Robert A. Zimmerman 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 950-953

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

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ROBERT A. ZIMMERMAN. Among the better class of agriculturists whose 
pleasant homes have made Brown county noticeable as a thriving farming 
district, may well be mentioned this gentleman. He is one of the 
pioneer settlers of Riverside township, and has a well improved estate, 
and enjoys a comfortable competence. 

Our subject was born in Pennsylvania January 24, 1838, and was the son 
of Allen and Elizabeth (Huntsman) Zimmerman. His father was born in 
Germany and came to America with his parents when a small boy, and was 
raised in Pennsylvania. The grandfather of our subject bore the name of 
James Zimmerman. The mother of our subject was born in Germany, and her 
father, Robert Huntsman, was later a wealthy millwright and mill owner 
of Canada. 

Our subject was raised on a farm until ten years of age, when the 
family moved from Clinton county, Canada, to Berford township, Brant 
county, Canada. He was apprenticed to a man by the name of Murry 
Gilmore at the age of sixteen years to learn the millwright trade, 
receiving for the first few years but board and clothes, and during the 
last two or three years of his seven years apprenticeship he received a 
dollar per day. He worked three years as foreman for Mr. Gilmore, who 
was an extensive contractor, and then went to contracting and job work 
for himself. 

He made a trip to California in the fall of 1869 and erected E. T. 
Star's flour mill, at Vallejo, the largest flouring mill on the Pacific 
coast. This work covered three years, and he then returned to Canada 
and for three years worked as foreman for William Merrill, on the Port 
Dover & Lake Huron railroad, building all the warehouses, elevators, 
stations, culverts, etc., that were put in as the road was built. He 
next erected the extensive oat-meal mill in Canada for John Forrest & 
Company, at Woodstock, Oxford county, Canada, and then built the 
largest oat-meal mill in America, the North Star mill, on Rock river, 
in Ogle county, Illinois. He then built the oat-meal mill of Stewart & 
Douglas, located on Sixteenth street in Chicago, and spent the next 
season contracting in Canada. His career as a contractor has included 
some of the largest and most extensive works in the country. He went to 
Brown county, in the fall of 1880, and at once took a tree claim and 
pre-emption, and spent the winter in Water, town, working with Alex 
Johnson at his trade, and witnessed one of the most severe winters in 
South Dakota. His son, A. A., went to Dakota in the spring of 1881 and 
built a shanty and began the improvement of the farm. His family were 
duly installed in the new home and experienced shanty life When our 
subject went to Dakota he had just enough money to make the journey and 
had a team of oxen, a plow and wagon, and worked at his trade from time 
to time to get a start. He now has a farm of six hundred and forty 
acres of land, and has a substantial and commodious residence, large 
barn, 40 x 100 feet, covering more ground than any barn in the 
township, two granaries with a capacity of six thousand bushels, two 
wells and windmills, and every convenience of modern farming. His 
residence was destroyed by fire in the spring of 1898, none of the 
family saving any of their clothing or possessions. The fire was 
discovered at night, and was started on the outside of the house. The 
loss was fully one thousand dollars and he now has a new residence 
built at a cost of about one thousand dollars. During the summer of 
1897 his barn, 15 x 40 feet, with two fourteen-foot wings, was struck 
by lightning and burned. 

Mr. Zimmerman was married November 2, 1859, to Miss Cynthia Chambers, 
who was of Irish and German descent, and was born and raised in Canada. 
Three sons and two daughters have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Zimmerman, 
as follows: Archie A., Petter F., Ada, Frank, and Inez, the first girl 
born in Groton township, Brown county. Our subject has filled nearly 
all of the township offices, and takes especial interest in school 
affairs. He is a member of the Reform party, and a free silver man, and 
has been a delegate to numerous county conventions, and takes an active 
part in the affairs of his party. He is a man of progressive ideas, and 
keeps thoroughly posted on local affairs, and commands the respect of 
his associates. Portraits of Mr. Zimmerman and family will be found on 
another page of this volume.