Theodore Thompson 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 395-396

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

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THEODORE THOMPSON, an enterprising and progressive farmer of Silver 
Creek township, Sanborn county, South Dakota, was born in Minnesota, in 
1871, and is the second in order of birth in a family of eight 
children. His parents are Hallek and Judge Thompson, the former born in 
Norway, the latter in Dane county, Wisconsin, of Norwegian parents. At 
the age of sixteen the father emigrated to America and two years later 
he enlisted in the Fifteenth Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry for service 
in the Civil war, in which he participated for three years and six 
months. Later he engaged in farming in Minnesota, and in 1882 brought 
his family to Dakota, locating on the south half of the southeast 
quarter, and the south half of the southwest quarter of section 22, 
Silver Creek township, Sanborn county. He also took a tree claim on the 
southwest quarter of section 15, the same township. He brought with him 
to this state eleven head of cattle and as a shelter for these he made 
a stable of poles and hay, while his first home here was a sod house, 
12 x 14 feet. This region was then an unbroken prairie, and from his 
humble abode there was only one house in sight. The first year he hired 
five acres broken and for several years raised good crops of sod corn, 
but as he had few acres under cultivation times were very hard. He 
continued the operation of his land here until 1894, when he returned 
to Minnesota. 

Theodore Thompson, our subject, was reared on a farm in his native 
state until the removal of the family to Dakota, and obtained a limited 
education in the country schools of that state. In 1894 he rented his 
father's tree claim, where a house and barn had been erected two years 
previously, but the homestead of the family was sold. In 1893 he was 
united in marriage with Miss Anna Anderson, who was born in this 
country of Norwegian parentage, and two children bless this union: 
Helda and Alva. 

In 1897 he purchased his father's tree claim, and has since 
successfully engaged in its operation. He follows general farming but 
makes a specialty of cattle raising, as it has proved more profitable, 
and he now keeps about thirty head. About eleven years ago the family 
had three head of cattle killed by the roof of the stable falling in 
upon them, caused by the snow piling so high upon it. During early days 
Mr. Thompson would often stay up all night watching prairie fire which 
could be seen twenty miles away, and the flames would often mount as 
high as twenty feet. As a guard was always kept during the season when 
these fires prevailed, the family lost nothing in this way. They 
experienced many other hardships and privations, however. On locating 
here the father walked from Sioux Falls, and every season for several 
years he worked as a harvest hand to help-meet his expenses, but at 
length success came to him, and he is now quite well-to-do. Our subject 
now has eighty acres of land under cultivation and three hundred and 
twenty acres in pasture. In partnership with his father-in-law, they 
rent the school section in Silver Creek township. Upon his place he has 
a good house, barn, corn cribs, a well one hundred and two feet deep, 
and eleven acres planted in forest and fruit trees, including plum and 
apple trees, raspberries, gooseberries and currants. He is an ardent 
supporter of the Republican party, and has served as a delegate to its 
county conventions. In religious faith he is a Lutheran.