O. M. Osbon Biography


	This biography appears on page 1354 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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	O. M. OSBON, son of Joseph and Rhoda (Reed) Osbon, was born at 
Ripley, Ohio, May 20, 1846, but owing to the removal of his parents to 
Illinois, was reared and educated in the last mentioned state. His 
father being a farmer, the son went through the usual routine of helping 
on the farm during the busy season and picking up his schooling during 
the months of winter. Though still a boy at the outbreak of the civil 
conflict, Master Osbon, like all typical young Americans, was eager for 
"the pride, pomp and circumstance of glorious war" and finally gained 
his desire by being allowed to enlist in October, 1862, as a member of 
Battery A, Second Illinois Light Artillery. Though only sixteen years 
old, he was entrusted with the charge of a number of recruits with 
instructions to convey them to Helena, Arkansas, a duty which he 
performed with promptness and fidelity. The youthful volunteer had 
enough danger and adventure to satisfy even the most ardent seeker after 
such things, inasmuch as he participated in many of the important 
battles of the Civil War before receiving his honorable discharge in 
1865. He has not, however, escaped the perils incident to exposure and 
returned to his Illinois home shaking with a genuine attack of old-
fashioned "chills and fever." In hope of obtaining relief from this 
ailment he sought the salubrious climate of Colorado, but eventually 
found his way to Kansas, and it was after reaching the state made famous 
by John Brown and the "border ruffians" that he entered the field of 
journalism. His first venture in this line was with the Waterville 
Telegraph, but in 1884 he disposed of this plant to remove to Missouri, 
where he spent six years in the combined occupation of farming and 
editing. It was in 1897 that Mr. Osbon "made his bow" to the public at 
Howard in the first issue of "The Spirit of Dakota," a weekly paper 
devoted to the best interests of Miner county and the dissemination of 
Republican principles. During his residence in Kansas Mr. Osbon served 
three terms in the state legislature and was the first mayor of 
Westmoreland, county seat of Pottawatomie county, in the same state He 
was also commander of the Kansas department of the Grand Army of the 
Republic and is a member of the Knights of Pythias.

	In 1873 Mr. Osbon married Miss Oral E. Reed, a native of Ripley, 
Ohio, and has six sons: Orman K., Will M. Kenneth A., Guy, Don and 
Clarence.