History of South Dakota, Vol. II, Part 86

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 86

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In Aberdeen, on the 10th of December, 1902, Major Howard was united in marriage to Miss Grace E. Brown, who was born in Maquoketa, Iowa, October 5, 1874, being a daughter of Eb- enezer C. and Emma H. (Smith) Brown.

We cannot more consistently close this sketch than by quoting the following words uttered by its genial and popular subject : "I have been since coming to Dakota an ardent believer in the grand future of the territory now embraced in the states of North and South Dakota, and this confidence has never wavered, while to this in- dividual faith I attribute my success in busi- ness."

C. J. HAZEL, the president and general man- ager of the Golden Rule Company, who conduct the Golden Rule, one of the best equipped and most popular department stores in Aberdeen, was born in Odessa, southern Russia, on the 25th of December, 1864, and is a son of Jacob Hazel, who was born and reared in the same place and who came to the United States in 1886 and took up his residence in Campbell county, South Da- kota, where he took up government land and en- gaged in farming and stock growing. He is now

residing on his fine ranch eighteen miles west of Eureka, Campbell county, and is one of the prom- inent and honored citizens of his community. Of the nine children in the family the subject of this sketch was the third in order of birth. He was educated in the excellent schools of his native land, where he remained until 1885, when, at the age of twenty years, he came to the United States, making the present state of South Da- kota his destination. He passed the first year in Menno, Hutchinson county, and then removed to Eureka, McPherson county, where he engaged in the general merchandise business, beginning operations upon a very modest scale. He con- tinued the enterprise individually until 1888, when he admitted Frederick Hepperle and Jacob Sau- ter to partnership, this association continuing until 1889, when Mr. Sauter withdrew, while in 1892 Mr. Hepperle likewise retired from the firm. The business was thereafter continued under the title of C. J. Hazel & Company, the father of our subject being the silent partner. Most gratify- ing success attended the enterprise under this regime and the firm name was retained until 1897. when the concern was incorporated under the title of the Eureka Bazaar, and the establish- ment has since been in operation under this name while it controls a very large business, having a commodious and finely appointed store and ad- equate warehouse facilities. The subject still re- tains his interest in the business, having been president of the company until 1901, when he re- moved to Aberdeen and opened the Golden Rule dry goods store of Hon. T. F. Marshall, located in the Ward hotel building. Within the few in- tervening years the house has gained a place of unmistakable priority, while its stock has been materially increased and various departments added to the original dry-goods store. The store occupied by the company has a frontage of fifty feet and a depth of one hundred and thirty-six feet, while the basement, of the same dimensions. is utilized for the crockery, kitchen hardware, grocery and other departments. Mr. Hazel is president, treasurer and general manager of the company, and is known as an alert and discrimi- nating young business men, while it is largely due

C. J. HAZEL.

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to his efforts that the Golden Rule has risen so rapidly in popularity and gained place as one of the leading mercantile enterprises of the city.

In politics Mr. Hazel accords allegiance to the Republican party, and while a resident of Eureka he served four years as a member of the village council, and for an equal period as a member of the board of education. Fraternally he is identi- fied with the Modern Woodmen of America and the Knights of the Maccabees.

On the IIth of July, 1892, Mr. Hazel was united in marriage to Miss Caroline Schamber, a sister of Frederick W. Schamber, in whose sketch, on another page of this work, is given an outline of the family history. Mr. and Mrs. Hazel have four children, Othillie, Higo, Elsie and Edgar.

JOHN F. SAWYER, one of the representa- tive citizens of Roubaix, Lawrence county, comes of stanch old colonial stock, the name which he bears having been identified with the annals of American history since the middle of the seven- teenth century. The original progenitor in the new world was Captain William Sawyer, who was a royalist in England, and on this account was expelled by the great dictator, Oliver Crom- well. He came to America in 1640, and settled in what is now Newburyport, Massachusetts, whence his immediate descendants later removed to other parts of New England.

The subject of this sketch was born in Deer- field, Rockingham county, New Hampshire, on the 2d of March, 1856, and is a son of Ezra and Sarah Collins (Bean) Sawyer, both of whom were likewise born and reared in the old Gran- ite state, where they passed their entire lives. Samuel Collins, great-grandfather of the subject in the maternal line, was a drummer boy in the war of the Revolution, and during the war of 1812 served with distinction, holding the office of captain. He was prominently identified with the establishing of the United States military acad- emy at West Point, and continued to be deeply interested in military affairs during his entire life. Mr. Sawyer is a direct descendant, on the ma-

ternal side, of Hannah Dustin, whose name is perpetuated in early American history. While a captive of the Indians on an island in the Mer- rimac she arose at night, awakened her compan- ion captive, a boy of ten, with whose aid she tomahawked and scalped the entire party of thir- teen Indians and escaped in a canoe down the river. A statue of this noble woman graces the scene of her heroic exploit. The father of the subject was successfully engaged in the lumber business in New Hampshire during the greater portion of his active career, and was a man of prominence and influence in his section.

John F. Sawyer completed the curriculum of the common schools in his native village and then further pursued his studies in the Northwood Academy. After leaving school in 1874, he came west to Dubuque, Iowa, where he was in the employ of the Illinois Central Railroad Com- pany for the ensuing two years, at the expiration of which he set forth for the Black Hills. Upon his arrival he secured employment in the Home- stake mine, where he worked two years. He then went out as a shipper of wood and timber on the Black Hills & Fort Pierre Railroad, in the interests of the Homestake and associated mining companies of this district, and has continued to be actively concerned in this enterprise ever since, shipping the entire supply for some time and now having charge of all the narrow-gauge shipments to these companies. Mr. Sawyer is a stockholder in the First National Bank of Lead, also in the Lead Hotel Company, having owned the corner upon which the hotel was erected; he is also a stockholder in the First National Bank of Dead- wood. He has directed his efforts with signal discrimination and good judgment since coming to the state, and is now one of the substantial and highly honored citizens of the Hills. In poli- tics he gives his support to the Republican party. Fraternally he is numbered among the noble band of Elks.

On the 29th of January, 1891, Mr. Sawyer was united in marriage to Miss Nellie Pierce. who was born and reared in Iowa, being a daugh- ter of Jesse P. Pierce, who for the past thirty years has been identified with the board of trade

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and live-stock interests of Chicago. Mr. and Mrs. Sawyer have 110 children, having lost their only child, a son, in infancy.

LEWIS E. WOOD, auditor of Spink county, was born near Bourbon, Marshall county, Indi- ana, on the 15th of August, 1853, and is a son of Daniel R. and Lydia E. (Wickersham) Wood, both of whom were born in Ohio. Danicl R. Wood was of Welsh and English extraction and the original ancestors in America were early set- tled in Virginia, which was the theater of so important a portion of the historic events of our nation. The mother of the subject was a repre- sentative of the old English Quaker family of Wickershams, who settled in Pennsylvania as colonists of William Penn. The parents of the subject removed from Ohio to the densely tim- bered region of Marshall county, Indiana, in 1851, and there literally hewed out a home in the midst of the virgin forest.

Lewis Edwin Wood, the immediate subject of this review, was reared under the sturdy disci- pline of the old homestead farm. His rudimen- tary education was secured in the district schools and was supplemented by effective courses of study in the public schools of Rochester, Indi- ana. He taught in the schools of his native county for three years, after which he was en- gaged in farming in that county until 1883, when he came to South Dakota, in company with his brothers, Joshua F. and Joseph T. He entered a homestead claim of one hundred and sixty acres, near the present town of Doland, Spink county, and here developed a valuable farm. He assisted in the organization of the first school districts in the county and in the erection of the first school buildings, while his efforts in looking to the educational interests of the new county were freely given and did not lack for popular appre- ciation. In 1896 he located in Doland, where he was engaged in the drug and jewelry business until 1900, disposing of his interests there upon his election to his present office. He has ever been found a stanch advocate of the principles of the Republican party, and has striven to main-

tain the honesty of the party and to defend it against corrupting influences. In 1895 he was elected a member of the board of county commis- sioners, and was re-elected in 1898. Before the expiration of his second term he was elected to his present office of county auditor, removing with his family to Redfield in 1901. He gave a most able and satisfactory administration of the affairs of this office and was honored with re- election in the fall of 1902. Fraternally he is identified with the Masonic order, the Knights of Pythias, the Ancient Order of United Work- men and the Modern Woodmen of America.

In June, 1876, Mr. Wood was united in mar- riage to Miss Mary T. Kirk, who was a success- ful and popular teacher in the schools of their home county in Indiana. She was summoned to the life eternal in January, 1895, and is sur- vived by her two children, Roscoe, who is now a commercial traveler for the Jewett wholesale drug house, of Aberdeen, this state, and Elma, who was graduated in shorthand and typewrit- ing in Redfield College, and who now finds her services much in demand in the various offices in her home town. In May, 1897, Mr. Wood con- summated a second marriage, being then united to Miss Eliza Richards, who was for seven years a teacher in the primary department of the graded schools of Argos, Indiana, in which state she was born and reared.

WILLIAM A. MORRIS, one of the leading members of the legal profession of Spink county, and a prominent citizen of Redfield, was born at Mount Carroll. Carroll county, Illinois, on December 13, 1864, and is the son of J. P. and Jamima Morris, both natives of Ohio. When a youth the father removed to Wisconsin with his parents, and he there grew to manhood, and was there married. From Wisconsin the parents of the subject removed to Carroll county, Illinois. where they resided until 1881, then removed to Fulton, Illinois. In 1896 they came to Redfield. The mother died in 1899, and the father died in July, 1901.

William A. Morris was reared on the home

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farm in Illinois. He attended the district schools, and then entered the Northern Illinois College at Fulton, where he was graduated in the class of 1883. While a student at college he also read law to some extent. After leaving college he be- came associated with his brother, S. E. Morris, in the clothing business at Fulton, Illinois. Subse- quently they removed their business to Darling- ton, Wisconsin, and combined the same until S. E. Morris came to South Dakota, at which time the subject resumed his legal studies. In 1888 he came to South Dakota, and the following year was admitted to the bar of the state. In January, 1890, he engaged in the practice at Redfield, where he has since con- tinned with success. In 1894 Mr. Morris was elected state's attorney for Spink county, and was re-elected in 1896. During 1893-4 he also held the office of city attorney for Redfield. At the national meeting of the Sons of Veterans held at Syracuse, New York, in 1901, Mr. Mor- ris was elected by that body to the position of secretary and attorney for the Memorial Univer- sity, the buildings for which are now in course of erection at Mason City, Iowa. The duties of his dual office requires the presence of Mr. Mor- ris in Mason City a considerable portion of his time.

Mr. Morris is a Republican in politics. He is identified with the Masonic fraternity, belong- ing to the chapter and commandery of that or- der. He is also a member of the Knights of Pythias.

On December 29, 1892, Mr. Morris was mar- ried to Edna Upton, who was born in Illinois, and who came with her parents to South Dakota in 1886. To this union the following children have been born : Marguerite, Helen and Merle, the last named having died at the age of six vears.

HERMAN V. SEARS, of Plankinton, Au- rora county, was born in Rock county, Wiscon- sin, on the 23d of October, 1848, being a son of Thomas W. and Elizabeth K. ( Stone) Sears, of whose four children three are living: Herman

V., subject of this sketch ; Edgar P., engaged in the real-estate business in Salt Lake City; and Minnie, wife of J. F. Anderson, a humber mer- chant of Mitchell, South Dakota. Thomas W. Sears was born in Southampton, England, and was ten years of age at the time of his parents' emigration to America, the family settling on a farm in New York state, where he was reared and educated. He came west about 1845 and set- tled in Rock county, Wisconsin, as a pioneer farmer, purchasing government land and there continuing to follow agricultural pursuits until 1867, when he removed to West Union, Iowa, where he engaged in mercantile business and was also interested in farming. In 1882 he came to Chamberlain, South Dakota, and here made wise investments in connection with various enter- prises, having likewise been in advance of the tide of immigration in this state, as had he been in. Wisconsin and Iowa. He here lived practi- cally retired until his death, in 1887. He was a Republican in politics and both he and his wife were active members of the Congregational church, her death occurring in 1888.

Herman V. Sears secured his rudimentary education in the public schools and thereafter attended the Allen's Hill Seminary, at Allen's Hill, Wisconsin. He continued to be identified with farming until 1873, when he engaged in the livery and live-stock business in West Union, Iowa. In 1881 he came as a pioneer to Cham- berlain, South Dakota, and here, on the Ist of January of that year, was associated with George Wright in opening to the public the popular hotel then known as the Wright House and now as the Mussman House. One year later he sold his interest to his partner and engaged in the livery and live-stock business, disposing of his livery a few years later and then becoming exten- sively engaged in the ranching business in Jack- son county. being associated in this enterprise with his eldest son. In 1900 Mr. Sears, in coni- pany with J. W. Sanford and W. L. Montgom- ery, organized the Commercial Bank at Plankin- ton, and he was chosen cashier of the same, in which capacity he has since served, the bank hav- ing gained a high reputation for stability and ca-

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pable management. In the spring of 1903 the subject purchased the interest of Mr. Sanford and the institution is now owned by him and Mr. Montgomery. Mr. Sears is a progressive and public-spirited citizen, is a stalwart Republican in politics and served as a member of the council and the school board while a resident of Cham- berlain. He is a member of West Union Lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in West Union, Iowa, and also of the Iowa Legion of Honor, while he is identified with the various bodies of the Masonic fraternity in Chamberlain and with the consistory of the Scottish Rite in Yankton, having attained to the thirty-second de- gree in the same.

On the 5th of March, 1869, Mr. Sears was united in marriage to Miss Libbie Wade, of Sun- ner, Iowa, who died June 14, 1882, and of their four children three are living, namely : Fred H., who has charge of the ranching business in which he is associated with his father; Nellie W., who has charge of the books in the lumber yards of J. F. Anderson at the headquarters in Mitchell, this state; and Charles W., who is in the marine service at Yokohama, Japan, having participated in the Chinese campaign and also in the military maneuvers in the Philippines. On August 8, 1884, Mr. Sears was married to Miss Belle Drury, of Mason, Illinois, and they have one child, Lulu M. Sears, born September 20, 1889.

AARON S. STUVER, a well-known and honored citizen of Kimball, Brule county, is a na- tive of the old Keystone state, having been born in Northampton county, Pennsylvania, on the 5th of January, 1842, a son of Charles and Mary (Santee) Stuver, of whose twelve children ten are yet living. The parents removed to Summit county, Ohio, when the subject was but seven years of age, and there he received his prelimi- nary educational discipline in the common schools, after which he continued his studies in Hiram College, at Hiram, that state, the late President James A. Garfield having been at the head of the institution at the time. In August, 1862, Mr. Stuver manifested his loyalty and patriotism by

enlisting as a private in Company I, One Hun- dred and Fifteenth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, which was assigned to the Army of the Cumber- land, and he continued in active service until the close of the war, having participated in several important battles and having ever been found at the post of duty, while the history of his regiment is the history of his military career. He received his honorable discharge at Murfreesboro, Ten- nessee, June 22, 1865. He retains his interest in his old comrades in arms and manifests the same by holding membership in the Grand Army of the Republic.

After the close of the war Mr. Stuver went to Illinois, where he followed the vocation of land surveyor about two years, at the expiration of which he located in Jasper county, Iowa, where he completed a thorough course of study in the law, being admitted to the bar of the state in 1871. He then entered upon the active practice of his profession in Newton, Iowa, where he remained until 1880, when he removed to Colorado and turned his attention to mining and civil engineer- ing. On the 20th of October. 1882, he arrived in Brule county, South Dakota, and the attitude which he held in regard to his mining operations may be understood when we revert to the fact that he admits that at that time he considered a quarter section of Dakota land worth more than an average mine in Colorado. He has been ac- tively engaged in the practice of his profession ever since coming to the county and he is also engaged in the abstract business at the present time, having maintained his home and business headquarters in Kimball since 1885. He is at the present time a member of the board of com- missioners of the State Soldiers' Home, at Hot Springs, having been appointed to this position by Governor Herreid, in 1904, for a term of six years. In politics Mr. Stuver is a stalwart advo- cate of the principles of the Republican party, taking an active part in the party councils in his county and state, and fraternally he is identified with the Masonic order.

In 1872 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Stuver to Miss Josephine Hough, who died in Chamberlain, this state, in August, 1883. In

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1887 he married Miss Ellen Pratt, who was sun- moned into eternal rest in 1896, the family home at the time having been on a farm owned by the subject near Kimball. On the 26th of June, 1900, Mr. Stuver married Miss Flora Weitzel, at Warsaw, Indiana. They have no children, nor were any born of the preceding marriages.

FRANCIS D. ADAMS, deceased, late of Groton, Brown county, was a native of the old Green Mountain state, having been born in Wa- terbury, Vermont, on the 21st of February, 1838, while it can not be denied that he possessed to a marked degree the noble characteristics which ever typify the sturdy sons of New England. He was reared and educated in his native state and there remained until about the year 1861, when he came west to the state of Michigan, locating in Grattan, Kent county, where he became asso- ciated with his brothers, George and John, in the manufacturing of furniture, wagons and car- riages. To this enterprise he was giving his at- tention at the time when the dark cloud of war cast its pall over the nation, and he forthwith subordinated his personal interests to the needs of his country. He effected the organization of Company D, First Michigan Engineers and Me- chanics, and was elected second lieutenant of the same, later being promoted first lieutenant, while he acted in the capacity of adjutant general. Mr. Adams was in active service for two and one- half years, and his record was that of a loyal and valiant son of the Republic. After victory had crowned the Union arms it was his privilege to participate in the grand review, in the national capital.

After the war Mr. Adams continued his resi- dence in Grattan and Lowell, Michigan, until 1880, when he came to Groton, South Dakota, where he forthwith identified himself most inti- mately with local affairs, his mental powers and long business experience well equipping him for leadership. He here became associated with S. W. Weber and H. C. Sessions in the organization of the Farmers' Bank, which was later reorgan- ized as the Brown County Bank, and of this well-

known and popular institution he served as a di- rector until his death, while he also made large and judicious investments in lands in the valley of the James river. He ever kept in touch with civic and public affairs, was progressive in his ideas and did his part in promoting the develop- ment and material prosperity of his home city,

In politics Mr. Adams gave an uncompromis- ing support to the principles of the Republican party, and in 1892 he was elected to represent his district in the state senate, this being the third general assembly after the admission of South Dakota to the Union. In the council cham- bers of the commonwealth he proved anew his loyalty and his ability, being recognized as one of the valuable working members of the senato- rial body and being made chairman of the im- portant committee on appropriations. In 1895 Governor Sheldon appointed Mr. Adams a member of the state board of regents of education, and here his influence was exerted in a most help- ful way. He continued incumbent of this office until he was summoned from the field of life's labors. His religious faith was liberal, mainly in doing good to those around him. Fraternally he was a member of the Masonic order, in which he had attained the Knights Templar degrees, his funeral services being conducted under the beautiful and impressive ritual and ceremonies of this time-honored fraternity. The death of Mr. Adams occurred on the 17th of January, 1899, and the community manifested a sense of personal bereavement, for he was a man who ever held friendship as inviolate and one who had made his entire life count for good. He was kindly and considerate, tolerant in his judgment, earnest and sincere in all things. It is needless to say that the passing away of such an individ- ual must leave a distinct void.

On the 15th of March, 1871, Mr. Adams was united in marriage to Miss Jane Ashley, of Grat- tan, Michigan, she being a daughter of Sheldon Ashley, a pioncer of Kent county, that state, and an influential citizen. Mrs. Adams survives her honored husband, as do also their four children, namely: Persis E., who is the wife of Robert Reynolds, of Groton; George Sheldon, M. D.,

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who is a member of the medical staff of the state hospital, at Yankton : John Francis, who is a stu- dent in Rush Medical College, in the city of Chi- cago; and Charles Edwin, who is a student in the University of Minnesota.

HARRY D. CHAMBERLAIN, the efficient and popular Indian agent at the Crow Creek res- ervation, was born in Boone county, Illinois, on the 3d of September, 1856, and is a son of Jo- seph and Sally (Hovey) Chamberlain, of whose eleven children five are still living, namely : Helen, who is the widow of O. C. Brown, is a resident of Sterling, Nebraska; Eliza J. is the wife of Eugene Reeves, of Burr, that state ; Le- roy E. is a resident of Capron, Illinois ; Harry D. is the immediate subject of this sketch; and Horace resides in Belvidere, Illinois. The par- ents of the subject were born in New York. Jo- seph Chamberlain removed with his mother to Boone county, Illinois, in 1832, his father having died in Brattleboro, Vermont, and a few years later the parents of his future wife also took up abode in the same county, which was then prac- tically an unbroken wilderness. The paternal grandmother of the subject was one of the first settlers in that section, where she lived to attain the venerable age of ninety-eight years, while the maternal grandparents had nearly attained the age of ninety at time of death. Joseph Chamberlain became one of the pioneer farmers of Illinois, and his death occurred on the land which he se- cured from the government fifty-nine years prior to his demise, which occurred in 1891. After his death his widow removed into the town of Ca- pron, where she has since maintained her home. being eighty-one years of age at the time of this writing, in 1903. The father was originally a Whig and later a Republican, and though he held various local positions of trust he was never an office seeker.

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History of South Dakota, Vol. II, Part 86

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