George Hickman Biography


	This biography appears on pages 540-541 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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				GEORGE HICKMAN. 

	George Hickman, superintendent of schools in McPherson county and 
an esteemed resident of Leola, was born in the quaint and interesting 
old town of Rothenberg, in Hessen-Darmstadt, Germany, April 24, 1849. 
The family name was originally spelled Heckmann. His parents, John 
George and Elizabeth M. (Lehn) Heckmann, emigrated to the new world in 
1854, settling in Buffalo, New York, where they resided until 1858, 
when they became residents of La Salle county, Illinois. There the 
father died in 1867, but the mother survived until 1911, when she 
passed away at the advanced age of eighty eight years. 

	George Hickman attended the common schools and for one year was a 
student in the normal school at Galena, Illinois. His entire life has 
been devoted to farming and to teaching. Removing to the west, he 
became a pioneer of Sac county, Iowa, in 1872 and has since been 
identified with the pioneer development of Brown, Marshall and 
McPherson counties of South Dakota, becoming a resident of this state 
in 1881. He is among those who have infused into its development the 
spirit of progress and enterprise and his labors have been an effective 
force in bringing about modern agricultural development and most of all 
in advancing the interests of the schools in keeping with the modern 
trend of improvement in educational fields. His fellow townsmen, 
appreciative of his worth and ability, have frequently called upon him 
for service in public connections. In 1888 he was elected judge of the 
probate court of Marshall county and in 1890 he became a member of the 
second general assembly of South Dakota, being elected on the 
republican ticket from McPherson county. He proved an able working 
member of the legislature, served on a number of important committees 
and put forth earnest effort to advance the interests of the state in 
its formative period, at all times looking beyond the exigencies of the 
moment to the possibilities and opportunities of the future. For twelve 
years he has occupied the position of county superintendent of schools 
of McPherson county and under his guidance substantial advance has been 
made in educational work. He has studied closely the needs of the 
schools, has ever endeavored to adapt the work to modern conditions and 
he has the ability to inspire teachers and pupils with much of his own 
zeal and enthusiasm. 

	On the 24th of December, 1871, at Grand Rapids, La Salle county, 
Illinois, Mr. Hickman was united in marriage to Miss Roxana Howe, who 
was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, March 14, 1849, and passed away at 
Leola, South Dakota, July 16, 1912. She was a daughter of John G. Howe 
and by her marriage became the mother of seven children, as follows: 
William W.; Bertha M., the wife of George Barnes; George L., who wedded 
Miss Marie Dawson; Arthur I., who married Miss Blanche Beach; Charles 
F., who married Miss Elizabeth Zimmerman; Elmer C., who wedded Miss 
Rose Wirtz; and John G., who married Miss Nellie Willson. 

	The family is a prominent one in McPherson county, where they 
have lived since pioneer times, and in social circles they have 
occupied an enviable position. Since 1878 Mr. Hickman has been a member 
of the Knights of Pythias fraternity. He holds to high ideals in life 
and takes a broad-minded, intelligent view of many of the vital 
questions which affect the welfare of city, county and state.