USA > South Dakota > History of South Dakota, Vol. I > Part 110
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THOMAS DIGNAN .- The fair old Emer- ald Isle figures as the place of Mr. Dignan's nativity, since he was born in County Cavan, Ireland, on the 12th of June, 1846, being a son of Michael and Ann Dignan, both scions of stanch old Irish stock. In 1849, when our sub- ject was a child of about three years, they im-
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migrated to America and located in Richland county, Ohio, whence, three years later, they started for Iowa, arriving in Winneshiek county, that state, in August, 1853, where the father took up government land and became one of the pio- neer farmers of the Hawkeye commonwealth. He was prospered in his efforts as the years passed, and continued his residence there until 1885, when he disposed of his farm and came to South Dakota, locating in Faulk county, where he was identified with farming and stock grow- ing until his death, which occurred in March, 1893, while his wife died in September of the same year. Michael Dignan had been engaged in dealing in live stock in Ireland prior to his emigration to America, and was an excellent judge in the line, while he was a man of energy and sterling integrity of character. He was a Democrat in politics and both he and his wife were communicants of the Catholic church. Of their eleven children six are living, and of the number two are residents of South Dakota.
Thomas Dignan, whose name introduces this sketch, was the second child, and was reared to maturity on the home farm in Iowa, while his educational advantages were those afforded by the public schools. In 1874, at the age of eighteen years, he left the home farm and in- itiated his independent career, engaging in farm- ing and stock raising on his own account, in Winneshiek county, Iowa, where he remained until 1884, when he closed out his interests there and came as a pioneer to Faulk county, South Dakota, where he now has a finely im- proved ranch of four hundred acres of most arable land, all of which is under cultivation and devoted mainly to the propagation of wheat, barley, pulse, corn and millet, in each of. which lines he secures large returns for the time and labor expended, being known as one of the pro- gressive and thoroughly scientific farmers of this section. In addition to the agricultural farm he also has a magnificent range of six thousand acres under fence, which is utilized for the graz- ing of his large herds of stock. He raises high- grade Hereford cattle, breeding from registered stock, and running an average of from five
hundred to one thousand head. He also raises large numbers of hogs, and is convinced that no section of the Union offers better advantages for successful enterprise in this line, as the swine attain large and vigorous growth, while he has never known of any disease prevailing in any herd in this section. On his fine ranch are also found the finest specimens of Percheron horses, of which he usually has a large herd, while he also has raised some very superior driving and coach horses. In the spring of 1903 he sold a magnificent Percheron stallion for thirteen hun- dred and fifty dollars, the animal weighing two thousand and forty pounds. Mr. Dignan has attained a high degree of success in South Dakota and is an enthusiastic admirer of the state and a firm believer in the still more mag- nificent future in store for the same, while he is a representative citizen of Faulk county, pub- lic-spirited and enterprising, and held in the highest esteem by all who know him. On his beautiful ranch he has erected a substantial and commodious residence and other buildings ample for the proper care of live stock, farm produce, machinery, etc. In politics he accords a stanch allegiance to the Republican party, and at the time of this writing he is serving as a member of the board of township trustees.
On the 4th of July, 1874, were spoken the words which united the life destinies of Mr. Dignan and Miss Catherine Hand, who was born and reared in Allamakee county, Iowa, being a daughter of Michael Hand, of whom individual mention is made on another page of this work, so that a repetition of the genealogical data is not demanded in this connection. Of this union have been born five children, concerning the fate of the eldest of whom, George, a most pitiful uncertainty exists, a source of unremitting grief to his parents. George was a young man of sterling character and correct habits, and in the fall of 1901 went to Chicago for the purpose of selling a shipment of stock from the home ranch. That he had started on the return trip is assured, since on the Ist of October he sent his father a telegram from Sioux City, Iowa, and from that time forward all trace of him has
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been lost, it being supposed that he met with a violent or accidental death. The disappearance causes a feeling of unqualified grief and sym- pathy in the community in which he was so well known and well liked. The other children remain at the parental home, their names, in order of birth, being as follows: Edward M., Loretta, Alice and Cleophas.
S. P. WAXDAHL was born in . Norway, in 1847, being a son of Peter and Bertina (Siverson) Waxdahl, both of whom passed their entire lives in Norway, where the father de- voted his active life to agricultural pursuits. This worthy couple became the parents of seven children, of whom six are living, while the sub- ject is the only representative of the family in South Dakota. S. P. Waxdahl was reared and educated in his native land and there continued to be identified with the tilling of the soil until he had attained the age of twenty years. He sailed from Norway on the Mediterranean and Black seas from 1866 to 1869. In 1869 he severed the home ties and set forth to seek his fortune in America, his financial resources being very limited, while he had no influential friends in the country to which he thus came as a veri- table stranger in a strange land. He made his first permanent location in the state of Wiscon- sin, and his early labors were in connection with farming and work as a sailor on Lake Michi- gan. In 1875 he went to California and for the following three years was employed on various vessels plying out of the port of San Francisco. He then returned to Wisconsin, where he re- mained for a short time, and then came, in 1877, to what is now the state of South Dakota and took up a tract of wild prairie land in Moody county, the place being located eight miles from the thriving little city of Flandreau, of which scarcely the nucleus was to be seen at the time when he came here. He still retains his original homestead, which he secured from the govern- ment, and the same bears little resemblance to the virgin prairie represented at the time when he secured possession of the property. Mr. Wax-
dahl has put forth the most strenuous effort in the improvement and cultivation of his farm and the same is now one of the attractive and valu- able places of this favored section of the state. He devotes his attention to diversified farming and stock raising and is recognized as one of the upright and industrious citizens of the county, where he has the confidence and regard of all who know him. In politics he is a stanch sup- porter of the Republican party, and though he has never sought public office he has shown a deep interest in the welfare of his chosen state and has lent a helpful influence in worthy enter- prises for the good of the community. He is now serving his second term as school director of his district. He and his wife are worthy and consistent members of the Lutheran church.
On the 31st of January, 1880, Mr. Waxdahl married Miss Regina Anderson, of this county, and they have six children, namely: Regina, Bertina, Albert, Edward . P., Ingvald and Sophia.
GEORGE WILLIAM COOK, who is the owner of a finely improved farm of one hundred and sixty acres, in Grovena township, Moody county, was born at Elkader, Clayton county, Iowa, on the Ioth of September, 1850, being a son of Henry and Mary (Beckman) Cook, the father being a farmer by vocation. The subject received a common-school education and re- mained at the parental home until he had attained the age of twenty-eight years, having devoted his attention to farming up to that time. On the 4th of March, 1878, he arrived in Moody county, whither he came from his native place, and here he took a homestead claim and forthwith began its improvement and cultivation. He has "grown up with the country," is a progressive farmer and stock grower and has attained success through his indefatigable . and well directed efforts. In addition to his farming interests he is also identified with the Egan Elevator Com- pany and the Egan Lumber Company, of Egan, Moody county, which is his postoffice address. In politics Mr. Cook is stanchly arrayed in sup-
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port of the principles of the People's party, and he was elected the first treasurer of Grovena township, where he still resides, while he has also served as a member of the board of directors of the township. Fraternally, he is identified with the Modern Brotherhood of America, and his religious views are in harmony with the tenets of the Methodist Episcopal church, which he attends. Mr. Cook remains a bachelor, but his home is a center of genial hospitality and good cheer, while his friends are in number as his acquaintances.
FRANK M. HUBER is a representative of a class of German-American citizens who have done so much in advancing general progress and at the same time have gained for themselves gratifying prosperity through the exercise of business activity. He was born in Bavaria on the 25th of July, 1862, and the days of his boy- hood and youth were quietly passed unmarked by any event of special importance to vary the routine of life during that period. On the 20th of August, 1893, however, he was married, the lady of his choice being Miss Nellie Strunk, a daughter of Henry Strunk. Three children graced this marriage, Nellie, Mary and Herman. In order to provide for his family Mr. Huber follows agricultural pursuits and is the owner of one hundred and sixty acres of land in Yank- ton county. The improvements upon this place stand as monuments to his enterprise, labor and progressive spirit. The farm is pleasantly lo- cated not far from Jamesville and he is success- fully engaged in the raising of hogs of the Poland-China breed and also shorthorn cattle. Nearly all of the buildings upon his place have been erected by him and that the farm is today a well-improved and valuable property is the re- sult of his untiring industry, perseverance and capable management. Annually his labors bring him a desirable financial return.
Mr. Huber exercises his right of franchise in support of the- men and measures of the Democratic party. He has served as school clerk for several years, but has never been
active in the sense of office seeking, preferring to devote his time and energies to his business affairs. He is a communicant of the Catholic church and is a public-spirited man whose life has been upright and honorable and those actions have brought to him the merited return of well directed labor.
WILLIAM W. ROUNDS hails from the old Green Mountain state, being a scion of stanch old English stock early established in New England. The ancestry is traced in a direct way to the noble family of Walworth, Lord Wal- worth, lord mayor of London, having been an ancestor. Mr. Rounds was born in the village of Monkton, Addison county, Vermont, on the Ist of June, 1857, and was the youngest in a family of six children. He attended the com- mon schools until he had attained the age of twelve years, when he left the parental home and faced the stern battle of life on his own responsi- bility, so that he is well deserving of the proud American title of self-made man. He was va- riously employed in the east until 1877, when he came to the west and located in the city of Chi- cago, where he was variously employed until 1882, in the spring of which year he came to what is now the state of South Dakota and lo- cated in Spink county, where he took up a pre- emption claim of a quarter section of govern- ment land two miles south of the postoffice of Rose. In the fall of the same year he disposed of this property and took up a homestead claim in the same county, the place being the site of the town of Conde, as before noted. Here he continued to be actively engaged in farming until 1886, when the railroad was completed through the county and he sold his farm to the Western Townsite Company, and the village of Conde was soon afterward founded and platted, being now a progressive and attractive town. He identified himself forthwith with the business interests of the new village, erecting a large livery barn, which he equipped with good facili- ties, continuing to conduct the same for three years, at the expiration of which, in 1890, he
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traded his barn and business for the building and stock of a local hardware establishment. The stock was a small one and the enterprise was one of modest proportions at the time when he came into control, but within two years he had so increased its scope as to necessitate the building of an addition to his store, and he also installed a stock of furniture, while in 1896 he erected another addition, so that he has a large and conveniently arranged store, besides a large warehouse, and controls a flourishing business, maintaining also a branch store at Groton, Brown county. In politics he is a stanch advo- cate of the principles of the Republican party, and he has been called upon to serve in various positions of public trust, having been for several years a member of the board of trustees of the village and also a member of the board of edu- cation, while he also rendered excellent service as deputy sheriff of the county. He has attained the thirty-second degree in Scottish Rite Ma- sonry, being identified with the consistory at Aberdeen, South Dakota, while he was one of the charter members of Conde Lodge, No. 134, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, in Conde, which he has served as worshipful master. He has also passed the official chairs in the local lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of which he is past grand, also being affiliated with the auxiliary organization, the Daughters of Rebekah, and being a member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen and the Degree of Honor.
On the 27th of November, 1884, Mr. Rounds was united in marriage to Miss Margaret Park, who was born in Michigan, and they have one daughter, Hazel, who is one of the popular young ladies of the village of Conde.
JAMES P. TURNER comes of sturdy Scottish ancestry in both the paternal and ma- ternal lines, and inherits in a marked degree the dominating characteristics of the true Scotch- man,-integrity of purpose, broad mental per- spective and indomitable energy. He was born in Elgin county, near the town of Aylmer,
province of Ontario, Canada, on the Ist of De- cember, 1858, and is a son of James and Mary (Jardine) Turner, both of whom were born in Argyleshire, Scotland, where they were reared to maturity. The paternal grandfather, Donald Turner, emigrated with his family to America about the year 1851 and located in Ontario, Canada, passing the remainder of his life in the province of Ontario and being a carpenter by vocation. His son, James, father of the subject, learned the trade of carpenter under the direc- tion of his honorable sire, and was successfully engaged in contracting and building in the province of Ontario until his death, which oc- curred in 1864, his noble wife still living. Of their five children James P. was the third, while of the number one is now deceased.
James P. Turner was reared to maturity in his native province, and after completing the curriculum of the common schools served a thorough apprenticeship at the blacksmith trade, which he there continued to follow as a voca- tion until 1883, when he came to South Dakota, passing the first year in Watertown, while in the spring of 1884 he removed thence to Faulk county, becoming one of its earliest settlers and taking up his abode in the little village of La- Foon, which was the original county seat. He there established himself in the blacksmith busi- ness, and there successfully followed his trade until 1887, when he came to Faulkton, which had then been designated as the capital of the county, being on the line of the railroad, which ad- vantage was lacking to La Foon. Here he has ever since been engaged in blacksmithing, being known as a straightforward and reliable business man and having thus gained a supporting pat- ronage which has made him one of the prosper- ous. citizens of the town. Three and one-half miles northeast of the village he owns an entire section of land, upon which he has made good improvements, while the same is devoted to stock-grazing purposes and the raising of hay and grain. In politics Mr. Turner is a stanch advocate of the principles and policies of the Republican party, and while he has never sought official preferment he received a gratifying testi-
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monial of popular esteem in the village election of the spring of 1902, when he was chosen mayor of Faulkton, in which capacity he has given a progressive, economical and business-like administration of the municipal government, gaining unqualified endorsement for the course which he has pursued with marked dis- crimination and loyalty. He is identified with the Masonic fraternity, in which he has passed the capitular degrees, being at present high priest of Faulkton Chapter, No. 30, Royal Arch Masons, and is also a member of the Knights of Pythias, the Ancient Order of United Work- men and the Modern Woodmen of America. He and wife were members of the Baptist church.
On the 3rd of February, 1887, Mr. Turner was married to Miss Belle K. Puntine, who was born in Ontario, Canada, on the 22d of Sep- tember, 1860, being a daughter of John and Maggie (McDonald) Puntine. She proved a devoted wife and helpmeet, and the great loss and bereavement of the subject's life was that entailed when she was called to the "land of the leal," her death occurring on the 15th of De- cember, 1899. She is survived by five children, namely : Jesse A., Hugh A., Frank A., Muriel B. and Charles J.
WILLIAM H. SMITH is a native of the Badger state, having been born in Juneau county, Wisconsin, on the 28th of April, 1857, and being a son of John and Bridget Smith, both of whom were born and reared in Ireland. The father of the subject left the Emerald Isle as a young man and came to America to seek his fortune, believing that better opportunities were here afforded for the winning of success through individual effort. He was employed for some time in connection with the great lumbering in- dustry in Wisconsin, and through this means accumulated sufficient money to send home for the remainder of his family. He finally secured a tract of land in Wisconsin, and turned his at- tention to agricultural pursuits, in which he has since been successfully engaged, being now the owner of a well improved farm of two hundred
and forty acres, in Juneau county, Wisconsin, where he is held in high esteem. He and his wife are the parents of the following named chil- dren : William H., who is the subject of this review; Elizabeth, who is the widow of Daniel Murphy and who resides in Brookings county, South Dakota; Thomas, who is a successful farmer of Parnell township, Brookings county, South Dakota; Margaret, who is the wife of Michael Mead, of Moody county, South Da- kota; John, Jr., who resides in Mauston, Wis- consin; Ellen, who is a teacher in the schools of Brookings county ; and Rose and Mary, who re- main at the parental home, in Wisconsin.
The subject of this sketch was reared to the sturdy discipline of the home farm and early be- came inured to the work involved in its improve- ment and cultivation, while he was accorded good educational advantages, prosecuting his studies in the public schools of his native county until he had attained the age of eighteen years, while thereafter he assisted in the work of the home farm until he had reached his legal ma- jority, when he initiated his independent career. He came to South Dakota in the spring of 1878, and in May of that year filed entry on a quarter section of land in section 18, Brookings county, and thereafter he continued to work by the day or month for one year, in the meanwhile in- stituting the improvement of his claim, to which he eventually perfected his title. In 1878 he built a sod house on his place, the same being equipped with a board roof, and his father sent him sufficient money to enable him to purchase two yoke of oxen. He had no yoke to use when he first began the breaking of his land, and his finances were such that he was compelled to bor- row this essential accessory, which he carried on his back for a distance of ten miles when he returned it to the owner. He remained on his first claim for fifteen years, within which time he made good improvements on the property and began to win a definite success. He purchased his present home place in 1893, paying nineteen hundred dollars for a quarter section, in Parnell township, and since taking up his residence here he has made many substantial improvements,
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having extensively remodeled the house, which is now one of the attractive and comfortable farm homes of this section, while he also erected a fine barn, thirty-two by sixty-four feet in di- mensions and a granary eighteen by forty feet. He sunk a deep well, which supplies pure water in abundance, and this improvement was made at a cost of about five hundred dollars. Mr. Smith is now the owner of ten hundred and forty acres of land in Parnell township, this county, and also owns a half section of excellent land in Ransom county, North Dakota. He gives his attention to diversified agriculture and to the raising of an excellent grade of cattle and hogs, together with sufficient horses to supply the demands of his farm. He is energetic, has excellent business judgment, is ever fair and honorable in all his dealings, and it is pleasing to note that he has not been denied the due reward of his labors. When he came to this state his cash capital was represented in the sum of sixty dollars, and a conservative valuation of his property today is placed at fifty thousand dollars. For the past several years he has owned and operated a threshing outfit, for which he has found a ready demand throughout the season. In politics he maintains an independent attitude, voting according to the dictates of his judgment and supporting men and measures rather than be guided along strict partisan lines. He and his wife are communicants of the Catholic church, as are also all of their children. Fraternally he is identified with the Ancient Order of United Workmen and the Modern Woodmen of America.
On the 26th of July, 1882, Mr. Smith was united in marriage to Miss Mary Buckley, who was born in Wisconsin, being a daughter of Edward and Ellen Buckley, who were early settlers of that state, where they remained until 1880, when they came to Brookings county, South Dakota, and settled in Trenton township, where they passed the remainder of their lives. Mr. and Mrs. Smith have nine children, all of whom are still members of the home circle, namely : Nellie, John, Nora, Hugh, William, Edward, Charles, George and Fabian.
LEANDER LANE .- In the pioneer epoch of South Dakota Leander Lane came to this state and was an important factor in the substantial development and permanent improvement of Yankton county. He was born on the 23d of April, 1838, in Clermont county, Ohio, of which state his parents, Nathaniel and Martha (Simp- son) Lane, were also natives. The father was an agriculturist, owning and operating a well improved farm in Clermont county, where he died in 1857. In politics he was a Whig and both he and his wife were faithful members of the Methodist Episcopal church. She long sur- vived her husband, passing away in 1896. In their family were eight children, four of whom are still living. On the paternal side the sub- ject's ancestors were originally from North Carolina.
In the state of his nativity Leander Lane grew to manhood and in 1861 he led to the marriage altar Miss Ann Sheperdson, by whom he had one child, Elizabeth, now the wife of Albert Young. For his second wife Mr. Lane wedded Mrs. Mary (Chappel) Case, the widow of John Chappel. Her parents, Chauncey and Mary E. Case, were natives of New York and were also members of the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Case followed farming principally but was also a good mechanic and patented a turninglathe. His political support was given the Democratic party. He died in New York state in 1848, and his wife departed this life in 1882. Their family numbered six children, three of whom are living at the present writing in 1903.
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