History of South Dakota, Vol. II, Part 61

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 61

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engaged in the same line of business, renting a large log building which in a short time became a popular resort for the traveling public, to say nothing of its large and lucrative local patron- age.

While proprietor of this establishment, Mr. Springer did a thriving business, as it was the largest boarding house in the place at the time, and the influx of travelers and settlers was so great as to tax it to its utmost capacity to provide entertainment. He received liberal compensation for his accommodations and some idea of the magnitude of his patronage may be learned from the fact that within two months after opening the house he succeeded in saving enough from his earnings to erect a large hotel of his own. The latter, which was the first building in Lead City, especially designed for hotel purposes, stood near the property of the Homestake Mining Com- pany, and he subsequently sold it to the managers of that enterprise and, purchasing a lot on Main street, then in the outskirts of the town, but now in the principal business part of the city, put up another public house, which he conducted with most gratifying success until the year 1886, when he disposed of it for a handsome sum.

Meantime, 1880, Mr. Springer purchased land on Bear Butte creek, which he converted into a large and valuable ranch still in his possession, and on which he has since been en- gaged in the live-stock business, making a spe- cialty of cattle raising. After selling his city property in 1886, he moved his family to the ranch and here he has made his home ever since, prosecuting his business the meanwhile with success and profit until he was recognized as one of the leading live-stock men in his part of the state, also ranking with the most enterprising and public-spirited citizens of the Black Hills. Mr. Springer was not sparing in the matter of improvements, becoming the owner of one of the finest ranches in the country, the buildings on which and other evidences of prosperity bespoke the home of a man of energy, thrift and pro- gressive ideas, who believed in using the good things of this world to wise and commendable purposes. He provided comfortably for those

dependent upon him, was liberal in his bene- factions to all worthy enterprises and, as already stated, gave his countenance and support to the material development of his section of the country, besides lending his influence to what- ever tended to the moral welfare of the com- munity in which he lived. In politics he was a straight-out Republican of the most orthodox type and an active party worker, and but few conventions were held in his township and county in which he did not appear as a dele- gate. Mr. Springer was a close and intelligent observer, a wide reader and his influence as a leader in public as well as political affairs was duly recognized and appreciated by his fellow citizens, among all of whom he was held in high personal regard. He was encouraged and ably assisted in his business by the estimable companion and helpmeet to whom he was united in the bonds of wedlock on January 12, 1873. Mrs. Springer, like her husband, is a native of Maine, having been born and reared in Dan- forth, that state, under the maiden name of Jennie Hodnett. Inheriting the sturdy and amiable qualities, characteristic of her New England ancestry, she has performed well her part in life, and since coming west she has won a warm and permanent place in the esteem and confidence of the large circle of friends with whom she associates.

JOHN B. SUTTER .- The subject of this sketch was born October 27, 1848, in Switzerland and lived in his native land until twenty-one years of age, growing to manhool on a farm and receiving a good education in the public schools. In 1869 he came to America and joined certain relatives who had preceded him to this country and who at the time noted were living in Buffalo county, Wisconsin. After spending the ensuing two years in that state as a farmer, he went to Sioux City, Iowa, near which place he was en- gaged in agricultural pursuits until the spring of 1875. when he joined the "Witcher Party," and started for the Black Hills. This was one of the first companies that penetrated the Black

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Hills country and a full account of the trip and incidents relating thereto will be found in another part of this volume. Mr. Sutter shared with his comrades the vicissitudes of travel and adventure and, arriving at the site of Custer City on the 17th of the following July, spent the interim between that time and the next September prospecting over various parts of the country. In the latter month he accompanied General Brook's command to Sidney, and from there returned to Iowa, making the long trip to Sioux City on foot and meeting with many in- teresting experiences on the way.

In May, 1876, Mr. Sutter again started for Dakota and, coming via Pierre, reached Dead- wood in due time, and during the next five years devoted his attention to prospecting and mining in the vicinity of that place and elsewhere. At the expiration of that time he went to Sturgis and for some months thereafter was employed at Fort Meade, where he remained until taking up his present ranch, on Alkali creek, in the spring of 1897. The following spring he moved his family to the new home and since that date he has been quite extensively engaged in agri- culture and live stock, being at this time one of the leading farmers and cattle raisers in Meade county. His ranch, which lies about five miles southeast of Sturgis, is admirably situated and, with the improvements made since he took possession, is now one of the finest places of its area on the creek, being fertile, well watered and especiallly adapted for the purposes to which it is devoted. Mr. Sutter is a man of great in- dustry and his labors have been abundantly re- warded as is attested by his beautiful home, large herds of fine cattle and other evidences of pros- perity by which he is surrounded. He manifests a lively interest in public affairs, takes an active part in politics, and is recognized as one of the influential Republicans of the county. but he has persistently declined to accept office, having no ambition in that direction. Mr. Sutter, on July 17, 1888, was united in marriage with Miss Mary Utz, a native of Germany, who departed this life September 12, 1902, leaving five children, namely : Nina, Olga, Julia, George and Louisa.

Of the business and social standing of the sub- ject of this review it is unnecessary to speak, further than to state that few men of his neighborhood enjoy in as marked degree the re- spect and confidence of the public. His time and attention have been closely devoted to his mani- fold interest and to the enjoyment of his home ; he possesses a generous nature, is especially con- siderate to those near and dear to him and his many friends, who respect him for his genuine worth and who will no doubt be pleased to see his history in the record of his adopted state.

WILLIAM H. HALL was born in Lawrence county, Ohio, in the year 1838. When a mere lad his parents moved to Lee county, Iowa, thence to the county of Polk, where he spent his childhood and youth and enjoyed such edu- cational advantages as were afforded by the pioneer schools of the state. After assisting his father with the work of the farm until his young manhood, he learned blacksmithing and later worked at the trade in the city of Des Moines, until reaching the age of twenty-two, when he went to Colorado and engaged in the overland freighting business.

Mr. Hall spent about eight years freighting between Omaha and Denver and other western towns, and in 1868 went to Wyoming, where he was similarly engaged for some time, later freighting from Corinne, Utah, to Boise City, Idaho, and neighboring points until 1871. In the latter year he went to Nevada, where he. followed the same kind of work until the spring of 1876, when he returned to Corinne, Utah, and established a freight line between that place and the cities of Helena and Butte, Montana, con- tinuing the business with profitable results during the succeeding three years. Disposing of his in- terests in Utah and Montana in 1879, Mr. Hall the following spring came to the Black Hills and began freighting from Deadwood to Cheyenne, but after operating for some time between these two points, he opened a line from the former place to Pierre, where he continued operations until 1885. Discontinuing freighting the latter

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year, he took up land on Alkali creek, Meade county, and the next spring moved to his ranch and addressed himself to the task of its improve- ment. In a short time he had a goodly number of acres in cultivation, also considerable live stock, and his progress as an agriculturist and cattle raiser during the next few years was in every respect most gratifying. Mr. Hall followed farming and the cattle business until the year 1903, when, finding himself the possessor of a competency of no small magnitude, he disposed of his live-stock interests with the object in view of spending the remainder of his days in the peace- ful quietude of retired life, to which his long per- iod of strenuous activity so honorably entitled him. Blessed with an abundance of this world's goods and surrounded by everything calculated to minister to his comfort and enjoyment, he is now resting from his labors, though still managing his business affairs and keeping alive a keen interest in current events, besides devoting no small part of his attention to what concerns the welfare of the community in which he resides.

Mr. Hall has always been energetic in the performance of his duties, and while meeting with not a few discouragements in the course of his long and active experience, he has over- come the obstacles in his pathway and now, in the evening of life, can look back over a career which has been well spent and fraught with much good to himself and to his fellow men. He is a western man in the full meaning of the term and since boyhood his life has been very closely identified with this great section of the Union. He has done his share in promoting the varied interests of his adopted county and state, has always stood for progress and advancement and still gives his influence and encouragement to measures and enterprises with these ends as their object. Although past the meridian of life, he retains to a marked degree the possession of his physical and mental powers and, despite his sixty-six years, he is almost as active and energetic as in the days of his prime, and still able to accomplish that which would tax to the utmost the strength of the great majority of younger men. Mr. Hall is a Democrat and for

many years has rendered valuable service to his party, as a counsellor, leader and active worker in the ranks. In whatever relation of life con- sidered, whether in business or social circles, he is always the same honorable and honored gentleman, whose intelligence, wholesome in- fluence and genuine worth merits the high regard which is universally given him.

SAMUEL H. MARTIN, an early settler of South Dakota and for a number of years a successful stock raiser and public-spirited citizen of the county in which he resides, is a native of Iowa, born in the city of Keokuk, on the 3d of May. 1852. When he was a child his parents moved to Stephens Point, Wisconsin, thence, eight years later, to Ripon, the same state, where he spent his youthful years and received his edu- cation, attending first the public schools, after which he took a course in Ripon College. Subse- quently he became a student of the Whitewater Normal School, and after leaving that institution went to Atchison, Kansas, where he engaged in business until the fall of 1876. Leaving the latter place at the date indicated, he located in the town of Peru, where he turned his attention to the manufacture of flour. but after conducting that line of business until the following spring, disposed of his interests in Kansas and came to Dakota, arriving at Deadwood on the first day of June, 1877.

After reaching his destination Mr. Martin spent some months prospecting and mining in various parts of the Hills, but the next winter worked in a sawmill, preparatory to engaging in farming and the live-stock business. In the spring of 1878 he took up a ranch on Whitewood creek, sixteen miles from Sturgis, and at once began improving the same and reducing a part of it to cultivation. Being among the first settlers on the creek he enjoyed exceptional ad- vantages in the matter of location, and it was after a very careful inspection of this part of the country that he made a selection which in every way has proven judicious, his ranch being one of the finest and most admirably situated for agri-

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culture and stock raising in the county. Mr. Martin was a leading spirit in establishing Meade county, in 1879. and served as chairman of the board of commissioners, by which the organi- zation was consummated. He took an active and prominent part in putting the local machinery in motion, was largely influential in directing and controlling public affairs for several years thereafter, and in the fall of 1890 was elected to represent the new county in the state legislature. He served one term in that body, proved an able, industrious and painstaking rep- resentative, and made a record creditable to himself, to his constituency and to the state. In politics he was always a Republican until 1896, since which time he has been affiliated with the Democratic party, and as such has exercised a strong influence in party circles, being a skilled organizer, a judicious counsellor and an able leader. He is a decided factor in current public and political affairs, proving of great importance in the solution of local party problems, and there is seldom a convention in which he does not appear as a delegate or an influential worker.

Mr. Martin, on September 1, 1881, was united in marriage to Miss Clara Shaykelt, of Ripon, Wisconsin, the marriage, which took place in a tent, on the bank of the Belle Fourche river, South Dakota, being the first ceremony of the kind solemnized in what is now Butte county. Since that time he has lived on his present ranch, which included the site on which General Brook's army encamped in 1876, and his home is beautiful for situation and well supplied with the comforts and conveniences calculated to make country life pleasant and desirable. Mr. and Mrs. Martin have a family of four children. three daughters, Margaret, Agnes and Gertrude, and one son, by the name of John, their birth occurring in the above order. Mr. Martin was initiated into the Masonic order while a resident of Ripon, Wisconsin, and since coming to South Dakota he has been identified with the lodge in Sturgis; he is also a member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen, at Whitewood, and manifests an active interest in the work and de- liberations of both fraternities.

THOMAS W. THOMPSON .- The name of Thompson is well known in the Black Hills, being identified, not oniy with the material de- velopment and various business interests of this part of the west, but also with its public and political affairs, Col. Charles F. Thompson, the honored father of the subject of this review, having been one of the broad-minded men of South Dakota and an influential factor in matters concerning the vital interests of the state. Col. Thompson was born in Susquehanna county, Pennsylvania, December 2, 1827. When a youth of eleven years, he accompanied his parents on their removal overland from New York City to Green county, Wisconsin, where he grew to man- hood and received his education. During the war of the Rebellion he carried on an extensive grain and wool business in the city of Milwaukee, and later engaged in lumbering in different parts of Wisconsin, meeting with success in his various enterprises. He was reared a Republican and early became a prominent worker and a leader of the party in his adopted state, but in 1872 supported Horace Greeley for President and was later the Democratic candidate for congress in 1874, but failed of election by a small majority. It was shortly after making this race that he went west to engage in the live-stock business, purchas- ing sheep in Iowa, and with his son, Thomas W., driving them to Colorado, but owing to a de- structive disease which broke out among his flocks and the depredations of the Indians the enterprise ended disastrously. In the year 1876 Colonel Thompson moved to the Black Hills and, as already indicated, soon became interested in various business enterprises in this section, notable among which was the building of a toll road from Deadwood to Lead City. He also operated a grocery and provision store in the latter place, which had a large and lucrative patronage and in 1878 he was appointed treasurer of Lawrence county, to fill out the term made vacant by the regular official proving a defaulter. In addition to the interests already enumerated, Colonel Thompson engaged quite extensively in mining and stock raising and for a number of years was one of the most widely

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known and highly respected public men of the Black Hills. He gave personal attention to the toll road, which proved a great financial success until the advent of the railroad, owned a two- thirds interest in the enterprise and was president of the company at the time of his death. He was one of the organizers and leading members of the Black Hills Pioneer Association, always manifested active interest in schools, churches and institutions for the advancement of the com- munity's social and moral interests and mani- fested a lively regard for the welfare of his fellow men. The death of Colonel Thompson, which occurred on March 31, 1892, was greatly deplored by the people among whom he exer- cised such a marked influence for good and his name and achievements will always occupy a conspicuous place in the history of the section of the country in which he finished his life work.

Thomas W. Thompson, the oldest and only son of Col. C. F. Thompson, was born in Green county, Wisconsin, on the 3d of January, 1858. Blessed with good parentage and excellent home influence, he grew up with well-defined ideas of life and duty, and in the public schools received an education which, though by no means finished, was sound and practical, and, with the valuable knowledge subsequently acquired in various busi- ness capacities, was sufficient to enable him to carve out an eminently useful and honorable ca- reer. At the early age of sixteen years young Thompson, as already stated, accompanied his fa- ther to Iowa, thence drove sheep to Colorado, where he helped look after the flock until overta- ken by the unfortunate conditions which resulted in almost complete financial loss. In the spring of 1876 he came with his father to the Black Hills and assisted in constructing the toll road alluded to in a preceding paragraph and later entered his father's store in Lead City, but did not con- tinue very long in the latter capacity, preferring the free outdoor life of the freighter to the some- what uninteresting occupation of selling goods. The summer following his arrival he made three trips from Deadwood to Sidney, as driver of a freight wagon, and when his father took charge of the county treasurer's office, he became the

latter's deputy, continuing to discharge the duties of the position until the latter part of 1878. In January, 1879, he took up land in Big Bottom, between Whitewood and Crow creek, and in March following returned to Wisconsin, where, on May Ist, of the same year, he was united in marriage with Miss Ellen M. Wooster, a native of that state, the ceremony being solemnized in the town of Brodhead.

Immediately after this event Mr. Thompson and bride set up their domestic establishment on the ranch in Big Bottom and under auspicious circumstances began to make the most of their opportunities. He inaugurated a system of im- provements, which soon made his place one of the most desirable in that section of the country and, giving his attention to farming and stock raising, principally cattle, in due time found him- self on the high road to financial prosperity. He continued the live-stock industry with marked success until 1889, when he moved his family to Whitewood, and started a livery stable, which business he carried on in connection with the management of his ranch until 1892. In the latter year he sold his barn and seven years later disposed of his ranch and live-stock interests, receiving handsome prices for all of his prop- erties. Meanwhile, in partnership with T. O. Mitchell, under the name of Mitchell & Thomp- son, he engaged in buying and shipping grain, erecting a large elevator in Whitewood, and this line of business the firm carried on until 1894, when the manufacture of flour was added. In the latter year the present large and finely equipped mill was huilt and since that time it has been kept running at its full capacity to supply the growing demand of the trade, doing both custom and merchant work. In connection with handling all kinds of grain and making flour, in both of which branches of business they lead competition in their part of the country, Messrs. Mitchell and Thompson are extensively engaged in cattle raising, making a specialty of blooded Herefords and other high-grade breeds. They own large tracts of fine grazing land in the vicinity of Whitewood, giving employment to considerable numbers of men and are recognized

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as the leading live-stock dealers of the district in which they operate.

Like his father before him, Mr. Thompson early manifested decided predilection for public affairs and he is today almost as widely known as a politician as a business man. He has long been a power, not only in the local Democracy, but in party matters of state import, having been largely instrumental in promoting the success of the ticket, besides being called to various positions requiring the exercise of ability and sound judgment. He was a member of the con- vention of 1889, which formed the present con- stitution of South Dakota, and took an active part in its deliberations, serving on several im- portant committees, besides bearing his full share of the general discussions during the regular sessions of the body. He has also been his party's candidate for the principal county offices and for the legislature, but, by reason of the normally large Republican majority, was not always elected, yet he never becomes discouraged nor tires in pushing the cause which lies so near his heart. Fraternally he belongs to the Ancient Order of United Workmen and for some time has been prominently identified with the Pioneer Association of the Black Hills. To Mr. and Mrs. Thompson have been born two children, a daughter, Carrie E., and a son, Charles F.

REV. CHARLES SECOMB, born Salem. Massachusetts, 1817. Congregationalist mission- ary in Dakota from 1867. Died at Springfield, 1899.

FRANK COTTLE .- For more than twenty years prominent and active in the commercial and public life of South Dakota, and earnestly de- voted to its interests in every way, Frank Cottle, of Smithville, the postmaster and leading mer- chant of the place, has made his mark in legible and enduring phrase in the history of the state and risen to consequence and influence among its people. He was born on April 19. 1853, near Augusta, Maine, and when he was a year old the

family moved to Charlestown, Massachusetts, his father having secured employment there as mas- ter mechanic or chief engineer in the Boston navy yard. Here, in the midst of the highest intellec- tual development and activity, and surrounded by all the concomitants of the most cultivated life, Mr. Cottle grew to the age of sixteen and received a good education. But in boyhood he made two trips west to Nebraska, and the spice of western life lingered on his palate in an im- pressive way, keeping up a continual longing for the enjoyment of more of it. So at the age of twenty-three he once again turned his steps towards the setting sun and came west to Des Moines, Iowa, where he remained five years, dur- ing a portion of the time clerking in a grocery store and then conducting one of his own. In 1883 he made a trip to the Black Hills with a party of fortune seekers, and on his way back found what he deemed a good opening for mer- chandising on Mitchell creek at a point where the freight trains between Pierre and Deadwood crossed the stream. Here he bought a general store which he conducted until the completion of the railroad through this section, when freighting became unprofitable and was largely abandoned. His was the only store on the trail, and as he conducted it in a progressive and enterprising way, carrying an extensive stock embracing ev- erything required by its patrons, he did an enor- mous business with freighters and travelers and carried on considerable trading with the Indi- ans, whose language he thoroughly mastered. He also had large cattle interests and was easily the leading business man in all this section of the country. In 1887 he came to the Cheyenne river, and buying another person's claim to land he filed on it and built the store and residence he now occupies. Hither he moved his stock of merchandise and his cattle, and here he has since dwelt and carried on his extensive business of various kinds. When the surveys were made later he realized his necessity for more land, and he has since secured an additional body of con- siderable magnitude, having now the finest estate on the Cheyenne. In politics he is an earnest and devoted Republican, and in the service of his

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History of South Dakota, Vol. II, Part 61

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