George W. Lattin Biography


	This biography appears on pages 1602-1603 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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	GEORGE W. LATTIN, one of the leading lawyers and jurists of 
Kingsbury county, claims the old Empire state of the Union as the place 
of his nativity, having been born in Dutchess county, New York, on the 
23d of April, 1858, and being a scion of old and honored families of 
that state. The original American ancestors in both the paternal and 
maternal lines came from England to the new world in the colonial epoch 
of our national history, locating in New England, from which cradle of 
history representatives of both have gone forth to diverse sections of 
the Union. The subject is a son of E. C. and Ruth (Mosher) Lattin, both 
of whom were likewise born and reared in Dutchess county. The father of 
the subject was a miller by vocation and his death occurred, in Nassau, 
New York, in 1865. Judge Lattin. was a lad of seven years at the time of 
his father's death, and in 1869 he accompanied his widowed mother on her 
removal to DeKalb county, Illinois, where his mother purchased land, 
continuing to reside on this homestead farm until her children had been 
reared to maturity. In 1882 she removed to Franklin, Nebraska, where her 
death occurred in the spring of 1889. Of her four children we enter the 
following record: Stephen is a resident of Glyndon, Minnesota, where he 
is engaged in business; George W. is the subject of this review; Alma is 
the wife of Samuel Chriswell, of Charleston, Oklahoma; and Ella is the 
wife of William Mercer of Aurora, Illinois. 

	George W. Lattin received his rudimentary education in the public 
schools of Poughkeepsie, New York, and was eleven years of age at the 
time of his mother's removal to Illinois, where he was reared to 
maturity on the homestead farm. In the meanwhile he completed the 
curriculum of the public schools, and in 1876 he entered the Classical 
Seminary at East Pawpaw, Illinois, where he was graduated as a member of 
the class of 1880, receiving the degree of Bachelor of Science. In 1880 
he was matriculated in the law department of the Northwestern 
University, in Chicago, where he completed the prescribed course and was 
graduated as a member of the class of 1882, William J. Bryan having been 
a member of the junior class at the time of the subject's graduation. 
Mr. Lattin secured the highest honors in his class, and upon his 
examination prior to graduation made the mark of one hundred per cent. 

	In the spring of 1882 Judge Lattin came to Kingsbury county, South 
Dakota, and took up a claim near the present village of Iroquois, and 
thereafter he lived upon his farm for eight years, making goodly 
improvements and bringing a goodly portion under a high state of 
cultivation. In 1890 he was elected judge of the county court, whereupon 
he took up his residence in DeSmet, where he has since made his home. He 
served on the bench until 1898, and made a most enviable record, very 
few of his decisions meeting with reversal in the higher courts. In 1892 
he purchased the Kingsbury County Independent, a weekly paper, and 
retained entire control of the same until 1898, when he disposed of his 
interests in the enterprise. In April of that year he was appointed 
captain of Company E, First South Dakota Volunteer Infantry, and 
preliminary to entering active service with his command he resigned his 
position on the bench. He accompanied his regiment to the Philippines, 
where he remained in command of his company during the entire term. of 
service, participating in all the engagements in which his regiment was 
involved, and returning to his home in October, 1899, having received 
his honorable discharge on the 5th of October of that year. Since his 
return Judge Lattin has been actively engaged in the practice of law in 
DeSmet, while he makes his home on his fine farm, of one hundred and 
sixty acres, which lies contiguous to the town. He has attained a high 
degree of success in temporal affairs, and the same stands as the result 
of his own efforts, for through his own exertions he made his way 
through college, having been practically dependent upon his own 
resources from the age of sixteen years. In politics he was formerly 
arrayed with the Republican party, but upon the organization of the 
Populist party he identified himself with the same, and has since been a 
staunch advocate of its principles. Fraternally he holds membership in 
DeSmet Lodge, No. 55, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, and in DeSmet 
Lodge, No. 25, Ancient Order of United Workmen. 

	On the 11th of July, 1881, Judge Lattin was united in marriage to 
Miss Sarah Van Patten, of Lee county, Illinois, in which state she was 
born and reared, being a daughter of C. F. Van Patten, who was one of 
the pioneers of Lee county. To Judge and Mrs. Lattin have been born 
eight children, namely: Mary, who is a successful teacher, is a member 
of the class of 1903 in the State Normal School, at Madison; William, 
who was graduated in the DeSmet high school, is now engaged in teaching; 
and Herbert, Lois, Homer, Ralph, Mark and Sidney are all at the parental 
home.