Frank L. Van Tassel Biography


	This biography appears on pages 172-176 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 L. VAN TASSEL.  

	Between the ages of nine and eleven years - boy that he was - 
Frank L. Van Tassel was teaching writing and in that way partially 
earned the money that paid for his later education. Today he stands as 
one of the foremost business men in the state of South Dakota. He has 
made his home since 1868 in Yankton, where he is secretary and manager 
of the Excelsior Mill Company, president of the First National Bank of 
Yankton and a partner in the ownership and control of many other 
important business enterprises which have been chief factors in the 
growth and development of city and state.  

	Mr. Van Tassel was born in Conneautville, Crawford county, 
Pennsylvania, January 29, 1851. His father, E. B. Van Tassel, was a 
practicing attorney, very prominent in the locality in which he made 
his home. He was born in Mayfield, Chautauqua county, New York, and was 
a representative of an old American family. He wedded Rachel 
Litchfield, who was born in Massachusetts and belonged to one of the 
old and prominent. New England families. Both are now deceased. Their 
son, Frank L. Van Tassel, was the third in order of birth in a family 
of ten children, of whom six are yet living, namely: Mrs. Anna Adella 
Brown, the widow of Dr. W. H. H. Brown, who was a dentist of Los 
Angeles, California; Mina, the wife of Dr. Alva Johnston, of Meadville, 
Pennsylvania; William, a resident of Prescott, Arizona; Harry, who 
makes his home at Moosejaw, Saskatchewan; and Nettie, the wife of James 
Van Summers, of Bath, England.  

	Frank L. Van Tassel, who is the oldest of the surviving members 
of the family, was reared in his native town and when a very young lad 
took writing lessons of Spencer, the originator of the Spencerian 
system. This was during the period of the Civil war. So proficient did 
he become that between the ages of nine and eleven years he taught the 
Spencerian system of penmanship and, saving his money, was thus enabled 
to attend the Meadville Commercial College at Meadville, Pennsylvania, 
for about a year. His fame as a writer had spread and he soon received 
a call from Hummiston's (Cleveland) Institute at Cleveland, Ohio, where 
he was to teach writing in exchange for tuition, board, clothing, etc. 
He there remained from 1866 until June, 1868, when the school was sold 
and Mr. Van Tassel then came to the territory of Dakota, where his 
uncle, Laban H. Litchfield, was filling the position of United States 
marshal. He made his way direct to Yankton, arriving on the 26th of 
June, and soon found employment as a bookkeeper in the pioneer general 
merchandise store owned by the firm of Bramble & Miner. He applied 
himself earnestly to the mastery of the business and proved so 
efficient and capable as a salesman, that he was admitted to a 
partnership in 1876, remaining active in the management and control of 
the store until the firm passed out of existence in 1883 owing to the 
cessation of river traffic.  

	In the meantime Mr. Van Tassel had become interested in other 
enterprises. In 1872, in connection with William Bordens, the firm of 
Bramble & Miner built the Excelsior Mill and in 1875 Mr. Van Tassel was 
made secretary of the company, at which time the business was 
incorporated. This mill from its inception has done a splendid business 
and has been enlarged from time to time to meet the growing demands of 
the trade, becoming one of the foremost productive industries of the 
state. Mr. Van Tassel has been identified with the business since 1872 
and throughout the entire period to the present time has bent his 
energies largely to the further development and upbuilding of the 
trade. He is now a heavy stockholder in the company, of which he is 
secretary and general manager, and in these connections he bends his 
energies to administrative direction and executive control. The 
capacity of the mill is one hundred and seventy-five barrels per day, 
and he was one of the pioneers in advertising and introducing its 
products, making this a means of outfitting concerns for the Black 
Hills country. His recognition of opportunities, his unfaltering 
energy, his unflagging determination and his reliable business methods 
have been the salient features in the upbuilding of a most extensive 
and successful milling enterprise.  

	Not alone, however, has his attention been confined to this line, 
for other interests have felt the stimulus of his activity, have 
profited by his insight and benefited by his control. He has been a 
director of the First National Bank of Yankton for many years and in 
1907 was elected to its presidency, so that he now has important voice 
in its management. In the spring of 1873 he was made the first agent of 
the first railroad in South Dakota — the Dakota Southern — serving in 
that capacity for a short period. In 1906 he became a director in the 
Schwenk-Barth Brewing Company of Yankton, and he is secretary of the 
Yankton Telephone Company, being the promoter of the first company that 
built lines into Sioux Falls, Pierre, Mitchell, Huron, Watertown and 
Yankton. Eventually he sold out the business at a great profit to 
himself and his associates. In 1904 he and his associates organized the 
present Yankton Telephone Company. He was also a director in the first 
artesian well company in the state, and indeed has been a pioneer and 
promoter in many lines of activity which have led to tile present 
development, growth and prosperity of South Dakota.  

	Not alone along individual lines has Mr. Van Tassel put forth his 
efforts, for his labors have been a salient feature in advancing the 
welfare of the state in directions from which he has derived no 
individual profit. For example, he was a member of the board of 
trustees of the State Hospital for the Insane at Yankton, serving under 
Governors Pierce and Church. In politics he has always been a democrat, 
but his interest is merely that of a progressive citizen and not of one 
who seeks office.  

	On the 19th of October, 1875, Mr. Van Tassel was united in 
marriage to Mrs. Sarah Bordens, of Yankton, and they have one daughter, 
Frances, the wife of B. F. Dudley, of Yankton. Mr. Van Tassel and his 
family occupy a prominent social position and he ranks high in Masonry, 
belonging to St. John,s Lodge, No. 1, F. & A. M.; Yankton Chapter, No. 
1, R. A. M., of which he is a past high priest; De Molay Commandery, 
No. 3, K. T., of which he is a past eminent commander; and Oriental 
Consistory, No. 1, A. A. S. R., of which he is the present master of 
Kadosh. He is likewise a member of El Riad Temple of the Nobles of the 
Mystic Shrine at Sioux Falls, and he belongs to the Elks Lodge, No. 
994. He is temperate in all things and there is an even balance in his 
life which has been one of the strong features in his success. He is 
conservative, yet not to the point of blocking progress, and attention 
to business has been one of the strong features in his advancement. He 
has always been willing to assist young men to get a start in life and 
has done real philanthropic work along that line. His efforts have been 
an element in the growth of city, county and state, his influence has 
been far-reaching and beneficial, and the worth of his example is 
widely recognized, for it indicates what may be accomplished when 
determination and laudable ambition lead the way.