History of South Dakota, Vol. I, Part 135

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 135

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On the 23d of December, 1889, Mr. Bowen was united in marriage to Miss Kate E. Smith, who was born and reared in Benton county, Iowa, being a daughter of Thomas and Catherine (Melville) Smith, while her father is one of the prominent and influential farmers of that section. Mr. and Mrs. Bowen became the parents of seven children, all of whom are living except one, and all of whom remain with their widowed mother in the pleasant home in Benclare, their names, in order of birth, being as follows: Earl T., Teresa K., Francis S., Evaline A., Lorena M., Cecilia M. and Louella A., the last mentioned having died in infancy, on the 18th of September, 1903.

Mr. Bowen met his death on the 27th of Feb- ruary, 1904. and of the details of the tragedy we offer the following data, extracted from the cur- rent number of the Grain Dealers' Journal, pub- lished in the city of Chicago:

How hard it is to keep on friendly terms with the station agent who tries to enforce the unjust rules of the company, grain dealers know to their cost. In stirring up animosity, the matter of demurrage claimed on cars not unloaded promptly is most pro- lific. A life has been sacrificed to this creator of strife. Frank Bowen, a progressive and enterprising grain dealer of Benclare, South Dakota, has been shot down by the railroad station agent after a quar- rel over demurrage. Mr. Bowen paid the demurrage and thought no more of the matter, but not so the station agent. When Bowen visited the station the next day the agent called him to receipt for an ex- press package. Bowen never finished writing his name. As he stood, pen in hand, the agent shot him in the head, and Bowen slipped to the floor, the pen making a scrawl after the letters "Fra -. "

When the citizens, who highly esteemed Mr. Bowen for his integrity and fair dealing, learned of the agent's deed the latter was with difficulty protected from their vengeance. He has been lodged in jail,

and the defense made by the railroad company will not avail, as the agent did not succeed in killing the only witness, Bowen's twelve-year-old son, who will recover from a wound in the shoulder. The esteem in which Mr. Bowen was held by the commission mer- chants to whom he consigned grain is shown by their messages of sympathy and requests that the bereaved widow may draw on them for any money she may need.

" At the trial, held at Sioux Falls the following May, the assassin was adjudged insane and was committed to the insane asylum at Yankton.

WILLIAM HANDLEY is a sturdy Scotch- man and is endowed with those sterling char- acteristics so typical of the race from which he is sprung. He was born in Dumfriesshire, Scot- land, on the 27th of October, 1853, being a son of James and Mary (Barrett) Handley, both of whom passed their entire lives in the fair land of hills and heather, the father having been a laborer by vocation. Our subject received his educational discipline in the excellent schools of his native place, and learned in his youth the trade of stone cutting, becoming a very skillful artisan in the line, having served his apprentice- ship in Shapfaels, Westmoreland county, Eng- land, where he remained until 1875, when he immigrated to the United States, locating near Rockland. Maine, where he remained one year, employed at his trade, after which he was simi- larly engaged for three years at Westerly, Rhode Island. He then came to the west and located in St. Cloud, Minnesota, and one year later entered the employ of the Northern Pacific Railroad Company, working at his trade in connection with the construction of the line through the state of Washington, and having been thus en- gaged at the time when the lines from the east and west were joined and the important event celebrated by the driving of the golden spike, in honor of the completion of the splendid enter- prise. In March, 1883, Mr. Handley came to Sioux Falls, where for seven years he had charge of the operation of the Drake Polishing Works, and at the expiration of this period he located in East Sioux Falls and assumed the

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management of the works of the East Sioux Falls Granite Company, of which he eventually came into control, conducting the enterprise in- dividually for three years, and then, in 1895, entering into partnership with Wiley V. Lowe, under the firm name of Lowe & Handley, and they have since continued the business most suc- cessfully, having a well equipped plant and turning out work of the highest grade, both for architectural and cemetery purposes.

In politics Mr. Handley is a stanch advocate of the principles of the Republican party, but has never sought office. Fraternally he is affiliated with the Ancient Order of United Workmen Lodge, and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, at Sioux Falls.

On the 27th of October, 1901, Mr. Handley was united in marriage to Miss Frances Ann Jones, who was born and reared in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, being a daughter of John and Fan- nie Jones, who are now residents of Sioux Falls. No children have been born of this union. Mr. and Mrs. Handley have a pleasant home in East Sioux Falls, and enjoy marked popularity in the social circles of the community.

DIGHTON CORSON, judge of supreme court, native of Somerset county, Maine, educated at Waterville. Came to Wisconsin at early period and was member of Wisconsin legislature in 1857, and district attorney for Milwaukee county in 1858. Afterwards settled in Nevada and was for many years district attorney at Virginia City. Came to Black Hills in 1876. Was member of constitutional conventions of 1883 and 1889. Elected supreme judge at state- hood and has continued in the position.

H. A. DUNHAM .- A native of Newark, New Jersey, the subject of this review was born on the 18th of September. 1846, and is a son of S. H. and Dianthe (Alden) Dunham. The fa- ther was the owner of a rubber factory in the east and when his son was but six years of age he re- moved from New Jersey to Indiana, where he

remained for six years. At the end of that time he went to Illinois, where he entered land from the government and began farming, carrying on agricultural pursuits until his death, which oc- curred in 1885. He had five children : Albur, who was killed at Bowling Green, Kentucky, dur- ing the Civil war; Eugene, who is a veterinary surgeon ; C. L., who was also a soldier of the Union army and now resides in Iowa; and Her- sey, who is the wife of Ed. Alden, of Cleveland, Ohio.

H. A. Dunham continued under the parental roof until fourteen years of age, when he left home and became a sailor, following the sea for five years, during which time he visited many for- eign ports. Within that period he also gained a knowledge of the coopering business and fol- lowed that pursuit for two years in Yankton, South Dakota. He was married in 1867 to Mrs. Jane Grant, of Randeau county, and the follow- ing year came to this state. He secured a home- stead in Yankton county, on which he still re- sides and his time and energies have been devoted successfully to agricultural pursuits. His wife had been previously married and by the first union had a daughter, who is now the wife of James Ewing, a prominent farmer of Yankton county. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Dunham have been born four daughters and a son: Hersey, who is the wife of Ezra Willis and resides in the Black Hills ; Cora, the wife of William McNichols, a farmer of Yankton county; Anna, who lives at home ; Hiram, who is married and is engaged in farming ; and Grace, the wife of Nels Anderson, a resident farmer of this county. In 1893 the family were called upon to mourn the loss of the wife and mother, who was a most estimable lady, her loss being deeply deplored not only by her husband and children, but also by many friends.

Throughout an active business career Mr. Dunham has engaged in agricultural pursuits and is now the owner of a valuable farm of three hundred and twenty acres, on which he has placed splendid improvements. He gives his attention more largely to the raising of stock than to the cultivation of grain and through his active and energetic efforts in this line he has won very

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desirable prosperity. In politics he is a Repub- lican and he is connected with the Improved Or- der of Red Men. In friendship he is faithful, in citizenship loyal and to his family he is most de- voted. His business affairs have ever been con- ducted honorably and he is today one who well merits the confidence and esteem in which he is uniformly held. Mr. Dunham is in his religious belief a free thinker.

M. E. JOHNSON, now deceased, was a na- tive of Norway, his birth having occurred in the land of the midnight sun in 1842. He there re- mained until fourteen years of age and then started out in life on his own account. He was a young boy to face the stern realities of life, but he showed courage and stability in his work and gradually he advanced in his chosen vocation. He first went to sea and remained a sailor until 1871, during which time he visited many ports. In that year he came to the United States and spent a short time on the Atlantic coast in New York, Boston and Baltimore. He then went to Michigan and was identified with the central west, its business opportunities and its develop- ment throughout his remaining days. In 1873 he was united in marriage to Miss Malvina Antone Johnson, who was a native of Denmark, their wedding being celebrated in Michigan, where they lived for about a year. Mrs. Johnson's birth occurred in 1848 and she came to America in 1872, remaining a resident of Michigan from that time until a year after her marriage. Her parents both died in their naive land, bu she has a brother and sister in this country-residents of Dane county, Wisconsin.

It was in the year 1874 that Mr. and Mrs. Johnson removed to Nebraska, where they spent the summer, and in the succeeding autumn they came to Yankton county and in the city of Yank- ton Mr. Johnson engaged in the express business, in which he continued up to the time of his death in 1885. He received a liberal patronage, his time being employed in the conduct of the enter- prise and he made considerable money as an ex- pressman. With the capital thus acquired he pur-

chased a farm of one hundred and sixty acres near Yankton and thus at his demise he left a valuable property to his family. His life was character- ized by earnest labor, for having no family or pecuniary advantages to aid him at the outset of his career he worked persistently and capably un- til he had gained for himself a very desirable position among the men of affluence in his adopted county.

Unto Mr. and Mrs. Johnson were born six children, but three of the number have passed away. Those still living are Edward Johnson, who, at the age of twenty-eight years, is operat- ing the home farm; Tillie, who is also with her mother ; and Marcus Enoch, who has recently graduated in the public schools of Yankton. Mr. Johnson was a member of the Odd Fellows so- ciety and belonged to the Congregational church. He was loyal to its teachings and its principles and his life was ever honorable and upright. His political allegiance was given to the Republican party and he was a worthy son of his adopted country, being true to her institutions and taking a great pride in what was accomplished in this state, Because of his worth and fidelity to every duty that devolved upon him he enjoyed in an un- usual degree the respect of his fellow men and when he was called from this life his loss was deeply deplored by all who knew him.

JOHN OWENS .- Among the citizens of foreign birth now living in Yankton county, South Dakota, is numbered John Owens, who was born in North Wales in the year 1839, his parents being Thomas and Ellen (Rowlands) Owens. In their family were seven children, five of whom are deceased, the living being the subject and his sister, Ellen, who yet resides in Wales. Edward Owens, who came to this coun- try with his brother John. died in Minnesota about seven years ago, leaving a widow and eight children.

The subject of this review pursued his edu- cation in the schools of his native country, but early he put aside his text-books because of the financial condition of the family, it being neces-

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sary that he earn his own livelihood and also assist in the support of his brothers and sisters. Realizing that the business possibilities of the new world were greater than those afforded in Great Britain, he left home when twenty years of age and sailed across the broad Atlantic. Mak- ing his way to Chicago, he spent two years in that state, working for the Pennsylvania Rail- road Company. He next went to Minnesota, where his brother Edward resided, and there he made his home for several years, removing subsequently to Iowa, where he spent about five years, being employed on a farm in the latter state. The year 1884 witnessed his arrival in Decatur and his home was established in Yank- ton county.

In September of the same year Mr. Owens was united in marriage to Miss Henrietta Kuhler, of Clay county, South Dakota, and a daughter of John William and Mary Catherine (Funke) Kuhler. They were natives of Ger- many and were married ere leaving the father- land. Mr. Kuhler was a miller by trade and al- ways followed that pursuit while in his native country. In the year 1849 he came with his fam- ily to the United States, settling in Iowa, where he secured a tract of land of one hun- dred and sixty acres. It is located in a pioneer district and he paid for it two thousand dollars. With characteristic energy he began its further development and im- provement and continued to make it his home until his removal to Clay county, South Dakota. There he lived with his son, August, for two years, when he and his wife came to live with Mrs. Owens. His death occurred about eighteen years ago. His widow is also deceased. In the family of this worthy couple were nine children : August Kuhler, a brother of Mrs. Owens, is now living in LeMar, Iowa, having retired from active business life ; another brother, William, is a retired farmer of Missouri; while a sister, Rosella, is the wife of August Hoppe, of Ne- braska; and Julia is the wife of Peter Christina, of Iowa.

The home of Mr. and Mrs. Owens has been blessed with but one child, William, who was

educated in the public schools and is now as- sisting his father in the management of the home farm. He is an intelligent and industrious young man whose labors are of great benefit to his parents.

A short time after his marriage Mr. Owens purchased two hundred and sixty acres of land, and since then purchased eighty acres more, which he has since engaged in cultivating and he now has a valuable property. About one-half of his land has been transformed into rich fields, planted to the cereals best adapted to the soil and climate, and he is also extensively engaged in the raising of stock. He is a man of resolute purpose and strong will and carries forward to successful completion whatever he undertakes, brooking no obstacles that can be overcome by earnest labor and perseverance. He and his fam- ily are devoted members of the Methodist Episco- pal church, contributing generously to its sup- port and doing everything in their power for its growth and upbuilding. He is, indeed, a very highly respected citizen, enjoying in unusual de- gree the trust and good will of his fellow men and his integrity stands as an unquestioned fact in his career. His word has always been as good as any bond solemnized by signature or seal and whatever Mr. Owens says can be de- pended upon.

CHARLES K. HOWARD, born Delaware county, New York, 1836. Settled in Sioux Falls, 1869. Promoter of many enterprises for develop- ment of territory.

RICHARD LUCID .- In an analyzation of the life record of Richard Lucid we note many of the sterling traits of character of the Irish people, including the adaptability to circum- stances which has ever been one of the salient traits of the sons of the Emerald Isle. He also has the energy and the progressive spirit for which they are noted and it is to these qualities that he owes his success. He is now the posses- sor of two hundred acres of rich and arable land

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in Yankton county and is classed among the rep- resentative farmers here.

Mr. Lucid was born in County Kerry, Ire- land, in the year 1843 and there remained until eighteen years of age, when he came to the United States, settling first in Ohio, where he remained but a year. He afterward located in Michigan, where he resided for seven years, working in the iron mines. On the expiration of that period he removed to Iowa and purchased a farm there in the year 1871. For twenty-two years he thus carried on agricultural pursuits in the Hawkeye state, placing his land under culti- vation and adding many improvements to his farm so that it became one of the desirable properties there. It was adjacent to the city of Independence and he and his family were highly respected in that place and throughout the sur- rounding district.

Mr. Lucid was united in marriage to Miss Hannah Hart, of Independence, Iowa, the wed- ding taking place on the 9th of May, 1879, the ceremony being performed by Father Sweeney, of Independence. Mrs. Lucid is a daughter of Patrick and Julia (Reilly) Hart, who were mar- ried in Illinois, whence they removed to Iowa, where the father took up land from the govern- ment and engaged in farming. Unto him and his wife were born eleven children: Mr. and Mrs. Lucid have also become the parents of eleven children : Richard, Julia, Rosanna, Lizzie, Daniel, Charles, Clarence, Cornelius, Edna, Bernice and Clara. Of these Rosanna, Julia, Daniel, Cornelitis and Clarence are now deceased. Lizzie is a most successful and capable school teacher, now having charge of the Huber school. She has thirteen rooms and has given excellent satisfaction by her capable work. The other children of the family are attending school or assisting the father in the operation of the home farm. As before stated, Mr. Lucid has two hundred acres of land and is engaged in stock raising, good grades of cattle, horses and hogs being seen upon his place. He regards South Dakota as one of the finest farming states of the Union and his own valuable property indicates that he is accurate in this opinion, for his land

is rich and productive and everything about the place indicates his careful supervision. He and his family are communicants of the Roman Catholic church in Yankton and are widely and favorably known in this community. He has led a very industrious life and is one of the highly respected and prosperous citizens of his adopted state.

WILLIAM T. VAN OSDEL is a native of Indiana, his birth having occurred in Madison county on the Ist of March, 1847. His parents, Abraham and Mary (Taylor) Van Osdel, were natives of Kentucky and the father was a skilled physician who practiced medicine successfully in Indiana, Minnesota, South Dakota and Kansas, his death occurring in the last named state. The subject of this review accompanied his parents on their removal to Faribault, Minnesota, where he attended the public schools until he was sixteen years of age. Although but a boy, he then entered the Union army, becoming a member of Company B, South Dakota Volunteers, under command of Captain William Tripp, a brother of Bartlett Tripp. For three years he remained in the army, faithful to the old flag and the cause it repre- sented, and was about twenty years of age when honorably discharged. For a number of years thereafter he engaged in farming and later turned his attention to freighting, in which business he continued until the advent of railroads. He accu- mulated considerable money in that way and when he ceased to follow that pursuit he entered from the government a claim of a quarter section of land and also a timber claim. He then turned his attention to the stock-raising business, in which he has since continued with splendid suc- cess. He is regarded as one of the best judges of stock in this state and his knowledge has enabled him to make judicious purchases and profitable sales until he has become a wealthy man. He is now the owner of four hundred acres of land which he farms and the products which he raises he feeds to his stock. His business is car- ried on extensively and his opinions are regarded as authority in his special line. For the past fif-

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teen or more years Mr. Van Osdel has been largely engaged in buying and shipping live stock. In connection with shipping from this point, he is president of a commission house in Sioux City, Iowa.

In 1871 Mr. Van Osdel was united in marriage to Miss Permelia Morey, of New York, and they have become the parents of two daughters : Cora and Lura, aged respectively twenty-four and twenty-two years. Both attend the public schools and were graduated in the high school of Yank- ton. Cora is now the wife of B. E. Pickett, a member of the firm of Grant & Pickett, propri- etors of the marble works in Yankton. Lura is the wife of Frank Frick, a well-known farmer and stock raiser of this county.

SIMON SCHIAGER is one of the sturdy sons of the far Norseland who has aided in the development of the resources of Lincoln county, of which he is an honored pioneer. He was born in Norway, on the 21st of August, 1838, being a son of Gunder and Mary Schiager, both of whom passed their entire lives in that land. The subject and his brother Paul were reared and educated in Norway, whence they emigrated to America in 1866, locating in Iowa, where they remained un- til June, 1868, when they came with ox teams and wagons to what is now Lincoln county, South Dakota, where each took up a quarter section of government land.

DOANE ROBINSON was born at Sparta, Wisconsin, October 19, 1856, the son of George McCook and Rhozina (Grow) Robinson. Both father and mother are from old Revolutionary stock. The family were farmers in the Beaver Creek valley, three miles north of Sparta. Mr. Robinson received his early education in the coun- try schools and in his youth became a country school-teacher. Upon attaining his majority he went to Lyon county, Minnesota, and settled upon a government homestead, soon thereafter taking up the study of law under the preceptorship of a firm of lawyers in the

neighboring village of Marshall. After ad- mission to practice, in June, 1882, he en- tered the Wisconsin Law School, taking the sen- ior-year course. On August 4. 1883, he became a resident of Watertown, South Dakota, and has since been an enthusiastic Dakotan. In 1884 he engaged in the newspaper business at Watertown and from that date has generally been interested in the publishing business. In 1896 he became editor of the Yankton Gazette, continuing in that position until November, 1899, when he withdrew from the Gazette to give his entire attention to the Monthly South Dakotan, a literary and his- torical magazine which he had established May I, 1898, and of which he is still the editor. Mr. Robinson has enjoyed moderate success in legiti- mate literary lines, both in prose and verse, and his work has for the past fifteen years appeared regularly in the standard magazines, particularly the Century. Through his efforts the State His- torical Society was organized and chartered by the legislature in January, 1901, and he has since been secretary and executive officer of that organ- ization, which is doing commendable work. In addition to this history, he is the author of two books, "Midst the Coteaus of Dakota," verse, and "A History of South Dakota from the Earliest Times," a school text-book.

On December 4. 1884, Mr. Robinson was mar- ried, at Leon, Wisconsin, to Miss Jennie Austin, whose death occurred on January 24, 1902. Two sons were born to them, Harry Austin, now aged fifteen, and Will Grow, aged ten.

Mr. Robinson is a Republican and as such served his party as secretary of the last railroad commission of Dakota territory and the first com- mission of South Dakota. He is a member of the Congregational church and of several fraternal orders.

PORTER PASCAL PECK was born in the village of Caledonia Springs, province of Longale, Canada, on the 16th of April, 1843, be- ing a son of Hosea and Susanna (Southworth) Peck, the former of whom was born in Massa- chusetts and the latter in Middlebury, Vermont,

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where her father was one of the first professors in the Middlebury Academy, having been one of the leading educators of the state. The parents of the subject removed from Canada to South- port, Kenosha county, Wisconsin, in the early 'fifties, the father there engaging in brick manu- facturing, and there he passed the remainder of his life, his death occurring in 1855. His widow surviving him by many years, her death occurring, in Harvard, Illinois, in 1897. The subject of this review was about ten years of age at the time when his parents removed to the new state of Wisconsin, and he continued to at- tend the common schools in an irregular way until he had attained the age of eighteen years, having in the meanwhile been employed in farm work the major portion of the time. At the out- break of the war of the Rebellion he manifested his intrinsic loyalty by enlisting, in April, 1861, in the Geneva Light Guards, a company which was attached to the Fourth Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, with which he served ninety days. After his discharge he re-enlisted, becoming a member of Company K, Second Wisconsin Volunteer Cavalry, with which he remained at the front until the expiration of his three years' term, when he veteranized and rejoined the same company and regiment, with which he continued in active service until the close of the war, having been mustered out in the fall of 1865, when he received his honorable discharge. His was known as one of the best cavalry regiments in the service and was at various times in command of all the noted cavalry leaders except General Pleasanton, being under command of General Custer at the close of the great conflict which determined the integrity of the Union. Mr. Peck was never seriously wounded, nor was he ever taken prisoner. He participated in many of the most notable engagements of the war and was ever found at the post of duty, being first lieutenant of his company at the time of his final discharge.

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History of South Dakota, Vol. I, Part 135

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