Oliver S. Pendar Biography


	This biography appears on pages 1122-1125 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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				OLIVER S. PENDAR. 

	Oliver S. Pendar, who for a quarter of a century has occupied the 
position of clerk of the federal court, is a highly honored resident of 
Sioux Falls and is, moreover, the virtual founder of the town of Salem, 
McCook county, which he named in honor of his native place-Salem, 
Massachusetts. He comes of pioneer stock. His father, Simon Pendar, was 
of the sixth generation in direct descent from John Pendar, of England, 
one of the original settlers of Ipswich in the Massachusetts Bay colony 
in the early seventeenth century. Simon Pendar's mother was a Putnam of 
Danvers, Massachusetts, and a direct descendant of John Putnam, who 
came from England in 1634, settling in the village of Salem, now 
Danvers. The mother of Oliver S. Pendar, Ann (Leavitt) Pendar, was of 
the eighth generation in direct descent from Thomas Leavitt, of 
England, who was one of the first settlers of Exeter and Hampton, New 
Hampshire, and of the Rev. Stephen Batchelder, also of England, who was 
the first pastor of the first church of Hampton and the founder of that 
town in 1638 The grandmother of Ann Pendar on her father's side was a 
Dearborn and the family home was North Hampton. This is another old 
colonial family, the ancestry of which is traced back to early settlers 
of New Hampshire. The ancestors of Oliver S. Pendar in both the 
paternal and maternal lines took part in the colonial and Revolutionary 
wars. Simon Pendar, father of O. S. Pendar, was born in Danvers, 
Massachusetts, in 1800, and when a young man operated a line of stages 
in the vicinity of his native town of Salem, continuing in that 
business until the advent of the railroads, which abolished the stage 
lines. He also designed the first system of brass checks for the 
checking of baggage and for many years they were in use, being 
supplanted by the pasteboard checks of today. 

	The birth of Oliver S. Pendar occurred in Salem, Massachusetts, 
September 29, 1857, and at the usual age he became a public-school 
pupil, continuing his studies until graduated from the high school of 
his native city. At twenty years of age he went to Minneapolis, where 
he remained for a year, and in 1878 he came to Dakota and took up a 
preemption and timber claim in McCook county, adjoining the present 
town of Salem, which was duly patented, and the title is still in Mr. 
Pendar's name. The following year a post office was established where 
the city of Salem now stands and Mr. Pendar was appointed the first 
postmaster. It is an interesting fact that the fixtures of the post 
office of Salem, South Dakota, were originally used in the post office 
at Salem, Massachusetts, and were procured by Mr. Pendar when he was 
acting as postmaster of the former place. He also gave the name of 
Salem to the post office and when the town was platted the same name 
was adopted for it. In addition to filling the office of postmaster he 
engaged in mercantile pursuits from 1879 until 1886 and then turned his 
attention to the real-estate and loan business, in which he continued 
until 1890, when he removed to Sioux Falls. On the 30th of January, 
1890, he was appointed clerk of the federal court and has held the 
office continuously since or for a period of a quarter of a century, 
his long continuance in office being incontrovertible proof of his 
ability and fidelity. Abraham Lincoln said: "You can fool some of the 
people all of the time and all of the people some of the time, but you 
can't fool all of the people all of the time." And thus when a man has 
been long in office it is evidence of the fact that he has been loyal, 
faithful and capable, else the public would have been cognizant of 
conditions and his successor would have been chosen. All speak of Mr. 
Pendar's service in terms of high endorsement and his record is one 
which might well serve as a source of emulation.  

	Mr. Pendar is fond of horses and keeps some fine animals for 
driving and saddle purposes. He is a genial gentleman, well liked, 
having a circle of friends almost coextensive with the circle of his 
acquaintance. On the 10th of August, 1904, in Boston, Massachusetts, 
Mr. Pendar was united in marriage to Ruth, a daughter of Charles S. 
Whittemore, also of stanch colonial stock. To them have been born three 
children, namely: Oliver Ansel, whose natal day was June 5, 1905; 
Kenneth Whittemore, born December 22, 1906; and Eugenia Ann, whose 
birth occurred on the 10th of February, 1914.  

	Such in brief is the history of Oliver S. Pendar, who for thirty-
seven years has been a resident of South Dakota and who throughout the 
entire period has displayed many of those qualities which mark the 
public-spirited citizen in his devotion to the general welfare. He has 
taken initial steps in promoting progress along various lines and his 
work has been of the utmost benefit to the communities in which he has 
lived and labored.