History of South Dakota, Vol. II, Part 127

Author: Robinson, Doane, 1856-1946. cn
Publication date: 1904
Publisher: [Logansport? IN] : B. F. Bowen
Number of Pages: 1138

USA > South Dakota > History of South Dakota, Vol. II > Part 127

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JAY RUSSELL HICKOX, of Deadwood, is a scion of stanch old colonial stock, and is him- self a native of New England, where was cradled so much of our national history. He was born in South Britain, New Haven county, Connecticut. on the 3d of April. 1865, and is a son of Henry P. and Julia E. (Bradley ) Hickox, both of whom were likewise born and reared in that state, be- ing of English lineage, and there they still re- tain their residence, the father being a farmer by vocation. The subject secured his prelimi- nary educational discipline in the public schools and then entered Yale College, where he was graduated in 1886, with the degree of Ph. B. Thoroughly equipped in scientific knowl- edge of a general order and with practical

skill in a technical way, in the year of his grad- uation Mr. Hickox became identified with the engineering department of the Burlington & Mis- souri River Railroad, and first came to the Black Hills in 1889, to take charge of the construction of the northern end of the Deadwood branch of the line of that road, from Edgemont to Dead- wood. After the completion of this work he was prominently identified with extensive operations in connection with the development of the irri- gation systems of the state as well as of Ne- braska, until 1899. when he took up his residence in Deadwood and opened a general engineering office. His services have been in requisition in connection with much important work in the line of his profession, while from the time of lo- cating in Deadwood he has held the office of L'nited States deputy mineral surveyor, and has done all of the engineering work for the city. In politics Mr. Hickox is a stanch supporter of the principles and policies of the Republican party, and fraternally is identified with Deadwood Lodge, No. 7, Ancient Free and Accepted Mas- ons, of which he served as worshipful master in 1902.

On the 28th of November, 1805, Mr. Hickox was united in marriage to Miss Minnie Harding. who was born in Diamond City, Montana, on the 16th of November, 1869, being a daughter of John A. and Matilda ( Kline ) Harding.

ORVILLE U. PRYCE, of Deadwood, where he holds the position of manager of the Dead- wood-Colorado Investment Company, is a native of the Badger state, having been born in Albany, Green county, Wisconsin, on the 9th of January, 1867, and being a son of Evan and Sarah Pryce, both of whom were born in Newtown, Wales, be- ing representatives of old and honored families. They are now residing at Boulder, Colorado. The subject received his preliminary educa- tional training in the public schools and there- after continued his studies in the seminary at Evansville, Wisconsin, and the Northwestern Business College, in Madison, that state. in which institution he completed a thorough

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commercial course. In 1800 he came to South Dakota and secured a position as bookkeeper and stenographer in the Citizens' National Bank at Madison, Lake county, re- taining this incumbency until 1901. In 1895 he went to Cripple Creek, Colorado, and re- mained about three years in that state, where he devoted his attention to mining, becoming inter- ested in the development of good properties. He then returned to South Dakota and resumed his residence in the Black Hills district, where he had been located for some time prior to going to Colorado, and here he is now one of the suc- cessful and representative mining brokers and operators of the district. In politics he gives his allegiance to the Republican party, and frater- nally is affiliated with Deadwood Lodge, No. 7. Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, and Dead- wood Lodge. No. 51. Ancient Order of United Workmen.

On the 19th of June, 1902, Mr. Pryce was united in marriage to Miss Maryella Ellis, who was born in the city of Utica, New York, on the 18th of September. 1870, being a daughter of David and Elizabeth Ellis.

GEORGE STEPHEN HOPKINS was born in the city of Lockport, Niagara county, New York, on the 28th of August. 1852, and is a son of Stephen Hopkins, a great-grandson of Stephen Hopkins, one of the signers of that im- mortal document, the Declaration of Independ- ence, and a lineal descendant of Stephen Hop- kins, one of the Puritans who came over in the "Mayflower" in 1620 and landed on Plymouth Rock. The family name was long and conspicu- ously identified with the annals of New Eng- land history, whence representatives finally went into the state of New York, as pioneers, while scions of the sturdy stock are now to be found in the most diverse sections of the Union. The sub- ject was reared in his native state and after com- pleting the curriculum of the common schools took a thorough course in surveying and engi- neering in the city of Brooklyn, while he has at- tained a high reputation in the northwest as a

civil and mining engineer. He followed his pro- fession in the east and in the western states until 1875, when, as a young man of twenty-three years, he came to what is now South Dakota and became one of the pioneers of the Black Hills, having arrived in this district in July of the year mentioned and having ever since followed his profession as a surveyor and civil and mining engineer, while he has also been interested in the development of a number of important min- ing properties. He holds high prestige in his chosen vocation and has been identified with much important work in the line, while he is at the present time serving as United States deputy mineral surveyor. He is one of the popular and highly esteemed residents of Deadwood, having the confidence and regard of all who know him and being prominent in both business and social circles. He is one of the most prominent and valued members of the Black Hills Pioneer As- sociation, of which he is historian, having been clected to this office for life. In politics he ac- cords a stanch allegiance to the Republican party. and fraternally he is identified with the Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows, being past grand of his lodge and also past district deputy grand master, while he has attained the thirty-second degree in Scottish-rite Masonry, and is affiliated with Naja Temple of the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine.

On the 16th of September, 1888, Mr. Hop- kins was united in marriage, at Spearfish, this state, to Miss Jessie O. Robinson, and they have three children, namely: Georgiana C., who was born in Spearfish, on the 18th of September, 1880: William Stephen, who was born in Dead- wood, on the 31st of May, 1891 ; and Florence Ruth, who was born in Spearfish on the 26th of October, 1892.

REV. JOHN POAGE WILLIAMSON, one of the able and honored members of the clergy of the Presbyterian church in the state, and the pioneer missionary among the Indians in Da- kota, was born in Lac qui Parle, in the county of the same name, Minnescta, on the 27th of

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October, 1835, being a son of Rev. Thomas S. and Margaret ( Poage) Williamson, the former of whom was born in South Carolina and the latter in Ohio, while they were numbered among the earliest settlers in Minnesota, the lineage of each being of Scotch-Irish derivation. Rev. Thomas S. Williamson, M. D., was a man of dis- tinguished attainments and was for forty-five years a missionary of the Presbyterian church among the Sioux Indians in Minnesota, contin- uing his earnest and self-abnegating labors there until his death, in 1879. He was a son of Rev. William Williamson, a soldier in the Continental line during the war of the Revolution, who re- moved from South Carolina to Ohio in 1803, in order that he might mantimit his slaves. Mar- garet ( Poage) Williamson, the mother of our subject, was the daughter of Colonel James Poage, who became general surveyor of gov- ernment lands west of the Alleghany mounains at the close of the Revolutionary war, and for his bounty he received forty thousand acres of government land. He settled in Kentucky, where he was a member of the legislature in 1766, and he afterward founded the town of Ripley, Ohio, whither he brought his twenty- four slaves and set them free. His father was Robert Poage, who was a colonial soldier under Washington at the time of Braddock's defeat. Margaret (Poage) Williamson was summoned into eternal rest in 1872.

Ohio, where he completed his theological course and was graduated in 1860. He was licensed to preach by the Presbyterian church in Minnesota in 1859, and in the year following his gradua- tion he held pastoral charges at Allensville and Zoar, in Switzerland county, Indiana. He was appointed a missionary to the Indians and com- menced mission work in the autumn of 1860 at Redwood agency, Minnesota, and has ever since continued his work among the Indians. By the massacre of 1862 the white persons at Redwood. Minnesota, were all killed or driven away, and the Indians were exiled. Mr. Williamson's scalp was providentially spared and he decided to fol- low the exiles with the gospel. He arrived at Crow Creek, South Dakota, on the 31st of May, 1863, with thirteen hundred Indians, in charge of Colonel Clark W. Thompson. This officer im- mediately built the cedar stockade called Fort Thompson, on the site of the present Crow Creek Agency. The Indians were removed from this point in 1866 and Mr. Williamson followed them to Niobrara, Nebraska, where he labored among them until March, 1869, when he located at Yankton Agency. South Dakota, where he has resided during the long intervening years. For the past twenty years he has been general mis- sionary, having the supervision of all the Pres- byterian missionary work among the Sioux In- dians, and having visited practically all of the Sioux agencies at varied intervals. He was the first missionary of any denomination among the Indians of South Dakota, and when he came there were less than half a dozen clergymen of South Dakota.

John P. Williamson passed the first twelve years of his life on the frontier in Minnesota, be- fore there was a public school established in the state. However, his paternal aunt, Miss Jane Wil- | all denominations in what is now the state of liamson, a mission teacher to the Sioux Indians, gave him much faithful instruction. In 1847 he Mr. Williamson cast his first vote for General John C. Fremont, the first presidential candi- date of the Republican party, of whose princi- ples and policies he has remained a stanch advo- cate from the time of its organization to the pres- ont. He was elected to the legislature in 1896. serving during the fifth general assembly, and looks back with particular satisfaction upon the course of the Republican minority in re-electing Senator Kyle in that session. He was appointed was sent east, and he studied two years in South Salem Academy, Ohio; one year at Harmar Academy, in Marietta, Ohio; one year at Mount Palatine Academy, LaSalle, Illinois ; two years in Knox College, at Galesburg, Illinois, under Jonathan Blanchard, the noted abolitionist ; and two years in Marietta College, Ohio, where he was graduated as a member of the class of 1857. He then entered Lane Seminary, in Cincinnati,

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United States special agent for the Flandreau Indians in 1873. and remained in tenure of this office for a period of five years.

On the 27th of April, 1866, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Williamson to Miss Sarah A. Vannice, of Winnebago City, Minnesota She was born in lowa, in 1843, and is a daughter of Cornelius C. and Susan L. (Dickerson) Vannice. Mr. and Mrs. Williamson have seven children. namely: Winifred Lee, Guy W., Thomas C .. Jesse P., John B., Laura L., and Helen V. Mr. Williamson is the author of a number of publi- cations in the Dakota Indian language. He originated and published for many years the Iapi Oaye, a monthly Indian paper. His English- Dakota Dictionary will preserve his memory as iong as the Dakota language is spoken.

LOUIS LAPLANTE .- A consistent and valuable prerogative is exercised by a compilation of this nature when it enters a resume of the life history of so honored and prominent a pioneer as he whose name initiates this paragraph. What- ever there is represented . in the perilous and stirring life which marked the life on the frontier is known to the subject by personal experience in the days long since past, and then, as in the later era of development and civic and industrial pro- gress, he played well his part, proving himself a man of courage, self-reliance and utmost in- tegrity of purpose.

Mr. LaPlante comes of sterling French lineage, as the name implies, and is a native of the province of Quebec, Canada, where he was born on the 11th of November, 1835, being a son of Louis and Sophia ( Morran ) LaPlante, both of whom were likewise born and reared in that province, the paternal grandfather, who also bore the patronymic of Louis, having been a sea- faring man, as was also the father of the sub- ject. He who was later to become a pioneer of South Dakota received somewhat limited edu- cational advantages in his boyhood, and early be- came dependent upon his own resources. At the early age of ten years he became identified with the vocation followed by his father and grand-

father, going to sea and continuing as a sailor before the mast for the ensuing seven years, within which time he visited the principal mari- time ports in England, France, Germany, Wales and America. In 1852 he arrived in the city of New Orleans, Louisiana, where he secured em- ployment in connection with steamboat naviga- tion on the Mississippi river, being thus engaged for two years, after which he turned his atten- tion to coal mining on the Ohio river. In a short time he found himself afflicted with the all-pre- vailing ague, and consequently returned to St. Louis, and after a trip to New Orleans, came back to the former city and there shipped on the steamer "St. Mary," plying the upper Missouri river. On this little vessel he came up the river as far as the mouth of the White river, in what is now South Dakota, this being then the head of navigation, and thence the government sup- plies with which the boat was laden were freighted through with teams to old Fort Pierre. where Mr. LaPlante put in his first appearance on the IIth of November, 1855, his twentieth birthday anniversary. He passed the winter at Camp Pierre, on the opposite side of the river, Major Galpin being in charge of the camp, and in the following spring, in company with seven other men, started down the river with supplies, the same being transported with mule-teams. The party became disaffected because the supply train had been placed in charge of an unpopular man, instead of Charles Picotte, who had been the choice of the men, and they accordingly left the supply train at the mouth of White river, their principal objection to service in the connec- tion being that they were reluctant to work under military rules and supervision. The eight men took a small supply of necessary provisions and made their way back to Fort Pierre on foot, where they were taken prisoners and court- martialed, all being ordered out of the country. On their way up the river they found a soldier who had deserted from Fort Pierre with two others. The three deserters had lost their way and two of them died from lack of food and from exposure, while the survivor was found in a fear- fully demented condition, having entirely eaten

LOUIS LA PLANTE.

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the body of one of his companions, and partially consumed the other. He was taken back to the fort and placed in charge of the authorities, and in the following summer was sent down the river to St. Louis. When ordered to leave the country each of the eight men agreed to do so with the exception of a half-breed Indian, who told Colonel Harney, commanding the post, that he had a natural right to the country and would remain. He brought into play a knife, with which he attempted an attack on the colonel, but was disarmed. He was permitted to remain, this provision being a part of the treaty made by the Indians with Colonel (later General) Harney, in 1856. Seven of the men then proceeded down the river, but the adventurous spirit of Mr. La- Plante led him to escape surveillance and make his way up the river to Fort Clark, where he entered the employ of the American Fur Com- pany, with which he remained engaged until it disposed of its business about 1859. He then became an employe of the company's successors, the firm of Frost, Tudd & Atkins, and was in their service until 1861, when Mr. LaPlante en- gaged in trapping on his own account. In the summer of 1863 he entered the employ of the government at Fort Randall, which was then in command of General Cook, who had relieved General Sully, and passed the summer in carry- ing dispatches between that post and Fort Stilly. In the summer of 1864 he was engaged in scout- ing duty for General Sully, having become by this time familiar with the country and with the habits and maneuvers of the crafty Indians, while his daring and courage led him to risk the many dangers involved in the service in which he was engaged. He followed scouting during that sum- m'er and then engaged in business on his own account, trading with the Indians and raising horses and cattle. His ranch was located in Bon Homme county and there he continued to reside until 1875, when he removed to Fort Pierre, where he established his home, while he has ever since been engaged in stock raising, his ranch being located on the Cheyenne river, sixty-five miles west of Fort Pierre, and com- prising one thousand eight hundred acres, in 48-

Stanley county, while he also uses the open range and conducts his operations on an cx- tensive scale. When the Black Hills district was opened to settlement he engaged in freight- ing between Fort Pierre and Deadwood, in which enterprise he sucessfully continued until the ycar 1883. He gives special atten-

tion to the raising of Hereford and shorthorn cattle and Percheron and French coach horses. Mr. LaPlante is a man of broad and varied ex- perience and strong mentality, well informed and genial and courteous in his relations with his fellow men. Though he has nearly attained the age of three score years and ten he enjoys per- fect physical health and is a worthy type of the sturdy and valorous frontiermen who aided in ushering in the era of civilization and progress, while his integrity has ever commanded to him the respect and confidence of those with whom he has come in contact. He is a pioncer of pioneers, and it is most consonant that he be ac- corded marked precedence in this publication. His elder sons, two of whom are individually mentioned on other pages of this work, are also numbered among the progressive and successful stock growers of the state, being likewise located on a reservation, while all of his children have been accorded excellent educational advantages and have honored the name which they bear and the state in which their entire lives have been passed. The two eldest sons have attained the thirty-second degree in Scottish-rite Masonry, and the subject himself is a Royal Arch Mason, while he is also affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He is a stanch Democrat in politics, and upon the organization of Stanley county was elected a member of its first board of commissioners, serving one term, while for two years he was a member of the village council of Fort Pierre.

In March, 1860, Mr. LaPlante was united in marriage to Miss Julia Abbott, who was born and reared in Fort George, South Dakota, being a daughter of Mr. Abbott, of the firm of Abbott & Cotton, who were engaged in the fur business in this section in the early days, having their headquarters in the city of New York, while

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their trading post was at the mouth of the Yellow Medicine river, in Pratt county, South Dakota. Mr. and Mrs. LaPlante have six sons, namely : Frederick, George, Alexander, Charles, Louis, Jr., and Ovila.

ALBERT MASON, of Fairfax, Gregory county, is a native of the state of Iowa, having been born on the homestead farm, in Cedar county, on the 7th of January, 1867, and being a son of James and A. E. (Monroe) Mason. The father of the subject was born in the vicinity of Meadville, Pennsylvania, and there continued to be identified with agricultural pursuits until 1850, when he started for the west and became a pioneer settler in Cedar county, Iowa, where he became the owner of a valuable landed estate of two hundred and forty acres, upon which he made the best of improvements. He continued to reside on the old homestead until his death, in 1883, at the age of fifty-seven years. His widlow is still living, being seventy years of age at the time of this writing, and she resides in Fairfax, South Dakota. She was born and reared in In- diana. Of her twelve children only three are living. The father of the subject was a stanchi Republican, having identified himself with the party at the time of its organization, and his re- ligious faith was that of the Baptist church. of which his widow also has long been a devoted member.

The subject of this review was reared to man- hood on the homestead farm and his educational advantages were such as were afforded in the public schools of the state of Iowa. Mr. Mason continued to be associated in the work and man- agement of the home farm until he had attained the age of seventeen years, having been about sixteen years old at the time of his father's death. In 1884 he came to Holt county, Nebraska. and, with his mother and sisters, resided on a home- -tead until 1891, and then came to Gregory county, South Dakota, and here took up a home- stead claim of government land, while he was one of the first to settle in the embryonic village of Fairfax, of which he is one of the founders

and builders. In 1895 he here established him- self in the general merchandise business, in which he has ever since continued, having at the present time a well-equipped store, and being recognized as one of the leading merchants of the town. In politics he maintains an independ- ent attitude, using his franchise in support of the man and measures approved by his judgment. He has been a member of the village council from the time of the incorporation of the town, and is at the present time president of the same and is giving a most progressive and able admin- istration as the executive head of the municipal government. Mr. Mason was the first post- master of the town, having received the ap- pointment during the administration of President Harrison and having continued in tenure of the office for eight successive years. He is a mem- ber of the board of education and took an active part in the establishing of the public-school sys- tem in the village and county, and has done most of the local surveying throughout the county, and in this capacity has laid out all of its towns. He was prominently concerned in the organization of the county, having charge of the official cor- respondence and making two trips to interview the Governor in furtherance of the work, while he personally secured many of the signatures to the petition for the organization of the new county. Fraternally he is identified with the local lodges of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Ancient Order of United Work- men, having been a charter member of the lat- ter. He and his wife are prominent and valued members of the Methodist Episcopal church.

On the 6th of September, 1888, was solem- nized the marriage of Mr. Mason to Miss Bertha Batesole, who was born in Sandusky county, Ohio, being a daughter of William H. and Nancy J. Batesole, both of whom were born and reared in Ohio, where the father was engaged in farm- ing until his removal to the estate of Michigan, where he continued to follow the same vocation until 1885, when he removed to Holt county, Nebraska, where he remained until 1891, since which year he has been successfully engaged in farming in Marshall county, Iowa.

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THOMAS FULLERTON, president of the Fullerton Lumber Company, of Mitchell. was born in County Antrim, Ireland, July 14, 1853. a son of Samuel and Anna ( Holmes) Fullerton, of whose fourteen children eleven are still living. The parents of our subject were likewise born in County Antrim, of Scotch-Irish parents, and there both were reared and educated, the father having been a seafaring man from his youth up, while for about twenty years he was a sea cap- tain and ship owner. At the age of nineteen years he was a passenger on a sailing vessel bound for the United States, and after the boat was but a few days out the captain died, where- upon the first mate urged upon the passengers the expediency of making their peace with their Maker, since there was no one on board who knew aught about navigation. Mr. Fuller- ton, though but a boy at the time, had studied navigation and had considerable practical ex- perience, and he forthwith took charge of the vessel, which he brought in safety to its port in New York city. For his services at this time he was tendered and accepted the position of first mate, and thereafter continued to follow the sea for a score of years, while he continued to own vessels for several years after his retire- ment. In 1884 or 1885 he became a resident of the United States, locating in Beloit, Kansas, where he has since lived a retired life, in the company of his devoted and cherished wife. They are members of the Presbyterian church, and he is a Republican in his political views.

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History of South Dakota, Vol. II, Part 127

Author: Robinson, Doane, 1856-1946. cn Publication date: 1904 Publisher: [Logansport? IN] : B. F. Bowen Number of Pages: 1138

Author: Robinson, Doane, 1856-1946. cn
Publication date: 1904
Publisher: [Logansport? IN] : B. F. Bowen
Number of Pages: 1138