Miss Demah Dillehe Biography


	This biography appears on page 99 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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				MISS DEMAH DILLEHE. 

	Miss Demah Dillehe is county superintendent of schools in Meade 
county and probably the youngest to fill such a position in the state. 
She was born in a log cabin in Boulder Park, about five miles southeast 
of Deadwood, a daughter of Andrew and Ausna (Botne) Dillehe. The 
father's birth occurred in Kansas in 1858 and the mother was born in 
Norway, February 26, 1868. He came to the Hills about the year 1877, 
his parents conducting a hotel at Old Crook City. He assisted them in 
that business but later became a sawyer by trade and was thus engaged 
up to the time of his death. He was killed by the explosion of a boiler 
in the mill in which he was employed. He made his home upon a timber 
claim near Deadwood and he was closely associated with the early 
development of that region. His widow became the wife of Jesse Cox and 
now resides at Tilford, Meade county. Mr. Cox, now a ranchman, was 
formerly the owner of extensive sawmill interests and also has large 
land holdings. There were three children of the first marriage: Edwin, 
who resides with his mother and follows the occupation of farming; 
Demah, of this review; and Drucy, assistant county superintendent. 

	The elder daughter attended school at Tilford until she reached 
the eighth grade. She afterward became a student in Lead, where she 
pursued her studies until graduated from the high school with the class 
of 1907. She took post-graduate work at the State Normal in the years 
1908 and 1909 and has devoted her attention to education since that 
time. She has the first life diploma recorded in Meade county. She 
accepted a position as teacher in the schools of Whitewood, where she 
remained for two years and then was at Hill City as principal for one 
year. At the end of that time she became a candidate for the office of 
county superintendent of schools and was elected in 1912, taking the 
office on the 1st of January, 1913. She was reelected in 1914 with a 
large majority. She is one of the youngest, if not the youngest county 
superintendent in the state of South Dakota but she is giving excellent 
satisfaction in this position, being most progressive in her work in 
relation to the schools, into which she has introduced valuable 
improvements. She stimulates the interest of teachers and pupils by her 
own zeal in the work and under her guidance the schools have made rapid 
advancement. She is well known in the locality in which she lives.