John T. Lee Biography


	This biography appears on pages 1116-1119 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 T. LEE. 

	John T. Lee, the period of whose residence in South Dakota covers 
forty-six years, is one of the well known and representative citizens 
of Minnehaha county and is actively identified with business interests 
as manager of the S. H. Bowman Lumber Company and of the Farmers 
Elevator Company of Brandon, this state. His birth occurred in 
Christiania, Norway, on the 11th of February, 1855, his parents being 
Thorsten and Anna (Okre) Lee, natives of Norway, who emigrated to the 
United States in 1867 and took up their abode in Allamakee county, 
Iowa. The father, a blacksmith by trade, opened a shop in the town of 
Waterville. In the spring of 1870 he came to South Dakota, filing on a 
homestead in Split Rock township, Minnehaha county, on which he resided 
until his death, which occurred in 1898. The mother of our subject was 
called to her final rest in the year 1906. 

	John T. Lee, who was a lad of twelve years when he accompanied 
his father and mother on their emigration to the United States, left 
home at the age of thirteen and came to South Dakota in 1869—one year 
prior to the arrival of his parents. During the first winter here he 
lived with a brother in Canton and worked in a sawmill. When his 
parents came to this state he joined them on the home farm and assisted 
his father in the work of the fields until he had attained his 
majority. In 1876 he wedded Miss Christina Nelson, a native of Sweden, 
and after his marriage located on a farm which his brother had 
homesteaded, John T. Lee succeeding to the ownership of the property at 
his brother's death. He extended the boundaries of the place until it 
embraced two hundred and forty acres and continued its operation until 
1891, when he left the farm and took up his abode in Brandon. There he 
was made buyer for the Farmers Association, serving in that capacity 
for six years. On the expiration of that period the Farmers Association 
sold out and Mr. Lee became agent for its successors, remaining with 
his new employers for about six years or until his election to the 
office of county treasurer in 1903. He served in that position for two 
terms or four years and some time after the expiration of his second 
term returned to Brandon. On the organization of the Farmers Elevator 
Company he was made manager, and subsequently, when his son resigned as 
manager of the Bowman Lumber Company, he was offered and accepted the 
management of the latter concern as well. In these connections he has 
manifested excellent executive ability and sound judgment, and his 
efforts are a recognized factor in the continued growth and success of 
the institutions with which he is identified. 

	To Mr. Lee and his first wife were born four children, as 
follows: Edward, who acts as manager for the S. H. Bowman Lumber 
Company at Canton; Anthon, a member of the Frank Hyde Jewelry Company, 
of Sioux Falls; Hannah, who is employed as bookkeeper by the Loonan 
Lumber Company of Sioux Falls; and Albert, an inspector of fruits and 
vegetables at Minneapolis. The wife and mother passed away in 1894, and 
on the 31st of December, 1903, Mr. Lee was again married, his second 
union being with Mrs. Mary Holmes, who was formerly a Miss Hustad and 
is a native of Norway. Mrs. Lee conducts a successful millinery 
establishment in Sioux Falls, her store adjoining the Sioux Falls 
National Bank. 

	For a number of years Mr. Lee has been a factor in the local 
councils of the republican party. He served for twelve years as county 
commissioner of Minnehaha county and in that connection made a most 
commendable and creditable record. Fraternally he is identified with 
the Masons, belonging to the following organizations: Minnehaha Lodge, 
No. 5, A. F. & A. M., of Sioux Falls; Sioux Chapter, R. A. M.; St. 
Croix Commandery, No. 2, K. T.; the Consistory; and the Mystic Shrine. 
He likewise belongs to Lodge No. 262 of the Benevolent Protective Order 
of Elks, while his religious faith is indicated by his membership in 
the Lutheran church, with which his wife is also connected. During the 
long period of his residence in Minnehaha county he has proven himself 
a public-spirited, progressive citizen, a trustworthy business man and 
a stanch friend, and his salient qualities of character justly entitle 
him to the esteem of those who know him.