Charles Knudson 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 694-695

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

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CHARLES KNUDSON, a successful farmer and stock raiser of Wessington 
Springs township, Jerauld county, South Dakota, is a worthy 
representative of one of the honored and highly respected pioneer 
families of this locality- one that has taken an active and prominent 
part in its upbuilding and prosperity. He was born in Iowa, in 1868, 
and is a son of Erik and Gertrude Knudson, natives of Norway, who on 
their emigration to America in 1866 located in Wisconsin, but in the 
spring of 1 867 removed to Iowa, where the father engaged in farming. 
He became the owner of a fine farm of one hundred and twenty acres in 
that state, all of which was under cultivation with the exception of 
about fifteen acres. Upon the place was also a grove of ten acres of 
forest trees. 

The subject of this sketch was reared in his native state and acquired 
a good country school education. In 1883, he came with the family to 
South Dakota, and located on the northwest quarter of section 14. 
Wessington Springs township, where they erected a shanty, 14x 16 feet. 
They underwent all the experiences of pioneer life, and for about five 
years their only fuel was hay. The country was all wild and unimproved, 
and one season their crops were completely destroyed by hail. Our 
subject and his father have watched with interest the entire 
development of the county and have been no unimportant factors in 
advancing its welfare. 

The father brought with him to Dakota over two car loads of stock, 
household goods, farm machinery, etc., driving eighty eight head of 
cattle and nine horses across the country from Iowa. He now owns a fine 
farm of three hundred and twenty acres, of which sixty-five acres have 
been placed under cultivation, the remainder being pasture and meadow 
lands. He has made a specialty of stock raising, and our subject 
devotes most of his time to that industry. His best crop was raised in 
1891, when he harvested two thousand five hundred and fifty bushels of 
wheat from a tract of eighty five acres. The average yield of the farm 
is about eleven bushels per acre of wheat. In 1887 the family removed 
to the southeast quarter of section 11, Wessington Springs township, on 
which has been erected a comfortable residence, a barn 32 x 64 feet, 
and all necessary outbuildings. Mr. Knudson now successfully operates 
six hundred and forty acres of land, and is acknowledged to be one of 
the most through and skillful young farmers of his locality. He is a 
prominent member of several secret societies, and as a Populist takes 
an active part in political affairs. In 1898 he served as assessor of 
his township.