James H. Snoddy 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 341-342

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

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JAMES H. SNODDY, county superintendent of schools of Hand county, is a 
native of Hendricks county, Indiana, and was born at Stilesville, June 
8, 1839. His parents, Absalom and Irene (Jones) Snoddy, were native of 
Kentucky. The father removed to Indiana at an early day with his 
parents, his father being Oliver F. Snoddy, also a native of Kentucky. 
The father on the maternal side was Oliver Jones, who came to Indiana 
in 1 822 also, the same year the elder Snoddy located in that state. 
Both spent the remainder of their lives in Indiana. 

Our subject had five brothers and three sisters, only one brother and 
one sister now living, and they reside on the old homestead in Indiana. 
Our subject grew to manhood in his native state, and in his youth made 
several trips by boat to New Orleans, and also drove cattle overland to 
Philadelphia. He was engaged as a canal driver for a time. He entered 
the Northwestern Christian University of Indianapolis in 1854. This 
institution is now known as Butler University located Irvington, 
Indiana. He left this school in 1861 to enlist as a volunteer, April 
13, and was mustered in as a member of Company H, Eleventh Indiana 
Volunteer Infantry, April 23, 1861, and served until the end of the 
war, September, 1865. After the close of the war, he returned to 
Indiana and engaged in teaching, and was elected county superintendent 
of schools of Jasper county, serving six years. In 1882 he took up his 
residence in Hand county, South Dakota, taking a claim in Alpha 
township, where he farmed for five years, his wife and daughter being 
the first to reside north of the railroad in Hand county. He served as 
principal of St. Lawrence school for six years, and was elected county 
superintendent of schools in 1898, and is now serving in that capacity. 

In 1861 our subject was married to Miss Charlotte Drake, a native of 
Indiana, and to them twelve children have been born, nine of whom are 
still living. The family belong to the Church of the Disciples. Mr. 
Snoddy is a member of the G. A. R., and a Republican in political 
faith, and is one of the most popular men in Hand county.