John H. Firey Biography This biography appears on pages 1623-1624 in "History of South Dakota" by Doane Robinson, Vol. II (1904) and was scanned, OCRed and edited by Maurice Krueger, mkrueger@iw.net. This file may be freely copied by individuals and non-profit organizations for their private use. Any other use, including publication, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission by electronic, mechanical, or other means requires the written approval of the file's author. JOHN H. FIREY, one of the representative business men of the city of Aberdeen, is a native of the state of Illinois, having been born in Edinburg, Christian county, on the 13th of November, 1859, and being a son of Henry and Minerva (Lord) Firey, the former of whom was born in Maryland and the latter in Ohio, the paternal grandfather, Joseph F. Firey, having been likewise born in Maryland. Joseph Tilden Lord, the maternal grandfather, who was an early pioneer in Ohio, was born in Vermont, and migrated to Ohio, and was a soldier in the war of 1812, in which connection he served under General William Henry Harrison, having been present at the battle of Tippecanoe, and also that of the Thames, where the famous Indian warrior, Tecumseh, met his death. Joseph F. Firey was a pioneer of Illinois. He removed to Sangamon county, and settled near the site of the present city of Springfield, the capital of that state. The old homestead still remains in the possession of the family, and there the grandfather died when seventy years of age. The maternal grandfather of the subject likewise became a pioneer of Illinois, and was there accidentally killed shortly after locating in the state, in the later 'thirties. The father of the subject of this sketch continued to follow the vocation to which he had been reared, becoming a successful and influential farmer of Sangamon county, where both he and his wife passed the closing years of their lives. Of their eight children seven are living, John H. having been the youngest of the family. John H. Firey was reared on the old homestead farm and received his preliminary educational training in the district schools, after which he continued his studies in Carthage College, at Carthage, Illinois, where he was graduated as a member of the class of 1882. On the 17th of August of that year he made his advent in what is now the city of Aberdeen, South Dakota, the place having been at that time scarcely more than a frontier village. He had previously become a registered pharmacist in Illinois and upon locating in Aberdeen he at once established himself in the retail drug business. His enterprise proved successful from its initiation and with the rapid settling of the surrounding country and the development and substantial upbuilding of Aberdeen the business rapidly increased in scope and importance, so that he gradually developed a manufacturing and jobbing department, and it was this feature that led to his becoming one of the organizers and incorporators of the Jewett Drug Company, in 1903, while he is one of the stockholders m the concern and in the same holds the office of manager. The company utilize a fine building, one hundred by one hundred and fifty feet in dimensions, four stories in height, besides basement, and constructed of light-colored pressed brick, with granite trimmings, and the wholesale and jobbing business already built up far surpasses the most sanguinary expectations of the interested principals, while the enterprise is a distinctive acquisition to the jobbing interests of the city. Mr. Firey is the general manager of the business and is handling its affairs with marked discrimination, being straightforward in his methods, forming his plans readily and carrying them to proper execution, and thus proving an able administrative officer and a business man who commands unqualified confidence and esteem. In politics he gives his allegiance to the Democratic party, and he has held various local offices, including that of postmaster of Aberdeen, to which position he was appointed in 1885 serving four years. Fraternally he is identified with the lodge, chapter and commandery of the Masonic order and also with the Ancient Order of United Workmen. On the 25th of January, 1883, Mr. Firey was united in marriage to Miss Sue A. Mack, of Carthage, Illinois, she being a daughter of David Mack, a leading member of the bar of that section and president of the Hancock National Bank of Carthage. Of this union have been born two children, Carl R., who is an assistant in the drug establishment of which his father is manager, and Margaret, who is still attending school.