History of South Dakota, Vol. II, Part 153

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

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has today an investment representing fully two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. The popu- lation at the time of this writing is about one hundred and fifty people, and the town has be- sides its large and finely equipped sanitarinm, two good hotels, a drug store, two general stores, hardware establishment, grocery, livery, lumber yard, etc., all being under the direct superintend- ence of Dr. Kroeger. The village . is supplied with electric lights, water-works and artificial ice plant, while in April, 1903, the Doctor es- tablished a weekly newspaper, the Kroeger Echo, installing a fine modern plant for the purpose. In 1900 he established the Bank of Kroeger, of which he is president, cashier and sole owner, while in 1904 he also put into operation a plant for the manufacture of paper boxes, which he utilizes in connection with his medical prepar- ations, this being the only factory of the sort in the state. He has made two trips abroad in recent years and took post-graduate courses in leading medical institutions on the continent. The Doctor is a man of gracious and genial per- sonality, winning and retaining strong friend- ships and having the high regard of all who know him. He has great power of initiative, much administrative ability and high intellectual attainments, so that he is stanchiy fortified for the great work which he has undertaken, even as he was for that which he accomplished in his sacred office as a priest of the great mother church. It is a pleasure to the publishers of this history to inchide in the same this brief tribute to his labors and his noble character as a min and citizen. He has a great many employes and if it were not for him the people would have starved as he has always been willing to assist them in need.

LOUISE MI. MENTELE .- Dr. Kroeger has a very able assistant in the person of Miss Mentele, concerning whose life we are permitted to incorporate the following data. She was born in Kaltbrunn, Baden, Germany, in the famous Black Forest district, on the 13th of May, 1873, being a daughter of Anton and Antonia (Heitz-

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mann ) Mentele. She received her early edu- cation in the excellent national schools of her native land and when she was nine years of age accompanied her parents on their immigration to America. The family first located in Halstead, Kansas, where she attended the English schools for some time, and in 1881 removed with her par- ents to Dubuque, Iowa, where she continued her educational work in the Academy of the Sacred Heart. In 1883 the family came to South Da- kota and took up their abode near Howard, Miner county, and here Miss Mentele continued to attend school until she had attained the age of sixteen years. In August, 1894, she came to Epiphany, where she became housekeeper for Rev. William Kroeger. M. D., being housekeeper for the three pastors previous for a short time. while through his kindly care and guidance she has since been advanced to a position of marked responsibility. She served for a time as his bookkeeper and stenographer, and under his di- rection then took up the study of medicine and anatomy. devoting special attention to cancerous and exterior tumors, or any diseases of that na- ture, and she is now the main and the only part- ner in the institution, hospital and business, to which work she gives her special time and at- tention, being an expert in the operation and therapeutic utilization of the X-ray machine. She has the sympathy and capability which makes her a most grateful companion, doctor and nurse, and is held in affectionate regard by all who have come under her kindly ministrations and she has received her diploma with great honors from Rev. Dr. William Kroeger. She is a con1- municant of the Catholic church and deeply in- terested in its work in the local parish of Epiphany, South Dakota, and is always ready to give a helping hand and always fulfills the duties of the church.

BENJAMIN RIPPERDA is associated in an intimate way with Rev. William Kroeger, M. D .. whose carcer is briefly narrated in a preced- ing sketch, and it is but consistent that he be accorded recognition in this connection. Mr.

Ripperda was born in Jamestown, Wisconsin, on the 13th of February, 1872, and is a son of Bernard and Caroline (Lager) Ripperda. He received his early educational training in the public schools of Lewisburg, that state, and then entered St. Joseph's College, at Dubuque, Iowa, where he was graduated as a member of the class of 1890, while three years later he was graduated in Baylies' Business College, in the same city, having there completed a thorough commercial course. After leaving this institution he was employed in a clerical capacity in a general mer- chandise establishment in Dubuque for one year. at the expiration of which he went to the city of St. Louis, Missouri, where he remained for four- teen months in the employ of the Plant Seed Company. The climate made such inroads on his health that he then returned to Wisconsin, locating in Cuba, where he had charge of the implement department of the hardware estab- lishment of M. Hendricks & Company until the autumn of 1897, when he came to South Da- kota. Here he was for one year engaged in teaching school for Father Kroeger, in the parish of the Epiphany, and then took charge of his office affairs, in the capacity of secretary to the Doctor. In 1808 he took up the study of medi- cine under the able preceptorship of the Doctor, and is now the consulting physician of the sani- tarium and has charge of the office affairs. He is one of the graduated pupils of the sanitarium and has proved an able co-adjutor to Dr. Kroe- ger. He is a Democrat in politics and his re- ligious faith is that of the Catholic church. He is a young man of much force and individuality and is held in high esteem in the community with which he has cast his lot.

JACOB BRITZINS is a native of Ohio and was born in the county of Tuscarawas. He spent an uneventful childhood at the place of his birth, and when nine years old removed with his par- ents to Minnesota, where he grew to maturity on a farm and received a practical education in the district schools of the locality in which the family lived. Reared a tiller of the soil and early

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becoming inured to the rugged duties of the farmer, he very naturally took to this kind of life, and ever since starting in the world for him- self he has devoted his time and energies to the same, meeting with the success which industry and good management inevitably bring to their possessor. After living in Minnesota for a pe- riod of thirteen years, Mr. Britzins decided to seek more favorable opportunities further west ; accordingly he came to South Dakota and took up a tree claim at Watertown, Codington coun- ty, and the year following entered the land on which that city now stands, also made some im- provements at Big Stone, where his brother was then living. In the spring of 1880 he came to Brown county and located a pre-emption claim about two iniles east of the site of Aberdeen, after which he hauled material from Watertown with which to erect a small, though comfortable habitation. Later he built a dwelling on the land now occupied by the flourishing city of Aber- deen which was the first improvement of any kind in that place, as he was the first actual set- tler. It was not long until settlers began to ar- rive. Until within the course of three or four years the country was pretty well taken up by an energetic class of people. It was in 1884 that Mr. Britzins entered the homestead on which lie still lives, and his career from that time to the present demonstrates what a man of industry and thrift can accomplish when proceeding on the right plan, and which enabled him to take advantage of circumstances. By judicious management he added to his real estate at intervals until he is now the fortunate owner of four hundred and eighty acres of as fine land as the state affords, and on this farms quite extensively. Mr. Brit- zins cultivates the soil according to modern methods, uses the best implements and machinery obtainable and employs a number of hands to whom he pays liberal wages. His farm is well improved and in value compares favorably with the best cultivated land in the northeastern part of the state.

Mr. Britzins has been an ardent supporter of the Republican party ever since old enough to cast a ballot, and he has been a delegate to a

number of township and county conventions. He is a firm believer in revealed religion, and with his wife belongs to the Evangelical church at Aberdeen. Mrs. Britzins was formerly Miss Mary Mertar, and they have two children.

REV. W. A. CAVE is a native of the Buck- eye state, having been born in Circleville, Ohio. He was reared to manhood in Circleville, where he received his preliminary educational discipline in the public schools, being graduated in the high school. He was soon afterward matriculated as a student in Wooster University at Wooster, Ohio, having in the meanwhile determined to prepare himself for the ministry of the Methodist Episcopal church. After leaving college he de- voted one and one-half years to preaching, though he had not yet been formally ordained, and thereafter he was for two years engaged in designing furniture and other products in wood. He entered a theological seminary, where he con- tinned his technical studies, after which he was in turn a student in the University of London, England, and that at Berlin, Germany. After leaving school he passed fourteen months in traveling through Europe, Palestine and Egypt. At the expiration of this period he returned to Ohio, where he was ordained to the ministry. He was assigned to the pastorate of the church at Albany, that state, where he remained until he came to South Dakota, and was admitted to the conference of this state, being placed in charge of the church at Springfield, where he continued to do effective service until he was ap- pointed to the charge at Howard, but three months later he was given the pastoral charge of the church in Brookings, having since con- tinued here. His work has been successful in both a spiritual and temporal way in each field of labor, and the church in Brookings has at- tained signal vitality through his earnest and de- voted endeavors. He is a forceful and eloquent speaker and his every utterance bears the impress of conviction and sincerity, so that he maintains a strong hold upon the attention of those whom he addresses. Mr. Cave speaks both the French

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and German languages in addition to his native tongue, and is a consistent and appreciative stu- dent of the best religious and secular literature, while he has gained a high reputation upon the lecture platform. He has one of the best pri- vate libraries in the state, and is fully apprecia- tive of the value of his friends, the books. Mr. Cave was married to Miss Della A. Wise, of Nelsonville, Ohio, and they have three children.

J. L. INGALLS, one of the large land own- ers and successful farmers and stock raisers of Minnehaha county, is a native of New York, born on a farm in Allegany county. When he was a mere child his parents emigrated to Kane county, Illinois, where he remained until about seventeen years old. Later he removed with his parents to Howard county, Iowa, and after spending about nine years there changed his abode to the county of Butler, in the same state, where he continued to make his home until his removal to South Dakota. Meanwhile he en- joyed such educational advantages as the schools of the different places in which he lived afforded, and having been reared to agricultural pursuits he selected that honorable calling for his life work, and ever since young manhood has prose- cuted the same with varied success, his career since coming to South Dakota fully meeting the high expectations he may have previously enter- tained.

Mr. Ingalls made a judicious selection in the matter of locating a home, choosing for the same a beautiful and highly fertile tract of land in Ma- pleton township, which is one of the most pro- ductive agricultural districts in the county of Minnehaha. By a series of improvements, as well as by systematic tillage, he has made his place one of the finest and most valuable farms in the county. Only a portion of the farm is under cultivation, the rest being devoted to live stock, for which the land appears peculiarly adapted. Mr. Ingalls pays considerable atten- tion to the latter branch of farming, raising large numbers of fine cattle and excellent breeds of sheep and other domestic animals of high grade,

which, with the abundant yield from his fields, bring him a very liberal income.

Mr. Ingalls was married in Elgin, Illinois, to Miss Elizabeth Nichols, a native of Essex county, New York, and they become the parents of thirteen children.

O. J. COONS, one of the leading citizens of Bowdle, South Dakota, and cashier of the Bank of Bowdle, was born in Iowa county, Iowa. He was reared from the age of nine to twenty-two years in Missouri, where he attended the public schools. At the age of twenty-two years he be- gan traveling as a salesman, continuing four years. He next clerked in a clothing store at Sac City, Iowa, for about eleven years, and then engaged in the real-estate and abstract business at that place for eleven years. He came to Bow- dle in 1899, and bought out the Bowdle Bank, becoming cashier of the same, in which position he has since continued. He and his partner are also interested in a large cattle ranch in Ed- munds county, where they have a ranch of nine sections of land.

Mr. Coons married Miss M. Jennie Traner, who was born in Grant county, Wisconsin. Mr. Coons is a member of the Masonic fraternity and of the Knights of Pythias.

JOSEPH NIKODIN was born in Bohemia, March 12, 1833, and was educated in his native country, but left school at the age of twelve years in order to learn the weaver's trade, serving an apprenticeship of three years. He afterward be- gan learning the trade of house building, which he followed for three years and when a young man of twenty years he joined the army of his native country, spending eight years in military service. On returning to civil life Mr. Nikodin was married to Miss Annie Holly, also a native of Bohemia, and of this union two children were born in Bohemia, and two in the United States. It was in 1869 that Mr. Nikodin sailed for Amer- ica, and with his family went to Iowa, where he lived for about six months. Not being particu-

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larly pleased with that state he then removed to South Dakota and took advantage of the oppor- tunity which the government offered for the se- curing of farms. He entered one hundred and sixty acres near Utica, Yankton county, and he still lives upon the old homestead, which became his place of residence in 1870. He also pur- chased an additional tract, but since that time he has given part of the tract to his sons.

ALONZO E. CLOUGH, M. D., was born in St. Lawrence county, New York, and received his rudimentary educational discipline in the public schools of his native state. After the fam- 1 ily removal to the west, he continued his studies in the common schools and at Cresco Academy, while later he was matriculated in the Upper Iowa University, at Fayette. Subsequently he entered the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Keokuk, Iowa, where he completed his tech- nical course, being graduated and receiving his coveted degree of Doctor of Medicine. Later he took a special course in the New York Poly- clinic, and he has also taken several special post- graduate courses in the leading medical schools of the city of Chicago.

Shortly after receiving his degree Dr. Clough came to South Dakota and located in Madison, Lake county, where he has ever since maintained his home and where he has built up a large and representative practice, and he is to be noted as one of the pioneer physicians of the state. The Doctor is a stanch Republican in his political proclivities, and has been one of the leaders in the party councils in the state, having had the distinction of serving as chairman of the state central committee in 1892-3, though he has never sought official preferment of a personal na- ture. He is affiliated with the Masonic frater- nity and also with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He and his family are communi- cants of the Protestant Episcopal church.

Dr. Clough was united in marriage to Miss Mary P. Matheny, who was born and reared in Wauseon, Ohio, and of this union have been born three children.

J. E. McLANE is a native of Wabasha coun- ty, Minnesota, and passed his boyhood days on the pioneer homestead. Owing to the exigencies and conditions of time and place his educational advantages were somewhat limited in his youth. He was about nineteen years of age at the time of his parents' removal to South Dakota, but in- stead of remaining with them on the new farm in Bon Homme county he came to Fort Pierre, Stanley county, where he entered the employ of wood and beef contractors engaged in supplying the military post. In 1880 he located on a ranch in Sully county, where he was engaged in the raising of stock until 1892, when he again came to Stanley county and located at Fort Ben- nett, near the mouth of the Cheyenne river and about forty miles distant from Fort Pierre, where lie now has a well-improved ranch, and where he is successfully engaged in the raising of cat- tle and other stock upon a large scale.

J. C. MCCARTHY is a native of the city of Boston, Massachusetts, both of his parents dy- ing before the subject had attained the age of seven years. The latter was thereafter cared for by his brother until he was fourteen years of age, having in the meanwhile availed himself of the advantages afforded by the public schools of Cambridge, Massachusetts. At the early age noted he became dependent upon his own re- sources, and personally earned the money with which to defray the expenses of his maintenance and education. He followed various vocations in the east for a number of years and then came to South Dakota, where he has since maintained his home. In 1901, convinced of the great possi- bilities in store in connection with the develop- ment of the mining industry in the state and rec- ognizing the attractions of the Black Hills' won- derful mineral zone, he identified himself with the mining interests of this section, associating himself with the promoters of the Hidden For- tune and Columbus Consolidated Gold Mining Companies, of Lead, Lawrence county, and forthwith entered the field in placing the stock of the two concerns, being successful in dispos-

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ing of large blocks of the same to leading capital- ists of the east and thus insuring the steady prog- ress of the work of developing the valuable properties controlled. Mr. McCarthy is a typi- cal "hustler," is genial and of pleasing address, and has won the stanchest of friends in all circles of society. In politics he is an ardent Republi- can and his religious faith is that of the Protest- ant Episcopal church, of which he is a communi- cant, while fraternally he is identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He makes his home and headquarters in Lead.

D. C. THOMAS is a native of Waukesha, Wisconsin, where he received such educational advantages as were afforded in the common schools, and he was reared to the sturdy disci- pline of the farm. His quickened ambition and natural predilection prompted him to spare no effort in securing a broader education, and by teaching and doing such other work as came to hand he succeeded in defraying the expenses of his collegiate course. He was matriculated in the law department of the celebrated University of Michigan, at Ann Arbor, where he was grad- uated. He initiated the practice of his profession in Buena Vista county, Iowa, in which state he continued in practice until 1879, when he came to what was then the territory of Dakota and lo- cated in Watertown, as one of the first represent- atives of his profession in the town and county. Here he became associated in practice with his brother. W. R. Thomas, and they succeeded in building up a large and lucrative practice and in gaining marked precedence at the bar of the ter- ritory and the state.

The subject has been most intimately identi- fied with the growth and development of Water- town. He has been a member of the directorate of the City National Bank from the time of its organization, served for several years as presi- dent of the board of education, was incumbent of the office of mayor of the city, and has been shown other gratifying and unmistakable evi- dences of popular confidence and regard. He is at the present time president of the state board

of charities and corrections, and the executive duties of this important office demand a very considerable portion of his time and attention. He has been an ardent and uncompromising ad- vocate of the principles of the Republican party from the time of attaining his majority, and has been one of its most prominent leaders in this state. He effected the organization of the party in Codington county, and was chairman of its first central committee, while upon him devolved the duty of conveying to the governor the peti- tion for the organization of the county. In 1880 he made a trip to Washington, where he pre- vailed upon the authorities to change the loca- tion of the United States land office from Spring- field to Watertown. Mr. Thomas is an apprecia- tive member of the time-honored order of Free- masons. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church of Watertown, of which he has been a trustee from the time of its organization.

Mr. Thomas was married to Miss Mary Lo- gan, who was born in Pennsylvania, and they have one child.

T. J. THOMPSON was born and reared in Winterport. Maine, where he received his educa- tional training in the common school. As a youth he sailed before the mast for one year, and then served an apprenticeship at the art of telegraphing, becoming an expert operator. Fin- ally he came to the west and located in Iowa, where he was engaged as operator and station agent at various points for a number of years. He then moved to Hastings, Nebraska, in which city he established himself in the hardware busi- ness, there continuing to be successfully identified with this line of enterprise for about fifteen years, at the expiration of which he came to South Dakota, and took up his residence in the thriving and progressive little town of Fairfax, where he engaged in the same line of business, having the only hardware establishment in the town, and having built up a large and prosperous business. He still retains the ownership of a val- uable tract of land in Sheridan county, Nebraska.

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For one year the subject also conducted a branch hardware store in Bonesteel, but he now centers his interests in Fairfax. In politics he is a stanch advocate of the principles of the Repub- lican party, and fraternally he is identified with the Masonic fraternity.

Mr. Thompson was married to Miss Mary Abbott, who was born and reared in the same town as was himself, and they have three chil- dren.

CHARLES F. TURNEY, one of the highly esteemed residents of Gregory county, was born on a farm in Illinois. He passed his youthful days amid the scenes and labors of the home- stead farm, while his educational training was received in the public schools of Illinois, Mis- souri and Kansas, in each of which states his parents resided during his youthful years. He continued to be identified with farming for some time as a young man, but it should be noted that he also attained marked popularity and success as a teacher in the common schools, having de- voted eighteen years to this line of work, prin- cipally in Arkansas, and for a time in Nebraska and South Dakota. In 1891 Mr. Turney came to Gregory county and became one of the first set- tlers in Fairfax. He also took up government land and is now the owner of six hundred acres in this county, about two hundred and twenty- five acres of the same being under effective cul- tivation, while he also gives special attention to the raising of cattle, swine and horses, ever aim- ing to bring his stock up to the highest standard. Mr. Turney is thoroughly progressive and pub- lic-spirited and has taken an active part in local affairs. He is a stanchi advocate of the princi- ples of the Republican party, and served for four years as county treasurer, maintaining his resi- dence in Fairfax, the county seat, where he is the owner of valuable property. He has served as a member of the official board of the school district and has exerted his influence at all times for the advancement of the best interests of the county. He and his wife are members of the Congregational church, and fraternally he is

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History of South Dakota, Vol. II, Part 153

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