Eli Reynolds 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 501-502

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

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ELI REYNOLDS, deceased, was an honored veteran of the Civil war and one 
of the earliest settlers and most highly esteemed citizens of Beotia 
township, Spink county, South Dakota. He was born September 8, 1826, in 
Canada, where he grew to manhood, and at the age of thirteen years was 
put out to work for a farmer. On the 10th of July, 1851, he led to the 
marriage altar Miss Catherine Horning, who was born in Toronto, Canada, 
December 7, 1828, and has spent her entire life on a farm. She now 
resides in Spink county. Six children were born of this union, namely: 
Emma, William, Elmira, Augustus, Mary and Byron, all of whom are 
married with the exception of William, and all now reside on farms in 
this state except Augustus, who makes his  home in California, and 
Emma, who resides in Michigan.  

It was in 1860 that Mr. and Mrs. Reynolds came to the United States, 
and after stopping for a short time in Michigan removed to Illinois and 
later to New York state, where he enlisted in the Union army about six 
months after locating there in 1862, becoming a member of Company F, 
Eleventh New York Cavalry, under the command of Captain McCallum. He 
participated in the  capture of New Orleans and was with Sherman on his 
march to the sea, but during most of his  service was engaged in 
hunting guerrillas. He was taken ill on account of exposure and from 
the effects of the same he never recovered, but many years after the 
war drew a pension up to the time of his death.  

After being mustered out and discharged, Mr. Reynolds with his family 
removed to Galloe Island (one of the Thousand Islands) and from there 
to Michigan, where they made their home until coming to Spink county, 
South Dakota, in 1882. Although he had only five hundred dollars on his 
arrival here, he was the owner at the time of his death of a valuable 
farm of three hundred and twenty acres in Beotia township, upon which 
he had erected good and substantial buildings and made many other 
improvements. Mrs. Reynolds was the first white woman to locate in the 
township. Here our subject took up from the government the north half 
of section 20 and on the dividing line between the two quarter sections 
he erected his first building, which was a house and barn combined. 
Here the first church services and Sunday school were conducted in the 
township, and it is still standing Upon the spot where it was built in 
1882-a landmark of pioneer days. Mr. Reynolds had a hard time to obtain 
water and in early days had to haul the same a distance of seven or 
eight miles, though he dug ten wells upon his farm. Wheat was always 
his principal crop in this state.  

On becoming a citizen of the United States, Mr. Reynolds identified 
himself with the Republican party, but the last few years of his life 
was a Populist. He was an earnest and consistent member of the 
Methodist Episcopal church, to which his widow also belongs, and died 
in that faith May 25, 1899, honored and revered by all who knew him.