Tom Stapleton Biography


	This biography appears on pages 598-599 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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				TOM STAPLETON. 

	Tom Stapleton, who holds a prominent position in the affairs of 
Minnehaha county, is president of the Farmers Elevator Company of 
Ellis, and one of the most extensive landowners in this section of the 
state. His birth occurred in St. Stephens, Cornwall, England, on the 
24th of July, 1849, and his parents were William and Mary Ann 
(Pengelley) Stapleton, both natives of the same county, where their 
entire lives were spent. The father was a blacksmith and taught his son 
the trade. The latter was reared under the parental roof and acquired a 
limited education in the common schools. 

	In 1871, when a young man of about twenty-two, Mr. Stapleton 
crossed the Atlantic to Canada where, however, he spent only about 
three months. Upon leaving Coburg, Ontario, he came to the States, 
locating in Shullsburg, Wisconsin, where he opened a blacksmith shop 
and followed his trade for ten years. In 1881 he removed to South 
Dakota, settling in Minnehaha county and engaging in farming. He had 
purchased a farm in Split Rock township as far back as 1874, when he 
drove through from Le Mars, Iowa, being favorably impressed with the 
opportunities offered in that county. However, he never resided upon 
that farm and subsequently sold it. Upon settling in Minnehaha county, 
he first located in Benton township, where he resided until 1906, and 
then removed to Sioux Falls, where he has since made his home. He 
proved a most successful farmer and as his resources increased he 
invested in more land until he is now the owner of twelve hundred and 
eighty acres of land, all situated in Benton township with the 
exception of a quarter section in Wayne township. He is also a business 
man of no mean ability and organized the Farmers Elevator Company of 
Ellis, serving as its president since its organization in 1903. 

	Mr. Stapleton was married in 1877 at Galena, Illinois, to Miss 
Elizabeth Ann Tothill, of Shullsburg, Wisconsin, and they have become 
the parents of five children, four of whom survive, as follows: William 
M., who is engaged in farming on the old homestead; Benjamin T., a 
contractor and builder of Portland, Oregon; Glen T., a resident of 
Gaston, Oregon, where he is engaged in banking; and Orra Belle, at 
home, librarian of Carnegie Library at Sioux Falls. Mrs. Stapleton is a 
consistent member of the Methodist Episcopal church and takes an active 
part in the work of that organization. 

	Mr. Stapleton is a stanch republican in polities. While living in 
Benton township he served as clerk of the school board for twenty-two 
years, and as township treasurer for twenty years. He is a member of 
Minnehaha Lodge, A. F. & A. M.; and of Sioux Falls Lodge, No. 262, B. 
P. O. E. He has done much to further the agricultural development of 
the county and in a business way has been a force in the commercial 
life of Sioux Falls, while his unswerving integrity has commended him 
to the respect of all who know him.