R. H. Somers Biography


	This biography appears on pages 1506-1507 in "History of South 
	Dakota" by Doane Robinson, Vol. II (1904) and was scanned, 
	OCRed and edited by Maurice Krueger, mkrueger@iw.net.

	This file may be freely copied by individuals and non-profit 
	organizations for their private use. 

	Any other use, including publication, storage in a retrieval 
	system, or transmission by electronic, mechanical, or other 
	means requires the written approval of the file's author.


	R. H. SOMERS, who holds the responsible office of government agent 
for the Lower Brule Indian agency, is a native of New Brunswick, Canada, 
where he was born October 23 1857, being a son of Lafayette and 
Elizabeth A. (Chapman) Somers, and the eldest of their nine surviving 
children, the others being as follows: Amelia, the wife of L. W. Lewis, 
who lives at Madison, Wisconsin; Lowell, a resident of Lafayette, 
Indiana; Clifford M., a farmer on the Lower Brule reservation; 
Lafayette, a resident of Chamberlain, this state; and Le Baron B., 
Peolia L. Fred D. and Eliza M., who remain at the parental home. The 
father of our subject was born in New Brunswick, Canada, in 1826, and 
when a young man he removed to Robertstown, Maine, where he served an 
apprenticeship at the trade of blacksmith, after which he returned to 
his home in Canada. where he continued to follow his trade until 1878 
when he emigrated with his family to the territory of Dakota, locating 
in Brule City, the prospective terminal of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. 
Paul Railroad, though by a later dispensation Chamberlain was made the 
terminus. He engaged in farming and stock growing and continued to 
reside in Brule City until T898, when he removed to Chamberlain, where 
he is now living retired. His wife was likewise a native of Canada, and 
is one of the honored pioneer women of the state. 

	Major R. H. Somers, the immediate subject of this sketch, acquired 
his early education in the schools of his native province, and before 
attaining the age of sixteen he entered upon an apprenticeship at the 
blacksmith trade, under the effective direction of his father. After the 
removal of the family to Dakota he bought an ax and began chopping wood 
for the steamboats plying the Missouri river, and after being thus 
occupied for one year he was tendered and accepted the position of 
blacksmith at Fort Hale, where he served four years. In 1883 he left 
this position and removed to Chamberlain, and devoted the following 
three years to farming and stock raising. In July, 1886, he married Miss 
Helena F. Archer, of Brule county, and as a severe drought the following 
year caused an entire loss of his crops he removed from his ranch to the 
village of Chamberlain and here opened a blacksmith shop, which he 
conducted until the spring of 1888, when he sold the same and returned 
to his farm. The droughts continued, however, and in 1891 he was forced 
to again abandon his agricultural operations and to re-engage in the 
blacksmith business in Chamberlain, where he continued at his trade 
until 1898, having also engaged in the livery business in 1894, making a 
success of both enterprises. In October, 1897, Major Somers was 
appointed deputy United States marshal, in which capacity he served 
until May, 1901, when he resigned to assume the duties of his present 
office as agent at the Lower Brule Indian agency, his appointment having 
been conferred on the 15th of May. He is a staunch Republican in his 
political proclivities, and fraternally is identified with Chamberlain 
Lodge, No. 56, Free and Accepted Masons; Pilgrim Chapter, Royal Arch 
Masons; Castle Lodge, No. 10, Knights of Pythias, of which he is a 
charter member; and Chamberlain Lodge, No. 88, Ancient Order of United 
Workmen. Our subject and his wife are the parents of five children, all 
of whom are still beneath the home roof, namely: Robert E., Frances E., 
Evelyn, Lucky H. and Thomas M.