History of South Dakota, Vol. I, Part 112

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 112

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HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

In 1856 Philip H. Risling went from Clayton county, Iowa, to Spirit Lake in the same state, being one of its first settlers, and helped to build the first cabin there. After completing prepa- rations for winter, he returned to his family in Clayton county, the snow being so deep he was unable to use a team and was compelled to walk the entire distance, over two hundred miles. In March of the following spring the Indians perpe- trated the terrible massacre at Spirit Lake, and, upon receipt of the news, Mr. Risling, with others, purchased coffins and gave the victims de- cent burials. In 1862 Mr. Risling removed from Spirit Lake, Iowa, to South Dakota, and secured a homestead claim of one hundred and sixty acres of land, while later he entered an- other one hundred and sixty acres. It was covered with tall prairie grass, but not a furrow had been turned or an improvement made upon the place. He lost almost every thing in the great flood which caused a damage of seven thousand dollars to his property. The grasshoppers, too, destroyed his crops and the drouglit on another occasion burned up all that he had. but he persevered and would not allow discouragements to crush out his enterprising spirit. He worked on year after year, making excellent improvements upon his property and in course of time he triumphed over the disadvan- tages which had attended his work. For thirteen years he conducted a market garden, doing a very extensive business in this way. He had a vege- table wagon in Yankton and enjoyed a large busi- ness which proved very profitable. In his polit- ical affairs he was a Republican, afterward became a Populist and later was an independent voter. He belonged to the Lutheran church and in that faith he died. Mr. Risling came to Yankton county during the days when Indians lived here and he often fed many of them. He found them friendly, having no trouble with the red men. There is in his life history much that is worthy of emulation and commendation. He worked hard and though he had no special advantages at the outset of his career he progressed as time passed by and as the result of his earnest, per- sistent labors he accumulated a handsome compe-

tence, thus leaving his family in very comfortable circumstances. He was also honorable in his dealings with his fellow men, his life being in harmony with his professions as a Christian. Mrs. Risling and her son Daniel now own three hundred and ninety-five acres of valuable land, a part of which is cultivated while the remainder is used for pastorage purposes. They carry on general farming and Daniel also follows black- smithing to some extent. The family has long been a prominent and influential one of the com- munity, well meriting mention in this volume.

JOSEPH C. YOUNG .- The subject of this review has had a varied business experience and his career demonstrates the fact that a man of intelligence and well balanced judgment may achieve success in more than one sphere of en- deavor. Joseph C. Young, of Springfield, is a native of Waukesha county, Wisconsin, and the son of Noah W. and Mary (Purrinton ) Young, the father born in New York, the mother in the state of New Hampshire. The Purrintons are one of the oldest and best known families of New England, being directly descended in one line from the Tabors who came over in the Mayflower, and they have figured in the annals of New Hampshire and other states since the early dawn of American history. Noah Young was a carpenter by trade and when a young man helped build the locks on the Erie canal. be- sides doing other mechanical work in various parts of his native state. In an early day he and his wife migrated to Wisconsin and were among the pioneer settlers of Waukesha county ; after living in that part of the state until 1854 he moved to Fond du Lac county, of which he was also a pioneer, locating at Brandon, where he worked at his trade until 1861, when he changed his abode to Iowa county. After a residence there of about eight years he went to Brook- field, Missouri, where he spent the remainder of his life, dying in the year 1888, his wife pre- ceding him to the grave in 1860. Mr. and Mrs. Young were the parents of four children, namely : Mrs. Almira Harker, of Brookfield,

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Missouri ; Thomas W., a manufacturer, of Springfield, South Dakota ; Joseph C., the subject of this sketch, and Martin L., of Bon Homme county and a painter by trade.

Joseph C. Young was born in the town of Eagle, Waukesha county, Wisconsin, in the month of March, 1853, and he grew to man- hood in his native state, attending the common schools at intervals the meanwhile. In 1878 he came to Bon Homme county, South Dakota, and took up one hundred and twenty acres of land near Springfield, on which he lived during the ensuing five years, devoting his attention the meantime to the improvement of his farm. At the expiration of the period noted he began car- pentering, which trade he had previously learned and the better to prosecute the same left his farm and took up his residence in Springfield. He followed contracting and building with marked success until 1890, when he discontinued that line of work and purchased the Springfield Times, a well established weekly paper, which he conducted for a period of seven years. Not finding journalism to his taste he sold the paper in 1897 and, resuming his trade, continued con- tracting and building until 1901, when, in part- nership with Peter G. Monfore, he purchased the harness and furniture store which had for- merly been run by George Mead & Son, one of the largest establishments of the kind in Spring- field. The firm thus constituted is still in ex- istence and at this time Monfore & Young carry a full line of harness and furniture, in connec- tion with which they also conduct a well equipped undertaking establishment, the business in the different lines being large and lucrative and, as already indicated, their house is now the lead- ing concern of the kind in the city, with a pat- ronage much more than local.

In addition to his career as a mechanic, journalist and merchant, Mr. Young has had some experience as a civil engineer, to which profession he is now devoting considerable at- tention. In 1902 he was elected official sur- veyor of Bon Homme county, which position he now holds and in the discharge of his duties he is exceedingly painstaking and accurate, his

record thus far being creditable to himself and eminently satisfactory to all who have engaged his professional services. Mr. Young has been more than ordinarily successful in his different enterprises and is today one of the financially strong men of Springfield as well as one of the county's progressive and public-spirited citizens. His influence has always been on the right side of every moral question and he has encouraged every measure and movement having for its object the material advancement of the com- munity and the social, educational and moral welfare of the people.

On December 25, 1875, Mr. Young was united in marriage with Miss Florence Britton, of Rock county, Wisconsin, a union blessed with four offspring. The oldest of these children, May E., married W. A. Schroder, of Yankton, South Dakota, and is now the mother of two daughters, Eva and Marie; Grace, the second of the family, lives at home and is bookkeeper for a business firm in Springfield; Florence, the third daughter, teaches in the public schools, and Myrtle, the youngest of the number, is a student as well as her mother's efficient assist- ant in conducting the affairs of the household.

In politics Mr. Young is a stanch, uncom- promising Republican. His fraternal relations are represented by the Odd Fellows order and the Modern Woodmen and in religion he is a Congregationalist, having been a consistent member of the church for over a quarter of a century, during which time his life has been in harmony with his high calling as a faithful disciple of the Nazarene. Mrs. Young is also deeply interested in religious and charitable work, and is a consistent member of the same church with which her husband is identified.

ALEXANDER GARRICK justly takes pride in tracing his lineage through many generations of sturdy Scotchmen, and is of the second generation of the family in America. He was born on a farm in Delaware county, New York, on the 8th of June. 1845, and is a son of William and Elisabeth Garrick. His father was

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HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

born and reared in Scotland, being a scion of an old and prominent family, and as a young man he emigrated thence to America, settling in New York state, where he passed the remainder of his long and useful life, devoting his atten- tion to agricultural pursuits. He died in 1893. and his wife, who was born in Scotland and reared in New York, passed away in 1897. Of their five children four are living.

Alexander Garrick was reared on the old home farm and early began to assume his quota of responsibility in connection with its cultiva- tion, while his educational advantages were those of the common schools of the locality and period. He remained on the home farm until 1874. when he came to the west and located in Cedar county, where he purchased land, becom- ing the owner of a good farm, and there he continued to devote his attention to agricultural pursuits until 1883, when he disposed of his property and came to South Dakota, where he cast in his lot with the sterling pioneers of Faulk county, which was organized in that year. He first located near the present village of Crebard, where he entered claim to one hundred and sixty acres of government land, reclaiming much of the same to cultivation and there continuing his residence until 1890, when he sold the property at a profit and purchased his present finely im- proved ranch, one mile east of Faulkton, the county seat. The greater portion of his section of land is under effective cultivation, and he leases about six hundred acres in addition. Dur- ing the past few years he has been quite largely engaged in stock growing, in connection with his diversified farming, and he now runs on his range an average herd of about one hundred head of high-grade cattle. He is a man of signal energy and business sagacity and has thus secured the maximum returns from his efforts and is known as one of the public-spirited and substantial citizens of the county. He was a member of the first board of commissioners elected for the county, the preceding board having been filled by appointment, and he served three terms in this office, doing all in his power in an official and personal way to forward the best interests

of the county and its people. He has been a member of the school board practically from the time of coming to the county up to the present time. In politics he gives his support to the Republican party, while his religious affiliation- is with the Congregational church.

On the 29th of December. 1870, in his native county in New York, Mr. Garrick took unto himself a wife in the person of Miss Elizabeth Cowan, who likewise was born and reared in Delaware county, New York, being a daughter of Adam and Elizabeth Cowan, both natives of Scotland, and both being now deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Garrick have five children, namely : James, who married Miss Eva Potter, is engaged in the grain business in Webster, Day county, being associated with his father-in-law in this enterprise, while they own a well-equipped elevator of good capacity; Isabella is the wife of William Plante, of La Foon, this county; William is associated with his father in the man- agement of the home ranch; and Alexander A. is engaged in running an express business in Faulkton.

GILBERT A. PIERCE, eighth territorial governor of Dakota, was a native of Cattaraugus county, New York, but removed to Indiana at an early age. He was a graduate of the Chicago Uni- versity Law School. He enlisted in 1861 and . served throughout the war of the Rebellion and rose to the rank of colonel. He was a member of the Indiana legislature in 1868 and was one of the founders and managing editor of the Inter-Ocean for twelve years. He was an author of several popular novels. President Arthur appointed him governor of Dakota in 1884 and he resigned the position in 1886. The first legislature of North Dakota elected him to the United States senate. In 1891 he purchased a half interest in the Minneapolis Tribune, but a year later his health failed. President Harrison appointed him minister to Portugal. He did not recover his health and returning to this coun- try spent some time in California. He died in 1901.

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HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

JOHN REICH .- One of the best known and most honored citizens of the village of Scotland, Bon Homme county, is he whose name initiates this paragraph, and he is not only one of the lead- ing merchants of the town and postmaster at this point, but he may also claim the distinction of be- ing one of its pioneers and founders, since he is in point of residence one of the oldest of its citi- zens, having located in the place when its pre- tentions to the dignity of a village were notable principally by their absence. Mr. Reich is a na- tive of Russia, where he was born on the 16th of February, 1863, so that it may be seen that he is still a young man, though he has the distinction of being a pioneer of his home town. He is a son of Simon and Dorothy (Knoepfle) Reich, of whose eight children five are still living, namely : Jacob, who is associated with our subject in the hardware business; Elizabeth, who is the wife of Adam Schaffer, of Yankton county ; Cather- ine, who is the wife of Adam Kayser, of Hudson county ; John, who is the immediate subject of this review, and Christian, who is likewise as- sociated with the subject in the hardware business in Scotland.

In 1873, when the subject was a lad of ten years, his parents emigrated to the United States and located in Bon Homme county, Dakota, this being prior to the division of the territory and the organization of the two states. He took up a homestead claim of one hundred and sixty acres and a timber claim of equal area, and here he continued to reside until his death, which occurred in 1879. His widow subsequently became the wife of Christopher Wieland, and they still re- side in this county. Our subject received his ed- ucational training in the public schools and re- mained at the parental home until he had attained the age of seventeen years, when he began to carve out his independent career and depend on his own resources. He came to the village of Scot- land, where he worked at odd jobs about six months, at the expiration of which he entered upon an apprenticeship at the tinner's trade, be- coming a skilled workman and devoting sixteen years to work at the bench. After having been employed as a journeyman for six years he opened

a small shop of his own and here continued busi- ness as a tinner about ten years, at the expiration of which he became associated with his brother Jacob in opening a hardware store in the village, and they have succeeded in building up an excel- lent trade, having a well equipped store and being numbered among the representative business men of the town, while their brother Christian has also become a member of the firm. In February, 1902, the subject was appointed postmaster of Scotland, taking charge of the office on the 28th of the following month, and he has made an effi- cient and popular official, having the uniform con- fidence and esteem of the community and being known as one of the progressive and public-spir- ited citizens of the town. In politics he is a stal- wart Republican, and he served several terms as a member of the village council. He and his wife are consistent and valued members of the Ger- man Lutheran church.

On the 18th of April, 1886, Mr. Reich was united in marriage to Miss Otillie Nieland, of Yankton, this state, she having been born in Guttenberg, Iowa, and of their four children three are living, Robert W., Helen and Della.

JOHN D. HERMAN, M. D .- Spink county is favored in having numbered among its coterie of able physicians and surgeons the subject of this sketch, who is successfully established in the practice of his noble profession in Conde, one of the thriving and attractive villages of this section of the state.

Dr. Herman was born in Freeborn county, Minnesota, on the 27th of February, 1859, and is a son of Philip Herman, who was born in Germany, whence he emigrated to America when a young man, first locating in the province of Ontario, Canada, where he remained until 1857, when he removed to Minnesota, becoming one of the pioneers of Freeborn county, where he took up government land and improved a valuable farm, upon which he still maintains his home, being one of the honored and substantial citizens of the locality. His wife, whose maiden name was Augusta Otwine, was born in Ger-

JOHN REICH.

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many and is still living, as are also nine of their children. The Doctor was reared to the sturdy discipline of the pioneer farm and after com- pleting the curriculum of the public schools he began the work of preparing himself for the profession in which he has attained so marked prestige. He took up the study of medicine under a private preceptor and had been actively engaged in professional work in his home county prior to his graduation. He was matriculated in the Ohio Medical College, in Cincinnati, in 1882, and there completed the prescribed course, being graduated as a member of the class of 1886 and receiving his degree of Doctor of Medicine from this old and prominent institu- tion. He had attended this college prior to his removal to South Dakota, in 1883, and later returned to his alma mater to complete his tech- nical studies. In the spring of 1883 he came to Spink county and located in the village of Rose, where he remained until the autumn of 1885, when he returned to the Ohio Medical College and finished his course, as noted. In the spring of 1886 he returned to Rose, where he remained until the following autumn, when the village of Conde was platted and its settlement instituted, and he forthwith took up his residence here, being the pioneer physician of the town, where he also opened the first drug store, and here he has since continued in the active prac- tice of his profession and also to conduct his drug business, while he has the uniform con- fidence and high regard of the people of the community, in which he has ministered most successfully to those in affliction, while he is known as one of the loyal and public-spirited citizens of the town and county. He is medical examiner for the leading life-insurance com- panies represented here, and is a representative of Spink county on the state board of health. He served six years as county coroner and has held other local offices of trust. In 1900 Dr. Herman completed a post-graduate course in the College of Physicians and Surgeons in the city of Chicago, while in 1898 he took a special optical course in Philadelphia, so that he is well equipped for the treatment of the diseases of the eye and

for correcting the errors of refraction by means of proper lenses. He is a stanch Republican in politics and is identified with the Masonic fraternity, the Modern Woodmen of America, the Ancient Order of United Workmen and the Degree of Honor of the last named. He is also a member of the South Dakota Medical Society. The Doctor has a well improved and valuable farm of eleven hundred acres, adjoining the town site of Conde, and practically the entire tract is under effective cultivation.

In August, 1888, Dr. Herman was married to Miss Anna Cowan, who was born and reared in Illinois, and they have four children, Ruth, Lester, Pearl and Neil.

SEIGAL B. CAWOOD .- On another page of this work is entered a resume of the life his- tory of Thomas Cawood, the honored father of him whose name initiates this paragraph, and in view of this fact it is not demanded that here be entered a recapitulation of the data there given.

The subject of this sketch was born on the parental homestead farm, in Putnam county, Mis- souri, on the 5th of December, 1861, being a son of Thomas and Ellen (Starr) Cawood. He was reared to maturity in his native county, where he received his educational training in the public schools. He thereafter continued to be associated with his father in the work and management of the home farm until 1882, when he came to South Dakota and took up his residence in Beadle county, where he remained one year. He then came to Hand county, where his father had in the meanwhile taken up his abode, and here the subject took up a homestead claim in Pleasant Valley township, perfecting his title to the same in due course of time and setting himself with characteristic energy to the reclaiming and im- provement of his land. He is now the owner of a fine ranch of six hundred and forty acres, a portion of which he devotes to the raising of the various agricultural products best suited to the soil and climate, while the balance is used for grazing purposes and for the raising of hay. He is extensively engaged in the raising of stock of

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the best type, and has attained gratifying success through his well directed efforts, having come to South Dakota as a young man of twenty-one years and having duly availed himself of the golden opportunities here afforded to men of en- ergy, discrimination and industrious habits. In politics Mr. Cawood is a stanch Republican, and he is known as a progressive and public-spirited citizen. He served for five years as a member of the board of trustees of Pleasant Valley township and has at all times given his aid and influence in support of all enterprises and undertakings ad- vanced for the general good. Mr. and Mrs. Cawood have long been deeply interested in all movements for the uplifting of their fellow men and they assisted in the organization of the first Congregational church in Pleasant Valley town- · ship, July 14, 1894. Mr. Cawood was one of its first trustees and is now a deacon. They had, however, helped to organize and carry on Sunday school since 1884 and Mrs. Cawood has taught its primary department for twenty years. Their son, Ernest, was converted and joined the church at the age of nine years.

On the 23d of March, 1886, Mr. Cawood was united in marriage to Miss Mary Alice Pen- well, who was born in Scotland county, Missouri, where she was reared and educated, being a daughter of William and Electa (Lewis) Penwell, the former of whom was a minister by vocation. Mr. and Mrs. Cawood have one son, Ernest Ray, who was born on the 25th of January, 1891.

LEVI M. WOOD .- The name of the la- mented subject of this memoir is inseparably connected with the history of Lincoln county, South Dakota, as he was one of the pioneers of LaValley township, also a prominent citizen of his community, and for a number of years a leader in its material development and a public- spirited man in all the term implies. Levi M. Wood, son of Morris and Abashaba (Sudnutt) Wood, of Pennsylvania and Ohio respectively, was born in Ohio on January 27. 1842. When quite young he accompanied his parents upon their removal to Iowa, and was reared in Bremer

county, that state, growing to young manhood on a farm and receiving a good practical education in such schools as the country in the early days afforded. At the breaking out of the war of the Rebellion, he entered the service of the govern- ment, enlisting in Company C, Second Iowa Cav- alry, with which he served until the close of the war, taking part in a number of campaigns in Mississippi. Georgia, Tennessee and other south- ern states, participating in some of the most noted battles of that historic period and earning an honorable record for duty bravely and un- complainingly performed.

After his discharge Mr. Wood returned to Bremer county, where, in the year 1866, he was united in marriage to Mrs. Virbett (Bent) Lip- pincott, a native of New Hampshire and the daughter of Nathan and Sarah (Smith) Bent, both parents born in that state, the father of Irish descent, the mother of English-Welsh lineage. By occupation Nathan Bent was a carpenter and millwright, which trades he followed in New Hampshire until 1853. when he removed to Lee county, Illinois, thence, one year later, to Fayette county, Iowa, where he and his wife spent the remainder of their days. They were the parents of four children, viz .: Mrs. Wood, the oldest of the family ; Merton H., Franklin P., Eva and Ida E., all dead except Mrs. Wood.

In the year 1872 Mr. and Mrs. Wood moved to Lincoln county, South Dakota, and settled in LaValley township, on a tract of public land to which he laid claim and for which he received in due time a deed from the government. This real estate, amounting in all to two hundred and forty acres, lies in one of the richest agricultural districts in the county, and in the course of a few years he had the larger part under cultiva- tion, besides making a number of substantial im- provements in the way of buildings, fences, or- chards, etc., converting the place into one of the finest farms in the township. Mr. Wood was an excellent farmer and in addition to raising abun- dantly all kinds of grains and fruits, grown in this part of the state, devoted considerable atten- tion to live stock, which he found very profitable and the sure source of a handsome income. Being

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History of South Dakota, Vol. I, Part 112

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