Mrs. Minerva J. Dawes 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 538-541 Scan, OCR and editing by Maurice Krueger,mkrueger@iw.net, 1998. This file may be freely copied by individuals and non-profit organizations for their private use. Any other use, including publication, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission by electronic, mechanical, or other means requires the written approval of the file's author. This file is part of the SDGENWEB Archives. If you arrived here inside a frame or from a link from somewhere else, our front door is at http://usgwarchives.org/sd/sdfiles.htm MRS. MINERVA J. DAWES. Executive ability and strict attention to details are the cornerstones of success in every business enterprise, and the agricultural pursuit is not an exception to this rule. These characteristics have been the dominant traits of the lady whose life history is presented herewith, and she has been rewarded by the acquisition of one of the best estates in Warner township, Brown county. She makes her home on the southwest quarter of section 11, and she is the fortunate possessor of two hundred and forty acres of land. Her only son, George P. Dawes, assists her on the farm, and through her management the place has become one of the bright spots of Warner township. Mrs. Dawes was born in Pennsylvania, April 16, 1844, and was the daughter of James and Hannah (Dunlap) Austin, natives respectively of Connecticut and Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Austin were the parents of two daughters, Minerva J., our subject, and Delia, deceased, who married Charles Cook. The mother is also deceased, and the father now resides in Columbia county, Wisconsin, aged seventy-two years. He enjoys good health despite his advanced age, and is active and retains his mental faculties. When an infant Mrs. Dawes was taken by her parents to Ohio, and there made her home until she reached the age of twelve years, when the family settled in Columbia county, Wisconsin. Our subject was married in Wisconsin January 13, 1870, to William F. Dawes, a native of Maine. When a young man Mr. Dawes moved to Wisconsin, where he was a lumberman. He was a soldier of the Civil war, and raised Company E, Sixteenth Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, and was made its captain. He rapidly rose in rank, and after four years of service was mustered out with the rank of major. He was faithful to the cause he tried to maintain, and was a brave and loyal soldier. Mr. and Mrs. Dawes resided in Wisconsin until taking up their residence in South Dakota in 1883, when Mr. Dawes filed on the southeast quarter of section 11, and Mrs. Dawes filed on the southwest quarter of the same section of land in Warner township. Mr. Dawes died August 3, 1883, leaving his wife and young son to mourn their loss. The care of the farm in a new country, not yet settled by civilized people, was thus left to the wife and mother, and how well she has guided the affairs of her business the present comfortable home bears evidence. She fought the battle alone until the son became large enough to assist her with the labors and management, and amid the discouragements of pioneer life she never faltered, but with a courageous heart performed her tasks, and is now owner of an excellent farm, and the entire tract of land is tillable and well improved. The buildings which she has erected compare with any in the county, and every convenience of modern farming is to be found on the estate. Her son, George P., now eighteen years of age, is a young man of careful business training, and is of great assistance to Mrs. Dawes in the management as well as the labors incident to, farm life. A portrait of Mr. and Mrs. Dawes appears on another page of this volume.