History of South Dakota, Vol. II, Part 25

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 25

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W. C. BRYANT, Mayor.

P. F. WICKHEM, one of the representa- tive merchants of Alexandria, is a native of the state of Wisconsin, having been born on a farm in Dodge county, on the 15th of October, 1855. He is a son of John and Catherine (Joyce ) Wick- hem, of whose seven children six are living, namely : Michael, a resident of Waterloo, Wis- consin : P. F., the immediate subject of this sketch : James G., who is a prominent attorney of Beloit, Wisconsin, where he served four years as postmaster, being one of the leaders of the Democratic party in that section ; Maria, who re- mains on the old homestead, with her brother Michael : Nellie E., who makes her home with the subject ; and Margaret, principal in the pub- lic schools of Beloit, Wisconsin. The father was born in County Wexford. Ireland, about 1825. and was there reared to manhood, having been left an orphan when a mere lad and having thus been early thrown upon his own resources. He there devoted his attention to farm work until 1842, when he emigrated to America, being vari-

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ously employed, in different states of the Union, for the first four years of his residence here and finally taking up his permanent abode in Dodge county, Wisconsin, where he purchased a farm of eighty acres, becoming one of the prominent and prosperous farmers of the county and being the owner of a fine estate of three hundred and twenty acres at the time of his death, which oc- curred in 1892. He was a Democrat in politics and he and his wife were communicants of the Catholic church, the latter having entered into eternal rest in 1897.

The subject of his sketch was reared on the home farm and completed the course of studies in the graded schools of Waterloo, Wisconsin. being graduated in 1873. He then secured a clerkship in a general store in that town, where he remained until 1880, when he came to Alexan- dria, South Dakota, in charge of a stock of gen- eral merchandise owned by his employer, S. M. Wiener, and here he opened a branch store. Two years later he engaged in the same line of enter- prise on his own responsibility, opening his store on the Ist of May, 1882, and he has ever since been identified with this enterprise, which has been developed into one of the most important of the sort in the county, controlling a large and representative trade. The business is now placed in charge of H. L. Burlew, who has been in the employ of the subject for the past twenty-two years. Mr. Wickhem withdrew from the active supervision of his store in order to devote his attention to his extensive cattle interests, having become identified with this important line of in- (lustry in 1900. He is now the proprietor of the Rose Hill and the Spring Valley stock farms. comprising twelve hundred acres of the best land in the county, and he has gained a high reputa- tion throughout the state as a breeder of short- horn cattle, which he raises upon a large scale. having done much to advance the stock interests of this section and having two of the finest stock farms to be found in the state. In politics Mr. Wiekhem is an uncompromising Democrat, and has ever taken an active part in furthering the party cause. His is the distinction of having been chosen the first mayor of Alexandria after its

incorporation, in 1885, and he served two terms as treasurer of the county, while further official honors came to him in 1890, when he was elected to represent his district in the state senate, serv- ing with ability and discrimination during the sessions of 1890-91. In 1893-4 Mr. Wickhem held the position of internal revenue collector for the castern district of South Dakota, then resign- ing the office in order to give his attention to his personal business interests. He has been an im- portant factor in the ranks of the Democracy in the state, and was a delegate to the national con- vention of 1892. in Chicago, which nominated Cleveland for the presidency. He is president of the Retail Merchants 'Association of South Da- kota, and was one of the organizers of the Retail Merchants' Fire Insurance Company, of whose directorate he is a member. He and his wife are communicants of St. Mary's church, Roman Catholic, and he is a member of its official board.

On the Ist of June. 1897. was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Wickhem to Miss Ella Hayes, of Rockford, Illinois, and they are the parents of one son, John Francis, who was born on the 27th of April. 1891.

N. J. BROCKMAN, vice-president and manager of the State Bank of Spencer, is a native of Germany, where he was born on the 26th of April. 1853, being a son of Claus and Aple (Stuhr) Brockman, both of whom passed their entire lives in Germany.

The subject of this review was reared to manhood in his native land and was given the advantages of a collegiate education. He came to America in 1871, with but little financial reinforcement, and located in the city of Daven- port. Iowa, where he was variously employed for several months. He then went to Tama county, that state. where he was identified with agricultural pursuits until 1877. when he took up his residence in the town of Traer, Iowa, where he engaged in the mercantile business, in which he was very successful, there laying the foundation for the distinctive prosperity which he today enjoys. In 1881 he engaged in the

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same line of enterprise in Gradbrook, Iowa, where he remained two years, at the expiration of which he disposed of his interests there and engaged in the lumber trade at Kingsley, that state, also buying and shipping grain. There he continued to make his home until 1901. when he sold his prosperous business and removed to Sac City, Iowa, where he resided until January 1, 1903, when he became associated with M. D. Gates in the purchase of the State Bank of Spencer, South Dakota, Mr. Gates being made president of the corporation, while the subject assumed his present office of vice-president and general manager. Mr. Brockman is a Republican in his political proclivities, while he and his wife are members of the German Lutheran church, and fraternally he is identified with the lodge, chapter and commandery of the Masonic order, and also with the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine.

In 1883 Mr. Brockman was united in mar- riage to Miss Bertha E. Gebauer, of Lyons, lowa. One son has been born of this union, Ray, who is now a student in the Iowa State Agri- cultural College, at Ames.

W. S. HILL, one of the representative busi- ness men of Hanson county and an influential citizen of Alexandria, was born in Edgar county, Illinois, on the 3d of June, 1863, being a son of Joseph and Rebecca ( Braden) Hill, of whose four children three are living at the present time, namely : Elizabeth, wife of William Hillyard, of Wayne county, Iowa; Albert, a resident of Alexandria, South Dakota; and W. S., the im- mediate subject of this sketch. Joseph Hill was born in Washington county, Pennsylvania, and his wife in Greene county, that state, both being of Scotch-Irish lineage, and both having re- moved to the state of Illinois when young, their marriage having been there solemnized a few years later. The father of the subject was reared on a farm but as a young man learned the trade of carpenter, becoming a skilled artisan. He fol- lowed his trade for a time in Iowa, having re-

sided in Keokuk, and then returned to Illinois, settling in Edgar county after his marriage and there engaging in agricultural pursuits. He ten- dered his services in defense of the union at the time of the Civil war, enlisting as a member of Company E, Twelfth Illinois Volunteer In- fantry, with which he served eighteen months,- until the close of the war, when he received his honorable discharge. In 1869 he removed to Iowa and located in Wayne county, where he became a prominent and prosperous farmer, there continuing his residence until his death, in 1897, at the age of sixty years. He was a Republican in politics from the time of the or- ganization of the party, and was originally a member of the Presbyterian church, later em- bracing the faith of the Methodist Episcopal church. His widow is still living, making her home in Wayne county.

The subject of this sketch completed the curriculum of the common schools and was graduated in the high school at Allerton, Iowa, as a member of the class of 1884, while two years prior to this he had completed a course in the Pierce Business College, in Keokuk, Iowa, be- ing duly graduated in 1882. At the age of twenty-one years he secured a position with a firm of wholesale dealers in farming machinery and implements in the city of Des Moines, re- maining thus engaged for a short time and then accepting a position with the McCormick Har- vesting Machine Company, while a year later he entered the employ of a wholesale grocery house in Des Moines. In the spring of 1887 Mr. Hill came to South Dakota and located in Alex- andria, where he purchased an interest in the business of Lanz & Jacobs, securing the interest of the junior member of the firm, while opera- tions were continued under the title of Lanz & Hill, the enterprise involving the handling of agricultural implements and machinery and varied allied lines of goods. In 1893 the sub- ject's brother, Albert, purchased Mr. Lanz's in- terest in the business, which was conducted for the ensuing six years under the firm name of Hill Brothers. In 1899 our subject purchased his brother's interest and has since been in entire

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control of the extensive business which has been built up through energy, enter- prise and honorable methods. He handles a complete assortment of agricultural implements, vehicles of all kinds, harness and saddlery goods and also coal, and the enterprise ranks as one of the foremost of the sort in this section of the state.

In 1897 Mr. Hill became identified with the cattle business, making his first purchase of ranch land in that year, and from time to time he has made additional purchases until he now has a fine landed estate of fifteen hundred and twenty acres, all being located in Hanson county and being known as the Riverview ranch, while it is recognized as one of the finest stock farms in this section, having the best of modern im- provements and facilities. Mr. Hill makes a specialty of the breeding of registered red polled cattle. and in this line he has attained a high reputation throughout the state and has done much to improve the grade of cattle raised here. In politics he is a stanch Republican, and he is now serving his third term as mayor of Alex- andria. He is secretary of the Retail Imple- ment Dealers' Association of South Dakota, Southwestern Minnesota and Northwestern Iowa, having held this office from the time of the organization of the association, in 1899. He and his wife are prominent members of the Presby- terian church, in which he is an elder, taking a deep interest in all departments of church work. He is affiliated with Celestial Lodge. No. 37. Free and Accepted Masons, at Alexandria ; Mitchell Chapter, No. 16, Royal Arch Masons, in Mitchell ; St. Bernard Commandery, No. 11, Knights Templar, in this city; Oriental Con- sistory, No. 1, Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite, in Yankton; and El Riad Temple of the Mystic Shrine, in Sioux Falls, while he is also identified with Alexandria Lodge, No. II, Ancient Order of United Workmen.

On the 3d of September, 1890, was solem- nized the mariage of Mr. Hill to Miss Ida Kel- logg, of Wayne county, Iowa, and they are the parents of five sons, Joseph L .. W. Braden, Emory K., Lawrence M. and Robert D. :

LEWIS V. SCHNEIDER, one of the most prominent and highly honored business men of Salem, McCook county, was born in La Crosse, Wisconsin, on the 28th of December, 1860, being a son of Joseph and Frances (Ringl) Schneider, of whose children eight are living at the present time. The father of the subject was born in Austria, where he was reared to maturity, there learning the trade of cabinetmaking. As a young man he emigrated to the United States, and passed a number of years in the state of New York, where he followed the vocation of carpen- ter and builder. About 1855 he came west to La Crosse, Wisconsin, as one of the pioneers of the place, and there he followed contracting and building for some time, also devoting no little at- tention to work as a millwright, through which association he was finally led to engage in the milling business. In 1890 he sold his milling interests in Sheldon, Minnesota, where he had resided for a number of years, and came to South Dakota to pass his declining days with his sons. He died in October, 1897, at the age of sixty-seven years. His widow now resides with her daughter, Mrs. Frances Roop, of Salem, this state. Joseph Schneider was a Democrat in politics, but was not deflected from its orginal principles by the heresy of free silver. He was a member of the Lutheran church, as is also his widow, who was born in Austria.

The subject of this review secured his early educational raining in the common schools of the pioneer epoch in Wisconsin, having attended school in a little log building of the most primi- tive type. At the age of thirteen years he se- cured a position in a general store at La Crosse, Wisconsin, working the first year for his board and clothing and being thereafter advanced in salary from year to year, as his value increased. He retained this clerical position seven years and then, in the spring of 1881. came to the territory of Dakota, being one weck en route. His finan- cial resources were represented in the sum of about five hundred dollars, which he had saved from his earnings, and after returning to La- Crosse to make a final settlement of his affairs preliminary to taking up his permanent abode in

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

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what is now South Dakota, he returned to Sioux Falls, in May, 1881, driving through from Valley Springs, where the railway train had been com- pelled to stop, by reason of the damage done to the roadbed by heavy storms. He finally reached his destination, having been compelled to ford numerous swollen streams and to encounter other annoying obstacles. Upon his arrival he entered the employ of Frank Kunerth, a prominent gen- eral merchant of Sioux Falls and one who stands high in Masonic circles. In December, 1881, Mr. Schneider engaged in business on his own respon- sibility, entering into partnership with P. L. Run- kel, and coming to Salem. Here they erected a store building and on the 27th of the following March formally opened the same for business, having a stock of general merchandise. The en- terprise prospered and in June, 1889, Mr. Schneider purchased his partner's interest and soon afterward admitted his brother Henry to partnership, while in 1890 his brother Joseph also became a member of the firm. On the 2d of March, 1899, to meet the exigencies of the con- stantly increasing business, the firm was incor- porated as the Schneider Brothers' Company, 1in- der which title the business has since been con- tintted, the esablishment of the company being one of the best equipped department stores in this section of the state and commanding a large and widely extended trade throughout the stir- rounding country. In addition to a full and select line of general merchandise the company also conduct an extensive trade in the handling of farming implements and machinery, this depart- ment having been an adjunct of the business since 1882, while in the connection it may be noted that our subject sold the first binder ever sold in the county. In 1892 Mr. Schneider was prom- inently concerned in the organization of the McCook State Bank, of Salem, of which he was chosen president, retaining this office until 1897, when he disposed of his interest in the institution. In 1895, in company with his two brothers, he purchased the Salem flonring mill, and in 1892 they established in connection with the same a modern heating and electric-lighting plant, sup- plying public facilities in these lines, and at that

time they effected the organization of a stock company, known as the Salem Milling, Lighting and Heating Company, under which corporate title the enterprise has since been successfully conducted. Since its organization Mr. Schneider has served as its president.

Since 1896 Mr. Schneider has been aligned with the Republican party, while prior to that time he was a sound-money Democrat. In 1806 he was persuaded to accept the nomination of the Republican party for state senator from his dis- trict, but met defeat in the Democratic landslide which prevailed in this section in that campaign. In 1888 he was chairman of the Democratic cen- tral committee of his county, and later served as councilman and mayor of Salem. He and his wife are members of the Presbyterian church. He is a prominent and valued member of the Masonic fraternity in the state, and was a mem- ber of the building commitce which had the st- pervision of the erection of the fine Masonic tem- ple in Yankton, being also a member of the board of trustees, as is he at the present time. His Ma- sonic affiliations are briefly noted as follows : For- titude Lodge, No. 73, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons ; Chapter No. 34, Royal Arch Masons ; Constantine Commandery, No. 2, Knights Tem- plar ; Oriental Consistory, No. 1, Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite, in which he has attained the thirty-second degree ; and El Riad Temple, Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mys- tic Shrine. He also holds membership in Salem Lodge, No. 106, Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows; the Knights of the Maccabees and the Ancient Order of United Workmen.

On the 28th of August, 1883. Mr. Schneider was united in marriage to Miss Emma Jehlen. of La Crosse, Wisconsin, and they have one child, Mae.

WESLEY DOUGLASS, engaged in the drug business in Menno, is a native of the prov- ince of Ontario, Canada, where he was born on the 30th of January, 1851, being a son of Robert and Jane (McGill) Douglass, of whose nine children only four are now living, namely : Alex-

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ander, who is engaged in the real-estate busi- ness in Winnipeg, Canada; Elizabeth, who is the widow of John Sproat and resides in Ontario, Canada; John, who is a physician in the city of Chicago; and Wesley, who is the subject of this review. Robert Douglass was born in the state of New York, where he was reared on a farm, and as a young man he removed to the province of Ontario, Canada, where the later years of his life were passed in agricultural pursuits, his death there occurring in 1888, at the age of eighty-four years. He was a man of strong individuality and well-fortified opinions, and loyal to his native land. He was a zealous advo- cate of the principles of the Whig party and an advocate of reform measures in the land of his adoption, while his religious faith was that of the Wesleyan Methodist church. He was of stanch old Scottish ancestry, his grandfather having come to the United States from Scotland during the war of the Revolution, arriving about the time of the historic "Boston tea party." The mother of the subject died in 1895, aged eighty- seven years.

Wesley Douglass received his educational training in the common schools of his native province, remaining at the parental home dur- ing the major portion of the time until he had attained the age of twenty years, prior to which he had been employed for a time in a drug store and in the office of his brother Robert, who was then engaged in the practice of medicine in Canada. In 1871, at the age noted, our subject came over "into the states," making his way to Kansas where he remained about two years, hav- ing been engaged in teaching school and in working in the office of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad. He then returned to Canada, where he tarried one year, operating for the Grand Trunk Railroad, and in the spring of 1874 he became numbered among the pioneers of what is now the state of South Dakota, com- ing to Hutchinson county and entering home- stead and timber claims a few miles northwest of the present town of Scotland. He resided on his farm about four years, in the meanwhile doing some freighting to the. Black Hills and

teaching school during the winter terms for two years. In the fall of 1878 Mr. Douglass was elected sheriff of Hutchinson county, being chosen as his own successor in 1880, and thus serving four consecutive years. After the ex- piration of his second term he removed to the village of Scotland, where he was employed dur- ing the ensuing year as operator in the telegraph office of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad. In January, 1884, he came to Menno, where he has since resided. Shortly after locat- ing here he established himself in the drug busi- ness, being one of the pioneer merchants of the town, and this enterprise he has since success- fully conducted, having a representative patron- age. He is a Democrat in his political allegiance, and fraternally is a member of Scotland Lodge, No. 53, Free and Accepted Masons.

On the 3d of February, 1878, Mr. Douglass was united in marriage to Mrs. Caroline (Church) Johnson, who was born in Ontario, Canada. She had one child by her first marriage, Minnie, who is the wife of E. J. Swanton, of Menno, and of the second union have been born two children, Agnes J. and Gerald R., both at the parental home.

ALBERT C. BIERNATZKI, a prominent and successful member of the bar of McCook county, being actively engaged in the practice of his profession in Salem, was born in Webster City, Iowa, on the 3d of December, 1860, being a son of Charles and Margaret (Noland) Bier- natzki, the former of whom was born in Poland and the latter in Ireland. The father of our subject was reared to maturity in his native land, and secured his educational training in the mili- tary academy in St. Petersburg. He was there- after commissioned a colonel in the Russian army. but as his mother was strenuously opposed to his continuing in the military service he resigned his office and was appointed a member of the government engineering corps, with the rank of colonel. He became involved in the revolution of 1847, manifesting that distinctive loyalty which was one of his dominating characteristics, and

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his patriotism placed his life in jeopardy, so that in that year he left his native land and came to America, locating in Oswego, New York, where he became identified with the shipping trade, owning and operating two or more vessels. In 1857 he removed to Webster City, Iowa, where he engaged in farming and live-stock enterprises, becoming one of the prominent and influential citizens of that section and being signally pros- pered in his business operations. He died in 1899, at the venerable age of eighty-two years, honored by all who knew him and recognized as a man of fine intellectuality and sterling charac- ter. He was a stanch Republican, and while never ambitious for office he was an influential factor in the councils of his party. His wife is still living.

Albert C. Biernatzki secured his early educa- tional discipline in the public schools of his native place and then entered the University of Des Moines, Iowa, where he continued his studies for two years, while in 1881 he was matriculated in the Iowa State University, at Iowa City, where he had simultaneously prosecuted a technical course in the law department of the university, in which he was graduated in 1884, with the degree of Bachelor of Laws. In March of the following year he took up his residence in Salem, South Dakota, being one of the early members of the bar of the county, and here he has ever since been established in the active practice of his profession, having built up an excellent business and retaining a representative clientage, while he has high standing at the bar of the state. He continued to be a close and appreciative student, and is considered one of the best read lawyers in this section. He is a stalwart advocate of the principles and policies of the Republcan party. in whose cause he has been an effective worker, and he served as county judge from 1889 until 1903, with the exception of one term, his rulings being signally impartial, indicating not only the possession of an intrinsically judical mind but also a wide and intimate knowledge of the science of jurisprudence. The Judge is a member of Fortitude Lodge, No. 72, Free and Accepted Masons : Salem Chapter, No. 34. Royal Arch

Masons; Constantine Cominandery, No. 17, Knights Templar, and El Riad Temple of the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mys- tic Shrine, at Sioux Falls.

On the 7th of June, 1887, was solemnized the marriage of Judge Biernatzki to Miss Emma Sib- ley, of State Center, Iowa, and they are the par- ents of one son and two daughters, Charles, Mar- garet and Helen.

GEORGE E. MASTERS, one of the prom- inent business men and honored citizens of Spen- cer, McCook county, was born in Steuben county, New York, February 26, 1853, a son of Sam- tel and Margaret (Farrington) Masters, of whose four children we incorporate the following brief data: Augusta A. is the wife of C. P. Sherwood, state dairy commissioner of South Dakota, and they reside in DeSmet ; Jesse F. B. is likewise a resident of that place: Genevieve is the wife of W. G. Renwick, auditor for the zinc syndicate and a resident of the city of Chi- cago; and George E. is the subject of this review. Samuel Masters was born in New Jersey, in 1822, and when a child accompanied his parents on their removal to Steuben county, New York, where he was reared to the sturdy discipline of the farm, demical education, in Ithaca, New York. being given the advantages of an aca- There he completed a course in civil en- gineering. and in later years he found his services as a surveyor in much requisition, in connection with his agricultural operations. In 1878 he removed with his family to Minne- sota, and three years later came to South Da- kota, locating in Kingsbury county, where he took up a quarter section of government land. He rendered efficient service as county surveyor for a number of years and was one of the influ- ential citizens of his section. He was a Demo- crat in politics and was a man of impregnable integrity and marked mentality. While a resi- dent of Steuben county, New York, he held the office of superintendent of schools for several years, having also been a successful teacher and prominent in educational work. He died in 1893,

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History of South Dakota, Vol. II, Part 25

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