History of South Dakota, Vol. I, Part 107

Author: Robinson, Doane, 1856-1946. cn
Publication date: 1904
Publisher: [Logansport? IN] : B. F. Bowen
Number of Pages: 998

USA > South Dakota > History of South Dakota, Vol. I > Part 107

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HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

years he served as justice of the peace, his de- cisions being strictly fair and impartial. In 1870 he was elected to the state senate and proved a capable member of the law-making body of the commonwealth. He has also been active in school work. His life has been guided by principles that in every land and clime com- mand admiration and his course has made him an honored and valued representative of his adopted country.

THEODORE RIX, well known as a lead- ing and representative agriculturist of Yankton county, South Dakota, was born in Denmark on the 11th of January, 1845, and is a son of Joachim and Sarine Rix. His mother died at his birth and his father passed away in 1864, both being lifelong residents of Denmark. The latter was twice married and had four children by the first union, our subject being the youngest, and three by the second.

Theodore Rix was reared and educated in the land of his birth and was twenty-five years of age when he crossed the Atlantic in 1870, landing in New York city. He had previously learned the carpenter's trade and soon found em- ployment in a sawmill in Michigan. After the great Chicago fire in the fall of 1871, he worked at his trade in that city for a time and was also employed on brick work in Indiana. Subse- quently he worked in lumber camps and sawmills in Michigan and in 1876 went to Waterloo, Iowa, where he was employed on a farm for two years. On the expiration of that time he came to South Dakota, arriving in Yankton county in January, 1878, and there he bought one hundred and sixty acres of government land. For some time he lived in true pioneer style, his home being a dugout, and he began the cultiva- tion of his land with ox-teams. In 1879 he took a timber claim of one hundred and sixty acres and has since added another eighty acres to his farm, so that he now has four hundred acres on which there is a nice grove of about sixty thou- sand trees. Mr. Rix has not confined his atten- tion wholly to agricultural pursuits but has con-

tinued to follow his trade and has erected many houses throughout the county besides the build- ings on his own place. In 1899 he built for himself a fine story-and-a-half residence, the main part of which is twenty-four by twenty- six feet in dimensions, while the L is eighteen by twenty-four feet, and he has also erected a good barn and substantial outbuildings upon his place, making it one of the best improved farms of the locality.

On the 19th of December, 1883, Mr. Rix led to the marriage altar Miss Katherina Jensen, and to them have been born an interesting family of nine children, namely: Joachim, Christian, Maria, Anna, Frederick, Bertha, Louisa, Sarah and Ida. They have been provided with good educational advantages, and Joachim has at- tended high school in Nebraska and college in Des Moines. The sons assist their father in the operation of the home farm and are very in- dustrious, energetic young men.

Mr. Rix is now a member of the board of directors of the Farmers' Mutual Insurance Company and is president of the Irene Creamery Association. He carries on general farming and stock raising, feeding quite a number of cattle and hogs for market. His political sup- port is given the Republican party and its prin- ciples and he is actively interested in school work. Religiously both he and his wife are members of the Lutheran church and they are held in high regard by all who know them.

LOUIS KUSSUTH CHURCH, ninth terri- torial governor, was born in New York in 1850. He served in the New York legislature in 1883 when President Cleveland was governor. He was appointed by Cleveland associate justice of the supreme court of Dakota in 1885 and two years later was promoted by the President to the gov- ernorship. He was removed by Harrison promptly at the beginning of his administration and shortly afterward removed to Seattle, where he engaged in the practice of law. In 1898 he made a trip to Alaska in the interest of some clients and was attacked by pneumonia and died.

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JAMES W. PARKER .- The subject of this sketch is one of the leading business men of Sioux Falls and one of its representative citizens, hav- ing here maintained his home for nearly a quarter of a century, so that he is well entitled to the distinction applying to the name of pioneer, while he has contributed materially to the civic and industrial advancement of the city. On another page of this work appears a memoir of his fa- ther, the late and honored Joel Webster Parker, so that a recapitulation of the family history is not demanded at this juncture.

James Webster Parker was born in Warren, Jo Daviess county, Illinois, on the 24th of Novem- ber, 1855, being a son of Joel W. and Rebecca (Colburn) Parker. He instituted his educational discipline in the public schools of his native town, and later continued his studies in the schools of Hillsboro, Wisconsin, to which state his parents removed when he was thirteen years of age. Later he attended an academy at Evansville, that state, while he completed his specific education in Hillsdale College, at Hillsdale, Michigan, once of the leading educational institutions of the Wol- verine state. After leaving college he initiated his business career by becoming associated with his father in the management of the latter's gen- eral store at Millston, Wisconsin, and in 1881 he entered into partnership with his father in the establishing of a retail lumber business in the city of Sioux Falls, under the firm name of J. W. Parker & Son. In the following year the title was changed to the Sioux Falls Lumber Com- pany, James W. Leverett being admitted to the firm at that time. A few years later both Joel W. Parker and Mr. Leverett retired from the firm, their interests being acquired by the subject of this sketch. The Sioux Falls Lumber Company was then incorporated, the subject owning the controlling stock and having been secretary, treasurer and general manager of the company since the time of its incorporation. The enter- prise is one of the largest and most important of the sort in the state and the company has gained the highest reputation for reliability and correct business methods, having built up a mag- nificent industrial enterprise, while Mr. Parker

has prestige as one of the prominent and influ- ential citizens of Sioux Falls. He is a stanch Re- publican in politics and has ever shown a proper interest in public affairs, particularly those of a local nature, standing ready at all times to lend his influence in support of all worthy measures projected for the general good. He has served several terms as a member of the board of educa- tion and is president of the same at the time of this writing, being deeply interested in educa- tional work and being a valued official. He is possessed of marked musical talent, having a finely cultivated tenor voice, and is prominent in the musical and social circles of the city. He is identified with several fraternal organizations in Sioux Falls and he and his wife are active sup- porters of the First Congregational church.

On the 19th of May, 1892, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Parker to Miss Nellie Thomp- son, who was born in Carver, Minnesota, the county seat of the county of the same name, on the 27th of April, 1866, being a daughter of Peter and Christine Thompson. Of this union have been born two children, James Thompson Parker and Natalie.

VACLAV NOVAK .- It is customary when a life record has been ended to review the history and note the points that are worthy of emulation and in an analyzation of the work of Vaclav Novak we see much that is commendable. He was born in Bohemia in March, 1832, and none of the sons of that land who have come to the United States have been more worthy of public regard or the confidence of their fellow citizens than was Mr. Novak. He acquired his edu- cation in the schools of his native country and became a teacher of music there. His parents were wealthy people of that land, having ex- tensive property interests. Mr. Novak had ex- cellent opportunities to cultivate his artistic tastes and won more than local fame as a violin- ist. He played the violin in one of the Catholic churches of his native country. At the age of twenty-two years he was married in Bohemia and to this union were born two sons, one of

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whom died in that country. The other son, Vaclav, enlisted in the American army during the Spanish-American war and is now in the Philippines. The mother passed away just four years after their marriage and in 1861 Mr. Novak was again married, his second union being with Miss Barbara Hurkova, who was born in Bohemia, where the wedding was cele- brated. They had four children who were born in Bohemia and after the emigration of the family to the new world seven more children were born.

It was in 1870 that Vaclav Novak came to the United States, his destination being South Dakota, for he had received favorable reports concerning this portion of the Union. He at once purchased one hundred and sixty acres in Yankton county and with characteristic energy began its development and improvement. He was systematic and methodical in his work, pro- gressive, practical and enterprising and not only did he place his farm under a high state of cultivation, but also extended its boundaries by the purchase of an additional quarter section, so that at the time of his demise he was the owner of three hundred and twenty acres of valuable land which he personally managed and cultivated.

The children of Mr. and Mrs. Novak born in Bohemia were: Mary, Lewis, Anton and Antoine, while those born in the new world are Joe, Albert, Julia, John, Annie, Cecelia and Sophia. All married with the exception of Ce- celia. Mary is now the wife of Frank Kulis, a resident farmer of Yankton county. Lewis wedded Annie Slaba and carries on agricultural pursuits. Anton is now living in Omaha, Ne- braska, where he occupies the position of sales- man in a clothing house. Antoine is now the wife of Frank Kastron, a resident farmer of Yankton county. Joe, who was engaged in business in the city of Yankton, died March I, 1904, aged thirty-two years. Albert wedded Mary Sterna and is a farmer of this county. Annie is the wife of N. Kaiser, who also carries on agricultural pursuits in this county. John mar- ried Miss Mary Kronaizl, a young lady who was born in Bon Homme county near Tabor, while

her parents were natives of Bohemia and are still living upon the farm which they purchased when they came from the old country to the new world. Sophia is the wife of Joe Kaiser, a resident of Yankton county. Julia is the wife of James Petrik, a resident of Bon Homme county.

Mr. Novak departed this life on the 22d of September, 1899. He was a member of the Roman Catholic church and a gentleman whose integrity was above question. His conduct was ever manly, his actions sincere and his sterling worth was widely recognized so that his death was sincerely mourned throughout the entire community by young and old, rich and poor.

JOHN M. LARSON .- It is astonishing to witness the success of young men who have emigrated to America without capital and from a position of comparative obscurity have worked their way upward to a position of prominence. To this class belongs Mr. Larson, who is now so ably representing his district in the state legis- lature. He was born near Throndhijen, Norway, April 17. 1862, a son of Lars Olsen and Berit (Johnsdatter) Kongsvig, who were farming people of that country, where they spent their entire lives. The father died in 1864, and the mother subsequently married again. Her death occurred in February, 1891. Both were earnest and consistent members of the Lutheran church. Mr. Larson is one of a family of five children, the others being Karren, now deceased; Anne, wife of Ole Lykken, a farmer of Union county, South Dakota; Ole, who is married and is a successful farmer and prominent politician of Charles Mix county, South Dakota ; and Maret, who is married and successfully carries on farm- ing in Norway. All were well educated and are now quite prosperous citizens of the communities in which they live.

John M. Larson passed the first nineteen years of his life in the "land of the midnight sın" and then crossed the Atlantic to become a citizen of the United States. In 1881 he ar- rived in Yankton, South Dakota, and during the following three years he was employed on a

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steamer plying between that city and Fort Ben- ton, Montana, on the Missouri river. He also worked in Yankton one summer. On the 30th of August, 1884. he was united in marriage to Miss Guri J. Rye, also a native of Norway, and to them have been born nine children, as follows : Lena, who died at the age of four years ; Albert died at the age of one year : John ; Lena ; Albert ; Bertha ; Mary: Carrie, and Louis. They con- stitute a very interesting family.

In the fall of 1884 Mr. Larson located on his wife's homestead in the northeast corner of Yankton county, and he later bought the right to one hundred and sixty acres of land and filed his claim. After erecting a shanty he began to break the land with ox-teams and to the culti- vation and improvement of his farm he has since devoted his energies with marked suc- cess. He has added to his property from time to time until he now has three hundred and sixty acres of land, all under a good state of cultivation. Most of this he has broken himself. For his first reaper he paid one hundred and twenty-five dollars and as time has passed he supplied his place with the latest improved ma- chinery of all kinds, making his farm a model one in its appointments. He carries on general farming and stock raising, expecting to ship two carloads of cattle and one of hogs to the city markets in 1903, and he is also interested in a creamery at Center Point.

In religious faith both Mr. Larson and his wife are Lutherans and they are people of prominence in the community where they reside. As a Republican he has taken a very active and influential part in political affairs and he has been honored with important official positions. For six years he served as deputy assessor of his township and has held a number of other minor offices. In 1900 he was elected to the state legislature and so acceptably did he fill that po- sition that he was re-elected in 1902, being the present incumbent. During his first term he in- troduced and put through the bill to cut down the interest on school funds from six to five per cent. and the following term introduced four bills, three of which were passed. His official duties

have always been most capably and satisfactorily performed and over his public career there falls no shadow of wrong or suspicion of evil, while his private life has been marked by the utmost fidelity to duty.

ROBERT THOGERSEN, now deceased, was born in Denmark on the 28th of July, 1841, and to the schools of his native country he was indebted for the educational privileges he en- joyed. The favorable reports which he heard concerning the new world and its advantages attracted him and when twenty-eight years of age he made arrangements to leave his native country and seek a home in the United States. On reaching the Atlantic coast he made his way into the interior of the country and secured a homestead claim in Turner county. South Dakota. He soon took another step toward hav- ing a home of his own, this being his marriage to Miss-Marie Madsen, who was also born in Denmark. The wedding was celebrated in Yankton and the marriage was blessed with six children: Arthur, who is now twenty-eight years of age: Henry, aged twenty-six: Charlie, twenty-five years of age; Mary, twenty-one years of age: Grant, a youth of seventeen : and William, a lad of fourteen years. The two eldest sons are attending Brookings College, where Arthur is pursuing a course in mechanical engineering and Henry is taking a commercial course. Both are manifesting good ability in their chosen lines. The daughter is in business in Iowa and the younger sons are attending the home schools through the winter months, while in the summer seasons they assist in the opera- tion of the home farm.

For a number of years Mr. Thogersen en- gaged in the operation of a farm of one hundred and sixty acres near Yankton, in fact continued its cultivation and development up to the time of his death, which occurred on the 24th of February, 1903. He was a prosperous agri- culturist who thoroughly understood his work and conducted it along progressive lines. He made excellent improvements there, erected

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good buildings and used the modern machinery in the development of his fields. He possessed a resolute nature that enabled him to carry for- ward to successful completion whatever he un- dertook and he was highly respected by all who knew him because of his fidelity to upright principles. He belonged to the Lutheran church, of which his wife and children are also members, and his honorable career gained for him the respect and good will of his fellow men. The hope that led him to leave his native land and seek a home in America was more than realized. He found the opportunities he sought-which, by the way, are always open to the ambitious, energetic man-and, making the best of these, he steadily worked his way upward. He possessed the resolution, perseverance and reliability so characteristic of people of his nation and his name was enrolled among the best citizens of Yankton county. Mrs. Thogersen is still man- aging the home farm left her by her husband. She is an intelligent lady of culture and refine- ment and in the control of her property displays excellent business ability and executive force. She has every reason to be proud of her interest- ing family and she is preparing them for the practical and responsible duties of life by giv- ing them excellent educational privileges.

GEORGE MADSEN .- On the peninsula of Denmark George Madsen first opened his eyes to the light of day, his birth there occurring on the 21st of October, 1839. He was educated in the schools of his native land and reared under the parental roof. He had two brothers, both of whoni are now deceased, and he has a sister, Mrs. Robert Thogersen, who is now a widow and re- sides upon a farm in Yankton county. On at- taining his majority Mr. Madsen of this review began farming on his own account in Denmark and remained in his native land until forty years of age, when he sailed for the United States.

At the age of twenty-nine years the subject was joined in wedlock to Miss Elsie Larsen, whose father was a farmer of Denmark. She had three brothers : Conrad, Hause and Nelse,

who are married and reside in that country. It was there that she gave her hand in marriage to Mr. Madsen. They became the parents of six children, five of whom were born ere the emi- gration to the new world, while the youngest is a native of South Dakota. These are Annie, Conrad, Marie, Johanna, Louisa and Eleanor. The eldest daughter is the wife of William Nei- land, who is a prosperous farmer of Yankton county. Conrad married Miss Huber and is now living on his father's farm, which he has recently purchased. He has one son, Richard Julius, while Mrs. Neiland has four children: Clara, Henrietta, Harvey and Arthur. Marie Madsen became the wife of George Klise, of Vermillion, South Dakota, and has one son, Lester. Louisa is the wife of Charles Frick, who was born in Yankton county, and who has purchased a farm on Beaver creek, where he is living. The youngest daughter is being educated at the University of South Dakota, located in Ver- million, and is now eighteen years of age. Johanna is a nurse in a hospital at Pueblo. Colo- rado.

Upon coming to the new world Mr. Mad- sen made his way across the country to Yankton county, where he purchased two hundred and twenty acres of land, upon which he made his home, his time and energies have been de- voted to its development and cultivation. He raised considerable stock and also engaged in the cultivation of the cereals best adapted to the soil and climate. In his work he was energetic and practical and a glance at his place indicates to the passerby the careful supervision of the owner. Whatever success he has achieved has come to him as the direct result of his own labors and his life indicates what it is possible to accomplish in a land where labor is not ham- pered by caste or class. He has recently pur- chased a home in Yankton, which is now his home. He and his family are devoted members of the Lutheran church of Yankton, of which the Rev. Solberg is the pastor. As a sincere Christian gentleman, a straightforward business man and a good friend and neighbor, as well as a devoted husband and father Mr. Madsen

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deserves representation in this volume among the leading citizens of Yankton county.

TORGE THOMPSON .- From the land of the midnight sun Torge Thompson came to America. He was born in Norway, February 27, 1863, and is a son of Thomas A. and Segri Thompson, who were also natives of that coun- try. In 1869 the father came to the United States with his family, making his way into the interior of the country and settling in Clay county, South Dakota, where he secured one hundred and sixty acres of government land. The first home of the family was a log cabin in which they lived in true pioneer style. The work of farming was carried on until the old home- stead was placed under a high state of culti- vation and good buildings erected. In the flood of 1881 the father suffered a loss of two thou- sand dollars, but he possessed a resolute spirit and courage and with characteristic diligence set to work to retrieve his possessions. He has been a successful man and one who owes his financial advancement entirely to his own efforts. In politics he is a Republican and both he and his wife are members of the Lutheran church. Their family numbers six children, of whom Torge is the eldest ; Anna is the wife of L. A. Larson, a farmer of Clay county, South Dakota, who served as postmaster at Lincoln for several years and who has a family of nine children; Lewis, Sarah and Thomas Verner are now deceased ; Severin Lewis married Dina Steie, and is a pro- fessor in the Lutheran College of Decorah, Iowa, and they have one child.

Mr. Thompson of this review acquired his education in the public schools and in the Uni- versity of South Dakota, at Vermillion, where he was only allowed to pursue. his studies for several winter terms. When twenty years of age he took charge of the home farm. His mother died in 1895, and his father died Janu- ary 6, 1904. In 1900 he bought six hundred and forty acres of land in Yankton county and in 1901 he sold the farm in Clay county, taking up his abode at his new home. He has a splen-

didly improved property, has erected a fine resi- dence, has rebuilt the barns and has artesian wells, several good springs and two miles of river front upon his land. He carries on mixed farming and has four hundred acres of his land under the plow, while thirty acres is planted to alfalfa, forty acres is meadow land, thirty acres is covered with good oak timber and three acres are covered with fruit trees. In addition to the cultivation of grain he raises horses, cattle, sheep and Poland-China hogs and is recognized as one of the most active, practical and energetic young farmers of his community.

On the 12th of June, 1889, Mr. Thompson was married to Bertha Brake, a daughter of Andrew Nelson. Her father was a tailor by trade, as was Mr. Thompson's father. Unto the subject and his wife have been born five chil- dren : Sarah Maria, born March 6, 1890; Thomas Anders, born April 9, 1892; Torge Barthol, born September 17, 1894; Lewis Verner, born October 4, 1896; and Arthur Oliver, born Janu- ary 8, 1903.

The parents hold membership in the Lutheran church and Mr. Thompson is deeply interested in the educational and moral development of his locality. He has served as school officer for several terms and in politics he is a Republican. Well known in Yankton county, his friends ac- cord him a high position as a representative farmer and as one who is entirely worthy of public confidence and respect.

THOMAS INCH .- A splendid farm with its well-tilled fields, its good buildings, its fine improvements, modern machinery and splendid equipments is the property of Thomas Inch, one of Ireland's native sons, now a valued resident of Yankton county. His birth occurred in County Derry, on the Emerald Isle, August 12, 1888, and his parents, John and Katherine Inch, spent their entire lives in that country. In the family were twelve children, six of whom came to the United States, namely : Thomas; Joseph, now deceased; Katherine: Sarah; William, who has also passed away, and Major. The subject

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History of South Dakota, Vol. I, Part 107

Author: Robinson, Doane, 1856-1946. cn Publication date: 1904 Publisher: [Logansport? IN] : B. F. Bowen Number of Pages: 998

Author: Robinson, Doane, 1856-1946. cn
Publication date: 1904
Publisher: [Logansport? IN] : B. F. Bowen
Number of Pages: 998