Loomis Stevens Cull Biography


	This biography appears on pages 830-833 in "History of Dakota Territory" 
	by George W. Kingsbury, Vol. IV (1915) and was scanned, 
	OCRed and edited by Maurice Krueger, mkrueger@iw.net.

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				JUDGE LOOMIS STEVENS CULL. 

	Judge Loomis Stevens Cull, lawyer and jurist, who has been 
prominently connected with public affairs in Rapid City and the Black 
Hills country and for more than three decades one of the distinguished 
members of the Dakota bar, was born in Waterville, Vermont, July 24, 
1860, the youngest son of Richard T. and Frances M. (Stevens) Cull. The 
father was a native of Hatley, Quebec, Canada, and became a merchant 
and manufacturer. He crossed the border into the United States in 1842, 
settling in Vermont, where he engaged in the manufacture of starch. He 
attained success in business and prominence in connection with 
political affairs of the state, and was serving as a member of the 
Vermont legislature at the time of the outbreak of the Civil war. 
Prompted by a spirit of patriotism that was manifest in his defense of 
the cause of his adopted country, he enlisted in the Seventh Vermont 
Volunteer Infantry and was commissioned second lieutenant. He died in 
the service at New Orleans in 1862. His wife was a daughter of Daniel 
and Polly (Loomis) Stevens, natives of Vermont and descendants of old 
colonial families of New England. Mrs. Cull long survived her husband, 
passing away in Iowa in 1909. 

	Judge Cull of this review is the youngest in a family of five 
children. After completing is preparatory schooling he entered the 
Norwich University, pursuing a classical course. He left college before 
graduation, however, but in later years the university honored him by 
conferring upon him both the degrees of Bachelor of Arts and Master of 
Arts. At Marshalltown, Iowa, he began the study of law in the office of 
Caswell & Meeker and after thorough preliminary reading was admitted to 
the Iowa bar on the 1st of April, 1882. Later in the same month he 
arrived at Plankinton, Dakota territory, and began practice, continuing 
to follow his profession there until 1886, when he removed to the Black 
Hills, settling at Hot Springs, since which time he has taken part in 
much of the important litigation of the state and particularly of 
western South Dakota. He has thus practiced his profession in addition 
to a long and creditable public service, including some years spent as 
city attorney of Hot Springs, two years as city attorney of Lead, four 
years as state's attorney and four years as county judge of Fall River 
county. He likewise filled the office of United States commissioner for 
a long period and in each and every office discharged his duties with a 
singleness of purpose that made his official record above question. In 
April, 1910, he was appointed register of the United States land office 
with headquarters at Rapid City, where he has since resided. 

	On the 8th of May, 1887, Judge Cull was united in marriage to 
Miss Carrie M. Holp, of Farmersville, Ohio, and to them was born a son, 
George C., who is now engaged in ranching near Hot Springs. Fraternally 
the Judge is an Elk and his religious faith is that of the Catholic 
church, while his political views accord with the principles of the 
republican party, in the councils of which his opinions are received 
with interest and respect. Outside of professional activities, Judge 
Cull has found time to do much valuable work in the interest of public 
advancement. It was largely through his efforts that the Sisters 
Hospital and Cancer Sanitorium were established at Hot Springs and he 
assisted in securing the splendid government sanitarium there. He is 
widely recognized as a useful citizen, as a genial, cultured gentleman 
and a distinguished lawyer whose ability places him in the front rank 
among the representatives of the bar in the Black Hills country.