Anthony H. Olwin Biography


	This biography appears on pages 1287-1288 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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	ANTHONY H. OLWIN is a native of the old Buckeye state and a 
representative of one of its sterling pioneer families. He was born on a 
farm near the city of Dayton, Ohio, on the 8th of February, 1856, and is 
a son of Joseph and Margaret (Hiestand) Olwin, the former of whom was 
born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and the latter in the state of 
Virginia, while both are now deceased. The Olwin family is of staunch 
German extraction and was-founded in Pennsylvania in the colonial era of 
American history. Joseph Olwin accompanied his parents on their removal 
from Pennsylvania to Ohio in early 'twenties, and the family settled in 
Montgomery county, where the grandfather of our subject, with the 
assistance of his sons, developed a good farm, he and his wife there 
passing the remainder of their lives, honored by all who knew them. In 
1863, after the death of his parents, Joseph Olwin removed to Crawford 
county, Illinois, where he remained seven years, at the expiration of 
which he returned to Ohio and located in Miami county, where he engaged 
in farming and stockgrowing, continuing to there maintain his home until 
he was summoned from the scene of life's activities, his devoted wife 
also passing the closing years of her life in said county. He was very 
successful in his industrial and business operations, was a man of 
sterling integrity. and one who ever showed a loyal interest in all that 
concerned the welfare of his home county, state and country. At the time 
of the building of the old Indiana, Bloomington & Western Railroad 
through Miami county he laid out and platted on a portion of his farm 
the village of Laura, a town which has grown to be one of considerable 
importance, the line of railroad mentioned having become now a portion 
of the main line of the Big Four system. 

	The subject of this review is the eldest in a family of eight 
children, and received his preliminary educational discipline in the 
public schools of Illinois and Ohio, after which he completed a course 
in the Miami Business College, at Dayton, Ohio, said institution having 
been at the time conducted by Prof. A. D. Wilt, who is one of the 
successful educators of the state. After leaving school Mr. Olwin 
devoted the major portion of his time for four years to teaching in the 
public schools of his native state, meeting with success in the 
pedagogic profession. It may be consistently noted at this juncture that 
he later devoted three years to the study of law, with the intention of 
following the work of the legal profession as a vocation, but after 
coming to the west he found it expedient to abandon his plans in this 
direction, though his technical knowledge has proved of much practical 
value to him. After giving Up his work as a teacher Mr. Olwin entered 
the employ of the publishing house of Van Antwerp, Bragg & Company, of 
Cincinnati, Ohio, and for two years gave attention to introducing their 
revised school books in the state of Ohio. He then took a position with 
the Indiana, Bloomington & Western Railroad Company, part of what is 
commonly known as the Big Four, and assisted in securing the right of 
way for its line through central Ohio, from Springfield straight 
westward, and was successful in his efforts. He thereafter was for one 
year engaged in the general merchandise business at Phillipsburg, Ohio, 
and at the expiration of this period disposed of his interests there and 
came to Aberdeen, South Dakota, arriving in March, 1883. He came as 
representative of the firm of Thomas Kane & Company, of Chicago, selling 
school, church and bank furnishings and also buying bonds, and he 
continued with this concern in this section of the Union for two years, 
covering a wide territory, with Aberdeen as headquarters, and he then 
resigned his position and entered into partnership with Jewett Brothers 
in the grocery business in this city. Two years later he purchased the 
interests of his partners and individually continued the enterprise 
until 1892, when he sold out and engaged in-the dry-goods business, 
under the title of the Olwin-Hall Dry Goods Company. One year later he 
purchased the entire business and conducted the same for the ensuing 
five years under the name of the Olwin Dry Goods Company. He then, in 
1897, admitted to partnership Mr. Robert H. Angell, and they have ever 
since been associated, under most amicable and pleasant relations. Mr. 
Angell is a native of the state of New York and a thorough and able 
business man, having come to Aberdeen for the purpose of thus 
identifying himself with Mr. Olwin. On the 1st of January, 1903, they 
incorporated the business under the firm name of the Olwin-Angell 
Company, which still obtains. In the same year they erected their 
present splendid store, one of the most attractive business structures 
in the city, while it is eligibly located on Main street, adjoining the 
new federal building. The block is fifty by one hundred and thirty-six 
feet in lateral dimensions, two stories in height, with basement, while 
it is lighted from three sides, making the elegant salesrooms the more 
attractive. The building has a front of terra cotta and plate glass, is 
modern in design and construction, and is a model establishment. The 
company carry a select and comprehensive stock of dry goods, carpets, 
cloaks, furs, shoes, millinery, etc., and control a large, 
representative and constantly increasing retail trade, while their 
jobbing department has found its business so distinctively augmented 
each year as to furnish further proof of the legitimacy of Aberdeen's 
claims as one of the best wholesaling and jobbing centers in the state. 
The fine store is modern in all its appointments and conveniences, 
having among other provisions most attractive waiting and toilet rooms 
for the accommodation of patrons. Mr. Olwin is a man of genial and 
gracious presence, and this fact, as coupled with his inflexible 
integrity and liberal business policy, has gained to him the confidence 
and esteem of all with whim he has come in contact, while he enjoys 
distinctive popularity in both the business and social circles of his 
home city. He is public-spirited and progressive and is a valuable 
acquisition to the business circles of Aberdeen, as is also his partner 
and able coadjutor, Mr. Angell. In politics he gives his allegiance to 
the Republican party, fraternally is identified with the Ancient Order 
of United Workmen, and in religion subscribes to the creed of the 
Presbyterian church. 

	On the 31st of March, 1885, Mr. Olwin was united in marriage to 
Miss Huldah M. Mutz, who was born and reared in Ohio, being a daughter 
of Peter Mutz, a prominent and influential farmer of Miami county, that 
state.