George E. Hatch 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 770-773 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 GEORGE E. HATCH, the well known postmaster of Earlville, and a prominent farmer of Beadle county, South Dakota, whose home is on section 21, Burr Oak township, was born in Buchanan county, Iowa, February 6, 1853, and is the oldest in a family of four children born to Henry B. and Betsey N. (Billings) Hatch. By a former marriage to a Mr. Kessler the mother had five children. Henry B. Hatch, who was a well-to-do farmer and highly respected man, died when our subject was in his fourteenth year. The son remained at home with his mother until he attained his majority, and was offered by her splendid opportunities for obtaining an education, but only availed himself of a very limited common-school training, a thing that he has ever since deeply regretted. Mr. Hatch worked one summer as a farm hand in Boone county, Illinois, and it was there that he became acquainted with Miss Mary J. Lucas, who on the 15th of October, 1873, became his wife. She was born in Jones county, Iowa, April 27, 1854, a daughter of Reuben M. and Mary A. (Andrews) Lucas. Her mother died when she was only six months old and about a year later her father married Susan S. Hersey. To Mr. and Mrs. Hatch have been born six children, namely: Blanche M., who is now successfully engaged in teaching school; Henry H.; Charles R., who has the distinction of being the first white child born in Burr Oak township, his birth occurring August 7, 1882; Mattie M.; Guy B., deceased; and Frederick G. After his marriage, Mr. Hatch returned to his old home in Iowa and for a year managed the farm for his mother, who is still living there. She was born in 1820. Later he operated rented land and worked at different occupations until the spring of 1882, when he came to Beadle county, South Dakota, and located on the southeast quarter of section 33, Burr Oak township, as a preemption, but later changed it to a homestead. After proving it up, he continued to reside there until 1890, when he removed to the southwest quarter of section 21, the same township, and there continues to make his home. He has since acquired five other quarter-sections, and usually has 300 acres under the plow, while the remainder is in pasture and meadow land. He is especially interested in stock raising, and now has a fine herd of one hundred and fifty head of cattle and twenty-five horses. He has met with excellent and well- deserved success since coming to this state, and is now numbered among tie most substantial, as well as the most highly respected and honored citizens of his community. Formerly he was a supporter of the Republican party, but is now a follower of Teller on the silver issue. When the post office was established at Earlville he was appointed postmaster and has continuously held that position. Portraits of Mr. and Mrs. Hatch appear on another page of this volume.