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William L. Pyper is a prominent farmer living on section three, in Jefferson township, Bon Homme county. He was born in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, February 5, 1857. His father, George Pyper, a native of Scotland, came to this country when about twenty-three years old, and located in Pennsylvania, pursuing his vocation as a tailor. in 1858 he removed to Illinois, locating in Ogle county. From there he went to Iowa, but returned in a short time and again took up his residence in Illinois, where he lives at present. Mr. Pyper's mother, who was Jane Lawson, also claims the land of the thistle as her birthplace, and came to the United States in 1855. She is the mother of eight children, the subject of this sketch being the second. He was reared in Pennsylvania, obtained a good common-school education, and when twenty years old began to work for himself upon a farm in his native county. He soon after settled upon a piece of land in Ogle county, Illinois, and this was his home unil 1891, when he went to Bon Homme county, South Dakota, and purchased the farm upon which he now lives. It is a very fine property and contains one hundred and sixty acres. The place is well improved and is netting its owner a handsome return upon his investment. Mr. Pyper is a Republican in politics, and, while he has devoted scarcely any of his time to public affairs, he has been honored with several local offices. He has been superintendent of roads and also a school director, and his administration of both trusts has been an honest and an efficient one.

Mr. Pyper married Miss Mattie Jacobs on the 19th of January, 1882. Mrs. Pyper is a native of Ogle county, Illinois and is the daughter of Enos and Rachel Jacobs. Mr. and Mrs. Pyper are the proud parents of six children. Their names are Jessie, Winnie, George, Goldie, Lloyd and Lester.

Thomas J. Jones is one of the men who profit by tilling the soil of Bon Homme county. The portion of Jefferson township to which he holds a title consists of one hundred and sixty acres in section twenty-three, whereon a commodious and comfortable residence has been erected, together with the barns, granaries, etc., which belong to a well-regulated estate. Well-kept fences add to the attractive appearance of the farm and also to its monetary value.

Our subject was born in Kent county, England, March 27, 1845. He was reared in his native home until 1869, when he came to America and located at Lockport, New York. Being a man of very limited means he was obliged to borrow money with which to pay his passage to the new world. After spending one and one-half years at Lockport he removed to Grand Rapids, Michigan, and in the summer of 1872, returned to England for a visit. While he had been in America but a trifle over three years, he had not only accumulated enough to pay back the money he had borrowed, but had also saved from his wages five hundred and twenty-five dollars, which he used to defray the expenses of his trip. After stopping in England about three months, he journeyed through France, Scotland and Ireland. In the fall of 1872 he returned to America and brought his brother Charles with him. They worked on the railroad in Morris county, New Jersey, one month, and from there he went to Hackelbarney where he was contractor and shipper of ore. During this time he sent to England for his brother's family and his sister. Leaving Hackelbarney in 1873, he removed to Iowa and located in Butler county. In order to get to Iowa, Mr. Jones had to borrow eleven dollars, but he immediately went to work for a Mr. Carpenter, on a farm, for two dollars and a half per day. After fives years in this state he managed to accumulate the snug little sum of five hundred dollars after paying all expenses and the eleven dollars he had borrowed. Hearing of homesteads to be obtained in Dakota he decided to try his fortune in the West. He located in Bon Homme county, on the farm he still makes his home, and, after building upon it, he had no means with which to continue. He was not only without money, but did not own a horse, a cow or any implements for farming. He then went to work for one of the farmers in the community for eighteen dollars per month, and in eight months had money enough accumulated to buy a team. Mr. Jones has had his share of the hardships to which the early settlers were subject. In the blizzard of 1888 he risked his own life for the safety of some children who were caught in a school-house, by carrying food to them and providing for the little ones in their temporary imprisonment.

The marriage of our subject to Miss Hannah Galvin, a native of Butler county, Iowa was celebrated in 1879. Mrs. Jones died leaving two daughters and a son, the latter William Walter, deceased. The two living are: Hattie Alice and Helena Estella. Mr. Jones was subsequently married to Catherine Meyer, to which union have been born five children, three of whom are still living: Lizzie Blanch, Ida Magdaline, and Edith Ellen. The two deceased are: George T. A. and William Roy.

Politically Mr. Jones is a stanch advocate of the principles of the Republican party, but in local affairs he votes for the man best fitted for the position to which he aspires. Since coming to South Dakota Mr. Jones has prospered and it has been the result of his own efforts. He owns one hundred and sixty acres of land, well improved and free from any incumbrance. The farm is well stocked and has all necessary modern machinery for carrying on the work. His generosity was again displayed in 1892, at which time he sent his brother in England money to bring himself and family to America.

John H. Sheffield, well known as one of the older settlers of Bon Homme county, who has successfully applied himself to farming in section 9, Cleveland township, was born near Lansing, Michigan, December 14, 1846. He is a son of John Sheffield, a native of England, who came to America about 1837 and located in Michigan. At present he lives in Woodbury county, Iowa, and is eighty-five years of age. The mother of our subject bore the maiden name of Miss Margaret Anderson, and was born in Ireland. She died when our subject was fourteen years of age.

Of his parents' five children, four of whom grew to maturity, our subject was the youngest son. He was five months old when his parents located on Eagle river, in Michigan, where he lived until fifteen years of age. He then moved with his father to Dane county, Wisconsin, where he worked by the month on a farm until he came to Bon Homme county, Dakota in 1876. Here he took a claim in what is now Albion township, and resided thereon until 1883.

In 1877 our subject was united in marriage to Miss Margaret Colgan.

In 1883 Mr. Sheffield sold his farm in Albion township and bought the one hundred and sixty acres he now lives in Cleveland township. It is adjoining a farm of one hundred and sixty acres which belongs to Mrs. Sheffield. Both farms are under cultivation and are well improved. In connection with his farming interests, Mr. Sheffield is extensively engaged in stock-raising, and is one of Bon Homme county's flouring and well-to-do farmers. Until lately, he has been a Republican in political views, but he now affiliates with the Populist party and is a stanch advocate of its principles. in all matters tending to the welfare and improvement of his vicinity, Mr. Sheffield has always proved a valuable factor. He has always sanctioned and given material aid in the development of all financial matters which tended to the better establishment of business, and in the organization of various societies he has rendered valuable aid. He is a man of the very best character, thorough and systematic as a farmer, pleasant to meet, and is held in high esteem by all with whom he comes in contact. He has a profitable farm, comfortable and commodious home, and has a pleasant family of three children: George I., Charles T., and William E., all born in Bon Homme county.

Abner Trumbo is one of the very oldest settlers of Bon Homme County, and a well-to-do and prominent farmer, whose residence is on section 32, Jefferson township, near Loretta. He was born in Bremer county, Iowa, February 27, 1853. His father, Israel Trumbo, a native of Pennsylvania, went to Ohio with his father when very young, and afterward to Bremer county, Iowa where Abner was born. Israel Trumbo was the first surveyor and justice of the peace that the county ever had. In 1861 he came to Dakota, settled in Vermillion, Clay county, and resided there until his fifty-third years, when his death occurred. His father, Israel Trumbo, was a Virginian and of French origin. Mr. Trumbo's mother, who was Rachel Baskin, was born in Ohio in 1814. Her parents were from Pennsylvania and of Scotch descent, her mother being a Bradick. Mr. Trumbo is the fourth in a family of ten children, one of whom died while young. John, another son, died at the age of twenty-one, in Oregon, where he was serving as a soldier. William died June 10, 1897, in Texas. Frank, who was a member of the legislature, ans whose sketch appears in this work, is now living in Bon Homme county, with Abner and another brother, George T. Zachary T. lives in Kansas. Elizabeth, the eldest daughter, is the wife of George A. Michael, of Waterloo, Iowa. Jennie married T. W. Keeley, a farmer of Worth county, Iowa, and Rachel now presides over the household destinies of Mr. R. Cornish, of South Dakota. In his ninth year Mr. Abner Trumbo was taken to Dakota by his parents. This was in 1862, the year of the famous Indian massacre, and the Trumbos did not remain long. They went to Sioux City, Iowa, and then to Adel, in the same state, but later went back to the territory and settled in Clay county. When eleven years old Mr. Trumbo went to live with a Judge J. W. Boyls, and stayed with him a year. He then lived with his brother John for a time, and subsequently went on a surveying tour. The next year he worked in the field to gain his board, and attended school at Vermillion under John L. Jolley, then grand master of the rod. This youthful tourist made a trip to Bremer county, Iowa, the next year, but remained only during the summer, returning to the territory in the fall. He farmed with his brother during the ensuing year, worked upon a farm in Dixon county, Nebraska, and went to school. One year later he returned to Clay county and went to work for his brother William. In 1867 his brother John again required his services, and he assisted him until 1870, when he went to the Yankton agency and worked for the government two years. He also clerked in a store there for a year. Afterward he returned to Vermillion, staying until 1874, when he went to Bon Homme county, and formed a partnership with another brother, Frank, in the stock business, also taking up a claim in the county, which he soon disposed of. Abner sold out to Frank after two years of the partnership, and went to southern California. He divided his time the next year between the citrus fruit country and Bremer county, Iowa, and then came back to Dakota, found employment at the Yankton agency, and worked there and at the Ponca agency for two years. The wandering spirit still had possession of him, and he moved once more, this time back to the old homestead, where he worked upon his brother George's plat of tillage. On once more, this time to Blackhawk county, Iowa, and then his migrations seemed abruptly ended. Whether it was owing to the delicate charms of one of the belles of teh district, or whether he concluded to settle down, no one but Mr. Trumbo can tell - but the fact is, he got married, and the young lady referred to, who is now Mrs. Trumbo, was Miss Mary J. Polbrook. She was born in the county and lived there with her parents, John and Elizabeth Polbrook. The wedding ceremony occurred on the 11th of December, 1878. Mr. Trumbo took his bride with him and settled upon his brother Frank's farm in Bon Homme county. Here they remained until the summer of 1879, when Mr. Trumbo took up a timber claim of one hundred and sixty acres, and he lives upon this at the present time, doing a general farming, store and grain business. He has improved the property, put up a residence and all necessary buildings, and now has one of the the best looking farms, and at the same time one of the best producers, in that locality. Mr. Trumbo is a Republican and has held a number of local offices, including that of township clerk.

Mr. and Mrs. Trumbo have three children, Fred F., Cora E., and Elmer J. Two others, Elsie W. and Arthur W., are deceased. Mr. Trumbo and his wife have been through all the hardships which the early settler in the northwest knows so well, and right bravely have they fought the battle, until now, with a competence and the comfortable surroundings, neighbors, and a fine home, of which they are the possessors, they may look back calmly upon the past and realize that their work has not only benefited themselves, but will aid their posterity.

Thomas Bily

Rev. Father Thomas A. Bily, whose portrait appears on another page, is pastor of the Catholic church at Tyndall, Bon Homme county. He also has charge of three missions in the vicinity, which he frequently attends, and which, with the manifold duties required of the pastor of a parish of sixty families, makes him one of the busiest priests in the state. To one who has never traveled from one Dakota village to another on foot or in a vehicle the idea of making a trip of seventy-seven miles a day, and returning in a day or two, as Father Bily frequently does, may seem to be a task fraught with no great hardships, but let anyone try it who imagines that a jog of this kind is unalloyed pleasure. The life of a priest, especially one who has given himself up to the work in the thinly settled and often snow-covered northwest, is a constant sacrifice. And Father Bily, during his pastorate in the Dakotas, has felt nearly every hardship, has braved the fiercest storms, has gone out into the darkest nights and driven for miles, that he might help some unfortunate or administer the sacraments and the last comforts of religion to some soul soon to appear before its Maker. Father Bily was born in Bohemia, December 1, 1859. He received part of his education in his native land, studying at Linz, in Austria, and then at Budweis, Bohemia. In 1884, he came to the United States, arriving in New York city on the 22nd of October. From there he went to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he entered St. Francis' Seminary, graduating in Decmeber, 1885. Father Bily was ordained at Yankton, South Dakota, on the 14th of February, 1886, by Bishop Marty. He was the first sent to Tabor, South Dakota, where he was pastor for two years and was then transferred to Spillville, Iowa. Here he remained seven years, but in 1894 he was again transferred, this time to his present charge, Tyndall.

The parish has flourished under his zealous and watchful care, and has increased very largely in membership during his three years' pastorate. Improvements costing over one thousand, four hundred dollars have been made, and in addition the church has been recently painted throughout, a fine new bell placed in position, and other features which will add to its attractiveness are contemplated. The Catholic church at Tyndall is one of the handsomest in the state, and the furnishings, pews, altar, etc., are in keeping with the rest of the structure. There are now over sixty families in the parish, which is an increase of more than ten, or about fifty persons, since Father Bily assumed charge. In addition to the church at Tyndall Father Bily has three missions which he attends regularly. One of them is Vodnany, SS. Peter and Paul's Catholic Church. This congregation numbers over sixty families and its growth is very rapid. The church at Vodnany is also a very pretty and flourishing one. This is a purely Bohemian congregation. Father Bily helped to build the church at this point, and it was mainly through his persistent efforts that the church was built. The second mission is at Springfield. There are about ten families there, and, while the parish is not large, its members make up for the lack of numbers in enthusiastic and practical work. The church is well furnished, and there is a good parish house near by. This was at one time the only Catholic church in Bon Homme county. Its first pastor was Bishop Marty, who died in September, 1896, and it is a remarkable fact that the first priest of this parish was also the first bishop of the diocese. The third mission which Father Bily attends is at Running Water. Here there are about twenty-five good Irish families, most of them old settlers and wealthy. They are good Catholics and are anxious to have a priest stationed regularly at Running Water. It is probably that both this and the Springfield parishes will sometime be given a regular pastor. In 1895 and 1896 Father Bily attended missions at Armour, Douglas county, at Tripp, Hutchinson county, and at Scotland, Bon Homme county, in addition to the charges which he now has. A new church is one of the probabilities of the near future at Tripp, one thousand, three hundred dollars having already been subscribed for the purpose and paid in.

Father Bily makes many long trips, fifty to seventy-five miles per day over the prairie being a common occurrence with him, and he owns a very fine horse, pedigreed, with a record of 2:18. It is a splendid animal. Some time ago he drove to the Fort Randall reservation, on a mission, seventy-seven miles distant, stayed one day, and was back at his home the evening of the third day. He frequently makes fifty miles in five hours when pressed for time.

Father Bily is well known in all the surrounding country about Tyndall, as well as in the town, and is beloved and respected alike by Catholic and Protestant. In spite of setbacks and discouragements he has, by his energy, faithfulness and unremitting labors on behalf of his people and his charges, helped in the building up and remarkable growth of religion in the northwest, and it is the wish of all who know him that he may be spared in his splendid work in the years to come, when the Dakotas shall be mighty in population, and when that population shall by mighty in religion.

Hon. Frank Trumbo is a man of progressive and enlightened views, and his standing as an old settler in the county and a citizen of prominence is well known. There are few more energetic or wide-awake men to be found among the population of the state that this gentleman, and he is deservedly held in esteem and respect by his fellowmen.

The father of our subject, Israel Trumbo, was born in Pennsylvania, and moved with his parents to Ohio, from which state in the summer of 1850, he removed to Iowa and located in Bremer county. He was the first surveyor of that county and also the first justice of the peace. He moved to Dakota territory in 1861 and settled in Vermillion, Clay county, where he died at the age of about fifty-three years. His father, also Israel Trumbo, was born in Virginia, of French parentage. Three brothers came from France. One settled in Virginia, one in Kentucky and one in Pennsylvania. The mother of our subject, Rachel Baskin, was born in Ohio, in 1814. Her parents moved to Ohio from Pennsylvania and were of Scotch descent.

Our subject was the seventh of ten children, and was born in Bremer county, Iowa, October 17, 1850. At twelve years of age he moved with is parents to Dakota territory and settled near Vermillion, Clay county, which at that time contained but few inhabitants. Along about September of that year the Indian was occurred in Minnesota, when the city of New Ulm was destroyed, and the people slain for miles around. Straying bands of Indians were roaming over the country in Vermillion and adjoining counties, murdering here and there as they saw a good chance. So that the few settlers who were here at that time fled down into Iowa where there were more people and better protection, leaving most of their possessions behind. The Trumbo family, consisting of father and mother and nine children, were among the crowd fleeing for their lives. They went down near Des Moines and stayed there until about the first of Decmeber of that fall when, being assured that the Indians had become quiet, they returned to Vermillion, only to find the homestead "jumped" and all they had left behind stolen. About that time there was a great demand for men to fight for the Union, and the three older boys - John, William and George - enlisted and went out to battle for the old flag. The father also enlisted, but was taken sick and came home, and in the spring of 1863 he died, leaving Frank, a boy of thirteen years, to assist his mother and an older sister and three younger brothers and sister in battling for life. It was a hard battle as there was little work to be had at thast time, and it was hard for the boys in the army to send money home as the mails were very irregular and their conveyance not safe. Yet the worst was to come, for in the following spring after the father died the mother sickened and died. The older sister kept them together and Frank worked when and where he could get anything to do to earn an honest penny to help to keep starvation from the door. At many times the family had nothing to eat except corn meal mixed with water and baked into pancakes. They met with many misfortunes, too numerous to mention here, but suffice to say that the family had a very hard time. Frank wanted to enlist, but was too young; they would not accept him; they told him to stay at home and help protect those there. So he joined the militia or home guards who had arms issued to them by the government, but fortunately they were not called out for active duty.

In 1866 the brothers returned home and the family broke up - the older sister marrying and returning to Bremer county, took the three younger children with her and left Frank to rustle for himself. He tried farming for two years but, owing to drought and grasshoppers, no crop was raised. Frank thought that was farming enough for him, until there was a change in the seasons and less grasshoppers, which were as thick as the prairie grass. He chopped cordwood and did whatever work he could get to do, so that he made a fair living and went to school; the last two terms he attended were held in the first log school house built in Dakota, and were taught by Hon. John L. Jolley, late congressman from South Dakota. In the fall of 1869 he went up to the Yankton agency, much against the wishes of his friends. They told him that it was a wild place up there, and that the Indians would scalp him, but he said he would treat the Indians right and make them his friends, which he did very successfully, for they called him "Koda," which means friend. Mr. Trumbo, when he first went to the agency in 1869, was employed as a common laborer, but one promotion after another soon placed him in teh most trusty and responsible positions on the agency, both for the government and private parties. He learned enough of the Indian language the first year to be able to talk and understand them very well, which made it very convenient for him in doing business with them; at the present time he can talk most of their language.

Mr. Trumbo took his first claim in Bon Homme county in 1870, near Springfield. In 1874 he bought the farm he now owns and upon which he resides. He moved his family into this home in 1875, but remained at the agency and employed men to do the work on the farm.

After leaving the agency, Mr. Trumbo turned his attention to improving his farm. He has supplied it with a fine barn and numerous other outbuildings. The farm consists of three hundred and seventy-three acres and is in a high state of cultivation. Mr. Trumbo has his own private creamery and does an extensive dairy business, having about forty cows and uses no milk but that produced by his own herd! He ships butter to Chicago and to Sioux City, but finds ready sale for most of the product at the home market. Mr. Trumbo gives his daily personal attention and the result is a fine grade of butter.

Our subject was married May 31, 1873, to Miss Philomen Du Frand, a native of Dubuque, Iowa, born February 15, 1856. Mrs. Trumbo is a daughter of J. B. and Lanora Du Frand, who were born in Canada, and settled in Dakota in 1863, among the early settlers of Vermillion, Clay county. Mrs. Trumbo is the ninth child of a family of thirteen children, and was eight years old when she came with her parents to Dakota. She and her husband are the parents of six children, of whom we have the following record: Nellie; Frank, deceased; Chester; May A.; Hazel V.; and Leonard.

Politically our subject is a Republican, and has held several important offices, not only in the township, but in 1890 the Republican party elected him to the state legislature. He was a member of the committees on horticulture and agriculture and did excellent work during his term. He could easily have been retuned had his private business permitted. He as frequently been chosen as delegate to county and state conventions. He is a Royal Arch Mason and also holds membership in the lodge of the K. of P.

Bucklin H. Wood - A striking example of what can be accomplished by persistent industry and strict attention to business, is afforded in the life of Bucklin H. Wood, one of the leading and well-to-do citizens of Tyndall, Bon Homme county, South Dakota. He is a native of Otsego, New York, and was born September 30, 1832.

Mr. Wood is a son of John T. Wood, a native of New York and a farmer by occupation, who was born in New York, and is of Scotch descent. The mother of our subject, who bore the maiden name of Phebe Benedict, was born in New York. Her father, John Benedict, also born in New York, was of English parentage. He was a soldier in the war of 1812. The father and mother of Mr. B. H. Wood, whose name appears at the head of this article, were the parents of ten children, eight of whom grew to maturity. Our subject was the fifth son and sixth child. He was educated and grew to maturity in New York. He started for himself at the age of eight years, being placed with a stranger to live until twenty-one years of age. He only remained four years, however, and returned to his parents, who, in the meantime, had moved to Orleans county, New York. He made his home with them until about twenty years of age. During this time he made his living and helped his parents by working in the neighborhood by the month. At the age of twenty he took a trip to Central America and also visited the Isthmus of Darien. He contracted with a party to work on the Panama railroad for six months, and the end of which he returned to New York and spent one summer at home.

Mr. Wood was married, January 23, 1855, to Miss Cordelia Benedict, a native of New York and a daughter of John and Emily Benedict.

After marriage, Mr. Wood remained in New York until February 6, of the same year, when he came west and located in Clinton county, Iowa, near the city of Lyons. Here he worked at the carpenter trade about four months and then moved to Winneshiek county, Iowa, near old Fort Atkinson, and remained there about one year. He then moved to Minnesota and located in Mower county, near Austin, on a farm. This was his home for the next twelve months. He then returned to Fort Atkinson, staying there one year, after which he went to Dakota territory and took a claim about four miles northwest of Vermillion. Here he remained, improving his farm and working at his trade of carpentering, for about two years.

In February 1862, Mr. Wood enlisted in Company A, First Dakota Volunteer Cavalry, as a private, and served three years and three months, all of which time he was in the west, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Montana. They rendezvoused at Yankton and remained there until the latter part of March, when our subject and nineteen of his comrades were sent to Sioux Falls and stationed there. In April 1862, he went with Captain Nelson Miner to Vermillion and Yankton for provisions. Mr. Wood remained at Yankton until the fall of 1862, during which time he had several skirmishes with the Indians. One was at the lakes about eight miles below Yankton, and another at Sioux Falls. He was sent with a dispatch from Yankton to Sioux Falls to notify Lieutenant Bacon that the country was full of Indians. On arriving at Sioux Falls he found that the Indians had been there and had killed Mr. Amidon and his son. He delivered the dispatch to the lieutenant and went to his brother-in-law's to breakfast. There was not a house from Yankton to Sioux Falls at that time and the Indians were very numerous. The dispatch which he carried was from Governor Jayne to Lieutenant Bacon, and read as follows: "Lieutenant, be on your guard. The country is full of Indians." Mr. Wood also advised the lieutenant to move the soldiers to Yankton, and in two hours' time the soldiers, together with all the settlers of Sioux Falls, were on their way to Yankton. At Yankton they fortified themselves by throwing up embankments on three sides of the city. The women and children were all enclosed in the barracks on the present site of the Merchants' Hotel. At that time that lot was occupied by a little log hotel operated by Mr. H. C. Ash.

In December 1862, the soldiers were sent to Fort Pierre to get some women and children that were taken prisoners at Lake Chetack and New Ulm massacre. After marching to Fort Pierre through the snow, which was about two feet deep, they found that Major Galpin had made a trade with the Indians and secured the prisoners. They then returned to Fort Randall with the prisoners, where Mr. Wood remained until 1864. In the spring he went on what was called the Yellowstone River expedition. On the way they met some roving Indians on the Little Cheyenne river. The company in which our subject operated was on the left flank, rear guard, and was ordered front to pursue the Indians. They pursued them about twelve miles, when the Indians took refuge in a buffalo wallow. They first attacked the Indians in this fortification by making a cavalry charge upon them with revolvers, which charge resulted in the wounding of one Indian. Another charge was ordered, but when the soldiers all remonstrated the captain adopted our subject's plan of having a part of the company stay back and hold the horses and the rest deploy as skirmishers and round up the Indians. The result of this plan of warfare was such a glorious victory that the commander could only be convinced of the truthfulness of their story when the heads of slaughtered Indians were brought and hung in a conspicuous place on three long poles. During the expedition the company had two pitched battles with the Indians, and when they returned, in the fall of 1864, our subject was in command. In crossing the Bad Lands they had another battle, in which quite a number were killed.

Fording the Yellowstone and Missouri rivers at Fort Union, they started on their homeward march by the way of Fort Berthold. At Fort Rice our subject was detached to escort the mail to Fort Randall, and there he remained until his time of service expired in 1865.

Mr. Wood next went to his brother-in-law, W. W. Benedict, with a contract to furnish beef for the Fort Randall post, and remained there until the fall of 1866, when he journeyed to Yankton and took up a claim within three miles of that place. After working his claim one year he moved to the Fort Berthold reservation was was engaged in farming at that place for about fifteen months. He then returned to his farm near Yankton and made that his home until 1868, when he traded his property for a piece of land on Emanual creek, five miles from Springfield, where he located and remained until the spring of 1876. After this he spent four years in the Black Hills, and in 1880 returned to Springfield and bought a farm near his former one. Two years later he moved to the town of Springfield and opened a meat market which he operated four years, and then made Springfield his home until January 1, 1890. He then took up his residence at Fort Pierre, but did not move his family there until 1893. In 1895 he went with his family to Tyndall, where he has since resided. While in Stanley county, South Dakota, Mr. Wood filled the office of justice of the peace for one term and was county commissioner of Yankton county. At present he is a justice of the peace in Bon Homme county. Politically he is a Republican.

Mr. and Mrs. Wood are the parents of two daughters, upon whom they have bestowed the following names: Emily A. and Clara E. Clara E. is the wife of H. H. Ford, of Bon Homme county, South Dakota. The parents of Mr. and Mrs. Wood also came to Bon Homme county and were early settlers in this part of South Dakota.

Hon. August Koenig, who resides on section 15, Albion township, in Bon Homme county, near Tyndall, is one of the wealthiest and most prominent men in that section. He has served two terms in the state legislature and is the owner of one of the largest and best improved farms and cattle ranges in the state. Mr. Koenig is yet a man of middle age, and has achieved all his success in the few years that he has been in South Dakota. He is a native of Germany, and his birth occurred on the second of October, 1845. His father, John Koenig, was also a German, and his occupation was that of a winemaker. He died at the age of fifty-six. Mr. Koenig's mother, who was a Susan Hoffmann, was a native of Germany also, and died there. Our subject is the youngest of the family, there being a an older son and daughter. When fourteen years old Mr. Koenig was apprencticed to a stone-cutter. He was bound to him for three years, and at the expiration of that time he left the land of his birth and came to the United States. Chicago was his objective point, and there he found employment at his trade, and remained four years. He then went to Joliet, Illinois, and from there to other small towns in the vicinity of Chicago, working as a stone-cutter, until 1873, when he went to Ackley, Iowa. Both here and in Carroll county, where he subsequently settled, Mr. Koenig continued in the stone business for several years, and finally purchased a farm of eighty acres in the latter county. In 1876 he went to the Dakotas for the first time, and took up half a section of land in Albion township, Bon Homme county. Soon afterward he returned to his home in Iowa, and remained three years, and then he was out upon the plains again, this time having taken his family along. To his original claim he added three quarter-sections, and purchased eighty acres more, and when the school lands were thrown upon the market Mr. Koenig, with his usual sagacity and foresight, bought three quarter-sections, which have since greatly increased in value. He now has one thousand and forty acres, which is largely under cultivation, has equipped his farm with all the modern improvements, and is the owner of a very fine residence, recently erected. Mr. Koenig devotes a great deal of his time to stock-raising and has shipped as high as ten carloads of cattle to the Chicago market in a single year. His stock farm is now probably the largest in the county. our subject is politically a Democrat, and his public career has extended over a number of years. He served in th state legislature from 1891 to 1895, and in addition has been elected to various township and county offices since his residence in the state began.

Mr. Koenig married Miss Caroline Minow in 1870. Mrs. Koenig is a native of Germany. She came to this country when but sixteen years of age. Mr. and Mrs. Koenig have five children: Louis, who is now cultivating a one-hundred-and-sixty acre farm in Albion township given to him by his father; Clara, now the wife of Robert Biessbof, of Tyndall; Lydia, Johnnie and Annie, all at home.

Charles A. Paddock is one of the representative general farmers of Bon Homme county, and has been a conspicuous figure in the development and extension of the great agricultural interests of the central part of the county. He is one of the earliest settlers and located in the county June 1, 1873.

Mr. Paddock was born in Cook county, Illinois, January 9, 1837, and is a son of Richard and Nancy (Betts) Paddock, both natives of Onondaga county, New York, and of American parentage. Richard Paddock went west in 1833, the same year he was married, and settled in Palos township, Cook county, Illinois, and made this his home for a time, and moved into Chicago, where he lived five years. With his family he then settled in McHenry county, Illinois, where they lived from 1846 to 1887, when Mr. Paddock went to Minneapolis, where he died in 1894 at the age of eighty-seven years. Mrs. Paddock died in McHenry county, Illinois in 1882.

Charles A. Paddock, of whom this a brief sketch, spent his boyhood after the tenth year of his age in McHenry county, Illinois. The only educational advantages he enjoyed in the way of a schooling were what he received in the old Madison-street school in Chicago, which he attended while living in that city. After settling in McHenry county he was obliged to work on the farm to help support the family. In 1862 he went to Howard county, Iowa. In Iowa he worked at the mason trade for eleven years. in 1873 he went to Dakota looking for a suitable place to locate and make his home. As Bon Homme county seemed the most inviting he filed on a claim of one hundred and sixty acres in what is now Cleveland township, on the north-west quarter of section 20, township 94, range 59, and returned to bring his family, and arrived with them the following October, making a trip of three hundred miles with an ox team in twenty-four days. Arriving so late in the season, Mr. Paddock was obliged to rent a place in which to live that winter, but the following spring he built a log cabin, 12x14, which was dignified with a dirt roof. The new soil produced a small crop the first years and Mr. Paddock's limited means did not allow him to make and elaborate display, as he had only fifty cents when he arrived in Yankton. He still followed his trade at plastering whenever he could get work in that line, and by practicing strict economy he succeeded in adding a little year by year to the improvements on his farm until it now ranks among the best farms in the township.

Mr. Paddock takes an active interest in all matters pertaining to the welfare of the community, but has had little desire to hold public positions. He has, however, for seven years (from 1885 until 1892) been a member of the state board of agriculture, representing district No.2. About 1880 he and his wife became connected with the Congregational church, which was organized in Tyndall the same year by Father A. B. Nichols. The first served was held in the station of the railroad, which was built the year previous.

The lady to whose housewify skill the neatness and order of the home are due, and whose amiability makes her a charming companion, became the wife of our subject in 1855. She bore the maiden name of Sarah Barnes, and was a daughter of Elisha and Sallie (Palmer) Barnes. This union has been blessed to them by the birth of ten children, nine of whom are still living, viz: Elliot, of Iowa; Emma, Mrs. Seaman, died March 22, 1897; Frank, of Oregon; James, at home; Willis, in Oregon; Leaman F., in Iowa; Nellie, at home; Nena, Mrs. Andrews, of Scotland, South Dakota; Anna, Mrs. Eymer, of this county; and Albert, at home.

Mr. Paddock is a very pleasant neighbor, congenial, warm-hearted, and has an agreeable family, and resides in one of the most hospitable homes of the township. He has labored hard on his farm to make it one of the best in his part of the county, and has provided it with good improvements. He also owns one hundred and sixty acres in Douglas county, South Dakota.

William Abbott - This gentleman is a representative citizen of Bon Homme county, who lives on an elegant farm in Albion township - a man who is widely known and highly respected and who life affords an example well worthy the emulation of the rising generation. He started in life with no capital outside of his physical and mental ability and the good habits which he had formed, and is today one of the solid men of Bon Homme county. To such men as he the entire community owes a debt of gratitude for the labors they have performed in promoting the development of the country, and for the lives which stand out as lights in a dark place.

In tracing the history of our subject we find that he is a native of Yorkshire, England, and was born September 19, 1840. His father, Thomas Abbott, was also born in Yorkshire, England, in the year 1809. He was a carpenter and joiner by trade, and followed that line of work until 1846, when he was elected president of a cooperative store in Yorkshire and continued as such until 1848. He then came to America and located in Albion, Dane county, Wisconsin, on a farm, and he remained there until 1892, when he removed to South Dakota. He died in South Dakota at the age of eighty-four years. His father was also a native of Yorkshire and was a gardener by occupation.

The mother of our subject, Emma (Dunnell) Abbott, was born in Yorkshire, England, in 1812, and died in Wisconsin in 1865. She was a daughter of Jeremiah Dunnell, a manufacturer of woolen goods in Yorkshire, England.

Our subject's father and mother were the parents of eleven children, of whom three sons and four daughters grew to maturity, and of the six still living we have the following record: Mrs. Martha Harrison, of Bon Homme county, South Dakota; William, our subject; Mrs. Sarah Wells, wife of Frederick Wells, of Bon Homme; Ann, the wife of Charles Harrison, of Bon Homme; Hon. Alfred J., of Bon Homme; Thomas H., whose sketch appears in another part of this volume.

Mr. Abbott was eight years old when he came to America with his parents and located in Dane county, Wisconsin. He lived with his parents, helping on the farm, until fourteen years of age, and then began working by the month to help support the family. May 14, 1861, he enlisted in Company K, Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, and was the first to enlist from Albion. The company was organized at Madison, Wisconsin, and from there was sent to Fond du Lac; thence to Hagerstown, where they were armed and became a party of the "Army of the Potomac." They spent most of the time in Maryland during the year 1861. His regiment then went to Virginia and was actively engaged in the campaign in that state, including all the principal battles. At the battle of Gettysburg Mr. Abbott was taken prisoner, confined about three months in the prison at Belle Isle and paroled. He then again joined the regiment and went west and took party in Sherman's campaign through Atlanta, at which time Mr. Abbott's three years, for which he enlisted, expired. He then re-enlisted in the Seventy-second Illinois Volunteer Infantry and served until the close of the war. During the first three years of the war Mr. Abbott participated in the following engagements: Winchester, Bull Run, Antietam, Chancellorsville and Gettysburg, where our subject was taken prisoner. At the battle of Cedar Mountain, August 9, 1862, he was wounded by a splint from a fence-rail piercing his right thigh, the result of a musket ball striking the rail while he was in the act of climbing over a fence. In 1865 he received his second honorable discharge at Springfield, Illinois, and returned to his home in Wisconsin and began school at the Albion Academy.

Mr. Abbott has been twice married. October 6, 1867, he was wedded to Miss Patience Dunn. She died July 29, 1868. The present wife of Mr. Abbott was in her maidenhood Sarah Ann Wileman. She is a native of Albion, Wisconsin, where he marriage to our subject took place March 6, 1870. Her parents were James and Esther (Marsden) Wileman. They were born in England, came to America in 1844, and located in Dane county, Wisconsin.

Mr. Abbott located in Wisconsin, after his marriage, on a rented farm until 1874, when he came to Bon Homme county, Dakota, and settled where he now resides. He had previously been in Dakota, at which time he purchased the property, and in 1874 he located upon it and improved it. He has now three quarter-sections of land, all in a high state of cultivation. He has a large, fine residence, and good and substantial outbuildings. He has also one of the largest orchards in the county, containing seventy-five large, thrifty trees. In 1897 he sold from this orchard seventy-five dollars' worth of apples, besides what the family used and gave away.

Mr. Abbott is a Republican in political views, and by that party has been elected to several of the offices in his county. He filled the office of deputy sheriff for four years, and was assessor ten years. He has been county commissioner six years, and is now chairman of the board. Mr. Abbott is also extensively engaged in shipping stock, and is one of the leading business men of the county. Socially he affiliates with the Grierson Post, G.A.R., No. 78, of Tyndall.

Mr. and Mrs. Abbott are the happy parents of a family of eight children, of whom we have the following record: Elnora, wife of Vincent Koftan, of Bon Homme county, South Dakota, who has one daughter, Violet; Esther, wife of John E. Moore, of Hanson county, near Mitchell, South Dakota; Emma; Grace; Bessie; Rachel; Belle and Birdie.

Prof. W. J. Robinson is one of the foremost educators in the southeastern part of the state. He is county superintendent of schools in Bon Homme county, and has held the office for two terms. Prof. Robinson resides on section 27, Albion township, a short distance from Tyndall. He is a native of Delaware county, Iowa, having been born there November 14, 1854. His father, James S. Robinson, is a native of Fermanagh county, Ireland, and came to America in 1844. He went to Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, where he remained until 1852. In that year he removed to Delaware county, where he still resides, engaging in farming and stock raising. His father, James Robinson, the grandfather of our subject, was also an Irishman and died on his native heath in 1843, after having successfully carried on a large cattle business for the greater part of his life. The mother of our subject, who was Mary Ann Gregg before her marriage, was born in county Monaghan, Ireland, and came to this country to live with an aunt when thirteen years old, her mother having died when she was but an infant. She died in Delaware county, Iowa in 1880. Her father, William Gregg, was a bricklayer and a sailor and also claimed the "Green Isle" as his birthplace. Prof. Robinson is the eldest of a family of twelve, seven sons and five daughters. All are now living, with the exception of three of the girls who died when young. The Professor attended the common schools for a number of years and then took the classical course at Upper Iowa University. He was graduated in 1875 and at once began teaching. During the subsequent years, until 1890, Prof. Robinson was principal of several city high schools and held professorships in a number of higher institutions of learning. Among the former were the high schools of Chelsea, Iowa, Ocheyedan, Iowa, Falcon, Tennessee, and Selmer, Tennessee. While at Upper Iowa University Prof. Robinson was head professor of mathematics for a considerable period. At Selmer, Tennessee, he remained until the fall of 1891, when he took a trip to South Dakota, his wife meanwhile filling his professorship at the college. After looking over the western state Prof. Robinson was so well pleased that he decided to locate there permanently, and readily obtained a position as teacher in one of the public schools of Bon Homme county. He also secured a farm, which he cultivated in the summer. Since this time his rise has been rapid. He gradually succeeded from one position to a higher one each year, until in 1894 he had become so popular, and had so demonstrated his fitness for the place, that he was nominated and elected upon the Republican ticket for county superintendent of schools. After serving two years in this capacity, he was re-elected by a large majority of the people for this important public office, which he holds at the present time. Besides having charge of the schools of the county, Professor Robinson is the owner of the fine farm upon which he lives and intends to pay special attention to stock raising. Prof. Robinson has always been a Republican politically.

Professor Robinson and Miss Emma E. Glasner were married on the 4th of August, 1875. Mrs. Robinson was born in Delaware county, Iowa, in 1856, and is the daughter of Rev. W. O. Glasner, of the M.E. church. She also attended the Upper Iowa University and was afterward a teacher. Prof. and Mrs. Robinson are the parents of four children, William L., Robert R., Leon A. and Earl V.

James Williamson belongs to that large class of intelligent and enterprising farmers whose homes are places of social and mental culture and refinement, and whose work as developers of the county is a credit alike to themselves and the community. He and his brother Henry are early settlers in Bon Homme county, and date the time of their settlement September, 1870. They live upon and jointly own a farm in Cleveland township, Bon Homme county, South Dakota.

They are sons of Benjamin and Susana (Hoover) Williamson, the former a native of England and the latter a native of New Jersey. The father came to America in 1808 with his father, John Williamson. He grew to manhood in New Jersey and in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was married in New Jersey, and went to Missouri in 1851, residing in Pike county until 1870, when he came with his family (except one, John, who came in November, 1869) to Bon Homme county, South Dakota, prospecting for a locality in which to make a home for his family. John was accompanied on his trip to Dakota in 1869 by his cousin, Samuel Williamson, neither of them having a family. Benjamin Williamson took up the claim on which James and Henry now live, in Cleveland township. John Williamson first put up a small cabin, 14x14 feet, just across in Bon Homme township, which became the family domicile. The family lived there three years, and here also the mother died, September 4, 1873, at the age of fifty-four years. The father subsequently settled on the farm his two sons, James and Henry, now occupy, at which place he died, February 11, 1891. Mr. Williamson was a prominent member of the Disciples church, and was one of the leaders in the organization of the same. Before the church building was erected the services were held in the private homes of the members, and Mr. Williamson's hospitable home was often chosen for this purpose. His eldest son, John, for many years lived here and in the Black Hills, but now resides in India, where he is superintendent of the mines. He served one year in the army during the late war, enlisting from Illinois, and his cousin enlisted from Missouri.

Henry Williamson was born in Pike county, Missouri, in 1859, and James was born in the same county in 1856. Both were educated in the common school of their district. Since coming to Dakota they have resided together in Bon Homme county. They are both men of the very best character, thorough and systematic as farmers, pleasant to meet, and held in esteem by all with whom they come in contact.

Elias McNeill

Elias McNeill is one of the well known old settlers of Bon Homme county. He is engaged in farming on section 26, Albion township, near Tyndall. Mr. McNeill was born in Lee county, Iowa, September 29, 1840. His father, Amos McNeill, was a native of New York, and came to Iowa in 1838, located in Lee county with its first settlers, and resided there until his death, at the age of seventy-one years. Mr. McNeill's grandfather, William McNeill, a native of New York, was of Scotch and Irish descent, and was one of the soldiers who served in the Revolutionary War. Mr. McNeill's mother, Linda McNeill, was also a New Yorker, and her father, John McNeill, was of Scotch origin. Mr. McNeill was the second of a family of nine children. He remained at home until twenty-one years of age, when he enlisted in Company C, First Missouri engineers, and served therein during three years of the war. Their duties consisted in the laying of pontoons, superintending the construction of earthworks and intrenchments, and all government work of this kind. Mr. McNeill received his honorable discharge in November, 1864, and retunred to Lee county, Iowa, where he engaged in farming and in the stone quarrying business until 1873. in that year he went to Bon Homme county, and took up a claim in Albion township. His crops were entirely destroyed by the grasshopper visitation in 1876, and he was almost ruined. He left the territory and returned to Lee county. He remained here until 1882, when he decided upon another trial of the far-western country. So he located upon his present farm, and has been very successful in its cultivation. While he has suffered from occasional drought, etc., nothing so serious as his first trouble has since appeared, and he is now rated as one of the prosperous agriculturists of the county. He has one hundred and sixty acres of his own, and also rents and farms a simliar number just to the south of his land, all of which he has improved.

Mr. McNeill is a Republican politically. He has been a member of the Grand Army of the Republic and of other organizations, both local and political.

Barnard Cole, one of the six earliest settlers of Bon Homme county, and now one of the best known attorneys of Tyndall, in the same county, has had an eventful career. He was born in Essex county, New York, July 1, 1844. His father, Barnard Cole, was of Scotch descent, and his mother, who was formerly Catherine McCormick, was the daughter of Irish parents. Five of their children are still living, the subject of this sketch being the fourth. He came with his uncle on his father's side, Bartholomew Cole, to Winnebago county, Wisconsin, when he was seven years old. He attended school there for four months, and then ran off with a band of Winnebago Indians, with whom he remained four years. He then went to the Wolf river, in the woods of Wisconsin, where he lived during the winter of 1856, which was the coldest ever known in that region up to that time. He survived it, however, and in the spring went to work upon a raft, soon after taking up farming in that locality. The following year he removed to the Wisconsin river, where he again engaged in logging, and also in what is known as "swamping." in 1859 he floated down the Wisconsin and Mississippi rivers upon a raft of logs to St. Louis. He there secured a position as cook, but soon after went to Pike county, Missouri. While there he had a most agreeable surprise, for he met his mother, who thought him long dead. It was the their first meeting for eight years, since the time that the little fellow had decamped with the Indians. Mr. Cole lived with his parents for some time after this, but the war breaking out, he went to the front. He enlisted in Company I, Third Missouri Volunteer Cavalry, in 1861, and he also served in Company B, Fifth Missouri Cavalry, and the Eighth Missouri as ordinance sergeant. He was wounded several times, at Vicksburg, Red River, under A. J. Smith, and at other points. His last enlistment was in Company H, Forty-ninth Volunteer Missouri Infantry, and he received his last discharge at St. Louis, Missouri, August 14, 1865. He returned to Missouri and spent one year there. In 1867 he went to Dakota, locating in Bon Homme county on the 9th of June of that year. He established a blacksmith shop, which was the first one ever opened in the county. Mr. Cole soon began to study law, and made excellent progress in his chosen subject. He liked the law, and often regretted that he had never had an opportunity to grasp its technicalities, its hidden meanings and its beauties before. He succeeded so well in mastering his Blackstone and his Kent that he was admitted to the Dakota bar in 1873 by Hon. P. C. Shannon, chief justice of the United States court. Mr. Cole engaged in the practice of law for about eight years, and was extremely successful, but in 1880 his health gave way, and he was compelled to take up farming to regain his wonted strength. He continued at the plow until 1890, when he was elected state's attorney of the county. He served two terms, and his administration of the office and its affairs gave such satisfaction that even his political enemies were compelled to acknowledge his fitness for the place. In 1895 Mr. Cole acquired a claim in Charles Mix county, where he has a residence, and where he spends a great deal of his time. Mr. Cole is politically an Independent. He is still engaged in the practice of law, and his clients are representative of the best and largest interests in his section of the state. He is a very well known man, a fine speaker, and through all his ups and downs, after all the knockout blows he has received from adversity, he is to-day a prominent, well-to-do man and public-spirited citizen, a fine example of the self-made men who have built up the Dakotas to what they are today.

Mr. Cole married Miss Elizabeth Young June 11, 1884, and to them were born four children: B.A.B., Rose, Margaret K., and Jennie, who is deceased. Mrs. Cole died November 28, 1893.

Wilson Shroll - The farming interests of Cleveland Township, Bon Homme county, have a worthy exponent in the person of the gentleman above named, who is successfully operating a farm in the same. The entire tract of three hundred and twenty acres in Cleveland township is improved and tillable, in addition to which Mr. Shroll owns two hundred and forty acres in Springfield township, and altogether makes an estate whereon a remunerative business may well be done by a man who devotes himself closely and intelligently to his work. In the way of buildings every arrangement has been made for the economical conduct of the farm, and for the comfort of the family a nice residence has been constructed.

Mr. Shroll is one of the early settlers of Bon Homme county, and dates his settlement July 1, 1868. He located at the time on a farm one mile south of his present home in Springfield township. At that time there were a few white settlers south of him, on the river, but north of him there was not a white man in the county. Our subject and his young wife began life in the west in a small frame house which they built soon after they arrived. The Indians were very numerous and often came in large bands to their little cottage to beg bread and milk, but were peaceably disposed and caused them no trouble. Mr. Shroll, after putting up his house, further improved his farm by breaking up a portion of it preparatory to raising a crop the second year. The first crop was a light one but sufficient, together with what he could earn by freighting from Sioux City, Iowa to Bon Homme and Springfield, a distance of eighty miles, to keep himself and wife above want. As before stated, Mr. and Mrs. Shroll came to Dakota while young, the former being twenty-two and the latter sixteen, but they were not lacking in enterprise and they went to work with a determination to win a home for themselves in the wilds of Dakota. In 1873 they moved to the place where they now live in Cleveland township, taking up at that time a timber claim of one hundred and sixty acres and have it now well improved and are comfortably situated in a very pleasant home.

Mr. and Mrs. Shroll took an active part in the organization and building up of the first church of the Disciples in this locality, and also in the maintaining of the society and holding meetings in private homes prior to the building of the house of worship. In political affairs, our subject has never been an aspirant for a public office, but until recently has cast his ballot for the Democratic candidates.

Mr. Shroll is of German descent, and was born in Ohio, near Canton, in the year 1846. He is a son of Abraham G. and Hannah Shroll, both natives of Pennsylvania and early settlers in Ohio, where they lived until they moved to Clinton, Iowa. Later they settled in Floyd county, Iowa, and in 1868 they came to Bon Homme county, South Dakota, taking up a claim in Springfield township, on which they settled and lived for a few years, when they removed to Kansas, where both died. Of their eleven children, five setted in Bon Homme county in 1868, viz.: Lucinda, wife of Mr. Carmon; Sarah, now Mrs. E. Knouse; Ellen, now Mrs. Taff; Enoch, and our subject. At the present time three of these, Mrs. Taff, Enoch and Wilson, are living in the county. Mr. Shroll was married in Iowa to Miss Angeline Carsner, in April, 1868. To this congenial union have been born ten children, viz.: Elevia May, now Mrs. Royer of Springfield; William O., Minnie, Cora, Louis, Daniel, Thomas, Roy, Charley, and Harley.

Thomas Bussey, one of Bon Homme county's pioneers, is today a well known farmer, living on section 11, Albion township, near Tyndall. His birthplace is Dane county, Wisconsin, and the date of this birth August 16, 1848. His father, John Bussey, was a hale and hearty Englishman who loved his chop and his butt of ale as well as any son of the "Tight Little Isle." He came to Dane county, pretty nearly directly from Great Britain, in 1844, and secured a large piece of government land, and lived upon it until his death some years later. Mr. Bussey's mother, who was Jane North, was also born in the Golden Jubilee country, and was the fond mother of three pretty little children, two of whom have since grown to manhood and are distinguishing themselves in a number of ways. Thomas, the subject of this sketch, and Benjamin, whose life is also briefly pictured in this work, are most successful farmers, highly esteemed and very widely known in the country where they live. The third child is Elizabeth, who is the wife of Charles D. Barber, a worthy farmer of Dane county, Wisconsin. Mr. Bussey came to Bon Homme county while yet a young man, 1874 being the year of his migration to the then trackless northwest. He had previously received a fair education, which, while it had none of the fancy figures and fashionable turns which go with the college diploma of today, was good enough to pilot a man of already excellent ability through the mazes of life to final success.

Upon the 22nd of May, in the year mentioned, Mr. Bussey first looked upon the claim which he had just received from Uncle Sam. He investigated it, smiled upon his possession and went to work. A calm survey was vastly easier that the job of breaking up some of this same soil, but Mr. Bussey, having considerable stoic philosophy on hands for such occasions, smiled once more and went to work. The result was the same as it generally is when a really determined man meets the opposition. He tilled that farm just as fast as his horses could drag their feet over it, and as the same spirit has dominated all his work since, it may be readily presumed that Mr. Bussey has succeeded in every department of farming, and such is emphatically the case, for his homestead is one of the good things to see in Bon Homme county.

The quiet life of a farmer was upset in Mr. Bussey's case soon after he came west. It was 1876. He had heard of the fabulous amounts of gold which were to be scooped up by the bushel-basket in the Black Hills, and he naturally yearned for a trifle of it. So with a party of seventy-five, which was increased to one hundred and seventy-five at Fort Pierre, he started through the most dangerous, Indian-infested region of the entire west to this gold mountain. When about half way this courageous party of prospectors was set upon by a lot of original Americans and nearly hacked to pieces. One of the party, William Cogan, of Watertown, Wisconsin, was killed, and the rest escaped with just enough of their lives to tell the story. This experience would have lasted what would ordinarily be called a brave man all the rest of his stay on earth, but Mr. Bussey's blood was up, and he resolved to try it again, so on the return trip the same route was taken, and, to make the trip interesting, the same aboriginal experts appeared. This time the argonauts had a still more awful experience. Four of them - John Harris, the driver Duffy, Sargent and Jack St. Clair - went down before the steady rain of bullets, and nothing but the defiant stand of the others finally scared off the horde of redskins. Mr. Bussey was again among the survivors, but by a narrow margin, and he says that the recollection of that terrible battle and the sight of his dead and dying comrades about him will never be effaced while he lives. After returning to Bon Homme county he resumed farming, and was one of the first men to operate a threshing machine there, it then being considered a curiosity. The natives would gather around the strange contrivance when it was in motion, hazard all sorts of disaster for the user, and pass wondrously sage remarks concerning it. Mr. Bussey continued his successful farming, every year adding something new or practical, and in 1887 built a fine residence costing nearly two thousand dollars. In 1894 he was to the front again with another novelty for the country folk about, this time a sixty-three foot octagonal barn. The life of it had never been seen in that part of the state before, and to this day it stands alone in the field of architecture in the at locality. Mr. Bussey's farm covers three hundred and twenty acres, all of which is improved. He also owns a fine orchard of several acres, has twenty-five acres of timber, and raises a great many cattle every year for the market. In politics Mr. Bussey is a Republican, and is just as enthusiastic in electioneering for a good fellow citizen out for an office as he is in trying to discover something new or modern which will add to the value and appearance of his farm. He is a communicant of the Congregational church.

Mr. Bussey married Jane E. Slater, born in Dane county, Wisconsin. The wedding ceremony took place March 6, 1879. Mrs. Bussey is the daughter of William and Ellen (Noble) Slater, both natives of England. She went to Bon Homme county with her parents when but eight years old, and has lived there since. Her father, one of the first settlers of southeastern Dakota, died in 1873. Mr. and Mrs. Bussey are the parents of three children - William Arthur, Mabel Jane and Eliza Maud.

If there is one farmer in Bon Homme county who is better known than any other, that one is certainly Benjamin Bussey, who resides on section 12, Albion township, near Tyndall. His farm is acknowledged to be one of the finest, best cultivated and most productive in the state of South Dakota. Moreover, Mr. Bussey is a wealthy man, public-spirited, alive to the needs an dinterests of his county and state, and one of the principal factors in the growth and progress of Bon Homme county. Mr. Bussey was born in Dane county, Wisconsin, on the 28th of October, 1849. His father, John Bussey, was a native of Yorkshire, England. He came to American when yet a young man, and had the distinction of being one of the first settlers of Dane county, Wisconsin. He went there early in the forties, staked a claim out of the raw prairie and made a farm and home there. He lived but a few years after this, however, dying in 1850. Mr. Bussey's mother, whose maiden name was Jane North, was born in Sheffield, England, and came to America in 1847. She still resides upon the homestead in Dane county. There were three children in the family: Benjamin; Thomas, who lives in Bon Homme county, and whose sketch appears in another part of this work; and Mary Elizabeth, now the wife of C. D. Barber of Albion, Dane county, Wisconsin. Mr. Bussey spent his early life in Dane county, where he attended the district school of Albion Prairie, and went to the Albion Academy for three terms. In 1871 he went to Calhoun county, Iowa, spent a few months there and then returned to his native county. he rented a farm for a time, but in the spring of 1874 he left it and went to Bon Homme county. He is therefore one of the oldest settlers in that section of the state. After looking over part of the country Mr. Bussey decided to settle in Albion township, so selected both a farm and a timber claim. He found that the first human habitation was over two miles distant from his claim after he had investigated further, and that the work of breaking up the land and securing the necessaries of life away out on the ragged edge of civilization was just a little harder than anything he had ever conceived of prior to that time.

The determination and spirit which have earned for him final success asserted themselves at this critical time, however, and he proceeded to improve his newly-acquired possession, regardless of privations or hardships. He built a little shanty with a few boards. It was a comical-looking affair, and just about accommodated one single individual, but it would have served the purpose of a home very well had not some miscreant made off with it while its owner was toiling one day at the other end of his preserves. Of course another habitation was necessary, and this time Mr. Bussey put up a log cabin. He then broke the ground upon a large part of his farm and planted it. This was one of the grasshopper years, and he suffered with the rest losing everything. He soon recovered, however, and began to labor again. The work was done once more, and this time with more success. Prosperity loomed up ahead, and it was not a mirage. With Mr. Bussey it has been a pleasant reality, more pronounced almost every succeeding year, until at the present time he has a very comfortable fortune, admittedly one of the best farms in the state, and occupies a very prominent position among the farmers of Bon Homme county. Besides general farming, Mr. Bussey raises large numbers of cattle and hogs for the various markets, being one of the largest shippers in the southwestern part of the state. The entire farm comprises over four hundred acres, all improved, with a timber grove of twenty-five acres which Mr. Bussey set out himself. The buildings, barns, outhouses, etc., are models in their way, and Mr. Bussey's residence, built in 1893, is a modern two-story structure, costing over four thousand dollars, and one of the most pretentious in the county. An artesian well of great depth and capacity supplies an abundance of water, and the whole estate is surrounded by a wire fence which is quite eight miles in length. Mr. Bussey has been a Republican, politically, all his life, and years ago was deputy sheriff of Bon Homme county. He has also held other public offices, having been a county commissioner for several years and often a member of the school board.

Mr. Bussey was married to Miss Anna M. Hammerquist, on the 24th of November, 1870. Mrs. Bussey was born in what is now Sumner, Jefferson county, Wisconsin, but then called "Busseyville," in honor of Mr. Bussey's uncle. She is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. C. G. Hammerquist, natives of Sweden and early settlers in the Badger state. Mr. and Mrs. Bussey have one child, Frank Charles, who was born in Jefferson county, Wisconsin, in the identical cottage that first sheltered his mother.

D. W. Barber, a well-to-do, prominent and enterprising farmer and old settler of Bon Homme county, in section 15, Cleveland township, of which he is carrying on extensive farming operations, is a native of Union county, Pennsylvania, and was born April 2, 1837. he is a son of James W. Barber, also a native of Pennsylvania, a farmer by occupation, and of English descent. The mother of our subject bore the maiden name of Margaret Chamberlain, also born in Pennsylvania, and was of Welsh and Irish descent.

Our subject was the eldest of a family of five children. At the age of ten years, in 1847, he moved with his parents to Freeport, Illinois, where he received his education in the public school, and was engaged in farming until 1863, when he engaged in the grain business at Lanark, Illinois, where he remained until 1865, when he moved to Durand, Illinois, and engaged in merchandising, buying grain and handling stock. In 1872 he moved to Bon Homme county, South Dakota, and engaged in store-keeping the village of Bon Homme for about four years, when he disposed of his stock and located on the place he now occupies. In 1883 he returned to Bon Homme and resumed his former business and two years later moved it to Tyndall where he continued the same until 1894, when he sold out and moved back to the farm.

Mr. Barber was married in November 1860, to Miss Eliza, daughter of Luther O. Crocker, of Stephenson county, Illinois, and to this congenial union have been born nine children, of whom we have the following record: Margaret, wife of T. Colgan of Cleveland township; Carrie L., wife of James Dinwoodie, of Tyndall; Elizabeth, a student at the Fremont College, Nebraska; James L.; Lewis T.; Nettie, a popular teacher in the Tyndall high school; Edward; Samuel and Joseph.

Mr. Barber is one Dakota's properous citizens. He owns three hundred and twenty acres of good land and is engaged extensively in the raising of both stock and grain. In political view he was formerly a Republican, but since 1888 he has affiliated with the Populist party and has been a stanch advocate of the principles of that party. He held the office of county treasurer, by appointment, in 1874, to fill a vacancy. He has held the office of justice of the peace, and other offices in the county in the gift of the people. Mr. Barber and his estimable wife are both members of the Presbyterian church.

Hon. Daniel P. Bradford - Perhaps no man in all Bon Homme county is so well known for his intelligence, active public spirit and thorough appreciation of the wants of his locality as the gentleman whose name heads this article. He came to the country in a very early day and has since been identified with all matters which pertain to the improvement and upbuilding of the better interests of the locality in which he has lived. His active participation in public affairs has not been confined to matters pertaining to his own township, but he has thoroughly acquainted himself and has been associated with all matters pertaining to the entire county. Being a man of excellent business qualifications and a character of the highest order, he has been called upon by his fellow citizens to occupy various important official positions. IN every instance he has proven his efficiency and has administered the duties of his various offices with rare fidelity and with increasing popularity. His home is now located in Tyndall, South Dakota.

Mr. Bradford's father, John Bradford, was a native of Plymouth county, Massachusetts. He was a millwright by occupation and lived and died in Plymouth county. His father, John Bradford, was also born in Plymouth county, Massachusetts, and was a captain in the Revolutionary War. The Bradfords are of English descent and our subject is of the eighth generation from Governor William Bradford, of Mayflower fame. The mother of the subject of this sketch bore the maiden name of Patience Perkins, and was born in Plymouth county, Massachusetts. Her father, Zepheniah Perkins, was also born in Plymouth county, and was of French descent.

Mr. Bradford, of this sketch, was born in Plymouth county, Massachusetts, March 14, 1811, remained at his home was educated in the common schools of the vicinity until seventeen years of age. He then went to Taunton, Massachusetts, to learn the mechanic's trade. After spending three years at this place he went to Warwick, Rhode Island, and worked at his trade there for four years.

While in Rhode Island Mr. Bradford was married to Miss Harriet N. Rice, in the year 1832. Mrs. Bradford is a native of Rhode Island, and a daughter of Deacon Joseph W. Rice. At the age of twenty-four he was engaged in the woolen manufacturing business at Warwick, and after following that line of work about five years, he removed to South Kingston and remained two years. He then went to Windham county, Connecticut, and made that his home about six years. Part of the time he was building machinery, but the most of the time he was engaged in the manufacture of cotton goods. Next he moved to Boston, where he was employed by the Boston & Albany Railroad about two years. From there he took two locomotives to Niagara Falls, and from there he went to Howard county, Iowa, with a contract to put up a steam mill in that county, and was next employed by a company to go to St. Louis, Missouri, and purchase machinery for a steam mill to be erected on teh Missouri river near the present site of Ponca, Nebraska.

Mr. Bradford then started to return to his home in the East, but missed the boat, so he remained in the Sioux City until September, 1855. There were then but a few houses in Sioux City, and the hotel in which he stayed was a log cabin. Mr. Bradford put up the second mill in Sioux City, on the Floyd river. From there he went to Fort Randall, Dakota Territory, where he had charge of a mill about four years. He was then released for one month and he took the opportunity to go east to get his family, but the roads were so bad that they were almost impassable, and at the end of fifteen days he was only as far as St. Joseph, Missouri. Although it was a dangerous trip, Mr. Bradford brought his family as far as Sioux City in 1859. He then returned to Fort Randall and resumed his work and, in the meantime, made preparations to remove his family to Bon Homme. Early in the spring of 1860 he built a log cabin in Bon Homme and his family moved into it the same spring, but Mr. Bradford was ordered to Fort Laramie, where he was engaged two years. When he returned to his home in Bon Homme his oldest two daughters were married. Our subject was next employed to build a steam mill for Dr. Burleigh, at the Yankton agency, at which place he remained about three years. This time his family was with him a part of the time. In 1866 he removed the mill he had built in Sioux City, on the Missouri river, to south of Elk Point. From 1867 to 1873 he was engaged in building and repairing mills from Sioux City to Fort Buford. His last work for the Government was at Fort Berthold.

Mr. Bradford is the oldest settler in the state of South Dakota, and throughout his career he has been loyal to the principles of Christianity, and has shown himself to be a man in whom all might place the highest confidence. He is a member of the Congregational Church and a deacon in the same. He was in the second territorial legislature of Dakota Territory, was a member of the council, and has held, at different time, practically all the offices in Bon Homme county except auditor. Politically Mr. Bradford was formerly a Whig. He was one of the organizers of the Republican party, and since that time has been a stanch advocate of its principles.

Mr. and Mrs. Bradford are the parents of ten children, of whom we have the following record: Joseph, of Connecticut; Daniel, deceased; Harriet E., wife of John T. Kountz, F. Henry, deceased; Leanna, wife of G. G. Beecher, of Nebraska; William died in infancy; Mariah died in infancy; John, of Fulton, Bourbon county, Kansas; Ella, wife of Charles Plumleigh, Hartington, Nebraska; and Emma, deceased, wife of John Swobe, Omaha, Nebraska. Mrs. Swobe was the teacher of the first school in Dakota Territory. Mrs. Bradford died at her home in Bon Homme, July 18, 1892. Harriet E., now Mrs. Kountz, was first married in 1860, to Mr. Samuel Grant, this being the first white couple married in Dakota.

James Cooley

Hon. James P. Cooley, one of the largest individual land owners of Bon Homme county, and one of the most extensive stock dealers in this section of the country, has his residence in section 19, Tabor township. He was born in Maryland, February 26, 1845, and is a son of Corbin Cooley, also born in Maryland. He was a farmer by occupation, and died in his native state at the age of seventy-six years. The grandfather of our subject, Samuel Coley, was a Revolutionary volunteer patriot, and a descendant from the Cooleys who came to America in in the Mayflower. They are of Scotch origin. The mother of our subject was Mary Shaw in her childhood, and was born in Pennsylvania. Her father was of English birth, and was married in England, where, also, most of his children were born.

Mr. Cooley, of whom this is a brief sketch, was the third child and eldest son in the order of birth, of a family of eight children. He was reared in Maryland, his native state, and was educated in the common school of his district and in West Nottingham Academy, which it was his privilege to attend for several terms. In March, 1870, he came to Dakota and took a claim of one hundred and sixty acres, on which he still lives. On this uncultivated farm he built a log cabin 12x16 feet, in which he took up bachelor quarters and proceeded to further develop his farm. In 1873 Mr. Cooley was united in marriage to Miss Mary E. McCollum, a native of Carroll county, Illinois, and a daughter of J. J. and Melvina McCollum. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Cooley took up their abode in the little cabin, which they occupied until 1884, when he erected a small frame house, and in 1893 he erected his present commodious residence, which is one of the finest in the county. It is complete and modern and handsomely finished, both inside and outside. He owns two thousand, four hundred and forty acres of excellent land in Bon Homme and adjoining counties. He is extensively engaged in the stock business and annually ships many cars of stock to Chicago.

In 1872 Mr. Cooley was elected by the Democratic Party to a seat in the territorial legislature, serving two terms and taking an active part in each session. He was also tendered the chairmanship of some important committees, which he declined to accept. Mr. Cooley is a man well informed upon the leading questions of the day. He is progressive in spirit and liberal in views. Since coming to Dakota he has steadily progressed in the accumulation of stock and land until he is one of Bon Homme county's substantial moneyed men.

The home of Mr. and Mrs. Cooley has been blessed by the presence of eleven children, nine of whom are still living: Jessie, Emma, Mary, Lucile, Addie, William R., John C., Maurice, and one who is yet unnamed. The deceased are Clinton and Charlotte.

In connections with this brief biography a portrait of Mr. Cooley is presented, which adds interest to this volume, and will be welcomed by his many admirers.

Dr. Oregon Richmond is one of Bon Homme county's most prominent physicians and also one of its oldest settlers. He was born on an American man-of-war while it was ploughing its huge nose through the breakers of the mighty Pacific. His father, the Rev. John P. Richmond, and his mother were proceeding to Oregon at the time, September 4, 1840, by the all-water route from the east. Rev. Mr. Richmond was a missionary to the Indians then, but he subsequently returned east and located in Rushville, Schuyler county, Illinois. Here he lived until 1859, when he went to Mount Sterling and afterward, in 1874, to Dakota, settling in Bon Homme, Bon Homme county. He located upon a claim near Tyndall and lived upon it until his death in 1895. Dr. Richmond's grandfather, Francis Richmond, was born in Maryland and was a planter. He served in the war of 1812. His father, John Richmond, was native of Massachusetts and was a soldier in the Revolutionary war. The Richmonds trace their descent to the settlement of Jamestown, Virginia, in 1607. Dr. Richmond's mother, America Walker, was born in Louisiana. Jared Walker was her father. He was an Englishman and his wife was French. Mr. Walker was also in the war of 1812. Dr. Richmond was on of a family of three children: Felicia, who is the wife of J. R. Neill, of Portland, Oregon; the Doctor himself, and Frances, of Tyndall, South Dakota. Dr. Richmond was taken to his uncle's home to be educated at the age of eleven. He attended school at Louisiana, Missouri, at Lagrange, Missouri, and at Newburgh, New York. He was graduated in 1861, and returned to Louisiana, taking up the study of medicine in the office of Dr. E. M. Bartlett. He also took a course in medical school. August 15, 1861, Dr. Richmond joined Company G, Twenty-eighth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and went to the front as captain of the company. There was but one younger captain in the Civil War. In 1864 he resigned from the army in order to take a position in the military hospital in Chicago, which position he held for one year. Afterward the Doctor attended the University of Iowa and graduated with honors. He then established himself as a physician at CAnton, Missouri, where he remained until 1869. In that year he went to Breckinridge, Minnesota, and later to Bon Homme, South Dakota. From the last named place he traveled to Nebraska, stayed a short time, and then returned to Missouri, going to Canton. He again went to Bon Homme county in 1874, this time locating upon the site of Tyndall. Dr. Richmond was the second physician who ever located in that county, and now holds the record as the oldest medical man in his section. Dr. Richmond is a Republican, and has held several important political offices in Bon Homme county. He was its first county judge, and the last probate judge before it became a part of the state of South Dakota. In 1876 he formed a partnership with A. J. Cogan, and they established the "Scotland Citizen", the second paper published in the county. Dr. Richmond edited the paper until 1887, when the partners sold out and he relinquished control. He has since been engaged in the practice of medicine. He is a member of the G. A. R. and the Army of the Tennessee.

Dr. Richmond married Miss Anna A. Richmond August 30, 1866, and they are the parents of two children: Hector, who is in the United States Navy, and Felicia, the wife of Charles Sturtevant, who is marshal of Tyndall.

Norman Baldwin

Rev. Norman B. Baldwin, pastor of the Daisy Valley Church, four and one-half miles south of Tyndall, South Dakota, who is also farming a tract of eighty acres one and one-half miles northwest of Tyndall, in connection with the discharge of his pastoral duties, was born in Cuyahoga county, Ohio, near the birthplace of President Garfield. He is the third child and second son in a family of nine, and was reared in his native county in Ohio until seventeen years of age. His education was received in the public schools of his district and in the Willoughby Collegiate Institute. At the age of seventeen he moved with his parents to Berrien county, Michigan, and located on a farm and helped his parents on the farm and also worked at the carpenter trade until he came west in 1873 and located in Hutchinson county, Dakota territory. He took a pre-emption, proved upon it and then homesteaded a place and later a tree claim, making three quarter-sections of land in all.

Mr. Baldwin was one of the earliest settlers of Hutchinson county. He attended the first election held in that county, at which election a road commissioner for the west half of the county was chosen. Our subject was elected state's attorney of Hutchinson county, and was ex-officio attorney for the district comprising Hutchinson, Armstrong, Hanson, and Davison counties. Together with his farming interests and his official positions in Hutchinson county, Mr. Baldwin preached for the Christian denomination, which he joined in 1874. He also did a great deal of evangelistic work and preached in all the eastern and southern parts of South Dakota. He organized the first four churches of that state, baptized sixty-seven and received one hundred and nineteen members into the church. In 1895 he went to Scotland, Bon Homme county, where he still continued the ministerial work. In 1897 he removed to Tyndall and took charge of the Daisy Valley church, over which he still presides.

Mr. Baldwin is a leader in the Christian denomination of Dakota. In 1896 he was vice-president of the Dakota Christian Missionary Convention and is now chairman of the Board of Missions. Politically he has always been a Republican, but of late years has endorsed the silver issue.

The marriage of our subject to Mary F. Bryant, a native of Darke county, Ohio, was celebrated June 16, 1851. Mrs. Baldwin is a daughter of David and Ruth (Antrim) Bryant, who were born in Butler county, Ohio. TO this happy union has come a family of nine children, of whom we note the following: Edward, deceased; Edith, deceased; Edwin, who married Jennie Ruiter and resides in Bon Homme county, South Dakota; Erwin, deceased; Myrtle; George, deceased; Justin; Virgil; and Neila Florence. Mr. Baldwin was for a number of years a member of the I.O.O.F. and at different times has held all the official positions in the order.

The subject of our sketch is a son of Daniel Baldwin, a native of Ohio. He now lives in Decatur, Michigan, on a farm, and is eighty-two years of age. His mother bore the maiden name of Miss Montgomery and was a native of the north of Ireland, and his grandmother was born in Scotland. She lived to the age of one hundred and twelve years, and at that age could read readily without glasses. The grandfather of the subject of our sketch, also Daniel Baldwin, was born in Connecticut. There were five brothers who came to America in the early history of the country and settled in Connecticut. They were descendents of Prince Baldwin IV, who led the crusaders.

Mr. Baldwin's mother, whose maiden name was Miss Sarah Jane Patterson, was born in Erie, Pennsylvania, where she lived until her marriage. She died at the age of sixty-two years. Her father, Rev. Benjamin Patterson, was born in Genesse county, New York, and was of Irish descent. He was a minister to the Wesleyan Methodist church and preached all through the eastern states.

William Brazzill

William F. Brazzill is one of the best known cattle raisers and shippers in the southeastern part of the state and also one of the old settlers. He lives on section 6, Running Water township, Bon Homme county, not a great distance from Running Water. Mr. Brazzill was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, September 8, 1852. His father was James Brazzill, who was born in Ireland and came to the United States when about thirty-five years old, and soon after obtained a position as a railroad man in Detroit, and later at Milwaukee. He died in Indiana in 1895. Mr. Brazzill's mother, Elizabeth Wilson Brazzill, was also born in Ireland. She died at the age of thirty-three. Our subject is the eldest of a family which numbered eight children, six boys and two girls. He lived in Indiana from his second until his twenty-first year. In 1872 he came to Yankton, Dakota territory, and remained there one year. From 1873 to 1878 he was in the employ of the government and was boss herder at the Yankton, Lower Brule, Cheyenne, and other agencies along the Missouri River. Mr. Brazzill located upon the farm which is now his home, in the year 1878. It had been occupied previously, and Mr. Brazzill paid the owner four hundred and fifty dollars for the land and improvements, which included a little hut the man had built and called a home. Mr. Brazzill went immediately to work to renovate and change the place, and his frist step was to sink an artesian well, which is nine hundred feet deep and an enormous producer. He then planted part of the farm to the staple crops and started a stock farm upon the balance. He has been very successful in both branches of the business, and today ships wheat and cattle regularly to the markets of Chicago, and even beyond. Not only does he sell all the stock that he can raise himself upon his five hundred acre place, but buys large lots to fill orders. Mr. Brazzill is a Democrat in politics, and, though he has never sought office, takes a lively interest in political and educational matters, which is evidenced by the fact that the district school of his township is called the "Brazzill School" in his honor.

Mr. Brazzill married Miss Kate Morgan in 1879. Mrs. Brazzill is a native of Iowa, Dubuque being her birthplace. She is the daughter of Patrick Morgan. Mr. and Mrs. Brazzill are the parents of six children, one of whom, Charles F., died at the age of sixteen months. The others are: Elizabeth, Mary Ellen, Leonora, Vera, and Florence.

Charles Dahlenburg

Charles Dahlenburg, owner of one of the largest farms in Bon Homme county, and one of its early settlers, lives on section 19, Hancock township, not far from the town of Andrus. Mr. Dahlenburg was born September 18, 1840, in Prussia, Germany. Both of his parents, John and Mary (Heitmann) Dahlenburg, were Prussians, and their family comprised six children, one of whom, Otto, is dead. The others are Mary, Charles, the subject of this sketch; Fred, Minnie, and Augusta. Mr. Dahlenburg, the eldest boy in the family, came to the United States in 1869, and went to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and secured work upon a farm near the city. Then he spent two years in Grant county, Wisconsin, and finally found his way, like so many other thrifty pioneers, to the Dakotas, arriving in Yankton in 1872. He found work as a porter at the Morrison Hotel, and later went to the Merchants, where he had like duties. Yankton was then, as may be imagined, a very inconsequential village, the population not exceeding six hundred people. Mr. Dahlenburg remained there for two and a half years and then went to Bon Homme county, where he immediately pre-empted one hundred and sixty acres. He soon after added three hundred and twenty more to this tract, and also purchased eighty from his mother and the same amount from his brother, Otto, now deceased, both of whom where then living in Dakota. This made a grand total of six hundred and forty acres, and this is the extent of Mr. Dahlenburg's farm today, which is a pretty good sized piece of improved ground, even for South Dakota. Nearly all of it is under cultivation, and in addition Mr. Dahlenburg has built a fine two-story residence, which cost over fifteen hundred dollars; several fine barns and storehouses, a large hop house, artesian well, which supplies a lake over fifteen acres in extent, and other improvements too numerous to mention. An excellent view of this valuable property is shown on another page. IT is a model northwestern farm, and when it is considered that its owner was working as a porter at a dollar a day a few years ago the results which he has obtained are all the more noteworthy. It is a deserved success, and no one will envy Mr. Dahlenburg his prosperity, for he has earned it by persistent exertion and by the closest attention to the work which he started out to accomplish. Mr. Dahlenburg is a Republican politically. Though a very busy man, he finds time to devote to school and educational matters, and has served for years upon the county school board, and is now its treasurer. He is also an active worker in the Congregational church, which he attends.

Mr. Dahlenburg and Miss Elizabeth Miller were married in 1874. Mrs. Dahlenburg is a native of Grant county, Wisconsin, and she has borne her husband eight children, all of whom are still at home. They are: Frank, Clara, Charlie, Kittie, Emma, George, William, and Ida.

Ludolph Schwerdtmann, one of the leading business men of Tyndall and the senior member of the firm of Schwerdtmann & Co., is successfully operating a general merchandise store in that place. He is an old settler of Bon Homme county, and has for many years been identified with the business interests of that region.

Mr. Schwerdtmann was born in Herford, Westphalia, Germany, April 8, 1852, where he lived until fifteen years of age. Coming to America in 1867, he landed in Baltimore, Maryland, and was engaged as a clerk in one of the large firms of that city until 1880, when he moved to Dakota and started a general merchandise store in Springfield, Bon Homme county. In 1888 he moved his stock to his present place of business at Tyndall, in the same county. The following year, he took into partnership with his, his cousin, Ferdinand Schwerdtmann. Ferdinand was born in Bueckeburg, Germany and came to America in 1873, settling in Baltimore, Maryland. In 1880 he came with our subject to Dakota and was engaged as clerk in the store until he was accepted as a partner. He is a man of excellent business qualifications and has become one of tehe leading men in the part of South Dakota.

Ludolph Schwerdtmann was married in September, 1885, to Miss Minna Grube, a native of Germany, who came to America in 1884. They are the parents of three children: Paul, Elsa and Martha. The firm of Schwerdtmann & Co. now has a large store, which is well stocked, and carries on an extensive trade in Tyndall and the surrounding country. Politically, Mr. Schwerdtmann has always affiliated with the Democratic party until the last election when he saw fit to cast his ballot for the Republican candidate.

H. A. Pike, of Tyndall, Bon Homme county, is the editor of the "Register," one of the prominent papers of that section, and the only one in the county that espoused the free-silver cause at the last election and is still faithful to it. Mr. Pike is also the postmaster, having been appointed by President Cleveland in 1894. He was born in Green Bay county, Wisconsin, on the 30th day of April, 1858. His father, Stillman Pike, was a native of New York and came to Wisconsin in 1852 for the purpose of engaging in the lumber business. He operated a sawmill on the Fox river for several years and lives at present in the northwestern part of Arkansas. He was of English and German descent. Mr. Pike's mother was Miss Petsy Olds before her marriage and was born in New York. She died in 1886. Her ancestors were English and Scotch. Mr. Pike is the third of five children, three of whom were girls. When about nine years old his parents went to Emmett county, Iowa. He afterward settled in Emmettsburg, Palo Alto county, which was Mr. Pike's home for fourteen years. He was superintendent of the county schools for three years, and edited the "Pilot," a local paper of Emmettsburg during the remainder of his residence there. In 1887 Mr. Pike, satisfied that South Dakota was a field of promise to the newspaper man as well as the farmer, boxed up his printing outfit and the good will of his Iowa paper, and shipped them to Tyndall, following himself. Both the articles shipped have increased many fold in the short time that their enterprising owner has been publishing the world's happenings in Bon Homme county. As already remarked in another part of this sketch, it is the only free silver paper in the county, and as there are many followers of that political faith in or close to Tyndall and subscribers to the "Register" are very numerous, numbering something close to one thousand at the present time. Mr. Pike is a member of the Masonic fraternity, Bon Homme Lodge, No. 101. He was married to Miss Mary Cullen, daughter of Martin Cullen, of Nebraska, in July, 1896.

Perhaps no man in all of Bon Homme County is so well known for his intelligence, active public spirit and thorough appreciation of the wants of his locality as the gentleman whose name heads this article. He came to the county in an early day, and has since been identified with all matters pertaining to the improvement and upbuilding of the better interests of the locality in which he has lived. His active participation in public affairs has not been confined to the matters pertaining to his own township, but he has thoroughly acquainted himself and been associated in all matters pertaining to the welfare of the entire community. Being a man of excellent business qualifications and a character of the highest order, he has been called upon by his fellow citizens to occupy various important official positions. In every instance he has proven his efficiency, and has administered the duties of his various offices with rare fidelity and with increasing popularity. He is now cashier of the Security State Bank of Tyndall, and also operates his farm, which is located twelve miles from the city. The accompanying portrait of Mr. Zitka will be appreciated by his many friends.

Mr. Zitka was born in Bohemia, March 21, 1851, came to America at the age of seventeen years, and located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where he was engaged as clerk in the post office about eight months. In 1871 he moved to Dakota territory and took up a claim in Bon Homme county, improved it, and made it his home for about twelve years. In 1883 he was elected county clerk of Bon Homme county, and moved to the town of Bon Homme, then the county seat. He was re-elected to that office in 1885 and again in 1887. The county seat was moved from Bon Homme to Tyndall in 1885, at which time Mr. Zitka moved to and made his residence in Tyndall. In 1889 the Security State Bank was organized, with F. G. Hale as president; Joseph Kiehlbaugh, vice-president; and Joseph Zitka, our subject, as cashier. Capital stock, thirty-give thousand dollars. In 1893 Mr. J. D. Elliott was elected president.

Our subject was three times elected county commissioner, and also filled a vacancy one year, giving him seven years of service, and he has been city treasurer since 1889. He was also a member of the territorial legislature in 1875, and of the state constitutional convention in 1889.

Mr. Zitka was married in 1876 to Miss Mary Bohac, and their home has been blessed by the presence of the following children, viz: Hattie, now attending school at Omaha; Rose, Mary, Charlie, Anna, Agnes and Francis. Mr. Zitka affiliates with the Masonic fraternity, and holds membership in the blue lodge, No. 101.

Captain Francis Richmond is one of the old settlers of Bon Homme county who has been identified with its interests and progress almost since the time that it was established. Captain Richmond lives in Tyndall. He was born in Washington Territory, February 28, 1842, and bears the distinction of being the first native white man from the district west of the Rockies and north of the Columbia River. His father was Rev. John P. Richmond, missionary to the northern Indians. Captain Richmond was the second son, the eldest being Dr. Oregon Richmond, who sketch appears in another part of this work. When about two years old the Captain was taken to Schuyler county, Illinois, by his parents. Here he remained until seventeen, when he entered the United States Military Academy at West Point. He graduated four years later with the rank of lieutenant, and immediately went to the front under command of General Rosecrans, reporting July 1, 1863. He was detailed at Benton Barracks, St. Louis, and became a first lieutenant in September of the same year. He was next ordered to the Fourth Regiment, United States regulars, and was second lieutenant of Company H. He was in the massacre of Centralia, of which he and two others were the only survivors of accompany of twenty-five men. For nine months he was engaged with a company in the lively exercise of picking off guerrillas, and a number of times he came uncomfortably near to being picked off himself. On one memorable occasion the noted bandit, Jesse James, and the also notorious Younger Brothers were leaders of a band which caused him great anxiety for the first seven miles, when he reached a haven by jumping a railroad track and making himself resemble a busy as much as possible. Captain Richmond, whose title, it may be observed, is not honorary, but one which was earned on his country's battlefield, served three years with his company after the close of the war, and in 1867 went to Hannibal, Missouri, where he remained for six years. In 1873 he came to Dakota and taught school in Vermillion, Clay county, for two years. He then took up the first claim upon what is now the town site of Tyndall, in Bon Homme county. The Captain was soon after elected county superintendent of schools and held the office for eight years, teaching in the county at the same time. He also served as a justice of the peace and coroner during this period. Captain Richmond took a leading part in the county seat contest, which resulted in the selection of Tyndall, and was one of the committee of seven who conducted the campaign. In 1886 he established the Tyndall "Register," which he published until 1889. Two years after the paper was started Mr. H. H. Pike, who is the present editor, and whose sketch will be found upon another page of this work, was taken into partnership, and in 1889 Captain Richmond sold his share of the publication to Mr. Pike and retired from its management. Since that time he has been actively engaged in looking after his farming and property interests, which are large. The Captain is a Democrat and is the present chairman of the Democratic county committee. He is also a charter member of Grierson Post, No. 78, G. A. R., has always been prominent in that organization and was its first commander.

Captain Richmond and Miss Levenia J. Mallory were married in 1865. Mrs. Richmond was a native of Missouri and the daughter of Edward H. Mallory. Captain and Mrs. Richmond are the parents of four children: Clarence, William, May, now the wife of Frank Melvin, and Francis, who is deceased.