William C. Kiser 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 890-893

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

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WILLIAM C. KISER, a well-known agriculturist of Tetonka township, is 
one of the most prosperous and substantial citizens of Spink county, 
yet his success has been by no means the result of fortunate 
circumstances. It has come to him through energy, labor and 
perseverance, directed by an evenly balanced mind and by honorable 
business principles. 

Mr. Kiser was born in Rockingham county, Virginia, July 17, 1828, and 
when quite young lost his father while the latter was prospecting in 
Ohio. Soon afterward, the mother, accompanied by her children, removed 
to that state and purchased a farm of one hundred and ten acres near 
Dayton, where the Soldiers Home is now located. After successfully 
operating that place for eight years, she removed to Logan county, 
Ohio, and purchased another farm of two hundred and sixty-seven acres, 
which she also conducted with marked success until some time in the 
'70s, when she sold it for twenty thousand dollars, and retired to 
spend the remainder of her life in the enjoyment of a competence which 
she so well earned and richly deserved. 

The first work which our subject performed was on his mother's farm, 
and in 1855 after his older brothers had all left home he took charge 
of the place, which he successfully managed for five years, when he 
went to a home of his own. His military service during the Civil war 
was limited to a short stay in Cincinnati at the time of Kirby Smith's 
threatened raid. In 1863 he removed to Dane county, Wisconsin, and 
bought a farm near Madison, which he operated until coming to Spink 
county, South Dakota, in the spring of 1881. Here he pre-empted the 
southeast quarter of section 9, Tetonka township, and took up a 
homestead on the southeast quarter of section 8. He also bought a 
relinquishment on a tree claim, and the first ,season had one hundred 
acres broken and sowed to wheat. He now owns and operates about one 
thousand six hundred acres of land, of which nine hundred and fifty 
acres are devoted to wheat; one hundred acres to corn; and the 
remainder to small grain; while he also has about two hundred acres 
fenced for pasture. He usually winters about fifty horses and ten or 
twelve head of cattle, and at one time he was quite extensively 
interested in the raising of hogs, but a hard winter so decimated his 
herd that he sold the remainder. 

In 1852 Mr. Kiser married Miss Jane Black, and to them were born three 
children, namely: Emma F., a resident of Ohio; Mary C., wife of Sidney 
Terwilliger, a stock dealer of Madison, Wisconsin; and Jane, who died 
in 1892. After the death of his first wife he married her sister, Miss 
Lucy A. Black, in 1860. They were the granddaughters of a near neighbor 
of Henry Clay. Five children were born of this union: James A., who is 
now managing the home farm; William C., who is engaged in the abstract 
business in Redfield, South Dakota; Dora, who is married and living in 
Joliet, Illinois; Pearl, at home; and Frank, who is attending the 
Bryant & Stratton Business College at Chicago. 

Mr. Kiser is descended from a long line of Democrats, but now supports 
the Populist party and is one of its oldest representatives in the 
state, having been connected with it since its organization. In 1875 he 
was elected to the office of sheriff in Dane county, Wisconsin, as a 
representative of the Grange movement, and in 1 888 was elected county 
treasurer of Spink county, which position he most creditably and 
satisfactorily filled for a term of two years. He has also been 
chairman of the town board and filled several school offices. He 
believes in state control of liquor and woman's suffrage, and is a 
supporter of every movement designed to promote the general welfare. He 
earnestly believes that Dakota is the country to which the poor man 
should come to secure a start in life, and has never regretted his 
removal to this state, for here he has steadily prospered. He is an 
honored member of the Masonic fraternity and at one time was connected 
with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and he has the friendship 
and high regard of all with whom he comes in contact either in business 
or social life. A portrait of Mr. Kiser is presented in connection with 
this sketch.