Charles Allen Howard Biography


	This biography appears on pages 1455-1456 in "History of South 
	Dakota" by Doane Robinson, Vol. II (1904) and was scanned, 
	OCRed and edited by Maurice Krueger, mkrueger@iw.net.

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	CHARLES ALLEN HOWARD, who is successfully engaged in the real-
estate business in the city of Aberdeen, was born in Frontier, Clinton 
county, New York, on the 16th of July, 1865, being a son of Charles 
Adams Howard, who was a farmer by vocation, while the maiden name of the 
subject's mother was Nancy Patterson. Charles Adams Howard was likewise 
born in Frontier, being a son of Junio Howard, whose father, Antipas 
Howard, was numbered among the early settlers in that section of the old 
Empire state. Antipas Howard was born in Andover, Vermont, and was a son 
of James Hayward, who was born in Mendon, Massachusetts, on the 18th of 
February, 1724. The latter was a son of Jonathan Hayward, who was the 
third of the name in America, being a son of Jonathan 2d, who was a son 
of Jonathan 1st, born in Ashford, Connecticut, in 1692. The last 
mentioned was a son of John Hayward, who was with Miles Standish in 
1643. Martha, the wife of John Hayward, was a daughter of Thomas 
Hayward, who came from England prior to. 1638 and settled Duxbury, 
Plymouth county, Massachusetts. This data is derived from Volume XI 
American Ancestry, published in 1898. The subject is also a grandson of 
Rebecca J. Spaulding, also representing one of the old and prominent 
families of New England, the ancestry being fully traced in the Spalding 
Memorial, published in 1897. 

	Charles A. Howard, the immediate subject of this review, was 
reared on the old homestead farm and his educational advantages were 
such as were afforded in the public schools of his native county. By the 
death of his father, in 1877, he was thrown upon his own resources, and 
went to Ontario, Canada, in the following year, at the age of thirteen. 
In 1879 he took up his residence in Port Huron, Michigan, entering the 
employ of the Grand Trunk Railroad and continuing in the service until 
1883. In May of that year he came to Columbia, Brown county, Dakota. In 
January, 1884, he secured a position as clerk in the office of the 
register of deeds of Brown county, and in January of the following year 
was appointed deputy register. He resigned this position in November, 
1885, and engaged in the abstract business, in which he has ever since 
continued, in connection with his extensive real-estate enterprise. 

	In November, 1887, Mr. Howard enlisted as a private in Company F, 
National Guard of Dakota, in Aberdeen. He became corporal on the 3d of 
June, 1889; second lieutenant January 23, 1892; first lieutenant October 
2, 1893; and captain May 7, 1894. He held this position in Company F, 
First Regiment, South Dakota National Guard, until the outbreak of the 
Spanish-American war. He then took his company to Sioux Falls, the state 
rendezvous, arriving there on the 1st of May, 1898, where four days 
later he was mustered into the United States service as captain of 
Company F, First South Dakota Infantry, United States Volunteers, 
enjoying the distinction of being the first South Dakota soldier to be 
mustered into the service of the United States. On the same day he was 
promoted to major of his regiment and assigned to the command of the 
Second Battalion, consisting of Companies D, M, F and E. He proceeded 
with his regiment to the Philippines and took part in every march, 
skirmish and battle in which any of this valiant regiment was engaged 
during the war. He was mustered out of the service, in San Francisco, 
California, in October, 1899, with the other members of his regiment, 
which had made a gallant record in the Orient. Major Howard has ever 
been a staunch supporter of the Republican party and has been an active 
worker for the promotion of its interests. He served as a member of the 
board of aldermen of Aberdeen in 1890, and was a member of the state 
senate during the general assembly of 1895. Fraternally the subject is 
affiliated with the following named bodies: Aberdeen Lodge, No. 38, 
Ancient Free and Accepted Masons; Aberdeen Chapter, No. 14, Royal Arch 
Masons; Damascus Commandery, No. 10, Knights Templar; El Riad Temple, 
Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine; Aberdeen Lodge, 
No. 49, Independent Order of Odd Fellows; Aberdeen Lodge, No. 55, 
Knights of Pythias; Bab-el-Wed Temple, No. 17, Dramatic Order Knights of 
Khorassan, and Aberdeen Lodge, No. 30, Ancient Order of United Workmen. 
Of the last mentioned he has served as master workman, while in 1900 he 
was eminent commander of Damascus Commandery, Knights Templar, being now 
the grand generalissimo of the grand commandery of the state, and has 
held other official chairs in the various bodies noted. He has been a 
member of the Theosophical Society since 1898. 

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

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