History of South Dakota, Vol. II, Part 66

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

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Rev. Heinrich P. Unruh was a lad of nine years at the time of his parents' immigration to the United States, and had received his early

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educational training in the excellent German schools of his native land, while he supplemented this by attending school as opportunity afforded after coming to South Dakota, though the ad- vantages were of course meager in the early days, while his services were much in requisition in con- nection with the work of the home farm. He continued to assist his father in the management of the homestead until he had attained the age of twenty-one years, when he initiated his independ- ent career, having received from his father a gift of eighty acres of wild land in Turner county, this state, together with a yoke of oxen. He re- mained on this place two years, breaking the greater portion of the land, and then, in 1888, disposed of the property and purchased his pres- ent homestead of one hundred and sixty acres, in Bon Homme county. The place was partially im- proved, and had a sod house, in which he con- tinued to reside until 1901, when he erected his present commodious frame residence. Mr. Un- ruh cultivates three hundred and twenty acres of land, of which one hundred and sixty are rented. He receives a nice income from butter, eggs, produce and stock, and nets from seven hundred to eight hundred dollars yearly front hogs. The farm has a good orchard, is well fenced and is one of the attractive and valuable places of the county, while the subject is known as an energetic and indefatigable worker and as a man worthy of unqualified confidence and es- teem, which are freely accorded him. In politics he supports the Republican party, and both he and his wife are members of the Mennonite church.

On the 18th of February, 1886, Mr. Unruh was united in marriage to Miss Lena Schultz, who was born in Russia and who is a daughter of Henry Schultz, who was one of the pioneers and successful farmers of Bon Homme county, where his death occurred in 1880. His wife is still living and resides in the home of our sub- ject. Mr. and Mrs. Unruh have eight children, whose names are here entered, with respective dates of birth : Benjamin, February 3, 1887; Peter, October 5, 1888; Susan, May 27, 1890; Jonathan, January 30, 1892, died September 9, 25-

same year ; Anthony, November 12, 1893; Eliza- beth, January 19, 1896; Anna, September 17, 1897; and William, September 1, 1899.

In reference to his services as a minister of the gospel it may be said that Mr. Unruh was elected a minister by the members of the Men- nonite church at Loretta, Bon Homme county, on January 4, 1889, and was confirmed and or- dained on the 15th of February following by Bishop Benjamin P. Schmidt. He has since then served in the Christian ministry without salary. He works faithfully for the sake of Christianity and is greatly interested in the education of young children, having himself been a teacher of the German language for some time at Loretta.

CHRISTIAN HARTMANN is to be consid- ered in every sense a pioneer of South Dakota and of Bon Homme county, where he is the owner of a fine landed estate and where he is held in high estimation by all who know him. He has been the architect of his own fortune, having come to America as a young man and without financial reinforcement, and having gained pros- perity and independence through energy, perse- verance and honest and earnest endeavor.

Christian Hartmann is a native of Oadalum, province of Hanover, Germany, where he was born on the 12th of November, 1840, being a son of Conrad and Lena (Langkap) Hartmann, who passed their entire lives in the fatherland, the former having been a wagonmaker by vocation. They became the parents of four children, of whom the subject is the youngest. Johanna is the wife of Christopher Lattamann, of Oadalum; Ludwig is a resident of Biarbaum Mill; and Henry died when twenty years of age. The sub- ject was reared in his native land and received his educational training in its excellent schools. After leaving school he gave his attention to sugar manufacturing until 1869, when he severed the home ties and set forth to seek his fortunes in America, landing in New York and thence mak- ing his way westward to St. Louis, Missouri, where he remained ten days, after which he embarked on a Missouri river steamboat and

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started forth in search of a location. He came up the river to Niobrara, Nebraska, across the river from South Dakota, and in that locality he took up a squatter's claim of one hundred and sixty acres, in what is now Knox county, Ne- braska, the nearest neighbor being twenty-five miles distant, while game of all sorts was abund- ant and the Indians much in evidence. Two years after he had taken his claim the same reverted to the government, which demanded the land for military reservation purposes. In 1873 Mr. Hartmann took up an Indian pre-emption claim in township 92, Bon Homme county, South Da- kota, and later secured a homestead claim ad- joining and this property is an integral part of his present estate. For several years after com- ing to this section Mr. Hartmann was employed by the government as engineer in a sawmill, re- ceiving seventy-five dollars a month in recom- pense for his services and utilizing this income in the development and improvement of his ranch. In 1877 he went to the Indian territory, where he continued in government employ for the en- suing five years, at the expiration of which, in 1882, he came with his wife to the farm in this county and settled down to agricultural pursuits and to the raising of live stock, with which lines of enterprise he has ever since been identified. He is now the owner of twelve hundred and eighty acres of valuable land, and the place has the best of improvements, the original and dimin- utive log house having given place to a com- modious frame residence, which he erected in 1885, the same having been the second frame dwelling built in this section of the county, while he has since remodeled and otherwise improved the building. His entire ranch is well fenced and three hundred and twenty acres are under culti- vation, the balance being utilized for grazing purposes and for the raising of hay, etc. He has a large and substantial barn and other good farm buildings, has set out a grove of trees, now well matured, and the place is one of the at- tractive ones of the county and bespeaks thrift and prosperity. Mr. Hartmann gives special at- tention to the raising of cattle and horses of ex- cellent grade, as well as hogs and sheep, having

an average herd of one hundred head of cattle, and having shipped three car loads of cattle and hogs in 1903. The home is one in which are found evidences of refined taste, books, works of art, a piano, etc., adding to its attractions, while its hospitality is genial and kindly, the latch-string ever hanging out. In politics Mr. Hartmann is a stanch Republican, but has never sought or desired official preferment, though he shows a helpful interest in local affairs of a pub- lic nature. He is a member of the Lutheran church, in whose faith he was reared, and his wife is a member of the Congregational church.

At Perkins, South Dakota, on the 3d of July, 1881, Mr. Hartmann was united in marriage to Miss Lizzie Knight, who was born and reared in Duquoin, Illinois, and who was a resident of Cleardale, Kansas, at the time of her marriage, being a daughter of Albert Knight, a pioneer of Illinois. Mr. and Mrs. Hartmann have eight children, all of whom still remain in the home circle, though the sons and two daughters are at this time students in the State Normal School at Springfield, this county. The names of the children are here entered in order of birth: Le- ona, William, Mary, Ellen, Carl, Albert (died when six months old), Lassara and Grace.

ISAAC SCHMIDT, of Perkins, Bon Homme county, was born in Heinrischdorf, Russia, on the 13th of August, 1859, and is a son of Benja- min and Sarah Schmidt, who were likewise born and reared in that same province, where the fa- ther was engaged in milling, weaving and farm- ing until September, 1874,. In 1786 Catharine II of Russia invited the Mennonites in Germany to settle in Russia, granting them religious lib- erty. Many of them accepted the invitation and established their homes there. In 1870 strong efforts were made by Rusian officials to have the edict repealed and thus make all male resi- dents subject to military duty. Then Mr. Schmidt decided to emigrate with his family to the United States, landing in New York, and immediately afterward coming to the territory of Dakota. They remained two weeks in Yankton

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and then Mr. Schmidt entered claim to three hun- dred and twenty acres of government land in what is now township 93, Bon Homme county, and the original home of the fam- ily was a dugout of the type so common in the early pioneer epoch. He developed a good farm and he and his wife still reside on the place, being numbered among the sterling pioneers of the county and having the high regard of all who know them. He is independent in his political proclivities and both lie and his wife are mem- bers of the Mennonite church, exemplifying their faith in their daily walk. They had many vicissi- tudes and privations to encounter in the early days of their residence in the territory, and the work of developing the farm was accomplished with meager facilities, while Mr. Schmidt found employment in various ways in order to earn the money with which to provide for his family and carry forward the improvement of his place, which is now one of the best in this section. In the family were nine children, all of whom are living and well placed in life, the subject of this sketch having been the fifth in order of birth.

Isaac Schmidt secured his early educational discipline in the denominational school of his fatherland, and was a lad of fifteen years at the time of the family immigration to America. Ow- ing to the conditions of time and place he re- ceived but little schooling after coming to Da- kota, but he has gained a broad fund of knowl- edge of practical order through personal appli- cation and through experience in connection with the active affairs of life. As a boy he assisted in cutting hay on the pioneer farm, utilizing a scythe for this purpose, and the first property which he accumulated though his own efforts was a cow. At the age of fifteen years he began working on the farm, for a stipend of six dollars a month, being thus engaged for three years and with his savings he purchased a pair of steers, which he used for a team. At the age of twenty years he purchased one hundred and sixty acres of wild land in township 93, this county, and this consti- tutes his present finely improved ranch. The land is under a high state of cultivation, is well fenced, has an orchard of twelve acres, which

yields good crops, while in addition to general farming and stock raising Mr. Schmidt devotes special attention to gardening, being one of the most successful horticulturists in this section. In 1894 he erected his present attractive residence, and the other buildings on the place are of sub- stantial order, all giving evidence of thrift and prosperity. He is independent in his political views and is essentially public-spirited and pro- gressive, taking an interest in all that conserves the general welfare of the county and state in which he has made his home from his boyhood days and to whose development he has contrib- uted his quota. Both he and his wife are con- sistent members of the Mennonite church, in whose faith they were reared.

On the 5th of May, 1878, Mr. Schmidt was united in marriage to Miss Aganela Unruh, who was born in Heinrischdorf, Russia, on the 21st of January, 1858, being a daughter of Henry Unruh, who died in Russia. Mr. and Mrs. Schmidt have six children. Henry, who married Miss Kate Boese, and who is a successful farmer and schoolteacher of this county, having one son ; and Benjamin, Annie, Bertha, Lena and Mary, who remain at the parental home. All the chil- dren receive good educational advantages, and all are proficient in music.

LYMAN BURGESS, who is now living re- tired in the city of Vermillion, Clay county, is a native of Whtaser, Norway, where he was born on the 16th of November, 1829, being a son of Burguf and Holberson Ingburg, his own sur- name being derived according to the custom of his native land. The father of the subject was a teacher by vocation, and passed his entire life in Norway, where he died in 1838. His widow, when well advanced in years, came to America in 1843, and passed the remainder of her life in the home of her son Oliver, in Fillmore county, Minnesota, her death occurring in 1857. In the family were nine children, of whom only two are now living, Oliver, who is a prominent and influ- ential farmer of Wisconsin; and Lyman, who is

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the immediate subject of this review. All of the other children died in infancy.

Lyman Burgess received his early educational discipline in his native land, and when he was but fourteen years of age, in 1843. he came to America in company with his older brother, Oli- ver, who was twenty-two years old at the time. They located in Dane county, Wisconsin, and there the subject found employment as clerk in a general store in the village of Janesville, while later he worked in a local wheat market. At the age of eighteen years he purchased a farm of eighty-five acres, in Dane county, that state, dis- posing of the property a few years later. In 1860, as a young man of thirty-one years, Mr. Burgess came to the territory of Dakota, driving an ox- team through from Wisconsin and arriving in Clay county in July of that year. Here he pre- empted one hundred and sixty acres, all being en- tirely wild and unimproved, while buffaloes and other wild game were abundant in the locality and the Indians frequent visitors. He erected a log house on his embryonic farm and initiated the onerous labor of reclaiming the land to cultiva- tion, perfecting his title to the property in due course of time. This land he still retains in his possession, and it has been under cultivation for a longer period than practically any other tract in this section. He has accumulated adjoin- ing lands, so that the area of his ranch at the present time is seven hundred acres, while it is one of the best improved and most valuable farms in the county, being situated in Fairview town- ship, three miles from Vermillion. He erected a large and commodious residence on the farm, and also has the best type of farm buildings aside from the dwelling. In 1893 Mr. Burgess erected an attractive modern residence in the city of Ver- million, where he has since lived retired from ac- tive business, though he still maintains a general supervision of his farm, which he rents. He for many years devoted special attention to the rais- ing of fine live stock in connection with his diver- sified farming, and he gave preference to the Durham breed of cattle, of which he always had many fine specimens. Mr. Burgess is a man of marked mentality and broad information, having

read widely and with much discrimination, and keeping at all times in touch with the issues and questions of the day, while he has been animated by that liberality and public spirit which ever proves potent in furthering the general welfare and advancement. He is a stanch advocate of the principles and policies of the Republican party, and served for many years as a member of the board of township trustees, while for two years he was a member of the board of county commissioners. In 1861 he was elected to rep- resent Clay county in the first territorial legisla- ture, and he has taken an active part in public affairs in the days past, being now inclined to relegate such work to younger men, having "borne the heat and burden of the day" and played well his part as one of the founders and builders of an opulent and splendid common- wealth. It may be said that when he took up his residence in Clay county the present thriving and attractive little city of Vermillion was a mere trading post, having only a few buildings and a population of about ten individuals. Religiously Mr. Burgess is in sympathy with the creed of the Lutheran church.

On the 9th of May, 1856, in Cambridge, Wis- consin, Mr. Burgess was united in marriage to Miss Caroline Lee, who was born in Norway in 1840 and came to the United States when eleven years old, being a daughter of Eric and Agot (Johnson ) Lee, natives of Norway, who were numbered among the early settlers of the Badger state. Andrew Lee, the youngest of the four children, was one of the prominent pioneers of South Dakota and one of its most distinguished and influential citizens, having served as govern- or of the state in 1896. He is now engaged in the general merchandise business in Vermillion and also has extensive farming and stock inter- ests. Of the nine children of Mr. and Mrs. Bur- gess a brief record is given in the following and concluding paragraph of this brief sketch, entered in tribute to one of the sterling pioneers of the state.

Charlotte, who is now at the parental home, was for twelve years a successful and popular teacher in the high school at Sioux City, Iowa;

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Dorothea, Hannah and Ellis are also at home; Clara is the wife of Hans J. Smith, who is en- gaged in the merchandise business at Akron, Iowa, and they have one son, Ralph; Grace and Pearl are at the parental home ; Bergo L., who is associated with his brother-in-law, Mr. Smith, in the general merchandise business in Akron, Iowa, married Miss Louise Young, and they have two daughters. Ellen and Carlon ; Eric A., who was graduated in the law department of the State University, at Vermillion, in 1889, is now a lead- ing member of the bar of Sioux City, Iowa ; he married Miss Mary Fry, and they have one son, Lyman Taylor. All of the children are college graduates, and each of the daughters received good musical training, while all have been stic- cessful teachers, Pearl at the present time taking a post-graduate course in music. -

AARON CARPENTER, who is associ- ated with his sons under the firm name of A. Car- penter & Sons, in the ownership and operation of the Vermillion Nursery and Fruit Farm, which is located in the immediate proximity of the city of Vermillion, is a native of the old Green Mountain state and a scion of a family whose name has been identified with American history from the colonial epoch, when the original pro- genitors in the new world came hither from England and established a home in New Eng- land. He was born in Concord, Vermont, on the 7th of July, 1826, and thus will soon join the ranks of the octogenarians. He is a son of Jedi- diah and Elizabeth (Chamberlain) Carpenter, both of whom were born and reared in New Hampshire, whence they removed to Vermont, where the father was engaged in farming until 1858, when he came to South Dakota, being one of the earliest settlers in Clay county, where he passed the remainder of his life, his death here occurring September 21, 1886, at which time he was eighty-four years of age. His devoted wife died in Vermont, in 1847, at the age of fifty-one years. They became the parents of four chil- dren, namely: Lyman, who died in Washing- ton in 1900; Aaron, who is the immediate sub-

ject of this sketch; Mary, who is the wife of Charles Stacey, of Vermillion ; and John, who died in Washington, in 1898.

In 1858 the subject's father located in Ne- braska, and two years later first stepped foot on the soil of the territory of Dakota. From Du- buque, Iowa, he made the trip overland with ox- teams, and he located just across the Missouri river in Dixon county, Nebraska, where he re- mained until 1861, in February of which year he took up his permanent residence in Clay county, South Dakota, where he took up government land, here passing the remainder of his life. The country was on the very frontier of civilization, and Vermillion was then nothing more than an isolated trading post. The subject was reared and educated in Vermont, and was thirty years of age at the time when he came with his father to the west. In 1861 he established his perma- nent home in Clay county, this state, taking up one hundred and sixty acres of government land, and erecting a log house on the same, after which he turned his attention to the reclamation of a farm from the virgin wilderness, and here he has ever since mainained his home, the farm be- ing one of the best improved and most eligibly located in the county, adjoining the city of Ver- million. In 1873 Mr. Carpenter began the prop- agation of fruits of various kinds, and he has since devoted special attention to this line of en- terprise, while his fruit farm and nursery are among the best to be found in the state, the busi- ness ramifying into the most diverse sections of South Dakota, as well as into adjoining states, while the firm of which he is at the head enjoys the highest reputation for reliability and for the excellence of all products. The nursery depart- ment of the enterprise offers the best of products in apples, crab-apple, plum, pear, cherry and oth- er trees, while special attention is given to the raising of scions in the small fruit-line, as well as roses, garden roots, flowering plants of varied kinds, ornamental shrubs and forest-tree seed- lings, evergreens and shade trees. From the Vermillion farm in season are shipped large quantities of fruit, and the same finds a ready market at the maximum prices. In the year 1903

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more than twenty thousand grafts were put out in the nursery.

In politics, Mr. Carpenter is a stanch ad- herent of the Republican party, and he has ever taken an active interest in public affairs. He was a member of the territorial legislature for two terms-in 1867 and 1868-69-and was a member of the first board of county commission- ers of Clay county, whose organization was ef- fected in 1862. He and his wife are prominent and valued members of the United Brethren church, and have long been active in church and social affairs.

On the 21st of June, 1849, in Concord, Ver- mont, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Car- penter to Miss Kezia Russell, who was born and reared in Middlesex, that state, being a daugh- ter of Rev. John M. and Sarah (Foss) Russell, her father having been a clergyman of the Bap- tist church. Of the four children of the subject and his wife, we offer the following information : George L. who was born on the 9th of March, 1862, is associated in business with his father, as a member of the firm of A. Carpenter & Sons, and has the practical management of the enterprise at the present time, being a careful and able busi- ness man and one who is thoroughly informed in the practical and theoretical details of fruit cul- ture and general nursery work. He was married on the 12th of October, 1887, to Miss Mary Au- ther, a daughter of James Auther, of this coun- ty, and they have five children, namely : Ellen K., Arthur A., Francis M., William A. and Joseph IV. He is a Republican in politics and is a pro- gressive and loyal citizen of the state in which he has passed practically his entire life. Alba, the oldest of birth, is a resident of Fort Gamble, Washington, where he is engaged in farming ; he married Emma Ridell, of Yankton, May 22, 1872, and they have two children living, Jennie May Hicks and Ethel K. Johnson. John, who was born on the 14th of October, 1869, is still at the parental home and is an active member of the firm of A. Carpenter & Sons, being an able coadjutor of his father and brother; and Carrie M. is the wife of Edward Coles, a successful farmer of this county; they have one child, George A.

HENRY L. FERRY was born in Burlington Iowa, on the 6th of September, 1838, and is a son of Silas and Flavia (French) Ferry, the former of whom was born in Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, and the latter in Massachusetts. The paternal grandfather of the subject was present at the time of the great Wyoming massa- cre in Pennsylvania, but managed to escape with his life. His father was a native of France, and emigrated thence to America in the colonial era of our national history, locating in Pennsylvania. The parents of the subject were married in the old Keystone state, and shortly afterward re- moved to Olean, New York, where they contin- ued to reside until 1837, when they started for Iowa, arriving in March of that year. They lo- cated in Burlington, and there the father en- gaged in draying. About 1858 he removed to the vicinity of Muscatine, that state, where he be- came the owner of two farms, and there he passed the remainder of his life, his death occurr- ing on the 10th of May, 1863. His wife was summoned into eternal rest on the Ioth of May, 1863, both having been consistent members of the Methodist Episcopal church, while in poli- tics he was originally a Democrat.

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History of South Dakota, Vol. II, Part 66

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