History of South Dakota, Vol. I, Part 123

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

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church, and fraternally he is identified with the Ancient Order of United Workmen, the Mod- ern Woodmen of America, the Knights of the Maccabees, the American Brotherhood, the Yeomen and the Knights of Pythias.

In Trumbull county, Ohio, on the 28th of July, 1886, Mr. Hyde was united in marriage to Miss Katherine Robinson, whose ancestry is of Scotch-Irish extraction, her parents having been pioneers of Ohio, where her father took up gov- ernment land in 1835. Mr. and Mrs. Hyde have four children, whose names are here entered, together with respective dates of birth: Ruth Elizabeth, October 23, 1888; Charles L., Jr., February 27, 1892; Dorothy, July 8, 1896; and Franklin R., June 9, 1901.

HON. ALFRED B. KITTREDGE .- Down in New England they have a word which ought to be in the dictionaries, for it expresses a type of men not easily defined by another term. They say a man is "judgmatical," if he is sane, cor- rect and evenly balanced in judgment, and no other characteristics are so prominent in Senator Kittredge as are those elements which would in- duce the Yankee of his native land to say that he is a judgmatical man. Unfailing common sense is the fundamental quality which has brought to him success in his undertakings, pro- fessionally and politically, and has won for him the esteem and admiration of a state-wide constituency. Founded in his great common sense are those other characteristics of industry, persistence and loyalty which have so strongly marked his career from boyhood, to the com- manding success which he has attained in his vet early manhood.

Senator Kittredge is a native of Cheshire county, New Hampshire, where he was born March 28. 1861. His parents were farmers and he was thoroughly instructed in agriculture, as it is practiced by the thrifty people of the White Mountain country and even yet, upon occasion, he surprises trained and practical farmers with his complete understanding of the mysteries of crop culture and stock breeding. He was edu-

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cated in the public schools and after a season of special preparation, under a private tutor, entered Yale College in 1878 and graduated with honor four years later. From Yale he entered the law office of Judge Veasy, of Rutland, Vermont, and later studied in the office of Batchelder & Faulkner, of Keene, New Hamp- shire, and in 1884 returned to Yale where he completed the law course the following year and at once came to Sioux Falls where he en- gaged in the practice of his profession with a degree of success which has easily placed him among the very first attorneys practicing in the west. For many years he represented the legal interests of the Milwaukee and of the Great Northern railways in South Dakota, only re- signing from such relations when entering the United States senate.

Mr. Kittredge began his political career as senator from Minnehaha county in the first and second state legislatures, where his good judg- ment impressed him upon the public men of the state and at once marked him for leadership. He demonstrated exceptional powers of organi- zation and next year was chosen national com- mitteeman for the Republican party for South Dakota and from that time has been the ac- knowledged leader of the party in the state. He was re-elected national committeeman in 1896, continuing in that position until 1900, when he declined re-election. When a vacancy in the United States senate was caused by the death of Senator James H. Kyle in 1901, Governor Herreid promptly carried out the common desire of the party by appointing Mr. Kittredge to the position. He received the unanimous endorse- ment of his party in state convention for elec- tion by the next legislature and when the legis- lature was chosen upon that issue it was found that only thirteen Democrats out of a total of one hundred and thirty-two members had been chosen, and after the final choice of Senator Kit- tredge had been made for both the short and the long terms the legislature unanimously joined in a resolution to telegraph congratulations to the Senator, who had remained at his post in Washington, and the Democratic members joined

in support of the resolution. At this writing (June, 1903) Senator Kittredge has participated in two sessions of the national legislature and has impressed himself upon that body much more forcibly and favorably than it is the for- tune of new members often to do, in fact it is doubtful if another new member has ever achieved so much in his first term. He was placed upon the Isthmian canal committee and at once set out to master all of the facts involved in the canal question. At that time, as de- monstrated by repeated tests in the senate, the preponderance of favor was for the Nicaragua route, but as Senator Kittredge proceeded with his examination of the subject the conviction began to grow upon him that the Panama route was the more feasible and when he had com- pleted his study of the matter he was firm in this view of the case. Two propositions were in- volved : The feasibility of the Panama route and the legality of it, i. e., the power of the French people to give good title to the property. On both of these propositions the Senator prepared himself with the same care with which he habitually prepared his cases for trial and his speeches upon the topic were so conclusive that the senate, in spite of the strong opposition of several members and the influence of a most powerful lobby, accepted Mr. Kittredge's view and adopted the Panama route.

In those matters by which the success of a Western senator is most generally determined- the securing of loaves and fishes for his con- stituents-Senator Kittredge has been extra- ordinarily successful, without permitting this class of work, to which every new senator is doomed, to distract his attention from questions of great national policy.

As a speaker Senator Kittredge is earnest and convincing, avoiding all flamboyant manner- isms, but going directly and forcibly to the heart of his subject with the first stroke and adducing argument after argument in logical sequence and in a manner both interesting and irresistible. While bearing a reputation for taciturnity, he is delightful in his social relations, possessing an inexhaustible fund of anecdote and illustration

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and a graciousness of manner which captivates and holds all who come within the sphere of his social influence. He is unmarried, but main- tains an extensive and elaborate bachelor establishment in Sioux Falls where his friends from every section delight to congregate.

HIRAM E. McNUTT, A. M., M. D., of Aberdeen, is a native of Warren county, New York, where he was born on the 21st day of September, 1848. His lineage is of a dis- tinguished order and has long been noted for high intellectuality and scrupulous honor. His father, Hiram McNutt, who was also a physician and surgeon, rose to a position of signal use- fulness in the profession and practiced for many years in the state of New York. After receiv- ing a preparatory education, the subject, when a young man, entered Dartmouth College, from which he was graduated in 1869. with the de- gree of Bachelor of Arts, and two years later received the degree of Doctor of Medicine from the same institution, in addition to which he was also honored with the degree of Master of Arts. With a mind thoroughly disciplined by intellectual and professional training, the Doctor, in the early seventies, began practicing with his father, but two years later left New York and located at Huron, Erie county, Ohio, where he built up a lucrative professional busi- ness and remained until 1879, when he found a new field in Wilwaukee, Wisconsin. His career in the latter city covered the greater part of four years, during which time he continually added to his reputation as an able physician and sur- geon and rose to a high rank among his pro- fessional associates.

Closing out his practice in Milwaukee in the spring of 1883, Dr. McNutt, on April 23d of that year, came to Aberdeen, South Dakota, be- ing among the first medical men to open an office in this city. He soon won an extensive practice, which for some years extended over thirteen of the surrounding counties, and to visit his patients scattered throughout this large territory required almost constant travel and an

expenditure of vital energy of which the present- day physician can form but a faint conception. He has been continuously in practice ever since, and is now regarded as the leading physician and surgeon of Aberdeen and one of the ablest men of his profession in the state of South Dakota.

In 1885 Dr. McNutt took a leading part in organizing the State Medical Society, of which he served for several years as secretary. He was also prominent in establishing the District Medi- cal Society of Aberdeen, serving for several years as its secretary. He was honored by a place on the state board of health, retiring from the position in March, 1903, to accept the ap- pointment as a member of the state board of medical examiners under the new law of that year, of which body he has ever since been sec- . retary. He served as United States pension ex- aminer for some years, and has for several years held the position of local surgeon for the Northwestern Railroad Company. For several years he has served as superintendent of the Brown county board of health. Perhaps the greatest service rendered South Dakota by Dr. McNutt, greater than that of any other man in his profession, was his work in bringing about favorable action of the legislature in creating the state board of medical examiners, and regulating the practice of medicine and surgery in the state. This was accomplished in 1903, in March of which year Governor Herreid signed the bill providing for a board of seven members representing the different schools of medicine, the object of the board being the issuance of licenses to physicians practicing in the state and for the protection of the people against quacks, charlatans and itinerant doctors without profes- sional standing. This bill, which embodies the most careful investigation in the matter of medi- cal supervision, has received not only the sanc- tion, but the highest encomiums from the lead- ing men of the profession in the United States and stands as a model document of the kind, both from a literary and professional standpoint. Suitable recognition has been accorded Dr. Mc- Nutt for his earnest and untiring efforts in se- curing its passage, and in the capacity of sec-

HIRAM E. MCNUTT, M. D.

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retary of the board he has been equally as strenu- ous in enforcing all of the provisions and re- quirements of the much needed law.

While living in Milwaukee, Dr. McNutt be- came identified with the Ancient Order of United Workmen, joining Lodge No. 74. of which he was a charter member. He rose rapidly in the councils of the order in Wisconsin, was chosen representative to the grand lodge in 1882, and, after removing to South Dakota, was elected grand overseer of the grand lodge of this state in 1891, two years later being honored with the highest office within the gift of the organiza- tion. that of grand master. During his in- cumbency in the latter position, he traveled ex- tensively over the jurisdiction, which includes both North and South Dakota, at a great sacrifice to his professional business, visited and established lodges in a number of counties, in- creased the membership by over three thousand, and not only greatly strengthened the order, but systematized its work and added much to its efficiency and usefulness. The impetus given the work of the organization under his official direc- tion is still maintained, and today the Ancient Order of United Workmen of Dakota is in as good if not better condition than in any other state in the Union.

Dr. McNutt is prominent in Masonic circles, being a thirty-second-degree Scottish-rite Mason. He holds membership with the Valley of Aber- deen Consistory No. 4, and served two years as venerable master of the Lodge of Perfection. In addition to this high station, he has been honored with other important positions in the order from time to time. Being a man of scholarly tastes, he is well read, not only in his profession but in general literature, and is well informed on the leading questions and political issues of the day. Since his twenty-first year he has been an ardent and uncompromising Republican, and as such has attended a number of county, district and state conventions as a delegate. He has always manifested a pardonable pride in the city of Aberdeen and, as a member of its common coun- cil for two years, was instrumental in bringing about a number of needed reforms and improve-

ments, although conservative in the matter of public expenditures. He has faith in the future of South Dakota and, being imbued with the energetic and optimistic spirit characteristic of the true western man of today, lends his energy and influence to whatever makes for the present growth and ultimate development and prosperity of the commonwealth.

On the 20th day of May, 1874, Dr. McNutt married Miss Delia L. Snow, of Albany, New York, a lady of many estimable qualities of head and heart. Mrs. McNutt was reared and edu- cated in New York, and a number of years ago united with the Presbyterian church from which time to the present her life has been consecrated to the Master's service and to the good of humanity. She has borne her husband a daugh- ter, named Fanny, who is now pursuing her studies under favorable auspices at St. Mar- guerite's Boarding School for Young Ladies at Buffalo, New York.

ALBERT WHEELON, an honored veteran of the Civil war, and at the present time in- cumbent of the office of register of the United States land office in Pierre, being also engaged in the real-estate business, is a native of Eliza- bethtown, Ontario, Canada, where he was born on the 14th of March, 1844, being a scion of sterling old families and a son of Charles and Mary (Marshall) Wheelon, natives respectively of Canada and New York state. The father of the subject was engaged in farming in Canada until 1857, when he removed with his family to McHenry county, Illinois, becoming a pioneer of that state, where he was engaged in farming until his death, ir 1888, at the age of sixty- eight years; his wife is still living. They be- came the parents of eight children, of whom six are living. The subject was reared to ma- turity in Illinois, where he secured his edu- cational discipline in the common schools of McHenry county, and he continued to assist his father until there came the call to a higher duty, when the integrity of the Union was placed in jeopardy through armed rebellion. In 1862, at 1

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the age of eighteen years, Mr. Wheelon enlisted as a private in Company E. Ninety-fifth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, with which he proceeded to the front, the regiment being assigned to the Army of the Tennessee. He participated in many important battles and was wounded in the siege of Vicksburg, and was incapacitated for further service in the field, being attached to the headquarters of the regiment thereafter until the expiration of his term of service, three years, when he received his honorable discharge, hav- ing acted as postmaster and clerk at headquarters after being wounded, until the close of the war, receiving his discharge at Springfield, Illinois, in August, 1865. He continues to take a deep interest in his old comrades in arms and per- petuates the memories of his army days by re- taining membership in Sully Post No. 13, Grand Army of the Republic, in Pierre, of which he is past commander.

After the close of the war Mr. Wheelon passed one year in Illinois and then, in the autumn of 1866, went to Iowa, engaging in ag- ricultural pursuits in Butler and Clay counties and being numbered among the pioneers of that state. In 1868 he was elected sheriff of Clay county, an office which he acceptably filled for two terms, and he continued to reside in the Hawkeye state until 1877, when he disposed of his interests there and came to the Black Hills district of Dakota, where he engaged in pros- pecting and in contracting. A year later he went to the mining regions of Colorado, where he continued to reside until 1889, having been . there engaged in mining. In the year mentioned he took up his abode in Pierre and established himself in the real-estate business, in which he has since continued, having built up a prosperous enterprise. In 1892 he was appointed deputy auditor of the county, holding this office four years, and in 1896 he was elected county auditor, in which he served four years, having been re- elected for a second term in 1898. On the Ist of January, 1900, President Mckinley conferred upon him the appointment of register of the United States land office in Pierre, and he has since continued in tenure of this position. He

has always been an active worker in the cause of the Republican party, with which he identified himself upon attaining his legal majority, having cast his first presidential vote for U. S. Grant. Fraternally, he belongs to Lodge No. 444, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and to the Modern Woodmen of America.

On the 22d of February, 1866, Mr. Wheelon was united in marriage to Miss Susan Weeks, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Arvice A. Weeks, at that time resident of Woodstock, Illinois, and of this union were born two children, Dr. Charles A., who is a successful physician and surgeon in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and Nellie, who is the wife of John D. Buroughs, of Denver, being employed as cashier in the offices of the Union Pacific Railroad Company. On the 17th day of May, 1886, the subject married Miss Gertrude E. Farrington, of Newark, New York, who died on the 10th of August, 1897, having borne one child, which died in infancy, while in 1895. she and her husband adopted a daughter, Myrna Rebecca. On the 21st of June, 1900, Mr. Wheelon consummated a third marriage, being then united to Miss Minnie Weischedel, of EI Reno, Oklahoma, and they have one child, Lena Minnie.

EDWIN A. SHERMAN was born in Mid- dlesex county, Massachusetts, on the 19th of June, 1844, and he was there reared and edu- cated, having been graduated in the high school at Wayland, Massachusetts, when sixteen years of age. During the ensuing four years he was engaged in agricultural pursuits, and upon at- taining his majority he went to the city of Bos- ton, where he secured a position as clerk in an oil commission house. Two years later he was admitted to partnership in the enterprise. under the firm name of Capen. Sherman & Company, but his health became so impaired that he re- tired from the firm four years later and came to the west. During the first winter he was en- gaged in teaching school near Sioux City, Iowa, and in June, 1873, he came to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, a city with whose progress and material

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upbuilding he was destined to become most prominently identified, and in which he has con- secutively maintained his home. His initial business venture here was to purchase a half in- terest in the Independent, a newspaper published by C. W. McDonald, and he was actively identified with the publication of the same for the ensuing eighteen months, when he sold his interest in the business to T. J. White. From 1874 to 1876, inclusive, Mr. Sherman held the office of superintendent of schools of Minnehaha county, organizing within this time a large num- ber of districts and doing much to forward the cause of education in his jurisdiction. Con- cerning his subsequent labors and efforts we are pleased to quote from a previously published re- view of his career: "Since his arrival in Sioux Falls Mr. Sherman has been one of the most act- ive, enterprising and successful business men of the city. He built the first brick building in the city, in 1875, this being the third building on Phil- lips avenue south of the Edminson-Jameson block. John Bippus was then postmaster and the postoffice was located on Phillips avenue north, and Mr. Sherman put up this new building with the understanding that the postoffice should be re- moved to the same when completed, an arrange- ment which was duly carried out. In 1877 he purchased what is now the Cascade milling property, comprising five acres of ground. In this enterprise Isaac Emerson and J. G. Bots- ford were associated with him, and they built the stone dam and the Cascade mill, Mr. Bots- ford afterward selling his interest to George E. Wheeler. In 1887 the electric light works were added to the business and the Cascade Milling Company was incorporated with a capital of one hundred and fifty thousand dollars, but the ownership of the property is practically un- changed. This manufacturing establishment has been in operation for more than a quarter of a century and has been prosperous from the be- ginning. In fact, in this respect it challenges comparison with any manufacturing concern in the state. Mr. Sherman has engaged quite ex- tensively in the building of residences as well as business blocks. In 1878 he erected a stone

building on the southeast corner of Main avenue and Ninth street, and he also built all the build- ings east to the alley on Ninth street as well as all the buildings south of Main avenue, except the Schaetzel building, at the south end. The stone building mentioned was rented, before it was built, to the county, to be used for county offices and a court room. In 1883 Mr. Sher- man erected the building which was occupied as the postoffice until May 18, 1895, and this also was built for the county. The Cascade block was erected by him, and also the Union Trust Company block; and a few years ago he built a very fine and attractive residence on block I, Sherman's addition to Sioux Falls, this fine division of the city having been platted by him. He was instrumental in securing the location of the state school for deaf mutes in Sioux Falls, engineering the bill through the legislature, and he gave to the institution five acres of land, upon which the buildings of the institution are located. He was one of the first trustees of this school and president of the board. Mr. Sher- man effected the organization of the Minnehaha National Bank in 1886, being its first president and holding this office two years. In 1887 he organized the Union Trust Company, and in the following year resigned the presidency of the Minnehaha National Bank to devote his atten- tion to the business of the Union Trust Com- pany, which soon afterward transferred its banking business to the Union National Bank, of both of which companies he was at all times president. In 1887 he became associated with John M. Spicer, of Willmar, under the direction of James J. Hill, of the Great Northern Railroad Company, and undertook the project of building the Willmar & Sioux Falls Railroad. Together these two gentlemen located, named and platted all the towns along this line, a distance of one hundred and forty-nine miles. Mr. Sherman has a large interest in the Willmar & Sioux Falls Townsite Company, incorporated. Although engrossed in such extensive business transactions as the above record indicates, Mr. Sherman has found time to perform such official duties as have been assigned to him by the people, who

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have manifested a signal appreciation of his ability and sterling manhood. He was terri- torial treasurer in 1877-8 and territorial auditor in 1879-80, being tendered the latter office in 1881 but declining the same. When Sioux Falls became incorporated as a village, he was elected one of its first trustees, while he has frequently served as a member of the board of education. The success of his business enterprises, his fidelity to official duties, his constant zeal in pro- moting the growth of the city, all stamp him as one of the most reliable and progressive citizens in the state, while he commands the unequivocal confidence and esteem of all who know him per- sonally or through business or official associ- ation."

Mr. Sherman has ever been found stanchly arrayed in the ranks of the Republican party, in whose cause he has shown a lively interest, and his religions faith is indicated in his holding membership in the Congregational church.

On the 15th of September. 1873, Mr. Sher- man was united in marriage to Miss Florence L. Cowdrey, of Melrose, Massachusetts, whose death occurred on the Ist of February, 1890. She is survived by two daughters, Jessie L., who is a graduate of Wellesley College, and Mabel F., both of whom remain at the paternal home. On the 9th of June, 1901, Mr. Sherman was married to Miss Catherine Elwell, of London, England, and they have one son, Philip F.

WILLIAM HENRY JAMES, grain and coal dealer, Valley Springs, also secretary of the Valley Springs Telephone Company, was born December 25, 1858, in Dodgeville, Wisconsin, and is the son of Cornelius and Mary Ann (Hambly) James. He was reared in his native town, attended the public schools of the same at intervals during his minority and at the age of twenty-one purchased an interest in his father's mill, at Dodgeville, having become fa- miliar with the business the meanwhile. Mr. James continued the manufacture of flour during the ensuing four years, at the expiration of which time he turned his attention to butter-

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History of South Dakota, Vol. I, Part 123

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