptably for two terms, bringing about various needed improvements in connection with the schools, and on retiring from the posi- tion he went upon the road for a year, representing the Sioux Falls Daily, a paper owned and edited by the firm of Caldwell & Bliss. In the spring of 1889 he made his way west of the river, having purchased an interest in the Hot Springs Star. He afterward hecame sole owner of that paper, which he conducted for three years, and in the meantime he took up the study of law, which he carefully and thoroughly pursued until admitted to the bar on the 30th of March, 1887. He practiced law at Hot Springs for a time in connection with the publication of the newspaper but in 1892 disposed of his interest in the Star and removed to Custer, South Dakota, where he engaged in law practice for twelve or thirteen years. He then came to Belle Fourche, where he has practiced continuously since, and is now accorded a good clientage, which is an indication of the ability which he displays in handling the work of the courts. He owns land in South Dakota, including both ranch and irrigated farm property, and he also has farm lands in the eastern part of the state, but he devotes the greater part of his time and attention to his law practice, which is constantly growing in volume and importance.

Mr. Benedict has always been very active in political circles. He votes with the repub- lican party and has done much to further its interests and win success for its candidates. Aside from serving as county superintendent of schools in Lincoln county he filled the office of states attorney of Custer county in 1895 and 1896 and was elected to the state senate from the district comprising Custer and Fall River counties, serving during the session of 1899. He was afterward elected from Custer county as its representative in the lower house of the general assembly, serving during the session of 1901. He has been a member of school boards and acted as city police justice under the first city election of Hot Springs. No one has ever questioned his fidelity to a public office-which he has ever regarded as a public trust-and it is a well known fact that no trust reposed in Mr. Benedict has ever been betrayed.

On the 12th of August, 1889, occurred the marriage of Willis E. Benedict and Miss Maude Ionia Druse, a native of MeHenry county, Illinois, in which state her father passed away, while her mother afterward removed to the vicinity of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and is now living with a son in Oregon. Mr. and Mrs. Benedict have one child, Marjorie

WILLIS E. BENEDICT

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HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA

Alice, who is a teacher. She was educated in the public schools of Custer and Belle Fourche, in All Saints College at Sioux Falls and in Oberlin College at Oberlin, Ohio,

The family hold membership in the Congregational church and Mr. Benedict likewise has membership relations with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He is past grand master of the state, having been elected in 1895, and for five years he was a representative in the Sovereign Grand Lodge. He has also been chairman of the judiciary committee in the Grand Lodge. He likewise belongs to the blue lodge Masons, the Knights of Pythias and the Modern Woodmen of America. Mr. Benedict is today one of the pioneer residents of South Dakota, his father having reached Lincoln county in 1871, while he came to this state in the spring of 1872. Forty-three years have since passed, years in which time and man have wrought wonderful changes, developing the district from a wild and sparsely set- tled frontier region into one of the populous and prosperous commonwealths of the Union.

JESSE S. SHAFFER.

.Jesse S. Shaffer, who came to South Dakota more than three decades ago, has resided within its borders continuously since and is now serving for the second term as sheriff of Brown county. His home is in Aberdeen. He was born in Shiawassee county, Michigan, in 1857, and is a son of Levi and Ann (Demorest) Shaffer. After completing the public-school course he was employed as a clerk in his native state. In March, 1882, when a young man of twenty-five years, he came to Brown county, South Dakota, and took up a tract of govern- ment land in Columbia township. Since that time he has farmed and has also been engaged in mercantile pursuits in various parts of the county. In 1898 he was made deputy sheriff under Frank Thompson, later served under H. W. Cole and subsequently as deputy with John Anderson. In this capacity he made such an excellent record that in the fall of 1910 he was elected sheriff of Brown county and received recognition of his able service in reelection two years later. The unruly element has been held in check through the effective discharge of his duties, and he has won the respect and admiration of all peace-loving and law-abiding citizens.

On the 6th of June, 1881, Mr. Shaffer was united in marriage to Miss Charlotte A. New- man, who was born in Wellington, Canada, in 1860. Unto them have been born six ehildren, as follows: E. L., who follows farming in Marshall county, South Dakota; Livilli May. who gave her hand in marriage to Professor F. W. Smith and resides in North Dakota; Roy E., of Aberdeen, who is in the service of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway; Iva L., the wife of H. L. Elliott, of Aberdeen; Bertha M., who is the wife of H. M. Anderson and lives in Aberdeen; and Harold C. All the above named are natives of South Dakota.

Since age conferred upon him the right of franchise Mr. Shaffer has supported the men and measures of the republican party. In Masonry he has attained the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite and also belongs to the Mystic Shrine, while both he and his wife are connected with the Eastern Star. His other fraternal relations are with the Ancient Order of United Workmen, the Modern Brotherhood of America, the Degree of Honor and the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, and he is in hearty sympathy with the beneficent spirit which underlies these organizations. In all life's relations he has enjoyed the respect and confidence of his fellowmen because he is honest, upright, persistent and determined.

DR. GUSTAV GOTTLIEB WENZLAFF.

Dr. Gustav G. Wenzlaff, president of the State Normal School at Springfield, this state, is one of the best known educators of South Dakota and is making an impress upon the educational system of the state that will endure for many years. He is a scion of one of the German families that emigrated from Russia to the new world in the early '70s when the liberties granted them by Catherine the Great were revoked by the reigning czar. His pater- nal grandfather, Samuel Wenzlaff, was a native of the town of Wrietzen-an-der-Oder and early in the nineteenth century removed with his family to the village of Alt-Arzis, near Vol. V-32

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Odessa, being one of the colony of Germans who settled there at the invitation of Catherine the Great. His wife, whom he married in Prussia, was a native of southern Germany. She was one of the Protestant refugees from Salzburg who left their native land during the religious uprising caused by the edict of October 31, 1731. During the trip she became sepa - rated from her family and never found any trace of them.

Jolın Christian Wenzlaff, the father of Dr. Wenzlaff, was a man of higher educational attainments than the average and was a schoolmaster. He was also a lay reader in the church and officiated in the absence of the minister. He married Johanna Christina Heinzelman, who was born at Gross Liebenthal. Her father was a native of the Black Forest in southern Germany and accompanied his father to Russia, The latter took with him a goodly hoard of gold but died of the plague before reaching his destination and the gold was buried with him. His children were refused permission to recover it and it is probable that the Russian officials appropriated it. The parents of Dr. Wenzlaff were married at the village of Chabag, near Akkerman, on an arm of the Black sea, known as Leman. Near that place, at the vil- lage of Johannesthal, Gustav G. Wenzlaff was born on the 5th of November, 1865. For some time prior to his emigration to America his father was superintendent and manager of a large estate whose owner lived in Paris. The father superintended the education of his children, one hour of the forenoon being allotted to study while the rest of the day was free for recreation and play. At night the father heard the recitations and assigned lessons for the following day.

When the czar refused to allow them the liberties granted them by Catherine the Great many of the Germans left for the United States and among the emigrants were the Wenz- laff family. They sailed from Hamburg on the Pomerania, landing in New York, May 3, 1874, after a voyage of twelve days. They journeyed to Yankton, South Dakota, by rail, reaching there six days after landing in New York. John C. Wenzlaff was a man of some means when he reached the new world and he at once embarked in the hardware business in Yankton, prospering in his undertaking. About 1879, in partnership with a son-in-law and another man, he built a grist mill at Jamesville, north of Yankton, which in 1884 or 1885 was sold to the Mennonite colony. He turned his attention to the publishing business, secur- ing the Dakota Freie Presse, a journal which had a circulation among the German colonists of the northwest as far as the Pacific coast. He later sold it to his son, Salomon, who also dis- posed of it and it was subsequently moved to Aberdeen and still enjoys a wide circulation and wields a great influence. Mr. Wenzlaff died in September, 1894, from the shock of an operation, at the age of sixty-seven years, when he had the prospect of a number of years of active and useful life before him. His widow survives at the advanced age of eighty-seven years and makes her home in Yankton. Ten children were born to them, as follows. Johanna is the widow of Henry Baisch. Sophie married Karl Max and they reside in Scot- land, this state. Emilie first married Cbarles Kiener, who died in Switzerland, and subse- quently became the wife of Rudolph Dedlow but is now deceased. Josephine married Gustav Kositzsky, of Miller, South Dakota. Salomon is now a banker in Armour, South Dakota. John C. is a resident of Henderson, Nebraska. Lena is the wife of John Max, of Yankton. Gustav Gottlieb is the next in order of birth. Marie, who was principal of the Yankton high school. married Charles B. Lawton and is now deceased. Bertha. now Mrs. William Jones, is a teacher of art at a school in Los Angeles, California. She studied in the Chicago Art Insti- tute and the Cooper Institute of New York, attaining no little celebrity as a portrait painter.

Dr. Wenzlaff attended the public schools of Yankton, graduating from the high school in 1884. and he then entered Yankton College, from which he received his diploma and degree of A. B. in 18SS. The following winter he studied in the Chicago Seminary and was then for three years an instructor in his alma mater, after which, in the fall of 1892. he departed for Germany, where he took advanced studies in Leipzig and Berlin. From 1893 to 1898 he was professor of philosophy and German at Yankton College and then took special work in Chicago University the following winter. The years 1899 and 1900 were spent in much needed rest in California and while there he resigned from his position at Yankton. In 1904 lie was elected superintendent of the Yankton county schools and was just completing his second term in that office when called to the presidency of the State Normal School at Springfield in 1908. He at once put new life into the institution and gave it the benefit of his learning and experience acquired in the best schools of two continents. He speaks and writes fluently English and German and has a good working knowledge of several other languages.

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In addition to his degrees of Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts, the degree of Doctor of Laws was conferred npon him in 1911. He approaches the problem of the training of teach- ers from a broad standpoint and gives them the fundamental conceptions of education that are so necessary as well as the details of method, which, though important in themselves, should not be allowed to overshadow the larger phases of education. He is a man of executive ability and coordinates well the different departments of the institution as well as instilling in the faculty and students his own love of learning and his own desire to arrive at the truth of any question. Those teachers who go ont from the Springfield Normal School carry with them in addition to their thorough training in the art and science of their profession a desire to be of real service to the state that cannot but result in improved schools.

In addition to his work as an educator Dr. Wenzlaff has achieved considerable note as a writer, his published works including prose, poetry and philosophy. In collaboration with Dr. Burleigh he compiled a volume of "Dakota Rhymes," many of which are from his own pen. His next work, "The Mental Man," and his later publication, "Teachers' Handbook of Psychologieal Principles," have won the favorable comment of educators and the educational press throughout the country. His latest volume, which appears under the title of "Sketches and Legends of the West," gives promise of as wide and favorable notice as his more serious works.

Dr. Wenzlaff was married in Chicago on the 1st of August, 1894. by Rev. Jenkin Lloyd Jones, to Miss Susan Caroline Rice and three children have been born to this marriage, Myra R., Wilbur G. and Eduard L.

The Doctor and his wife are members of the Congregational church. He is identified with a number of fraternal organizations, including the Modern Woodmen of America and the Yeomen. He was a member of the Knights of Pythias lodge at Yankton before the lodge there was disbanded. In addition to the wide influence exercised hy Dr. Wenzlaff as presi- dent of the Springfield Normal School he has become known to many teachers and students of education through his writings upon psychology and in this way has taught and impressed more than he could possibly reaeh through immediate personal contact.

LAWRENCE WILLIAM SCHALLER.

Lawrence William Schaller, a well known live-stock dealer of Yankton who is also filling the office of county commissioner, was born in Kiel, Germany, on the 30th of August, 1863. His father, William Schaller, was a farmer by occupation and also a native of that section of Germany. Coming to the new world, he established his home in St. Helena, Nebraska, in 1869, taking up land near there, and he remained in that section until his death, which occurred in 1878. In his native country he had wedded Anna Maria Hohn, also a native of Kiel. She survived him for about fifteen years, passing away in 1893. In their family were five children: Fred, who is now a resident of Wynot, Nebraska: Tina, the wife of Mads Schmidt, of Wynot; Christ, also living in that place; Lawrence; and Hannah, the wife of Henry Brown, of Yankton county.

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History of Dakota Territory, volume V, Part 87

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