Ralph Cowles Biography


	This biography appears on pages 210-213 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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				RALPH COWLES. 

	There is nothing spectacular in the record of a farmer who has 
devoted his life always to the tilling of the soil, but more than a 
century ago George Washington said that "agriculture is the most useful 
as well as the most honorable occupation of man", and this truth stands 
today. Among those who are taking advantage of the excellent 
opportunities for agricultural activity in South Dakota is Ralph 
Cowles, who owns a farm of three hundred and twenty acres on section 9, 
Mellette township, Spink county Thirty-five years have come and gone 
since he arrived in this state in the spring of 1879. He is today the 
oldest resident in Spink county in years of continuous connection 
therewith and before his arrival in South Dakota he had made his home 
in the middle west, living in Winona, Minnesota. 

	Mr. Cowles was born near Ashtabula, Ohio, on the 4th of March, 
1836, and has, therefore, passed the seventy-ninth milestone on life's 
journey. His parents were Joel G. and Sallie (Hotchkiss) Cowles. The 
Cowles family is of English origin and the ancestry is traced back to 
John Cowles who came to the new world on the Mayflower and was among 
the Puritans who settled in Massachusetts. Ralph Cowles is a direct 
descendant of the sixth son of John Cowles and is the eighth in the 
family of eleven children who were born to Joel G. and Sallie 
(Hotchkiss) Cowles. The father was a native of New England and removed 
from Connecticut to Ohio, becoming one of the early settlers of that 
state, where he followed farming. In old age he went to Baraboo, 
Wisconsin, where he died in 1868, at the age of seventy-nine years. His 
wife survived until 1870, passing away at the age of seventy-five 
years, and both were interred in a cemetery at Baraboo. 

	At the usual age Ralph Cowles began his education, entering the 
public schools of Geneva, Ohio, where he continued his studies until he 
reached the age of twenty years. He afterward accompanied his parents 
on their removal to Baraboo, Wisconsin, and started to earn his own 
living by working as a farm hand. He was ambitious to engage in farming 
on his own account, however, and soon rented land, but in the spring of 
1862 he put aside all business and personal considerations in order to 
espouse the cause of the Union, enlisting as a member of Company F, 
Twenty-third Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry. He remained with that 
regiment until honorably discharged on account of disability in the 
spring of 1863. His health had become so seriously impaired that for 
two years thereafter he was under the physician's care and was unable 
to do any work. 

	In 1865 Mr. Cowles removed to Martin county, Minnesota, where he 
secured a homestead claim, which he improved and developed, residing 
thereon for eleven years. He then returned to Winona county, Minnesota, 
where he lived until coming to South Dakota in the spring of 1879, at 
which time he settled upon the tract of land that constitutes his 
present well improved farm. He was, indeed, a pioneer of this section. 
Hardly a settlement had been made in all this part of the state. The 
great broad prairies were just as they had come from the hand of 
nature, covered with their long grasses, starred with a million wild 
flowers in the months of June, but in midwinter covered with a dense 
and unbroken sheet of snow. Far remote from civilization seemed the 
little home of Ralph Cowles, who found it necessary to go clear to 
Watertown, a distance of eighty-five miles, for his mail, while along 
the Jim river at that time there lived only three families. Mr. Cowles 
improved his entire farm, carrying on general agricultural pursuits, 
and he made a success in his undertakings. He continued active in 
business until 1900, when he put aside the more arduous work of the 
farm and retired. He still owns his property of three hundred and 
twenty acres, situated on section 9, Mellette township, Spink county, 
and he likewise owns a residence in the town of Mellette and another 
fine home on the lake in Ashtabula, Ohio. 

	In 1860 occurred the marriage of Mr. Cowles and Miss Susan A. 
Chase, who died in May, 1883 Their children were as follows: Ida 
Luella, deceased; Howard H., who has passed away and was laid to rest 
in Martin county, Minnesota; Bertha, the wife of D. C. Baker, a farmer 
residing at Chance, South Dakota; Arthur B., deceased; Leona, the wife 
of Z. Knapp, living at Dawson, North Dakota; Clarence, a resident 
farmer of Rondell township, Brown county, with land also in Mellette 
township, Spink county; Charles R., who died and was buried in Winona 
county, Minnesota; Elmer, who is farming the old homestead; Walter G., 
a farmer of Mellette township, Spink county; and Susan M., who at her 
death was laid to rest in Rondell township, Brown county. After the 
death of his first wife Mr. Cowles was again married, his second union 
being in 1884 with Mrs. Bassinger of Baraboo, Wisconsin, whose maiden 
name was Julia A. Kellog. She died and was buried in the Rondell 
cemetery. For his third wife Mr. Cowles in 1896 chose Mrs. Eliza A. 
Crawford, who departed this life on the 16th of August, 1913, and was 
buried at Northville, South Dakota. 

	In politics Mr. Cowles has always been a stalwart republican 
since the organization of the party and was the second county 
commissioner of the state. He holds membership with the Grand Army of 
the Republic and his belief in the teachings of the Congregational 
church, of which he has long been a devoted member, has been a guiding 
element in his life. There is no man better qualified to speak with 
authority concerning early events in tile history of Spink county and 
this part of the state than Ralph Cowles, who for thirty six years has 
here resided, witnessing all the changes which have occurred and taking 
part in many plans for the upbuilding and development of the community. 
Drifting Goose and his tribe still made their camp at the place now 
known as "The Island" or "Armourdale," which is near Mr. Cowles 
homestead. This chief and his squaw frequently ate with Mr. Cowles in 
the latter's dugout, and all the Indians were friendly with him. Now 
there is no indication of this having been the habitation of the red 
men because the entire district is settled up by a prosperous and 
contented people. Work-earnest, persistent work-has been the basis upon 
which he has built his success, enabling him now to live retired. 

	His son Elmer E. Cowles, now occupying and operating the old 
homestead, married Miss Margaret Bruns, a daughter of Henry and Helen 
(Frels) Bruns, and they have two daughters and a son, Bernice H., Verna 
M. and Ralph H. Elmer E. Cowles built an elevator for his father at 
Mellette for his own use. Like his father, he has led a busy and useful 
life and ranks with the leading agriculturists of his part of the 
state.