History of South Dakota, Vol. II, Part 138

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 138

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

On the 16th of September, 1880, Mr. Good- ner was united in marriage to Miss Minnie Ada Perry, who was born in Bolton, Vermont, on the 24th of May, 1860, being a daughter of David and Emma (LeGro) Perry. Of their six chil- dren four are living. namely: Ivan E., Milton P., Grace E. and Ernest F. Those deceased are Mabel and Ruth.

JOHN GRAY, one of the sterling pioneers of the Black Hills, was born in Durham. Eng- land. on the 28th of February. 1846, and is a son of Henry and Elizabeth ( Nelson) Gray, both of whom were born in Cumberland, England, as was also his grandfather, Henry Gray, who was there identified with mining during his en- tire business career. The father of the sub- ject was reared in Cumberland and there fol- lowed the same vocation as did his honored sire. In 1840 he removed to Durham, where he con- tinued the mining operations until his death, his wife also passing the closing years of her life there. Of their nine children six are living,

1767

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

while but one of the number is a resident of the United States.

The subject received somewhat limited edu- cational advantages, since, as was customary with the majority of miners' sons in the locality, he early went to work in the mines. At the age of eight years he began work as a trapper in the Durham mines, and gradually rose step by step until he had attained the dignity of a full-fledged miner. He continued to be employed in the mines of his native county until he had attained the age of twenty-three years, when, in March, 1869, he came to America. He first located in Steuben- ville, Ohio, where he was engaged in mining for nine months, after which he went to the city of Pittsburg and there secured a position in the mines at Saw Mill run, on the Monongahela river, where he was employed until 1870. when he removed to the Scranton district and worked in the Dunmore mine for several months, after which he passed about six months in the Pitts- burg district, where he had previously been em- ployed. He then went to the Sugar Creek mines, in Ohio, and three months later went to Bra- zil, Clay county, Indiana, where the work of opening the first block-coal mines in this dis- trict was in progress, Mr. Gray being one of the first miners to be employed there. He remained until September, 1872, when he came west to Rock Springs, Wyoming, being one of the pio- neer miners in that locality, and there organiz- ing the first miners' union. In January of the following year he left for French Guiana, being one of a party of fifty-two men, recruited front Wyoming, Utah and Montana. They proceeded to Salem, Massachusetts, and there embarked on a sailing vessel, which in due time bore them to their destination. There they engaged in prospecting for gold, but owing to the peculiar laws in force in the country they found it prac- tically impossible to secure title to any ground. John Murphy, with his wife and son, were the first to strike the pay streak. but conditions were such that they could not work the property to any profit, owing to the legal restrictions. Nine of the party died of yellow fever, and twenty- two were sent back to New York through the

kindly interposition of the British consul, nine- teen others scattered about in various localities and the four Wyoming men, John Hartler, Jolin Brunskill, Edward Jeffries and Mr. Gray, sailed to Georgetown, British Guiana, where they re- mained four months and then set sail for New York, having been absent about nine months from the time of leaving Salem.

From the national capital the subject went into the Cumberland mountains in Tennessee, where he was employed for a while, and then he returned to Rock Springs, Wyoming, where he entered the employ of the Rock Spring Mining Company, by which he was sent to the mines in Carbon, that state. There he shortly afterward organized a company to start for the Black Hills, the intention being to make the trip under the guidance of "Tom's Son," a well-known stock man of Wyoming, but this individual re- ceived an offer of two thousand dollars from an- other party to compensate him for his services as guide, and as, he accepted the proposition the other company abandoned the expedition. In the fall of 1875 Mr. Gray went to Des Moines. Iowa, where he remained until February of the following year, when he returned west to Chey- enne. In June following he started for the Black Hills with what was known as the Colorado Charlie and Wild Bill train, the first named be- ing captain of the expedition, while Wild Bill and the husband of Madame Mustachio were his two lieutenants, the three being well-known charac- ters on the frontier. They found a number of dead men at Indian creek and Red Canon, show- ing that the hostile Indians were in the prox- imity, but as their party was a large one, com- prising one hundred and ninety persons, they were not molested by the savages while enroute, and arrived in Custer on the 14th of July. Among the women in the party were Calamity Jane (whose death occurred about a year ago), Madame Mustachio and Dirty Em., each of whom will be remembered by the old timers. Mr. Gray went to work in mine No. 79. below the smelter, on Whitewood creek, and Jack Mc- Call was working on the next claim. On the 2d of August, 1876. McCall killed the man

1768

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

known as Wild Bill, the subject being at work at the time. He was intimately acquainted with the victim, and speaks of him as having been a square man, generous to a fault and possessed of many other admirable qualities. In April, 1877, Mr. Gray returned to Cheyenne for his wife, and they had a pleasant trip on the way back. After his return to the hills Mr. Gray purchased claim No. 2 above discovery in Dead- wood gulch, and continued to work the same until November of the following year, when he found it unprofitable to continue operations, as it was virtually worked out. He realized a large sum from this claim. In December, 1878, he re- moved to Terraville, where he purchased what was then known as the Caledonia boarding house, which historic building he still occupies as his home, having modernized and otherwise improved the property. He continued to be identified with mining enterprises, having been for a time in the Carbonate camp in the Bald mountains, and in January, 1884, he left for the Coeur d'Alene mining district of Idaho, being one of the first in that now famous district. He bought the discovery claim on Pritchard creek, and there sunk what is known as the Combina- tion shaft, this being the first sunk and drifted upon up to that time. The venture proved a dis- tinctive failure and he sunk twenty thousand dollars as well as his unprofitable shaft, having remained there for a period of thirteen months. He then returned to the Carbonate camp, where he had heavy interests, and there remained until the enterprise went down. He then went on with his mining in the Ruby basin, and still owns valuable interests in that section. In 1896 Mr. Gray, in company with John Blatchford, D. A. McPherson and W. L. Mclaughlin, purchased what was known as the McShane property, in the Yellow creek or Flatiron district, and this was operated thereafter under the general man- agement of Mr. Blatchford. as a shipping prop- osition --- that is, the ore was shipped out instead of being treated on the ground. In 1898 Mr. Gray became general manager and work was continued as before until 1900, when the com- pany built a fifty-ton cyanide plant, whose ca-

pacity was doubled five months later, and since that time the property has been working only quartzite, as a coarse-crushing proposition, quar- ter mesh. In 1900 the work was carried to a depth of only five feet into the quartzite ledge, and during the last year the company have pen- etrated to a depth of twenty feet, with a width of three hundred feet. The development is giv- ing good returns and the subject is the largest individual stockholder, as well as general mana- ger of the company, which is incorporated as the Wasp No. 2 Mining Company. Mr. Gray has maintained his home in Terraville since 1878 and is one of the honored and public-spirited citizens of the town and county. In politics he is found arrayed as a stanch advocate of the principles of the Republican party, and fraternally he has at- tained the thirty-second degree of Scottish-rite Masonry, being also a member of the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine and the Order of the Eastern Star, while aside from the Masonic affiliations he has been identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows since 1870 and with the Knights of Pythias since 1871; while he also enjoys the goodfellowship implied in his membership in the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. He is a member of the American Mining Con- gress and a director of the Mining Men's As- sociation of the Black Hills. He is also an ex- president of the Black Hills Pioneer Association.

In 1875 Mr. Gray was united in matrimony to Miss Ellen Chamberlain, who was born in St. Ellens, Lancastershire, England, while her marriage to the subject was solemnized in the city of Chicago. She was summoned into eter- nal rest on the 13th of March, 1898, and is held in loving memory by all who knew her. No chil- dren were born of this union.

JOSEPH ELSOM, one of the represent- ative business men and land owners of Spink county, is a native of England, having been born in Lincolnshire, on the 13th of December, 1840. and being a son of Wilson Elsom, who came with his family to America in 1853. passing the first

1769

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

winter in the province of New Brunswick, Canada, and then locating in the state of New York, where his death occurred two years later. The subject of this sketch was the second eldest of the eight children and was but thirteen years of age at the time of his father's death, so that he was thus early thrown to a large degree upon his own resources, also contributing to the sup- port of the other members of the family. He had attended the schools of his native county in England, and also continued his studies when opportunity presented after coming to America. He was engaged in various occupations in the state of New York until the outbreak of the war of the Rebellion, when he gave significant evidence of his loyalty to the land of his adop- tion by enlisting, on the 13th of October. 1861. as a private in Company F, Eighth New York Volunteer Cavalry, which was commanded by Colonel Crooks and assigned to the Army of the Potomac. The subject was with his command when it cut its way out from Harper's Ferry. and thereafter was an active participant in the battles of Fredericksburg, Gettysburg, second battle of Bull Run, Antietam and Beverly Ford, where Colonel B. F. Davis, commander, was killed. Mr. Elsom continued as a member of the Army of the Potomac and in active service for three years and four months, making a record as a faithful and valiant soldier and taking part in forty-nine of the fifty-four engagements in which his regiment was in action. He received his honorable discharge on the 15th of Decem- ber, 1864. His brother, Thomas, was a mem- ber of the same regiment, and was wounded in the engagement at Berksdale Junction, Virginia, in the Wilson raid, his death resulting from his injury some time later while on furlough.

After the close of his military career Mr. Elsom returned to the state of New York, where he remained until 1880, when he came to the present state of South Dakota and located on a tract of government land two miles south of Northville, Spink county, where he engaged in farming and also in the buying and shipping of grain, with which lines of industrial enterprise he has ever since been identified. To his original

claim he has added until he now has a finely im- proved farm of eight hundred acres, his young- est son having the general management of the place. while the subject devoted the major por- tion of his attention to his grain business, until January 1, 1904. He is one of the progressive and highly honored business men and popular citizens of the county with whose annals his name has been linked for nearly a quarter of a century. He is a stalwart Republican in politics. and has served with ability and discrimination in the various township offices, while fraternally he is affiliated with the Grand Army of the Re- public and the Ancient Order of United Work- men.

In August, 1860, Mr. Elsom was married to Miss Jane Harmer, who was born in Norfolk, England, and of their children we enter the fol- lowing brief record: Nancy N. is deceased ; Emma Jane, deceased; Thomas H. is superin- tendent of construction for the Inland Telephone and Telegraph Company, with headquarters in the beautiful city of Spokane, Washington ; Annie Laurie is the wife of Francis Kingsley, of Mansfield, Brown county, this state ; Charles W. is engaged in business in Northville; Evert J. is residing in New York state; Wilson J. has charge of the old homestead, and Eliza J., de- ceased, and Mary E., twins, the latter the wife of John H. LeMay, editor of the Northville Jour- nal.

GEORGE D. PARR, D. D. S., of Pierre, is a native of the state of New Jersey, having been born in Warren county, on the 25th of Decem- ber, 1855, and being a son of Levi J. and Mar- garet (Deats) Parr, both of whom were like- wise born in New Jersey, the ancestry of the former being of English extraction and of the latter sturdy Holland Dutch, while both families were founded in America in the colonial epoch. The paternal great-grandfather of the Doctor was a.valiant soldier in the Continental line dur- ing the war of the Revolution, while the ma- ternal ancestors were numbered among the very early settlers in New Jersey and New York.

52-

1770

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

Levi J. Parr became a successful farmer and was one of the influential citizens of his sec- tion, ever commanding the respect of all who knew him. He was twice married, and of the three children of the first union the subject of this sketch was the youngest. After the death of his first wife Levi J. Parr married Mrs. Lavina Huffman, and they became the parents of seven children, while of his ten children all are living except one.

Dr. Parr passed his boyhood days in New Jersey and when he was about fifteen years of age his parents removed to Michigan, locating in Wayne county, where the father continued to follow agricultural pursuits during the remaind- er of his life. The Doctor secured his early educational discipline in the public schools of his native county and later continued his studies in the, schools of Wayne county, Michigan, where he remained a student until he had attained the age of twenty years In the meanwhile he had determined to adopt the dental profession as his vocation in life, and with this end in view he entered the office of Dr. A. H. Lacey, of Clarks- ton, Michigan, under whose effective direction he gained a most excellent knowledge of all phases of dental work. both operative and laboratory, and, proving himself well qualified, he was admitted to practice in the Wolverine state. In 1874 he engaged in practice at Davis- burg, Michigan, where he remained two years. after which he was successfully established in practice at Wayne, that state, until 1882, when he came to the present state of South Dakota and took up his residence in Pierre, being one of the first representatives of his profession in this part of the state. Here he has ever since been engaged in practice, and he now controls a very extensive and representative business, while his offices are equipped with the best of modern ac- cessories and the methods utilized are of the maximum standard of excellence. The Doctor has manifested a lively interest in all that has touched the progress and material upbuilding of the capital city and has been largely interested in local real estate. At the present time he is the owner of valuable property on Folsom avenue,

adjoining the grounds of the state capitol. In politics the Doctor has ever given an uncom- promising allegiance to the Democratic party, in whose ranks he has been an active and valued worker. For the past decade he has been chair- man of the Democratic central committee of Hughes county, and in the connection has ably marshalled the forces under his executive con- trol. He was for two years incumbent of the office of city auditor, and prior to his removal to South Dakota was a member of the village council of Wayne, Michigan. Fraternally he is identified with the Ancient Order of United Workmen and the Knights of the Maccabees.

On the 8th of July, 1876, was solemnized the marriage of Dr. Parr to Miss Celia J. Post, who was born in Wayne county, Michigan, on the 6th of September, 1857, being a daughter of Cornelius and Eliza (Westerfield) Post, the former of whom was born in New York and the latter in New Jersey. Mrs. Parr was sumn- moned into eternal rest on the 6th of Septem- ber. 1903. and is survived by one child, Grace, who is the wife of John P. Erickson, a promi- nent business man of Pierre. Mrs. Parr was a woman of beautiful attributes of character and was held in affectionate regard by all who came within the sphere of her gracious influence. She was a devoted member of the Baptist church, and was a member of the choir of the local church of this denomination for a period of twelve years.

JOHN A. FYLPAA, a prominent merchant and valued citizen of Frederick, Brown county, was born in Norway, on the 5th of January, 1860, and there his parents maintained their home until their deaths. The father died in 190I, aged eighty-eight years, while the mother passed away in 1902, aged eighty years. He was reared and educated in his native land, where he remained until 1878, when he came to Amer- ica and settled in St. Croix county, Wisconsin, where he continued to reside until 1882, having been for an interval engaged in the mercantile business at Deer Park, that state, in company

I771

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

with his brother Carl. In the year mentioned he disposed of his interests there and came to South Dakota, arriving in Frederick in Septem- ber of that year. Here he opened a general store, beginning operations on a modest scale. By careful management and scrupulous attention to the demands of his patrons, he soon found his business increasing in scope and importance, and in 1884 his brother, Thomas H. Fylpaa, bought a one-half interest in the store, and they found it expedient to secure larger quarters and augment the stock of goods. In this second store they continued to do a successful business until November, 1894, when the establishment was destroyed by fire. The subject shortly aft- erward opened business in another store, which continued to be his headquarters until 1899. when he took possession of his present well- equipped store, which is twenty-six by seventy feet in dimensions, with excellent appointments and large and select stock in each of the several departments. He also has a commodious ware- house in connection. In 1901 Mr. Fylpaa also engaged in the real-estate business, in which he is associated with his brother, Thomas H., and they have built up an excellent enterprise in the line, having controlled a large amount of valu- able farming land in the county, while at the present time they own or control about seventy- five quarter sections, all of which represent de- sirable investments.

In politics Mr. Fylpaa is a stanch Populist and the high confidence and esteem in which he is held has been signally manifested in the offi- cial preferment which has been accorded him. In 1890 he was elected county treasurer, and in 1896 he was again called to this office, while in 1898 he was chosen as his own successor, being elected on the independent or Alliance ticket. He is absolutely independent in voting, and will vote for the best man, regardless of party. He was elected the first city clerk of Frederick, at the time of its incorporation, and held this office two years, and he is at present time presi- dent of the board of education. Fraternally he is identified with the Ancient Order of United Workmen and its auxiliary, the Degree of

Honor, and also with the Modern Brotherhood of America. Mr. Fylpaa was married in 1892 and is the father of three children.

GEORGE HARRISON HOFFMAN, who is associated with his sons, Benjamin and John, in the ownership and management of the Park farm and stock range, near Bangor, Walworth county, was born in Adams county, Pennsyl- vania, on the 21st of January, 1838, and his father, George Rosenmiller Hoffman, was like- wise a native of the old Keystone state and of stanch German ancestry, the family having been founded in Pennsylvania in the colonial epoch, as was also that of the mother of our subject, whose maiden name was Sarah Jane Cramer, and who likewise was born and reared in the state mentioned. In his earlier life George R. Hoff- man was a teamster or freighter by vocation, and his six-horse teams were employed in doing heavy freighting to and from Baltimore, Mary- land : Wheeling, Virginia (now West Virginia) ; Little York, Harrisburg and Gettysburg, Penn- sylvania. Later he was engaged in teaching in town and village schools in Pennsylvania, being well educated in both German and English and being a man of superior mentality. In 1844 he removed with his family to Indiana and settled on a farm in Butler township, Dekalb county, the section at that time being an untrammeled wilderness and covered with a dense forest. With the aid of his three sturdy sons he cleared and improved his farm, and for a number of years was employed as teacher in the pioneer schools of the locality during the winter months. He was for many years incumbent of the office of justice of the peace, and also practiced law in the lower courts. Later he was elected auditor of Dekalb county, in which capacity he served two terms. In politics he was an old-line Whig and was an ardent supporter of William Henry Harrison for the presidency. He was present at the birth of the Republican party and was loyal to the party and the nation, and Abraham Lincoln was his ideal President. He died in 1889, at the venerable age of seventy-two years,

1772

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

his devoted wife having preceded him into eternal rest by many years, her death occurring in 1848. They became the parents of three sons and three daughters, concerning whom we in- corporate the following brief record : Elmira E., who was married to Jonathan Weaver, died about a decade ago; Rev. Joseph O. is now a resident of Lima, Ohio, having been a clergyman of the Lutheran church of that city for many years ; he graduated from the Lutheran college at Co- lumbus, Ohio, and was ordained a minister of the gospel in 1860; John Henry, who is now a resident of Ligonier, Indiana, and who was a member of Company K, For- ty-fourth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, dur- ing the Civil war, having heen wounded in the battle of Shiloh and having been discharged from service by reason of resulting physical disability ; was postmaster at Ligonier for eight years and is one of the substantial and influential citizens of his county; he was educated in the high schools of Dekalb and Noble counties and after the close of the war taught in the schools of Lig- onier; George H. is the immediate sub- ject of this sketch; Sarah J. Mathens is a resi- dent of near Toledo, Ohio, and Rebecca Middle- ton is a resident of Joplin, Missouri. John Hoff- man, the paternal grandfather of the subject, was born and reared in Pennsylvania and was a division wagon master in the Continental army during the war of the Revolution.

George H. Hoffman was reared to manhood on the pioneer homestead in Dekalb county, Indiana, and his education was secured prin- cipally at home and under the direction of his honored father. He thus conned his lessons by the light of the tallow candle and the blaze of hickory bark from the great fireplace, after the day's work on the farm was done. He also at- tended the common schools as opportunity af- forded and was for one term, of six months, a student in Kells Academy, near Hunterstown, Allen county. Indiana, so that he laid substantial foundations for that broad fund of knowledge which he has gained in the practical school of experience and active association with men and affairs. Mr. Hoffman initiated his independent

career as a farmer and carpenter in 1859 and continued to follow these occupations until 1864. when he enlisted in Company A, Thirteenth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, which became a part of the Third Brigade, Second Division, Tenth Army Corps, the division being commanded by General Ames, while the corps was commanded for a time by General Benjamin F. Butler and later by General Ferry. Mr. Hoffman was an active participant in the engagements at Chapin's Bluff, near Richmond, Virginia, and in the cam- paign which thereafter extended through and including the engagements at Deep Bottom, Dutch Gap canal and Bermuda Hundred, and later was with the expedition which operated against Fort Fisher and Newbern, North Caro- lina. He took an active part in the battle at Fort Fisher, Fort Caswell being evacuated upon the fall of Fort Fisher, and assisted in the cap- ture of Fort Anderson and Fort Sugarloaf, Wil- mington, South Carolina ; Mount Olive, Benton- ville, Goldsboro and Raleigh, being stationed in the last mentioned city at the time of the sur- render of Johnston's army. He was mustered out of the service, at Goldshoro, North Carolina, on the 5th of September, 1865, and received his honorable discharge, in the city of Indianapolis, Indiana, about two weeks later.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

History of South Dakota, Vol. II, Part 138

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