Jacob G. Towle, M. D. Biography


	This biography appears on pages 239-240 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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				JACOB G. TOWLE, M. D. 

	For a half century Dr. Jacob G. Towle has engaged in the practice 
of medicine and is one of the most capable representatives of the 
profession not only in Roberts county but in his part of the state. He 
has lived in Sisseton since 1904 and has established and now conducts 
the Sisseton Hospital. He was born in Jackson, Michigan, on the 2d of 
June, 1846, his parents being Jacob G. and Jane (Sharpsteene) Towle, 
both of whom were natives of Genesee county, New York. The ancestry of 
the family in America can be traced back to Jacob Towle, who came to 
the new world in 1620. The grandfather of our subject also bore the 
name of Jacob Towle and was a native of New York. The father, who was 
born in the year 1808, died in 1879, while the mother, who was born in 
1810, passed away in 1895 at the advanced age of eighty-five years. 
They were married in Michigan, having gone to that state in early life. 
The father was a physician and devoted his entire career to active 
practice. He followed his profession in Jackson, Michigan, until 1854 
and then removed to Mauston, Wisconsin, where he continued in active 
practice to the time of his death. His two children followed in his 
professional footsteps, his daughter, Dr. Jane Towle, being now a 
member of the medical profession in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. In his 
political views Dr. Jacob G. Towle, Sr., was always a stalwart 
republican and at the time of the Civil war he served as a member of a 
Wisconsin regiment, giving valiant aid to the country in the struggle 
to preserve the Union. 

	Following the removal of the family to Wisconsin, Dr. Towle of 
this review there acquired the greater part of his education and 
afterward engaged in teaching for sixteen terms. He has practiced 
medicine for a half century and, entering the Bennett Medical College 
of Chicago, he was graduated therefrom in 1891. He has kept in touch 
with the advancement of the profession through wide reading and study 
and is thoroughly informed concerning modern methods. He was in active 
practice at Mauston, Wisconsin, until 1879, when he removed to Lake 
county, South Dakota, remaining there until 1904. He practiced and 
conducted a drug store there and for eight years was postmaster of 
Towle, which was later named Oldham. In 1904 he removed to Sisseton 
where he is accorded a liberal patronage. He also established the 
Sisseton Hospital, which is well equipped for all kinds of surgical 
work and for the care of the sick. 

	On the 3d of April, 1867, Dr. Towle was married to Miss Adelia 
Northrup, a niece of William P. Lyon, who was associate justice of the 
supreme court of Wisconsin. She was born in Wisconsin and died in 1888. 
In the family were five sons, of whom three are living: Wilson J., now 
of Minneapolis; Austin, living at Lily, South Dakota; and Junior, 
living in Hettinger, North Dakota. The wife and mother was a member of 
the Methodist Episcopal church and she had many excellent traits of 
character which endeared her to her friends. Twenty-three years after 
losing his first wife Dr. Towle was again married in March, 1911, his 
second union being with Mrs. Lucinda McDermott. She is a member of the 
Episcopal church. 

Mr. Towle holds membership with the American Yeomen and in 
politics he is independent. While in Juneau county, Wisconsin, he was 
elected county superintendent of schools and he was also appointed 
register of deeds to fill out an unexpired term. He is a member of the 
State Eclectic Society and is an able practicing physician whose skill 
is manifest in the excellent results which have attended his efforts to 
relieve suffering and restore health.