Royal B. Stearns Biography


	This biography appears on pages 1056-1058 in "History of South 
	Dakota" by Doane Robinson, Vol. II (1904) and was scanned, 
	OCRed and edited by Maurice Krueger, mkrueger@iw.net.

	An engraving of Judge Stearns appears on the page facing page 1056, 
	as does his signature.

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	ROYAL B. STEARNS, of Fort Pierre, one of the prominent members of 
the bar of the state. is a native of the Empire state, having been born 
in Louisville, St. Lawrence county, New York, on the 26th of July, 1856, 
and being a son of Artemus C. and Hannah J. (Place) Stearns, the former 
of whom was born in Massachusetts and the latter in Vermont. John 
Stearns, the paternal grandfather, was likewise born in the Old Bay 
state, with whose annals the name became identified in the early 
colonial epoch, as is shown by records still extant and in the 
possession of our subject. From these interesting genealogical data is 
learned that the first American representatives of the family were two 
brothers who came from England on the "Mayflower," on the occasion of 
the first voyage of this historic vessel. One of the brothers located in 
the east and the other made his way to what was then considered the far 
west, now the central states, and from these two the numerous branches 
of the family in America are descended. As a young man the father of the 
subject removed to the state of New York and located at Trout Creek, in 
the northern part of the state, where he engaged in the mercantile 
business, in which he there continued for several years, at the 
expiration of which he removed to Louisville, St. Lawrence county, where 
he continued to follow the same line of enterprise until his death, 
while he also became the owner of a large farm in the vicinity, being an 
honored and influential citizen. In his family were three sons and one 
daughter, all of whom have passed away except the daughter, Mrs. William 
P. Bayley, of Fergus Falls, Minnesota, and the subject.  

	Judge Stearns passed his boyhood days in his native town and secured 
his early educational training in its public schools, after which he 
completed a course of study in St. Lawrence University, in Canton, that 
state, where he was graduated as a member of the class of 1880. He then 
took up the study of law in the office of Hon. Leslie W. Russell, of 
that place, one of the most eminent members of the bar of the state. He 
served as attorney general of the state, was a member of congress for 
several terms, while in 1884 he was defeated for the United States 
senate by a few votes, his opponent being the Hon. William M. Evarts. He 
later became an associate justice of the supreme court of the state 
resigning this office a short time before his death. Under this able and 
honored preceptor Judge Stearns prosecuted his legal studies, continuing 
in the office of Judge Russell until 1884, when he accompanied his 
preceptor to Albany, being one of his clerks while he was serving as 
attorney general. During the winter of 1884 the subject took a course of 
lectures in the Albany Law School, having been admitted to the bar of 
the state in November of the preceding year. Judge Stearns was graduated 
in the law department of Union University, in Albany, on the 22d of May, 
1884, having completed the prescribed two-years course in one year, and 
from this institution he received the degree of Bachelor of Laws. After 
is graduation he entered upon the active practice of his profession in 
Canton, New York. where he remained one year. In April, 1885, he came 
west on business, and became so impressed with the attractions of this 
division of our national domain that he located in Wadena, Minnesota, 
where he was associated in practice with Frank Wilson until 1887, 
meeting with excellent success. In 1889 his father died and he returned 
to his old home in New York to assist in the settlement of the estate. 
He had previously, in 1887, visited South Dakota on business, remaining 
several months, and upon returning to the west he located in Fort 
Pierre, this state, in 1890. Here he has since been engaged in active 
practice, retaining at the present time a large and representative 
clientage and holding high prestige at the bar of the state. He served 
three terms as state's attorney for Stanley county, and one term as 
judge of the county court, making an excellent record in each of these 
offices. He was one of those prominently concerned in bringing about the 
abolishment of the grand-jury system in South Dakota, and he drew the 
first information for murder after the law of 1896 went into effect, 
said information having been drawn on the 3d of July of that year, while 
the law went into effect only two days previously. During his first term 
as county attorney he was prosecutor in three murder trials, and while 
serving on the county bench he settled the estate of Frederick Dupree, 
amounting to one hundred and eighty thousand dollars. The Judge has been 
an ardent and effective worker in the cause of the Republican party, and 
in 1892-3 was secretary of the Republican League of the state. Early in 
the year 1893 Gov. Charles H. Sheldon selected Mr. Stearns for one of 
his staff and commissioned him a colonel. He held this appointment for 
four years, and did his full share of the honors and entertaining at the 
South Dakota building at the World's Fair in Chicago during the season 
of 1893. He was also appointed and commissioned by Governor Sheldon to 
represent this state as a delegate to the World's Real Estate Congress, 
held in Chicago during the week commencing October 12, 1893. He was a 
charter member of Hiram Lodge, No. 123, Ancient Free and Accepted 
Masons, at Fort Pierre, and the charter for the same was secured largely 
through his efforts, as there was no little opposition on the part of 
other lodges. Owing to the danger entailed in crossing the Missouri 
river at certain seasons of the year he finally secured the required 
dispensation from the grand lodge. He has been a strong advocate of the 
project of building a railroad from Pierre to the Black Hills, and his 
opinions and written articles on the subject have been freely quoted and 
republished.  

	From the time of locating in the state Judge Stearns has been more 
or less interested in real estate and stock raising enterprises, and in 
1900 he effected the organization of the St. Paul & Fort Pierre Cattle 
Company, of which he has been vice-president and general manager from 
the time of its inception. J. B. Little, of St. Paul, Minnesota, is 
president, and H. A. Knight, of Minneapolis, is secretary and treasurer. 
The company is capitalized for one hundred thousand dollars, and is 
engaged in the grazing and maturing of beef cattle, having one of the 
finest stock ranches west of the Missouri river, the same being located 
on the Bad river, two and one-half miles south of Fort Pierre, where 
they have a large ranch and fine ranch buildings. They make a specialty 
of buying Texas cattle, shipping them to their ranch and here maturing 
them for the Chicago market, while the company are rapidly increasing 
the number of stock fed on the ranch, conducting operations on a 
constantly increasing scale.  

	On the 24th of November, 1893, Judge Stearns was united in 
marriage to Mrs. Mary A. Miar, who was born and reared in Williamsport, 
Pennsylvania, being a daughter of John Heyler, a prominent farmer of 
Tioga county. No children have been born of this union.