Maj. John Alfred Pickler Biography


	This biography appears on pages 1266-1271 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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				MAJOR JOHN ALFRED PICKLER. 

	The life record of Major John Alfred Pickler constitutes an 
important chapter in the history of South Dakota, the final word of 
which was written on the 13th of June, 1910. The sterling traits of his 
character were many and when one reviews his life work, noting the 
extent of his activities and the nobility of his purposes, one cannot 
but feel that such a spirit can never be lost to the world and must 
have stepped into a greater and more beautiful life when the door 
closed upon him and shut him from mortal vision. Major Pickler was born 
at or near Salem, Indiana, January 24, 1844, his parents being George 
and Emily (Martin) Pickler, who were natives of Indiana and Kentucky 
respectively. In early life George Pickler engaged in merchandising in 
Indiana but in 1853 removed with his family to Monterey, Iowa, where he 
engaged in general merchandising. He continued at Monterey, which town 
was later removed to Coatsville, until about the close of the war, when 
he went to Kirksville, Missouri, where he again engaged in 
merchandising, continuing actively in. business until his demise in 
1870. His wife also passed away in Kirksville, Missouri, February 20, 
1901, when eighty years of age. Major Pickler and his wife at one time 
visited the old town site of Monterey, where his father conducted a 
store, alla by digging around they were able to find the foundation of 
the old brick building which he occupied. For many years the father was 
a member of the board of education and at all times was deeply 
interested in the welfare of the schools. Mr. and Mrs. George Pickler 
were members of the Christian church. 

	Major Pickler was the eldest in a family of ten children and was 
accorded liberal educational advantages, supplementing his study in the 
public and high schools of Bloomfield by a course in the Iowa State 
University. When seventeen years of age he attempted to enlist for 
service in the army but was persuaded by his father to remain at home 
until he was eighteen. He then joined Company D, Third Iowa Cavalry, as 
a recruit and he rose from the rank of sergeant to that of captain of 
his company. Near the close of the war where colored troops were 
enlisted he was given command of the One Hundred and Thirty eighth 
South Carolina Regiment and remained in command of that body of troops 
until mustered out at the close of the war. On his first visit to 
Washington, D. C., some time afterward he was recognized by a member of 
his old regiment. Following his return home Major Pickler, realizing 
the need and value of an education, entered upon a four year's, 
literary course in the Iowa State University. Subsequently for one year 
he also attended the Chicago University Law school. He next entered the 
law department of the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, where he was 
graduated in 1872. He then went to Kirksville, Missouri, where he 
engaged in the practice of law with P. F. Greenwood, and the same year 
was elected states attorney of Adair county, Missouri, v. here he 
remained for about two years. On the expiration of that period he 
formed a partnership with a former classmate, William Hoffman, at 
Muscatine, Iowa, under the firm name of Hoffman, Pickler & Brown, a 
connection that was continued until the spring of 1883, when Major 
Pickler removed to South Dakota. In the meantime he had taken a 
prominent part in public affairs in Iowa and in 1882 represented his 
district in the state legislature, but resigned his position upon his 
removal to the west. He had been recognized as one of the republican 
leaders in Iowa and was chairman of the county central committee. He 
was also one of the Garfield electors in 1880 and at all times his word 
carried weight in the councils of his party. On removing to South 
Dakota he settled in what is now Faulkton. He came with the first four 
loads of lumber from Miller to be used in the building of the town and 
Mrs. Pickler now resides on his preemption claim adjoining the 
townsite. He at once embarked in the land business and was instrumental 
in locating a large part of the people in the county, made their final 
proofs on the preemption lands, obtained money for them and helped them 
to help themselves. He also practiced law and was prominently connected 
with other business and public affairs. As opportunity offered he made 
judicious investments in real estate and became all extensive property 
holder, his possessions including valuable farm lands. His attention 
was largely concentrated upon his dealings in farm lands, stock-raising 
and his law practice. He possessed keen business sagacity and had the 
ability to readily and quickly discriminate between the essential and 
the nonessential. His enterprise and determination carried him forward 
to the goal of success and his prosperity yeas evidenced in his 
beautiful home, which is the most commodious in Faulkton and was built 
to its present proportions in 1898. 

	It was while attending the Iowa State University that Major 
Pickler formed the acquaintance of Miss Alice Mary Alt, whom he wedded 
on the 16th of November, 1870. Mrs. Pickler was born near Iowa City, 
November 17, 1848, a daughter of Joseph A. and Eliza (Kepford) Alt. The 
former was born near Harpers Ferry, Virginia, February 12, 1816, and 
the mother's birth occurred near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, December 6, 
1825. Mrs. Alt's great-grandfather, Frederic Kepford, served in the 
Revolutionary war, but owing to the burning of the records at 
Harrisburg the family have been unable to verify the line further. 
Joseph Alt, the father of Mrs. Pickler, was a grandson of a Scotchman, 
Michel Drew, who came to America and enlisted in the Revolutionary 
army, being with General Washington at Valley Forge. At the close of 
the war he settled in Loudoun county, Virginia, where his daughter, 
Mary Drew, was born. She became the wife of Jacob Alt at Harpers Ferry, 
Virginia, and there Joseph Alt was born February 12, 1816. Soon 
afterward the family removed to the vicinity of Springfield, Ohio, 
where the children grew to manhood and womanhood. In 1840 a further 
removal was made to Iowa, the family settling at North Bend, now North 
Liberty, Johnson county, not far from Iowa City. The Kepford family 
came from Pennsylvania to Iowa in 1846 and following the marriage of 
Joseph A. Alt and Eliza Kepford, which was celebrated in Iowa, January 
25, 1848, Mr. and Mrs. Alt preempted a claim on the Iowa river and 
there resided for more-than sixty years, or until his death. The old 
family homestead is still owned and occupied by Mrs. Pickler's younger 
brother, R. H. Alt. The father was a well read man, loyal and 
progressive in citizenship, and at various times was called to fill 
local offices. He died January 27, 1904, and his widow survived him for 
only ten days. Their daughter, Mrs. Pickler, the eldest of their seven 
children, was educated in the State University of Iowa, where she met 
Major Pickler, a handsome young officer, then twenty two years of age, 
who had just returned from the war. Through the succeeding four years 
he studied in the State University and then on the 16th of November, 
1870, they were married. Unto them were born four children. Lulu 
Alberta, the eldest, was born August 20, 1871, married William J. Frad, 
a general merchant of Faulkton, and they have three children: William 
Alfred, born April 5, 1909; Lulu Alice, October 10, 1911; and Lois 
Eliza, October 17, 1914 Madge Emily, the second daughter, born May 25, 
1878, is the wife of Nathaniel E. Hoy, of Meadow, South Dakota, who is 
editor of the Grand Valley Herald and Chance Record, and is also 
extensively and successfully engaged in the land and live-stock 
business. Alfred Alt, the only son, born March 13, 1882, is a director 
and stockholder in the Northern Casualty Company of Aberdeen, in which 
city he makes his home Dale Alice, born August 27, 1887, was married 
June 24, 1915, to Roy P. Conway, of Mission, Texas, who is connected 
with a land development and irrigation project of a most important 
character on the Rio Grande river. Mr. Conway is a native of Faulk 
county. The children of the family have been liberally educated, the 
daughters all being graduates of the Dakota Wesleyan University, while 
the -toll is a graduate of the University of Minnesota. 

	The family circle was broken by the hand of death when on the 
13th of June, 1910, Major Pickler passed away at his home in Faulkton. 
He was a consistent and loyal member of the Methodist Episcopal church 
and guided his life according to its teachings. When the church of that 
denomination was organized in Faulkton he became its first male member 
and was the first and only regular teacher of the Bible class up to the 
time of his death, although in his later years because of illness he 
was obliged to discontinue teaching at intervals. In politics he was a 
republican and exerted a strong and beneficial influence for good along 
political lines. He served as a member of the territorial legislature 
from 1885 until 1887, representing a district composed of nine 
counties. At the time that South Dakota was admitted into the Union he 
had gone to Washington to be present at the inauguration of Benjamin 
Harrison as president of the United States. There he met Colonel John 
W. Noble, of the Third Iowa Cavalry, his old comrade, who was then 
secretary of the interior. Major Pickler called upon him and was 
appointed to the position of land inspector, his first duty being to go 
to Oklahoma and open up the territory for settlement. He had but thirty 
days in which to make the trip and build two land offices. He received 
his orders from Secretary of War Proctor, of Vermont, which was the 
first official older issued by Proctor. While acting in that capacity 
Major Pickler was chosen a representative to congress from South 
Dakota, being one of the first members sent to the national legislature 
from the newly created state. Four times he was nominated for that 
office, serving in all for eight years, at the end of which time he 
refused another nomination, withdrawing in order to become a candidate 
for United States senator. But the populist party had grown largely in 
strength in thee state and the republican party did not have sufficient 
votes in the legislature to elect a senator. The republicans, however, 
stood by him until the close, when he withdrew in favor of Senator 
Kyle, a populist. Major Pickler's record is most creditable. He served 
on various important committees and was connected with much important 
legislation looking to the welfare of his district, his state and the 
country at large. He studied vital questions with great thoroughness 
and his position in support of a measure was always the result of 
careful consideration. 

	Major Pickler was a charter member of the Masonic lodge at 
Faulkton, in which he hold offices and became past master. He was 
likewise identified with the Royal Arch chapter and he was also a 
charter member of the Knights of Pythias lodge and belonged to Eagle 
Lodge, A. O. U. W., at Muscatine, Iowa. He was a member of the Army of 
the Tennessee and attended their reunions, including that which was 
held at Vicksburg, Mississippi, the only one ever held south of the 
Mason and Dixon line, on which occasion General Stephen D. Lee was 
present, who jointly with General Granville Dodge, announced the 
program. Grant, Sherman and Logan were also members of this 
organization. Major Pickler was a broad-minded man of liberal culture 
and education. During his practice in Faulkton he collected the second 
largest library in the state and this Mrs. Pickler continues to keep 
intact. In his personal habits he was clean and temperate and never 
used tobacco or liquor in any form. His leisure hours were always 
devoted to books and his mind was stored with most valuable 
information, upon which he could call at any time. The mingled 
hereditary rifts, graces and virtues of his ancestors descended to him 
in full measure and his life displayed all that is admirable in 
character and conduct. His success did not arouse envy because it meant 
also the upbuilding of others, interests, and his death came to his 
community and his state not merely as a private bereavement but as a 
public misfortune. On all sides were heard words of regret at his 
passing and words of admiration concerning his honorable career. The 
Rev. Thomas R. Simmons said: "I think it very fitting that his first 
pastor in South Dakota should lay a wreath or two of memory upon the 
casket which contains the remains of him who was the first male member 
of the church, and who had so much to do with laying the foundations of 
our church in Faulk county. He who never tired in his devotion and good 
cheer through the drouth that tried men's souls. He who held his 
standing offer of five dollars for every Christian church built in 
Faulk county. On my return from Chicago, after an absence of six years, 
when completing our new church at Seneca, a check reminded me that his 
former pledge was not forgotten. He who has welcomed more people to 
God's House than any man in Faulk county. He who was my first Bible-
class teacher in the little Faulkton schoolhouse and held this same 
position with ardent devotion for more than twenty years, until his 
fatal illness compelled him to cease. He who always had a kind word and 
was possessed of a forgiving spirit." The bar of Faulk county prepared 
a memorial as follows: "BE IT RESOLVED, That in his death this court, 
the legal profession and the people of this state have sustained a 
great loss. He was the pioneer lawyer of Faulk county, and during the 
years that he was associated with us, exerted a strong and a wholesome 
influence as a lawyer, a public officer and a citizen. He was a man of 
strong individuality and personality, a tireless worker, diligent and 
strenuous in the interests of his clients. Possessed of firm 
convictions, of extraordinary intellectual force and ability, together 
with marked oratorical powers, he achieved a degree of usefulness, 
influence and power which is given to but few to attain. The purity of 
his daily life and habits, his unswerving fidelity to high ideals and 
moral principles are especially to be commended, and furnish an example 
which has been an inspiration to all his associates. He was especially 
endowed with a sweet spirit of Christian charity, a spirit of good will 
and kindliness which went out toward all with whom he came in contact. 
He had a disposition which led him to overlook and make allowances for 
the faults and frailties of others, which was absolutely incapable of 
malice, and manifested itself in deeds of helpfulness and sympathy 
wherever the opportunity occurred. He was absolutely true to his 
convictions and stood for them with all of his might, mind and 
strength. Possessed of undaunted moral courage, he fearlessly stood and 
fought for what he believed to be right, uninfluenced by personal 
motives and without fear of consequences. And this undaunted courage 
was never more manifest than in his last struggle with the 'grim 
monster who comes but to conquer.' During all the long months of final 
illness he never for one moment evinced the slightest fear as to when 
or what the end of this struggle might be. RESOLVED, that we recognize 
with pride and thankfulness the value of his life and influence to the 
legal profession, to the community and to the state." 

	It is Mrs. Pickler's intention to make Faulkton her home, 
occupying the attractive residence which was left to her by her 
husband, and which is situated on land which he preempted on first 
coming to the territory. She passes some of the winter months in the 
south and in the west. She owns a farm of four hundred and eighty 
acres, connected with the residence, which she rents, and she is much 
interested in farming and stock-raising, giving supervision to her farm 
property. In addition she owns considerable other land in Faulk county. 
She believes in South Dakota, its possibilities and its future, and she 
has taken a most creditable and helpful part in many public activities. 
She has been much interested in reform work and is a most earnest 
advocate of the cause of temperance, serving now as vice president of 
the Woman's Christian Temperance Union for the state. She is likewise 
vice president of the Universal Franchise League, a suffrage 
organization, of which Mrs. John L. Pyle, of Huron, is the president. 
She is past department president of the Woman's Relief Corps of South 
Dakota and was a delegate to the biennial convention of the Federation 
of Women's Clubs held in Chicago in 1914. Her religious faith is that 
of the Methodist Episcopal church and she has represented the 
congregation in which she holds membership in several of its state 
meetings. She is thoroughly alive to the interests and questions of the 
day, the needs of the hour and the demands of the time for reform work 
and for constructive activity along the lines of progress which further 
the interests of civilization.