William Tarrent Biography


	This biography appears on pages 202-204 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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				WILLIAM TARRANT. 

	William Tarrant has been engaged in mining during practically his 
entire active life and has an interest in many excellent mining 
properties. He is a native of Berkshire, England, born on the. 27th of 
January, 1849, and is the youngest of six children, whose parents, 
George and Mary Ann (Chandler) Tarrant were both born in England. The 
father was private secretary to an English nobleman but in the year 
1850 he removed with his family to the United States, locating in 
Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Subsequently they went to Janesville, that state, 
where he purchased ten acres of land and started a nursery. He was an 
expert horticulturist and proved very successful in his undertaking. In 
1852 he passed away but was survived by his widow until 1896. Two of 
his brothers became state representatives, one being sent to the 
legislature from Pepin county, Wisconsin, and the other from Rock 
county, Wisconsin. 

	William Tarrant attended school in Janesville, Wisconsin, and was 
also under the private instruction of Professor Hodge of that place and 
was a schoolmate of Frances Willard. He likewise attended school in 
Rock county, Wisconsin, and a private academy at Durand. When about 
sixteen years of age he went to work for others as a hired hand, but 
after spending eight months in that way went to Waverly, Iowa, where he 
was employed in a grain warehouse for a short time. He then became 
grain buyer for a firm and continued in that capacity for four and a 
half years. He next went to Montana, going up the Missouri river to 
Helena, in the vicinity of which city he prospected and mined upon his 
own claims for five years. At the end of that time he returned east, 
settling at Independence, Iowa, where he engaged in buying grain for 
two years. He was there married and in March, 1876, came with his wife 
to South Dakota, arriving at Buffalo Gap on the 11th of that month. He 
purchased a mining claim at the mouth of Gold Run on the Whitewood and 
also bought a claim on Bobtail Gulch. He sold the Whitewood claim for 
three hundred dollars, but worked the other claim for a time, although 
he subsequently sold it also. He then entered into partnership with Mr. 
Hatch and they went through all the camps on Iron creek without 
purchasing any property While on that trip they met a man who told them 
of the massacre of Custer on Little Big Horn river. After returning to 
Whitewood they learned of a herd of milch cows which were being driven 
in from Bismarck, North Dakota, and, seeing a good business 
opportunity, purchased the herd and started a dairy. In the following 
fall they found that they did not have enough feed for the cattle upon 
the ranch and moved them to Cleghorn Springs, just above the site of 
Rapid City. Leaving Mr. Hatch in charge of the cattle and providing a 
herder to care for them, Mr. Tarrant drove to Yankton and was the first 
man to drive a team across the ice at Pierre He drove from Yankton to 
Webster City and later continued his way to independence, where his 
wife was still residing. In February, 1877, he returned to Yankton, 
arriving on the day that McCall was hung for the murder of Wild Bill. 
After unloading his team at Yankton Mr. Tarrant drove back to Rapid 
City by way of Pierre and upon arriving at his destination learned that 
the Indians had made a raid and driven off his milch cows and also his 
horses. He had turned the horses which he was driving out and they were 
also taken by the Indians. He held his ranch only by squatter's right 
and was eventually compelled to give it up. He subsequently prospected 
for a short time but then returned to the Deadwood district and went to 
work for Myers & Belding on a ditch which was to furnish water for the 
first mill at Lead. In the early part of the winter he went into the 
Badlands hunting deer and sold the venison. The latter part of the 
winter he and another man drove a tunnel on a claim which they had 
taken and in the spring they removed to Hill City, where they located a 
paying placer mine, which they worked until June. They then organized a 
local company to dig a drain ditch to facilitate working a rich placer 
mining claim. Eighteen men were engaged in this work, but after it was 
completed it was found to be of no value, although fifty pounds of gold 
had been taken from the stream leading into it. In the meantime Mrs. 
Tarrant had joined her husband and they established their home in the 
Hills. Mr. Tarrant next took charge of the day shift on a hydraulic 
project below Hill City and continued there until winter. While there 
he met John Spargo, master mechanic of the great Homestake Mining 
Company. During the winter Mr. Tarrant found good diggings on French 
creek near Custer and the following spring removed with his fame fly to 
Custer. During the summer he mined on French creek but in the fall he 
again went hunting, selling the meat at Deadwood. In the winter he 
returned to Custer and engaged in developing claims near that city 
until Christmas. He then formed a partnership with M. H. Kendig and 
located a ranch near Buffalo Gap. Mr. Kendig gave his time to 
freighting, while Mr. Tarrant managed the ranch. After about two years 
the latter sold out his interest in the ranch and returned to Iowa with 
his family. They remained at Independence, but he went to Chicago and 
began speculating in grain. After a short time, however, the Coeur 
d'Alene excitement attracted him to Idaho and he prospected near the 
British line. He also built two houses in Murray, Idaho. Upon returning 
to the Black Hills he located a copper mine at French creek and spent 
the winter there. He filed upon a homestead near Fairburn and, sending 
for his wife and family, established his home there. He resided there 
for ten years and during that time engaged in mining and also operated 
his ranch. Upon leaving that place he again went to Custer and gave his 
undivided attention to mining. After he sold the ranch his family 
joined him in Custer, which is still their home. He concentrates his 
time and energy upon his mining interests and owns a number of gold and 
tin prospects. He has mined in many places in the Black Hills, in 
British Columbia, in Alaska and in Cobalt, Ontario. He has gained much 
valuable knowledge of various parts of the country and has met with 
many interesting experiences, all of which have developed in him, a 
splendid self-reliance and coolness in time of danger. For ten years he 
has resided in Custer and is well known and highly esteemed in that 
city and its vicinity. 

	On the 2d of December, 1875, Mr. Tarrant married Miss Anna 
Fuhrman, who was born in Hungary, just three miles from the Austrian 
line and only a few miles from Vienna. Her parents, Martin and Anna 
(Tatchenger) Fuhrman, were also born in that place, the father in 
November, 1811, and the mother on the 26th of July, 1830. Mr. Fuhrman 
was a farmer by occupation and in 1857 emigrated with his family to 
this country, settling in Indiana twenty-five miles from Chicago. After 
residing there for eight years, or in the spring of 1865, they removed 
to a farm near Independence, Iowa, where they lived for a decade. They 
then removed to the Black Hills and located upon a ranch three miles 
from Fairburn, Custer county, where both passed away, the father in 
1900 and the mother in 1908. They were the parents of eleven children, 
of whom Mrs. Tarrant is the eldest. Mr. and Mrs. Tarrant have three 
children: William K., who is engaged in business in Buffalo, Wyoming, 
married Miss Evelyn Durst and they have three children, Paul C., 
Clifford B. and Bertram R.; Roy C., residing at Sheridan, Wyoming, who 
is engaged in the automobile business and is also an oil operator, 
married Miss Helen Walters, of Omaha, and has an adopted son, Roy C. 
Angela is the wife of William Barnwell and the mother of a son, Roy. 

	Mr. Tarrant is a republican but has never desired public office. 
His life has been one of intense activity and the success which he has 
gained is solely the result of his energy, initiative and knowledge of 
mining, to which he has devoted practically his entire life.