Frederick W. Lander 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 518-521

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

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FREDERICK W. LANDER. This name is borne by one of McCook county's old 
settlers and representative citizens. His home is situated in 
Brookfield township, where for nearly twenty years he has successfully 
operated an agricultural business and enjoyed the comforts of a happy 
household and home. His portrait is presented on another page.  

Mr. Lander was born in Steuben county, New York, in the year 1841. His 
father, who was also a farmer by occupation, was a native of Germany, 
but came to America with his parents when he was but three or four 
years of age. The mother was also born in Germany and came to America 
when but a small child. Our subject is the second child in the order of 
birth, and the oldest son of a family of nine children. He was reared 
on a farm and had only the advantages of the country schools, and even 
this he attended very little after he was old enough to help his father 
with the farming and clearing the farm of the timber. At quite an early 
age he started in life for himself, working as an engineer in a 
sawmill. Saving enough money at this in one winter, he started in the 
spring of 1859, for Rockford, Illinois, to learn the carpenter's trade. 
As soon as he had finished his apprenticeship and had become fairly 
established in his trade, he returned to New York and was united in 
marriage to Miss Emma Hank and returned with his young wife to his 
Rockford home and plied his trade for ten years. Mrs. Lander's parents 
were also natives of the fatherland but came to this country when very 
young. After leaving the sash and blind shops our subject was put in 
charge of a sash and blind manufacturing establishment and was thus 
engaged for thirteen years.  

In 1861, Mr. Lander offered his services to the government to help put 
down the rebellion and was rejected, although while waiting for his 
examination he saw three weeks of camp life. In 1880, he sold his 
property in Illinois, having invested to some extent in real estate, 
and moved to Dakota and filed claims to government lands as follows: a 
tree claim to the southeast of section 6, Ramsey township; a pre-
emption claim to the southeast of section 1, Brookfield township; then 
after making his home on this for six months, he took up the west half 
of the west half of section 6, Ramsey township, all of which is in 
McCook county. 

In the spring of the following year, his family moved to Dakota and 
made their home with him on his new farm, but each winter for the first 
three years of his stay in Dakota, Mr. Lander returned to Illinois and 
worked in the sash and blind factory, and thus by push and energy he 
has met with eminent success and has gotten together a competency. He 
has added to his original farm one quarter-section and has also aided 
each of his four sons in their efforts to purchase farms. He has made 
wheat, oats, corn and a few cattle his principal farm products, 
although for a few years he tried raising horses and at one time had 
sixty head, but soon discontinued this as the price of horses was very 
low. In political views our subject was formerly a Republican and cast 
his first vote for Lincoln, but in 1892 he left ranks of that party and 
joined the Populist party. He strongly opposes the policies of equal 
suffrage and prohibition.  

Mr. and Mrs. Landers are the parents of a family of nine children, of 
whom we have the following record: John is married and has a family of 
three children; Edward is also married; Fred is still making his home 
with his parents on the farm; George is married and has one child, 
Flora is the wife of Gus Errickson; Clarence is married and has one 
child, and the other three children, Frank, Pearl and Roy, are still 
making their home with their parents, the oldest of which now operates 
the farm. Mr. Lander has rented his farm and shortly intends retiring 
to Salem to live.