John E. Chase Biography


	This biography appears on pages 281-282 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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				JOHN E. CHASE. 

	John E. Chase is a man of marked energy, industry and enterprise—
a typical business man of the northwest, possessing in large measure 
the qualities which have brought about the present development and 
prosperity of South Dakota. He today owns a valuable farm of seven 
hundred and twenty acres in Jefferson township, Spink county, and 
thirteen hundred and twenty acres in Hughes county. Upon the former 
place he resides, bending his energies to the further cultivation of 
that farm and to stock raising. In his vocabulary there is no such word 
as fail and throughout his entire career when he has met obstacles and 
difficulties they have seemed not to discourage him but have rather 
become an impetus for renewed and further effort on his part. 

	Mr. Chase is of English lineage, although the family was 
established in America prior to the Revolutionary war, the first 
representatives of the family in America taking up their abode in 
Vermont. John E. Chase was born in Bristol, Wisconsin, on the 1st of 
May, 1869, a son of Willis and Mary Jane (Weed) Chase. The father 
followed carpentering in the Badger state and also carried on farming 
in connection with carpentering after his removal to South Dakota, 
which occurred in 1880. In the meantime the family had lived for a time 
in the little town of Chaseburg, Wisconsin, which was named in their 
honor. During the Civil war the father responded to the country's call 
for troops, participated in a number of hotly contested engagements and 
won promotion to the rank of corporal. He made a creditable military 
record and throughout his entire life was most loyal to the best 
interests of his country, the spirit of patriotism being strong within 
him. He died in April, 1902, at the age of sixty-five years and his 
wife passed away in 1893 when fifty-two years of age. They were laid to 
rest in the cemetery at Ashton, South Dakota, and many friends mourned 
their loss. 

	John E. Chase was a little lad of eleven summers when the family 
left Wisconsin and came to this state. He attended the country schools, 
but is largely a self-educated as well as a self-made man, having never 
been able to attend school since the age of sixteen years and previous 
to that time often attending only through the winter seasons. When he 
left school he devoted all of his time and attention to the task of 
assisting his father upon the farm, on which Willis Chase had filed in 
1879. Mr. Chase of this review inherited only one hundred and sixty 
acres and the remainder of his property he has acquired through his own 
efforts, increasing his holdings by degrees until he is today one of 
the largest landowners in his section of the state, his possessions 
aggregating more than two thousand acres. His home property is a 
splendid farm of seven hundred and twenty acres, much of which is 
highly cultivated. He raises all the various crops adapted to soil and 
climate and he is also extensively and successfully engaged in stock-
raising, keeping on hand as many as one hundred and ninety head of 
cattle, eighty head of hogs and a large amount of other stock. His 
annual sales return to him a gratifying income and his business methods 
are in keeping with the most progressive ideas. He cultivates 
altogether about nine hundred acres and is numbered among the most 
prosperous residents of his part of the state, a position to which he 
has attained entirely through his own ability. 

	In Aberdeen, South Dakota, on the 12th of May, 1903, Mr. Chase 
was united in marriage to Miss Lizzie Sherman, a daughter of Valentine 
Sherman. Her father was one of the early settlers in the vicinity of 
Mitchell, South Dakota, and took an active and helpful part in 
improving that section of the state. Both he and his wife spent their 
last days in the home of Mr. and Mrs. Chase and when called to their 
final rest their remains were interred in the Mitchell cemetery. 

	Three children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Chase—Jane, Willis 
and Catherine. Their home is a beautiful residence, which was erected 
by Mr. Chase—one of the most attractive and modern farm dwellings in 
not only Spink but also adjoining counties. He has made a great many 
improvements upon his property and in fact, none of the accessories and 
conveniences of a model farm of the twentieth century are lacking. He 
uses the latest improved machinery, employs scientific methods in 
tilling his fields and in raising his stock and has learned to use time 
and material to the best possible advantage—which is the secret of all 
success. In politics he is an earnest republican and has been nominated 
for the office of county commissioner, while at the present time he is 
serving for the second term as township treasurer. His record in office 
is unassailable, being characterized by the utmost fidelity to duty. 
Mr. Chase belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, but 
concentrates his energies mainly upon his business affairs. He has 
never been remiss in the duties of citizenship and in furthering public 
progress his aid has been of a most practical and resultant character. 
Close application and indefatigable energy, intelligently directed, 
have been the means of bringing him to the present prominent position 
which he occupies as one of the foremost citizens and successful 
business men of this state.