James D. Elliott Biography


	This biography appears on pages 804-806 in "History of South 
	Dakota" by Doane Robinson, Vol. I (1904) and was scanned, 
	OCRed and edited by Maurice Krueger, mkrueger@iw.net.

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	JAMES D. ELLIOTT, of Tyndall, Bon Homme county, stands 
distinctively forward as one of the able and honored members of the bar 
of the state of South Dakota. Mr. Elliott is a native of the state of 
Illinois, having been born in Mount Sterling, Brown county, on the 7th 
of October, 1859, a son of William and Mary (McPhail) Elliott, of whose 
seven children he is the eldest of the five surviving, the others being 
as follows: Belle, who is the wife of Charles E. Baker, of Condon, 
Oregon; Effie, who is the wife of Thomas D. Ferguson, of the same 
place; Lydia, who is the wife of John Stanley, of Parker, South Dakota; 
and Cliffie, who is the wife of Louis L. Fleeger, also of Parker. The 
father of the subject was born in England, in the year 1833, and as a 
child he accompanied his parents on their removal to the United States, 
the family locating in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. His father was a 
skilled mechanic, and for many years after locating in Pennsylvania he 
was superintendent of the Sligo iron works, understanding the secret 
processes in the manufacture of iron, steel, etc. Early in the 'fifties 
he removed to Brown county, Illinois, where he purchased land and 
turned his attention to agricultural pursuits, with which he there 
continued to be identified during the remainder of his life, attaining 
an advanced age. The father of the subject received his early 
educational training in the city of Pittsburg, and there also he began 
the work of preparing himself) for the profession of law, continuing 
his technical studies after the removal of the family to Illinois, 
where in due time he was admitted to the bar. Shortly afterward he took 
up his residence in Mount Air, Iowa, where he opened an office and 
engaged in the active practice of his profession. At the outbreak of 
the war of the Rebellion he enlisted in a Missouri regiment and served 
until the close of the great internecine conflict which determined the 
integrity of the Union, while he was mustered out as captain of his 
company. After his loyal and valiant military career Mr. Elliott 
returned to Mount Air and resumed the practice of the law, becoming one 
of the leading members of the bar of Iowa, while he also served as a 
member of the legislature of the state. In 1872 he came as a pioneer to 
the territory of Dakota, locating a claim in Clay county, where, by 
reason of impaired health, he continued to reside until 1883, when he 
removed to Hurley, Turner county, where he resumed the practice of law, 
soon gaining distinctive prestige. About 1891 he was elected county 
judge and removed to Parker, the county seat of Turner County, and he 
has ever since presided on the bench of that county, where he is known 
and honored as one of the leading legists and jurists of the state. 
Judge Elliott was a member of the constitutional convention and as such 
was appointed a member of the committee to which was assigned the work 
of determining as to the proper division of the territory into the two 
states, and he has long been prominent in public affairs and in the 
civic life of the territory and state. In politics he was originally a 
Democrat, but while serving in the war of the Rebellion he transferred 
his allegiance to the Republican party, of whose principles he has ever 
since been a staunch advocate. Fraternally, he is a member of the Grand 
Army of the Republic, and he is known and honored as one of the 
representative citizens of the state of which he has been one of the 
founders and upbuilders. Both he and his wife are members of the 
Christian church.  

	James D. Elliott, the immediate subject of this sketch, passed 
his boyhood days in the state of Iowa; and his early education was 
obtained in the public schools of Mount Air and Panora, that state. 
After the removal of the family to Dakota he continued his studies in 
the public schools of Vermilion, of which Professor Culver was 
superintendent at the time, and under this able educator he also 
received a course of special instruction during a period of two years, 
and while thus attending school he slept in an empty building, in order 
to protect the owner in the insurance carried on the same, while he 
also did janitor work to assist in defraying his expenses while 
carrying forward his studies. He was an ardent and ambitious student, 
and the burning of the midnight oil while pursuing his educational work 
was a common thing with him, the expression having no trite- 
application in his case. After completing his more purely literary 
education Mr. Elliott was engaged in teaching in the public schools for 
a period of three years, and he invested his savings in cattle, which 
he placed on his father's farm, his plan being to eventually place his 
stock, as appreciated in value, on the market and from the sale of the 
same secure the funds requisite for continuing his studies in the 
University of Michigan, at Ann Arbor. The flood of 1881, however, swept 
away and drowned all his cattle, and his plans being thus overthrown 
Mr. Elliott started for the Black Hills, driving through with a team 
and expecting to pass the summer in that district. In the autumn of 
that year he returned home and for the following year he was engaged in 
teaching in the public schools at Lakeport, Yankton county, while later 
he taught the winter term in the school at Meckling, Clay county. His 
father had met with most serious reverses by reason of the flood 
mentioned, and under these conditions it became necessary  for our 
subject to return home and aid in rehabilitating the family fortunes. 
He thus abandoned his plans of attending the university, but was still 
determined to carry on his study of the law, which he had initiated 
some time previously, and while engaged in teaching he read law under 
the preceptorship of Colonel John L. Jolley, of Vermillion. In 1883 he 
entered the law office of Gamble Brothers, at Yankton, and in April of 
the following year he was duly admitted to the bar of the state, while 
he remained with the firm mentioned until October 14th of that year, 
when he located in Springfield, Bon Homme county, and entered upon the 
practice of his profession. In the spring of the following year Mr. 
Elliott came to Tyndall, the county seat, having been at the time 
removed from Springfield to this point, and here he has since continued 
to reside, while he has gained distinction and success in his chosen 
profession, to which he has applied himself with marked singleness of 
purpose, being a close student, an able advocate and one thoroughly 
grounded in the science of jurisprudence. In 1887 he was elected to the 
office of state's attorney, in which capacity he served four years, and 
in 1897, under the administration of President McKinley, he was 
appointed United States district attorney, of which important office he 
has since remained incumbent, by successive reappointments, his last 
appointment having been made by President Roosevelt. He has proved a 
most capable and discriminating officer and is held in the highest 
confidence and regard by his professional confreres and by the people 
of the state at large. In politics Mr. Elliott has ever given an 
unqualified support to the Republican party and he has been an active 
and prominent worker in its cause, having been chairman of the state 
central committee in 1896, and as such having marshaled his forces most 
admirably during the presidential campaign of that year. He has been 
very successful in his profession and in his business affairs, and is 
distinctively the architect of his own fortunes. He is president of the 
Security Bank of Tyndall, is the owner of about fifteen hundred acres 
of land in Bon Homme county and is largely interested in the raising of 
live stock. Fraternally, Mr. Elliott is identified with Bon Homme 
Lodge, No. 101, Free and Accepted Masons; Scotland Chapter, Royal Arch 
Masons; Yankton Commandery, Knights Templar, at Yankton; Yankton 
Consistory, Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite, and El Riad Temple, Ancient 
Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, at Sioux Falls, while 
he is also affiliated with the Knights of Pythias and the Ancient Order 
of United Workmen, in Tyndall, and with Sioux Falls Lodge, No. 262, 
Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, at Sioux Falls. He is well 
known throughout the state and enjoys a high degree of popularity in 
professional, business and social circles.  

	On the 28th of May, 1890, Mr. Elliott was united in marriage to 
Miss Agnes Stilwell, daughter of Charles H. Stilwell, the present 
postmaster of Tyndall and one of its leading citizens, individual 
mention of him being incorporated on other pages of this work. Mr. and 
Mrs. Elliott are the parents of four children, namely: Marion A., 
Douglas S., Hiram McP. and Mary H.