History of Dakota Territory, volume V, Part 89

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 P. Croal received his education in Milwaukee graduating from high school in 1876. He learned the printer's trade in that city and later became foreman and make-up on the Christian Statesman. In 1881 he removed to Milbank, South Dakota, and subsequently entered the employ of W. M. Downie at Big Stone City, the owner of the Herald. Mr. Croal worked on that paper for some time but the following fall began teaching school. Ile received the first teacher's certificate issued in Milbank, Grant county, and in the summer helped build the first schoolhouse in Geneseo township, in which he taught in the fall. Jeremiah George was at that time county superintendent of schools. Subsequently Mr. Croal followed the profession of teaching in Day county and at the same time filed on a claim in that county. In 1899 he located in Sisseton, moving the Courant which he started in 1893, there from Wilmot, and which he has since owned and edited. The paper has a circulation of twelve hundred and is recognized as a valnable advertising medium by the local business men. The printing plant is housed in its own building which Mr. Croal purchased a num- ber of years ago. The shop is well equipped and in addition to printing the Courant does considerahle job work. Mr. Croal is a member of the State Press Association and has attended all of the conventions of that body for the past fifteen years. He takes an active part in the work of the association and is held in high esteem in journalistic cireles of

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South Dakota. The Courant is democratic in politics and has done much to secure the suc- cess of that party.

Mr. Croal was married in Day county in 1888 to Miss Mary Prunty, a daughter of P. H. Prunty, of Appleton, Wisconsin. She was educated in the Appleton high school and was engaged in teaching in Day county when she made the acquaintance of Mr. Croal. To their union have been born three children. Elizabeth is a graduate of the Sisseton high school, also took a course at the Aberdeen State Normal School and attended the State University of South Dakota at Vermillion for two years. She taught for three years in the primary department of the Sisseton schools and for the past three years has taught in Montana. Clinton graduated from the Sisseton high school and subsequently took a law course in the State University at Vermillion, from which he was graduated in 1911 with the degree of LL. B. He was admitted to the har when only nineteen and a half years old and is now con- nected with Porter & Grantham, general solicitors for North and South Dakota for the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad. Vincent C., the youngest of the children, is in school.

Mr. Croal is a communicant of the Roman Catholic church and fraternally is connected with the Knights of Columhus, the Improved Order of Red Men, the Woodmen and the Fraternal Order of Eagles, in all of which he has passed through all of the chairs. For three terms he was worthy president of the Eagles. He is a leader in local democratic circles, is its state central committeeman and has held a number of offices, For six years he has been president of the board of education, has been school clerk, and for two years held the office of city justice. For eight years he was United States commissioner but resigned that office to become postmaster of Sisseton, which position he has held since the 1st of May, 1915. In all of his official connections he has proved efficient and conscientious and has thus added to the high esteem in which he is generally held. He has carried to successful com- pletion all that he has undertaken and is recognized as a man of energy, determination and ahility.

ROBERT JAMES ODELL.

Rohert James Odell, one of the pioneer merchants of Montrose. is successfully engaged in business as a dealer in hardware, furniture and farm implements, enjoying an extensive and well merited patronage. His birth occurred in St. Lawrence county, New York, on the 8th of August, 1854, his parents being Abijah and Eliza Jane (Douglas) Odell, both of whom are deceased. The father came to South Dakota in 1886 and here devoted his attention to agricultural pursuits until called to his final rest in 1907.

Robert James Odell attended the graded and high schools in the acquirement of an educa- tion and after putting aside his textbooks followed farming for some years. Subsequently he embarked in the windmill business and traveled to a considerable extent, erecting wind- mills. etc., during a period of three years. On the 29th of May, 1879. having come to Montrose, South Dakota, he filed on a homestead and a tree claim comprising the east half of section 26, township 103, range 53. He farmed this place and also worked in the town as a builder, erecting some of the better residences. In 1902 he purchased the hardware estab- lishment of F. E. Smith and began business on a small scale, but his patronage has steadily increased until he now carries an extensive stock of goods in a modern and well appointed building and also conducts furniture and undertaking departments. He is the president of the South Dakota Retail Hardware Association and a delegate to the national convention of this association. Success has attended his undertakings in a gratifying degree and he is widely recognized as one of the leading business men and honored pioneer settlers of his locality.

Mr. Odell has been married twice, first wedding Miss A. L. Stow, who passed away in 1893. In 1900 he was united in marriage to Miss Annie Truog. His children of the first marriage are as follows: Royal B .; Maud, who is the wife of John Benson; R. Donglas: and Archie. Those of the second marriage are Milford, Roberta and Loretta.

In his political views Mr. Odell is a progressive republican and his fellow townsmen. rec- ognizing his worth and ability, have chosen him as their representative on various occasions. He served as a member of the legislature in 1892, has also been a member of the city council

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and for a number of years acted as town treasurer, on all occasions making a most creditable and commendable record. Fraternally he is identified with the Masons and the Ancient Order of United Workmen, while his religious faith is that of the Baptist church. The period of his residence in this state covers more than a third of a century and he has been an inter- ested witness of and an active participant in the work of development, growth and advance- ment along many lines.

ROBERT A. VOY.

Robert A. Voy, a resident of South Dakota for the past thirty-seven years, has since 1899 been the farmer at Riggs Institute of Flandreau, a government school for Indians. His birth occurred in Germany on the 17th of February, 1861, his parents being John David and Maria Voy, hoth of whom are deceased. The family home was established in South Dakota in 1878.

Robert A. Voy attended the public schools in the acquirement of an education and after putting aside his textbooks turned his attention to agricultural pursuits, while subsequently he was engaged in the livery business at Scotland, this state, for a number of years. On the 1st of April, 1894, he entered the government service as additional farmer at the Yankton agency and since the 1st of August, 1899, has been the farmer at Riggs Institute, a government school for indians at Flandreau. In this capacity he has made a very creditable record, possessing a comprehensive knowledge of the best methods of agriculture and instructing those under him most effectively.

In 1884 Mr. Voy was married to Aner Ogden, of Scotland, a daughter of Robert and Hannah Ogden. To this union were born the following children: Marie, the wife of J. S. Hoard, of Chicago, a teacher in the public schools; Clara, the wife of Otto Raben, of Armour. South Dakota; William F., a resident of Dell Rapids; and Amy, who married Orley Dawkins, of Dunn Center, North Dakota. On the 16th of June, 1910, Mr. Voy was joined in wedlock to Mrs. Mary Alice Atchison, of Yates Center, Kansas. Fraternally he is identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Woodmen and the Masons, now serving as high priest of Chapter No. 19, R. A. M., of Flandreau. He represented his chapter at the meet- ing of the grand chapter at Sioux Falls in 1915. He is also identified with the Eastern Star, of which his wife is likewise a member.

His religious faith is that of the Methodist church. He is fond of hunting and finds his greatest pleasure and recreation in the out-of-doors. Mr. Voy is actively and helpfully interested in all measures instituted to promote the growth and development of this state and has long been numbered among its valued, enterprising and substantial citizens.

JAMES T. SARGENT.

Among South Dakota's honored dead is numhered James T. Sargent, formerly editor of the Dakota Herald, published at Yankton, and a prominent figure in journalistic circles of the northwest. He died on the 12th of September, 1899, at the age of sixty-three years, his birth having occurred in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, July 30, 1836. There he learned and followed the printer's trade and in 1854, when a youth of eighteen years, he removed to Moline, Illinois, thus becoming actively identified with the middle west. Subsequently he went to Maquoketa, Iowa, and afterward purchased an interest in the Marengo (Ia.) Demo- crat. He was engaged in the publication of that paper at the time of the outbreak of the Civil war and in order to enter the army he elosed his newspaper office, feeling that his duty to his country was paramount to all else. He raised a company for the Twenty-eighth Iowa Infantry and became its first lieutenant, the troops being mustered in in August, 1862. The regiment was assigned to duty with the Army of the Tennessee, with which he served until July 30, 1863, when he was mustered out at Vicksburg on account of impaired health after having participated in the memorable battles and sieges of the Vicksburg campaign.

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After partially regaining his health Mr. Sargent became an express messenger, running as far south as Memphis, a perilous undertaking in those days when the land was under military rule. After the war closed he returned to his native state and engaged in the oil business in Pennsylvania for a time. He then again came west and settled in Maqnoketa, Iowa, becoming half owner in the Jackson County Sentinel. After 1881, however, he was identified with the interests of Yankton. In that year he purchased a half interest in the Dakota Herald, his partner being Maris Taylor. This connection was continued until 1885 and was then dissolved by Mr. Sargent purchasing Mr. Taylor's interest and condneting the Herald alone up to the time of his demise, making it one of the leading newspapers of the northwest.

In June, 1870, Mr. Sargent was united in marriage to Miss Mary De Lano, a native of the state of New York and still a resident of Yankton. They were the parents of three children, of whom a son died in infancy, the others being: Mrs. Nettie Petrie, a resident of Oakland, California; and William F., an employe of the Press and Dakotan, published at Yankton.

Mr. Sargent was a member of the Masonic fraternity and wore the little bronze button that indicated his affiliation with the Grand Army of the Republic, his local connection being with Phil Kearney Post. He was a democrat in the purest and broadest sense of the term, a fighter for what he believed to be right, never an office seeker, never dismayed nor dis- couraged, but resolnte and determined at all times, seeking ever the welfare and upbuilding of city, state and nation and doing everything in his power to advance standards of life for the individual.

HARVEY J. RICE.

Harvey J. Rice has led an active life in connection with business affairs and as the incumbent in public office. He makes his home in Huron and six times he has been honored with election to the mayoralty of his city. He was born in Freeport, Illinois, April 23, 1849, and in early childhood accompanied his parents on their removal to Nauvoo, Illinois. His early educational advantages were supplemented by study in the University of Carlinville (Ill.), from which he was gradnated with the class of 1865. Soon afterward he pursued a business course in the Bryant & Stratton Commercial College of Chicago and in 1869. when twenty years of age, engaged in the dry-goods business in that city, there remaining until after the great Chicago fire of 1871. It was in 1876 that Mr. Rice entered the employ of the Chicago & Northwestern Railway Company and in 1879 he was sent to Tracy, Minnesota, where he was placed in charge of all the material for the construction of the road west from that point, the lines being known as the Dakota Central and the Chicago & Dakota Railways. In January, 1880, he removed his headquarters to Volga and when the line was completed to Huron in July of that year he moved the base of supplies to the latter point and at Huron all supplies were handled for the construction of the lines to Pierre, from Hawarden to Oakes, Brookings to Redfield and from Doland to Groton.

Mr. Rice discharged the responsible duties of his position with marked ability and fidelity, but severed his connection with the railway company in 1887 to accept the position of teller in the Huron National Bank. In 1889 he was appointed railway commissioner by Governor A. C. Mellette and filled that position until March, 1893, when he turned his atten- tion to merchandising in Huron. He has long been prominently connected with business activity in this city and in that regard has made for himself a creditable name and place. He is perhaps even better known, however, because of his political activity. In 1884 he was elected mayor of the city and five times was reelected to that office by the vote of his fellow townsmen, who recognized in him a most capable, faithful, loyal and progressive official, his administration at all times being businesslike. In 1902 he was appointed receiver for the United States land office and remained in that connection until the office was closed.

Mr. Rice has always been active in Masonic circles, is a Knight Templar, a thirty-second degree Mason and a Mystic Shriner. That he holds high rank in the order is indicated in the fact that he has filled the offices of grand master. grand high priest and grand commander.

HARVEY J. RICE

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He has been closely identified with the Odd Fellows since 1883, was grand master of that organization in 1886 and was elected grand secretary in 1894, serving continuously in that position to the present time. He has left the impress of his individuality for good upon many lines of activity leading to the material, political and sociological development of the northwest. Early in his career he marked out his course and has never deviated from the principles which he set up as his standard.

ELLWOOD CHAPPELL PERISHO.

Ellwood Chappell Perisho, president of the South Dakota State College and eminent as an educator, author, scientist, institute worker and lecturer, was born in Westfield, Indiana, a son of Joshua M. and Lydia Anna (Chappell) Perisho. His early life was spent upon a farm in Hamilton county, Indiana, where he made his home until entering upon the active work of teaching. In early youth he attended the country schools near his father's residence and afterward continued his studies in a graded school and an academy nntil he had com- pleted work equivalent to a regular high-school course. He was then admitted to Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana, where he spent four years, and won the Bachelor of Arts degree in 1887. Two or three years later his alma mater conferred upon him the Master of Arts degree. For more than two years, or from 1893 until 1895, he gave his time to post-graduate work in the University of Chicago, specializing in the department of geology. He received a fellowship in the university and was a part of the time an assistant to Pro- fessor Chamberlain in field work for the United States geological survey.

Soon after his graduation from Earlham College Dr. Perisho accepted a position as proctor in Guilford College of North Carolina. After the first year he was given a profes- sorship and remained in that institution for five years. While working in the department of geology at the University of Chicago he was elected professor of geology in the State School at Platteville, Wisconsin, which position he filled acceptably until 1903. At that date he was elected professor of geology of the University of South Dakota and also state geologist and in 1907 he was made dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, continuing in those posi- tions until he resigned to accept the presidency of the State College at Brookings. In this connection he has done splendid work, largely furthering the interests of the school by his progressive methods, his practical ideas and his high ideals.

In the educational field his advancement has been rapid and his recognized ability has won for him high honors. He is now a fellow of the American Association for the Advance- ment of Science and in 1913 his alma mater conferred upon him the honorary degree of LL. D. For some years, or since 1911, he has been president of the South Dakota Conservation and Development Congress. He has, indeed, made a close study of the natural resources of the state and the best methods of their utilization. He was president of the State Educational Association during the years 1912-13 and his expert knowledge of teaching methods has constituted an inspiration to many who walk in the same professional lines. For a num- ber of years past he has represented South Dakota at important national meetings like the Conservation Congress of America, the International Irrigation Congress, the American Mining Congress, the Deep Waterway Congress and others of like breadth of purpose. At the present time he holds membership in the Interstate Irrigation Commission. Because of his recognized ability and his geological explorations his name appears among the pub- lished list of American Men of Science and also in Who's Who in America. As a contributor to literature his name has also become widely known, for he has written a number of scien- tific articles involving the erosion history of southwest Wisconsin, the lead and zine deposits of Wisconsin and a number of geological articles upon South Dakota. Most of these have been published in state survey reports and their accuracy and breadth constitute them most valuable documents. Dr. Perisho was also the co-author with S. S. Visher of a geography supplement for South Dakota, published by the Rand-MeNally Company.

He is equally well known in the lecture field and has been conductor of teachers' insti- tutes. He conducted the institute at Vermillion for ten successive years and lectured for ten consecutive years in the large teachers' institute held at Sioux Falls. The demand for his services in South Dakota alone has always been two or three times as much as he could

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fill and during recent years he has had many calls to do institute work in other states, especially in Pennsylvania, Indiana, Nebraska and Montana. He is one of the few men west of the Mississippi river who have been called to lecture before large meetings of teachers in the east and is the only one from the state of South Dakota. In the summer of 1915 he devoted four weeks to Chautauqua lectures with engagements in South Dakota, Iowa, Nebraska and Ohio. He delivered the opening lecture before the Chautauqua Association of Columbus Junetion, lowa, on the subject "The American Congress" and he delivered ten other addresses in that and other states during the same month. In this connection he has been spoken of as "genial, charitable, manly an attractive personality, a great thinker, a gifted speaker." The demand of his time should he answer all the calls he has for publie addresses would make any other work practically impossible and the invitations received are many times greater than he can possibly fill. For the last three or four years he has spent a few days each year addressing the large edncational associations in the state of Pennsylvania and there is great demand upon his time for commencement addresses not only from South Dakota but from Indiana, Iowa, Nebraska, etc. The field of his activities has been constantly broadening. Association with him means expansion and elevation and he is usually found in the more important gatherings where men are met for the discussion of vital and significant themes and problems.

NATHANIEL H. DRYDEN.

Nathaniel H. Dryden is one of the extensive landowners of Fall River county, owning some eighteen hundred acres of land, which he devotes to stock-raising and the growing of alfalfa. He also owns the Oelrichs Telephone Company and is a prominent citizen of his county. Born in Dane county, Wisconsin, in the vicinity of Madison, on the 8th of December, 1860, he is a son of Nathaniel Henderson and Martha Jane (Balch) Dryden, the former born in Tennessee on the 12th of February, 1820, and the latter in Alabama in 1822. The father, who was a farmer and stock-raiser, removed to Wisconsin in 1846 and located in Dane county. He passed away on the 20th of March. 1900, after surviving his wife for many years, her demise occurring on the 10th of Jime, 1881. He was intensely interested in the welfare of the public schools and for twenty-five years was school director, although he was not active in political affairs.

Nathaniel H. Dryden, Jr., is the youngest of six children and attended the Dryden district school in Dane county, Wisconsin, where he secured a serviccable education. For two years after his marriage he farmed the homestead, but on the 4th of March, 1884, he became a resident of Bon Homme county, South Dakota, where he resided for two years. At the end of that time he removed to Oelriehs, arriving there on the 3d of June, 1886. He drove a number of cattle to his new home and settled npon government land, where he engaged in the stock business. He lived upon his place for four years before the land was platted and then proved up npon the farm as a preemption claim. At intervals he has purchased more land and now operates eighteen hundred acres as a stock and alfalfa ranch and derives there- from a handsome income. He is energetic, is not afraid to take the initiative and has the ability to manage large interests successfully. In addition to his real estate he owns the Oelrichs Telephone Company, which was established hy the Schepps Canyon Company, and which came into his possession in 1910. The company is connected with the Bell Telephone Company and with other lines and gives excellent local and long distance service.

On the 30th of April, 1882, occurred the marriage of Mr. Dryden and Miss Sophia Stein- haner, who is a native of Dane county, Wisconsin, and a daughter of Diedrich and Louise Steinhauer. Her parents were natives of Germany and were early settlers in Dane county. Wisconsin, where both passed away. The father was a farmer by occupation and was sne- cessful in his chosen work. Mr. and Mrs. Dryden are the parents of nine children: Martha, the wife of James Williams, who resides upon a ranch five miles from Oelrichs; Henderson, who is a ranchman residing upon land belonging to his father nine miles west of Oelrichs: Alpha, who gave her hand in marriage to Theodore Halverson, an editor of Wentworth, Lake county, South Dakota; Boyd and Ralph, both at home; Esther, who is teaching school and

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living at home; Marjorie, the wife of Frank Shaw, who is an expert mechanic living at Ver- million, South Dakota; Ruth, who is attending school; and one who died in infancy.

Mr. Dryden is a republican and for twenty years has served ably as school director, doing much in that time to further the interests of the public-school system. Fraternally he belongs to the subordinate lodge and encampment of the Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows and has held all of the offices in the lodge, being at present treasurer of that organ- ization. He also holds membership in the Maccabees. He is one of the best known and most influential residents of Fall River county and has in marked degree that public spirit and faith in the future of the state that is characteristic of the successful citizens of South Dakota.

FRANK L. SMITH.

One of the progressive business men of Avon is Frank L. Smith, who is engaged in the grain business and has been a resident of South Dakota for a third of a century. He was born at Byron, Illinois, September 3, 1866, a son of Nelson and Maria (Roach) Smith. The birth of the father occurred near Jamestown, New York, in 1833, his parents being Lawrence and Hannah (Saxbury) Smith, who were born near Toronto, Canada. Early in the nineteenth century they removed to New York and were living in that city during the War of 1812, in which Lawrenee Smith participated as a member of a New York regiment. Nelson Smith removed to Michigan after his marriage and resided there for a time but subsequently lived successively in Indiana and Illinois. He resided on a farm near Roekford, Illinois, for several years but in the spring of 1884 eame with his family to a claim in Bon Homme county, this state. He had made a trip to that county in the fall of 1882 and filed on the southeast quarter of section 17, Avon township, three miles northwest of the present site of Avon. He continued to operate the farm from 1884 until his death and endured all of the hardships incident to frontier life. In that carly day provisions were hauled by ox team from Yankton or Springfield and at times there was no fuel save hay, corn and prairie chips either for cooking or heating purposes. He lived to the age of seventy-three years, dying in March, 1905, and his last years were spent in leisure and in the enjoyment of the comforts of life. He married Miss Maria Roach, who was born in Cattarangus county, New York, near Cat- taraugus Station, in 1844. Her father, Patrick Roach, was a native of Cork, Ireland, and lived to be nearly one hundred years old. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Ann Bine, reached the century mark. She was born in the north of Ireland, near Dublin, and accom- panied her husband to America in 1837. They encountered such severe storms and dangerous winds that the sailing vessel on which they were passengers was nearly six months in making the voyage. All of the children of Mr. and Mrs. Nelson Smith are living, the record being as follows: Walter H., a resident of Oregon: Frank L., of this review: Anna, the wife of Jacob Sidel, of Mitchell, South Dakota; William, who is engaged in business in Rockford, Illinois; and George, who is living with his mother upon the homestead.

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History of Dakota Territory, volume V, Part 89

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