USA > South Dakota > History of South Dakota, Vol. I > Part 94
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large and extensively patronized, but after man- aging the same until 1893, he disposed of his stock and turned his attention to agricultural pursuits, moving in 1894 to a rented farm of six hundred and four acres which he farmed till 1900, when he moved onto his own farm of three hundred and eighty-five acres, and gave it the name of the Badger farm, by which it is now known.
Since 1894 Mr. Turner has devoted his entire attention to agriculture and stock raising and his success in both these lines has steadily increased until he now ranks with the foremost farmers and cattle raisers, 'not only in this county, but in the eastern part of the state. He farms two hundred and forty acres of his land, and makes a specialty of graded short-horned cattle, in the breeding and raising of which he has achieved an enviable reputation. For several years past he has rented and grown between five hundred and six hundred acres of grain, with an annual product of about six thousand bushels, the large yield attesting the great fertility of his land and its peculiar adaptability to any kind of crop grown in this latitude. Mr. Turner has made many valuable improvements on his farm and could easily dispose of it at fifty dollars per acre, a remarkable advancement on the amount which he originally invested in the land. He has no desire to sell, however, being content with the beautiful and attractive home he has secured and satisfied with the life he now leads, as a prosper- ous and thrifty tiller of the soil, and a raiser of fine live stock, which, with his surplus grain crops, yields him a liberal and continuously in- creasing income.
In his political sentiment, Mr. Turner is a pronounced Republican, and he has been one of the active party workers in Brown county, fre- quently being chosen a delegate to local, district and state conventions, but his ambition has never led him to seek office nor aspire to any kind of public distinction. Coming to South Dakota more than twenty-seven years ago, he has wit- nessed the remarkable advancement of the state along the line of material development, and like other enterprising men of his class, has en-
couraged to the limit of his ability this steady growth, having faith in the ultimate greatness of the commonwealth and in the stability of its in- stitutions. Mr. Turner possesses a strong and sturdy character, and his prominence as a pub- lic-spirited citizen has made him widely and favorably known throughout the county of which he is an honored resident. His industry, economy and consecutive application have en- abled him to acquire a handsome property and become one of the well-to-do men of his com- munity, while his strength of mind and activity in all of his undertakings constitute him a leader whom others are wont to imitate and follow.
Mr. Turner's family consists of himself and wife only, their union having never been blessed with offspring. He has raised two children, however, and provided liberally for their main- tenance, giving them the best educational ad- vantages the country affords and sparing no pains in looking after their interests and prepar- ing them for lives of honor and usefulness. Mrs. Turner, formerly Miss Nettie Emerson, was born in Ellisburg, Jefferson county, New York, but, in the fall of 1856, when about ten years of age, accompanied her parents upon their removal to Minnesota, where she lived until her marriage to Mr. Turner, in April, 1871. She and her husband are consistent communicants of the Con- gregational church, being among the original members of the congregation worshiping at Co- lumbia.
JOHN CEDERSTRUM .- This gentleman. who is engaged in farming and stock raising in Dayton township, Lincoln county, South Dakota, hails from Sweden, and, like the majority of his sturdy nationality, possesses in an eminent de- gree the attributes essential to a high order of American citizenship. He was born on Novem- ber 30, 1847, being the son of Ludwig and Anna Cederstrum, both natives of Sweden, the father a farmer by occupation and a man of sterling worth in his day. By reason of the death of his parents, which occurred when he was a small boy, the subject was early thrown upon his own
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resources and for a number of years gained his livelihood as a farm laborer. He continued to work in this way until about twenty-two years old, when he decided to leave the land of his birth and seek for better opportunities in the great country across the sea, of which he had heard and read so much, and to which many of his friends and countrymen had already emi- grated. Accordingly in 1869, with twelve com- panions, he set sail for America and in due time landed at Quebec, Canada, and thence proceeded to Red Wing, Minnesota, and a little later to the city of St. Paul.
Shortly after his arrival at the latter place Mr. Cederstrum secured employment on the Northern Pacific Railroad, where he worked about one year, and during the ensuing sixteen years he was similiarly engaged with the Chi- cago & Northwestern and other railroads in the course of construction. He continued railroad work in various states until the fall of 1871, when he came to South Dakota, locating at Sioux Falls, where he remained about ten years, re- moving in 1881 to Lincoln county and purchas- ing land in Dayton township, which he has since cultivated and otherwise improved. Mr. Ceder- strum has reduced the greater part of his place to tillage and in addition thereto rents land of his neighbors, also works at intervals at rail- roading, especially during the seasons when his presence is not particularly needed on the farm. He devotes his attention to general agriculture, raises considerable live stock, and though not as large a land owner as some of his neighbors, his efforts in the main have been crowned with suc- cess and he is today in very comfortable circum- stances.
· Mr. Cederstrum has been a member of the town board for several years, has served on the local board of education and takes an active in- terest in public and political affairs, being a zeal- ous supporter of the Republican party, but in no sense an aspirant for official honors. He was married in the year 1881 to Miss Cecelia Peter- son, a native of Sweden, the union being ter- minated by the death of his wife after six years of happy wedded experience. Mrs. Cederstrum
departed this life in 1887, leaving one son, Mel- vin L., an intelligent and enterprising young man, who is now his father's able assistant on the farm. Religiously the subject is a member of the Lutheran church, in which faith he was reared and to which he has always remained true, his wife having also been identified with this communion. Mr. Cederstrum is a loyal citizen of his adopted country, a great admirer of its institutions, and combines all the qualities and attributes of the up-to-date American except in the matter of birth. Honor- able in all his dealings, faithful to his every ob- ligation and earnest in his endeavors to advance the interests of his fellow men, he is much esteemed by all who know him, and occupies a conspicuous place among the representative citi- zens of the township and county in which he lives.
GEORGE G. LASELL, one of the repre- sentative members of the bar of Grant county, is incumbent of the position of cashier of the State Bank of Twin Brooks, and is one of the highly honored and influential citizens of this section.
Mr. Lasell was born in Spring Valley, Min- nesota, on the 22d of November, 1867, and is a son of Z. D. and Roxana M. (Lund) Lasell. The father of the subject was born in the province of Quebec, Canada, of stanch 'French lineage, being a direct descendant of the Sieur de La Salle, the famous explorer of the Missis- sippi river, whose name is honored in history. The mother of our subject was born in Vermont, being of Irish descent in the agnatic line, while the Lund family was founded in New England in the early colonial epoch, representatives of the same having been valiant soldiers in the Con- tinental line during the war of the Revolution. Z. D. survives his wife, living at Waubay, South Dakota. In the family were four sons and five daughters, all living. Three of the brothers are associated in the banking business,-Silas T. is cashier of the State Bank of Waubay, Day county, and president of the State Bank of Twin
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Brooks; Dana A. is a farmer near Waubay; George G. is the next youngest, and Marion C. is engaged in the practice of law at Lamoure, North Dakota, and is one of the stockholders in the State Bank of Twin Brooks.
George G. received his early educational dis- cipline in the public schools of Minnesota, hav- ing accompanied his parents on their various re- movals, and was graduated in the high school at Spring Valley, that state, as a member of the class of 1888, while thereafter he devoted five years to teaching in the public schools, having met with excellent success in his pedagogic work, while he was for a time a student in the law de- partment of the Northern Indiana Normal School at Valparaiso, Indiana. He gave careful attention to the study of law while teaching, and in 1900 was admitted to the bar of South Dakota. He came to this state in 1888, and purchased the plant and business of a newspaper called the Clipper, at Waubay, continuing as editor and publisher of the same for one year, when he disposed of the enterprise and identified himself with the general merchandise business in that town, being thus engaged about five years, at the expiration of which, in 1900, he sold out and began the practice of law in Waubay. In the winter of 1901-2 he became associated with his brothers in the establishing of the bank at Waubay, while in the following winter they established the Bank of Twin Brooks, of which he has been cashier from its inception. The Lasell brothers are also the interested principals in the Lasell Lignite Coal Company, of North Dakota, with headquarters at Aberdeen, South Dakota, and are also prominently interested in the lumbering business in the state of Washing- ton, as members of the Washington Fir & Cedar Lumber Company, of Cosmopolis, that state. They are active and progressive business men and have attained prominence and success through their well directed efforts. George G. is a stanch Democrat in his political proclivities, but has never been an aspirant for public office. Fraternally he is identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Modern Wood- men of America.
On the 24th of March, 1888, Mr. Lasell was united in marriage to Miss Effie M. Toogood, who was born and reared in Minnesota, being a daughter of Dwight and May (Williams) Too- good, both of whom were born in Massachu- setts, while they now reside at Pleasant Grove, Minnesota.
GEORGE H. GRACE, who is incumbent of the position of superintendent of schools of Hand county, is a native of Green county, Wisconsin, where he was born on the 8th of August, 1871, being a son of John and Harriet (Thorpe) Grace, who are now residing in Mitchell, South Dakota, the father being a retired farmer. John Grace was a valiant soldier in the Union army during the war of the Rebellion, in which he served four years. He enlisted as a member of the Third Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, with which he participated in many of the notable battles of the great internecine conflict, includ- ing those of Gettysburg and Chancellorsville, in the latter of which he received a severe wound.
The subject of this review secured his early educational training in the public schools of his native state, and was about fourteen years of age at the time of his parents' removal to what is now South Dakota, the family locating at that time in Lincoln county, where his father engaged in farming and stock raising. After completing the curriculum prescribed in the public schools Mr. Grace continued his studies in the Wessinton Springs Academy, this state, while in 1899 he took a special course in Drake University, at Des Moines, Iowa. For the first two years of his residence in the state his home was in Lincoln county, and thereafter he resided in Buffalo county, where, in 1894, he was elected clerk of the courts, while a few months later he was appointed county superintendent of schools. To this office he was later returned by general election, receiving the endorsement of both political parties, upon whose tickets his name appeared, there being no opposing candi- date. This action was a gratifying testimonial to the ability which he had displayed as an edu-
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cator and executive officer. In 1897 Mr. Grace resigned this office to accept the position of principal of the high school at Mitchell, and he served in this capacity for three years, at the expiration of which he came to the town of Miller, to accept the principalship of the public schools here. This incumbency he retained two years, and in November, 1902, he was elected county superintendent of schools of this county, for a term of two years, being the candidate on the Republican ticket. He has made an enviable record in vitalizing and systematizing the work of the schools in his jurisdiction, and has gained the earnest co-operation of the people of the county and of the teachers employed. Mr. Grace is a stanch advocate of the principles of the Republican party.
On the 6th of July, 1894, Mr. Grace was united in marriage to Miss Minnie Waterbury, of East Pierre, South Dakota, whose death oc- curred fifteen months later, and on the 26th of June, 1900, was consummated his marriage to Miss Belle C. Leffingwell, who was born and reared in Iowa, being a daughter of A. J. Leffing- well, who is now a resident of Exira, Iowa. Mrs. Grace is a woman of gracious presence and high intellectual attainments, and was appointed principal of the Miller schools to succeed her husband at the time of his election to the office of county superintendent. They have no chil- dren.
EDWARD C. PAYNE, who is a member of the board of commissioners of Brown county, is one of the representative farmers and stock growers of this section of the state and is one of those loyal and progressive citizens who have contributed so materially to the development of the resources of our great commonwealth. Mr. Payne claims the old Empire state as the place of his nativity, having been born in Jefferson county, New York, on the 2d of August, 1853, and being a son of William and Emily Payne, both of whom are now deceased, being survived by five of their children. The subject of this sketch was reared on the homestead farm. se-
curing a common-school education and proving himself fertile in resources while still a young man, in that he showed facility in turning his hand to varied lines of work. At the age of twenty-five years he removed to Freeborn county, Minnesota, where he remained two years, at the expiration of which, in 1880, he came to what is now the state of South Dakota and entered claim to his present half section of hand, four miles south of Warner. He has made all the im- provements on this fine homestead and developed into one of the most attractive and valuable farms in this section. In March, two years after securing this land, Mr. Payne was joined by his family, their first domicile being an unpreten- tious board shanty of most primitive order. In the fall of 1882 he erected a substantial residence. to which he made additions in 1887 and 1903. so that the house is now a commodious and at- tractive one, well adapted to all needs of the family and constituting a pleasant home. He has under cultivation an entire section of land, from which he has secured a total yield of six thou- sand bushels of wheat in one year, while he also devotes special attention to the raising of high- grade shorthorn cattle. Mr. Payne is signally fortunate in having upon his farm an ample sup- ply of water for all purposes, the same being secured from an artesian well which he sunk in the year 1900, the same having a flow of ninety- five gallons a minute, while there are only three other such wells in the county, his having been the first, while he has further increased the value of the facilities thus afforded by the con- struction of an artificial pond which offers stor- age for a large amount of water and enables him to use the same in the irrigation of his well kept gardens. Since 1885 Mr. Payne has operated a threshing . outfit, and has made this a profitable enterprise in connection with his farming. In politics he is a stanch supporter of the principles of the Republican party, în whose cause he has been an active worker in his county. In the fall of 1902 he was elected a member of the board of county commissioners for a term of four years, assuming the duties of the office on the Ist of January, 1903. Fraternally he is
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affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the adjunct organization, the Daughters of Rebekah, having passed the official chairs in the former lodge, which he has also represented in the grand lodge of the state, while Mrs. Payne is also a member of the Daughters of Rebekah.
In 1873 Mr. Payne was married to Miss Rosa Grappotte, who died in 1890, being sur- vived by five children, William, who is engaged in farming in this county; Emory, who is a resident of New York city, where he has attained a high reputation in athletic circles ; Floyd, who is engaged in railroad work; Frank, who is a machinist; and Carrie, who remains at the pa- ternal home. In Day county, this state, on the 27th of October, 1892, Mr. Payne was united in marriage to Miss Katie Ryman, and they have one daughter, Trilvian.
FRED S. PEW admirably typifies the progressive spirit and conservative business judgment which have made the young men of the great west so important factors in all branches of industrial activity and civic advance- ment. He is vice-president of the Citizens' State Bank, of Andover ; president of the Day County Land Company and president of the Andover Hotel Company, while he has other important capitalistic interests.
Mr. Pew was born in Madrid, St. Lawrence county, New York, August 19, 1861, being a son of George W. and Nancy A. Pew, both of whom were likewise born in the old Empire state, being of Irish lineage. The subject received his early educational training in the public schools of his native town, and there remained until he had attained the age of twenty years, when, in the spring of 1881, he accompanied his parents on their removal to the territory of Dakota. In the spring of 1883 he located in Andover, Day county, and here he was actively and success- fully engaged in the livery business until 1890, while from that time forward to 1898 he was engaged in the real estate and loan business. He was one of the organizers of the Day County
Land Company in 1898, and when the same was incorporated under the laws of the state, in 1902, he was made president of the company, which position he still retains, the company be- ing capitalized for one hundred thousand dollars and controlling an extensive and profitable busi- ness in the handling of lands in South Dakota and the extending of first-mortgage loans. Mr. Pew has also held the office of vice-president of the Citizens' State Bank of Andover from the time of its organization, in July, 1902, the in- stitution being incorporated with fifteen thou- sand dollars capital and being one of the solid banks of the state. Mr. Pew was the prime factor in the organization of the Andover Hotel Company, which erected the fine modern hotel known as the Waldorf, in Andover, in 1903, and of this company he is president, while he is a member of the directorate of other important cor- porations in the town. In politics Mr. Pew is a stanch advocate of the principles of the Re- publican party, and he takes an active interest in public affairs, being at the time of this writing mayor of Andover and also secretary of the board of education, while he commands the unequivocal confidence and esteem of the com- munity to whose advancement and prosperity he has so materially contributed through the various enterprises with which he is identified. He is a communicant of the Roman Catholic church, and fraternally he holds membership in the Ancient Order of United Workmen, the Modern Wood- men of America, the Knights of the Maccabees and the Degree of Honor.
On the 2d of July, 1884, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Pew to Miss Jennie M. Miller, who was born in Decatur, Illinois, on the 29th of December, 1858, being a daughter of Joseph S. and Mary Miller. Of this union have been born two sons, Frank M. and Fred E.
NEWTON B. REED has been actively en- gaged in the practice of law in the attractive city of Woonsocket, Sanborn county, for more than a score of years, and is one of the honored citizens of this section of the state. His was the
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distinction of being the first county judge and he was one of the most conspicuous figures in the organization of the county, which was originally a portion of Miner county.
Judge Reed and his twin brother,, Norman H. Reed, now of Santa Barbara, California, were born at Buffalo Grove (now Polo), Illinois, November 2, 1848. His parents were Franklin S. and Fanny (Hicks) Reed, both of whom are buried at the Reed cemetery near Polo. Four children were born to these parents. The eldest, Charles I. Reed, a member of Company D, Ninety-second Illinois Infantry, was killed at the battle of Chickamauga, and his sister, Phebe A. Day, resides at Rome, Illinois. The subject se- cured his early education in the common schools of his native county and later entered the Illinois State Normal University, at Normal, where he was graduated as a member of the class of 1872. Shortly afterward he entered the law department of the Illinois Wesleyan University, at Bloom- ington, Illinois, where he completed the pre- scribed course and was graduated in 1875, being admitted to the bar of the state in June of that year. He forthwith engaged in the practice of his profession in Bloomington, a city noted for the ability of its bar, and where he laid the foun- dations of his legal education. Judge Reed there continued to practice until July, 1882, when he came to what is now Sanborn county, South Dakota, locating in Woonsocket, where he has ever since maintained his home and been en- gaged in the work of his chosen profession, being known as one of the representative mem- bers of the bar of the state. Sanborn county was organized in 1883 and he was elected the first county judge. The first judicial records of the county are in his handwriting. The county was a part of Miner county at the time of Judge Reed's location here, and in January, 1883. a mass meeting was called to take steps for the erection of the new county, the assembly being held in the town of Letcher. Judge Reed in- troduced at this meeting the resolution to name the county Sanborn, in honor of George W. San- born, who was at that time the local superintend- ent of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Rail-
road, one of the first to enter the state. He was also sent by the mass meeting as delegate to the territorial legislature, then in session, to promote the interests of the new county and to secure its creation, his labors being so well directed as to secure the desired organization. In politics Judge Reed is a stalwart advocate of the prin- ciples of the Republican party, and he has been an active worker in its cause. His public spirit and his interest in the city, county and state of his adoption, have been of the insistent order and have been manifested in divers and helpful ways. He was one of the most influential promoters of the plan through which was accomplished the construction of the beautiful artesian lake which is now one of the distinctive attractions of the county and state. In recognition of his efforts in this connection the citizens of Woonsocket, through Major J. T. Kean, presented the Judge with a beautiful gold-headed cane.
On the 28th of June, 1877, Judge Reed was united in marriage to Miss Mary Alice Stroud, of Belvidere, Illinois, she being a daughter of Samuel and Rachel (Merrill) Stroud and a na- tive of the state mentioned. Of this union have been born four children, namely : Charles S., who is editor and publisher of the Woonsocket Herald, one of the most influential papers in this section of the state; and Amy Clare, Clara Louise, and Marion, who remain at the parental home, the family being prominent in the best social life of the community.
PATRICK J. GERIN figures as one of the pioneer citizens of the attractive village of Chamberlain, Brule county, where he was num- bered among the first permanent settlers, while his enterprise and business sagacity led him to engage in the grocery trade here at a time when the town was represented by only three or four buildings, and he has ever since continued in this line of business here, having built up a large trade throughout the surrounding country and holding the unqualified confidence and esteem of all who know him. Mr. Gerin is a native of the Dominion of Canada and comes of stanch
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