History of South Dakota, Vol. II, Part 8

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

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since conducted with a large and steadily grow- ing patronage.

Mr. Lundquist is a member of the Masonic brotherhood, belonging to Lodge No. 5, Sioux Falls, having joined the order at Blue Earth City, Minnesota, in 1885 ; he is also a charter member of Camp No. 2323, Modern Woodmen of Amer- ica, with which society he united in June, 1894. and in addition to these fraternities, he has been identified since November. 1899, with Council No. 24, Ancient Order of Pyramids, besides be- longing to the order of Home Guardians, Temple Lodge No. 1, at Canton, South Dakota, joining the last named organization in November, 1902.

On September 20, 1890, at Spirit Lake, Iowa, was solemnized the ceremony which united Mr. Lundquist and Miss Etta Capitolia Cassidy in the holy bonds of wedlock. Mrs. Lundquist was born August 4. 1869, in Missouri, and she has presented her husband with five children, whose names and dates of birth are as follows: Viva Rose, January 1. 1892: Vera Maud. September 19, 1893 ; Elsie Ruth, November 4, 1894; Esther May, June 9, 1896, and Eva Grace, April 20, 1899, all living, and all born in Irene except the oldest, who first saw the light of day in the city of Sioux Falls.

JOHN BLAIR SMITH TODD, first dele- gate in congress from Dakota, was a native of Kentucky, born April, 1814. Educated at West Point and entered regular army and served in Florida war, war with Mexico and the Rebellion. Delegate in congress four years, 1861-1865. Died at Yankton. January, 1872.

ALFRED ALDER, one of the leading citi- zens and most progressive and highly esteemed business men of Volin, Yankton county, claims the Empire state of the Union as the place of his nativity, having been born in the city of Buffalo, New York, on the 29th of August, 1846, a son of John and Mary A. (Rosenbach) Alder, of whose seven children five are living at the pres- ent time, namely: John, who is chief clerk in the

Indian school at Lawrence, Kansas ; Eugene, who resides in Eastman, Minnesota; Louisa, who is the wife of James A. Dickson, of Oklahoma, who was for many years superintendent of schools of Yankton county: Jennie, who is the wife of Charles Campbell, of Eastman, Minnesota ; and Alfred, who is the immediate subject of this sketch.

The father of the subject was born in the city of Berwick, on the Tweed, in England, in 1817, and was there reared to maturity, having learned the trade of millwright and become an expert in the line, while he also served seven years in the English army. In 1843 he came to the United States and immediately enlisted in the army, in which he served one year. He then returned to Buffalo, where he was engaged in the work of his trade until 1857, when he came to the west, lo- cating in Crawford county, Wisconsin, where he continued to be actively engaged in the work of his trade until his death, which occurred in 1880, while in 1871 he became the owner of a grist mill at Eastman, that state, continuing to operate the same successfully until he was called from the scene of life's endeavors, in the fulness of years and well earned honors. His wife was born in Germany, in the year 1811, and also is now deceased.

Alfred Alder, whose name introduces this sketch, secured his early educational discipline in the public schools of Buffalo, New York, being about ten years of age at the time when his par- ents removed thence to Wisconsin, where he was reared to manhood, learning the trade of mill- wright under the effective direction of his father and devoting his attention to that vocation until 1871, when he assumed a position in the mill owned by his father in Eastman. He continued to reside in Wisconsin until 1880, when he re- moved to Middle Branch, Nebraska, where he erected a flouring mill, successfully operating the same until 1886, when he disposed of the prop- erty and came to the city of Yankton, South Da- kota, where he established himself in the mer- cantile business, carrying a general stock of goods. About two years later he came to Volin, and here he continued in the same line of enter-

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prise until May, 1892, building up a large and prosperous business and being known as one of the most enterprising and reliable merchants in the county. In the month mentioned he sold out his mercantile interests and in the autumn of the same year he instituted the erection of the Volin flouring mill, which was completed the follow- ing summer, the same having proved of inesti- mable benefit to the people of this section, afford- ing facilities for which there had been a recog- nized demand.

In politics Mr. Alder is a stalwart Republi- can, and it was his privilege to cast his first presidential vote for Abraham Lincoln, while serving in the Union army and before he had at- tained his legal majority, since he was but eigh- teen years of age at the time. In March, 1864. he enlisted as a private in Company K. First Illinois Light Artillery, with which he served un- til August of the following year, when he re- ceived his honorable discharge, victory having crowned the Union arms and the rebellion been suppressed. His father also served with gal- lantry as a Union soldier, having enlisted, at the age of forty-seven years, in Company I, Fifth Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, with which he served for three years and four months, while his son John W. served for three years as a member of Company I, Third Wis- consin Volunteer Cavalry. The subject is at the time of this writing incumbent of the office of treasurer of the village of Volin, but he has never been ambitious for public office, though ever ready to do his part in forwarding the civic and general interests of his home town and county, to which he is signally loyal. Fra- ternally he is identified with St. John's Lodge, No. I, Free and Accepted Masons, of Yankton.

On the 27th of November, 1873, Mr. Alder was united in marriage to Miss Mary A. Fin- ney, of Eastman, Wisconsin, and of their ten chil- dren nine are still living, namely: John, who is employed in his father's mill, being an able young business man : Eunice, who remains at the pa- rental home: Bertha, who is a teacher in the public schools at Estherville. Iowa: Ephraim, who is engaged in farming in Yankton county ;

Winifred, who is a teacher in the district schools of the county ; and Alfred, Jr., Herbert, Bessie and Charles, who remain beneath the home roof.

NELS J. BRAKKE, who is now living re- tired in the village of Volin, Yankton county, where he holds precedence as president of the board of village trustees, was born in Norway on the 4th of July, 1844, and was there reared and educated. At the age of twenty-one years he emigrated to America and settled in Vernon county, Wisconsin, where he found employ- ment during the ensuing summer, and in the autumn of the same year (1866) he came to Yankton county, Dakota, becoming one of the pioneers of the territory. He pre-empted one hundred and sixty acres of land four miles west of the present village of Volin, and some time later took a homestead claim five miles north- west of the town. He set himself earnestly to the task of improving his land and bringing it under effective cultivation, and he continued to reside on his homestead claim until 1901, when he removed to the village of Volin, where he has since lived retired from active business, though he maintains a general supervision of his fine farming property, which represents the results of his many years of earnest toil and endeavor. He came to America as a poor young man, having had but one silver dollar as the sum total of his financial resources at the time of his arrival in South Dakota, and it can not be other than gratifying to note the position which he today occupies as one of the highly esteemed and well-to-do citizens of our fine commonwealth. He was married in 1868, but has no children. In politics he gives an unwavering support to the Republican party and has been an active worker in its local ranks. He served three years as a member of the board of county commis- sioners. He is a member of the Lutheran church, is a man of inflexible integrity and is honored for his sterling character and for the ability which he has shown in winning his way to a position of independence. In 1901 he was

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elected president of the board of trustees of the village of Volin and is incumbent of the office at the time of this writing, having proved a most discriminating and faithful executive.

JOHN O. AASETH comes of sturdy Norse- land lineage, and was born in Norway, on the 3d of July, 1850, being a son of Ole Rise and Kare (Hestehagen) Aaseth, of whose seven children he is the youngest of the three survivors, the other two being Anna, who is the wife of Lars Hanson, of Yankton county, and Agnethe, who is the wife of Ole Gulbranson, who still resides in Norway. Both parents are now deceased, the father having been engaged in agricultural pur- suits in his native land, where he passed his en- tire life. The subject of this sketch was reared on the homestead farm and his early educa- tional discipline was such as was afforded in the schools of his native land, where he remained until he had attained the age of nearly twenty- two years. In the spring of 1872 he severed the home ties and set forth to seek his fortunes in America, whither he came as a stranger in a strange land and dependent upon his own exer- tions for a livelihood, since he had no capital as a basis of operations and was further handicapped in that he was not familiar with the language of the country. After landing in New York city Mr. Aaseth come forthwith to South Dakota, whose development was at that time in the initial stages, and located in Yankton county. His first employment was in rafting ties down the Mis- souri river for use by the Dakota Southern Rail- road, which was then in process of construction. He was thus engaged during the first summer and upon demanding his salary, amounting to about one hundred and twenty dollars, he was unable to collect the same, having never yet re- ceived payment for his arduous labors in the connection. During the ensuing winter he found employment in cutting wood and during the sum- mer of 1873 he was an employe on the steamboat "Western," plying between Yankton and Fort Benton, Montana, while during the harvest sea- son he worked in the wheat fields. In the au-

tumn of that year lie secured a position as clerk in a general store in the village of Gayville, the enterprise being conducted by Iver Bagstad, and in due time he became thoroughly familiar with all details of the business, gaining the implicit confidence of his employer, as is evident when we revert to the fact that at the expiration of about five years he was admitted to partnership, while he lias ever since been identified with the enterprise, which has grown from one of most modest order until it now represents one of the largest and most important mercantile concerns in Yankton county. In 1892 the business was in- corporated under the laws of the state and at this time the title of the company was changed to its present form, that of Bagstad & Aaseth Company, while Mr. Aaseth was made treasurer of the concern, in which executive position he has since continued. The building utilized has received ad- ditions at various times, as the demands of the business required more ample accommodations, and an extensive space is now used for the ac- commodation of the large and varied stock, the trade of the company extending over a wide ra- dius of country.

In politics Mr. Aaseth is stanchly arrayed in support of the Republican party, and has been an active and effective worker in its cause. He was for several years a member of the board of county commissioners, and in 1880 he was elected a member of the first legislature of the state of South Dakota, in which capacity he rendered efficient service to the state and was an able rep- . resentative of the interests of his constituency. He takes an active interest in educational matters and for the past ten years has been a valued men- ber of the school board of Gayville. He and his ' wife are prominent members of the Lutheran church, in whose work they take an active part. Mr. Aaseth received the appointment of post- master of Gayville in 1902, and is still incumbent of this position, in which he is giving a capable and acceptable administration. He is well known throughout the county and is honored as one of its representative citizens and business man.

On the 14th of March, 1879. Mr. Aaseth was united in marriage to Miss Christina Welson, of

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Gayville, she likewise being a native of Norway, and of this union have been born eight children, all of whom still remain at the parental home, their names being here entered in order of birth : Oliver, Elmer, Carl, Julian, Lewis, Alma, Clara and Myrtle. The two next eldest sons are em- ployed in the store with which their father has so long been identified and the family home is a center of hospitality and refinement.

REV. LAWRENCE LINK is a native of Germany, having been born in the province of Wurtemberg on the 5th of August, 1869. He received his preliminary educational discipline in the fatherland and at the age of fourteen years he came to America and passed two years with his relatives in Pennsylvania, and then came to Yankton. South Dakota, where he was under the instruction and episcopal guidance of Bishop Marty for one year, at the expiration of which he entered St. Thomas' College, at Marriam Park, St. Paul, where he completed his theo- logical course, being ordained to the priesthood on the 2d of July, 1894, at Sioux Falls. His first charge comprised the towns of Hartford, Huntimer, Wellington and Garretson, this state, while he maintained his residence in Sioux Falls. In September of the same year Father Link was transferred to Tyndall, where he remained for a brief interval, at the expiration of which he was called to Yankton to assume charge of Sacred Heart church during the absence of the regular pastoral incumbent, Father Edward Jones, who was absent on a vacation. After the return of Father Jones the subject remained as his assist- ant until March 1. 1895, when the former was transferred to another charge and Father Link succeeded him in the pastoral charge of this parish, where he has since labored.

DAVID W. DONALDSON, an old and re- spected farmer and public-spirited citizen now living in honorable retirement in section 14. Spirit Lake township, Kingsbury county, was born April 1, 1826, in Orange county, New

York, the son of James and Mary (Waugh) Donaldson, natives of Ireland. These parents came to America in an early day and after living in the state of New York until about 1829, they removed to New York city, where their son David W. spent the greater part of his carly life and received his education. He is the fourth of six children, only one besides himself living at the present time, a sister, Mrs. Emile Clem- ents, whose home is in Illinois. At the age of twenty-two, David W. went to Michigan ; thence to Wisconsin and from the latter state to Iowa, locating at Dubuque, where he worked for some time as a miner. Leaving that city, he purchased a half section of fine Iowa land which he culti- vated for eight years, and at the expiration of that time, in 1855. moved to Minnesota, where he continued to till the soil until the second year of the Civil war. On May 7, 1862, he enlisted in Company C. Twelfth United States Infantry, with which he served three years, during which time he participated in a number of sanguinary battles and minor engagements, including, among others. the second battle of Bull Run, Antietam. Chancellorsville, Fredericksburg, Mine Run, and the bloody actions in the Wilderness. At Antietam the drum of his right ear was ruptured by the concussion of heavy artillery, causing par- tial deafness from which he has never recovered, and for years he has been obliged to use an ear trumpet to assist his sense of hearing. Mr. Donaldson was honorably discharged in 1865 with the rank of corporal, after which he re- turned to his Minnesota home and there car- ried on farming very successfully until 1882, when he disposed of his interests in that state and came to Kingsbury county, South Dakota, taking up a homestead in section 14, Spirit Lake township. He soon reduced his land to a high state of tillage : erected a fine residence and made many other substantial improvements, until his farm is now considered one of the best in the county of Kingsbury. He followed agriculture and stock raising very profitably until a few years ago when, by reason of the comfortable competence in his possession and the infirmities incident to advancing age, he rented his land and

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has since lived a retired life. Mr. Donaldson has always been a great reader, and takes much pleasure in his books and periodicals, his ac- quaintance with literature and his information relative to current, public and political questions being general and profound. He has always been a stanch Republican, remained true to his party when Populism threatened its disruption and has contributed greatly to its success in his town- ship and county. He served a number of years as school treasurer, resigning the office in 1902, and was for six years clerk of the school board in the township of his residence. He is a charter member of the Grand Army of the Republic post at DeSmet, takes an active interest in all of its deliberations and has filled various official positions in the same from time to time.

Mr. Donaldson, in 1848, was united in mar- riage to Miss Mary Clark, who was born in Allegany county, New York, December 3, 183.2, being the daughter of Joseph and Sarah ( Bable) Clark, of that state. Mr. and Mrs. Donaldson have been married fifty-five years and are still hale, hearty and happy and seem to enjoy life much more than the majority of people. Their home is noted for its hospitality and all who know the excellent old couple esteem them for their many amiable qualities and sterling worth. They have nine children, whose names and dates of birth are as follows: Clara I .. May 6. 1850; James, June 29, 1852: Elizabeth, Feb- ruary 3, 1855: Sarah J., February 6, 1857; Emily, April 11, 1859 ; Mary, January 23, 1861 ; Frances E., January 16, 1863; Ella, August 24, 1866, and George E., who was born June 23, 1870, all living but Clara and Frances, the for- mer dying May 4, 1875, the latter on Septem- ber 22, 1863.

ERNEST DUMONT SKILLMAN, cashier of the State Bank of Irene, Clay county, was born in Macon, Lenawee county, Michigan, on the 11th of June, 1867, and thence his parents removed to South Bend, Indiana, in 1868, and from the lat- ter place to Bethlehem, Albany county, New

York, in 1872. In a country district school in the last mentioned locality the subject received his early educational discipline, while later he was there under private instruction at home. In 1883 the family came to the territory of Dakota, and the subject's education was here completed in the Sioux Falls University, where, with his brother, Willett R., now of New York city, he be- longed to the upper classes in 1883-4.

Rev. William Jones Skillman, father of him whose name initiates this sketch, was born in New Jersey, in the year 1835, and was gradu- ated in Rutgers College in 1860, while three years later he was graduated in the theological semi- nary of the Dutch Reformed church, at New Brunswick, New Jersey. He forthwith entered the ministry of his ancestral church, and he has been pastor of churches of that denomination as follows: Macon, Michigan, from 1863 to 1868; South Bend, Indiana, from 1868 to 1872: First Bethlehem church, on the Hudson river, near Al- bany, New York, from 1872 until 1883. In the last mentioned year he came with his family to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, as before mentioned. Here he organized the Presbyterian church, while later he served the Presbyterian churches of Dell Rapids and Flandreau, this state, the family in the meanwhile continuing to reside in Sioux Falls. Later Mr. Skillman held for a short time the position of professor of Greek in the North- western Academy at Orange City, Iowa, and finally, in 1886, he assumed pastoral charge of the Livingston Reformed church, of Sioux Falls. while he was also editor and proprietor of the Sioux Falls Journal. In 1894 he removed to the city of Philadelphia, where he was for a time pastor of the Talmage Memorial church, being now pastor of the South church ( Reformed). of that city. Until 1902 he was also there asso- ciate editor of the "City and State." His wife, whose maiden name was Susie Eleanor Gilliland, was born in New York city, in 1841, and was reared and educated in the national metropolis, early becoming a teacher and later vice-principal of the leading public school of New Brunswick, New Jersey. The parents of the subject are both living and are hale and vigorous, worthy types of

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stanch ancestral stock and of noble manhood and womanhood.

The Skillman family is one of the oldest in America. All of the name in the United States descend from Captain Thomas Skillman, who was an English soldier and a member of the Duke of York's expedition, under command of Colonel (afterward Governor) Nicolls, to whom New Amsterdam surrendered in 1664, becoming known thereafter as New York. The subject of this sketch is of the eighth generation in direct line of descent from Captain Thomas Skillman. The family, however, is more Dutch (Holland) and Huguenot (French) than it is English, having a record, both direct and through inter-marriage, which shows such characteristic names as Petit. Aten, Van Alse, Quick, Runyon, Longstreet, Per- rine, etc. It includes at least three families all the members of which bearing the name respect- ively spring from a common ancestor-the Skill- mans, as noted, the Scudders and the Runyons. The same also may be said of all the rest except the first, though the lineage has not been worked out so closely and clearly as in the case of the three mentioned. The paternal grandmother of the subject bore the maiden name of Mary Seud- der. she being the seventh by descent from Thomas Scudder, of Plymouth, Massachusetts, and later, in 1635, of historic oldl Salem. One of the great-grandparents of the subject was Cath- arine Runyon, the fifth by descent from Vincent Rongnion, who was born in Poitou, France, in 1640, and who was one of the Huguenots who fled their native land to escape the persecution incident to the revocation of the edict of Nantes. The Perrines, on the maternal side, were also Huguenots, and the maternal grandfather of the subject's mother was by birth a Spaniard, being an early resident of New York city. The Gilli- lands were Scotch-Irish and early became set- tlers of New Jersey, the mother of Mr. Skillman being of the fourth generation from John Gilli- land. of the Spottswood neighborhood. His son David married Eleanor Perrine Willett. repre- senting another of the oldest, most numerous and best known families of New York. There is English, Dutch, French, Scotch and Scotch-

Irish, Welsh and Spanish blood in the Skillman family as represented in the subject of this sketch, and so far as known, with a single exception, that of the Spanish great-grandfather on the mother's side, not one of the families thus interrelated has been in America for less than two centuries, while some, as the Scudders and others, have been es- tablished on American soil for nearly three cen- turies. Soldiers in the war for independence, both privates and officers, are found among the ancestors of the family in nearly all its compo- nent households.

Ernest D. Skillman accompanied his parents to South Dakota in 1883, and for the first four years after his arrival in the state he devoted his attention to farming, being associated with his brother, Willett R., in improving and cultivating his father's farm, about one and one-half miles northwest of Sioux Falls, the two brothers main- taining bachelor's hall during this interval. In January, 1887, Mr. Skillman secured a position as collection clerk for the Sioux Falls National Bank, in which he was eventually promoted to the officer of teller, retaining this incumbency until the Ist of November, 1893, when he resigned, to accept a position in the office of the treasurer of Minnehaha county, where he remained until the following June, when he resigned the office to accept that of cashier and manager of the State Bank of Irene, at Irene, Clay county, said institu- tion having been organized in May, 1804. by Ja- cob Sehaetzel, Jr .. William A. Schaetzel and Mr. Skillman, who still remain the interested princi- pals, while the subject has further continued to hold the chief executive office from the time of the organization to the present.

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History of South Dakota, Vol. II, Part 8

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