Biography of William S. Bentley

	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, 1898. Page 355

	Scan and OCR by Joy Fisher, 1997. This file may be copied for non-profit 
	purposes. All other rights reserved. 


DR. WILLIAM S. BENTLEY is a well-known and popular physician of Gary, 
and one of Deuel county's leading citizens. Dr. Bentley was born in 
Elgin county, Ontario, near St. Thomas, on the 20th of October, 1868, 
and is a son of Isaac and Alma (Smith) Bentley, both natives of Elgin 
county, Ontario. His father was born in 1843, and died December 23, 
1895, at Detroit, Michigan; his mother's birth occurred in 1844, and she 
died just thirty years later. William attended the public schools of 
Ontario until about 1883, when he spent a year at the college of St. 
Thomas, Ontario, and then entered the college at Aylmer, same state, 
remaining there until April, 1886, finally going to Watertown, South 
Dakota, where for eighteen months he taught school in that vicinity. He 
then spent four years at the Brookings (South Dakota) Agricultural 
college, studying pharmacy and taking the regular college course. He was 
graduated in 1890 in pharmacy with P. H. G., and the following year 
received the degree of bachelor of science from the same institution. 
During his course he also studied elementary medicine, and completed the 
freshman year's work in that subject. In September, 1891,  he entered 
the Detroit College of Medicine, at Detroit, Michigan, being admitted to 
the second year class, the work which he had already completed 
constituting an equivalent of the freshman year. During the vacation of 
1892 he taught school at Bradley, South Dakota, for five months, and, 
there being no resident physician there, was induced to take up practice 
of medicine during that summer. In September of the same year he went to 
Chicago, Illinois, and became a student at the Hahnemann Medical college, 
from which he was graduated in March of the following year. He then went to 
Detroit, Michigan, and took charge of the practice established there by his 
father, the latter going to Bradley, South Dakota, where he remained for 
one year. Our subject stayed but six months in Detroit, joining his 
father in South Dakota. In 1894, however, in consequence of droughts and 
crop failures both father and son were compelled to leave Bradley, and 
the former returned to Detroit, while the latter took up his residence 
in Gary, South Dakota. He has since been in general practice there, and 
has met with very flattering success both in a professional and social 
way. Dr. Bentley started in life with little or nothing, having but 
twelve dollars as the sum of his worldly possessions at the time. He 
worked his way through every school and college he ever attended, and 
taught over nine terms while studying medicine alone. The Doctor is a 
Republican in politics, and was naturalized as an American citizen in 
1891. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, the M. W. of A., the A. 
O. U. W. and I. O. O. F.

	On the third of August, 1893, Dr. Bentley was married to Miss Mary 
Jane Monroe, who was born near St. Thomas, Ontario. in May, 1872. Dr. 
and Mrs. Bentley are the parents of two children, a girl, who was born 
July 23, 1896, and a son, born March 15, 1898. Mrs. Bentley is a member 
of the Baptist church.