Charles H. Drayer 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 424-425

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

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CHARLES H. DRAYER. Among the business men of Spink county, who have 
aided in the support and advance of the better interests of the 
locality and command the esteem of every citizen, the gentleman here 
named well merits his enviable reputation. Mr. Drayer located in Dakota 
in the early days and has been successful, not only on the farm, but in 
his business, and is now manager of one of the leading houses of 
Turton. 

Our subject was born in Illinois, in 1859, and was the eldest in a 
family of five children. His grandfather Drayer was a cooper by trade 
and resided in Ohio, where our subject's father was born, but was of 
Pennsylvania Dutch extraction. The mother was of the same descent and 
was a native of Maryland. Our subject's father located in Illinois in 
an early day, and engaged in farming, and it was there our subject was 
reared. 

Mr. Drayer attended the common schools and later completed a course in 
the Bryant and Stratton Business College in Chicago, after which he 
returned to the home farm for four years. He went to Spink county, 
South Dakota, in 1883, and located on the southwest quarter of section 
2 8, and erected a shanty ten by twelve. His start on the farm was made 
with one team of horses and a wagon, and he was his own housekeeper for 
ten years. He rapidly improved his property, erected a good dwelling 
and two barns, one fourteen by forty feet and one sixteen by forty-
eight feet. The house and granary were combined, and the building was 
sixteen by twenty-four feet, with a lean-to fourteen by twenty-four 
feet. He is now the possessor of three hundred and twenty acres, one 
hundred and sixty acres of which is under cultivation, and the balance 
is pasture. The land is divided into two farms, on each of which is a 
set of buildings. The barn on the second farm is sixty-four by twenty 
eight feet, the sheep shed twenty-four by sixty-four feet, and the main 
part of the house is twelve by twenty-six feet, with a lean-to fourteen 
by sixteen feet. The claim shanty is used as a store house. One farm 
stocked has two hundred and fifty sheep and thirty head of cattle, and 
both farms are well improved and bear the evidence of the best of 
management. Our subject left the farm in 1894 and started a general 
merchandise business under the firm name of Drayer Brothers, in which 
business he remained for six months. He was employed in the spring of 
1895 in the general store of Mr. Kohlman, and two years later, in 1897, 
the proprietor died, since which time our subject has had the 
management of the business for Mrs. Kohlman. In the fall of 1898 he 
began buying wheat with the firms of Helm and Drayer and later with 
Hurst and Drayer. 

Our subject was appointed postmaster at Turton during Cleveland's 
administration, serving in this capacity for three years. He is at 
present chairman of the township board and has filled various local 
offices. In political sentiment he is a Democrat. He is a member of the 
Modern Wood~nen of America and is one of the lodge officers.