Timothy J. Welby Biography


	This biography appears on pages 1005-1007 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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				TIMOTHY J. WELBY. 

	Timothy J. Welby, who is deputy state game warden, has discharged 
his duties ably and conscientiously, vigorously enforcing the law 
protecting game and prosecuting offenders. He has been connected with 
what is now South Dakota since 1867 and has witnessed a change which 
would have been pronounced impossible if it had been predicted a half 
century ago. He was born in County Galway, Ireland, on the 26th of 
March, 1848, a son of Patrick and Catherine (Little) Welby, who died 
while he was still a child. In 1865, when seventeen years of age, he 
emigrated to America with the intention of joining his brothers who 
were located at Louisville, Kentucky. He sailed from Queenstown, 
Ireland, on the ship Iberia, which reached New York after a three 
weeks, voyage. He made his way to Louisville and not long after 
arriving there secured employment on a boat running from that city to 
New Orleans and thence to St. Louis. He worked on steamers plying the 
lower Mississippi and Ohio rivers until he took ship on the Imperial, 
bound for Fort Benton, Montana. While working on that boat he first 
visited the present state of South Dakota. The boat docked south of 
Jefferson near the Big Sioux for a supply of wood and Mr. Welby took 
advantage of this opportunity and went ashore, thus setting foot on 
Dakota soil in the middle of May, 1867. On the return of the boat late 
in the fall it was frozen in the ice at Bon Homme on the 7th of 
November and was abandoned by Captain Smith and the other officers, who 
took all of the money with them, leaving the employees without pay. The 
latter went to Yankton and there filed claims against the boat. The 
federal court decided in their favor and the machinery and bell of the 
steamer were sold, the proceeds being given to the employee in 
satisfaction of their claims. The bell of the Imperial was purchased by 
Judge Brookings, who had it placed on the old capitol building, where 
it remained until the removal of the capital, when Judge Brookings gave 
the bell to Dr. Joseph Ward for use in the academy. He subsequently 
presented the bell to the Central high school, where it is still in 
use. While waiting for the decision of the federal court Mr. Welby and 
others secured board with John Owen, at Bon Homme, paying six dollars a 
week for two meals a day, payment being made after the settlement of 
their claims on the boat. Subsequently Mr. Welby worked for six weeks 
for Jacob Ruefner, receiving only his board for his labor, as work was 
scarce and board expensive during the winter. Later Mr. Welby worked 
for Judge Brookings, being employed in the latter's sawmill six miles 
west of Yankton. In July, 1868, he entered the employ of General J. B. 
S. Todd, with whom he remained for several years. During this time he 
drove the first wagon across the first government bridge over the James 
river which was also the first bridge in the territory. Filing on a 
homestead claim northwest of Mission Hill, he at length took up his 
residence upon that place. In 1876, during the hard times that followed 
the prolonged drought and the grasshopper scourge, he again went to 
work on the river in order to provide for the support of his family. In 
that year he went as far as Standing Rock on the boat, Fontanelle, and 
two years later went with Captain Clark on the Benton as far as Fort 
Sully. He still retained his homestead, however, and when times 
improved gave his entire attention to the cultivation of his land. He 
made many improvements upon his place and as the years passed his 
property increased steadily in value. He continued to follow 
agricultural pursuits until 1903, when he put aside the active labor of 
the fields, but still owns the homestead, which comprises one hundred 
and sixty acres of land, and also holds title to forty acres near Volin 
and a fifteen acre tract along the north bank of the James river, which 
he purchased with soldier's script. In 1909 he was appointed county 
game warden and served in that capacity until 1913 when he was 
appointed deputy state game warden and has proved an excellent man for 
the place. 

	Mr. Welby was married in Yankton, by Joseph Ward, at the 
residence of General Todd, on the 15th of January, 1870, to Miss 
Caroline Hanson. She was born about sixty miles from Christiania, 
Norway, and remained in her native land until 1867, when she sailed 
from Christiania for America on the ship, Noah, which arrived at 
Quebec, Canada, after a voyage of seven weeks. She made her way to La 
Crosse, Wisconsin, where there was a Norwegian colony, and the 
following year joined a party bound for Yankton county, Dakota 
territory, under the leadership of Iver Bagstad. Their transportation, 
which amounted to eighteen dollars, was to be paid after it had been 
earned by labor on reaching Dakota. The journey was made with ox-teams 
and the progress was so slow that Mrs. Welby and most of the other 
young people walked the greater part of the way by preference, although 
they had bound themselves to pay for riding. To Mr. and Mrs. Welby have 
been born the following children. Mattie is the wife of Sampson 
Erickson, who is farming two miles west of Gayville. James is farming 
land which he owns adjoining the homestead Harry is a painter and 
decorator of Yankton. Tillie gave her hand in marriage to E. V. Cowman, 
a merchant of Gayville, also serving as postmaster. Alma is now the 
wife of Clyde McPeake and resides in Spencer, Iowa. Mark is engaged in 
agricultural pursuits and resides three miles west of Gayville. Mary is 
the wife of Ambrose Means, of New York, a noted African traveler and 
hunter and a well known writer. Mrs. Means accompanies her husband on 
some of his journeys. Emmet is farming the homestead. Mr. Welby is a 
member of the Congregational church at Mission Hill, although now a 
resident of Yankton. His wife belongs to the Methodist Episcopal church 
of Yankton. 

	Mr. Welby is a stalwart republican and in all matters where the 
interests of the community are involved and where public improvements 
are under consideration he manifests a sincere devotion to the general 
welfare, subordinating his private affairs to the advancement of his 
city and county. He has unbounded faith in the development of South 
Dakota and takes justifiable pride in the fact that he had a part in 
laying the foundation for her present and future greatness. 

	When Mr. Welby first came to this state Sioux City was the 
western outpost of civilization and all beyond was wilderness. At one 
point above Fort Thompson the steamer Imperial, on which he was 
employed, was stopped in midchannel to allow a herd of buffalo, 
crossing the river, to pass on. Although the boat could have forced its 
way through them, the paddles of its wheels might have been broken off 
in so doing. The Indians at that time were so hostile that they 
frequently fired at passing boats and the pilot house was usually 
encased in boiler iron to protect the helmsman. The few white men who 
ventured into the territory were obliged to rely upon themselves for 
everything and if one was injured the only medical or surgical 
assistance which could be given him was that which his fellows were 
capable of rendering. On one occasion a man on the boat had his leg 
broken and badly mashed and, as it was imperative that it be amputated, 
the steward performed the operation with a meat saw from the kitchen 
and the man soon recovered. On the return trip down the river there 
were many passengers, most of them miners with stores of gold, and 
before civilization was reached the meat supply ran short. While 
crossing a bar two passengers asked permission to go ashore to try and 
kill some game, but about three-quarters of all hour after leaving the 
boat one of the men came running and shouting to the river and jumped 
in, remaining there with only his face showing until he was taken 
aboard a yawl sent to his rescue from the boat. He told them they had 
shot an antelope and the shots attracted Indians who succeeded in 
shooting the other man with arrows. On the captain being assured the 
other man was killed, he tied up to the opposite bank to prevent a 
surprise attack at night and the next day. 

	A party went ashore to investigate and found the mutilated body. 
The Indians had removed the man's scalp, his eyebrows and his tongue 
and the body was as full of arrows as it was possible to stick them. 
The antelope had been left by the Indians, but the white men feared to 
eat it, as they thought the Indians might have poisoned it. There were 
many severe storms during the early part of Mr. Welby's residence in 
the territory and there was one memorable hail storm which lasted for 
two hours and covered the prairie with hailstones to a depth of twelve 
inches. In 1876 the grasshoppers destroyed all of the crops and in 
other years did great damage and there were also a number of bad 
droughts which caused great loss to the settlers. On the 12th of 
January, 1888, occurred the worst blizzard in the experience of the 
white settlers in Dakota, but Mr. Welby braved the storm to take food 
and hot coffee to the children, who were of necessity detained at 
school. In company with his neighbor, Torger Nelsen, he made a second 
trip to the school and they nearly missed the building, so blinding was 
the storm. They had passed it when they heard voices which guided them 
to the school in safety. The two men took their children with them on 
returning from the second trip and all remained at the Welby home 
during the night. During the first years of her residence in Dakota 
Mrs. Welby walked to Yankton to market her butter, for which she 
received from five to seven cents a pound. At the same time corn 
brought only eleven cents a bushel. It was difficult to secure coffee 
and, moreover, it was very expensive, and Mr. and Mrs. Welby at times 
made a substitute for it from parched potato cakes ground and steeped. 
Mr. Welby recalls with pleasure that he drove the team the Christmas 
morning that General Todd called for E. Miner and Dr. Ward and told 
them he was going to present six lots to the Congregational church and 
for them to select the property. 

	Mr. Welby had revisited his old home land, making a trip to 
Ireland in 1882, and in 1902 he and his wife went to Norway and visited 
the scenes of her girlhood. One of the relics of her native land which 
she prizes highly is a spinning wheel which she inherited from her 
grandmother and which, in all probability, had been in the family for 
many generations before it came into the possession of the latter. It 
is still in perfect condition and Mrs. Welby still uses it. She has a 
dress which is well preserved that she spun, dyed and wove when a girl 
living in Norway.