Frank Risling Biography


	This biography appears on pages 98-99 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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				FRANK RISLING.  

	The story of pioneer life in South Dakota and the west is 
familiar to Frank Risling, for he has experienced the hardships and 
privations incident to life on the frontier and also knows the 
pleasures of close comradeship which is fostered when men are isolated 
from the great majority of their fellows. The tales of fiction present 
no more thrilling stories than the experiences of the frontiersman.  

	Frank Risling was born on the old homestead on section 8, Yankton 
precinct, in Yankton county, June 5, 1869. His father, Philip Henry 
Risling, had come to South Dakota in June, 1862, and found work in Bon 
Homme county, where he was employed through the summer. In the fall he 
went to Yankton, where had been builded a stockade for protection of 
the settlers from Indian attack, for the red men were frequently quite 
hostile, resenting the encroachment of the white race upon-their 
hunting grounds. In the fall of 1862 Philip H. Risling secured the farm 
upon which his son now resides. He purchased a relinquishment and filed 
under the homestead law and afterwards took a preemption claim near 
Volin Later he increased his holdings by securing another place north 
of Mission Hill. He was born in Bedford county, Pennsylvania, and there 
learned the weaver's trade. When his father purchased woolen mills he 
took charge of them and remained in that section of the country until 
some years after he had attained his majority. Removing to the west, he 
made his way to Fort Dodge, Iowa, and there made his headquarters while 
seeking a place to locate. He afterward went with a party to Spirit 
Lake, where he secured land that is now within the city limits. He 
built on low ground and suffered severely with fever and ague. His 
health became so impaired that he decided to join his family in Fort 
Dodge and, as he could not secure a team to drive, he had to walk two 
hundred miles. A friend by the name of Matherson remarked, "I'll never 
see you again." Mr. Risling replied, however, "I will see you," which 
he did, for on his return he helped to bury his friend. The little 
colony of Spirit Lake was wiped out by the Indians, and had not Mr. 
Risling gone back to Fort Dodge, he too would have been a victim of the 
massacre. Continuing to suffer from malaria he at length abandoned his 
farm and, as previously stated, came to Dakota territory in June, 1862. 
Here the family experienced all of the hardships and privations 
incident to settlement upon the frontier and bore a helpful part in the 
work of general development and improvement leading to the present-day 
progress and prosperity of the county. Philip H. Risling was united in 
marriage to Miss Elmira Oldham, also a native of Pennsylvania. He died 
in the year 1893, at the age of sixty-eight, while his wife survived 
until March 12, 1913. Of their ten children the five eldest - Truman, 
Loretta, Mary, Florence and Juliette, are all now deceased. Those 
living are: George, who resides upon a farm near Mission Hill; Frank, 
living upon the old homestead; Nellie, who makes her home with her 
brother Frank; Dan, who also occupies a part of the old homestead; and 
Lucinda, the wife of William Harts, of St. Helena, Nebraska.  

	Born upon the old homestead farm, Frank Risling there remained 
until 1892, when he filed on a claim in Lyman county, where he resided 
for about thirteen years. He then returned home and has since had 
charge of the farm, caring for his mother until her demise. He was born 
in a log house such as was common in those early days, for the family 
lived near enough the timber to obtain the necessary logs with which to 
build. The family has undergone every experience of pioneer life in the 
west. At Spirit Lake they were at times compelled to grind wheat and 
corn in a coffee mill in order to secure breadstuffs. After coming to 
Dakota the grasshoppers destroyed their crops for two or three years 
during the '70s, and during the flood of March and April, 1881, the 
water covered their farm and stood five feet deep above the floor in 
their dwelling. They had to vacate the house and to live for two weeks 
with the Hefler family, near-by neighbors, whose home stood on higher 
ground. The memorable blizzard of January, 1888, found most of the men 
of the family away from home, the father and his son, Frank Risling, 
working in the timber, while another son was in town when the storm 
broke, but all made their way home through the blinding snow in safety. 
Deer and antelope were plentiful when the family arrived in Dakota in 
1862. Timber wolves were also numerous and destructive and a few are 
still trapped in the timber along the river. Within the remembrance of 
Frank Risling a buffalo was killed in the Bohemian settlement. Indians 
passed up and down the river during his boyhood days and at times 
begged bread but never stole. His father always fed them, never turning 
anyone away from his door hungry As the years passed on, all these 
conditions changed, giving way before an advancing civilization until 
today the county bears semblance to any peaceful farming community and 
its well cultivated fields are equal to those found in other sections 
of the country, while the improvements upon the farms are monuments to 
the progressive spirit and prosperity of the owners. Frank Risling is a 
member of the Odd Fellows society and in politics is independent, 
preferring to cast his ballot as his judgment dictates without regard 
to party affiliation. He is today one of the well known agriculturists 
of Yankton county and can speak with authority upon many phases of its 
pioneer history.