History of South Dakota, Vol. II, Part 80

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 80

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Matthew Owens passed his boyhood days in Wisconsin and Minnesota, where he secured such educational advantages as were afforded in the public schools, in the meanwhile assisting his father in the work of the farm. At the age of twenty-one years he secured employment in a hardware store at Plain View, Minnesota, and there learned the tinner's trade, to which he gave his attention until 1879, when he came to the pres- ent state of South Dakota and cast in his lot with its pioneers. He arrived at his destination on the 22d of July and shortly afterward filed entry up- on a homestead claim in Buffalo township, Min- nehaha county, retaining the property in his pos- session for two years and then exchanging the same for a farm about a mile distant from the same. There he continued to be engaged in farm- ing and stock growing for the ensuing two years, at the expiration of which he removed to Madison, Lake county, where he followed the work of his trade for the following four years. within which time he assisted in the erection of the normal school building and other large struc- tures. He thereafter devoted his attention to the cultivation of his farm until 1891, when he took up his residence in Montrose, McCook county, and there engaged in the hardware business. In

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the following year he sold his farm, and in De- cember, 1893, his hardware establishment was de- stroyed by fire, entailing practically a total loss, with no insurance indemnity, and under these ad- verse conditions he found it expedient to again resume work at his trade, which he there followed for two years. In 1898 Mr. Owens came to Hum- boldt and accepted his present position in charge of the local interest of the Tuttle Lumber Com- pany, in which connection he has accon- plished an excellent work in extending the scope of the business, while he is also a stockholder in the Farmers' Bank and the owner of good town property. In politics Mr. Owens is arrayed in support of the principles of the Populist party, and he has shown a deep interest in public affairs and in the furthering of the cause of his party. He has held various town- ship and school offices, and in 1890 was candidate on the independent ticket for representative of his district, making a spirited canvass, but meeting defeat with the remainder of the ticket. He is identified in a fraternal way with the local lodge of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, and also with that of the Ancient Order of United Workmenl.

On the 13th of October, 1875, in Minnesota, Mr. Owens was united in marriage to Miss Au- gusta Fricke, who was born in the state of New York, of stanch German lineage. and of their children we enter the following brief record : Earl G. died at the age of nine years; Mabel I. completed her education in a normal school at Winona, Minnesota, and is now a successful teacher in the public schools of Minneapolis, Minnesota : Alfred E., who was born in the orig- inal sod house built by his father on section 3. Buffalo township, on the 30th of December, 1880, a winter memorable in the annals of the state by reason of its extreme severity, was a young man of fine character and marked ability, and a most promising life was cut short by his death, at Lead, in the Black Hills, on the 22d of March, 1904: Mattie was graduated in the state normal school in Madison, as a member of the class of 1904. and remains at the parental home, as do also the younger daughters, Annie and Minnie.

THOMAS H. AYRES, president of the Gas Belt Land and Abstract Company, with head- quarters at Pierre, was born on a farm four miles from Akron, Summit county, Ohio, on the 3d of October, 1865, and is a son of Homer C. and Emma T. ( Fessenden ) Ayres, who removed to Osceola, Iowa, when he was a child. There the subject attended the public schools until he had attained the age of fifteen years, and his further discipline was secured under those conditions which have been consistently designated as offer- ing the advantages of a liberal education, that is, he thoroughly learned the printer's trade. In 1884, at the age of eighteen years, he came to the territory of Dakota, and began the publication of a paper known as Plain Talk, in Vermillion, Clay county, continuing its publication until 1891 and making it a potent factor in local and political affairs. He then went to North Dakota and as- sumed the editorial management of the North Dakota Independent, at Grand Forks, the same being the official organ of the Farmers' Alliance of the state. During the campaign of 1892 he was secretary of the Populist state central com- mittee of North Dakota, Governor Shortridge and the other candidates on the fusion state ticket being elected. He was later associated with W. R. Bierly in the publication of the Daily Grand Forks News, but in 1893 returned to Vermillion and resumed the publication of Plain Talk, being thus engaged until August. 1901, when he sold the plant and business to W. R. Colvin, the pres- ent owner and publisher. On the 12th of Janu- ary. 1897, Mr. Ayres was appointed secretary to Governor A. E. Lee and retained this incum- bency during that executive's two terms. In 1900 he did special newspaper work during the session of the legislature, and in July, 1901, he here engaged in the real-estate business, in which he individually continued operations until De- cember, 1901, when he associated himself with John I. Newell in the organization of the Gas Belt Land and Abstract Company, which is in- corporated for 'ten thousand dollars and which already controls a large and important business and which is exerting distinctive influence in fur- thering the progress of this section of the state,

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Mr. Ayres having been president of the company from the time of its inception. In February, 1903, he was chosen a member of the Pierre capi- tal committee and is taking a most active inter- est in the work of the committee in connection with strenuously maintaining the claims of Pierre against other towns which are striving to wrest the capital from the city. Fraternally he is iden- tified with the Knights of Pythias.

In Sioux City, Iowa, on the IIth of June, 1892, Mr. Ayres was united in marriage to Miss Cora Kelsey Smith, who was at the time a teacher in the public schools and who was born in Flor- ence, Vermont. They have four children, Clara, Fanny, Homer and Rollin.

ARTHUR LINN came to the territory of Dakota in December, 1869, locating at Yank- ton. In January. 1870, he purchased the Union and Dakotian, the only paper at the capital and the first paper issued in the territory. He took an active part in territorial affairs, political and otherwise, and was elected chairman of the Re- publican county committee in 1870, and took a leading part in the campaigns of 1870, 1872, 1874 and 1876. His first newspaper experience was gained in the editorial rooms of Harper's Weekly - in 1858, when a boy. The editor of Harper's Weekly in 1858 was John Bonner, a warm friend of Mr. Linn, and he offered him a position, which was accepted. He remained in Harper's until the summer of 1860, going to the editorial rooms of the New York Herald, then under the per- sonal management of the elder Bennett, with Fredric Hudson as editor in chief. During Mr. Linn's connection with Harper's Weekly he met nearly all the prominent people of the nation, in- cluding Edward Everett, Stephen A. Douglas, Alexander HI. Stephens, of Georgia, the blind preacher, Mr. Milburn, ex-President Fillmore, General Thomas, Francis Meagher, and all the prominent literary men and women of that time.

When the echoes of rebellion rolled up from Charleston, Mr. Linn was with the Herald, and had the honor of climbing the flagstaff on the old Herald building, corner of Nassau and Ful-

ton streets, and raising the first American flag put up over any newspaper building in New York City. After the news came that Sumter had fallen, a patriotic mob composed of thou- sands visited every newspaper office in the city the next day and compelled every one of them to purchase a flag and show their colors. The raising of the flag over the Herald office on the afternoon of April 14, 1861, saved that office from the demonstrations which followed.

On August 23, 1861, Mr. Linn enlisted and

ARTHUR LINN.

became a member of Company H. Tenth New York National Zouaves, and joined the regiment at Fortress Monroe. It is not material to this sketch how old Linn was when he enlisted, but as a matter of record it may be stated that he was just fourteen years and eight months old when he donned his zouave uniform in New York city, but the recruiting officer was made to believe that he was eighteen, or he could not have become a soldier. He served three years in the Army of the Potomac, and was on guard on the beach at Fortress Monroe the night the "Monitor" arrived from New York and chal-

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lenged Lieutenant Worden and his boat as he was seeking a pilot so that he could go to the relief of the frigate "Minnesota," which ran into a sand bar while going to the relief of the "Cumberland" and "Congress," which were destroyed by the "Merrimac" in the fatal encounter March 8, 1862. He took part in the capture of Norfolk, Virginia, May 10, 1862, which resulted in the destruction of the "Merrimac," and Linn saw her burn and then blow up in the night, after the Union troops had captured Norfolk and Portsmouth. From Norfolk his regiment was ordered to join General McClellan's army in front of Richmond, and his regiment was one of the first to meet the on- slaught of Hill's corps at Mechanicsville, which opened the seven-days fight in front of the rebel capital. After the bloody campaign his regi- ment was sent to Washington, along with the Army of the Potomac, and took part in the bloody battles which stayed Lee's advance against Washington, and again marched to meet Lee at Antietam and again at Gettysburg.

Mr. Linn was mustered out at Norfolk, Vir- ginia, August 23, 1864, and was offered a posi- tion with the field staff of the New York Herald, with headquarters at City Point, and the Herald was the only paper that had headquarters within the sacred circle which surrounded General Grant at City Point during the siege of Peters- burg. In the fall of 1865 Linn returned to New York, and in March, 1866, left for Iowa to visit relatives at Charles City, and, strange as it may seem, he had not visited his old home on Staten Island, below the city, until February, 1904, when he was a guest of President Hill to witness the launching of the great steamship "Dakota," at New London, Connecticut, February 6th. After the launching he visited the scenes of his boy- hood in New York, Brooklyn and Staten Island, and returned to his home at Canton, South Da- kota, better satisfied with his home and state than ever before.

During the summer of 1872 Mr. Linn made a visit to Spotted Tail's hostile camp, half way between the Missouri river and the Black Hills, and while on that trip was shown a bag of gold by old James Bordeau, which he easily proved

came from the Black Hills. On Mr. Linn's re- turn to Yankton he published a full account of the matter, with such proof as to convince all that there was plenty of gold in the Hills, and from that time the excitement grew and continued to develop until finally the white man had driven the Indians out and the great stampede of 1876 began. Linn's account was the first evidence of the great wealth of the Hills, and in 1873 the famous Collins expedition was organized at Sioux City, which was stopped by General Hancock. In 1874 General Custer was sent into the Hills to explore the country and Linn's account was found to be correct. In 1875 a few daring gold hunters got into the Hills, but the Indians and soldiers drove them out. In 1876 a stampede began which the Indians were powerless to stop, and the his- tory of the famous Deadwood gulch began. In 1897 Arthur Linn was appointed commandant of the South Dakota Soldiers' Home and remained in command until May, 1901, when his successor was chosen. Mr. Linn returned to Canton and again took charge of his paper which had been in charge of his son Arthur during his absence, and he says he expects to remain in the editorial harness for the balance of his active life, and con- tinue to promote the best interests of the state which he has done so much for. He was secre- tary of the territorial council during the session of 1874-75, but declined a second term in 1876-7.

Mr. Linn is a thirty-second-degree Mason and a member of Consistory No. I, of Yankton, and is also a Knight Templar. He is the editor and proprietor of the Dakota Farmers' Leader at Canton and owns one of the best printing plants in the state.

On June 7, 1870, Mr. Linn married Etta Brown, daughter of Colonel and Mrs. E. M. Brown, of Montpelier, Vermont. Three children came to bless their home, but only one remains, Florence Jean Etta, born November 24, 1890. The eldest son, Arthur Edward, born May 8, 1876, died January 21, 1901. Alexander, born November 24, 1880, died May 18, 1895.

Mr. Linn is a member of the Methodist church, and the oldest newspaper editor in the state. He has seen Dakota grow from fourteen

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thousand people in 1870, to nearly five hundred thousand in 1904, and expects to see a popula- tion of one million before he retires from the ac- tive management of the Leader.

GEORGE W. BURNSIDE, the able chief executive of the municipal government of the beautiful city of Sioux Falls, is one of the repre- sentative business men of the place and a pro- gressive and public-spirited citizen. Sioux Falls owes to him a perpetual debt of gratitude and approval for what he has accomplished in her behalf, and as mayor of the city his course has been that of a broad-minded, liberal and inde- pendent executive,-one whose policy has been dictated by consummate tact and good judg- ment.

George Washington Burnside was born in Delaware county, New York, on the 3d of No- vember, 1858, being a son of Thomas and Mary ( Walley) Burnside, the former of whom died in August. 1892, while the latter was summoned into eternal rest in June, 1902, the father having been a carpenter by trade and vocation. The subject received limited educational advantages, having attended the public schools of his native county during his boyhood, while he was a student in night schools in Iowa for a short time. At the age of thirteen years Mr. Burnside left the parental roof and went to Linn county, Iowa, where he lived in the home of his uncle for the ensuing two years, at the expiration of which, when fifteen years of age, he located in Cedar Rapids, that county, and initiated his in- dependent career. He there learned the mason's trade, becoming a skilled artisan in the line, and he continued to follow his trade in Iowa until 1883. on the 28th of April of which year he ar- rived in Sioux Falls, where he established him- self in business as a contractor and builder, con- tinuing operations in this line for the ensuing three years. In 1888 he established himself in the omnibus and general transfer business, and in the following year also added a livery depart- ment to his enterprise, while another feature of the business was the undertaking department, the

equipment being of the best throughout. His became the leading concern of the sort in the city and he successfully continued operations until August, 1903, when he disposed of the livery and transfer business, still retaining the undertaking branch, which he continues to conduct. Mr. Burnside was one of the promoters and or- ganizers of the Citizens' Telephone Company. which was incorporated on the Ist of January. 1902, and which inaugurated business in July of the following year, with a thoroughly complete and modern plant. He was made vice-president of the company at the time of its organization. and in September, 1903. was chosen general manager, of which office he has since been in- cumbent, giving his attention to the duties in- volved and also to the superintendence of his un- dertaking business.

In the spring of 1886 Mr. Burnside was elected city marshal, serving two years. In 1893 he was elected to represent the fifth ward on the board of aldermen, being retained in this posi- tion five successive terms and making a most creditable official record. In 1898 he was the Republican nominee for the mayoralty and was defeated by only ten votes, and in 1900 he again became the nominee of his party for this office and was victorious at the polls, giving so able an administration as to gain to him distinctive popular confidence and endorsement, as was shown in his re-election as his own successor in 1902. the consensus of opinion being that the city has never had a more discriminating. in- dependent, conscientious and public-spirited executive. It was in natural sequence that he should receive the nomination of his party for a third term, on the 12th of April, 1904, and in the ensuing election he again demonstrated his hold upon popular confidence and esteem, the re- sult being his re-election by about six hundred majority. It should be noted in this connection that he has been from the start an uncompromis- ing advocate of the municipal ownership of such public utilities as the water-works and the electric lighting system, and it is principally due to his indefatigable efforts that Sioux Falls now con- trols both its fine water and electric systems, the

GEORGE W. BURNSIDE.

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water-works being practically completed at the time of this writing. Through this system will be afforded the city a far superior supply of water than that given by the old system, controlled by eastern capital. While he met with much op- position in his plans for the installing of the new plant, he had the courage of his convictions and the determined spirit which enabled him to bring them to consummation, and citizens in general will have cause to commend him for his action for many years to come. The original water company was bonded for four hundred and thirty thousand dollars, while the city has installed a much better plant at a cost of only two hundred and ten thousand dollars. Under Mayor Burnside's administration the city also put in its own electric-lighting plant, which is modern in all respects and gives the best of service at a minimum cost, while he has infused vitality and business-like methods into all other departments of the municipal service, keeping all details under his personal attention and sparing neither time nor effort in his labors to protect and promote the general welfare. He is known as a most liberal and unostentatious supporter of charitable ob- jects and enterprises, and in these lines his aid and influence are ever freely and graciously given.

In politics Mr. Burnside was affiliated with the Democracy until 1896, when he gave his sup- port to the late lamented President Mckinley, and since that time he has given a stanch al- legiance to the Republican party, in whose cause he is a most zealous and enthusiastic worker. Fraternally the Mayor is identified with Min- nehaha Lodge, No. 5. Ancient Free and Accepted Masons : Sioux Falls Chapter. No. 2, Royal Arch Masons; and Cyrene Commandery, No. 2, Knights Templar. He is one of the prominent and influential members of the time-honored fraternity in the state, and is past grand com- mander of the grand commandery of Knights Templar of South Dakota. He is a charter member of El Riad Temple, Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, and of Sioux Falls Lodge. No. 262, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.

On the 17th of November, 1881, Mr. Burn- side was united in marriage to Miss Annie E. Reed, of Vinton, Iowa, and they have three children, Clarence Ambrose, May Reed and Elsie Elizabeth.

PETER B. DIRKS, cashier of the Citizens' State Bank at Oacoma, the first banking institut- tion incorporated in Lyman county, was born in Poland, on the 29th of September, 1869, being a son of Benjamin and Agnes (Schartner) Dirks, whose eleven children are all living. The parents came with their children to the United States in 1885. locating in Turner county, South Dakota, and there the father and mother still maintain their home.

Peter B. Dirks acquired his early education in the German schools of his native land, his par- ents having been residents of that part of Poland which is under German dominion, and he was seventeen years of age at the time of the family emigration to America. He remained at the pa- rental home for two years after they located in South Dakota and then secured a clerical position in a general store at Marion Junction, Turner county, where he was salesman for three years and bookkeeper for the concern for the ensuing four years, and the knowledge gained through this practical experience has enabled him to at- tain success and to be recognized as one of the able and progressive young business men of his adopted state. In 1893 Mr. Dirks came to Lyman connty and became associated with his brother Isaac in establishing a general store at Dirks- town. Our subject was made postmaster at this point and the village which grew up about their store was named in honor of the two brothers, who were practically the founders of the town. In connection with their mercantile enterprise they became extensively interested in the live- stock business, and soon gained a position of prominence in connection with the industrial af- fairs of this favored section of the state. In 1896 Isaac Dirks was elected county auditor, and the subject removed to Oacoma, the county seat, where he assumed charge of the office, as deputy

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to his brother. in 1898 he was elected county treasurer, serving one term and then withdrawing from active politics to engage in the real-estate loan business in company with his brother Isaac, under the firm name of Dirks Brothers. Upon him devolved the responsibility of supervising this enterprise, while his brother continued to have charge of their extensive ranching interests. In 1902 the Citizens' State Bank was organized and the subject was elected cashier of the same, and in this capacity he has since given efficient service, gaining to the institution a high standing and marked popularity in this part of the county. He is a stanch advocate of the principles of the Republican party and is at the present time secre- tary of the county central committee. He was the prime mover in organizing the Old Settlers' Association of the county, of which he was presi- dent for the first two years, since which time he has served as secretary, having been one of the leading spirits in the organization, which now has about four hundred members. He is secre- tary of the Lyman Creamery Company, whose plant, in Dirkstown, was completed in May. 1903. He is also vice-president of the Bankers' Associ- ation of Lyman county and is one of the repre- sentative citizens of this section of the state. Fraternally he holds membership in Chamber- lain Lodge, No. 126, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and Chamberlain Lodge, No. 88. An- cient Order of United Workmen. Mr. Dirks is still a bachelor, and enjoys marked popularity in business and social circles.

DAVID MOORE, one of the sterling citizens of Stanley county, and who was prominently con- cerned in the organization of the county and also of the present county seat, the city of Fort Pierre, is a native of the state of Indiana, having been born on a farm in Washington township, Clay county, on the 18th of September, 1838, and be- ing a son of Levi and Indiann ( Slaven) Moore, the former of whom was born in Kentucky and the latter in Indiana, while both were descended from stanch old Irish stock. Mrs. Moore was the first white child born in the old fort at Terre

Haute, Indiana, during the war of 1812. The Moore family was early established in America, and the records show that the paternal grandpar- ents and great-grandfather of the subject were born in Pennsylvania, while the great-grandfa- ther, the grandfather and two brothers of the former were valiant soldiers in the Continental line during the war of the Revolution, serving during the greater portion of the time under General Washington. The maternal great- grandparents of the Judge were born in Ireland, and the maternal grandfather was a soldier in the war of 1812. Levi and Indiann Moore continued to reside in Indiana until about 1855, when they removed to Tazewell county, Illinois, where they passed the remainder of their long and useful lives, having become the parents of nine chil- dren, of whom five are now living, the subject having been the third in order of birth. Levi Moore devoted the greater portion of his life to agricultural pursuits, and was a man of strong individuality and sterling integrity of character. He died in 1886 and his wife in 1865.

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History of South Dakota, Vol. II, Part 80

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