Joseph E. Labrie Biography


	This biography appears on pages 373-374 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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				JOSEPH E. LABRIE. 

	Joseph E. Labrie has been engaged in carrying on a land, loan and 
insurance business at Doland in partnership with Miles McNickle since 
1904. He came to South Dakota in 1880 from Kankakee county, Illinois, 
and was the first Illinois man to take up his abode in Spink county. He 
is, however, a Canadian by birth, having been born at St. Johns, 
Quebec, on the 17th of March, 1845, and is a brother of A. F. Labrie, 
of Redfield. The family is of French origin. The great-grandfather of 
our subject, Captain De La Brie, furnished equipment for two hundred 
and fifty men and accompanied General Lafayette to the new world from 
France in order to render the colonies assistance in their struggle for 
independence. After the war had ended the Captain and his men did not 
return to France but settled in Canada, which was then a French 
possession. There they became trappers, hunters and fur traders. In 
1847 the Labrie family emigrated from Canada to the United States and 
settled at Kankakee, Illinois, with other French Canadians. 

	Joseph E. Labrie attended the public schools until he attained 
the age of thirteen years and then concentrated his efforts upon the 
work of the home farm, for he was the eldest son of the family and his 
services were needed. He remained under the parental roof until after 
the Civil war broke out, when, in 1862, he volunteered for service in 
the northern army, becoming a member of the Seventy-sixth Illinois 
Infantry. He remained at the front until hostilities ceased and saw 
much hard service up and down the Mississippi river, being in the 
battles of Vicksburg and Mobile besides many other engagements. He was 
also with the army that was sent to the Texas border to drive 
Maximilian back. After the war he returned to his home and remained 
with his parents until his marriage, which occurred in 1868. At that 
time he began farming on his own account on land which he had 
previously purchased after returning from the army. 

	As previously stated, it was in 1880 that he arrived in Spink 
county, South Dakota, where he secured a tract of unbroken prairie 
land. With characteristic energy he began its development and broke 
about sixteen hundred acres in the first two years. He remained upon 
his farms until 1886 and succeeded in bringing the land to a high state 
of cultivation. He has ever been recognized as a man of the utmost 
energy, determination and enterprise and his industry has brought 
excellent results. In 1886 he abandoned farming and took up his abode 
in Doland, where he accepted the position of cashier in the First 
National Bank, filling that position for a decade. He then turned his 
attention to the loan, land and insurance business in partnership with 
his brother who is in Redfield. From the outset the business has 
constantly grown and since 1904 has been conducted by the present firm. 
He has thoroughly acquainted himself with land values and has thus been 
able to make judicious purchases and profitable sales. During the 
period of his residence in this state he has acquired four and a half 
sections, which are still owned by the family. In addition to his real-
estate operations he has placed many loans and also written a large 
amount of insurance, the different branches of his business proving 
profitable. He has erected a number of buildings upon his farms and 
also in the town and has thus contributed in large measure to the 
substantial improvement of the county. 

	On the 26th of December, 1868, at Manteno, Illinois, Mr. Labrie 
was united in marriage to Miss Rosalie Senchall, her parents being 
Oliver and Josephine Senchall, of Chicago. Both are now deceased, 
passing away in Ashton, South Dakota. They were pioneers of Spink 
county, settling there in 1881. Mr. and Mrs. Labrie have four children, 
as follows: Oliver J., who follows farming in Spink county; R. William, 
who is engaged in business as a dealer in agricultural implements at 
Doland, and is a member of the state legislature; Daisy G., the wife of 
S. W. Clark, of Redfield, South Dakota; and Blanche, who gave her hand 
in marriage to Miles McNickle, the partner of her father. 

	In his political views Mr. Labrie is a republican and keeps well 
informed on the questions and issues of the day but has never sought 
nor desired public office. In the lapel of his coat he wears the little 
bronze button that indicates him a member of the Grand Army of the 
Republic. His life has been a busy and useful one. He came to Dakota to 
find a location for some of his people who wanted to leave Kankakee 
county, Illinois, and eventually eighty seven families from that 
locality settled in his vicinity. For thirty-five years he has resided 
in South Dakota and has been a witness of much of its growth and 
development. He was here for nine years before the territorial form of 
government was put aside and that of statehood assumed and in all the 
intervening years to the present he has borne his part in the work of 
general advancement and improvement, being today one of the prosperous, 
progressive and valued citizens of Spink county.