Biography of George W. Case

	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 279.

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


HON. GEORGE W. CASE, one of the most able and prominent attorneys in 
eastern South Dakota, lives in Watertown, Codington county. He was born 
in Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, March 3rd, 1 86 1 . His father, 
Lorenzo D. Case, was a native of the same county and followed the 
occupation of carpentering and contracting and also worked at farming. 
He went to Mason City, Mason county, Illinois, in 1868, and in to 1883,  
Sully county, South Dakota. In 1888, he returned to Mason City, 
Illinois, where he now resides. Mr. Case's mother, whose maiden name 
was Susan M. Scofield, is a native of New York, and moved from thence 
to Pennsylvania when quite young, and there grew to maturity and was 
married. Her father, George W. Scofield, was a Baptist minister. Mrs. 
Case was a singer in one of the Brooklyn choirs, and a musician of 
ability. Mr. Case's father and mother were the parents of five 
children, two sons and three daughters: Addie, wife of Charles A. 
Heninger, of Havana, Illinois; Callie, wife of William Matteson, Mason 
City, Illinois; Hon. George W.; Dr. Henry W., Chicago, III., and Nettie 
G., living at home.

	Our subject is the eldest and the third child in the order of 
birth. He attended school at Mason City and at Greenview, Menard 
county, Illinois. From there he went to Shurtleff college, at Alton, 
Illinois, working his way through by clerking in a store. In 1882 he 
was united in marriage to Miss Capitola Pierce, a native of Menard 
county, Illinois, a daughter of Christopher and Nancy Pierce. She was 
educated at the Greenview high school.

	In 1883, Mr. Case moved to Sully county, South Dakota, where he 
lived five years, proved up a claim, and studied law. In 1887 he went 
to Pierre for a short time and from thence moved to Watertown, in the 
employ of the Western Loan & Trust Company, and was thus engaged two 
years. For the next year and a half his principal occupation was the 
study of law, although he devoted enough time to other lines of work to 
make a comfortable living, and was admitted to the bar in May, 1891. He 
then entered the office of Mellette & Mellette, and about ten months 
later he was made a partner of the firm, and the name was changed to 
Mellette, Mellette & Case. The senior member of the firm was the last 
territorial governor of Dakota and the first governor of South Dakota. 
Mr. Mellette, Jr., afterward moved to Missouri on account of poor 
health and the firm became Mellette & Case, comprising the ex-governor 
and the subject of this sketch. In 189$, the ax-governor removed to 
Kansas and Mr. Case has since been in business alone, and has become 
one of the most able and prominent attorneys in that part of South 
Dakota. He has an extensive practice in all the courts and has been 
very successful. In T 896, he was nominated and elected representative 
in the state senate, and in that capacity, served as chairman of some 
of the important committees. February 14, 1848, he was appointed by 
President McKinley, as receiver of the United States land office at 
Watertown, South Dakota.

	To Mr. and Mrs. Case have been born five children, three boys and 
two girls.