History of South Dakota, Vol. I, Part 111

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 111

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It was in 1866 that Mr. Lane left the east and came to Dakota, while his wife came to this state with a Dakota colony in 1868. He first located on Jim river near the present site of Henry O'Neil's home, but after living there six months he moved to the place now owned by Joseph J. Volin. Later he purchased the present home place, at first buying one hundred and sixty acres of government land, to which he added from time to time as his financial resources increased until he owned eight hundred acres of fine farming land, nearly all under cultiva-

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tion. He set out all of the trees upon the place and erected good and substantial buildings which stands as monuments to his thrift and enterprise. He was a natural carpenter, being very handy with tools, and everything about his farm was kept in first-class condition. He raised a good grade of shorthorn cattle, feeding not less than one hundred and forty head per year and as high as two hundred.

During his early residence in South Dakota Mr. Lane encountered many discouragements, losing hogs to the value of one thousand dollars in floods. During the flood of 1866, when the Missouri and Jim rivers so overflowed their banks, he was forced to leave his house at three o'clock at night and seek higher ground. The Indians, though friendly at that time, often visited his home begging for something to eat, and if not carefully watched they would steal considerable corn. Being fond of hunting, and a good marksman, Mr. Lane took great delight in that sport during pioneer days and his trusty rifle brought down many a deer, elk and ante- lope, besides smaller game such as ducks, wild geese, etc. In fact the early settlers depended a great deal on hunting and fishing for something to eat. Mr. Lane once caught a catfish in Jim river which weighed one hundred pounds and was over five feet long. It pulled him a half mile down the stream before he was able to land it.

Politically, Mr. Lane was a stalwart Demo- crat. He held school offices and assisted in establishing the first school conducted in his part of the county, each family at that time doing their share toward boarding the teacher. He was a Universalist in belief, but also a liberal sup- porter of any church in his neighborhood, and everything that was for the betterment of hu- manity received his hearty support. Mr. Lane passed away, after an illness of two weeks, on February 28, 1904, at his home south of Gay- ville, having attained the age of sixty-six years, ten months and four days. The funeral occurred Wednesday, March 2, 1904, from the Gayville Methodist Episcopal church, the pastor officiat- ing. The interment was held at Yankton ceme-

tery, at which the Rev. Mr. Rosenberry, of Yankton, officiated. Throughout the career of Mr. Lane he had shown himself a man in whom all placed the highest confidence. He was a loyal citizen and an ardent supporter of everything that went to advance the general welfare of the community of which he was a member. His memory will always be cherished and esteemed by the large circle of kinsmen and friends who are left to mourn his loss.

WILLIAM B. TOBEY .- For more than a score of years the subject of this review has been identified with the industrial life of Davidson county, and he is today one of the leading busi- ness men of the thriving village of Ethan, where he has a well equipped general store. Mr. Tobey was born in Steuben county, New York, on the 2Ist of September, 1856, being a son of William and Catherine (Tobey) Tobey, both of whom were born and reared in the old Empire state, where the father was engaged in agricultural pursuits during the major portion of his long and useful life, having come to South Dakota in 1886 and having here been identified with farm- ing until his death, which occurred January 21, 1899, at which time he was seventy-four years of age. His devoted wife passed to the "land of the leal" in 1902, at the age of seventy-seven years, both having been consistent members of the Baptist church, while in politics he was a stanch Republican, having been identified with the party from the time of its organization. They became the parents of two children, William B., the subject of this sketch, and Louisa E., who is the wife of N. W. Stilson, of Elmira, New York.

William B. Tobey received the advantages of the public schools of his native state and con- tinued to be identified with agricultural pursuits in New York and Missouri until 1882, when he came to what is now the state of South Dakota and took up a homestead claim in Davidson county, where he was actively engaged in farm- ing for fourteen years, at the expiration of which, in 1896, he took up his residence in the village

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of Ethan, where he established himself in the grain commission business, having an elevator here and also one in the city of Mitchell. In March, 1900, Mr. Tobey opened his present gen- eral merchandise establishment in Ethan, having a comprehensive and select stock and controlling a large and representative trade throughout the territory normally tributary to the town, while he enjoys the confidence and good will of the people of the community in which he has so long maintained his home. In politics he gives an unwavering support to the Republican party, and he has held various village and township offices, and also been a member of the board of educa- tion, while in the year 1900 he was appointed postmaster of Ethan. He and his wife hold membership in the Methodist Episcopal church, and fraternally he is identified with the Masonic order and the Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows. Mr. Tobey retains valuable farm property in the county and is also the owner of real estate in the village in which he lives. He was one of the early settlers of this section of the state, has here attained success and independence and is intrinsically loyal to South Dakota, in whose further advancement he has unlimited faith.

On the 14th of July, 1874, Mr. Tobey -was united in marriage to Miss Frances Dabler, who was born in the state of Ohio, being a daughter of Samuel S. and Drusilla Dabler, who now reside in the home of the subject, Mr. Dabler having been born in Ohio and having later been a successful farmer in Missouri. Mr. and Mrs. Tobey have eight children, namely: Frederick, Edna, Eliphalus, Emma, Agnes, Don, Alfraretta and Frances. Frederick married Miss Maggie Sexton and is now associated in the management of his father's mercantile business; and Edna is the wife of C. E. Bordwell, of Westfield, Iowa.

CALEB P. TAYLOR, one of the represent- ative farmers and stock growers of Davidson county, is a native of the state of Wisconsin, having been born in Grant county, on the 25th of April, 1855, and being a son of C. and Nancy (Coombs) Taylor, of whose fourteen children

eleven are living at the time of this writing. The educational advantages afforded the subject in his youth were limited, being confined to a some- what irregular attendance in the district schools of a pioneer section of the Badger state, and he continued to assist in the work and management of the homestead farm until he had attained the age of twenty-two years, when he purchased a farm of three hundred and twenty acres, in Grant county, Wisconsin, and began operations on his own responsibility, while he has never wavered in his allegiance to the great funda- mental industry of agriculture, which he has found worthy of his best efforts and through which he has attained definite success and in- dependence. He continued to reside in his native state until the spring of 1900, when he came to South Dakota and purchased a farm of two hun- dred and forty acres, in Badger township, David- son county, the place being well improved and one of the valuable rural estates of this section. He paid eighteen dollars an acre for the land, and its market value at the present time is forty dollars an acre. In addition to carrying on diversified agriculture Mr. Taylor is also promi- nently and successfully engaged in the raising of live stock of excellent grades. He is a stanch Republican in politics, is progressive and public- spirited and has gained the confidence and good will of the community in which he resides. He and his wife are members of the Congregational church.

On the 18th of January, 1876, Mr. Taylor was united in marriage to Miss Izella Shanley, who was born in Grant county, Wisconsin, being a daughter of Thomas Shanley, and of this union have been born four children, namely : Florence, Halbert, Grace and Clyde.

MARTIN N. TRYGSTAD was born in Norway, May 27, 1843, his parents being Nils O. and Kristiana Trygstad. When eighteen years old he enlisted in the army of Norway and served till 1867, when he came to Minnesota. He lived there till 1869, when he, with his par- ents and brothers, moved to Dakota territory.

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He selected a piece of land in section 9, Medary township, but as the government had not sur- veyed any land in that locality it was not until 1872 that he could file his pre-emption papers on that tract of land. In 1870 he married Caro- line Johnson, who has been a good and true wife to him, and they have been blessed with eight children. The oldest boy, Norman, and the oldest girl, Ida, are married and have their own homes in the neighborhood of their parents. The other two girls, Emma and Catharine, are at home, as are also Carl and Ferdinand. Wilhelm, a graduate from St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minnesota, is studying theology at the United Norwegian Lutheran church, St. Anthony Park, St. Paul, Minnesota. Michael, the youngest son, studies at the Augustana College, Canton, South Dakota.

In 1871 the subject succeeded in getting a postoffice established at his home and was made postmaster, it being called Medary. The same year Brookings county was organized and he was appointed county commissioner, an office he held for twelve years.

In the interesting election of 1872 he was elected a representative from his district to the territorial legislature, and in 1878 he was again elected to the same office. In 1902 he was elected state senator from Brookings county. In all these years he has taken the deepest interest in the development of South Dakota, and has con- tributed by words and deeds to the upbuilding of schools and churches. Although he has always been a hard-worked farmer and stock raiser and extensively employed, as we have seen, in the public administration of his county, he has always found time and means to encourage moral and religious growth and development. Brookings county was but a stretch of undula- ting prairie when he came here, no one but In- dians and a few trappers being met with, but soon a few families came and made their home, and then Martin N. Trygstad opened his home for them on Sundays for the reading of God's holy scriptures, the singing of the grand old Lutheran hymns and listening as he read Dr. Martin Luther's sermon for the day, delivered 49

three hundred years ago, but yet as bright and inspiring of faith and hope as when the great man preached it in Wittenberg. Martin Tryg- stad taught the young to read, to pray to God, to be obedient to their parents and good to their neighbors. He is still the superintendent of the Sunday school in Lake Campbell church. The founding of this church on the then wild and bleak Dakota prairies was one of the first public acts he undertook and it has grown from a small beginning till it now stands in our public records under the names of Brookings, Volga, Lake Sinai and, Lake Campbell Norwegian Lutheran churches. He has been the promoter of many enterprises for the betterment of the people in financial matters as well. The Volga Elevator Company, the Brookings Shipping Company, several creameries and many other enterprises for the common welfare have found in him an earnest advocate.

GEORGE WATSON, who was formerly a member of the state legislature, from Davison county, is one of the progressive farmers of the state, his fine landed estate being located in Davison and Hanson counties. Mr. Watson was born in the province of Ontario, Canada, in 1851. being one of the four children of Ebenezer and Margaret (Sims) Watson. The father of the subject was born and reared in Scotland, whence he emigrated to Canada as a young man, settling near Ottawa, Ontario, where he was engaged in farming until his death, which occurred in 1890. His wife, who was a native of Ontario, passed away in 1882, and all of their children are still living.

The subject of this sketch was reared to the sturdy discipline of the farm, and has devoted the major portion of his life to the great basic in- dustry of agriculture. He received a common- school education and continued to reside in On- tario until 1873, when he removed to Rockford. Iowa, locating in Floyd county, where he was engaged in farming until 1879, when he disposed of his interests there and came to Dakota, taking up government land in Davison county, where

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he has ever since maintained his home. He has added to his landed estate until he is now the owner of a finely improved farm of seven hun- dred and twenty acres, located in Davison and Hanson counties, about three hundred acres of the tract being under cultivation. He devotes special attention to the raising of corn, finding this more profitable than the raising of wheat, while he also devotes a number of acres to oats each year. Upon his place are to be found short- horn cattle of high grade, while he also raises hogs, while he ships each year to the eastern markets an average of four carloads of cattle, the greater portion of which are from the thor- oughbred stock which he keeps, while his herd of swine is of the Poland-China type. Upon

coming to Davison county Mr. Watson took up homestead and timber claims, and this half sec- tion of land constituted the nucleus of his present well improved farm. He now has a fine lot of trees on his place, the same having been planted by him and being now well matured.

In politics Mr. Watson is a stanch Repub- lican, and he has held various local offices, while in 1893 he represented his district in the state legislature, making an excellent record in the connection. He and his wife hold membership in the Baptist church at Mitchell. They were pioneers of the county, and have the high regard of the community in which they have so long made their home.

On the 25th of October, 1883, Mr. Watson was united in marriage to Miss Livonia Phelps, who was born and reared in Huston county, Minnesota, heing a daughter of H. M. and Rebecca Phelps. Of this union have been born six children, all of whom still remain beneath the parental roof, namely : Florence, Robert, Fran- ces, Earl, Richard and Herbert.

JOHN A. BEANER, who is postmaster at Canastota, McCook county, has long been one of the representative citizens of this section of the state, prominent in the work of the Republi- can party and in business affairs, having been the first grain dealer in the town, while he has

at all times received the fullest measure of popular confidence and esteem.

Mr. Beaner is a native of the state of Illinois, having been born in Winnebago county. on the 5th of July, 1853, and being a son of Joseph and Gertrude (Harig) Beaner. He was the only child and his mother died while he was an infant. The father of the subject was a carpenter by vocation and his death occurred at Annapolis, Maryland, March 11, 1863. He was a valiant soldier in the Union army during the war of the Rebellion, having enlisted as a mem- ber of Company I. Seventy-fourth Illinois Vol- unteer Infantry, with which he participated in many of the important battles of the great con- flict. He was captured by the enemy and was held captive in the famous Andersonville prison, where he contracted disease which caused his death a short time after his release, so that our subject was doubly orphaned when a mere boy, being thereafter reared in the home of George Fisher. He attended the common schools of his native state until he had attained the age of six- teen years, when he assumed the active duties of life and became dependent upon his own re- sources. He went to Black Hawk county, Iowa, where he was engaged in farming for two years. after which he returned to Illinois and located in Durand township, where he followed the voca- tion of farming until 1874. while thereafter he- was a resident of Jesup, Iowa, until October, 1878, when he first came to what is now South Dakota. He located in Turner county, where he remained about two months, and then re- turned to Iowa, which continued to be his home until 1880, when he again came to South Dakota, improving his claim of government land in Turner county and there giving his attention to farming and stock raising until 1889, when he located in Canastota, McCook county, where he has ever since made his home. Here he es- tablished himself in the grain business, being the first to inaugurate this line of enterprise in the town, and he continued to be actively en- gaged in the buying and shipping of grain for the next decade.

Though he is a stanch Republican in politics

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

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and an active and influential worker in the party cause, Mr. Beaner was appointed postmaster of Canastota under the administration of President Cleveland, and served in this capacity for four years, while in 1902 he was again appointed to the office, under the regime of President Roose- velt, being the incumbent at the present time. He has been consecutively connected with the ad- ministration of postoffice affairs here for the past eleven years, having served for four years of this time as deputy. He is at the present time chair- man of the Republican central committee of McCook county and has ably managed the party work in this field. Fraternally, Mr. Beaner is identified with Prudence Lodge, No. 119, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, in Canas- tota, and with Salem Chapter, No. 34, Royal Arch Masons, at Salem, the county seat. He is also affiliated with Canastota Lodge, No. 13. Ancient Order of United Workmen, in his home town. Mrs. Beaner is a member of the Presby- terian church.

On the 8th of July, 1875, Mr. Beaner was united in marriage to Miss Mary E. Ellis, of Barclay, Iowa. She was born and reared in Bar- clay county and is a daughter of A. J. and Jane Barclay and is a daughter of A. J. and Jane Ellis. Mr. and Mrs. Beaner have one daughter, Gertrude M., who is now the wife of Grant Roberts, who is engaged in the meat business in Rock Valley, Iowa

RICHARD FRANCIS ROBINSON, M. D., has the distinction of being a native of the city of Boston, Massachusetts, where he was born on the 2d of January, 1868. His father. Richard Tremaine Robinson, was one of the pioneers of what is now the state of South Dakota, having come here in June, 1879, and taken up his residence in Firesteel, Davison county. He is engaged in the general merchan- dise business at Egan, South Dakota, at the present time. He served with distinction in the Civil war. as a member of Company C, Forty- fourth Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, and is a prominent member of the Grand Army of the

Republic, while his wife, whose maiden name was Emma Frances Fisher, is past department president of the Woman's Relief Corps of the state. William Day Robinson, the paternal grandfather of the Doctor, came to the United States from Nova Scotia, about 1852. His father, Dr. Henry Robinson, was a surgeon in the English army. He was assistant surgeon in the Sixty-fourth Foot, from May 8, 1801, to June 15, 1804, and from that time was in- cumbent of a similar position in the Seventh Foot until December 15, 1804, when he was made surgeon of the regiment, in which capacity he served until August 29. 1811, when he re- signed and thereafter lived retired in Halifax, Nova Scotia, this record being given in the war office in the city of London. Amos Sargent, great-grandfather of the mother of the subject, was a soldier in the war of the Revolution and also a seaman on the privateer brigantine. "Hazard."

Dr. Robinson was about twelve years of age at the time of his parents' removal to what is now South Dakota, and here he attended the country schools of Davison county until he had attained the age of twenty years, when he re- turned to his native state of Massachusetts, lo- cating in the city of Cambridge for the purpose of learning a trade. The outlook in this line, however, did not satisfy his ambition and he de- termined to prepare himself for the medical pro- fession. He rounded out his preliminary edu- cation by attending night schools in Cambridge. and in 1890 was matriculated in the College of Physicians and Surgeons in the city of Boston, where he was graduated on the 4th of May, 1893, receiving his degree of Doctor of Medicine. Later he took a post-graduate course in Tufts' Medical College, in the same city. He began the practice of his profession in Cambridge, where he remained until 1894, when he returned to South Dakota and established himself in prac- tice in Ethan, Davison county, whence he later removed to the city of Mitchell, where he was in practice until June 20, 1895, when he came to Egan, which has ever since been his home. Here he has built up an excellent professional

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business, his ability gaining to him distinctive recognition and a representative supporting pat- ronage. The Doctor is a progressive and public- spirited citizen and enjoys marked popularity in the community. He was appointed captain and assistant surgeon in the Third Regiment of the South Dakota National Guard, on the 23d of April, 1903. In April, 1902, he was elected a member of the board of education of Egan, serv- ing one year. He is treasurer of the board of pension examining surgeons for Moody county, having been a member of the board since 1897, and from July, 1895. to the present time he has served as vice-president of the board of health of the county. He served as county physician from June, 1895, to January, 1902, and in 1899 and 1900 he was county coroner, having been elected on the Republican ticket. The Doctor has been a stanch supporter of the Republican party from the time of attaining his majority, and has taken an active interest in its cause. He has been a member of the Modern Woodmen of America since 1896, and has held the office of clerk of the local camp since January, 1898, while he has been clerk of the state camp since February, 1901, and in 1899 was a delegate to the head camp of the order. He is a charter member of the local lodge of the Modern Broth- erhood of America, organized in 1899, and is secretary of the lodge at the present time, having previously served two years in this office, while he was a delegate to its first supreme conven- tion, in October, 1900. In November, 1903, the Doctor was raised to the degree of Master Ma- son in Tyrian Lodge, No. 100, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons. While a resident of Cam- bridge, Massachusetts, the Doctor became a member of the Wood Memorial Congregational. church, and in the same he served as president of the Young People's Society of Christian En- deavor, while at the present time he is super- intendent of the Sunday school of the Methodist Episcopal church in Egan, of which he has been a member since taking up his residence here.

On the 18th of August, 1897, in Egan, Dr. Robinson was united in marriage to Miss Jennie Brennan, who has heen a resident of Moody

county since her childhood, her parents having here taken up their residence in March, 1878. Her father, Roger Brennan, has been the leading lawyer of the county for a quarter of a century and also one of the most influential men in the local ranks of the Republican party. Of the three children of Dr. and Mrs. Robinson we enter the names with respective dates of birth: Richard Tracy, May 15, 1898; Ada Frances, June 15. 1901 ; and Roger Chesley, December 21, 1 902.

PHILIP H. RISLING, now deceased, was born in Bedford county, Pennsylvania, June 16, 1825, and died on the 14th of May, 1893. His life record covered sixty-eight years-a period in which he wrought much good and in which he gained creditable success so that he left to his family a comfortable competence and an honor- able name. He was a son of Lewis and Mary (Holler) Risling, both of whom were natives of Germany, whence they crossed the Atlantic to America, settling in Bedford county, Pennsyl- vania, where they spent their remaining days. The father was a farmer and also conducted a woolen factory. Unto him and his wife were born eleven children, two of whom are yet living.

Under the parental roof Philip H. Risling spent his boyhood days and in the public schools nearby he acquired his education. He was mar- ried in 1852 to Elmira Oldham, a daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth (Bowen) Oldham, of Bedford county. In 1855 the parents removed to Clayton county, Iowa, where both died. Her father was a gunsmith by trade, but became a farmer and owned a well improved tract of land. In his family were five children: Mrs. Risling, Mary, Enoch F., Omer B. and Urian W. In his political views Mr. Risling was a Whig until the dissolution of the party, when he joined the ranks of the Republican party. The home of Mr. and Mrs. Risling was blessed with eleven children : Truman S., Loretta H., Mary E., Celia, Florence, Juliet, George W., Frank B., Nellie F., Daniel W. and Lucinda. Of this num- ber five are yet living.

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History of South Dakota, Vol. I, Part 111

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