John T. Milek Biography


	This biography appears on pages 465-466 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. MILEK. 

	John T. Milek, lawyer and editor, engaged in the practice of law 
at Sturgis, and since the 1st of January, 1915, sole owner of the Black 
Hills Press, was born at Yutan, Nebraska, February 28, 1880, a son of 
Frederick William and Margaret (Curran) Milek, the former a native of 
Germany, while the latter was born in New York, of Irish parentage In 
early life the father learned the blacksmith's trade, which he has 
since followed. In 1878 he went to Nebraska, where he met and married 
Margaret Curran, who had gone to that state with her parents in 1865. 
They removed to Sturgis in 1895 and there the father engaged in 
blacksmithing until 1915, when he retired to enjoy the fruits of his 
former toil. His has been an active and well spent life, attended with 
substantial financial results. While living in Nebraska he served as 
postmaster under President Cleveland. 

	John T. Milek is the eldest in a family of thirteen children, of 
whom twelve are yet living. He attended the public schools in western 
Nebraska, the public schools of Sturgis, the Methodist Episcopal 
College at Hot Springs, South Dakota, and the University of Nebraska, 
from which he was graduated with the class of 1904, having completed 
courses in both the law and academic departments. He was seventeen 
years of age when he began working for others and thoroughly utilized 
such opportunities as he could secure to further his education. 
Notwithstanding the fact that he provided for the expenses of his 
education and that he started with but fifteen dollars in his pocket he 
finished with one hundred dollars. Indolence and idleness are utterly 
foreign to his nature and his unfaltering diligence enabled him to earn 
and save money where others would have thought that they had no time 
for anything outside of study. Mr. Milek, however, kept up with his 
classes and after his graduation he accepted the position of physical 
director in the high school at Lead and also began the practice of law. 
After eighteen months he resigned to become states attorney of Meade 
county, which position he acceptably filled for four years. He then 
engaged in the practice of law in Sturgis and in 1910 became the owner 
of an eight hundred acre ranch, on which he has registered dairy 
cattle, making a specialty of Holsteins. On the 1st of January, 1915, 
he became sole owner of the Black Hills Press, a weekly newspaper 
published at Sturgis, but he devotes the greater part of his attention 
to his law practice, spending his evenings in editing his paper. 

	In September, 1910, Mr. Milek was united in marriage to Miss 
Agnes Poss, who was born in Sturgis, a daughter of John and Elizabeth 
(Haitbrink) Poss, both of whom were natives of Germany and became 
pioneer settlers of the Black Hills country. The father was a shoemaker 
by trade and still engages in that business in Sturgis. To Mr. and Mrs. 
Milek has been born a daughter, Julia Elizabeth, now three years of 
age. The parents are members of the Roman Catholic church. 

	In politics Mr. Milek is a democrat, giving unfaltering 
allegiance to the principles of the party. He served as states attorney 
of Meade county for four years and was a member of the city school 
board of Sturgis for three years. His military record covers service as 
captain in the National Guard of South Dakota, which he joined as a 
private but in which he was advanced to the command of his company.