History of South Dakota, Vol. II, Part 53

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

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the official chairs in the same and been a delegate to the grand lodge of the state.

In Pope county, Minnesota, on the 24th of May, 1878, Mr. Rice was united in marriage to Miss Jennie Higginson, who was born in Water- town, Sanilac county, Michigan, whence she ac- companied her parents on their removal to Min- nesota when a young lady of nineteen years. She is a daughter of George and Jennie Higginson, both of whom are now deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Rice have no children.

JOHN S. HART .- Among the leading com- mercial enterprises represented in the thriving city of Aberdeen is that conducted under the title of the J. S. Hart Lumber Company, and of this important concern, which operates a chain of several retail lumber yards throughout the state, the subject of this sketch is the executive head, while he is known as one of the representative business men of Aberdeen, in which city he has made his home and headquarters since 1898. In 1898 Mr. Hart engaged in the retail lumber busi- ness in Aberdeen, and the enterprise so rapidly increased in scope and importance that in 1900 it was found expedient to increase its facilities, and Mr. Hart then associated himself with George H. Hollandsworth, of Sioux City, Iowa, and effected the incorporation of the business under the present title, while the company is capitalized for one hundred thousand dollars. Since the incorporation retail yards have also been established in Ipswich, Faulkton, Mellette, Warner, James, Columbia, Houghton and Plana, while the main offices of the company are in Aberdeen. It is scarcely needless to state that full and complete lines of lumber and builders' material are kept in stock at all times and in each of the several yards, while the concern has grown to be one of the largest and most impor- tant of the sort in the state. The company gives employment to a corps of about twenty-five men and the business is conducted with that pro- gressive and alert spirit so characteristic of the west.

John S. Hart, who has been mainly instru-

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mental in the building up of this enterprise, is a native of the state of Iowa, having been born in Clinton county, on the 10th of December, 1863, and having passed his boyhood days on the farm, while his educational training was secured in the public schools of his native state. He is a son of H. A. and Mary Jane Hart, the former of whom was born in the state of Ohio and the latter in Indiana. In early days the father was a trader on the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. He removed to Iowa in 1847, purchasing a large tract of land near Camanche, in Clinton county. He then returned to Indiana, but in 1859 he came back to Iowa and built on his land, at the same time building a flouring mill, which he operated for several years, carrying on farming operations at the same time on a large scale. He raised a fam- ily of four sons and four daughters, of whom seven are still living. He died in 1885, aged seventy-seven years. His widow survived until 1902, when she died, aged seventy-three years.

In his political proclivities, though never ambi- tious for any official preferment, Mr. Hart is a Democrat, and fraternally he has attained the thirty-second degree in the Masonic order, hav- ing completed the round of the York and Scot- tish rites so far as conferring of degrees in America is possible. He is an enthusiastic sports- man and finds recreation afield and afloat during his vacations, while he is one of the prominent and popular members of the Aberdeen Gun Club.

At Charter Oak, Iowa, on the 12th of August, 1889, Mr. Hart was united in marriage to Miss Celia M. Marshall, who was born and reared in that state, being a daughter of Clark T. and Dora Marshall. Of this union have been born three children, Harry, Maud and Cloe M.

CALVIN MARCELLUS GIDDINGS sprang from pioneer stock, his father, Jabez Giddings, a native of New York, having been one of the first settlers of Stevenson county, Illinois, moving to that state before the land was surveyed, and living for some time as a squatter. Calvin M. Giddings was born in Lena, Illinois, January 10. 1859, and until his sixteenth year

remained on the home farm, assisting with the varied duties of the same. At that age his father gave him his time, after which he worked as a farm laborer in the neighborhood until the fol- lowing fall, when he went to Mason City, Iowa, making the trip on horseback. He remained about three years at that place, devoting two years of the time to farm work, and in the fall of 1875, with a young man of his acquaintance, went to Texas, with the object in view of engaging in the live-stock business. On arriving at his des- tination, however, he changed his mind, and in- stead of investing in cattle, decided to become a cotton planter. He raised two crops of cotton, but the conditions not being favorable, neither proved profitable, but on the contrary resulted in the loss of nearly all his capital. Somewhat dis- couraged by his ill success, he shook the dust of Texas from his shoes and in the fall of 1879 re- turned to Iowa, bringing with him six horses. which represented all that he had saved from his experience in cotton culture. After spending the fall and winter of the above year in Iowa, he started the following spring for Dakota, shipping his horses to Milbank, which place he reached in due time and from which he drove the animals through to Brown county. On June 21, 1880, he entered a tract of land at the land office in Water- town, his claim being one of the first taken in Aberdeen township. Moving on his claim in the spring of 1881, he at once began developing his land, one of his first improvements being a small board dwelling, the only house of the kind within a radius of several miles. He hauled his lumber from Watertown, one hundred miles distant. Mr. Giddings was the second permanent settler in Aberdeen township, the first having been a man by the name of Britzius.

In the spring of 1881 Mr. Giddings moved to his place and on July 31st, of the same year, took to himself a wife and helpmeet in the person of Miss Harriet Bland, who with her brother, Charles Bland, came to South Dakota, in May, 1879. both entering land in Brown county. Mrs. Giddings is a native of England and came direct from that country to South Dakota, and in due time proved up on her claim, receiving a deed

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for the same from the government. Her brother improved a fine farm, and after making it his home for a period of twenty years, emigrated to Oregon, where he now resides. The marriage of Mr. Giddings and Miss Bland was the first event of the kind solemnized in the county of Brown. Shortly after it took place the happy couple moved to the bride's place. Since com- ing west Mr. Giddings has purchased land in various parts of the country, owning at this time in Brown county alone over two thousand acres, the greater part of which has been brought to a high state of cultivation. He gives special at- tention to farming, which he has made quite suc- cessful, his wheat crop for a number of years past averaging fifteen thousand bushels a year, in ad- dition to which he also realizes returns from the sale of live stock, much of his land being well adapted to cattle raising.

Mr. Giddings has bought and sold a great deal of real estate since coming to Dakota, has broken thousands of acres of virgin prairie, and made many fortunate investments, being now not only one of the largest land owners in Brown county, but also one of its most enterprising farmers and well-to-do men. He has traveled extensively over the western states and territories, from Texas to California, visiting many points of in- terest, made a trip to the Hawaian islands ; be- sides traversing all parts of South Dakota, com- paring the relative merits of the different locali- ties. Among them he prefers the county in which lie now lives and, having been remarkably for- tunate in all of his business affairs, here purposes to make it his permanent place of abode.

As a farmer Mr. Giddings is energetic and exercises sound judgment in the matter of tillage. He is systematic in his plans, uses the best mod- ern machinery and implements and never fails to realize large returns from the time and labor expended on his fields, his wheat for a number of years, averaging forty bushels to the acre, and oats often running as high as one hundred and ten. He raises the finest grades of cattle and hogs, and, though paying less attention to live stock than to agriculture, no little share of his income is derived from the latter source. In

politics Mr. Giddings is not a partisan, but sup- ports the party which best represents his prin- ciples, though of recent years he has given sup- port to the Prohibition party, being strictly a tem- perate man with a strong antipathy for the liquor traffic. Fraternally he belongs to the Modern Woodmen of America and religiously attends the Methodist church, of which body his wife is a faitlıful member.

Mr. and Mrs. Giddings are the parents of five children, namely : William J., Leander J., Luther E., Horace B. and Paul C. Mr. Giddings is a friend of higher education, and has done much to promote the interests of the same in the county of his residence. He has given his children the best advantages in this direction obtainable, the three oldest being graduates of first-class edu- cational institutions, while the other two are now pursuing their studies under favorable auspices.

WILLIAM HENRY MORGAN, attorney- at-law and one of the leading members of the South Dakota bar, was born in South Elgin, Illinois, on June 23, 1851. His father is Manly S. Morgan, one of the leading pioneers of Illi- nois, who in early life was a mechanic, but for many years has been an extensive horticulturist and grower of products for early market, own- ing large forcing plants. William Henry spent the years of his childhood and youth in his na- tive town, and after receiving his elementary edu- cation entered Wheaton College, from which in- stitution he was graduated in 1878. Later be began the study of law and subsequently became a student of the Union Law College, Chicago. where he was graduated and in 1887 was ad- mitted to the bar. Meantime, 1882, Mr. Mor- gan came to South Dakota, and took up a home- stead near Westport, Brown county, after which he returned to Illinois and completed his legal education as noted above. Returning to Dakota in 1889, he opened an office in Aberdeen, where he has since devoted his attention almost ex- clusively to a general practice, and meeting with success. Mr. Morgan served one term as probate judge, aside from which he has held no official

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position. He has taken an active interest in public affairs since coming west, and was an in- fluential leader in the reform movement, which sent Hon. J. H. Kyle to the legislature, and later to the United States senate. He still manifests a lively regard for whatever concerns the wel- fare of his city, county and state, and as a public- spirited citizen, gives an earnest support to any and all measures making for these and other laud- able ends.

Mr. Morgan was married at Wheaton, Illinois, June 23, 1880, to Miss Minnie Weamer, step- daughter of Rev. Dr. James B. Walker, a dis- tinguished divine of that state and the author of several. popular and scholarly works, one of which, "The Philosophy of the Plan of Salvation," has been translated into several of the leading languages of the world, as well as many dialects. Mr. and Mrs. Morgan have no children of their own, but some years ago they opened their home to a lad by the name of Charles Walker, whom they reared from boyhood to manhood.

Religiously Mr. Morgan is a Congregation- alist, as is also his wife, both being members of the church in Aberdeen. Fraternally he is iden- tified with the Modern Brotherhood of America and politically, he is a Democrat.

FRANK F. THOMPSON was born in Brown county, Wisconsin, on the 5th of Novem- ber, 1856, being a son of Franklin and Lydia (Putnam) Thompson. He passed his youthful days in Illinois and Michigan, and completed the curriculum of the public schools in the latter state, being graduated in the high school of the city of Grand Rapids as a member of the class of 1874. His father was for a half century engaged in the hotel business, and our subject early became actively associated with him in the conduct of the same. He thus gained a most excellent training for this line of enterprise and finally en- gaged in the same on his own responsibility, hav- ing conducted a hotel at Morley, Michigan, for several years, and coming to Claremont, Brown county, South Dakota, in 1883, and took up a homestead claim of one hundred and sixty acres

of government land and followed farming for about six years. He then engaged in the hotel business in Claremont, at which he continued until 1898, when he was elected sheriff of Brown county, when he of course took up his residence in Aberdeen, the county seat. He gave a most effective administration during his first term and was chosen as his own successor in the election of 1900. He has ever been a stanch adherent of the Republican party and was elected to the office of sheriff on the ticket of his party. He retired from this office, with a most enviable record to his credit, on the 5th of January, 1903, and seven days later was appointed to his present office, that of chief of police of Aberdeen. He still owns the hotel in Claremont, the same having been rebuilt in 1902 and having modern equipments through- out. The popular chief is identified with the Knights of the Maccabees and the Ancient Order of United Workmen. He is a man of genial per- sonality and has a host of friends in Brown county. He was formerly a practical devotee of the "national game," having played base ball in the Inter-State league, comprising the states of Michigan, Indiana and Illinois, and his interest in the sport is still of insistent order, as is shown in the fact that he never fails to attend local gaines save when duty calls him elsewhere.

At Morley, Michigan, in 1876, Mr. Thomp- son was united in marriage to Miss Margaret Lyman, who died in Claremont, in 1890, leaving two children, Samuel R. and May. In 1892 Mr. Thompson wedded Miss Josie Holt, of Brown county, and they have three children, Grace, Roy and Glenn.

ALBERT W. FOSSUM, D. D. S., of the firm of Fossum Brothers, the well-known dentists in the city of Aberdeen, is a native of Lansing, Iowa, where he was born on the 22d of June, 1874, being a son of Andrew C. and Walbord (Olson) Fossum, both of whom were born in Christiania. Norway. The father of the subject is a well-known and successful contractor of Aberdeen, to which place he came with his family in 1881. Dr. Fossum received his ele-

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mentary educational discipline in his native town, and was a lad of seven years at the time of the family removal to Aberdeen, so that he has passed practically his entire life here. He completed the curriculum of the public schools of this city, and in 1895 was matriculated in the Chicago College of Dental Surgery, in the city of Chicago, where he completed the prescribed course in that ex- cellent institution, being graduated as a member of the class of 1898, and receiving his degree of Doctor of Dental Surgery. After his graduation he returned to Aberdeen and established himself in the practice of his profession. He has given close attention to business, is thoroughly skilled in both the operative and laboratory phases of his profession and his efforts have been attended with most gratifying success, since he has built up a large and representative prac- tice, his well-equipped offices being located in the Wells building, on Main and Third streets. His brother, Carl, has been his assistant and coadjutor since 1901 and is likewise a thoroughly competent workman. Dr. Fossum is a member of the South Dakota Dental Association and also of its executive committee, and it was largely due to his efforts that the annual meeting of the as- sociation for 1904 is to be held in Aberdeen. In politics the Doctor is a stanch Republican, but is not active in this field and has never been an aspirant for office.

On the IIth of August, 1899, Dr. Fosum was united in marriage to Miss Nellie Louise Wilson, a daughter of Frederick D. Wilson, who was for- inerly engaged in the grocery business in Aber- deen. Of this union have been born two daugh- ters, Helen and Muriel.

GEORGE S. PERRY was born in Berkshire, England, on the 12th of January, 1853, and is a son of William and Charlotte (Hobbs) Perry, the father dying in Cleveland, Ohio, in April, 1880, aged about sixty years, and the mother at Mitchell, South Dakota, on December 24, 1889, aged seventy-three years, six months and thirteen days. The subject received his early educational training in his native land, and was twelve years

of age at the time of his parents' emigration to America. The family located in the city of Cleveland, Ohio, and here Mr. Perry soon gave distinctive evidence of his predilection for me- chanical pursuits, since when he was but four- teen years of age he was not only acting as engineer in a manufacturing establishment, but also had the general charge of the factory during the illness of the owner. At the age of seventeen he secured a position as fireman on the Cleveland & Wheeling Railroad, and two and one-half years later had been promoted to the position of en- gineer. He thus continued in the service of the road noted for another year and then entered the employ of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Com- pany, with headquarters in the city of Pittsburg. He remained with this company until the great strike of 1877, at which time he entered the em- ploy of the Canada Southern. When the Vander- bilts secured control of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad, in 1879, Mr. Perry was as- signed an engine and operated the same in con- nection with the building of the road westward from Glencoe, Minnesota, to Ortonville, South Dakota, his conductors at the time being Andrew W. Glenn and Charles Dean, with whom he has ever since been associated in the same relative capacity, their official alliance, if so it may be termed, having thus continued for nearly a quar- ter of a century. They continued with the exten- sion of the road to Bristol, and reached Aberdeen, South Dakota, in 1881. Mr. Perry also worked on construction to Ashton and Ellendale and was then given the passenger run to Milbank. In June, 1883, he was the driver of the engine on the construction of the track southward to Woon- socket, where the extension from the south was met. He was given the first passenger run on this branch, between Aberdeen and Mitchell, and for twenty-one years he has continued to thus traverse this branch. In thirty years of service Mr. Perry has never had a serious wreck and has never personally been injured in any accident. He has confined his attention exclusively to the demands placed upon him as an engineer, taking pride in his work, knowing its responsibilities and realizing that it is worthy of his best efforts. He

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is a veteran and trusted employe of the company and has the high regard of all who know him. He is identified with the Brotherhood of Loco- motive Engineers and also with the Masonic fra- ternity, in which he has attained to the Knights Templar degrees, being a member of the various bodies of the order in Aberdeen, where he has a pleasant home and is well and favorably known. He is a stanch Republican in politics.

At Saint Thomas, Ontario, Canada, on the 6th of July, 1878, Mr. Perry was united in mar- riage to Mis Leila Whitcomb, daughter of S. W. Whitcomb, who was for many years an en- gineer on the New York Central Railroad. Mr. and Mrs. Perry have five children, namely : George W., Cora, Dean, Floyd N. and Leila M. The first named was educated in the Goldie Col- lege, Wilmington, Delaware.

HON. ERNEST MAY is a native of Eberts- hausen, Germany, where he was born on Novem- ber 8. 1847. His father was a contractor and lumber dealer in that place, and it was there that the son grew to the age of twenty years and received his education, and also learned his trade as a gunsmith. In the spring of 1867 he came to the United States, believing that there were bet- ter opportunities in this country for a young man, and on his arrival he made his way to St. Louis where he secured a position in the pattern depart- ment of an iron foundry. In 1869, early in the year, he determined to come farther west, and, going by rail to Sioux City, proceeded from there up the Missouri to Montana. He located at Hel- ena and for some time was engaged in prospect- ing and mining there, then started a grocery at Pioneer, a mining camp not far from Butte, hav- ing had previous experience in this business in Helena. In July, 1876, he started with a party of pioneers for the Black Hills, coming down the Missouri to Bismarck and from there to Crook City where the party arrived on August 11th. From there Mr. May went to Deadwood and be- gan mining in Deadwood gulch, working on the famous Wheeler claim, which he and some others bought. He was occupied there until fall when

he was taken sick and obliged to return to St. Louis, where he was under the doctor's care until the following spring. He then returned to Dead- wood, and disposing of his interests in that neigh- borhood, took up his residence at Lead, then a small hamlet of uncanny log huts and tents. Here he put up a log shanty on the site of one of his present buildings on Main street, its successor being the first brick structure built in the town. In partnership with George Johnson he opened a grocery in the shanty, the firm name being May & Johnson. About 1880 he bought Mr. Johnson's interest and took in as a partner his cousin, Louis May, the firm then becoming E. & L. May. Three years later he bought his cousin out, and from 1883 to March I, 1901, he conducted the business alone. When the firm changed in 1883. however, the log store was replaced with the brick one which now stands on the lot. Mr. May, al- though engaging in other business, never lost his interest or slackened his energy in the mining industry. He was one of the first men to secure claims in the Bald Mountain district and is en- titled to the credit of assisting to bring that dis- trict to the attention of the mining world. The first valuable interests which he acquired were in the original Golden Reward and Silver Case lodes. In 1886 he was one of the organizers of the Golden Reward Mining Company, with him- self as one of the principal stockholders. He was also interested in the Tornado Mining Company, which was the second company to ship ore from the Black Hills district. the freight and treatment charges being twenty-seven dollars per ton at that time. It has since proved to be the largest pro- ducer in the Bald Mountain district. A few years later he came into control of the Harmony Min- ing Company. In 1888 he organized the Double Standard Company and sold his interest in the Golden Reward to its present owners. In 1892 he and his associates sold the Double Standard, the Tornado and the Harmony groups of mines to the Golden Reward, and at different times sold claims to the Horseshoe Company. At one time Mr. May was the largest claim owner in the whole Bald Mountain district. Down to the spring of 1003 he was also heavily interested in

ERNEST MAY.

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what was known as the Realization group, but in that year he sold his interest therein to the Penob- scot Mining Company. He has at present exten- sive holdings in other valuable properties, among them the Wasp No. 2 Mining Company and claims in the Yellow creek and Ragged Top dis- tricts. He is also largely interested in the cattle industry in various places, is a member of the Crescent Live Stock Company of Nebraska and the Antler Land and Cattle Company, of Big Horn county. Wyoming. He also has extensive mining interests in the Wood river district of the latter state. In 1892 he became a member of the firm of Lehman & Company, general merchants, at Lewistown, Montana, and was connected with it until 1902, when he sold his interest. He is now one of the principal real-estate owners of Lead and is a stockholder and vice-president of the First National Bank of that town. In the public affairs of his county and state he has al- ways taken an active and helpful interest, and in politics has from his early manhood been a zeal- ous supporter of the Republican party. He was one of the first aldermen of Lead, serving contin- nously for eight years. In April, 1904, he was again selected to represent his ward in city coun- cil. In this position his capacity for administra- tive duties became so manifest that in 1902 he was elected to the lower house of the state legis- lature.

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History of South Dakota, Vol. II, Part 53

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