John Albert Slater Biography


	This biography appears on pages 649-650 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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				JOHN ALBERT SLATER. 

	John Albert Slater, a pioneer farmer of Bon Homme county, was 
born in Dane county, Wisconsin, April 24, 1857, and is a son of William 
and Eliza (Noble) Slater, the former a native of Sheffield, England, 
and the latter also born in England. About 1846 the father emigrated to 
this country and made his way to Wisconsin, where he farmed until he 
removed to Dakota territory with his family in the summer of 1867. They 
reached Bon Homme county on the 5th of July after a journey that 
consumed nearly two months, as they left Wisconsin early in May. All of 
their worldly possessions were loaded into prairie schooners. It was an 
unusually wet spring and travel was exceedingly slow as the roads 
through Iowa were hub-deep in black mud. One of the worst places on the 
way, which was known as Purgatory slough, delayed them a day, as it was 
necessary to carry their belongings on their heads through the water, 
which was breast deep. The men not only did this but also arranged high 
seats on the wagons so that the women and children could ride across in 
safety and it took three teams to draw each wagon through the morass. 
When nightfall came they had gone but half a mile on their way. There 
were no bridges then and it was necessary to ford streams that were 
deep under ordinary conditions and almost impassable in flood, but in 
every case a way was found to cross and the journey was made in safety. 
Mr. Slater passed away in this state in 1874 and his wife died in 
Wisconsin about 1866. Of the children born to their union four are 
living: John, of this review; Jane Ellen, the wife of Thomas Bussey, 
residing near Tyndall, South Dakota; Annie, now Mrs. George Howland, of 
Mason City, Iowa; and James, a resident of Tyndall. 

	John Albert Slater was a boy of ten years when the family removed 
to this state and his education was acquired in Wisconsin. He assisted 
in the operation of the home farm until the death of his father and, 
being at that time sixteen years of age, began providing for his own 
support. On attaining his majority he took up a homestead which he 
cultivated until his marriage and subsequently bought a farm one-half 
mile north of that place. In the early '9Os he purchased his father's 
old homestead and has made it one of the best farms in Bon Homme 
county. It is naturally fertile and he has conserved the productivity 
of the soil by wise methods of cultivation and has equipped the place 
with modern machinery which facilitates the farm work. There are also 
flowing wells and the fields are enclosed with strong fences, while the 
buildings are commodious and kept in excellent repair. When Mr. Slater 
came to this state the ox cart was thee most common means of conveyance 
but he now uses an automobile in going from place to place and this 
change is but indicative of the transformation that has made South 
Dakota the prosperous and thriving commonwealth that it is today. 

	Mr. Slater was married in Wisconsin to Miss Ellen Jane Bussey, a 
native of that state and a daughter of Benjamin and Jane Bussey. To Mr. 
and Mrs. Slater have been born three children. Rolley, who attended 
Yankton Academy and is now assisting his father with the farm work, 
married Miss Hazel Lawson. He is a member of the Independent Order or 
Odd Fellows. Ethel Jane became the wife of William P. Smith, who 
cultivates a farm south of her father's, and they have a son, Harold 
James. William, the youngest in the family, is still under the parental 
roof. 

	Mr. Slater and his family are members of the Congregational 
church and contribute liberally to its support. He is a republican in 
politics but has never been an office seeker. When he came to this 
state a few deer were still seen and several times the family slept 
upon the open prairies as they feared to remain in the house because of 
threatened hostility on the part of the Indians, but they were never 
really molested. Mr. Slater has accumulated more than a competence by 
dint of unceasing industry, unfailing determination and by the wise 
management of his farm work and the judicious investment of his 
capital. He has also gained the esteem of his fellow men, as his life 
has been guided by high standards of morality.