Isaac Piles Biography This biography appears on pages 455-456 in "History of Dakota Territory" by George W. Kingsbury, Vol. IV (1915) and was scanned, OCRed and edited by Maurice Krueger, mkrueger@iw.net. This file may be freely copied by individuals and non-profit organizations for their private use. Any other use, including publication, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission by electronic, mechanical, or other means requires the written approval of the file's author. This file is part of the SDGENWEB Archives. If you arrived here inside a frame or from a link from somewhere else, our front door is at http://usgwarchives.org/sd/sdfiles.htm ISAAC PILES. Isaac Piles is a retired merchant of Yankton and president of the Yankton Gas Company. His name long stood as a synonym for business integrity and enterprise in the city in which he resides, for his energy and determination made him ready to meet any emergency and his laudable ambition, guided by honorable principles, carried him forward to success. Every state in the Union has contributed to the citizenship of South Dakota, and Isaac Piles is among those whom Ohio has given to the northwest. He was born in Noble county, on the 15th of January, 1848. He represents an old family of Maryland, his father, James Piles, and his grandfather, Nathaniel Piles, having both been born in that state. James Piles devoted his life to various business pursuits, engaging in farming, merchandising and hotel keeping, continuing active in business up to the time of his ten children--then removed to the middle west, settling in Pottawattamie county, Iowa, where her eldest son, William H. Piles, had entered a large tract of land in 1855. Isaac Piles was a lad of eight summers when the family arrived in Iowa. He was the youngest in a family of ten children, of whom three are yet living, and largely reared in Iowa, he attended the public schools of Council Bluffs and when his school days were over secured a clerkship in a general store, being afterward employed in a similar capacity in a shoe store. Previous to this time he had had other interesting experiences, for in his fifteenth year he crossed the plains to Denver and the mining country, driving a team both to and from Colorado. The year 1873 witnessed his arrival in Yankton and, believing this a good field for commercial activity, he opened a shoe store. Time proved the wisdom of his opinion, for as the years passed his trade grew and his business returned to him a gratifying income. For thirty-eight years he was thus actively connected with commercial interests in Yankton, retiring from business in 1911, with a competency, which he had acquired entirely through his close application and able management. He was one of those who reorganized the Yankton Gas Company, of which he has since been the president and is one of the directors. On the 21st of September, 1873, Mr. Piles was joined in marriage to Miss Florence A. King, a daughter of Robert and Mary Ellen (Gier) King, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Robert King was a soldier in the Civil war and lost his life on the battlefield. Mr. and Mrs. Piles now have an attractive home in Yankton and its good cheer and hospitality have been greatly enjoyed by their many friends. Close application and strict integrity in the conduct of his business affairs were important factors in his continued success, but in more recent years, when there have been periods of recreation, Mr. Piles has spent some time in fishing and in travel, both of which are sources of delight to him. He votes with the democratic party, while not a politician in the usually accepted sense of the term. He has served for two terms as a member of the city council, exercising his official prerogatives in support of various movements for the public good. In Masonry Mr. Piles has attained high rank, belonging to St. John's Lodge, No. 1, A. F. & A. M.; Yankton Chapter, No. 1, R. A. M.; De Molay Commandery, No. 3, K. T.; Oriental Consistory, No. 1, in which he has taken the thirty-second degree; and the K. C. C. H. He is now a past eminent commander of the commandery and has held various other offices in the organization, and in his life exemplifies the beneficent spirit of the craft. For many years he has belonged to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and likewise has membership with the Elks. He served for some years as president of the Commercial Club and made it an effective organization for improving conditions along business and civic lines in Yankton. He is widely known as one of the honored pioneer merchants of southeastern Dakota and one of its most highly esteemed citizens.