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William Schneider, of Cleveland township, Bon Homme county, is one of the most progressive farmers of the state and is deservedly successful in his agricultural operations. Mr. Schneider's ancestry is mainly French, although there is a German strain in his lineage, as is indicated by his surname. His father, Eugene Schneider, was an Alsatian by birth and was thoroughly French in his sympathies and tastes. His wife, who bore the name of Margaret Curie, was a native of France and may have belonged to the same family that produced the famous French scientist of that name. Mr. and Mrs. Schneider were the parents of seven sons and one daughter, all of whom still survive but one son. Only two, however, reside in Bon Homme county - William, and a sister, Emily, who is now the wife of Hugh G. Gunn, formerly county commissioner from Scotland.

William Schneider was born in Washington county, Iowa, where his parents had settled in the 50s, his natal day being December 2, 1863. He resided on the home farm until the spring of 1881, becoming familiar in the meantime with all branches of agricultural work. His father had foreseen the value of South Dakota land and had purchased a farm in this state, near which an older brother of our subject had homesteaded two years earlier and was then living. In 1881 he assumed the management of the home farm and thus relieved William, who had been operating it for some time. The latter then came to South Dakota, arriving here early in March, 1882. He went as far as Mitchell by train and from that point, in company with a neighbor, started overland for Scotland, near which town George Schneider and a sister were living. Towards evening he and his companion began to inquire at the houses along the way if they could obtain a night's lodging, but to their surprise were refused. The settlers were members of a German colony from Russia who had not yet acquired the western spirit of hospitality. The travelers eventually found an empty shed and spent the night there. Mr. Schneider worked for two years in the employ of his brother, but as the crops failed both years received practically nothing for his labor. The second winter his brother and sister went home, intending to be gone but two weeks, but it was three months before they returned. During that time he had the entire responsibility of the farm and also had to do all the necessary house work. In the spring of 1885 he left his brother George and joined his brother Louis, who was living near the village of Bon Homme. After remaining in his service for two years, William Schneider married and the following spring removed to a farm of his own. After eight years he rented his farm here and removed to Iowa where he lived six years. He then returned to his farm in South Dakota where he has since resided. He purchased the land from his father for sixteen hundred dollars, which was quite an advance over the price paid by his father, which was but three hundred and fifty dollars. At the present time, however, it could not be bought for ten times the amount paid by our subject, such has been the rapid development of the state and the consequent increase in land values. Mr. Schneider of this review at length purchased a second quarter section, paying therefor fifty dollars per acre and that land would now bring more than double the purchase price. His three hundred and twenty acre tract is fertile and produces excellent crops annually. Mr. Schneider with his energy and initiative, has won him gratifying success.

Mr. Schneider was married in Springfield, this state, July 4, 1885, to Miss Maggie Egan, a native of Virginia, who came to Dakota at an early date with her mother Mrs. Patrick McDonald. Mr. and Mrs. Schneider have become the parents of nine children. Frank, their firstborn, died at the age of eight years while attending business college at Grand Island, Nebraska. Mary E. E. At home is an artist in needlework, doing fine embroidery and drawn work. William L. is working in Tyndall. Joseph, Paul, Violet, Edna, Grace and Leo are all at home. Mary, William, Joseph and Violet have attended the Springfield Normal School. Mr. Schneider was reared in the Catholic church and his family are devout communicants thereof.

Mr. Schneider came to this state when there were still many evidences of pioneer life and although buffalo, deer and antelope had disappeared, wolves were still seen occasionally. Twisted hay was the common fuel for the first year of two and one winter he and his brother mowed the long slough grass above the ice of a frozen marsh. Prairie fires were not at all uncommon and while living with his brother in Scotland he had to fight fire for nearly three weeks. On the 12th of January, 1888, he and Albert Eymer went to Bon Homme Island for wood and when the cloud of ice dust enveloped them and the temperature descended a degree a minute, they started home in haste with their sleighloads of wood. As the storm grew worse rapidly they left their wood and made their way as quickly as possible homeward. For a time they found shelter in an old log house, but later in the afternoon, seeing no sign of abatement in the storm, they trudged the blinding ice dust to the old Bon Homme store, where they spent the night. There were twelve or fifteen others who had taken refuge there and about midnight the company made an oyster stew from canned oysters found in the store. The group was in high spirits and the feast was one never to be forgotten. The energy and willingness to take advanced steps that characterized Mr. Schneider in the early days of the state are still salient traits of his character and are manifested in his progressive methods of farming. In the summer of 1914 he added to his equipment a large traction engine and a gang plow and before August was two-thirds gone he had plowed one hundred and forty acres of land and sowed to wheat all the land he desired to seed that year, although most of his neighbors had plowed but a few rods of land by that time. He is always among the first to adopt any improved machinery and he is always willing to utilize a new method that promises to make farming more efficient. He had contributed much to the development of the agricultural interests of his county and is one of the leaders in the effort to place farming upon a more scientific basis. He is not only up-to-date and successful as an agriculturist, but as a man he commands the respect of all who know him, his life being upright and honorable.

Frank Ptak, a lumberman and extensive landowner residing in Tyndall, South Dakota, is a native of Johnson county, Iowa, born near Solon, April 2, 1860. His parents, Joseph and Anna (Mainer) Ptak, were natives of Bohemia, where their marriage occurred in 1851. Four years later they emigrated to America and first located in Johnson county, Iowa. They resided upon a farm there until removing to Bon Homme county, this state, in 1870. The father came to that region in the fall of 1869 and in the March following brought the family to his claim near Tabor. His farm consisted of a quarter section, which he had secured under both the preemption and the homestead laws. He lived but a few years to enjoy his new home, as, while returning from a mill on the Sioux river, he contracted a severe cold, which developed into pneumonia and caused his death in January, 1874. His wife was left with a family of six sons to provide for and rear and this she did with the courage that many men do not possess. She lived to see all of them prosperous and worthy citizens and was rewarded by their filial devotion. She passed away May 18, 1914, at the ripe old age of eighty-six years.

Frank Ptak was the third in order of birth in a family of six sons and remained with his mother until he was thirty years of age, giving her his time and labor in order that she might live in comfort in her old age. After his marriage he farmed party of the family estate for one summer and the following fall, in partnership with his brother, Tomas V., bought a lumberyard in Tyndall. They continued to operate it and branch yards together until 1905, when the partnership was dissolved, Mr. Ptak of this review taking as a part of his share in the business the yard at Avon, which he still owns, but intrusts the details of its operation to a manage, while he still maintains his residence in Tyndall. His lumber business has proved very successful and he has been able to invest in land from time to time. As he is a firm believer in the value of agricultural property in South Dakota, he has invested the profits which his farms return him in other land. He is one of the extensive land owners in Bon Homme county and in addition to the twelve hundred acres which he owns in that county, has has a half section in Charles Mix county, and equal amount in Edmunds county and a quarter section in Buffalo county. All told, he hold title to over two thousand acres of excellent farming and grazing land. The mere statement of the extent of his property is sufficient proof of the success which has been gained by methods above reproach.

Mr. Ptak was married in Tyndall, May 5, 1890, to Miss Frantiska Totusek, a native of the village of Prosetin, in the province of Moravia, Bohemia, born in 1870. Her parents, Vincent and Frantiska (Blaha) Totusek, were natives of the same province and emigrated to America in 1879, sailing from Hamburg on the steamer Frisia. They landed at New York and thence made their way to Colfax county, Nebraska, where they settled. Mrs. Ptak met her future husband while visiting her brother in Tyndall. By her marriage she has become the mother of four children, namely: Alma, who was graduated from the Iowa State University at Iowa City, in June, 1914, and is now teaching in Bon Homme county; Lillie, who is a graduate of the Tyndall high school and is also a teacher in the Bon Homme county schools; and Libuse and Sylvia, who are attending Tyndall schools.

Mr. Ptak affiliates with the Bohemian Brotherhood known by the initials Z.C.B.J., and is a republican in politics. He has served several terms on the city council and was for many years a member of the board of education, being president of that body for the greater part of the time. While in the country he was president of the township board of education. He knows by personal experience the many hardships and even dangers of frontier life in South Dakota, but he did not become discouraged and is now reaping the reward of his faith and perseverance. The family suffered from the grasshopper plague for several years in the early 70s, losing everything but sorghum, which the insects would not eat. A number of years later the subject of this review and his brother were caught out in the blizzard of January 12, 1888, but were able to make their way in safety to old Bon Homme, where they spent the night in a store. As they had had nothing to eat since morning they, together with several others, made an oyster stew on the stove in the store and enjoyed a midnight feast while the storm raged without. As Mr. Ptak endured the hardships of the early days and still retained his faith in the state, it is but fitting that he should now share abundantly in prosperity which has come to the great northwest.

Patrick McDonald is one of the most highly esteemed residents of Bon Homme County and justly so, for he came to this state in the 60s and for many years endured hardships that seem almost unbelievable in this day when pioneer conditions no longer exist. He is now living in honorable retirement on the site of the old village of Bon Homme and the number of his friends is only limited by the number of his acquaintances.

Mr. McDonald was born at Castle Barr, County Mayo, Ireland, about 1831 and in 1853 emigrated to America, first making his home in Ohio. During the Civil War he served in the Confederate army under General Fessenden of Holly Springs, Mississippi, and after the close of hostilities returned to Troy, Ohio, where his marriage occurred in 1864. Five years later he removed to Yankton, South Dakota, and was in the employ of Tom Pierce and other early contractors, helping to erect a number of buildings in the capital of the territory, including the first large hotel building in Yankton. Mr. McDonald subsequently filed on a quarter section of land three miles northeast of Bon Homme but returned to Yankton and worked there for two years before taking up residence upon his land. He built a small house and then established his family there. He, however, was absent from home the greater part of the time, as he freighted from Yankton to Fort Randall, supplying the officers at the Fort with butter, eggs, chickens and other provisions purchased at farms on the way or bought at Yankton to fill an order. At one time Mr. McDonald drove to Sioux City for something that he was unable to procure at Yankton. He made trips from Yankton to the fort during the winter months as well as during the summer and slept under the wagon, waking up many mornings covered with snow. On such occasions the harness was sure to be buried in the snow and it had to be dug out before he could begin his journey for that day.

On one trip to the fort Mr. McDonald encountered a heavy three days' snow storm and, being certain that the horses could not pull the loaded wagon through the drifted snow, he left his goods in the barn of a settler and started home with the empty wagon. He found the gulch at Choteau Creek so badly drifted that he left the wagon there and continued on his way with the horses. Still later he left one horse at Emanuel creek and endeavored to reach home riding the other horse. Near Bon Homme he left that horse as well and crawled up the hill to the village on his hands and knees. When he reached the hotel there he was packed in snow, as it seemed that he was frozen. As soon as possible he continued his way home and upon his arrival there found his family safe. The Indians caused him no trouble, as they were friendly and had confidence in him. They frequently sold goods issued to them by the government and on one occasion Mr. McDonald purchased from them a suit of clothes for three dollars. After several years the danger of losing crops to the plague of grasshoppers lessened and Mr. McDonald abandoned freighting and began the cultivation of his land, so continuing until he retired from active life a few years ago. He now lives in Bon Homme, where he is widely and favorably known.

Mr. McDonald was married in 1864 to Mrs. Hegan, a native of Scotland, and they became the parents of two children: Hannah, the wife of Tom Rodgers of Yankton; and Peter of Meade County. Mrs. McDonald died and in March 1874 Mr. McDonald married Miss Kate Monahan, a native of Virginia. To their union seven children have been born: Mary, Julia, Sarsfield, Ellen, Rosa, Charles, and Lillie.

Mr. McDonald is a democrat and his religious allegiance is given to the Catholic church. His memory retains clearly the events and happenings of the early days in this state, and his reminiscences of pioneer times are of great value in making real to the present generation the heroic story of the settlement and the development of the state.

Dr. Earle Montgomery Young, a popular physician of Plankinton, has already gained high rank in his profession and has the confidence of his colleagues and the general public. He was born in Tyndall, South Dakota, on the 3d of February, 1887, a son of C. M. and Retta F. (Murray) Young. The father was an educator and for twenty-two years was associated with the State University of South Dakota at Vermillion. Previous to his connection with that institution he was a high-school teacher and was at one time the editor of a paper at Tyndall. At the time of his death he was dean of the college of arts and sciences of the university and as he was the first man to hold that position he was largely responsible for the organization of that college and the formulation of the policies that governed the various departments thereof in their relation to each other and to the university as a whole. He was the author of a number of educational works of merit and was well known and highly respected in the educational world.

Dr. Young attended the public and high schools of Vermillion and the State University: He was graduated from the latter institution with tile degrees of A. B. and M. A., in 1908 and shell entered Rush Medical College of Chicago for preparation for the medical profession. He was graduated in December, 1912, but did not consider that he was fully qualified for the independent practice of medicine and therefore spent a year and a half as interne, thus gaining practical experience. For six months he was connected with the Home for Destitute Children and for one year was interne in the Presbyterian Hospital under Dr. D. W. Graham. Upon returning to South Dakota he located at Mount Vernon, where he practiced for a short time, but on the 1st of August, 1914, he removed to Plankinton, where he has since resided. He is accurate in diagnosis and as he keeps thoroughly informed as to the latest improvements in medical practice and the discoveries of investigators he gives his patients the benefit of the advance that is constantly being made in medical science. He has gained a large and lucrative practice and is highly esteemed by his colleagues. He is now county physician and he belongs to the Mitchell District Medical Society and to the American Medical Association. Dr. Young is an adherent of the Baptist church and fraternally is identified with the Masons, the Odd Fellows and a number of college fraternities. He has great faith in the future of South Dakota and is making his life a factor in the development of his section of the state. A representative of one of the early and influential families of South Dakota, he is proud of the fact that his parents were among those who laid the foundation for the greatness of the commonwealth, and he believes the opportunities offered the ambitious young professional man here are equal to those found elsewhere.

Brunke H. Lubbers, a well known farmer of Bon Homme county, was born in the village of Varsing-Fehn in East Friesland, kingdom of Hanover, Germany on the 27th of February, 1857. His parents were Henry and Anna (Garrelts) Lubbers. The father, a blacksmith by trade, became convinced that better opportunities awaited him in the new world and in the fall of 1866 he and his wife and all but two of their children emigrated to America, settling in Freeport, Illinois, where he established a blacksmith shop and purchased a few acres of land, upon which there was a small house. Our subject and his eldest sister were left behind when the rest of the family crossed the Atlantic to the western continent, but a year and a half later, in April 1868, they sailed from Bremerhaven on the steamer Bremen, landing in New York in May after a stormy voyage. As soon as possible they journeyed to Freeport, Illinois, and there joined the family. The father continued to work at his trade there until his death and his wife also passed away in that city.

B.H. Lubbers attended school at Freeport and as soon as old enough became his father's assistant in the blacksmith shop. Later he was for three years employed at farm work and then married and began farming on his own account. He rented land in Stephenson county for three years, but in 1884 removed farther west and purchased a farm in Grundy county, Iowa, which he cultivated and developed for ten years. In 1894 he sold that land and came to South Dakota, purchasing a farm on section 20, Cleveland precinct, Bon Homme county. He immediately began it's improvement and still resides thereon, having in the meantime added to his holdings until he now owns three hundred and sixty acres. Capacious barns, granaries, and the latest improved machinery and a garage are found upon his farm, which is further enhanced in value by groves and orchards. There is also a running stream through the place. His residence is well designed and is one of the most attractive homes in Bon Homme.

Mr. Lubbers was married in Stephenson county, Illinois to Miss Ella Zimmerman, a native of East Friesland, whence her parents, Fred and Gretge (Amilsberg) Zimmerman, emigrated to America in 1865. To Mr. and Mrs. Lubbers was born eleven children, of whom eight survive. Henry has filed on a section homestead in western Nebraska under the Kincaid Law. Fred cultivates part of his father's farm and married Jennie Johnson, of Bon Homme county, by whom he has two sons and one daughter. Gretge, or Grace, if the English form of the name is used, married George Sheffield, a farmer living north of Tyndall, and is the mother of three sons and one daughter. Anna is the wife of Fred Etherton, of Bon Homme county, and has two sons. The four younger children are: Bertha, Ella, George, and Albert all at home.

Mr. Lubbers is a republican, believing that the principles of that party are best adapted to secure the prosperity of the country. He and his family belong to the German Baptist church of which he has been a member since attaining his majority. He is a valued citizen of Bon Homme county and is doing his full share in the development of agricultural interests there and also aids in the progress of his community along moral, intellectual, and spiritual lines.

His activity in the field of journalism brought Salomon Wenzlaff a wide acquaintance, and his efforts proved a potent force in molding public thought and shaping public action. For fifteen years he was publisher and editor of the Dakota Freie Presse and became a power among the German speaking people of the northwest. His present identification with business interests is that of a banker of Yankton. His activities have been an element in advancing the material prosperity and upbuilding of his county as well as in advancing his individual success. Few if any of the sturdy families that have emigrated to the new world have exerted a wider influence for the good and uplift of the people among whom they have cast their lot than that of which his father, John C. Wenzlaff, was the head. He and his family were connected with the German colony that had, at the invitation of the czar, made settlement in southern Russia near Odessa and along the coast of the Black Sea. In the early 70's the reigning czar revoked the charter given the German colonists and offered them the alternative of becoming Russian citizens in the fullest sense of the term or removing beyond the boundaries of his domain. None elected to remain under the conditions which would have obliged them to give up their German language, courts, schools, church, and institutions, and committees were formed to seek locations in other lands. On one of these committees Mr. Wenzlaff was appointed and sought a location in the Caucasia Russia and elsewhere, but finally decided to come to America whither many of the Germans in Russia had migrated the winter before. John C. Wenzlaff had married Johanna Christina Heinzelmann whose parents also came from Germany.

Of the ten children of this marriage, Salomon Wenzlaff is the fifth in order of birth. He was born at Alt Arcis near Odessa January 9, 1857, and was in his seventeenth year when the family came to the United States in 1874. He had received liberal educational advantages in Russia where his father and an uncle had spent their lives in teaching in the parochial schools. On reaching Yankton, Salomon Wenzlaff attended the high school and also studied under a private tutor in order to more rapidly master the English language. He entered the office of the Dakota Freie Presse under Charles F. Rossteuscher, and during his apprenticeship thoroughly mastered the business in all of its different phases. He later became associated with his father in the hardware trade, and afterward opened a hardware store in Scotland with a branch store in Tyndall. He not only figured prominently in mercantile circles but was also called to public office, and for four years from 1882 acted as treasurer of Bon Homme county. On completing his term he disposed of his two stores and removed to Yankton where he again became connected with journalism, purchasing of his father in 1886 the Dakota Freie Presse. His father had purchased the paper of G.A. Wetter, to whom it had been sold by its former owner Mr. Rossteuscher. Salomon Wenzlaff continued to publish the Freie Presse for fifteen years making it a power among the German speaking people in the northwest, the policy of the paper doing much to shape the political history as well as the general interests of the German American citizens in that section of the country. The paper was liberally patronized, there being but eleven hundred and eighty names on the subscription list when he took charge, while when he sold in 1901 he had increased the number to as many thousands. His advocacy of republican principles probably did more to hold the Germans of the northwest in allegiance to that party than any other single infiuence during the years in which he was at the head of the Dakota Freie Presse. In the meantime he had served as register in the United States land office from 1889 until 1894. On disposing of his printing and publishing establishment in 1901, he went to California to recuperate his health which had become impaired through the stress of business. He had visited the Pacific coast one season before and was so much pleased with the climate and the country that he has since spent every winter season in southern California, save for one winter passed in Florida. For a few years he remained free from business cares, but indolence and idleness are utterly foreign to his nature and he again felt and responded to the call of the business world purchasing from Fred Beecher a controlling interest in the bank at Eureka, South Dakota together with a chain of five other banks in that region. Selling the weakest member of the allied banks he retained the controlling interest in those at Eureka and Artas, South Dakota, and at Hague and Linton, North Dakota. In 1910, he disposed of these banks to advantage and purchased the Citizens State Bank at Armour, of which he is the president. He makes his home in Yankton, but controls his banking interests at Armour and otherwise supervises his invested interests.

In the family of Mr. Wenzlaff are seven children as follows: Grant S. who is interested in the automobile business in California; Leopold J.C. who is a locomotive engineer on the Great Northern Railroad at Spokane; Edgar G. who completed the high school course in Yankton and became a student in the law department of the University of southern California and now acts as cashier of the Citizens State Bank at Armour, South Dakota; Waldemar who is a graduate of the high school in Spokane and now acts as cashier of the Farmers Bank at Kendrick, Idaho; Ruth who gave her hand in marriage to F.E. Anderson and resides in Lillooet, British Columbia; Solomon Henry a student in the State University of Illinois at Urbana, Illinois; and William Bradford who is attending Yankton College, Yankton, South Dakota.

In politics Mr. Wenzlaff has always been an ardent republican, and has probably made more addresses and spent more time on the stump in the advocacy of the principles of that party than any other man in the state. He began making campaign speeches in his native county when nineteen years of age, and has been active along that line continuously since doing his share in the last campaign of 1914. Through the columns of the Dakota Freie Presse he also did much to advance republican interests among the German American population of the state. Through the columns of that paper he sent out words of wisdom which were the outcome of thorough study and investigation and were the expression of an honest belief. He has ever been fearless in support of his convictions, and his clear reasoning has made strong appeal to the minds of his readers. Mr. Wenzlaff was reared in the Lutheran faith, but after the family removed to Yankton they became identified with the Congregational church. While it seemed a hardship that the Germans in Russia must leave that land and the possessions which they had there acquired what then appeared to be a misfortune has turned out to be a blessing. Seeking homes in America, the land of opportunity, many of those German emigrants have here attained wealth and position, and some of them have won fame. They have contributed much to the citizenship of the localities in which they have lived, and Yankton county owes not a little to the efforts of the Wenzlaff family, and to him whose name introduces this review. Business affairs have been carefully handled by him, and energy and enterprise have brought him to the goal of success In all of his business he has followed constructive methods and his efforts have been an element in public progress as well as individual advancement.

Dr. G. C. Landmann is a thoroughly trained and very successful physician of Scotland, South Dakota, where in a few years he has built up a large and representative practice. He was born in Scotland on the 14th of July, 1880, and is but a few months younger than the first white child born in that city. His grandfather, Anton Landmann, was a native of Prussia born in the village of Duesen, Brandenburg near the city of Berlin. At the age of twenty-one, however, he migrated to Russia joining the German colony that had previously been established there, and there he married and reared a family consisting of a daughter and two sons. His son, Paul Landmann the father of the Doctor, was born in Russia on the 22d of February, 1855 and accompanied his father to Yankton when the latter immigrated to South Dakota in the early territorial days. Both the father and son had been teachers in the old country and Anton Landmann became sufficiently proficient in English to teach in this country for a time.

Paul Landmann had learned the tinner's trade and soon found employment in Yankton working for a number of years for Winn & Buckwalter who conducted a tinshop in addition to their hardware store. In 1879, he purchased the firm's branch store at Scotland and remained in business there for about seventeen years. Upon disposing of his store he engaged in the real estate business and also in banking until his death which occurred on the 30th of October, 1908. At the time of his demise he was receiver for the defunct First National Bank of Scotland. He was an excellent manager and business man and was also the owner of many acres of fine farming land and of much valuable property. He was active in public affairs in the early days, having served for one term as county treasurer and having represented his district for one term in the state legislature. He was also a member of the board of regents. He was married in Yankton to Miss Carolina Serr, a native of Russia and a daughter of Philip Serr, who was of German descent. Her paternal grandfather was but nine years of age when he accompanied his father to Wurms, Russia in 1808. Philip Serr died in Russia before the removal of the German colony to America, but his widow, who was in her maidenhood Anna Maria Herrmann, brought her family of six sons and two daughters to Dakota reaching the territory August 6, 1873. Mrs. Landmann was the second of the children born to her parents. Mr. and Mrs. Landmann had six children, namely: Theodore, who is in business in Milwaukee; Dr G.C. of this review; Clara, the wife of Gustav Bender of Sutton, Nebraska; Frieda, a student in the State University at Vermillion; Eugenia, who graduated from the Scotland high school with the class of 1914; and Paul Jr. still in school.

Dr G. C. Landmann was given liberal educational advantages by his parents, and after graduating from the Scotland Academy took a three years course at Lake Forest University at Lake Forest, Illinois. He then matriculated in the medical department of the University of Illinois located at Chicago, and after completing his four years course was graduated from that institution with the degree of MD. He began the practice of his profession in Parkston, South Dakota the same year and remained there for four years. In 1907, however, he was offered the chair in bacteriology in Marquette University at Milwaukee, the leading Jesuit school in the west, and remained there until 1912 when he resigned and returned to Scotland to take charge of his mother's business as she did not wish the responsibility of managing her large landed and financial interests. Since his return to his native city he has built up a fine practice and is considered one of the most progressive and successful practitioners in Bon Homme county. He keeps fully abreast of the latest discoveries in the medical field and finds his membership in various medical associations a great aid in acquainting him with the work done by his brother physicians and surgeons. He belongs to the Yankton District Medical Society, the South Dakota State Medical Society, the American Medical Association, and the Brainard Medical Association of Milwaukee.

Dr. Landmann was married in Milwaukee on the 18th of May, 1905 to Miss Belinda Rosenheimer, a native of that city and a daughter of Adolph Rosenheimer who is prominent in the grain and malt business. Dr. and Mrs. Landmann have two children: Paul and Ruth.

The Doctor is a member of the German Reformed church in which he was reared and of the Masonic order affiliating with the blue lodge and the chapter at Scotland. He has only practiced in Scotland for a few years, but in that time has gained an enviable reputation as a physician as he has a natural gift for the profession and is devoted in his study of the science of medicine. His office is splendidly equipped, and he has an excellent professional library but he does not confine his reading to medical books as he is a great lover of literature and his general library is one of the best in Scotland. He has won unusual individual success, and he has likewise contributed largely to the welfare of his community and manifests in his life those sterling traits of character which are associated with the German race.

Edward L. De Melt, who is engaged in the transfer business in Springfield, was born in the village of South Westerlo, Albany county, New York, August 20, 1872, a son of John De Melt who was also a native of the Empire state and in all probability a descendant of the French Huguenots who settled in the American colonies in the latter part of the seventeenth century having been driven out of their native land by religious persecution. The mother, who bore the maiden name of Emma Lake, was born in Pennsylvania and removed with her parents to New York when but a child.

Edward L. De Melt resided in New York until he was fifteen years of age, and then in 1887 accompanied his parents on their removal to Bon Homme county, South Dakota. The father rented land in the vicinity of Springfield for a number of years, but in 1902 filed on a homestead claim in Charles Mix county where he and his wife have since resided.

Their son Edward L. De Melt remained at home until his marriage and then began farming on his own account. In 1900 he removed to Springfield and established a transfer business which he is still conducting and which has proven very lucrative. He possesses sound practical judgment, and as he is also a man of energy and integrity his business has grown steadily and promises to further increase in volume.

Mr. De Melt was married December 12, 1894 at Springfield to Miss Rose Stanley, a native of Iowa and a daughter of Elwood and Sarah (Stowe) Stanley who arrived with their family in Bon Homme county in 1875. They suffered from the depredations of the grasshoppers, saw the flood after the winter of the deep snow, and experienced a number of the worst blizzards in the history of the state. In those early days most of the inhabitants of the state lived in sod houses, and families living at a considerable distance from the groves along the rivers and small streams were compelled to use hay for fuel. Added to these trials was the constant menace during the late summer from prairie fires. Four children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. De Melt: Blanche and Carlton both of whom are attending the state normal school at Springfield, and Grace and Calvin who died in infancy.

Mr. De Melt is a republican and takes a citizen's interest in public affairs. He holds membership in the blue lodge of the Masonic order at Springfield and belongs to the various bodies of the Scottish Rite including the consistory at Yankton having attained the thirty-second degree therein. He is also a Noble of the Mystic Shrine holding membership in El Riad Temple at Sioux Falls. In 1913 he purchased one of the finest residence properties in Springfield, and his home is the meeting place of the many friends of the family. His sterling traits of character are recognized by all and he is spoken of in terms of high regard.

Hugh Kelly who resides in Running Water precinct, Bon Homme county dates his residence in Dakota from the 15th of May, 1877 covering a period of almost four decades. He filed on a preemption claim on section 8, and it is still his place of residence. Money was scarce in those days, and as he did not have the cash to make the final payment he changed this to a homestead right which he proved up on in due time securing the deed thereto in 1886.

Mr. Kelly is a native of Ireland, his birth having occurred in County Monaghan, near the town of Monaghan, on Easter Sunday of 1842. His father, Patrick Kelly, married a Miss Scallon. The mother died in 1846, and the father passed away in Nova Scotia in 1849, leaving Hugh Kelly an orphan when a lad of but seven years. He has brothers and sisters in Ireland but has seen none of them since the death of the father for at that time the family became separated. He was reared by James Mansfield of Nova Scotia, an old friend of his parents to whom the father paid board for the boy while he lived. The Mansfield home was at Wolfstown, in the county of Wolf, sixty miles from Quebec. When fourteen years of age Hugh Kelly left Canada and went to Vermont where he obtained work in the sawmill of Enos Woodward at Higgins Woods. He remained with Mr. Woodward for seven years and then removed westward to Wisconsin. He worked at Grand Rapids, Wood county and in Ripon, Wisconsin, and while in that city was married to Miss Anna Cassady, a daughter of Patrick and Mary A. (Scallon) Cassady.

Soon after their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Kelly removed to Franklin county, Iowa where he purchased a farm and lived for five years after which he came to Dakota in 1877. The first year he broke the sod but planted no crops, and thereby he escaped the scourge of grasshoppers. He made a living in the early days of his residence here by freighting from Yankton to Fort Randall, and he was out in the blizzard of January 12, 1888 until eleven o'clock at night. He was down on the river cutting wood and tried to return with the team but could not make them go against the storm. He found a sheltered gulch in which he left them and on foot made his way to shelter, returning for his team the next day. One of his greatest disasters when times were the hardest came as the result of a prairie fire which burned his stable and his team. He had intended soon to go into the Elkhorn valley of Nebraska and work on the railroad which was being built there. By the time that he had secured another team it was too late to secure railroad work. It was very hard in those days with no money and little credit to secure a team, and farm work could not be carried on without one. George Meade bought a condemned mule at Fort Randall which he sold to Mr. Kelly on easy terms, and an old horse was secured elsewhere thus giving him a start again. As the years advanced the privations and hardships of pioneer life gave way before an advancing civilization and farming came to be a profitable undertaking good crops being harvested and bringing a substantial income when placed on the market.

In 1895, Mr. Kelly was called upon to mourn the loss of his wife who passed away on Christmas Eve of that year. They were the parents of six children all of whom survive: Mary, the wife of Albert Stevens, a farmer of Mitchell, South Dakota by whom she has one child; Elizabeth, the wife of George Torrance of Burke, this state; Patrick Emmett, who is employed away from home; Anetta, the wife of George Thomas of Redfield, South Dakota, by whom she has four children; Fred, who is living at Redfield; and Pearl, the wife of Frank Kirchman of Stanley county, South Dakota by whom she has two children.

The religious faith of the family is that of the Catholic church, and Mr. Kelly gives his political allegiance to the democratic party. He is truly a self made man having been dependent entirely upon his own efforts from the age of fourteen years. He has worked persistently and energetically, and whatever success he has achieved is the direct and merited reward of his industry perseverance and determination.

One of the progressive business men of Avon is Frank L. Smith who is engaged in the grain business and has been a resident of South Dakota for a third of a century. He was born at Byron, Illinois, September 3, 1866, a son of Nelson and Maria (Roach) Smith. The birth of the father occurred near Jamestown, New York in 1833, his parents being Lawrence and Hannah (Saxbury) Smith who were born near Toronto, Canada. Early in the nineteenth century they removed to New York and were living in that city during the war of 1812 in which Lawrence Smith participated as a member of a New York regiment. Nelson Smith removed to Michigan after his marriage and resided there for a time, but subsequently lived successively in Indiana and Illinois. He resided on a farm near Rockford, Illinois for several years, but in the spring of 1884 came with his family to a claim in Bon Homme county, this state. He had made a trip to that county in the fall of 1882 and filed on the southeast quarter of section 17, Avon township, three miles northwest of the present site of Avon. He continued to operate the farm from 1884 until his death and endured all of the hardships incident to frontier life. In that early day provisions were hauled by ox team from Yankton or Springfield, and at times there was no fuel save hay corn and prairie chips either for cooking or heating purposes. He lived to the age of seventy three years dying in March, 1905, and his last years were spent in leisure and in the enjoyment of the comforts of life. He married Miss Maria Roach who was born in Cattaraugus county, New York near Cattaraugus Station in 1844. Her father, Patrick Roach, was a native of Cork Ireland and lived to be nearly one hundred years old. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Ann Bine, reached the century mark. She was born in the north of Ireland, near Dublin, and accompanied her husband to America in 1837. They encountered such severe storms and dangerous winds that the sailing vessel on which they were passengers was nearly six months in making the voyage. All of the children of Mr. and Mrs. Nelson Smith are living, the record being as follows: Walter H., a resident of Oregon; Frank L., of this review; Anna, the wife of Jacob Sidel of Mitchell, South Dakota; William, who is engaged in business in Rockford, Illinois; and George, who is living with his mother upon the homestead.

Frank L. Smith remained with his parents until he was twenty years of age, and in 1886 went to the Black Hills and mined in the vicinity of Keystone and Hill City for about five years. At the end of that time, he secured a position on the Elkhorn Valley Railroad, and for five or six years was employed by that corporation working between Fremont and Hastings. Upon returning to Dakota he engaged in the grain business at Armour and purchased an elevator in that town. He has since engaged in the buying of grain and in the sale of agricultural implements, and both lines of his business have proved profitable. He is a man of business acumen energy and progressive ideas which insure the continued growth of his trade.

Mr. Smith was married October 4, 1900 on a farm eight miles south of Avon to Amanda Minow, a native of Ackley, Iowa. Her father, William Minow, removed with his family to Bon Homme county in 1879 or 1880 and is now one of its well to do farmers. His wife, who was in her maidenhood Miss Dora Meyers, passed away on the home farm July 3, 1910. Two children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Smith: Dorothy born June 30, 1902 and Franklin born August 14, 1909.

Mr. and Mrs. Smith are members of the Presbyterian church, and he is also affiliated with the Masonic order belonging to the blue lodge at Armour. He has attained the thirty-second degree in the Scottish Rite belonging to the consistory at Yankton. His political adherence is given to the republican party. He was eighteen years old when he accompanied his parents to this state in 1884 and remembers vividly the terrible blizzard of January 12, 1888. He spent the night with an old schoolmate, Johnnie McConnell, and did not realize that one of the worst storms in the history of South Dakota was raging. His younger brothers and sisters were compelled to spend the night at the schoolhouse.

Richard M. Radway, a retired farmer living in Springfield, South Dakota, is passing his declining years in comfort and rest from labor. He is one of the pioneer residents of his locality having arrived here in 1877, long prior to the admission of the state to the Union. For many years he was actively engaged in farming and did his share in furthering the agricultural development of Bon Homme county. He was born January 30, 1837 in Cortland county, New York, a son of Daniel and Diaploma (Bean) Radway. In 1845 or 1846, while he was still a child, the family removed to Wolworth county, Wisconsin, and the next year went to Rock county, that state where the mother died. The father subsequently married again.

Richard M. Radway attended the district schools and received a serviceable education, but when eighteen years of age started out in life for himself, being employed as a farm hand. He later began farming on his own account, being so engaged for the four years preceding his enlistment in the Union army. On the 18th of August, 1862 he joined the Twenty-second Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry and was with his regiment in the campaign around Atlanta and on the celebrated march to the sea. After Lee's surrender he accompanied his regiment north from Savannah to Washington, and there participated in the grand review. He was mustered out at Washington and honorably discharged at Milwaukee.

Mr. Radway returned to his agricultural pursuits in Wisconsin where he remained until the spring of 1877, when he came to Bon Homme county, South Dakota. He settled near Wanarri, now Perkins, a town located seven miles northwest of Springfield. He first took a timber claim and a homestead but subsequently bought a preemption claim on an adjoining section which made him the owner of four hundred and eighty acres in one body. He lived upon his farm devoting his time to its development and cultivation until he felt that his children needed better educational advantages, and he then removed to Springfield where he lived while they attended Normal School. In 1908, he sold his home place and bought four hundred and eighty acres in Stanley county, and has since lived in Springfield. His labors as a farmer were well directed and effective and he is now in possession of competence which enables him to enjoy the comforts of life without the cares and responsibilities of business.

Mr. Radway was married at Beloit, Wisconsin on the 10th of March, 1860 to Miss Annis Hyatt, a native of Montreal, Canada and a daughter of Horace and Azubah (Nichols) Hyatt, early settlers of Rock county, Wisconsin. Mr. and Mrs. Radway have four children, namely: Hettie Alvina married Frank Cadman, a resident of Beloit who was accidently killed by a train in that city and by whom she had twelve children, ten of whom survive; Horace died when sixteen years of age; Harry who resides upon a ranch near Top Bar, Stanley county is married and has seven children; Efiie Belle is the wife of Benjamin Bridgeman, postmaster of Platte, South Dakota by whom she has three children. Both Mr. and Mrs. Bridgeman are graduates of the Springfield Normal School.

Mr. and Mrs. Radway belong to the Congregational church and promote its work in every way possible. Mr. Radway supports the men and measures of the republican party at the polls as he believes that the policies of that party are best calculated to secure the welfare of the country. He is a member of General Steedman Post, G.A.R., at Springfield and thus keeps in touch with his former comrades.

When Mr. Radway arrived in South Dakota in 1877, the present state was little more than a wilderness and he experienced many of the hardships of life on the open plains. He saw a few grasshoppers that year, but the country was not devastated by them afterward. While building his house in 1880, the family lived in a new corn crib and in an old log house doing their cooking in the latter. During a three days storm in the middle of October, they had to shelter the cows and calves in the larger room of the log house until the storm was over. The family and workmen ate their meals standing around the kitchen stove in the other room. Twenty-four hours after the storm had abated the house was cleaned and whitewashed, straw and carpets were laid on the floors, curtains were up at the windows and no one would ever suspect that it had been used as an emergency stable. At the time of the blizzard of January 12, 1888 Mr. Radway was living in town and although one of his children had remained at home at noon one son was at school. He, however, was brought safely home in the evening, but many children remained at school all night. Although he lost an aggregate of twenty-five tons of hay by prairie fires, no buildings were destroyed in that manner. The present generation owes a debt of gratitude to men and women such as Mr. and Mrs. Radway who endured bravely the hardships of the early days and made possible the present prosperity and security of the great state of South Dakota.

Christian Hartmann is an extensive landowner living in Springfield, South Dakota, and his life shows what a boy left an orphan at an early age and without inherited resources may do if he but has the right character, industry, and integrity. Christian Hartmann was born in the village of Oderlom, province of Hanover, Germany on the 12th of November, 1840. His parents Conrad and Marie (Langekop) Hartmann both died when he was quite young, the father when he was but eight years of age and the mother a year later. For the first few years after his parents death, Mr. Hartmann made his home with George Waesterman who kept an inn in the village. At the age of fifteen he began work as a farm hand and so continued for three years. At the end of that time he was a lad of eighteen, and as it was customary in Germany for boys to begin learning a trade at eighteen he apprenticed himself to a mason at Grotauzelsen for a term of three years. However, before the time had expired he was called upon to serve in the army, remaining in the service for eighteen months. He then returned to his preceptor and finished his apprenticeship mastering all branches of the trade. In 1864, during the war between Prussia and Denmark, Hanover came to the defense of the weaker nation and the regiment to which Mr. Hartmann belonged saw service in Holstein. After the close of that war he followed his trade until the spring of 1866 when Prussia invaded Hanover, Bavaria, and several other allied kingdoms. He went to the front and participated as a sharpshooter in the battle of Langansalser which occurred on the 27th of June, 1866. It was the Prussian plan to attack the Hanoverian army from two sides simultaneously, but one of the attacking armies was a day late so the battle turned out differently than was expected. Mr. Hartmann conducted himself with great valor and was given a bronze medal for bravery by the King of Hanover in commemoration of his part in that battle. At the close of the war he was employed at his trade in building the King's palace in the city of Hanover until coming to the United States.

Herman Waesterman, with whom Mr Hartmann had lived as a boy, was then a resident of old Niobrara, Nebraska and was on a visit to his father in Germany. He told of the advantages of the new country in the western part of the United States and urged Mr. Hartmann to return with him to America. The latter finally decided to do so, and the two sailed from Bremen on a North German Lloyd steamer on the 8th of March, 1869. They landed in New York after a voyage of eleven days and made their way without delay to St. Louis where for a fortnight Mr. Hartmann visited with friends whom he had known in Germany but who had preceded him to America. Eight of these friends decided to cast their lot in the west and accompanied Mr. Hartmann on his journey up the Missouri river. For three weeks the steamboat upon which they were traveling wound its tortuous way up the muddy Missouri before it reached the party's destination, old Niobrara, Nebraska. The town was situated a mile below the mouth of the stream of that name which pours out of the sand hills of Nebraska into the larger river. At early dawn on the 21st of April, 1869 they were hustled out of bed and deposited on a sand bar among the willow trees and told that they were at Niobrara. As no town was in sight while some of the party remained with their trunks, the remainder began scouting along the shore to find if possible some habitation. They eventually located the village which the shifting river had left some little distance from the main channel. The party then made their way to the settlement and began life upon the frontier.

The party then made their way to the settlement and began life upon the frontier. Mr. Hartmann worked for a short time in the mills of Bazile Creek, then as now famous for its fine flour. For a time he was in the employ of Brons & Waesterman well known traders at Niobrara who dealt extensively in furs. In the fall of 1873, he secured employment as a machinist on the Ponca Reservation a few miles above Niobrara running the saw and grist mills belonging to the reservation building bridges and doing all kinds of mechanical work. While there he witnessed hostilities between the Poncas and the Sioux, saw them indulge in the scalp dance for weeks at a time when they brought in those grim trophies of the warpath, and he knew how it felt to work for days in the hayfield with sentries on the tops of surrounding hills whose business it was to warn of an attempted raid by the hostile Sioux. When the government decided to move the Poncas to the Indian Territory in the spring of 1877, Mr. Hartmann was chosen as one of the party to conduct them to the new reservation. The trip overland through Nebraska and Kansas was very long and tiresome, and it was sixty days before the Indians reached the lands allotted them at Baxter Springs. Because of their proximity to civilization the Indians became dissatisfied and the following year were moved two hundred miles further west to the Salt fork of the Arkansas river. There Mr. Hartmann was retained in the Indian service to superintend the sawing of lumber for the Indians dwellings and also to oversee the erection of the buildings. He performed his duties faithfully and saw his charges well settled in their new reservation before leaving in the fall of 1881. He had been married while in Indian Territory and his wife, foreseeing no advancement for a salaried man, insisted upon his resigning from the service in the fall of 1881.

Mr. Hartmann then came to Dakota, having taken up a half section of land in Bon Homme county in 1874. He has since added to his landed possessions, and now owns two full sections of the finest farm land in Bon Homme county and nearly two sections in Knox county, Nebraska. Two of his children have proved up on claims in Meade county and two in Stanley county and have purchased additional land there.

Mr. Hartmann was married in Sumner county, Kansas on the 31st of March, 1881 to Miss Lizzie Knight, a native of Duquoin, Illinois. Her parents, Albert and Eliza (Williamson) Knight, went from Illinois to Kansas in 1874 settling in Sumner county, that state. To Mr. and Mrs. Hartmann eight children were born, namely: Leona, the wife of James Stevens, a resident of Stanley county; William, who is farming the old homestead in Ben Homme county and who is married and has one daughter; Ella, who married John Fitch, farming a part of the Niobrara land in Nebraska and has two children; Carl, who is employed in a mercantile establishment at Springfield; Albert, who died when six months of age; Maude, the wife of Charles Taft, farming the remaining part of the Niobrara ranch and has one daughter; and Lassara and Grace who are students of the State Normal School of Springfield. All of the other children are graduates of the Springfield Normal School. Mr. Hartmann was reared in the Lutheran church and has never departed from that belief. Politically he has always been a democrat.

Mr. Hartmann recounts a number of interesting reminiscences of the early days which give vividness to one's conception of pioneer life. When he arrived in Niobrara, flour had to be hauled by ox teams from Omaha or from a mill twenty five miles below Sioux City. One especially exciting incident occurred during his sojourn on the Ponca Reservation. He and William Miller were cutting hay near the agency when a war party of the Sioux swept down upon the Poncas. The attacking band rode to a hill overlooking the agency and were ready to close in on the defenders, and it was necessary to act quickly if the agency was to be saved. There was but little ammunition on hand, but as a bluff the last of the powder was loaded into an old cannon, a lot of boiler rivets were rammed down on top of the powder, and the charge fired at the Sioux ranged along the hillcrest. The clatter of the rivets was too much for the enemy who turned and rode pellmell down the further side of the hill. At another time the Sioux came and stampeded all the Ponca ponies that were at pasture along the Niobrara river. The Poncas followed the fleeing Sioux, recovered their ponies, and killed two of the enemy. Cutting off the hands and feet of their victims, besides scalping them, the victors rode back to the agency and for six months engaged in the scalp dance around the ghastly trophies which were suspended from poles in the center of their dancing ground.

At one time Mr. Hartmann had to fight prairie fires every spring once for a period of twenty four hours, and he also experienced the severity of a Dakota blizzard. He was out after cattle in the three days storm from April 12 to 14, 1873, and, in the worst of the blizzards that of January 12, 1888, he was in the river bottoms three miles from home. He started to return but finding that his horses could not be driven against the storm he sought the house of a ranchman nearby who took him in but had no shelter for the team. Mr. Hartmann would not leave them exposed while he was warmly housed, so unhitching them he led them two or three miles back to his own place following the deeply worn trail he knew led to his own buildings. Without the guidance afforded by this trail he could never have found his way. Next morning he discovered a neighbor's team standing at his fence and following their tracks back less than forty rods he found their owner face down in the snow in a ravine. He had perished within that short distance from shelter which, however, could not have been seen even a rod away in the blinding storm. Such incidents as those recounted were not particularly unusual in pioneer days of South Dakota, and such were the perils that confronted those who settled upon the wide and treeless plains building through the years the present prosperous state of South Dakota.

William Harrison, a well known farmer of Bon Homme county, has passed his entire life there as his birth occurred near the village of Bon Homme April 6, 1871. His parents Francis W. and Martha (Abbott) Harrison were both natives of England and were part of an English colony that settled in Bon Homme county and its vicinity and did much to develop that section of the state. More extended mention of the family is to be found elsewhere in this work.

William Harrison remained under the parental roof during his boyhood and youth, and in addition to attending school, learned much of practical agriculture under the instruction of his father. After reaching maturity he operated the home farm in partnership with his younger brother for a time, and after the father's death he became the owner of eighty acres of the homestead. In 1897 he purchased eighty acres adjoining that place; in 1901 bought the quarter section adjoining his land on the north; and in 1914 bought eighty acres adjoining on the south so that he is now the owner of four hundred acres of fine land in one body and is deriving a gratifying income from his agricultural labors. The farm is splendidly improved and the most modern machinery is used in its cultivation.

Mr. Harrison was married January 18, 1905 to Mrs. Jennie Joddrel who was born at Decatur, Nebraska, a daughter of Thomas and Mary E. (Page) Carr, natives of Ohio and New York respectively. They were married in Minnesota and subsequently removed to Nebraska, but a few years after the birth of their daughter, Mrs. Harrison, they went to Iowa. Later, however, they returned to Nebraska where she was united in marriage to Daniel Joddrel, and to that union a daughter Edith was born. By her marriage to Mr. Harrison she has two sons: Edward and Lewis.

Mr. and Mrs. Harrison are members of the Congregational church and take an active part in the various branches of church work. He is a republican in politics and stanchly supports the principles of that party. At the time of the great blizzard of January 12, 1888, he was at school and upon dismissal made his way along a wire fence to a neighbor's half a mile from his home. As the country from that point to his home was unfenced, he feared to go forth and remained for the night at the neighbor's. Most of the big game was gone before his time but he has seen deer run across the prairies near their home. A good idea of the development of the state can be gained from the fact that at first land was worth five dollars an acre but is now worth from one hundred and twenty five to one hundred and fifty dollars an acre. His has been a life of public spirited consideration for the general good and of strict adherence to the highest standard of morality and the confidence and esteem in which he is generally held are richly deserved.

John Albert Slater, a pioneer farmer of Bon Homme county, was born in Dane county, Wisconsin April 24, 1857 and is a son of William and Eliza (Noble) Slater, the former a native of Sheffield, England and the latter also born in England. About 1846 the father emigrated to this country and made his way to Wisconsin where he farmed until he removed to Dakota territory with his family in the summer of 1867. They reached Bon Homme county on the 5th of July after a journey that consumed nearly two months, as they left Wisconsin early in May. All of their worldly possessions were loaded into prairie schooners. It was an unusually wet spring and travel was exceedingly slow as the roads through Iowa were hub deep in black mud. One of the worst places on the way, which was known as Purgatory slough, delayed them a day as it was necessary to carry their belongings on their heads through the water which was breast deep. The men not only did this but also arranged high seats on the wagons so that the women and children could ride across in safety, and it took three teams to draw each wagon through the morass. When nightfall came they had gone but half a mile on their way. There were no bridges then and it was necessary to ford streams that were deep under ordinary conditions and almost impassable in flood, but in every case a way was found to cross and the journey was made in safety. Mr. Slater passed away in this state in 1874, and his wife died in Wisconsin about 1866. Of the children born to their union four are living: John, of this review; Jane Ellen, the wife of Thomas Bussey, residing near Tyndall, South Dakota; Annie, now Mrs. George Howland of Mason City, Iowa; and James, a resident of Tyndall.

John Albert Slater was a boy of ten years when the family removed to this state, and his education was acquired in Wisconsin. He assisted in the operation of the home farm until the death of his father, and being at that time sixteen years of age began providing for his own support. On attaining his majority he took up a homestead which he cultivated until his marriage, and subsequently bought a farm one half mile north of that place. In the early 90's he purchased his father's old homestead and has made it one of the best farms in Bon Homme county. It is naturally fertile and he has conserved the productivity of the soil by wise methods of cultivation and has equipped the place with modern machinery which facilitates the farm work. There are also flowing wells and the fields are enclosed with strong fences, while the buildings are commodious and kept in excellent repair. When Mr. Slater came to this state the ox cart was the most common means of conveyance, but he now uses an automobile in going from place to place and this change is but indicative of the transformation that has made South Dakota the prosperous and thriving commonwealth that it is today.

Mr. Slater was married in Wisconsin to Miss Ellen Jane Bussey, a native of that state and a daughter of Benjamin and Jane Bussey. To Mr and Mrs. Slater have been born three children. Rolley, who attended Yankton Academy and is now assisting his father with the farm work, married Miss Hazel Lawson. He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Ethel Jane became the wife of William P. Smith, who cultivates a farm south of her father's, and they have a son, Harold James. William, the youngest in the family, is still under the parental roof.

Mr. Slater and his family are members of the Congregational church and contribute liberally to its support. He is a republican in politics but has never been an office seeker. When he came to this state a few deer were still seen, and several times the family slept upon the open prairies as they feared to remain in the house because of threatened hostility on the part of the Indians, but they were never really molested. Mr. Slater has accumulated more than a competence by dint of unceasing industry, unfailing determination, and by the wise management of his farm work and the judicious investment of his capital. He has also gained the esteem of his fellowmen as his life has been guided by high standards of morality.

Captain Benjamin R. Wagner of Bon Homme county was not only one of the real pioneers of the state but was also one of the leaders in public affairs in the early days. He was born January 30, 1830 in Washington county, Maryland on what became the battle ground of Antietam. His parents, John and Catherine (Rice) Wagner, were natives of Pennsylvania, and the father was a farmer by occupation. In 1837 they removed with their family to Ogle county, Illinois, and there Benjamin R. Wagner grew to manhood. He was educated in the famous Rock River Academy of Mount Morris, Illinois which was established by Rev. Hitt.

In August 1861 Mr. Wagner enlisted for service in the Union army, becoming a member of Company H, Thirty-fourth Illinois Volunteer Infantry. On the 8th of April, 1862, he sustained a wound in the thigh at Shiloh and was appointed captain by Lincoln in recognition of his gallantry. Upon partly recovering from his wound he was transferred to the Invalid Corps and Veteran Reserve. Captain Wagner had charge of the Confederate soldiers confined at the Rock Island military prison, and on one occasion took five hundred Confederate prisoners south to exchange for Union men and at another time took the same number to Washington. He served in the army until the close of the war being discharged April 6, 1866.

Upon his return to Illinois, Captain Wagner was elected deputy sheriff of Ogle county, and in 1868 was elected sheriff winning reelection to that office in 1870. He was also highway commissioner of Ogle county, and during his incumbency in that office the bridge over the Rock river at Oregon was built. In the meantime he entered the hotel business and for four years the Wagner Hotel at Forreston was known as one of the most comfortable hostelries in that part of Illinois. On removing to Oregon, the county seat, he became proprietor of the American House at that place. In 1874 he removed to South Dakota and filed on preemption and homestead claims in Bon Homme county, later securing a timber claim adjoining his other land. In September of that year his wife and children came to the territory, and the home of Captain Wagner at once became the center of refinement and culture in Bon Homme county. It was in marked contrast to the usual frontier home as there were books, periodicals, flowers, and other evidences of culture that at that time were scarcely ever seen in this state as most of the settlers were unable to do more than make a living for the first few years.

Captain Wagner was recognized as a leader almost immediately upon his arrival in the territory, and served as a member of the territorial legislature at Yankton and in the first council of the territory after the capital was removed to Bismarck. He was sheriff of Bon Homme county, was a member of the board of directors of the insane asylum, and chairman of the board of regents of the State Agricultural College at Brookings, and in many ways exercised a great influence upon the early development of South Dakota.

On the 29th of May ,1862, Captain Wagner was married at Mount Morris, Illinois to Miss Elizabeth Hitt, a daughter of Rev. Thomas Hitt. As soon as the Captain had sufficiently recovered from the wound received at Shiloh, Mrs Wagner accompanied him to Rock Island where as before stated he was in charge of the Confederate prisoners. They extended the hospitality of their home to the officers stationed there, and it became the center of the social life at that place. To Captain and Mrs. Wagner were born three sons and a daughter: Robert R., deceased; Howard H.; Walter W.; and Emily Elizabeth, deceased.

Howard H. Wagner was reared in Bon Homme county and has served as sheriff thereof. He married Miss Lydia M. Peck of Wisconsin by whom he has five children. The oldest Marie Elizabeth graduated very young from the Springfield Normal School, attended Saints School Dakota Wesleyan College, and for one summer did special work in the Chicago University. Previous to her marriage she taught school and was unusually successful in her profession. She was teaching near an uncle's home in Montana when Sweet Grass county was set off in the readjustment of county lines and was elected the first county superintendent of schools. Under her direction the school system was well organized and placed upon a high plane of efficiency. She subsequently married James E. Murray, and her daughter Elizabeth Emily was the first great grandchild of Captain and Mrs. Wagner. The other children of Howard Wagner are: Ben Harrison; Nina M., a graduate of Springfield Normal School and now a teacher at Santee, Nebraska; Howard Jr.; and Harold. Walter W. Wagner, the third son of Captain and Mrs. Wagner, married Clara James of Ogle county, Illinois and now lives at Wagner, South Dakota. Their three children are Morris, Frances, and Walter W. Jr.

Captain Wagner passed away in 1898, and his demise was the occasion of much sincere regret. He was a member of Grierson Post GAR at Tyndall and found much satisfaction in meeting his comrades and in reviving associations of the 60's.

After the death of Captain Wagner, his widow assumed charge of the bachelor household of her brother M.E. Hitt and remained with him upon his farm until he retired and they removed to Tyndall in 1913. During the spring of 1881, Mrs. Wagner and her brothers had a number of unpleasant experiences in endeavoring to return to South Dakota from Illinois where they had been called by the illness and death of their mother. The unusually heavy floods of that spring had cut off the usual means of transportation, and it was not only almost impossible to go from place to place but all communication by mail or telegraph was also suspended. Her brother Martin reached Sioux City, Iowa before the others and went to Yankton on what proved to be the last train until July. Thomas M. Hitt, after waiting for twenty days at Sioux City, succeeded in getting a train to Marion Junction by way of Sheldon, Iowa from which point he walked to Scotland this state the journey consuming three days. At the Jim river, he was ferried across in a skiff as that was the only boat available. He continued his journey passing through Tyndall April 25th, and upon reaching his home farm found that the family had not received any communication from the outside world for weeks. Mrs. Wagner was the last to return and was delayed a month at Sioux City. Finally a boat came up the river and she secured passage to Yankton for herself and a supply of provisions. At that city she took a stage for Springfield and from there was driven home. However before leaving Yankton she divided her supply of late newspapers with the isolated citizens who were very anxious for news. It was not until the middle of May that Mrs. Wagner reached home. Such hardships as these, however, were not considered unusual, and the courage and determination of the pioneers increased as greater obstacles to be conquered arose.

Andrew James Cogan one of Dakota's early journalists but now devoting his attention principally to agricultural pursuits was born in Newark, New Jersey on the 4th of January, 1856, and is a son of Michael and Bridget (Cole) Cogan. The birth of the father occurred near Saratoga, New York and he belonged to an old colonial family that settled in the northern part of that state when it was still a vast wilderness. He died shortly after the birth of our subject leaving the responsibility of rearing the son to his young widow. After span fling about a year in Wisconsin Mrs. Cogan with her infant son removed to Pike county, Missouri in 1858. There they resided during the stormy period of the Civil war, their sympathies being with the northern cause. Had our subject been of an age acceptable to the recruiting officers he would have entered the service and fought for the preservation of the Union. His uncle Barney then eighteen years old was the eighth volunteer to enlist in a company formed in Pike county, and he continued in the service throughout the war. Both he and his brother, Timothy, were wounded in one of the last battles and for months were in a hospital in Alabama during which time they were mourned among the dead.

Owing to the disorganized condition of the schools in Missouri at that time, Andrew J. Cogan's educational advantages were very limited and he was only able to attend school for two years either in Missouri or Dakota. He has, however, acquired a good practical education by reading and study and took a course in a commercial college at Madison, Wisconsin. It was in 1869 that he came to this state with his mother who joined her brother at Bon Homme.

Here Mr. Cogan later established the Bon Homme Democrat, the second democratic journal published north and west of Sioux City, Iowa. It was only a small four page, three column paper, the make up being seven by nine inches and the first issue bearing date early in August 1876. The following year the paper was enlarged to a four page seven column folio and christened the Bon Homme Citizen. On the 28th of February, 1880, Mr. Cogan removed his entire plant including the building presses and equipment to Scotland, everything being loaded on four wagons and hauled to its destination. He left Bon Homme at ten o'clock in the morning and reached the outskirts of Scotland at nightfall. The next forenoon the building with its contents were set up and business was resumed. The following year however Mr. Cogan sold out to M.H. Day & Company whose successors still conduct the paper under the name of the Citizen Republican.

On retiring from journalism, Mr. Cogan returned to the farm near Bon Homme where he engaged in agricultural pursuits until 1910 when he filed a homestead tract in Meade county and secured an additional quarter section under a desert claim. This was further increased by a half section secured in 1914 under the enlarged homestead law, and he now has a fine tract of farming and grazing land to the improvement and cultivation of which he is devoting his energies. However he still owns his farm in Bon Homme county.

On the 29th of February, 1876, Mr. Cogan was united in marriage to Miss Emma M. Boyle, an adopted daughter of Judge Boyle, and to them have been born eight children, six of whom are still living: Beatrice is now the wife of Peter McDonald by whom she has four children and they live in Meade county; Agnes is the wife of Charles F. Sisson making his home near Sioux Falls and they also have four children; Paul who lives in Meade county is married and has three children; Evaline is the wife of Edward M. Mitchell of Forestburg, South Dakota and has one child; William B. a resident of Fort Clark, North Dakota married Josephine Brasda and they have one child; May is the wife of Everett Jones of Springfield and they have two children. Mrs. Cogan passed away February 12, 1894, and in 1899 Mr. Cogan married Miss Fanny Dostal who died March 27, 1908 leaving two children: Clara Anna and Frances Lillian.

Mr. Cogan was reared in the Catholic faith and is a member of the Knights of the Maccabees. He has been a lifelong democrat supporting that party through the columns of his paper and by personal influence. When he entered journalism democrats were not so plentiful in Dakota as they are at the present time. He has seen almost the entire development and upbuilding of this state and can relate many interesting incidents of pioneer days. He well remembers the severe blizzards of April 1873 and that of October beginning the winter of the deep snows with its attending floods of the following spring. He also recalls the severe though short storm of January 12, 1888 when many human beings as well as stock lost their lives. One of his memory pictures is that of Custer and his men who for a fortnight camped near Bon Homme on their way to annihilation a few months later in the disastrous battle of Wyoming in the spring of 1876. Sitting Bull and other noted Indians were friends of Mr. Cogan in the early territorial days. As a young man he was employed in building churches on the Yankton reservation at Greenwood, Swan Village, and Chotcau Creek. He is widely and favorably known and has a host of friends in South Dakota.

Tomas V. Ptak is engaged in the lumber business in Tyndall, South Dakota and has won more than ordinary success in his undertaking. His father, Joseph Ptak, was born in Bohemia where he was married to Miss Anna Mainer in 1851. Four years later they emigrated to the new world and established a home in Johnson county, Iowa where the father secured a farm near Solon. The family resided there until the spring of 1870 when they removed to Bon Homme county, South Dakota, and he filed on a claim about seven miles northeast of old Bon Homme where he passed away four years later when but forty-five years of age. He had driven to Vermillion, then the end of the railroad, and as a result of exposure contracted pneumonia which was the cause of his death. The mother kept her family together and continued to reside upon the farm proving up on the claim and cultivating the fields. She spent the remainder of her life upon the homestead and although she would have been made welcome at the home of any of her children, she was never content off the farm where she had lived so long and which she had done so much to develop. She passed away in 1914 at the advanced age of eighty six years. Six of her children survive as follows: Joseph H., who lives on his farm near Tabor; Mathias, also a farmer near Tabor; Frank, who is engaged in the lumber business in Avon but resides in Tyndall; Vaclav J., who lives at Fayetteville, Arkansas; Tomas V. of this review; and Jiri A. who is known as George and who lives on a farm near Tabor.

Tomas V. Ptak remained upon the home farm giving his time and labor to his widowed mother until he reached the age of twenty seven years. He then in 1890 came to Tyndall and with his brother Frank bought a lumberyard which they conducted in partnership for twelve years. They also started branch yards at Avon and Tabor. In 1902 the subject of this review purchased his brother's interests in Tyndall and Tabor and has since been the sole owner of the business. He has prospered abundantly and has established another branch yard at Blaha station. These yards have proved successful ventures, and his business interests yield him a good income. He has found a safe and profitable investment for his surplus funds in farm lands and now owns eight hundred acres in Bon Homme county, l quarter section in Pennington county, this state, and a like amount in Emmons county, North Dakota. One of the most potent factors in his success is his habit of systematic work and the accurate keeping of a record of business done so that he is always able to ascertain the facts of any disputed transaction.

Mr. Ptak was married at Tyndall in June 1897 to Miss Karoline J. Burgr, a native of Bon Homme county and a daughter of Frank and Maria (Kubik) Burgr, both of whom passed away in Bon Homme county. Two children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Ptak: Ladimir K. and Tomas K.

Mr. Ptak is a member of the Bohemian Benevolent Society, CSPS, the Yeomen of America, and the Knights of Pythias. In the blizzard of January 12, 1888 he was a mile from old Bon Homme but made his way safely to the home of his brother. He began with no capital and by his thrift, industry, and sterling integrity has worked his way upward until his success is a measure greater than that attained by the average business man. Moreover in his determination to win personal prosperity he has not forgotten the duties which every citizen owes to his community and has at all times manifested praiseworthy public spirit.

Willis W. French, an attorney at law of Tyndall, was born in Yankton, the capital of the old territory, in 1882, a son of Levi B. French who is mentioned at greater length elsewhere in this work. The father removed from Michigan to Yankton when South Dakota was still a territory.

Willis W. French graduated from Yankton high school and then took a three years course at Ann Arbor, Michigan graduating from the law department of the State University of Michigan in June 1904. He returned to Yankton, but on January 1, 1907 he accepted a position in the editorial department of the West Publishing Company of St. Paul, a firm issuing law books. He remained in their employ for three years and in December 1909 came to Tyndall where he opened a law office. In 1912 he was elected prosecuting attorney and discharged the duties of that position with fidelity and ability. In partnership with Dr. Herm Klima and C.C. Puckett, he purchased the Tyndall Tribune. Mr. Puckett being the editor and Mr. French taking charge of the business management of the publication. The Tribune is a well edited and well managed journal and exerts a wide influence throughout Bon Homme county. Much of the credit for its success must be given to Mr. French who is a systematic and efficient business man and is aggressive in his efforts to increase the circulation of his paper and to secure legitimate advertising.

Mr. French was married July 8, 1913 to Miss Emma Chladek, a native of Tabor, Bon Homme county and a daughter of Louis and Louisa (Vyborny) Chladek. Her father is a native of Sadska, Bohemia. Her mother is also a native of Bohemia, and when four years of age was brought by her parents to the vicinity of Tabor, Bon Homme county. Mrs. French is the eldest in a family of four children.

Mr. French attends the Congregational church and fraternally is identified with the Masonic and Knights of Pythias lodges of Tyndall. He is one of the alert young business men of the town and his friends prophesy for him a career of increasing usefulness and success.

Leonard T. Hoaglin is the owner and editor of the Platte Enterprise, an excellent weekly paper which exercises considerable influence in its section. He is a native of Bon Homme county this state, and was born on the 11th of June, 1872. His parents, William and Juliet (Benedict) Hoaglin, removed to Bon Homme county in the early days of its history, and there the father homesteaded land. He followed agricultural pursuits for a number of years but is now living retired in Springfield. His wife is also living.

Leonard T. Hoaglin was educated in the public schools and after putting aside his text books began to learn the printer's trade in the office of the Tyndall Tribune. He remained there for six years after which he went to Springfield and entered the insurance business with which he was connected for two years. He next went to Castalia and worked on the Record Republican, a newspaper of that place, until 1900 when he drove to Kimball and got out the first issue of the paper there. He purchased the plant and on the completion of the railroad to Platte he removed to that town and has since published the Platte Enterprise. The paper now has a circulation of twelve hundred and is an excellent publication in every respect. The plant is modern and well equipped and as a result the typographical work is well done while the news columns are filled with well written accounts of happenings of local and general interest. The editorial policy of the paper has won it the commendation of public spirited citizens as it advocates those things which are recognized as best for the community.

Mr. Hoaglin is a Protestant in his religious belief and fraternally belongs to the Woodmen and to the Masonic order in which he has taken the thirty second degree and in which he also has other affiliations, as he is a member of the Shrine and of the Eastern Star. He is an adherent of the republican party and has acted as delegate to a number of conventions. For four years he held the office of postmaster and discharged his duties to the full satisfaction of his fellow citizens. In the conduct of his paper he has manifested much ability as a journalist and has proved an efficient business man, and he is one of the valued residents of Platte.

John Heckenlaible, president of the Hosmer State Bank and a representative business man and citizen of Hosmer, was born in Hutchinson county, South Dakota, August 30, 1878, a son of Christoph and Christina Heckenlaible, both of whom were natives of southern Russia. They came to America in early life settling in South Dakota and in 1899 established their home in Edmunds county, this state taking up their abode at Hosmer where they are now living. The father has retired from active business cares.

John Heckenlaible is one of the three survivors of a family of five children. He remained at home until he attained his majority and supplemented a public school education by study in the State University. He afterward established a general store at Hosmer which he conducted until 1905 when he turned his attention from commercial to financial interests. In 1901 his father was one of the organizers of the Hosmer State Bank, and four years later the son became its president and has since filled that position. The institution entered upon an era of growth and prosperity, its annual statement showing a steady and healthful growth. The bank is capitalized for ten thousand dollars, has a surplus and undivided profits of seven thousand six hundred and forty eight dollars, and the deposits amount to eighty one thousand two hundred and sixty six dollars. In addition to his banking interests, Mr. Heckenlaible is one of the most extensive landowners of his part of the state having four thousand acres the greater part of which is under cultivation and splendidly equipped with modern improvements in the way of buildings and machinery.

In 1903 occurred the marriage of Mr. Heckenlaible and Miss Cora Knodel, a native of Bon Homme county, this state and a daughter of Bernhard and Christina Knodel, both deceased. The children born of this marriage were five in number but four have passed away, the surviving daughter being Olivia Ramona whose birth occurred on the 31st of December 1908.

Mr. and Mrs. Heckenlaible are members of the German Lutheran church and guide their lives according to its teachings. In politics Mr. Heckenlaible is a republican and has served on the town board while at the present time he is one of the county commissioners of Edmunds county. He has also been treasurer of the school board and is actively interested in various movements relating to the welfare of his town and county. Liberal educational advantages qualified him for life's practical and responsible duties, but he had no financial assistance at the outset of his career and that he is now one of the prosperous business men of Edmunds county is attributable to his determination enterprise and ability.

Rev S. J. McCawliff is the pastor of St. Patricks Catholic church at Montrose where he has been located for ten years. He was born in Canada, a native of Quebec, on the 9th of March, 1858, and is a son of Michael and Mary (Ryan) McCawliff. After mastering the branches of learning taught in the district schools near his home, he became a student in St. Lawrence College of Montreal, afterward studied theology in Montreal Seminary and continued his study in Laval University from the theological department of which he was graduated in 1903, thus qualifying for the priesthood. He was ordained to holy orders by the present Cardinal Begin on the 17th of May, 1903 and celebrated his first mass at St. Anne De Beaupre. He was assigned to the mission at Springfield, Bon Homme county, South Dakota where he remained for a year and a half, and in September 1904 he was transferred to Montrose. Since that time the parish has greatly increased in its numerical strength. There has been a great spiritual revival among the people, and there are now one hundred families connected with the parish. He has built a magnificent church edifice, the corner stone of which was laid in 1906 while the building was completed at a cost of twenty five thousand dollars and is one of the most beautiful churches of the state. The work of the church is well organized in all of its departments. The Altar Society, the Ladies Sewing Circle, and the Holy Name Society are all in a flourishing condition, and the work of the church is being vigorously prosecuted. Father McCawliff holds membership with the Catholic Order of Foresters and with the Knights of Columbus which draws its membership from those of the Catholic faith.

Hon. James P. Cooley of Bon Homme county who died June 9, 1915 was an important factor in the development of his section of the state in more ways than one, having served as a member of the state legislature and as a state senator and also as president of the Security Bank of Tyndall. He was the owner of over four thousand acres of land in this state. He was born February 26, 1845 near Rowlandville in Cecil county, Maryland, a son of Corbin Cooley whose birth occurred August 12, 1799 in Hartford county, Maryland. He traced his ancestry back to one who came to this country on the Mayflower. His grandfather, Samuel Cooley, was a soldier in the Revolutionary war, and two sons of the latter's sons, Daniel and Charles, fought in the War of 1812 being at Fort McHenry at the time that Francis Scott Key wrote the Star Spangled Banner. Corbin Cooley died in Maryland at the age of seventy-six years, and his passing was deeply regretted as he was not only a prosperous and progressive farmer but also a man of agreeable personality and tried integrity. His wife, who was in her maidenhood Miss Mary Shaw, was born in Liverpool, England and most of her brothers and sisters were natives of that country. In early life she was brought by her parents to the new world the family home being established in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She passed away in Maryland at the advanced age of eighty two years. To Mr. and Mrs. Corbin Cooley were born eight children of whom our subject was the third in order of birth and the eldest son.

James P. Cooley was reared in Cecil county, Maryland. He completed the course in the public schools and was graduated from Nottingham Academy. In 1870 he came west as he believed that better opportunities were to be found here than in the east and spent the first two years in Edgar county, Illinois where a brother made his home. At the end of that time he came to South Dakota and filed on a preemption claim in Tabor precinct, Bon Homme county. He broke the prairie land and built a small log cabin in which he kept bachelor's hall until his marriage. He later took up a homestead claim and also a timber claim, and as he prospered bought additional land until the home farm comprised more than one thousand acres of land. He also owned nearly two thousand acres near Springfield, his holdings aggregating over four thousand acres. He did not sell any of the grain raised upon his land as he fed it all to stock, storing it in a large elevator upon his land until needed. In addition to the grain raised, he bought many carloads per year and was one of the largest stock feeders in his Section of the state. He fed and shipped from fifteen to twenty carloads of cattle and hogs per year. His cattle sheds and feed lots were the largest in the county, and he was excellently equipped in every respect for the care of stock on a large scale. He derived a handsome yearly income from his stock business and was one of the most substantial citizens of his county. He lived in a log cabin until 1884 and then built a small frame house. Nine years later he erected the present large residence of the family to which, however, he made additions from time to time until it now contains about twenty rooms.

Mr. Cooley was married in March 1872 to Miss Mary E. McCollum, a daughter of John J. and Levina (Riggs) McCollum pioneers of Bon Homme county who are mentioned more extensively elsewhere in this work. To their union have been born twelve children, ten of whom survive as follows: Jessie, the wife of Edwin Hopkins of Springfield, South Dakota; Emma, who married C.C. Torrence of Tabor precinct; Mary, who formerly taught school in her home locality but is now at home; Lucile, the wife of Lewis Barber a veterinarian of Tyndall, a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this work; Addie, who gave her hand in marriage to W.R. Christie of Omaha, Nebraska; Ralph, who married Alta Morgan of Los Angeles, California and is farming near Springfield, South Dakota; and Corbin, Maurice, Charles, and George all at home.

Mr. Cooley was a democrat and was honored by official preferment as he was a member of the territorial legislature of 1872 and 1873, and also served in the state senate for four terms during the sessions of 1904 and 1908 and again in 1912 and 1914. For four years he served as county commissioner and his record in public office is without a spot, no shadow of suspicion ever having been cast upon his integrity or ability. He was a large stockholder in the Security Bank of Tyndall and was president of that institution, much of its growth and solidity being due to his wise management and financial acumen. His marked success was the result of good judgment and unceasing industry, and it is related that when a young man endeavoring to get a start in this new country he was at work the earliest and quit the latest of any of the men of his county. Throughout life he continued an untiring worker although there was no longer the need of bettering his financial circumstances as he was one of the most prosperous residents of his part of the state at the time of his death.

Dr. Charles Monroe Keeling of Springfield has been a resident of South Dakota since territorial days having arrived here on the 5th of August 1887. As he had been licensed to practice medicine one year before, practically his entire professional career has been spent in that town where he enjoys a large and remunerative practice. He was born near Sulphur Hill, Shelby county, Indiana February 15, 1863, a son of Dr. William W. and Mary R. (Spier) Keeling, also natives of the Hoosier state, the former born in 1831 and the latter in 1838. About 1895 they removed from Indiana to Nemaha, Nebraska. The father himself a physician is probably the oldest practitioner in that state, and he still follows his profession to some extent while the mother retains a keen interest in the life around her.

Dr. Charles M. Keeling was educated in his native state, and there began teaching at the age of seventeen. He subsequently studied medicine under the direction of his father and later entered the Medical College of Indiana located at Indianapolis, and was graduated from that institution in 1887. The school is now a part of the State University. Following his graduation he practiced for four months with his father and then came to Dakota opening an office at Delmont, Douglas county where he remained only four months when he removed to Tyndall. He remained there a like period and then came to Springfield arriving here on the 23d of April, 1888. He has since remained a resident of this town and enjoys the confidence and patronage of many in Springfield and its vicinity. He is an able and conscientious physician and also keeps abreast of the most advanced thought in the profession. A brother of his, William F. Keeling now a resident of Marmarth, North Dakota was for many years a resident of South Dakota and taught school in Bon Homme county. He came to the territory in 1886 and left South Dakota about 1897.

Dr. Keeling was married in 1882 to Miss Viola E. Osborn, a native of Indiana who died at Springfield July 7, 1910. She was the mother of one daughter, Era, now the wife of William M. Kirby, an attorney at law who has an office in Springfield. They have twin boys, William M.M. and Charles K. born November 21, 1914.

Dr. Keeling is a communicant of the Episcopal church of Springfield, and in politics he is a democrat. He has never had time for office seeking, and when on one occasion he was nominated for state representative he declined to make the campaign. The Doctor has taken a great interest in secret societies and holds membership in quite a number. He belongs to the blue lodge of Masons at Springfield, the chapter of the Eastern Star at that place, the Royal Arch chapter at Scotland, the commandery at Yankton, and the Mystic Shrine at Sioux Falls. He also holds membership in the Odd Fellows and Rebekahs, the Modern Woodmen and the Royal Neighbors, the Modern Brotherhood of America, and the Maccabees. During the existence of the lodge of Knights of Pythias in Springfield, he was also a member of that body. He has not only won success professionally but has in all things proven a worthy and valuable citizen of his community enjoying the full confidence and goodwill of his fellowmen.

John A. Cole, a farmer of Bon Homme county, was born April 1, 1874, in that county, a son of Thomas and Anna (Carroll) Cole. The latter was born in Castlereagh, County Roscommon, Ireland, and was a daughter of John and Nellie (Finan) Carroll, the former of whom passed away on the Emerald isle. The latter emigrated to America and passed away in Iowa. Anna Carroll emigrated to America at the same time, and for a time made her home with an uncle in Wisconsin, subsequently residing in St. Louis with another uncle. She was married to Thomas Cole in April 1869, and now resides on the old home farm with her son, Ben. Mr. Cole was one of four brothers: Bartholomew, Thomas, Barney, and Timothy, who together with their sister, the venerable Mrs. Cogan, played such a large part in the development of Bon Homme county. Their parents were Bernard and Catherine Ann (McCormack) Cole, natives of County Roscommon, Ireland, whence they emigrated to America and resided for a time in Newark, New Jersey where the death of the father occurred. The mother came west with her sons, Thomas and Timothy, and her daughter, the other two sons having previously arrived in South Dakota. They had come west expecting to make their home with a bachelor uncle who had been a soldier in the Mexican war, but owing to the severity of the latter's discipline both ran away, and Barney who was then eight years of age did not rejoin the family until he was a lad of sixteen. Mrs. Cole came west with her other children in order to find her two lost boys, and lived for a time in Milwaukee and other Wisconsin towns and in Dubuque, Iowa, but finally took up her residence on a farm a few miles from Clarksville, in Pike county, Missouri where the family was reunited. For many years Thomas Cole was his mother's mainstay upon the farm as the other three boys were soldiers in the Union army. Thomas was drafted, but as he was better able to carry on the farm work than Barney and as the latter was eager to enlist, he went in his brother's place.

Thomas Cole learned the hatter's trade in Newark, but after removing to the west devoted his attention to farming filing on a homestead two miles north and two miles west of old Bon Homme. Later he purchased a farm in Cleveland precinct, which was his home at the time of his death. To him and his wife were born nine children: Nellie, the wife of William McMahon now living near Parkston, South Dakota; Kate, who married Edward Hoey who is living near Wagner, this state; Bernard, who died when nine months of age; John A. of this review; Thomas Jr., who lives near Wagner; Ben, who is at home upon the farm with his mother; Mary, who died when nineteen years of age; Susan, who died at the age of five years; and Bartholomew, now of Gouward, Alberta, Canada.

John A. Cole remained under the parental roof until be attained his majority when he homesteaded in Charles Mix county, living on his land long enough to receive his patent. Returning to Bon Homme county, he rented the home farm until 1912 when he purchased his present place which is the western half of section 15 in Cleveland precinct. There are good substantial buildings, extensive groves, and a fine orchard on the place which is well stocked and is being developed into one of the best farms in the county.

Mr. Cole was married January 19, 1909 to Miss Mary Benesh, a native of Bon Homme county and a daughter of James and Barbara (Koftan) Benesh both of whom were born in Bohemia. In the spring of 1871, Mr Benesh sailed from Hamburg to America, the voyage lasting seventeen days. He made his way to Chicago and worked there for a year and a half, being in that city at the time of the great fire in October 1871. In the following year he removed to Pawnee county, Nebraska joining a colony of his fellow countrymen and working at farm labor for nine years. He saved his money and purchased a farm and subsequently he removed to Bon Homme county and bought land north of Bon Homme church, still later becoming the owner of the farm he now occupies in Springfield precinct. Mrs. Cole is the seventh in a family of ten children and by her marriage has become the mother of four sons: Cletus, Firman, Vitalis, and Nester.

Mr. Cole was at school with his brothers and sisters on the day of the great blizzard in 1888, but succeeded with his brother Thomas in reaching home going more than a mile without a fence to guide them. His younger brothers and sisters remained over night at a neighbor's house. Mr. Cole is a democrat and belongs to the Catholic church as do his family. He is a man of considerable infiuence in his locality and has a high place in the esteem of his fellowmen who know him to be able, determined, and energetic, and he also has the sincere and unstinted liking of those who know him and who call him familiarly by his boyhood name, Johnnie. His life has been a successful one not only in the accumulation of wealth but also in gaining honor and regard.

Dr. Roy Stevens

Dr. Roy George Stevens, one of the leading and successful physicians of Sioux Falls, engaged in the general practice of medicine in partnership with Dr. N. J. Nessa, was born in Lewis, Iowa, May 12, 1880, and is a son of George and Mary (Morton) Stevens. The family is of English origin and was founded in America by the father of the subject of this review, who came from his native Derbyshire to the United States in 1871, when he was twenty-one years of age.

In 1896 Dr. Roy George Stevens was graduated from the high school at Springfield, South Dakota, and in 1900 from the Springfield (S.D.) Normal School. Following this he entered the medical department of the University of Illinois, graduating from that institution with the degree of M. D. in 1905. Following the completion of his course he located at Heron Lake, Minnesota, as an assistant in the Southwestern Hospital, retaining that connection for four years. In 1909 he removed to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and formed a partnership with Dr. N. J. Nessa, with whom, in 1910, he established the Samaritan Hospital. They conduct this institution for the comfort and convenience of their own patients and they have made it one of the finest and most complete institutions of its kind in the state. Dr. Stevens controls a large and representative patronage and he is a director in the Sioux Life & Casualty Company of Sioux Falls. He belongs to the American Medical Association, the South Dakota and Seventh District Medical Societies and the Sioux Valley Medical Association, of which he was vice president in 1913, his membership in these bodies keeping him in touch with the most advanced thought of his profession.

On the 25th of March, 1907, at Heron Lake, Minnesota, Dr. Stevens was united in marriage to Miss Henrietta O. Dickinson, a daughter of Edwin and Sarah (Nelson) Dickinson. Dr. Stevens is connected fraternally with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Masonic chapter and Shrine, the Knights of Pythias and the Order of the Eastern Star. He holds membership in the Episcopal church and is a republican in his political views. Practically all of his time and attention is given to the duties of his profession in which he has made rapid and steady advancement, standing today among its foremost representatives in his part of the state.

The Koftan family are numbered among those sturdy citizens of South Dakota who claim Bohemia as their native land, and Vincent Koftan is one of the best known and most highly esteemed agriculturists of Bon Homme county. He was born in the village of Pustovyette, Bohemia October 27, 1859. He was in his eighth year when he accompanied the other members of the family to America in the spring of 1867. His parents were Frank and Josephine (Schwartz) Koftan, who thinking to better their lot in the new world sailed from Bremen for Quebec with their family, and after a voyage of more than two months reached their destination. They were held in quarantine on the island for three weeks because of a rash from which one of the children was suffering and which no doubt was brought about by the poor ship's fate. From Quebec the family went by way of Chicago to Aspinwall, Nebraska, and there the father purchased two teams and filed on land eight miles north of Pawnee City. That farm remained the family home for many years, but after his sons, Vincent and Joseph, were established in South Dakota, Frank Koftan sold his farm in Nebraska and removed with the rest of his family to this state securing a fine farm southeast of Tyndall which now belongs to his son Charles. The father's death occurred on the 25th of April 1901 in Tyndall, to which place he had retired a few years previously. His widow survives and lives in Tyndall. All of their eight children are living namely: Vincent; Joseph, residing in Rock county, Nebraska; Barbara, the wife of James Benesh of Bon Homme county; Frank and John, who are both farming in Cleveland township, that county; Charles, who is residing on the old home place; Josephine, the wife of Anthony Fajfar; and Robert, a prominent attorney of Green Bay, Wisconsin.

Vincent Koftan well remembers the long voyage to Quebec and the journey across the country to Nebraska. He had attended school but a short time in Bohemia, as he was but seven years of age when the family emigrated to the new world, and at the time that they settled in Pawnee county, Nebraska the schools were somewhat primitive there and his education was therefore limited. In the fall of 1882, in company with his brother Joseph, he purchascd a quarter section of land in Bon Homme county, this state, as they believed that this then new country was destined to become a prosperous and populous region. The brothers divided their quarter section, Vincent taking the west half. Soon afterward they built a small farmhouse on Joseph's tract and there kept bachelors hall until Joseph married, after which our subject continued to live with his brother for two or three years. He then built a comfortable dwelling for himself of the chalk rock abounding in that section, and for seven years not only developed his farm but also did the necessary housework. He still lives upon that place, and its splendid condition testifies to his energy and good judgment. When Mr. Koftan first began cultivating his farm, it was prairie ground upon which only grass grew, but one of the first things that he did was to plant a fine grove of deciduous trees and many pines and cedars. He has six acres of fine orchard, all of which is protected by a heavy windbreak of evergreens and other trees. He has made extensive additions to the house, erected a number of farm buildings, and otherwise added to the value of his property. He owns two hundred acres in the home place and one hundred and sixty acres north of Tyndall and is one of the well to do agriculturists of his county.

Mr. Koftan has considerable inventive genius and has recently patented, in the United States and some foreign countries, a truck for raising automobiles off their tires. Simplicity, ease of operation, and cheapness of manufacture are some of the good points of the device which is also so made as to lessen the liability of breakage.

Mr. Koftan was married three miles west of Tyndall to Miss Elnora Abbott, a daughter of William and Sarah A. (Wilman) Abbott and a native of Dane county, Wisconsin born February 13, 1871. Her father was born in England, and in 1868 emigrated to Wisconsin coming thence to South Dakota in 1875. Mrs. Koftan was in school the day of the great blizzard and with the rest of the children remained at the schoolhouse over night. Mr. and Mrs. Koftan have two daughters: Belle Violet and Mattie Louise. They and their mother are members of the Christian church, and Mr. Koftan is a republican in his political belief. He has become thoroughly American, and is one of the most esteemed residents of his section of the state where those who know him are his friends.

Fred Leman Paddock, familiarly known as "Tom", has passed the greater part of his life in Bon Homme county where he is now farming in Cleveland precinct. He was born at Lime Springs, Howard county, Iowa March 15, 1868, a son of Charles A. and Sarah (Barnes) Paddock. The father, a native of Cook county, Illinois, was born January 9, 1837 and was a scion of old New England stock. His parents, Richard and Nancy (Betts) Paddock, were born in Oneida county, New York. Mrs. Sarah (Barnes) Paddock was a daughter of Elisha and Sally (Palmer) Barnes. Richard Paddock came west in the early 30s and settled in Cook county, Illinois when Chicago was a mere village, and about 1841 removed there. Five years later he emigrated to McHenry county, and in 1887 went to Minneapolis where he passed away in 1894 at the advanced age of eighty seven years. His wife died in McHenry county in 1882.

In 1862, Charles Paddock removed still farther west and settled in Howard county, Iowa finding employment at his trade as a mason around Lime Springs, until he came to South Dakota in 1873. Loading his worldly possessions into a prairie schooner drawn by oxen, he started in September on a journey of three hundred miles to his destination in Bon Homme county, arriving October 10, 1873 having previously inspected the country and decided upon his location. The journey took twenty four days and was not without its hardships. He first filed on a preemption claim but later changed to a homestead claim, his farm comprising the northwest quarter of section 20, township 94, range 59. As the family arrived too late in the fall to build a house, Mr. Paddock rented for the winter, but in the spring built a small log house to which he added another room in 1876. Three years later he added a half story and replaced the straw and clay roof with shingles making his residence a very comfortable pioneer dwelling. In the early days, before his land was producing to its fullest extent and when the prices for produce were very low, he followed the trades of mason and plasterer throughout the winter and thus kept his family supplied with the necessities of life. Later he concentrated his attention upon his farming interests from which he derived a gratifying income. He had but fifty cents when he reached Yankton, and the comfortable competence which be accumulated was the reward of much toil and self denial and the use of good judgment. In 1880 he and his wife united with the Congregational church, and his political allegiance was given to the republican party. From 1885 until 1892 he served on the state board of agriculture and in that capacity did much to further the development of scientific farming in the state. He retired and removed to Oregon in 1899, where he passed away November 26, 1902, and his wife died in that state March 16, 1900. To Mr. and Mrs. Paddock were born ten children, eight of whom survive: Elliott, who is engaged in the real estate business at Pierson, Iowa; James and Willis who are living in Oregon; F.L. of this review; Nellie living in Oregon; Nena, the wife of Milton Turnbull of Oregon; Anna who married William P. Eymer of Tyndall, South Dakota; and Albert, a veterinary surgeon living in Oregon; Emma, who died in 1897, was the wife of I.W. Seman, formerly a stockman of Mitchell, South Dakota. Frank A. died in Union Oregon in 1906.

F.L. Paddock was a child of five years when he accompanied his parents on their overland journey from Iowa to Bon Homme county and well remembers the long trip made in covered wagons. He vividly recalls passing through Sioux Falls which at that time consisted of but a few log houses on the banks of the Sioux river. He remained upon the homestead until he was twenty-two years of age and acquired his education in the public schools. Upon leaving home, he went to Iowa and engaged in draying there for three years. At Estherville, that state, in connection with a partner he built a feed shed which they operated for a year and then sold at a good profit. Mr. Paddock then turned his attention to the lumber business being engaged therein in Story county, Iowa for two years, at the end of which time, he was compelled to quit because of illness. He went to Oregon to recuperate and remained upon the coast for a year returning in March 1903 to the old homestead in Bon Homme county. The last eleven years have been passed thereon, and he has not only prospered financially but has enjoyed good health in the bracing climate of South Dakota. His farm is well improved and in a high state of cultivation producing excellent crops annually from the sale of which Mr. Paddock derives a good income.

He was married in Story county, Iowa February 9, 1898, to Miss May Eatherton, a daughter of Caleb and Margaret (Burroughs) Eatherton, both natives of Ohio. Mrs. Paddock was born in Jones county, Iowa and has passed her entire life in the west. By her marriage she has become the mother of seven children namely: Freda, who died in infancy; Ruth and Nina, twins; Marie and Mary, twins; and Frederick; and Charles. The parents belong to the Methodist Episcopal church and take a helpful interest in its activities.

Mr. Paddock gives his political allegiance to the progressive party, and while living in Iowa was a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. In the winter of 1880 and 1881, the winter of the deep snow as it is known, a drift over fifteen feet deep formed in the young trees surrounding the garden of Mr. Paddock and did not disappear until June the continued seepage keeping the garden so wet that it was necessary to make the garden for that season elsewhere. Although the big game had been driven from the country before the 70s, Mr. Paddock occasionally saw a few antelope but did not have an opportunity to hunt them. His life is typical of the men who have done the greater part in developing the state of South Dakota and his salient characteristics have been energy, sound practical judgment, determination, and integrity traits which are universally honored.

James M. McCollum a well to do farmer of Bon Homme county has resided in South Dakota since 1872 and has thoroughly identified himself with its interests. He was born at Coon Rapids, Carroll county, Iowa in 1864, a son of John J. and Lovina (Riggs) McCollum, both of whom were natives of Tennessee. The father, a blacksmith by trade, was employed along the line of railway construction through Iowa repairing plows and scrapers, shoeing horses, and doing other work of a similar nature in the railroad camps. He went to Iowa when it was still a territory, and lived for a time at Carroll and Coon Rapids, but in September 1872 emigrated with his family to Bon Homme county, South Dakota, the journey being made in covered wagons. He opened a blacksmith shop at Old Bon Homme and soon after arriving there also filed on a preemption claim ten miles west of Springfield, upon which he resided until his death. He set up a forge upon his farm and for many years worked at his trade. Upon first coming to Dakota territory the family lived in a log house, but a frame house was erected after a few years. The demise of Mr. McCollum occurred December 26, 1909 and his wife died in September 1912, when eighty eight years old. They were the parents of five sons and six daughters, and nine of their children are living as follows: Cornelia, the widow of Zachariah Hampton; Margaret, the widow of John Dawson; William, who is living in California; Charles, a farmer of Bon Homme county who is serving as county commissioner; Melvina, the wife of Aquilla McLaughlin of Sioux Falls; Mary, the wife of JP Cooley of Bon Homme county; James M. of this review; Stanley of Tyndall; and Ida, the wife of George Kellogg who is living upon the homestead in Hancock precinct; Sarah, the wife of Egbert Hamstra, and John are dead.

James M. McCollum was eight years of age when he accompanied his parents to Dakota territory, and was reared upon his father's farm west of Springfield. He gave his father the benefit of his labor until he was twenty one years of age. From June 1887 to June 1888 he drove a stagecoach between Springfield and White Swan making three trips per week, and he was on his route on the 12th of January, 1888 when the great blizzard enveloped the state. He was ten miles from Choteau creek and drove that distance through the storm in which hundreds perished, many of them while going from the house to the barn or well. After staging a year he turned his attention to farming and has since followed that occupation. Following his marriage he purchased a farm near his father's homestead, and for many years cultivated that place. From 1902 until 1909 he also ran an elevator at Springfield, and in March 1914 he sold his first farm and removed to his present farm in Springfield precinct. As an agriculturist he is energetic and progressive and is always seeking to increase the efficiency of his work and to secure the maximum results with the least expenditure of time and energy.

Mr. McCollum was married in Niobrara, Nebraska October 19, 1892, to Miss Kate Delaney, and they have eight children: Amer, Ivan, Kate, Clifford, Morris, Florence, Lawrence, and Elizabeth.

Mr. McCollum is a democrat politically and fraternally is identified with the Springfield lodge and the Scotland chapter of the Masonic order and with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at Springfield. As he was but a child when he accompanied his parents to Dakota territory, practically his entire life has been spent in this state and he has not only witnessed its great development but has contributed thereto winning in so doing not only material prosperity but also the respect of those with whom he is associated.

Alfred J. Abbott who has represented his district in the state legislature has resided in Bon Homme county since September 23, 1867, and has witnessed practically the entire development of the state as when he came there was but a little fringe of settlements in the southeastern corner. He was born December 22, 1844 in Yorkshire, England, the fifth in a family of eleven children whose parents were Thomas and Emma (Dunley) Abbott, who were likewise born in that county the birth of the former occurring August 8, 1809 and that of the latter November 8, 1813. They were married April 6, 1837 in Yorkshire, and there their children were born. The births of three including Alfred J. occurred at the cooperative store of which the father was the manager. In December 1848 the family left England on a sailing vessel bound for America, and after a voyage of ten weeks reached New Orleans by way of Jamaica. At the Cresent City they took a river steamer for St. Louis, and later continued their way up the Mississippi and lllinois rivers to Peoria, Illinois. Thomas, one of the children two years of age, died on the boat and was buried after reaching Peoria. The family proceeded overland as far as Ottawa, Illinois, and there the mother and children remained while Mr. Abbott went on foot to Dane county, Wisconsin to get a friend, Samuel Clark, to give them a wagon. It was not until the 1st of June nearly six months after leaving home that the family arrived at their destination near Albion, Wisconsin. There the mother died August 27, 1865, but the father survived for many years, his demise occurring on January 25, 1892, when he had reached the advanced age of eighty two. He was a man of upright character and much esteemed in his community.

Alfred J. Abbott was in his fourth year when the family emigrated to America. He received his education in the schools of Wisconsin, and remained at home until he was twenty three years of age giving his father the benefit of his labor. In order to get enough money to come to Dakota, he huskcd corn by moonlight after having already done a full day's work. By this means he was able to save just enough to pay his way to South Dakota accompanied by his brother, William, and when he arrived in Bon Homme county his last dollar was gone. He was not in the least discouraged and filed on the east half of the southwest quarter and the north half of the southeast quarter of section 1, township 93, range 59, and that farm has remained his home ever since. He however has added to his holdings, and his place after setting aside land for his children comprises five hundred and sixty acres. He has also donated a half section of land in Charles Mix county to Yankton College of which he is a trustee. Energy progressiveness and thrift are his salient characteristics, and it is to those qualities that his success is due.

On the 22d of March, 1876 Mr. Abbott was united in marriage, in Albion, Wisconsin, to Miss Susanna Bussey, a native of the Badger state and a daughter of Benjamin and Jane (North) Bussey who were born in England, but who emigrated to Wisconsin when that state was upon the western frontier. To Mr. and Mrs. Abbott six children have been born, three of whom are living: William E., attending Columbia School of Oratory of Chicago; Emma Jane, who attended Yankton College and subsequently married Hugh Madole, a farmer; and Hazel Belle who also attended Yankton College. Mr. and Mrs. Madole live upon a quarter section of land adjoining her father's farm and given to them by him. Their firstborn, Jean Elizabeth, is the first grandehild in the family.

Mr. Abbott and his family are members of the Congregational church, and are known as supporters of every good cause. He is an adherent of the republican party and casts his ballot for its candidates and measures. In 1868 he represented the Bon Homme district in the territorial legislature and made a creditable record in that connection. He takes justifiable pride in having cast the first vote ever cast in the general assembly for state wide prohibition in South Dakota. He also held various county offices during early days, being county treasurer in 1868 when the total collections were about two hundred and fifty dollars. He has also served as trustee for various state and church institutions, and there has never been any question as to his probity or ability.

One of Mr. Abbott's earliest childhood recollections is that of seeing the Light Brigade, known as the Queen's Own, on its way to win immortality at Balaklava in the Crimean war. After reaching the United States he had a narrow escape from drowning, as on leaving the boat at Peoria, Illinois a tipsy Irishman noticing that he was separated from his parents took him in his arms and started for the wharf. Just before reaching it he reeled and fell off the gangplank into the river. He hastened to wade out leaving the boy in the water, but was driven back by the mate at the point of a pistol to rescue the child who was carried to the furnace room and restored to consciousness. It was some time before his parents found him or learned of the accident. After his arrival in this state, he had many hardships to endure and many discouragements, but his determination never faltered and he eventually won great material prosperity. In the early days prairie fires were a constant menace, grasshopper plagues ravaged the crops, and blizzards were common occurrences during the winters. At the time of the most memorable blizzard that of the 12th of January, 1888, Mr. Abbott was in a well cleaning it and wondered what caused the sudden darkness, and it was with difficulty that he made his way to the house. His recollections of pioneer days are valuable contributions to the history of the state as he remembers many of the notables of the frontier: Harney, Crook, Custer and a number of famous Indian chiefs. To him and to all of the pioneers who like him laid the foundation for the development of their section of the state is due the greatest honor and respect, and it is fitting that the story of the obstacles overcome and the work achieved should be preserved for the present generation.

Anton S. Nedved a farmer of Jackson, precinct Bon Homme county, has been a resident of this state for forty six years, arriving here in the 60s when white settlers were just beginning to take up land, and a score of years before the admission of the state into the Union. He was born May 14, 1861 three miles west of Prague, Bohemia, in the village of Chyfiava, and remained in his native land until the spring of 1867, when a child of six years he accompanied his parents, Frank and Veronica Nedved, to the new world. The family sailed from Bremen, and, as the steamer on which they had intended to cross the ocean was delayed two or three days, they were prevailed upon to embark on a sailing vessel which was ready to start as it was represented to them that by so doing they would save heavy expenses for board in port. The passage was a long and stormy one and it was nine weeks after embarking at Bremen that the family landed in New York city. They made their way direct to Cleveland, and there the father found work on the canals and railroads. There were a number of his fellow countrymen in Cleveland, and upon hearing of a Bohemian colony which was forming in Chicago for the purpose of taking up land in the west the Bohemians in Cleveland appointed Mr. Nedved to make the trip to Nebraska, and investigate the opportunities there. Early in 1869, he arrived in South Dakota with a party who were being shown lands on the Niobrara. Mr. Nedved understood German as well as the Bohemian language and overheard the surveyor who was engaged to mark out the lands remark that the Bohemians must have lived in a poor country to take up such land as was being shown them. Mr Nedved with three others then left the party in the night and made their way down the river banks to Yankton, arriving there on the Fourth of July. They were all day crossing the river at that point, as the only means of transportation available was a small flatboat propelled by oars. Their wagon was taken apart and carried over a few pieces at a time and their oxen were taken one at a time after which their provisions were transported to the other side. They were pleased with the land in the vicinity of Yankton, and Mr. Nedved homesteaded a quarter section nine miles west of that city. The family joined him there and the residence was for a time a small cabin of cottonwood lumber, even to the shingles. As prosperity came to him he built a commodious house and erected barns, granaries, and all of the necessary outbuildings. He passed away upon his homestead in April 1914, at the advanced age of eighty six. His wife's death occurred in 1894. To their union were born nine children seven of whom survive.

Anton S. Nedved grew to manhood upon the homestead west of Yankton, and passed through the hardships of the early days in this state, but has never regretted those experiences it being rather a source of pride to him that he had his share in the first work of redeeming the land from the wilderness. His education was acquired in the early district schools, and under the instruction of his father he learned valuable lessons in practical agriculturc being by the time that he reached his majority an able and efficient farmer.

On the 15th of July, 1884, Mr. Nedved married Miss Anna Smejkal, a native of Cleveland, Ohio and a daughter of James and Anna (Mach) Smejkal natives of Bohemia To Mr. and Mrs. Nedved has been born a daughter, Bessie, who is now a student in the Tyndall high school.

Mr. Nedved is a democrat and a communicant of the Catholic church. His fraternal relations are with the Modern Woodmen of America, the Yeomen, and the ZCBJ a Bohemian society. Mr. Nedved remembers a number of notable storms, and recalls vividly the winter of the deep snow and the flood that resulted therefrom. His most interesting experience, however, was that in connection with the blizzard of the 12th of January, 1888. He had gone to town and was on his way home when the blizzard broke, and he reached his brother's place without much trouble. He knew that there was not sufficient wood in the house to last during a severe storm, and therefore determined to reach home if possible. Accordingly he put his team in his brother's barn and started home on foot, but after running into the well house, which was situated on an entirely different part of the farm than the residence, he decided that to attempt to reach the latter would be to risk losing his way, and returned to his brother's where he remained for the night. His brother was unable to reach home from town, and remained there all night. The wife of our subject fortunately saw the storm coming and housed all of the stock remedying the deficiency in the wood supply by burning boxes. As Mr. and Mrs. Nedved bore their share of the privations that were the lot of the early settlers and as they labored long and diligently to make for themselves a home in this new country, it is but fitting that they should now enjoy not only material prosperity but also the esteem and respect of all who are associated with them. Mr. Nedved always works for the good of the county in which he lives. He has held several minor offices. He has been clerk of Nedved school district No. 47 for nineteen years and served nine years as road supervisor, one year as township supervisor, and three years as president of ZCBJ a Bohemian society.

Christ J. Bangert has represented his district in the state legislature, and is now mayor of Avon, and in all of his public service has proved efficient and conscientious. He was born in the village of Hesperinghausen, forty five miles from Berlin, Prussia, a son of Fred and Minnie (Volke) Bangert, who in 1871 emigrated to America sailing from Bremen Haven on the steamer Rhino which arrived in New York after a voyage of twelve days. Mrs. Bangert had a brother living at Alden, Hardin county, Iowa, and the family located there, the father finding work herding cattle harvesting, etc. In 1878 they removed to what is now Bon Homme county, South Dakota, and the father filed on a homestead seven miles south of Avon. He devoted his time to the cultivation of his farm, and resided there until his demise. To him and his wife were born eight children: Charles (deceased); Christ J.; Mary, the wife of Herman Walkes, residing near Avon; Nettie (deceased); Louise, who married Klase Walkes, a farmer living a mile south of Avon; Minnie, now Mrs. Henry Lamkee of Avon; and Fred and Herman who are farming south of Avon. The two younger children were born in this country.

Christ J. Bangert secured work near Lakcport soon after arriving in this state, and was there at the time of the flood of March 1881, and helped to rescue a Mr. Jasper and his daughter from the roof of their house, the rest of the family having fled earlier. Added to the terror of the water was the suffering occasioned by the cold, and the young lady lost three of her fingers by freezing during her hours spent upon the housetop. Mr. Bangert relates many interesting reminiscences of the early days and tales of the privations and hardships which were met by the early settlers. At the time of the great blizzard of January 12, 1888, it was necessary for him to go out in the storm to gather corn to burn as the coal bin was filled with snow packed so tightly that it was impossible to get at the fuel. For four years, Mr. Bangert worked at Lakeport with the exception of three months in the third winter, when he went home to attend school. Upon attaining his majority, he filed on a homestead claim two miles north of Avon, and later he purchased one hundred and twenty acres more, remaining upon the farm for a number of years. In 1902 he removed to Avon where he has since resided. While living upon the farm he learned the carpenter's trade, and since removing to Avon has done considerable work as a contractor and builder. In fact he has erected most of the houses in that town. In 1907 he became associated in the grain business with Henry D. Giedd and the connection has since been continued with mutual pleasure and profit.

Mr. Bangert has been married three times, his first union being with Miss Lena Walkes who died leaving an infant daughter, Lena, now Mrs. Ed Minow, living southeast of Avon. Mr. Bangert subsequently married Miss Carrie Walkes who became the mother of a son, Reuben, and passed away when he was eight years old. Mr. Bangert's third marriage was with Johanna Billigmier, who has also passed away. To their union two children were born: Elgin Theodore and Pearl Netta both in school.

Mr. Bangert is a republican, and was a member of the state legislature in 1897 and again in 1901. He is serving his third term as mayor of Avon, and is giving the municipality an excellent administration characterized by businesslike methods and strict honesty. He does not belong to any church, but attends the services and contributes to the support of all denominations. Mr. Bangert is well known in his section of the state, and wherever known is highly esteemed his admirable qualities of character gaining him the high regard of all who are brought in contact with him.

Timothy Cole living retired at Tyndall is well known throughout Bon Homme county and that section of the state. He and his three brothers and sister, Mrs Bridget Cogan, were among the first settlers in Old Bon Homme, and were among the most infiuential residents of their county for many years. Timothy Cole was born at Newark, New Jersey October 22, 1845, and his parents Bernard and Catherine Ann (McCormack) Cole were born near Castlereagh, County Roscommon, Ireland. They emigrated to America in the early 40s embarking at Liverpool on a sailing vessel bound for New York, which required thirteen weeks and three days to make the trip. Mr. Cole found work at Newark, New Jersey and passed away there about 1850. Five or six years later his widow brought her family west, and two of the boys went to Sheboygan, Wisconsin to make their home with a wealthy bachelor uncle, Colonel Bartholomew Cole, a veteran of the Mexican war. But the boys rebelled at the latter's strict discipline, and the arrangement was soon terminated. The mother then came west and lived for a time in Milwaukee, and then in Beaver Dam and Winnebago, Wisconsin still later in Dubuque, and after that she established her home half way between Clarksville and Hannibal, Missouri where the family was living at the opening of the Civil war. Bernard and Timothy served during the greater part of the conflict.

At the beginning of the war, Timothy was too young for service on the battle line and therefore enlisted in the Third Missouri State Cavalry, a militia organization, but later became a member of the Forty ninth Missouri Infantry under Colonel DP Dyer, now a well known member of the St. Louis bar. Bernard and Timothy Cole saw active service in Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana and participated in one of the last engagements of the war the siege of Spanish Fort. Following the war the family removed to Dakota territory where Bernard Cole had previously established himself as a blacksmith in the old town of Bon Homme. Upon his arrival in the territory in 1868, Timothy Cole established a wood yard four or five miles east of Bon Homme. At the end of a year he returned to Missouri and remained two or three years, when he again came to South Dakota and filed on a homestead claim on section 26, Cleveland precinct, which remained his home until March 1909 when he removed to Tyndall, where he has since lived retired. While actively engaged in agricultural pursuits he was known as a progressive alert and energetic farmer, and he accumulated more than a competence which enables him to spend his remaining days in ease and leisure.

Mr. Cole was married in the fall of 1866 in Millwood Lincoln county, Missouri to Miss Elizabeth Blake, a native of Virginia, whose birth occurred in March 1849. Her parents Shelton and Fannie (Fortune) Blake, emigrated to Jefferson county, Missouri in 1852 with their family, and there the father farmed during the remainder of his life. Mrs. Cole attended the high school of St. Louis and Guardian Angel Academy where she became a convert to the Catholic faith. Of the ten children born to the union of Mr. and Mrs. Cole, nine survive: four sons and five daughters who reside in Bon Homme, Charles Mix, Gregory, Tripp, Meade, and Yankton counties this state.

Mr. Cole is a democrat and stanchly supports the candidates of that party at the polls. He and his family all belong to the Catholic church, and he is a comrade of Springfield Post GAR. He experienced all of the hardships and privations that fell to the lot of the early settlers in this state: the blizzards in winter, the prairie fires in the late summer, and autumn the grasshopper plagues, and the isolation common to frontier life everywhere. He is held in the highest esteem in his community and the honor that is his is richly deserved.

Among the substantial farmers of Bon Homme county is numbered Orville Stewart who was born in McDonough county, Illinois on the 9th of August, 1876, a son of Samuel and Elizabeth (McKenzie) Stewart, natives of Indiana and Illinois respectively. He resided in Illinois until 1899 when he removed to Guthrie county, Iowa and there worked at farm labor for about a year. After that he cultivated rented land until 1903 when he removed to South Dakota He rented the McNeill farm in Bon Homme county first and later operated other farms in the vicinity of Tyndall until March 1912 when he purchased his present farm, which comprises the southeast quarter of section 34, Jefferson precinct. The land has excellent natural drainage, and as it is fertile and is kept in fine condition it produces good crops annually. The house, which is large and heated by hot water, has a commanding position upon a hill and is protected from the wind by a fine grove. There are also large barns, granaries, and other outbuildings which provide shelter for grain and stock. Mr Stewart uses the latest machinery in his work and is willing to adopt any method that promises to make his labor more eflicient.

Mr. Stewart was married in Guthrie county, Iowa on the 23d of October, 1901 to Miss Sylvia South, a daughter of Wellington and Linda (McNeill) South, natives of New York and Ohio respectively. In 1882 Mr. South removed to Dakota territory and first rented a farm two miles east of Springfield, but afterward took up his residence in Springfield where he lived retired for two years. He then returned to Guthrie county, Iowa. Two of the children born to him and his wife are living in Bon Homme county: Mrs Stewart and Charles who is farming in Jefferson precinct.

Mr. South had a narrow escape from death by freezing January 12, 1888, when the worst blizzard in the history of the northwest occurred. He started to deliver a sleighload of hogs to JH Sanford who resided on the edge of Tyndall and was within a quarter of a mile of his destination when the blizzard broke in its fury, and he found himself unable to see owing to the blinding snow. He took the harness off from his horses and started with them to find shelter. He ran into an old threshing machine which provided some protection against the storm for the horses, and he himself remained there until three o'clock in the morning when the storm had subsided somewhat, and he was enabled to reach the residence of a Mr. Jansen, where he was revived. He supposed that the hogs that he was bringing to Mr. Sanford had perished, but that gentleman had found them in the morning and had taken them and the team to a warm shed and all of the animals survived the storm.

James Kirk has had quite an eventful life, as for a number of years he was a missionary in Africa, for a time was in business there, and is now engaged in farming in Bon Homme county, this state, where he is one of the best known and wealthiest men. He was born on a farm known as Crary Hill parish of Duris Deer, Dumfricsshire, Scotland, November 9, 1854, a son of John and Margaret (McKeen) Kirk, both of whom died in their native land. In 1869, when a youth of about fifteen years. James Kirk emigrated to America sailing from Liverpool and joining his brother Robert who was a farmer in Gallatin county, Missouri. The two worked all winter on the construction of a railroad bridge at St. Charles, Missouri, and then James Kirk went to Minnesota where he was employed on farms for two years.

In the meantime, his brother became a student in the Union Park Theological Seminary in Chicago. James Kirk visited him in that city in October, 1871, shortly after the great fire. He then went south and ran a sawmill and later a cotton gin in Tennessee and in Mississippi. His next removal was to Colorado, where he bought sheep for about six months. Upon returning east he worked in Chicago for a year, and while there made arrangements for going to Africa in 1873 under the control of the American Missionary Association. He visted his parents in Sanquhar, Dumfricsshire for six months, and then went to the Sherbro Island on the west coast of Africa, where he labored for three years and three months as a missionary. At the end of that time he was forced to return to a more temperate climate as his health was becoming impaired. He returned to Scotland and there married, but after a few months returned to Africa this time being sent by the Church Missionary Society and stationed in the Niger river region in Soudan. After remaining there for three years and three months he again returned home to recuperate, and upon going back to Africa for a third time entered into partnership with John Dulzel Fairly at Lagos on the west coast. They kept a trading store there dealing in general supplies, but after one year Mr. Kirk found his health was again failing and went home. He returned to Africa a fourth time but became convinced that he could not endure the climate any longer and sold his interest in the store to Mr. Fairly after six or eight months. He again visited his relatives in Scotland, and then emigrated with his family to America and settled upon the farm where he now lives. Before bringing his family, he made a trip to America and purchased the south half of section 26, Hancock precinct, Bon Homme county. Mr Kirk now has about one thousand acres of some of the finest land in the state. In the summer of 1914 he helped to organize the Farmers and Merchants State Bank at Springfield, this state, and is still one of that institution's largest stockholders. His brother Robert became a farmer and minister of Bon Homme county after completing his course in the Union Park Seminary of Chicago, and owns a great deal of land in South Dakota, although a few years ago he removed to Virginia, where he now lives.

James Kirk was married in 1875 to Miss Mary Mair, a native of Galston, Ayrshire, Scotland, and a daughter of Robert and Margaret (Young) Mair. The mother died in Scotland, but the father subsequently came to America and passed away in South Dakota. To Mr and Mrs Kirk five children have been born. John, who is now managing the home farm is proving unusually successful as an agriculturist. He spent four years as a student in Yankton College, graduated from the State Agricultural College at Brookings, and took a postgraduate course at the State University of Wisconsin at Madison, that state. There he met Miss Edna Murray Ketcham, whom he married and who is a graduate of the State University of Wisconsin. Margaret was for three years a student in Yankton College, and is now a nurse in the Chicago Milwaukee & St Paul Hospital at Mobridge, this state. Mary, James Jr., and Louise have all graduated from the State Normal School at Springfield, and Mary was graduated from Vermillion. James Jr. graduated from the Springfield Normal, after which he took the course in the State University at Vermillion and then completed his legal education at Seattle, Washington. He entered an office at Wagner, Charles Mix county, this state and is proving an able attorney. Louise is now teaching at Lake Andes.

Mr. Kirk is a republican, and is a devoted member of the Presbyterian church. Fraternally he is a Mason and has attained the thirty-second degree. His has been a life in which intense moral fervor and an unusual business ability have been combined, and he has been a moving force in both the material and spiritual interests of the communities in which he has resided. He is not only one of the substantial men of Bon Homme county, but he is also one of the most respected because of his personal worth and close adherence to the standards of Christianity.

Dr Lewis F. Barber a successful veterinary surgeon of Tyndall belongs to a family that has numerous representatives in this country. There are several branches of the family in America and although an attempt has been made it has been found impossible to trace them back to a common ancestor in the mother country. The branch to which Dr. Barber belongs is descended from John Barber of Yorkshire England whose son Robert emigrated to the colony of Delaware about 1687. His father David W. Barber was born in Pennsylvania April 2 1837, a son of James W. Barber who in 1847 removed with his family to Freeport, Illinois purchasing a farm situated two miles north of the town. David W. Barber was reared in Illinois and was married in Freeport on the 7th of November 1862 to Miss Anna E. Crocker, a daughter of Luther E. and Everetta S. Crocker. By her marriage she became the mother of eight children: Mrs Margaret Colgan; Mrs Carrie A Dunwoodie; Elizabeth; James W.; Lewis F.; Mrs. Nettie Berry; Edward S.; Samuel and Joseph. In 1872 David W. Barber removed with his family to the old town of Bon Homme, South Dakota and there opened a general store which he conducted for a period of five years. He subsequently entered a claim six miles southeast of Tyndall and lived thereon for three years perfecting his title to the land. In 1883 he went to Tyndall and opened a store continuing in this business until 1894. At that time he returned to his farm which he resided until 1905 when he went to De Funiak county, Florida. However, remained there only two years after which he returned to Tyndall much preferring state as a place of residence to the peninsular state. He has filled many positions of trust and responsibility with honor having been postmaster of old Bon Homme for seven years, and having also served as county treasurer judge of the probate court and justice of peace.

Lewis F. Barber was the second son born to his parents and is a native of Bon Homme county, his birth having occurred at the old town of Bon Homme, September 2, 1872, a few months after the family migrated from Illinois to South Dakota. He grew to manhood in his native county and bore his share of responsiblity for the cultivation of the farm. He also assisted his father in the general store which the latter owned. In 1900 he began a three years' course in the Chicago Veterinary College and was duly graduated from that institution in 1903. He immediately located in Tyndall for the practice of his profession, forming a partnership with H. O. Sanford, the firm being known as Sanford & Barber. This association was maintained to the mutual profit of the partners until 1907, when Dr. Barber bough out Mr. Sanford. The following year his elder brother, having in the meantime completed the course in the same college, was admitted to partnership, the firm being now known as Barber Brothers. They are thoroughly prepared for the practice of veterinary medicine and surgery and are proving very successul in their professional work. Their hospital is well apointed and has proved of great value to the stockraisers of the county.

Dr Barber was married September 12, 1902 to Miss Lucile Cooley, a daughter of JP Cooley who was a well known banker and stockman of Bon Homme county, but is now deceased. Dr. and Mrs. Barber have a daughter, Helen. The parents are members of the Congregational church and contribute to its support. Dr. Barber has a creditable military record as he served for eighteen months in the Philippine Islands as a member of the First South Dakota Volunteer Infantry under Colonel Frost of Yankton. In one of the many skirmishes in which he was engaged he sustained a wound from the effects of which he has never fully recovered. Dr. Barber has proven himself a man of ability in his chosen profession and as a private citizen has manifested those manly qualities of character which invariably win respect and honor. He is widely known throughout the county and all who have been brought in contact with him hold him in high esteem.

William Minow, a highly esteemed and successful farmer of Bon Homme county, was born in the village of Letschin, Brandenburg, Prussia, February 23, 1844. As nearly as can be ascertained, the family is of Polish descent and the name was originally Von Minowski. The parents of our subject were Christian and Maria (Sommerfield) Minow, who in 1869 emigrated to Ackley, Iowa, where the father passed away. The mother accompanied William to South Dakota.

William Minow attended school for seven years during the summer and winter, and his only vacation periods were during the time of wheat harvest in August and the potato harvest in September. After putting aside his text-books he learned the blacksmith's trade an dwhen the time came for him to serve in the army he was detailed to work in shops at Berlin, Cologne, Spandau and other large cities. Even during the war with Denmark in 1864, and with Austria in 1866, he did not have to serve in the field but worked in shops and arsenals, repairing cannon and other equipment. In 1868 he sailed from Hamburg on the Cymbria and after eleven days landed in New York. He made his way immediately to Ackley, Iowa, and there worked at his trade utnil 1878, when he removed to Dakota territory and settled on his present farm, on section 17, Albion precinct, Bon Homme county. He bought a relinquishment and filed on his land as a homestead claim, and subsequently purchased a quarter section adjoining, upon which his son now lives. The land was open prairie at the time that it came into his possession and he planted a grove and orchard as soon as possible. The trees are now large and he derives much pleasure from them, while the grove it a desirable protection against the wind, and the orchard supplies an abundance of fruit. He built as a residence a small frame house, which he has since enlarged, so that it is now one of the commodious homes in his county. He has labored untiringly and to good effect, seeking always the maximum efficiency in his work, and now has a comfortable competence.

Mr. Minow was married in Ackley, Iowa to Miss Dorothy Meyer, a native of Hanover, Germany, and a daughter of August and Katherine (Meyer) Meyer, who, although of this same name, were not related. To Mr. and Mrs. Minow were born seven children: Amanda, who married Frank Smith, of Avon, this state; Frieda, the wife of George Smith, a farmer residing north of Avon; William, who married Miss Nola Shaver and who is engaged in agricultural pursuits in Albion precinct; Edward, who maried Lena Bangert and is operating one of his father's farms; Ella and August, who are at home; and Louise, who is the wife of George Wheeler, a farmer of Albion precinct. Mrs. Minow passed away July 3, 1908.

Mr. Minow is a Lutheran and is a generous contributor to that church. His political allegiance is given to the democratic party and he served as deputy assessor for one term. His sterly worth and agreeable personality have won for him the friendship of many, and all who know him hold him in high respect.

Walter S. Harrison, who owns and operates four hundred acres of fine land in Bon Homme county, was born near the old village of Bon Homme, August 11, 1875, a son of Francis W. and Martha (Abbott) Harrison, a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this work. The first part of his childhood was spent upon his birthplace, but he grew to manhood upon the farm where he still resides. He gave his time and labor to his parents until he attained his majority, and then he and his brother William started farming in partnership, renting the homestead. The brothers kept bachelor's hall until the older, William, married and brough his bride home. Fourteen months later Mr. Harrison of this review married and established a home of his own. In 1908 William Harrison removed to his farm a few miles west, leaving Walter S. in entire possession of the homestead. He has since given his undivided attention to its operation and now owns four hundred acres of the finest land in the northwest. He is up-to-date and alert and is always willing to utilize the results of agricultural experiments, believing that by so doing he can secure greater efficiency in his work. His labor is rewarded by excellent crops and his annual income is a gratifying one.

Mr. Harrison was married at Tyndall, this state, March 1, 1906, to Miss Nellie Fenenga, who was born on the island of Schiermonicoog, Holland, on the 15th of January, 1879, a daughter of Jacob and Lolina (Viser) Fenenga. In 1881 the family sailed from Rotterdam for New York, and subsequently made their way to Chicago, where Mr. Fenenga found employment for two years in the Pullman shops, working as a fine cabinetmaker. Upon leaving Chicago, Mr. Fenenga and his family came to this state and purchased a farm in Douglas county, where they lived for twelve years. A removal was subsequently made to Lyman county, which remained the family home for aobut fifteen years. Mr. Fenenga eventually sold his farm and removed to Ashland, Wisconsin, but now spends a part of each year in Bon Homme county and part of the time with a married daughter who lives in Amsterdam, Holland. Another daughter is a missionary at Mardin, in eastern Turkey, between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, and two sons are living in Oregon. Mr. and Mrs. Harrison have three children, Mabel, Francis, and Lola. The wife and mother is a member of the Congregational church and quite active in church work. Mr. Harrison is a progressive in his political belief.

At the time of the memorable blizzard on the 12th of January, 1888, Mr. Harrison and his brothers were in school. He made his way for a half mile along a wife fence to his uncle's and remained there all night, but his brothers went on until they reached a neighbor's within a half mile of their home and spent the night there. Mr. Harrison is held in the highest esteem and honor in his native county and is loyal to the interests of South Dakota, believing firmly in her future.

The demise of Henry Allen Pike, of Tyndall, was not only an occasion of much sorrow to his family and personal friends, but was also a matter of deep regret in the journalistic circles of the state, as he had been for years one of the prominent editors of South Dakota. He was a descendant of an old and well known New England family, his grandmother being a cousin of Ethan Allen of Ticonderoga fame. The subject of this review was born in the state of New York, but when he was but a lad his parents moved to Iowa and he early learned the printer's trade in that state. At the age of seventeen he became an editor, and from that time until his death, which occurred in 1912, he never vacated the editorial chair. In 1888 he came to Tyndall, Bon Homme county, Dakota territory, and purchased the Register, from Bradford & Richmond. He made this paper an organ of the democratic party and it became one of the influential journals of this section of the state. His editorials were not only potent forces in advancing the cause of the democratic party, but they were also important factors in the promotion of many movements for the community welfare of Tyndall. The news columns gave to subscribers of the paper reliable accounts of current happenings in the locality and also in the world at large, while the wide circulation of the Register made it an excellent advertising medium. In Cleveland's second term Mr. Pike was appointed postmaster of Tyndall and held the office for four years. While still a resident of Iowa, in connection with his journalistic work he served as superintendent of schools for Palo Alto county and throughout his life manifested a deep interest in everthing pertaining to educational advancement. He was also prominent in Iowa in the councils of the democratic party, and was for several terms chairman of the state central committee, in addition to serving as delegate to many county and state conventions. His fraternal allegiance was given to the Masonic order, his membership being in the lodge at Tyndall.

Mr. Pike was married June 4, 1895, to Miss Mary Cullen, a native of Cedar county, Nebraska, and a daughter of Marin and Catherine (Sullivan) Cullen, natives of County Wexford and County Waterford, Ireland, respectively. They were among the early settlers of Cedar county, but since the death of his wife Mr. Cullen has made his home with a son, W. V. Cullen, who resides in Lyman county, South Dakota. A son, Stillman, was born to Mr. and Mrs. Pike November 26, 1896. From the time of her marriage the latter has taken a lively interest in journalism and, as she learned all the details of the printer's art thoroughly, she is well qualified to publish the Register. She has continued its publication since the demise of her husband in 1912 and edits the paper as well as oversees its printing. She has maintained the high standard set by Mr. Pike, and not only is the paper an excellent purveyor of news, but it also a stanch and effective advocate of democratic principles. She is a Presbyterian in her religious belief and takes an active interest in the work of that church. After the blizzard of January 12, 1888, which left so much death and destruction in its wake, the remains of nineteen who had perished in the storm were laid out in the office of Mr. Pike. Over on the south side of the river Mr. Cullen, father of Mrs. Pike, made his way to the schoolhouse through the blinding and suffocating storm and took the teacher and four children home with him and kept them throughout the night. Mr. Pike did a great deal to advance the material and moral welfare of his county, and the results of his well spent life are increasingly apparent, even though he himself has passed to his reward. His memory is held in high honor by all who were privileged to call him friend.

Most of the families who settled in or near the town of Scotland, South Dakota, were of Scotch birth and they and their descendants have proved among the most valued citizens of Bon Homme county. David Dunwoody is a well-to-do farmer of that county. His father, James Dunwoody, was a resident of County Down, Ireland, where he was married to Miss Mary Johnston, who was also of Scotch descent. In the early '60s they emigrated to America and settled in Wisconsin, where they lived for ten years. They then removed to Bon Homme county, and Mr. Dunwoody filed on the south half of section 35 under the homestead and timber laws. He developed his land into a fine, productive farm and further increased its value by planting many acres of trees, which, in the forty years that have since intervened, have grown into almost a forest. The family obtains all of the fuel needed from the large growth and that without noticeably affecting the size or denseness of the woods. After having filed upon his land Mr. Dunwoody went to Yankton and for two years rented a farm on the Jim river east of that town. At the end of that time he returned to his claim and erected a frame house, in which he and his wife resided until their deaths, which occurred when they had reached an advanced age.

David Dunwoody was reared upon the home farm and after attending the country schools was for several terms a student at the Scotland Academy. He remained with his parents until they passed away and is still cultivating the home farm, his sisters, Mary and Margaret, keeping house for him.

Mr. Dunwoody gives his political allegiance to the republican party, while fraternally he is a member of thet Masonic lodge at Tyndall. He possesses the sterling traits of character usually associated with his nationality and has gained a high place in the estimation of those who know him.

John Fridrich

John Fridrich (Frydrych), a well known and successful farmer of Cleveland precinct, Bon Homme county, was born in the village of Zammel, a son of John and Anna (Novotne) Fridrich, the latter of whom died in Czech. The former came to America in his old age and filed on a homestead west of Tabor, which, however, he was not permitted to enjoy long, as he died a few years after coming to the United States. John Fridrich of this review remained in his native village attending school and learning the blacksmith trade until he was nineteen years of age and then embarked on Bremen for the new world, taking passage in a full rigged sailing vessel.

After a stormy voyage of seven weeks he landed at New York but almost immediately made his way across the country to Iowa, where for two years he was employed at blacksmithing in a German colony at Homestead, Iowa county. He then came to Dakota territory and secured a quater section of land three miles west of Tabor, this state. He bought additional land from time to time and after residing upon that farm for eighteen years sold and purchased his present home on section 11, Cleveland precinct, Bon Homme county, to which he has added until his holding aggregate almost eleven hundred acres. His land is naturally fertile and is kept in high state of cultivation so that it is but natural that his crops are excellent.

In 1893 he erected a large brick house and other buildings on the farm are also substantial and commodious. He has one of the largest and best basement barns in his part of the state and numerous cribs, granaries and other outbuildings. On each quarter section he has planted lines of trees which now furnish fuel for the household and make a grateful shade in summer. Mr. Fridrich was married in Bon Homme County to Miss Annie Dvoracek, and they had eight sons and four daughters, August, John, Clarence, Edward, Henry, Joseph, Leo, Arthur, Bessie, Mollie, Hattie and Emma. Mr. Fridrich was reared in the Catholic church, is a member of the C.S.P.S. and in politics supports the democratic party.

He will never forget his experience in the blizzard on the 12th of January, 1888. He had witnessed a similar, but less severe, storm early in March, 1870, and when in 1888 the cloud of frozen mist moved down upon the country he knew what to expect. Hurrying out, accompanied by a faithful dog, he drove his cattle and horses to the barnyard, leaving them there to find shelter for themselves. He then went with the wind to the southeast corner of his farm where the district school was situated and warned the teacher to keep the children in the schoolhouse through the night, promising to return if possible with food. On the way back to the house he became bewildered and wandered around for quite a while before he heard the wind whipping the trees of the grove and followed the sound, finding to his joy that it was his own grove. He then felt his way along fences to the barnyard, saw that his stock was housed and fed and then went to the house and waited for his wife to prepare an abundant luncheon for the teacher and school children. Without telling her of having been lost, knowing that if he did so that she would object to his going out again, he started for the schoolhouse. Again he drifted with the wind and reached the schoolhouse in safety. However, feeding the children was not the only problem, as they must be kept awake, which was something of a task, as the cold was intense and benumbing. All during the night he kept a roaring fire, while the teacher kept the children interested in games and all passed through the night safely and reached their homes in the morning.

There were many experiences in pioneer days that tried the mettle of men and women, but the courage and determination of the early settlers were equal to all emergenices and as a result of those early years of struggle, foundations for a great state were laid and the present development of South Dakota made possible.