Silas Ellsworth Morris Biography


	This biography appears on pages 124-135 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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				SILAS ELLSWORTH MORRIS. 

	Honored and respected by all, there is no man who occupies a more 
enviable position in financial and business circles in Mitchell and 
South Dakota than does Silas Ellsworth Morris, not alone by reason of 
the success he has achieved, but also because of the straightforward 
business policy and progressive methods which he has followed. He was 
born in Mount Carroll, Illinois, November 27, 1861, and is a son of 
Joseph P. and Jemina (Barrett) Morris, both of whom were natives of 
Dayton, Ohio. The mother resided in that state to the time of her 
marriage but in his boyhood days Joseph P. Morris accompanied his 
parents on their removal to Wisconsin, where he was reared. In early 
married life he left that state and removed to a farm near Mount 
Carroll, Illinois, where both he and his wife spent their remaining 
days. 

	Silas Ellsworth Morris is the eldest son and third in order of 
birth in a family of six children. He spent his youthful days upon the 
home farm, during which period he became familiar with the best methods 
of tilling the soil and caring for the crops, for his time was divided 
between the labors of the fields and the duties of the schoolroom. He 
was educated in the Northern Illinois College at Fulton, Illinois, and 
was graduated in 1882. He taught school until 1884 and then turned from 
professional to commercial pursuits, entering the clothing business at 
Darlington, Wisconsin. In June, 1886, he became identified with banking 
interests at Doland, South Dakota, where he was made cashier of the 
First National Bank. Since that time he has been an important factor in 
financial circles of this state and has made continuous progress, his 
efforts reaching out along constantly broadening lines of thought and 
of usefulness. In 1895 he accepted the presidency of the Merchants, 
Bank at Redfield, South Dakota, and in February, 1906, purchased a 
controlling interest in the stock of the Western National Bank of 
Mitchell of which he became president. He has been actively identified 
with the banking business for twenty-nine years, is now president of 
four different banks and a director in twelve others. It seems that 
every phase of the business is thoroughly familiar to him and his 
understanding of the rules and laws that govern banking is 
comprehensive and exact, enabling him to readily solve intricate and 
involved financial problems. He is also greatly interested in farm 
lands and in stock raising and feeding. He is an officer in many 
corporations and is greatly interested in the Dakota Improved Seed 
Company of Mitchell which furnishes seeds of excellent quality to 
farmers, employing an expert to test the seeds which they send out. 

	While the business success of Mr. Morris would alone entitle him 
to mention as one of the representative citizens of South Dakota, there 
are other lines of activity which make him equally entitled to 
prominence and distinction. He stands for all that is progressive in 
the public life of the community and endorses every measure that 
promises to promote civic virtue and civic pride. He is a stalwart 
champion of the cause of education and an earnest worker in behalf of 
moral progress. For the last six years he has been a member of the 
board of education of Mitchell, and he is now president of the board of 
trustees of the Dakota Wesleyan University at Mitchell. For many years 
he was chairman of the official board of the Methodist Episcopal church 
of Mitchell, which is the largest in the state, three times he was sent 
to the general conference from the state and he was the first secretary 
of the Layman Association of the Dakota Conference. He is likewise a 
member of the national committee of the layman's mission movement and 
his work in behalf of the church has been far-reaching and effective. 
He has made liberal donations of time and money in the interests of the 
university at Mitchell and has been a generous. contributor to the 
endowment fund. 

	In 1884 Mr. Morris was united in marriage to Miss Estella May 
Hall of Fulton, Whiteside county, Illinois, who is prominent in the 
church work and in several ladies' organizations. Mr. and Mrs. Morris 
have four children: Florence, who is the wife of Howard Kingsbury of 
Hartford, South Dakota; Le Roy Hall, who is married and is assistant 
cashier of the Western National Bank of Mitchell; Stanley E., who is 
married and is assistant cashier of the State Bank at Fulton, South 
Dakota; and Whitney, who is a student in the military college at 
Faribault, Minnesota. 

	Mr. Morris always gives his political allegiance to the 
republican party and has ever kept well informed on the questions and 
issues of the day. His fraternal relations are with the Benevolent 
Protective Order of Elks and with the Ancient Order of United Workmen. 
Progress and patriotism might well be termed the keynote of his 
character, having been the guiding forces in his life. He has never 
hesitated to take a forward step where the way has seemed open and his 
enterprise and even-paced energy have carried him into important 
relations. At the same time he has never neglected the higher and 
holier duties of life, thus maintaining an even balance with his 
business activities.