O. S. Basford Biography


	This biography appears on pages 929-930 in "History of Dakota 
	Territory" by George W. Kingsbury, Vol. V (1915) and was 
	scanned, OCRed and edited by Maurice Krueger, mkrueger@iw.net.

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				O. S. BASFORD. 

	O. S. Basford, who has been a resident of South Dakota nearly 
continuously for a period of thirty-five years, is at the present 
president of the Provident Insurance Company, of Bismarck, North 
Dakota. When he left to take his present position he resigned the 
office of secretary and manager of the Interstate Surety Company, of 
Redfield, South Dakota, in January, 1915, after having served that 
company from the date of his resignation as commissioner of insurance, 
on September 1, 1913. Since starting out in life on his own account he 
has made immediate and wise use of the opportunities which have come to 
him and thus has continuously advanced not only in a business way but 
in public connections until he was regarded as one of the political 
leaders and public-spirited citizens of South Dakota. New England 
numbers him among her native sons, his birth having occurred at 
Shelburne, Vermont, on the 29th of August, 1848, his parents being 
Samuel and Henrietta (Kingsbury) Basford. The ancestry is traced back 
to Wales, from which country the first representatives of the Basfords 
came in the beginning of the eighteenth century. These were four 
brothers, who made the long voyage across the Atlantic in a sailing 
ship arriving in New York. Samuel Basford, the father of O. S. Basford, 
was a ship carpenter, who, living for many years at Shelburne, Vermont, 
there passed away in 1878 at the age of sixty years and was laid to 
rest at that place. His wife survived him until she reached the age of 
seventy-nine and her grave was made in the cemetery at Crandon, South 
Dakota. 

	O. S. Basford acquired his education in the University of 
Vermont, which he attended from 1872 to 1875. He then entered the 
ministry of the Methodist Episcopal church, with which he was connected 
for fifteen years. In 1880 he and his four brothers took up twenty 
seven hundred acres of government land, which is today worth more than 
eighty dollars per acre. Turning his attention to agricultural 
pursuits, he continued to engage in farming in South Dakota until 1895, 
and from 1891 to 1895 he was also postmaster at Redfield, South Dakota. 
In 1894 he became chairman of the republican state committee and 
continued in that connection until he went to Missouri to resume active 
work in the ministry. He was also interested in the national committee 
of his party and has worked intelligently and effectively to secure the 
adoption of its principles. To further the cause as well as to advance 
his individual interests along business lines, he purchased the 
Redfield Press, with which he is still connected as associate editor 
and as a director. He is a progressive republican and in connection 
with newspaper publication was very active in advancing the progressive 
movement. A recognition of his ability led to his selection for the 
office of state commissioner of insurance and he served in that 
capacity from the 1st of February, 1907, until the 1st of September, 
1913. 

	In Franklin county in 1871, Mr. Basford was united in marriage to 
Miss Minnie M. Blake, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. George Blake, 
representatives of a prominent Vermont family. Mr. and Mrs. Basford 
have become parents of four living children. William B. resides in 
Tacoma, Washington. Carrie A. Barr resigned the position of 
stenographer, August 15, 1915. Delta B., the widow of George Fox, who 
was buried at Chickasha, Oklahoma, was united in marriage to S. E. 
Crans in August, 1915, and now resides at Lead, South Dakota. Harry B. 
lives in Duluth, Minnesota. 

	Mr. Basford is a blue lodge Mason and a member of the Knights of 
Pythias, but is most active in fraternal circles in connection with the 
Odd Fellows, having been grand master of the state and also grand 
representative of South Dakota in the Sovereign Grand Lodge for two 
sessions. Nature has fitted him for leadership and whenever the cause 
elicits his interest and cooperation he is sure to become active 
therewith and a moving force in shaping its policy. He has clear 
insight and keen sagacity and his vision of life is no narrow or 
contracted one, for he studies every vital question and goes to the 
very root of the matter. Thus it is that he has attained prominence in 
business and fraternal circles and in the field of political, moral, 
intellectual and social development.