Rev. J. B. Freeland 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 713-714

	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


REV. J. B. FREELAND, financial agent of the Wessington Springs 
Seminary, and a man of great influence in Jerauld county and central 
South Dakota, was born in the state of New York in 1835. His parents' 
were natives of the same state, and our subject was the second of a 
family of five children. He was reared on a farm and during his youth 
worked at farming and attended the public schools when opportunity 
offered. He was converted, and united with the Methodist Episcopal 
church at the age of nineteen years.` He soon after began preaching and 
became a local preacher of considerable power. In 1860 upon the 
formation of the Free Methodist church, he attached himself to this 
branch of Methodism and became a minister. He joined the conference and 
has continued in the work ever since. He continued to educate himself, 
and his learning has been obtained mostly through his own private 
endeavor. His first pastorate was what is now Oakfield, New York. He 
also traveled over the state extensively, ten years as circuit 
preacher, and afterward as district elder. He was first connected with 
the Genessee conference and afterwards with the Susquehanna conference 
in New York state, and resided at Binghamton five years, at Utica three 
years, at Syracuse two years, at Cortland one year, and at Chili two 
years. 

In 1885, Rev. Freeland was assigned to a field in Dakota, as district 
elder, having charge of Sioux Falls and adjoining counties, with 
headquarters in that city. In 1887 he went to Mitchell and worked in 
the territory west of the James river, and in the fall of 1888 he 
located at Wessington Springs. He was one of a committee appointed to 
locate the Wessington Springs Seminary in 1887. The same year the 
school was incorporated, and the basement of the building was so far 
completed as to permit the holding of the sessions of the school there, 
and for two years its eighty students were sheltered by a board roof. 
In 1890 the outside of the building was completed, and thereafter the 
interior was finished as its means would permit. The object of the 
school is the promotion of Christian education, and the institution is 
under the control of the South Dakota conference of the Free Methodist 
church. The school was represented at the Columbian Exposition and 
received honorable recognition. 

In 1849 our subject was married to Miss Marriet Hardy, a native of the 
state of New York. Mrs. Freeland's father was a native of Connecticut 
and her mother was born in Massachusetts, and her ancestors bore 
honorable part in the Revolutionary war. Mrs. Freeland has ably 
seconded the efforts of her husband in his work, and was for nine years 
preceptors of the Wessington Springs Seminary, while their son was 
principal of the same institution. Their conscientious and thorough 
work attained for the school a high standard of excellence. The 
institution was located on land given by Rev. A. B. Smart, who also 
donated eighty acres, which has been divided into lots and sold for the 
benefit of the school. Since 1889 Rev. Freeland has been financial 
agent of the institution, and through his efforts and influence its 
revenues have been replenished and its facilities increased.