Dominic Dillon Biography


	This biography appears on pages 921-922 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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				DOMINIC DILLON. 

	Dominic Dillon passed away upon his farm in Clay county on the 
7th of August, 1904, and his demise was deeply regretted by all who 
knew him. His birth occurred in New York city in 1844, and his parents 
were Michael and Mary Dillon, natives of Ireland. His father was a 
cabinetmaker and quite prominent in that connection in his day. 
Following his death the mother of our subject married a Mr. McCarty and 
the family home was established upon a farm near Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 

	Dominic Dillon attended school in Wisconsin until he was sixteen 
years of age and when eighteen years old enlisted in the Federal army 
for service in the Civil war. He became a member of Company I, Second 
Wisconsin Regiment, and at first served as acting secretary. Later he 
participated in some of the most noted engagements of the war, 
including the battle of Gettysburg, and was also with Sherman on his 
famous march to the sea. He was with the colors for three years and 
after his return, from the front worked in the lumber woods of 
Wisconsin for five years. Although he was not wounded in the war his 
health was permanently impaired, but, notwithstanding that handicap, he 
lived an active and successful life. In 1869, when a young man of 
twenty-five years, Mr. Dillon came to South Dakota and took up a 
homestead in Clay county. He lived there for thirty-five years and 
contributed much toward the agricultural development of his section of 
the state. He followed general farming and met with success in his 
agricultural pursuits. 

	Mr. Dillon was married in 1874 to Miss Catherine McCarty, a 
native of Ireland, who was brought to America by her parents when three 
months old. Her father, who was a farmer by occupation, passed away in 
1893, and was survived for seven years by his widow. Mr. and Mrs. 
Dillon became the parents of nine children: Bridget, the wife of Ed 
Mart, a farmer of Clay county, this state, by whom she has two 
children; Daniel, an engineer residing in Chicago; William, who is 
farming in Charles Mix county, this state; Michael, an engineer who is 
living in Montana; Joseph, a farmer residing in Charles Mix county; 
Walter, who is at home with his mother and is operating the homestead 
of one hundred and sixty acres; Mary, the wife of Frank Morrison, a 
farmer of Clay county; Margaret, who is teaching school in that county; 
and Levenes, who is at home with her mother. 

	Mr. Dillon was a democrat in his political views and for three 
years served as county commissioner. He was for a number of years a 
member of the township board and took an active interest in all local 
affairs of government. He was a loyal member of the Grand Army of the 
Republic and derived much pleasure from meeting his old army comrades 
His religious faith was that of the Catholic church, of which his 
family are also communicants. During his thirty years, residence in 
Clay county he witnessed remarkable changes in the state of South 
Dakota and did all in his power to bring about the transformation of 
the wild prairie land to cultivated farms and thriving municipalities.