Joseph West Biography


	This biography appears on pages 11-12 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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				JOSEPH WEST.  

	Joseph West, a retired farmer, living near Volin, is one of the 
worthy pioneers of Yankton county, the period of his residence here 
covering forty-six years, his arrival in what was then Dakota territory 
dating from 1869. During his early residence here he endured all the 
hardships and privations that came to the pioneers but through 
determination and unfaltering perseverance he worked his way upward to 
success and is now classed among the substantial citizens of Volin and 
Yankton county. He was born near Londonderry, Ireland and comes of 
Scotch and English ancestry, although the family has lived in Ireland 
through many generations and there is still in possession of the family 
an old stone house built in 1610, which has been occupied by its 
members since that time.  

	Reared and educated in the land of his nativity, Joseph West 
subsequently decided to try his fortunes in the new world and 
accordingly, on the 4th of July, 1866, set sail from Liverpool for the 
United States, securing passage on the steamer City of Edinburg. 
Landing in New York on the 19th of that month, he soon afterward found 
work in the stone quarries of Connecticut just across the border line 
from New York. He carefully saved his earnings in the hope of some day 
establishing a home of his own and on the 19th day of April, 1869, in 
New York, he was united in marriage to Miss Kate Inch, a native of 
County Derry, Ireland. On the date of their marriage they started for 
the west, with Yankton county, South Dakota, as their destination, Mrs. 
West having a brother, Thomas Inch, living in this section. Near his 
home Mr. West preempted a claim of one hundred and sixty acres, which 
he sold a year or two later for six hundred dollars, this sum being 
considered an exceptionally high price for that time. In November, 
1872, Mr. West preempted his present acreage, located on section 14, 
Volin township, but as times were hard and money scarce he changed to a 
homestead claim, to which he eventually secured a deed. To this he has 
since added from time to time until he now owns five hundred and twenty 
acres conveniently located near Volin. His first home was a log cabin 
but this gave way to a comfortable frame house, which is surrounded 
with substantial outbuildings, all having been erected by Mr. West. He 
has also planted trees and now has a grove of fifteen acres which has 
supplied him with fuel for the past ten years in addition to selling 
some timber. In fact much of the lumber with which he erected his 
buildings was cut and sawed from his own timber. The land is so located 
that the drainage is sufficient for the cultivation of crops and his 
place is one of the finest farms in this section of the county. In 
establishing his home here, however, Mr. West has endured many 
hardships and had to overcome many obstacles. In 1873 and 1874 the 
grasshoppers almost entirely destroyed his crops and he has had periods 
of great trial in times of severe storms and blizzards to prevent the 
loss of stock, but, withal, he has gained success and has many pleasant 
memories of his early life in this section of the country, for the 
neighbors gave to each other needed assistance and in many ways helped 
to brighten what would otherwise have been dark days.  

	To Mr. and Mrs. West have been born three sons and one daughter, 
Mary, Ernest, Albert and Edwin. Albert makes his home in Albert Lea, 
Minnesota, where he follows his trade as a painter. The others are 
still under the parental roof and the sons manage the farm, while the 
father is now enjoying a well earned rest. The children have all been 
reared in Dakota and Mr. West gives to them credit for much of the 
material success that has come to the household. The family is an old 
and prominent one of Yankton county and fully merit the high regard and 
esteem in which they are uniformly held.