History of Dakota Territory, volume V, Part 99

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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In 1895 Mr. Boldt wedded Miss Bertha Kunde. a native of Germany, and they have become the parents of seven children, of whom one died in infancy, the others being Amanda F., Paul H., Emil H., Erna B., Emma L. and Esther B.

In his political views Mr. Boldt is a republican. He has never sought nor held political office save that of member of the town board. He has served, however, on the school board and is interested in the cause of education. Native born citizens it often seems come by the

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privileges of American life too easily to appreciate them in the fullest degree. At least some of those who have sacrificed and suffered to obtain them value these blessings more highly than those to whom they come as a matter of course. Mr. Boldt is numbered with those who, appreciative of the opportunities offered in the new world, has utilized them to good advantage, becoming one of the prosperous residents of Edmunds county, and at the same time he manifests his appreciation of American liberty by his loyal support of the interests which he deems. of greatest value to the community and country.

JOSEPH POPE CHEEVER.

Joseph Pope Cheever is still engaged in the active practice of law at Brookings, Sonth Dakota. and is probably the oldest practicing attorney in the state. He has lived through the period of America's greatest development along all lines. and his own career has kept him in touch with the trend of modern progress and improvement. His birth occurred August 5, 1846, in a primitive log cabin in the town of Walworth, Wisconsin. This was the home of his parents, Moses R. and Mary (Pope) Cheever, who left their home in East Hardwick. Vermont, in 1844. and became pioneer residents of Wisconsin. The family shared in all of the hardships and privations incident to life on the frontier. The parents were in straitened financial circumstances and the early educational opportunities of Joseph P. Cheever were therefore necessarily limited. He attended the district schools as he could find time and later spent a brief period as a pupil in the Lake Geneva Seminary at Lake Geneva. Wisconsin. Unlike Abraham Lincoln, he did not study his lessons by fire- light because the humble home of his parents was not provided with a fireplace. but he pored over his books by the light of a tallow candle dipped by his good mother. He never saw a kerosene lamp until he was about ten years of age. One day after school he had walked to a country cobbler's and was sitting on a stool waiting for the cobbler to mend his only pair of boots, when, as darkness approached, the shoemaker lit the kerosene lamp. In boy fashion Mr. Cheever plied the man with numerous questions in regard to what appeared to the boy a most wonderful lamp. The cobbler told him that he could work much better by the light of the lamp than by candles, but that it was very expensive, as the oil cost seventy-five cents per gallon.

In the course of a busy life Mr. Cheever has witnessed the introduction of many other inventions once regarded as a luxury, but now as an absolute necessity. He was ambitious to advance along educational lines and improved every opportunity that came to him in that connection. He was an apt pupil and in 1869 was graduated from the law department of the University of Wisconsin in the first law class of that institution. Within three months he opened a law office at Harvard, MeHenry county, Illinois, and steadily advanced not only in his calling, but also in publie regard, as is indicated by the fact that within five years of his arrival in McHenry county he was elected states attorney, which position he con- tinnously filled for four years.

Mr. Cheever dates his residence in Dakota from 1884, at which time he took up his abode at Castlewood, Hamlin county. He was for several years the only lawyer in that county and he was also the first states attorney in the county, which position he filled for six years. He has since remained active at the bar and is still conducting important liti- gated interests, his name having figured prominently for many years in connection with the court records of his district.

Soon after locating in Castlewood. Mr. Cheever in connection with H. H. Curtis organ- ized the first bank of Hamlin county, which was for several years the only bank of the county and was conducted under the name of the Hamlin County Bank. Later it was reorganized as a state bank and still later became the First National Bank of Castlewood. Mr. Cheever being the president and one of the principal stockholders of these banks until abont four years ago. In 1894 he removed to Brookings and became a member of the firm of Cheever & Hall, his partner in this undertaking being Philo Hall. Later his son, Walter M. Cheever, and George Hall became members of the firm and upon its dissolution the new firm of Cheever & Cheever was organized. the partnership being formed of Joseph Pope Cheever and his son Walter. This relation has since been maintained.

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Mr. Cheever filled the office of deputy states attorney of Brookings county for six years, was states attorney for four years and was a member of the first constitutional convention of South Dakota. While states attorney of Hamlin county he secured the conviction of several members of the notorious Ball gang, whose headquarters were at Watertown, but who frequently carried on their thieving operations in Hamlin county. While prosecuting attorney in Brookings county he secured the conviction of several members of the notorious Leary gang. His conviction of the Balls and Learys led to the complete demoralization of these gangs and the removal of most of their members from the state of South Dakota. By persistent litigation and prosecution he also broke up the gang of swindlers who were swindling the farmers of South Dakota by selling steel ranges. He followed them so per- sistently that they were compelled to cease doing business in the state of South Dakota and were finally driven into bankruptcy. Mr. Cheever was a fearless prosecutor and on various occasions his life was threatened by the criminals whom he attempted to bring to justice. While addressing a jury in one of the Leary cases he was assaulted hy one of the gang and his life was saved only by the prompt action of the deputy sheriff.

Mr. Cheever was united in marriage to Miss Helen Frances Allen, a daughter of George Allen, of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, and they have two living children, Walter M. and Edward M., the latter now of Superior, Wisconsin. The family is well known in Brookings county, where the name of Cheever stands as a synonym for ability in law practice, for progressive- ness in citizenship and for loyalty in the various relations of life. Mr. Cheever played an important part in the early days when, as in other pioneer communities, lawlessness and crime existed in that part of the state. His unfaltering support of law and order did much to bring about safe conditions for life and property and the county acknowledges its indebt- einess to him for his efforts in that direction.

WILLIAM D. HALL.

William D. Hall has been successfully engaged in general agricultural pursuits in South Dakota during the past third of a century and is now the owner of a valuable farm embrac- ing one hundred and fifty aeres on section 23, Big Stone township, Grant county. His birth occurred in Ottawa, Minnesota, on the 1st of August, 1860, his parents being D. P. and Ann Eliza (Harroun) Hall, natives of Vermont and Pennsylvania respectively, who were married in Wisconsin. The father made his way to the Badger state in an early day, driving an ox team from Milwaukee to his place of settlement near Ripon. He also became a pioneer settler of Minnesota and in that state took up land. In 1881 he came to South Dakota, here purchasing a half section of land which he cultivated with good success during the remainder of his life. Mr. Hall was a preacher of the Christadelphian church and his teach- ings were a potent force in the morad and spiritual growth of the communities where he labored. His political allegiance was given to the republican party. To him and his wife were born eigbt children, five of whom survive, as follows: Frank, who makes his home with our subject ; William D., of this review; Mrs. Carrie Whitsruck, of St. Paul, Minne- sota; Erick, who also lives with his brother William; and Mrs. Grace Russell, of Superior, Wisconsin. Philander Hall, the paternal grandfather of William D. Hall, was a native of Vermont and passed away in Wisconsin.

William D. Hall attended the common schools in the acquirement of an education and after putting aside his textbooks worked in a wood and coal office of St. Paul, Minnesota, for three years. In 1882, when a young man of twenty-two years, he purchased a farm of one hundred and sixty acres in South Dakota and the following year bought another quarter section. Throughout the intervening years he has devoted his attention to the pursuits of general farming and dairying and at the present time owns and cultivates one hundred and fifty acres of land on section 23, Big Stone township, Grant county. He milks from fifteen to twenty cows and sells to the creamery of which he is treasurer, breeding Guernsey cattle, of which he owned the first herd in the state. When he came to South Dakota his capital consisted of but fifty dollars, and the success which has here attended his undertakings is indicated in his splendid farm with its beautiful home and substantial outbuildings.

On the 23d of November, 1893, Mr. Hall was united in marriage to Miss Clara Hillmer,

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a native of Stillwater, Minnesota, and a daughter of Christ Hillmer, who was born in Germany and was a tailor by trade. Emigrating to the United States, he took up his abode in Stillwater, Minnesota, in an early day. Mr. and Mrs. Hall are the parents of seven children, namely: Clyde, Ruth, Lester, Raymond, Grace, Mildred and Pearl, all at home.

Mr. Hall gives his political allegiance to the republican party and is now ahly serving in the capacity of town clerk. His fraternal relations are with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Ancient Order of United Workmen, while his wife is a devoted member of the Lutheran church. His life has been upright and honorable in all relations and he enjoys an enviable reputation as one of the representative agriculturists and respected citizens of his community.

ROBERT G. HANNAH.

Robert G. Hannah, a worthy representative of an honored pioneer family that was established in South Dakota about a third of a century ago, has since the fall of 1910 been a member of the firm of Hannah Brothers of Esmond, conducting an extensive business as dealers in grain and coal. His birth occurred in Belvidere, Boone county, Illinois, on the 3d of February, 1873, his parents being Robert D. and Anna Hannah. In 1882 the family came to South Dakota, settling on a homestead comprising the southeast quarter of section 4, township 109, range 57, and also taking up a tree claim and a preemption, The father farmed with excellent results until he retired in 1904 and turned over the active work of the fields to his sons. During the period of the Civil war Robert D. Hannah served as a soldier of the Union army for three and a half years, making a most creditable military record. His life has ever been upright and honorable in all relations and he is highly esteemed as one of the early settlers and valued citizens of his community.

Robert G. Hannah, who was a lad of nine years when he came to this state with his parents, obtained his early education in the district schools and also pursued a high-school course at De Smet. Subsequently he hegan farming in association with his brother and at one time had as many as a thousand acres in grain and owned seventy-five dairy cows. In the fall of 1910 the two brothers purchased the elevator at Esmond from A. W. Barber & Son and have since conducted an extensive business as dealers in grain and coal. Robert G. Hannah still owns a section of land in association with his brother and enjoys an enviable reputation as an enterprising and prosperous business man and representative citizen.

On the 13th of February, 1908, Mr. Hannah was united in marriage to Miss Bertha Wigton. In politics he is a republican and his religions faith is that of the Methodist Episcopal church, while fraternally he is identified with the Modern Woodmen of America. He finds recreation and pleasure in motoring and in both business and social circles has won the high regard and esteem of those with whom he has come in contact.

THOMAS A, EGAN.

Thomas A. Egan, one of the representative agriculturists and well known citizens of Buffalo township, Minnehaha county, owns and operates a farm of one hundred and sixty acres on section 26. His birth occurred near Mason City, Iowa, on the 11th of August, 1874, his parents being Thomas and Mary (Haden) Egan, who were natives of Ireland and emigrated to the United States as young man and young woman. In 1876 they established their home on a timber claim in South Dakota. The country was still comparatively wild and but sparsely settled, and they underwent all the hardships and dangers of the pioneers, experiencing the grasshopper plague and other trials of early times. Both Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Egan are deceased.

Thomas A. Egan, who was but an infant of two years when brought by his parents to this state, was reared at home and obtained his education in the common schools. When seventeen years of age he began cultivating rented land in association with his brother

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John, but the latter was married the following fall and since that time the brothers have carried on their interests independently. Thomas A. Egan was engaged in agricultural pur- suits as a renter until 1908, when he purchased his present farm of one hundred and sixty acres from the G. F. Packard estate, this property being the original homestead of Richard Collins, the father-in-law of our subject. The place is well improved and in a high state of cultivation, returning bounteous harvests as a result of the care and labor bestowed upon it.

In November, 1897, Mr. Egan was united in marriage to Miss Nell Collins, whose father, Richard Collins, homesteaded in Minnehaha county in 1878, coming to this state from Iowa in that year. He now makes his home with Mr. Egan of this review. Our subject and his wife have three children: Lila Mary, Leroy Alton and John Orville.

Mr. Egan is a republican in politics, and both he and his wife are members of the Seventh Day Adventist church. They are well known and highly esteemed throughout the community and enjoy the hospitality of the best homes. Mr. Egan has lived in this state throughout nearly his entire life, or for a period of thirty-nine years, and has been an interested witness of its marvelous growth and development.

JUDGE SAMUEL M. HOWARD.

Judge Samuel M. Howard is one of the leading attorneys of Gettysburg and Potter county and is also identified with business pursuits. He was born in Fulton county, Illinois, July 2, 1838, a son of Samuel and Anna (Alderman) Howard. The father was born in Maryland on the 12th of February, 1793, and died in 1840, while the mother, whose birth occurred on the 29th of September, 1801, died in about 1878. They removed to Illinois in 1831, before the outbreak of the Black Hawk war and when Cook county was still a part of Fulton county. Both continued to reside in Fulton county until called by death. The father was by occupation a farmer and was also a local minister of the Methodist Episcopal church.

Judge Samuel M. Howard is the youngest in a family of nine children and after attend- ing the common schools entered the seminary at Cuba, Illinois, from which he was graduated. When about three years of age he was bound out to a farmer in Peoria county to serve until twenty-one years old. However, when nineteen years of age he left that home and attended school during the winter. He then worked for six months as a farm hand, after which he attended the academy at Cuba. On leaving that institution he engaged in teaching school and during his spare time read law under Governor W. P. Kellogg, who had served as mem- her of congress, United States senator and governor of Louisiana. Judge Howard also read law under E. G. Jolinson, of Peoria, and in 1866 was admitted to the bar of Illinois. He began practice at Vermont, Illinois, where he enlisted for service in the Civil war on the 14th day of August, 1861, in Company H, Twenty-eighth Illinois Infantry, and remained at the front throughout all the war. He was either engaged or within hearing of every battle fought in the Mississippi valley by the Western army, except one, inclusive of the battle of Shiloh and the siege of Vicksburg. With his regiment he also assisted in the overthrow of Maximilian in Mexico and was finally mustered out of the service at Browns- ville, Texas, March 15, 1866, and discharged May 15, 1866, at Springfield, Illinois. He was fortunate in escaping without a wound, but was confined in hospital for sickness a number of times.

Soon after his discharge from the army, Judge Howard resumed practice of the law at Knoxville, Illinois, for eleven years, when he accepted a position on the editorial staff of the Chicago Times under W. W. Story. After Mr. Story became demented, Mr. Howard removed to Dakota territory in 1882, and took a homestead in Potter county, South Dakota, the following year, where he has resided ever since. He has heretofore served as states attorney of such county for four full terms and is now serving his third term as judge of the county court. He owns one of the best private law libraries in the state and has an

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extensive practice before the department of the interior and the supreme court of the United States. His victory in this court in "Delamater vs. the State of South Dakota," decided March 11, 1907, and reported in 205 U. S., 93 (10 Am. & Eng. Ann. Cases, 733), has attracted national attention.

HENRY O. OLSON.

The farming interests of Lake county find a worthy representative in Henry O. Olson, who lives on section 36, LeRoy township, where he has a quarter section of rich and pro- ductive land. He was born in Iowa on the 16th day of May, 1873, and is a son of Martin Olson, of whom mention is made elsewhere in this volume. The district schools afforded him his early educational privileges and later he enjoyed the advantage of a year's study in the high school at Sioux Falls, South Dakota. He then returned to the home farm and assisted his father in its further development and cultivation and later he began farming on his own account, starting out independently in 1894. It was in that year that he pur- chased one hundred and sixty acres of land on section 36, LeRoy township, Lake county, and in addition he owns another quarter section in Rutland township, which he also culti- vates. He has made a success of farming, for he is an energetic man whose labors are intelligently directed and who does not hesitate to set himself to and continue in the tasks which are so necessary in developing and improving a tract of land. He also raises good stock, having some high grade animals upon his place, including thirty head of cattle and thirty head of hogs. He utilizes modern improved machinery to facilitate the work of the fields and his agricultural implements are the result of twentieth century invention.

On the 9th of March, 1898, Mr. Olson was united in marriage to Miss Lottie Lavestuen, a daughter of Martin Lavestuen of Iowa, and their children are: Merlin, Benora, Harold and Ethelien, all yet at home. The religious faith of the family is that of the Lutheran church, to which Mr. and Mrs. Olson belong, and his political belief is that of the republican party. He is a public-spirited citizen who takes a deep interest in the development and improvement of his state, and has been especially active in promoting the welfare of the community in which he lives.

GEORGE W. TYLER.

George W. Tyler, one of the progressive and representative agriculturists of South Dakota, is the owner of ten hundred and eighty acres of rich and productive land in Lyons township, Minnehaha county, all of which he cultivates with the aid of his sons. His birth occurred in Decorah, Iowa, on the 17th of November, 1861, his parents being George and Mary Lucy Tyler, both of whom are deceased. The father was a farmer by occupation.

George W. Tyler acquired his early education in the public schools and subsequently attended Decorah Institute, a normal school, from which he was graduated in 1884. The following year he came to South Dakota, teaching in the country schools of this state until 1892 and also operating a farm at the same time. His first purchase of land embraced one hundred and sixty acres and to this he has added from time to time until his holdings now comprise ten hundred and eighty acres in Lyons, Benton and Hartford townships, Minne- haha county. He cultivates all of this with the assistance of his sons and also devotes considerable attention to the care of registered stock for breeding purposes, having now a hundred head of cattle and more than two hundred head of hogs. Mr. Tyler has all modern farm machinery to facilitate the work of the fields, keeps his property in model condition and follows the most progressive and resultant methods in the conduct of his agricultural interests. He was one of the organizers of the Farmers Elevator Company of Crooks, Ellis and Lyons; is a member of the board and a stockholder in the Farmers Elevator Company

GEORGE W. TYLER AND FAMILY

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of Hartford and the Crooks Lumber Company; and is now president of both the Crooks Lum- ber Company and the Crooks Elevator Company.

On the 10th of July, 1887, he was united in marriage to Miss Jessie Lyman, a daughter of Louis and Harriet L. Lyman, residents of Sioux Falls. The children born to them are as follows: Clarence Ray, who is attending college at Mitchell, this state; Louis L., a farmer of Hartford township, who married Mina, daughter of Martin McLeod of that town- ship; Ernest S .; Arthur W .: M. Gerald; Floyd E .; George W .; Harry C .; and Donald J.

In politics Mr. Tyler is a stanch republican, loyally supporting the men and measures of that party at the polls. He has served as a member of the school hoard and hell the office of township assessor for eight years, making a creditable record in that connection. His religious faith is that of the Methodist church, while fraternally he is identified with the Masons, belonging to Lodge No. 136, A. F. & A. M., at Hartford, this state; El Riad Con- sistory, S. P. R. S .; and the Eastern Star, with which his wife is also affiliated. He is like- wise a member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen, the Modern Woodmen of America and the Modern Brotherhood of America. The period of his residence in Minnehaha county covers about three decades and he has long been numbered among its most prosperous agri- culturists and respected citizens.

S. W. GLENN.

S. W. Glenn, who since 1881 has had charge of the government weather bureau at Huron, was born in Winchester, Virginia, August 24, 1850, a son of F. H. and Elizabeth F. Glenn. He acquired his early education in Virginia and there learned the jeweler's trade, engaging in the jewelry business later in Washington, D. C. There in October, 1877, he became connected with the signal corps of the United States service and worked in various places until he removed to Huron. He opened the United States weather office there in 1881 and has since been in charge of the bureau, a record of continuous service in this position unsurpassed and probably unequalled in the United States. Mr. Glenn has under him an assistant and a messenger and the hureau is conducted in a businesslike and efficient manner.

Mr. Glenn is prominent in the affairs of the Masonic fraternity, having joined the blue lodge in Washington, where he was also made a member of the commandery. He assisted in the organization of Lacotah Commandery, No. 6, of which he is past commander, and he belongs also to the Elks, the Knights of Pythias and the Knights of the Maccabees. In polities he votes independently, supporting men and measures rather than parties. Although he does not seek public office, he takes an intelligent interest in public affairs and his infinence has been for many years a tangible force for good in the community.

HARRY POMEROY.

Harry Pomeroy, a veteran of the Spanish-American war and prominently connected with business interests of Sioux Falls as secretary, treasurer and general manager of the Sioux Falls Paper Company, was born in Hudson, Wisconsin, in 1877. He is a son of Austin Linaus and Anna Margaret (Traverse) Pomeroy, the former a native of Springfield, Massa- chusetts. He died in Sioux City, Iowa, in 1895, at the age of forty-five. The grandfather of the subject of this review, Linaus Pomeroy, was a native of Massachusetts.

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History of Dakota Territory, volume V, Part 99

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