Charles H. Stilwill Biography


	This biography appears on pages 1144-1145 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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	CHARLES H. STILWILL, the able and popular incumbent of the office 
of postmaster at Tyndall, is a native of the old Empire state of the 
Union, having been born in Genesee county, New York, on the 7th of 
February, 1843, a son of Hiram R. and Melinda (Drake) Stilwill, of whose 
four children three survive, namely: Kesiah, who is the wife of John P. 
Dickey, of Cherokee, Iowa; Charles H., subject of this sketch; and John 
G., who is superintendent of the Emma mines, at Alta City, Utah. Hiram 
R. Stilwill was likewise born in Genesee county, of staunch Holland 
ancestry, and in his native county he received a good English education, 
having been for a number of years a successful teacher in the district 
schools, while later he gave his attention to the nursery business. He 
died of typhus fever, in 1853, at the age of thirty-seven years, our 
subject having been a lad of ten years at the time. His widow 
subsequently contracted a second marriage, becoming the wife of Joseph 
B. Craft, and of this union was born one child, George H., who is now a 
resident of Oakfield, New York. The mother was summoned into eternal 
rest in 1871. Her father, John Drake, was an active participant in the 
war of 1812. William Stilwill, the paternal grandfather of our subject, 
was born in Cattaraugus county, New York, whither his parents immigrated 
from Holland, and there he took up a tract of land in what was commonly 
known as the Holland Purchase. 

	Charles H. Stillwill, whose name introduces this sketch, was 
reared in his native county and received his early educational training 
in the common schools. In 1865 he severed the home ties and set forth to 
seek his fortunes in the west. He came to Iowa, arriving in Dubuque the 
day following the assassination of President Lincoln, and he thence 
carried the news of this lamentable tragedy into Delaware county, that 
state, where he devoted his attention to farm work for the ensuing three 
years. He was married in 1868 and shortly afterward engaged in the 
manufacture of fanning mills, at Hopkinton, Iowa, and one year later he 
removed to a farm which he had previously purchased, in Delaware county, 
and there he continued to be engaged in agricultural pursuits until the 
spring of 1879, when he disposed of his farm and came to the territory 
of Dakota, passing the first summer in Yankton, and arriving in Bon 
Homme county, on the 7th of September, 1879. For about sixteen months 
thereafter he served as deputy register of deeds of the county, and in 
1881 he was appointed clerk of the courts, which incumbency he retained 
for the long period of eleven years, giving most capable and 
satisfactory service. Within this time he also gave his attention to the 
real-estate business, becoming one of the leading representatives of 
this line of enterprise in this section. He associated himself with G. 
W. Roberts, of Yankton, and Thomas Thorson, of Canton, in the 
organization of the Corn Belt Real Estate Association, which has 
accomplished so great a work in furthering the settlement of the state 
and the development of its industrial resources. Mr. Stilwill has been 
called to other offices of public trust, having served as deputy sheriff 
and as deputy county treasurer, and in all positions he has held the 
implicit confidence of the people of the county. In 1897 he was 
appointed postmaster at Tyndall, and in 1902 he received a reappointment 
under President Roosevelt. He is still largely interested in real 
estate, owning valuable property in Tyndall and extensive tracts of 
farming land in the county, and he has done much to promote the general 
welfare and material progress of this favored section of our great 
commonwealth. In politics Mr. Stilwill gives an unequivocal allegiance 
to the Republican party, and fraternally he is affiliated with Bon Homme 
Lodge, No. 101, Free and Accepted Masons; Scotland Chapter, Royal Arch 
Masons; Springfield Lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fellows; and Tyndall 
Lodge, Knights of Pythias. He is a member of the Congregational church, 
as was also his devoted and cherished wife. 

	On the 11th of February, 1868, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. 
Stilwill to Miss Marian Kirkwood, of Hopkinton, Iowa, who proved to him 
a true helpmeet until her death, which occurred on the 12th of March, 
1903. She was held in affectionate regard by all who knew her, being a 
woman of gracious and noble character, and she is survived by her four 
children, namely: Agnes, who is the wife of James D. Elliott, United 
States district attorney, residing in Tyndall; Dr. Hiram R., who is a 
practicing physician in Denver, Colorado; Charles M., who is a well-
known attorney of Tyndall, being individually mentioned on another page 
of this work, and Hayes K., who is bookkeeper in the Security Bank, of 
Tyndall.