History of South Dakota, Vol. II, Part 51

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 51

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Mr: Kuhns is one of the leading Republicans of Lincoln county, and has taken a prominent part, not only in local affairs, butt in state politics as well. From 1891 to 1893 inclusive he was clerk of the lower house and in 1895 was chosen as representative, discharging the duties of the office in an able and satisfactory manner and proving under all circumstances faithful to his party and loyal to the best interests of the public.

He was again, in 1897, elected to represent his county in the legislature. He is a charter mem- ber of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows lodge at Worthing, and has held nearly every position within the power of the organization to bestow and is also identified with the insurance society known as Woodmen of the World, which holds its meetings at the same place.

Mr. Kuhns spent about two years in Colo- rado and in January, 1882, was married at Grundy Center, Iowa, to Miss Bell Robinson, a native of Mt. Carrol, Illinois, and for a number of years a successful teacher in the public schools. To Mr. and Mrs. Kuhns eight chil- dren have been born, viz: Nellie, a student of Canton College, South Dakota; Frank, who was educated at St. Augustine College, served as postmaster of the lower house of the legislature in 1902-3, and is now manager of the home farm; the other members of the family are Joseph, Edith, Mae, Charles, Lloyd and Forrest, all at home. Mr. Kuthns is a friend of education and has given his children every advantage in this direction obtainable, be- sides taking a prominent part in promoting the efficiency of the schools of Worthing and Lin- coln county. He is a man of strong mentality. decided in his purposes, determined in carrying out any undertaking to which he addresses him- self, and it is a compliment worthily bestowed to class him with the intelligent, broad-minded and progressive citizens of the state in which he has chosen his permanent place of abode.

PATRICK HEALEY comes of stanch Irish lineage on the paternal side, while the maternal ancestry was of Scottish extraction. He was born in the province of Ontario, Cornwall, . Canada, in the year 1838, being a son of Edward and Mary (McDougall) Healey, of whose nine children two are living at the present time. When our subject was a mere child his father met his death in a blizzard on the St. Lawrence river, and this threw the care of the family tipon the shoulders of the widowed mother, who sur- vived him by many years, her death occurring in

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1862, at the age of sixty years. When the sub- ject of this review was a lad of ten years his mother removed with her children to the city of Chicago, Illinois, which was at that time scarcely more than a village, and as cach of the boys necessarily found it his duty to contribute to the support of the family, it is needless to say that Patrick received rather limited educational ad- vantages in his youth. In 1861, when the in- tegrity of the Union was thrown into jeopardy by armed rebellion, he showed his intrinsic loyalty by tendering his services in its defense, enlisting as a private in Company K, Twenty- third Illinois Volunteer Infantry, which pro- ceeded to Missouri, our subject being taken pris- oner by the Confederate forces near Lexington, that state. He was later released upon parole, upon the expiration of which he re-enlisted, be- coming a member of Company K. Illinois Vol- unteer Infantry, the command going into the Shenandoah valley of Virginia, where it served under General Sigel and General Sheridan. In 1864 the regiment was sent to Richmond, Vir- ginia, the Confederate capital, and Mr. Healey was still in active service at the time of Lee's surrender. He received his honorable discharge in July, 1865, having served during practically the entire period of the war and having taken part in many spirited engagements, including some of the most notable battles incident to the progress of the great fratracidal conflict. He was discharged in Richmond and then returned to Illinois. There, in 1869, was solemnized his marriage to Miss Bridget Lamb, who was born in County Mayo, Ireland, and of this union have been born six children, all of whom are living, namely : John, Edward, Joseph, Maggie, Julia and Mamie.

In 1881 Mr. Healey came to Brule county, where he took up a homestead claim of one hun- dred and sixty acres, and on the same he has ever since resided, having developed the farm into one of the valuable properties of the county and being held in high esteem in the community in which he has so long made his home. In politics he is a stanch Republican and his re- ligious faith is that of the Catholic church, of

which both he and his wife are members, while fraternally he is a comrade of Kinzie Post, No. 34, Grand Army of the Republic, at Chamberlain, which is his postoffice address, his farm being located one mile distant.

THOMAS J. GRIER .- The vast mineral wealth in the Black Hills of South Dakota has made that region noted far and wide, and the great mining industry which has here been pros- ecuted with such signal success has given the locality a representation second to that of no other mining district in the world. The foun- dation of this reputation is due to the extensive and successful operations of the celebrated Home- stake Mining Company, which for many years has poured forth its stream of riches with the regularity of a never-failing spring, the supply of gold at this time being apparently as inexhaus- tible as when the vast treasure was first discov- ered. The business management of the Home- stake, which has for more than a generation never failed to declare a liberal dividend, creates admiration among miners and mining experts everywhere and leads to the belief that those having the undertaking in hand possess not only wide experience in their special lines of endeavor, but are also men of intelligence and mature prac- tical judgment. The man who has been respon- sible for the uniform advancement and to whom more than to any other is due the high reputation and wide prestige the mine enjoys is Thomas J. Grier, the present efficient superintendent, a man not only thoroughly familiar with every detail of the mining industry, but the possessor of busi- ness tact and executive ability of a high order, as his nearly twenty-eight years of successful man- agement abundantly attest.

Thomas Johnston Grier is a native of Canada and dates his birth from May 18, 1850, having first seen the light of day at Pakenham, in the province of Ontario. His father, James Grier, born and reared in Ireland, and for many years a successful mechanic and manufacturer of car- riages in the town of Iroquois, Ontario, was a man of much more than ordinary natural and

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acquired intelligence and was to a large degree a moulder of opinion in his community and a leader in its public affairs. He possessed a strong character and spotless integrity, and for a period of twenty-six years served as postmaster of Iro- quois, during which time he earned the reputa- tion of an able, faithful and obliging official. His wife, who before her marriage bore the name of Eliza Patterson, was of Canadian birth and, like him, spent nearly all her life in the province of Ontario. Thomas Johnston Grier spent his childhood and youthful years in Iroquois and after completing the lower branches of study in the schools of that town, finished his education by taking a high-school course. His first prac- tical experience was as a clerk under his father in the postoffice, and while holding this position he devoted his leisure time to the study of teleg- raphy, subsequently resigning his place to enter the employ of a telegraph company in the city of Montreal. After remaining some time in that place, and becoming an experienced operator, he took employment in the Western Union Com- pany's office at Corinne, Utah, and later rose to the position of chief operator with that com- pany at Salt Lake City. Severing his connection with the telegraph service, Mr. Grier, in 1878. entered the employ of the Homestake Mining Company, at Lead, Dakota territory, as head bookkeeper, the duties of which position he dis- charged in an eminently satisfactory manner until 1884. when he was promoted to the superintend- ency of the company's mines in the Black Hills. which responsible position he has since held. The career of Mr. Grier since taking charge of the position he now so ably fills has been a dis- tinguished one, as the marked ability displayed in the management of such a large and important enterprise sufficiently attests. His superior judg- ment is apparent in the manner in which he has conducted the affairs of the company, from the selection of the heads of the various departments down to the most minute detail of the business. He has been exceedingly critical in choosing men for the various posts, selecting and installing only those capable of performing successfully the duties assigned to them, being quick to rec-

ognize ability, prompt to reward the same, and making merit alone the stepping stone to ad- vancement. At times he has had charge of as high as twenty-five hundred workmen, between whom and himself the most amiable relations al- ways existed, and this too at a period when the industrial world was in a state of almost con- stant agitation, growing out of a failure of em- ployer and employe to understand and appreciate the mutual relations of their respective interests.

In addition to his official connection with the Homestake Mining Company, Mr. Grier is identi- fied with various other business enterprises, being president of the First National Bank of Lead City, and vice-president of the First National at Deadwood. He is an able and far-seeing finan- cier, with a practical and comprehensive knowl- edge of all questions relating to banking, and to his correct business methods and safe. conserva- tive management the monetary institutions with which he is connected are indebted for a large measure of their prosperity and for the high rep- utation they now sustain among the leading banks of South Dakota. Mr. Grier is greatly interested in the growth and development of his adopted state, and to the extent of his ability encourages every means to these ends. He is a man of strong intellectuality, broad human sympathies. and imbued with fine sensibilities and clearly de- fined principles, has made his presence felt wher- ever his lot has been cast and in whatever capac- ity his abilities have been exercised.

Mr. Grier is an active member of the Masonic order and the Episcopal church represents his religious creed. He was married on August 8. 1896, to Miss Mary Jane Palethorpe, of Glasgow, Scotland, and the fruits of which union are four children, Thomas Johnston, Jr., Evan- geline Victoria, Lisgar Patterson and Ormonde Palethorpe.

HENRY H. HEATH is a native of the state of Illinois, having been born on the homestead farm, in McHenry county, on the 18th of April, 1846, and being a son of Watson R. and Mary (Thompson) Heath, of whose eight children

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four are yet living, the subject having been the seventh in order of birth. Back to that cradle of much of our national history, the Old Domin- ion state, must we turn in tracing the genealogy of Mr. Heath in the agnatic line. The original American progenitors emigrated hither from England and took up their abode in Virginia prior to the war of the Revolution, the name becoming one of prominence in that famous old commonwealth, while members of the family were active participants in both the war for inde- pendence and that of 1812. The name has ever stood for loyalty and unqualified patriotism, and in the connection it may be consistently noted that four older brothers were in the Union army of 1861-5. Wesley A. being the elder. The lat- ter also did effective service in the Indian war- fare in the great northwest in the early days, having been an adjutant of the Sixth Iowa Cav- alry, and aide on the staff of General Sully in his last expedition through Dakota and having par- ticipated in the battle of the Bad Lands and in numerous other engagements with the wily abo- rigines.

The subject was reared to the sturdy disci- pline of the farm, and after completing the cur- riculum of the district schools of his native county, he took a three-years course in the high school at Belvidere. Illinois. He then entered Eastman's Commercial College, in the city of Chicago, where he completed a thorough busi- ness course. In 1869 Mr. Heath went to Califor- nia, where he remained about one year, and in 1871 he removed to western Iowa, where he was successfully engaged in agricultural pursuits until 1882, when he disposed of his interests in that state and came to Sanborn county, South Da- kota, taking up a homestead claim of one hun- dred and sixty acres, in Afton township, and here continuing to give his time and attention to the great basic art of agriculture, while he added to his landed estate from time to time until he became the owner of a finely improved farm of three hundred and twenty acres, which he sold in October, 1902. He continued to re- side on this homestead until the spring of 1903, when he removed to the village of Artesian, where

he established himself in the real-estate business, having the best of facilities and having already built up a large and profitable business, his suc- cess being due to his energy and good judgment and to the fact that he commands unqualified popular confidence and esteem.

Mr. Heath has taken an active part in polit- ical affairs from the time of coming to the county, and is known as a public-spirited citizen and as a man of broad intellectual grasp. In the autumn of 1898 he was elected to represent his district in the state legislature, making an enviable record and being chosen as his own successor in the election of 1900. He was assigned to member- ship on a number of important committees and was a valuable working member of the house during the two terms of service. He was con- cerned in the organization of Sanborn county, and has been prominent in its public and civic life during the intervening years, while he has been a delegate to the various conventions of his party in the county and state. Fraternally he is identified with the Ancient Order of United Workmen.

In Lawrence, Illinois, on the 30th of October. 1884, Mr. Heath was united in marriage to Miss Alina E. Anderson, who was born and reared in Lawrence, being a daughter of J. Lee and Lydia (Thompson) Anderson, the former of whom was a bee man by vocation. Mr. and Mrs. Heath have two children, namely: Harrie H .. who was born on the 3Ist of May, 1889, and Helen, who was born on the 14th of September. 1899.

GEORGE C. BRIGGS, who is presiding withr marked ability and distinction as judge of the court of Hand county, is a native of the old Granite state, having been born in Hinsdale, Cheshire county, New Hampshire, on the 15th of June, 1857, and being a son of Erastus and Sylvia (Chamberlain) Briggs, both represent- atives of old and honored families of New Eng- land, where was cradled so much of our national history. The father of the subject was a clergy- man of the Baptist church, and was born in

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Michigan, whither his parents emigrated from New England, while his devoted wife was a na- tive of New Hampshire.

Judge Briggs received his elementary edu- cation in the common schools of Vermont, and later continued his studies in Powers Institute, at Bernardston, Massachusetts, and the Kimball Union Academy, at Meriden, New Hampshire, in which latter institution he was graduated as a member of the class of 1877. He then began reading law in the office of his uncle, Benjamin F. Briggs, one of the leading members of the bar of the city of Boston, and completed his technical studies under the preceptorship of Hosea W. Brigham, of Whitingham, Vermont, being duly admitted to the bar of the old Green Moun- tain state in the year 1880. He was thereafter engaged in the practice of his profession at Whitingham, that state, for one year, and in August, 1883, he removed to Cropsey, McLean county, Illinois, where he was engaged in teach- ing in the public schools until April, 1884, when he came to Miller, South Dakota, where he has ever since been identified with the active work of his profession. He is thoroughly grounded in the science of jurisprudence and has marked fa- cility in the proper application of his knowledge in the handling of cases coming before him. The Judge is a man of positive character and has never lacked the courage of his convictions, while his personality is such as to command to him the respect of even those who differ with him or even resent his adjudications of litigations in which they are involved. In politics he is a stalwart ad- vocate of the principles and policies of the Repub- lican party and has ever taken an active interest in public affairs. In 1898 he was elected county judge, and was chosen as his own successor in 1900 and again in 1902, so that he is now serving his third consecutive term on the bench, a fact which indicates the proper estimate placed upon his services. He also served for several years as justice of the peace and held other local offices. He and his wife are prominent and valued mem- bers of the Baptist church, and fraternally he is identified with the Masonic order and the Ancient Order of United Workmen.

On the 29th of September, 1886, Judge Briggs was united in marriage to Miss Gertrude S. Sher- man, who was born and reared in Dover, Wind- ham county, Vermont, being a daughter of Edwin F. and Sophia (Menifield) Sherman.

MORGAN E. JONES, one of the honored pioneers of Cambria township, Brown county, is a native of Wales, though he has passed prac- tically his entire life in the United States. He was born on the 5th of August, 1841, being a son of Evan and Mary (Jones) Jones, who immi- grated to America when he was two years of age, locating in La Crosse county, Wisconsin, where his father engaged in agricultural pursuits, being one of the pioneers of the Badger state, where both he and his noble wife passed the remainder of their lives. They became the parents of five children, of whom four are living at the present time.

The subject of this sketch was reared to ma- turity on the homestead farm, having the expe- rience common to the farmer boys of that pio- neer epoch in Wisconsin and early beginning to aid in the work of clearing the land and assist in its cultivation, while his educational advan- tages were such as were afforded in the common schools of the locality and period. He continued to reside on the old homestead for more than thirty years, having become the owner of the property, and in 1881 he disposed of his inter- ests there and came to Brown county, South Dakota, arriving here in the spring of that year and taking up a homestead claim in section 33. Cambria township, which is his present farm. He has made the best of improvements on his place and the same is one of the model farms of the county. He also bought a relinquishment on a tree claim, which he has within the past few years given to his son Frank, while he later hought another quarter section, in the same township, which he presented to his son John, so that he is favored in having the members of his family in close proximity to the old home- stead, since his two married daughters also are located not far distant.

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Mr. Jones was reared in the faith of the Re- publican party and gave his support to the same until the presidential campaign of 1896, when he showed the courage of his convictions and voted for Bryan for president. He has served for many years as a member of the school board of his district, and has been a member of the board of township trustees from practically the time of its organization until the present, a fact which indicates the high estimation in which he is held in the community. He was reared in the Congregational church, but he and his wife are now members of the Welsh Calvanistic Meth- odist church at Plana.

In La Crosse county, Wisconsin, on the 25th of December. 1866. Mr. Jones was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Protheroe, who like- wise was born in Wales, whence she accompa- nied her parents to America in early childhood. Mr. and Mrs. Jones have six children namely : Abbie, who is the wife of Earl B. Holmes, a suc- cessful farmer in this township; Frank, who married Miss Maggie Jones, is engaged in farming in the same township, as is also John, who married Anna Owens; Morgan re- mains on the homestead farm ; Mary Elizabeth is the wife of Edward L. William, of this township : and Charles remains beneath the parental roof.

ROBERT D. ROBERTS, a native of Wales, was born on April 24, 1840, but when a child of about six or seven years of age was brought to the United States and grew to maturity in Co- lumbia county, Wisconsin. He attended the public schools at intervals during his minority, was reared on a farm and early profited by the wholesome discipline and rugged usages of out- door labor, such a mode of living being conducive to strong physical growth, and the symmetrical development of mental and moral attributes. In- heriting a natural liking for agriculture, he de- cided to devote his life to the tilling of the soil, accordingly he began the same on starting out to make his own way, and followed it in Wisconsin until the year 1879. Disposing of his interests in the above state at that time, Mr. Roberts

changed his abode to Castleton, North Dakota, but after spending the ensuing three years there, came to Brown county, South Dakota, and in 1882 took up a pre-emption claim of three hun- dred and twenty acres, near the site of Plana, which he still owns. Three years later he moved to his present home, four miles north of the town, where he owns a fine tract of eight hundred acres, the greater part under a high state of cultivation, and on which are to be seen some of the best improvements in the county. As a farmer Mr. Roberts is easily the peer of any of his fellow citizens thus engaged, being practical in his work and management, progressive in the matter of cultivation and making a close and careful study of agricultural science. His specialty is grain, in the raising of which he has achieved an enviable reputation. He devotes from seven hundred to eight hundred acres of his land to wheat alone, and harvests as high as nine thou- sand five hundred bushels per year, besides rais- ing large quantities of oats, corn and vegetables, for all of which he receives good prices. He is also largely interested in live stock, which in- dustry he prosecutes with encouraging financial results, devoting especial attention to fine graded cattle, in addition to which he breeds and raises a large number of horses and hogs, realizing from his animals a handsome and steadily increasing income. Mr. Roberts possesses sound judgment and fine business ability and understands how to take advantage of circumstances and to mold conditions to suit his purposes. Energetic and far-seeing, he does things on a large scale and is not satisfied with any but the best results. His labors have been wisely di- rected, his affairs economically administered, and the success with which his efforts have been crowned bear evidence to his resourcefulness and masterly management, and show him to be a man of much more than ordinary acumen and fore- thought. A staunch, uncompromising Republican and an influential party worker, Mr. Roberts has never entered the domain of politics as an aspir- ant for office, having no time to spare from his business affairs to seek public honors at the hands of his fellow citizens. He has been a delegate to a

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number of conventions, however, and labors earnestly for the success of his party's candidates. but is by no means narrow in his views, being liberal in discussing the issues of the day, although firm and unyielding in the support of what he considers right and for the best interests of the people. As a citizen he is broad-minded and intelligent, and with commendable public- spirit, encourages all enterprises for the advance- ment of his adopted state, discharging his every duty in an unselfish and praiseworthy manner, and making his life conform as nearly as possible to the progressive, American spirit of the times.

Mr. Roberts married, in Wisconsin, Miss Catherine Rowlands, whose family, like his own, came from Wales, and settled in Columbia county, that state, a number of years ago. After a happy wedded experience of eight years' duration, Mrs. Roberts departed this life in 1889, leaving two sons, John and Rees, both at home. The former, after completing the public-school course, was graduated in 1903 from the Archibald Business College, and at this time assists his father in the latter's business affairs, being a young man of intelligence, an accomplished accountant and well calculated to manage the important interests con- fided to him. The younger son is also well edu- cated and, possessing native ability of a high or- der and an aptitude for business, will no doubt develop into a useful man and a praiseworthy citizen, an honor to his family and a credit to the community in which he was born and reared.

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History of South Dakota, Vol. II, Part 51

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