Arthur Henry Tufts, M. D. Biography


	This biography appears on pages 775-776 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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				ARTHUR HENRY TUFTS, M. D. 

	An eminent physician and surgeon and able educator in the field 
of his profession and a man of broad humanitarian principles, Dr. 
Arthur Henry Tufts has throughout the period of his residence in Sioux 
Falls occupied a central place on the stage of public activity. His 
professional interests indicate but one line of his broad usefulness, 
for aside from that his efforts have been a forceful and beneficial 
influence in promoting the intellectual and moral progress of Sioux 
Falls. 

	A native of Vermont, Dr. Tufts was born in Wardsboro on the 14th 
of January, 1856, a son of John and Desdemona Sophia (Barber) Tufts. 
The family comes of Scotch-Irish and English lineage and the ancestral 
record dates back to the eleventh century. The progenitor of the Tufts 
family on American soil was John Tufts, who came from County Down, 
Ireland, and arrived in the new world in the early part of the 
eighteenth century and settled at West Brookfield, Massachusetts, where 
the home which he erected in 1734 is still standing. During the early 
childhood of Arthur Henry Tufts his parents removed westward to 
Geneseo, Illinois, where he pursued a high-school course and afterward 
continued his studies in Grinnell College at Grinnell, Iowa. Having 
determined upon the practice of medicine as a life work, he entered the 
College of Physicians and Surgeons at Baltimore, Maryland, and 
afterward matriculated in the medical department of the College of the 
City of New York, from which he was graduated with the class of 1883. 
In that year he located for practice in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, 
where he has since continuously remained, covering a period of more 
than three decades, enjoying well merited success as an active 
representative of his profession and winning high reputation as one of 
the most able and skilled physicians of the state. In 1887 he entered 
into partnership with Dr. S. A. Brown, of Sioux Falls, in a connection 
that has since been maintained uninterruptedly -a partnership wholly 
congenial and of mutual benefit. The firm is one of the most prominent 
in the state, their high standing being attested by the regard 
entertained for them by their professional brethren. Dr. Tufts has been 
chosen for both city health officer and county health officer, ably 
serving in the former position for eight years. An extensive practice 
has been accorded him and he is regarded as the most careful and 
conscientious physician, seldom, if ever, at fault in the diagnosis of 
his cases or in anticipating the outcome of disease Broad reading and 
investigation have kept him in touch with the most modern scientific 
ideas and methods and he manifests intense interest in anything that 
tends to bring to man the key to the complex mystery which we call 
life. His broad humanitarianism, too, is an element in his constantly 
growing success, for his interest in his fellow men is deep and sincere 
and along various lines he is continuously reaching out a helping hand. 

	At Grafton, Vermont, Dr. Tufts was united in marriage to Miss 
Harriet Lemira Deane, a daughter of Benjamin F. Deane. Their children 
are: Marion D., a teacher in the public schools of Sioux Falls; and 
Helen A., a teacher in the All Saints school. Both are graduates of the 
University of Wisconsin. 

	Dr. Tufts gives his political allegiance to the republican party 
and always keeps well informed on the significant problems and 
questions of the day, yet the only offices he has filled have been in 
the strict path of his profession. For twenty years he served as 
secretary of the board of pension examiners, being first appointed as 
the republican representative on the board by President Grover 
Cleveland. He continued in that position until the Wilson 
administration, when his connection with the board ceased. His work was 
most efficient and his services highly satisfactory. In Masonic 
circles, too, Dr. Tufts is a man of influence, his activities 
constituting a strong element in the upbuilding of the organization in 
his section of the state. He holds membership in Unity Lodge, No. 130, 
A. F. & A. M., of which he was the first secretary. This was the last 
created of the Masonic lodges in Sioux Falls, but is now the largest in 
point of membership in the state. His partner, Dr. Brown, was really 
the prime factor in organizing this lodge and both he and Dr. Tufts 
have been most active in advancing its interests. The latter was senior 
warden for one term, was master for one term and for one term was 
treasurer. With the exception of the period spent in those offices, he 
has continuously served as secretary since the lodge was created. He 
has attained the Knights Templar degree in the commandery, the thirty-
second degree in the Scottish Rite and has crossed the sands of the 
desert with the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. His social nature finds 
expression in his connection with the Country Club, of which he is a 
popular member. Among his chief activities should be mentioned his work 
for the advancement of the cause of temperance and the upbuilding of 
the church. He is a stalwart advocate of temperance both by precept and 
example, for he has never tasted liquor of any kind nor has he ever 
used tobacco. A member of the Congregational church, he has been a 
cooperant factor in every effort for moral progress and social uplift 
in his community. He has held all of the offices in the church, 
including that of deacon, and was chairman of the board of trustees 
when the present house of worship was erected. In the Young Men's 
Christian Association of Sioux Falls he has long been an earnest 
worker. The first meeting called to organize the association was held 
in his office and he was chosen its first president. 

	When the Sioux Falls College, a Baptist school, was organized in 
1883 Dr. Tufts became professor of physiology and natural history of 
that institution and so continued until 1886, when his growing general 
practice forced him to withdraw from college work. His life has indeed 
been one of widespread usefulness. He has studied existing conditions 
and the signs of the times, has recognized the opportunities for 
progress and has employed most practical methods in working toward high 
ideals. Association with Dr. Tufts means expansion and elevation.