John L. Eichholtz Biography


	This biography appears on pages 1259-1260 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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				JOHN L. EICHHOLTZ. 

	John L. Eichholtz, of Blunt, is now living largely retired although he 
still deals to some extent in real estate. He was formerly one of the leading 
horse dealers of the county and is still somewhat active in that line. He was 
born at Altoona, Pennsylvania, October 14, 1839, a son of Henry and Angeline 
(Crissman) Eichholtz. The father was born in Germany and the mother in New 
England. Henry Eichholtz learned the weaver's trade but later turned his 
attention to farming, in which he engaged until 1867, having in the meantime 
removed to Ogle county, Illinois. He continued to reside there until his death 
and his wife has also passed away, her demise occurring in 1876. 

	John L. Eichholtz, who is the third in order of birth in a family of seven 
children, attended school in Ogle county, Illinois, and was for one year a 
student at Mendota College, that state. In 1862 he put aside all personal 
considerations and went to the defense of the Union, enlisting in Company E, 
Sixty-seventh Illinois Volunteer Infantry. Although he at first enlisted for 
three months he reenlisted at the expiration of that period and continued at the 
front until after the fall of Vicksburg, when on account of illness he was 
discharged and returned home. In the spring of 1864. having recovered his 
health. he enrolled in Company K, Fifteenth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and 
served with that command until September, 1865, when he was mustered out and 
again returned home. He was slightly wounded in the left hand but feels that he 
was fortunate to escape more serious injury. 

	After his return from the front Mr. Eichholtz operated the home farm for 
one year, after which he removed to Iowa, where he spent about two years, during 
which time he followed the painter's trade. He subsequently engaged in the coal 
business at Parkersburg, Iowa, for two years. Later he turned his attention to 
the livery business and in 1882 went to Huron, South Dakota, where he conducted 
a livery barn. After remaining there a year he removed to Blunt and continued in 
the livery business there. In 1894 he also became interested in the hotel 
business and managed both his livery barn and his hotel until February 12, 1900, 
when all of his buildings were burned. He then turned his attention to the stock 
business and became one of the most extensive dealers in horses in the county. 
He still follows that business to some extent and is also engaged in dealing in 
real estate, handling chiefly his own land. In the fall of 1914 he had the 
misfortune to break a leg and has since lived somewhat retired. His investment 
in South Dakota land includes six hundred and forty acres which is well adapted 
for diversified farming. 

	Mr. Eichholtz was married October 14, 1875, to Miss Della H. Adams, who 
was born in the state of Maine and is a descendant of the Adams family, which 
has contributed so many men of prominence and influence to the country. Her 
parents, Dr. Henry and Julia (Hill) Adams, were both natives of Maine but in the 
early '40s removed to Iowa before the Illinois Central Railroad was built in 
that state. The father practiced medicine and gained an enviable reputation as a 
physician. In 1880 he removed to Brule county, South Dakota, where he resided 
until 1903, when he took up his residence in Blunt. He passed away there in the 
fall of 1912. The mother of Mrs. Eichholtz died when she was but a small child 
and the father subsequently married a sister of his first wife. Mr. and Mrs. 
Eichholtz have a daughter, Angeline, the wife of Harry Persson, a stockman of 
Blunt, by whom she has one child, Clair Besancon. 

	Mr. Eichholtz is a democrat and although he has never been a politician in 
the sense of office seeking he is at present city assessor and census taker. His 
religious faith is indicated by his membership in the Presbyterian church, and 
fraternally he belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in which he is 
at present serving as secretary. He is a loyal member of the Grand Army post and 
is now filling the office of adjutant. Throughout his entire life he has 
manifested a spirit of patriotism and devotion to the general good that prompted 
him to serve his country as a soldier during the Civil war. He has gained the 
confidence and respect of all who know him and at the same time has won 
financial independence.