Wade S. Nixon Biography


	This biography appears on pages 257-258 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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				WADE S. NIXON. 

	Wade S. Nixon, of Milbank, was for four years county register of 
deeds and for four years held the office of county auditor, proving an 
excellent and conscientious official. His birth occurred in Butler 
county, Ohio, December 13, 1864. He is a son of Richard and Abbie 
(Ayers) Nixon, both natives of the Buckeye state. The paternal 
grandfather was John Nixon and the family is of English descent. 
Richard Nixon was a cooper by trade but in his later years gave much of 
his attention to farming. He gave his political allegiance to the whig 
party until it dissolved and then joined the ranks of the republican 
party. In religious faith he was a Presbyterian. He served for three 
years in the Civil war as a member of the Sixty-ninth Ohio Volunteer 
Infantry and participated in many important battles. He died in 1885, 
when sixty-six years of age, his birth having occurred in 1819. His 
wife passed away in 1887, when sixty years old, and her natal year was 
1827. They were married in Ohio in 1844 and became the parents of nine 
children, of whom seven are still living, namely: George C., a retired 
farmer residing in Wilmot, this state; Mary, the wife of John Spinner, 
a farmer and carpenter residing in Ohio; Mrs. Keever, a widow living in 
Mason, Ohio; Lydia, also a resident of the Buckeye state; Wade S.; Mrs. 
Marion Guthrie, who resides in Stark county, Ohio; and A. M., who is 
now city assessor and justice of the peace and who was for four years 
postmaster at Milbank. 

	Wade S. Nixon attended the public schools of Ohio in the 
acquirement of an education and was graduated from the high school of 
Mason, that state, in 1883. He farmed in Ohio for some time but in 1888 
went to Colorado, where he took up a claim, upon which he resided for 
two years. He became a resident of Grant county, South Dakota, in 1895 
and in 1898 removed to Milbank, where he engaged in the hotel business 
for six years. In the fall of 1904 he was elected register of deeds and 
held that office for four years, after which he was for two years 
deputy county auditor, his excellent record in that capacity heading to 
his election as auditor, in which capacity he served until March 1, 
1915. While in public office he concentrated his energies upon the 
discharge of his duties and his work was performed in a systematic and 
efficient manner. He owns considerable land in Colorado and also holds 
title to town lots in various places. 

	Mr. Nixon was united in marriage in 1903 to Miss Jennie Wise, a 
native of Minnesota, and their four children are: Richard, Lois and 
Edith, who are in school; and Marion. 

	Mr. Nixon attends the Congregational church and fraternally is 
well known, belonging to Milbank Lodge, No. 20. A. F. & A. M., of which 
he has served as senior warden and to the Knights of Pythias, in which 
he was chancellor commander. In the latter order he served for three 
years as grand trustee of the Grand Lodge of South Dakota. His 
political belief is that of the republican party and he works loyally 
for its success at the polls. He is now a member of the board of 
education and takes a citizen's interest in all matters of public 
concern. For two years he was captain of Company K, of the South Dakota 
National Guard and in all relations of life he has measured up to high 
standards of manhood and has gained the confidence and the unqualified 
respect of all who have been brought in contact with him.