William Blankartz Biography


	This biography is from "Memorial and biographical record; an illustrated
 	compendium of biography, containing a compendium of local biography,
	including biographical sketches of prominent old settlers and 
	representative citizens of South Dakota..." Published by G. A. Ogle & 
	Co., Chicago, 1899. Pages 423-424

	Scan, OCR and editing by Maurice Krueger,mkrueger@iw.net, 1998. 

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WILLIAM BLANKARTZ, one of McCook county's influential citizens and 
extensive land owners, is making his home on a half-section of land in 
Richland township, of that county, where the usual improvements have 
been made, and such arrangements consummated as make it a comfortable 
home. 

Mr. Blankartz is a native of Prussia, and was born in the year 1852. 
His father was a farmer by occupation, but his home was in the village 
of Uetterath. Our subject spent his early years in his father's home, 
helping him on the farm, and was educated in Germany. At the age of 
eighteen years he came to America merely to see the country, having no 
intention of staying until he reached this country and learned of its 
resources and the superior advantages it offers to men of ability and 
industry. He landed at Quebec, and from there went to Grant county, 
Wisconsin, where he worked on a farm and attended school one winter. In 
the fall of 1874, he was united in marriage with Miss Anna Gockel, and 
soon after moved to southwestern Iowa and again engaged in farming, 
making his principal crops corn and wheat, and also engaging 
extensively in hog raising. He made his home in Iowa for about nine 
years and, in 1883, moved to his present home in Dakota. 

About four years after Mr. Blankartz reached America, his parents 
wished him to return, as he was an only son and the parents had 
considerable property that they could not dispose of to advantage, 
which prevented their coming to America. On the other hand, if our 
subject returned to Germany he would have to serve in the German army, 
and he determined not to go. Soon after, however, his parents sold 
their property and came to America and joined our subject while he was 
living in Wisconsin, spending the remainder of their lives with him, 
and are now both buried in Dakota. Mr. Blankartz sold his Iowa property 
for forty dollars per acre, so he had money when he arrived in Dakota, 
and he at once purchased the two quarter-sections on which he still 
makes his home. He has since added to his possessions eight quarter-
sections, making him a total of one thousand six hundred acres of land. 
Two sections of this land he rents, and the two sections he farms 
himself is furnished with water from a splendid well two hundred feet 
deep, and his farm improvements are above the average in this section 
of South Dakota. 

Formerly our subject was a Democrat in political views, but during the 
life of the Greenback party, he was identified with that organization, 
returning to the ranks of the Democratic party when the Greenbackers 
ceased to exist. When the Populist party was organized, he at once 
endorsed its policy and has since used his elective franchise and 
influence in its support, and has become very prominent in political 
affairs in South Dakota. During the early history of the state he was a 
candidate for state senator in 1886, he served his fellow citizens in 
the capacity of commissioner and was again elected in 1896, and again 
in 1898, and is at present an incumbent of that office. He has been 
chairman of the Richland township board for the past three years, and 
has also been school treasurer for one term. For eight years he has 
been secretary of the Farm & Insurance Company. He strongly opposes the 
policies of prohibition and equal suffrage. 

The home of Mr. and Mrs. Blankartz has been blessed by the advent of a 
family of twelve children, two of whom died in infancy. The oldest two 
of the family are twin girls, and are now twenty-two years of age; 
named respectively, Mary and Josephene, Joseph, August, Eleonora, 
Frederick, Annie, Robert, Florence and William.