Moritz Adelbert Lange Biography


	This biography appears on pages 1374-1375 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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	MORITZ ADELBERT LANGE, deputy superintendent of public instruction 
in the state of South Dakota, was born at Smith Mills, Chautauqua 
county, New York, on the 28th of January, 1855, and is a son of Moritz 
Jacob Lange, who was born in Grossenhein, kingdom of Saxony, Germany, on 
the 5th of March, 1824, and who came to America in 1848, with the 
renowned Franz Sigel, who rendered so brilliant service in defense of 
the Union during the war of the Rebellion. The maiden name of the 
subject's mother was Margaret J. Dawley, and she was born in Gowanda, 
Cattaraugus county, New York, on the 25th of October, 1835, being of 
staunch English lineage. The original ancestors in the new world settled 
on Long Island in 1700, and a collateral relative was Ethan Allen, of 
historic fame. In 1856 the parents of our subject came to the west and 
took up their residence in Decorah, Winneshiek county, Iowa, being 
numbered among the pioneers of the Hawkeye state, where the father 
engaged in farming and where both he and his wife passed the remainder 
of their lives. Moritz A. Lange was a mere infant at the time of the 
family removal to Iowa, where he was reared to manhood, having completed 
the curriculum of the graded schools of his home town and having then 
engaged in teaching, by which means he earned the funds which enabled 
him to avail himself of higher educational advantages. He was graduated 
in Stanford Seminary, at Stanford, Iowa, in 1872, and thereafter 
completed the normal course in the Decorah Institute, in Decorah, being 
graduated as a member of the class of 1874. He continued his residence 
in Iowa until 1878, when he came to what is now the state of South 
Dakota and cast in his lot with the pioneers of McCook county, where he 
filed entry on the west half of section 26, range 102, township 55, 
perfecting his title in due course of time and improving the property, 
which he retained in his possession until 1902, when he disposed of the 
same, receiving forty dollars an acre, though he is still a land holder 
in the county. He promptly identified himself with the industrial and 
public affairs of the county, having served as county surveyor for the 
decade from 1880 to 1890, while in 1892 he was again chosen ,as 
incumbent of this office, serving one year. He has taken a prominent 
part in educational work from the early days to the present, having been 
county superintendent of schools from 1882 to 1894, while in 1895 he was 
appointed institute conductor, in which office he did an admirable work. 
In 1897 he was appointed deputy superintendent of public instruction for 
the state, and in 1903 he was again appointed to this office, of which 
he is in tenure at the time of this writing, giving practically his 
entire time and attention to his executive duties and enjoying marked 
popularity in the educational circles of the state. In politics he has 
ever given an unfaltering allegiance to the Republican party, and 
fraternally he is affiliated with Eureka Lodge, No. 71, Ancient Free and 
Accepted Masons, at Bridgewater, this state; Salem Chapter, No. 34, 
Royal Arch Masons, at Salem; and Capital City Chapter, No. 39, Order of 
the Eastern Star, at Pierre, where he has maintained his home since 
1903. 

	In Decorah, Iowa, on the 2d of April, 1879, Mr. Lange was united 
in marriage to Miss Eva May Punteney, who was born on the 2d of January, 
1861, and they have one son, Moritz Arthur, who was born September 14, 
1880, and who was married to Miss Susie May Evans, on the 11th of 
November, 1902.