Clarence Elwin West 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, 1898. Pages 495-496

	Scan, OCR and editing by Joy Fisher, jfisher@sdgenweb.com, 1999.

	This file may be freely copied by individuals and non-profit 
	organizations for their private use. 

	Any other use, including publication, storage in a retrieval 
	system, or transmission by electronic, mechanical, or other 
	means requires the written approval of the file's author.

	This file is part of the SDGENWEB Archives. If you arrived here inside
	a frame or from a link from somewhere else, our front door is at

	http://usgwarchives.org/sd/sdfiles.htm

CLARENCE ELWIN WEST, deceased, was one of the brightest and most popular young 
business men of Brookings county. He was but thirty-four years of age when death 
claimed him, on the 12th of February, 1895, almost at the beginning of his 
career.  Mr. West was a man of fine education, of a studious turn of mind, very 
ambitious, and a veritable genius in the conduct of mercantile affairs.  In the 
short time that he was engaged in business in Brookings, which was his home, he 
amassed a competence, and had his life been spared for a few years longer, 
without doubt he would have become one of the wealthiest men in this part of the 
state.  Mr. West was born in Lind, Waupaca county, Wisconsin, June 10, 1861, and 
was the son of Azariah and Elizabeth E. (Dalton) West, whose history will be 
found in the biography of G. A. West, which appears in this work. Clarence West 
attended the public schools of Waupaca, and also took a thorough course in the 
high school at that place.  In i88i he came with his parents to Brookings 
county, where for a, few years he worked upon his homestead in summer and taught 
school in winter.  His natural business bent, however, manifested itself so 
strongly that, in the spring of 1887, he removed to the city of Brookings, 
intent upon getting a position in a mercantile house.  He succeeded in this, and 
for about three years was general manager of the large creamery at the county 
seat.  Mr. West found time during the winter to attend thc State Agricultural 
college, where he finally finished the course.  He was then offered a very 
advantageous position as principal of the public school at White, South Dakota.  
He accepted it, and remained there for one year.  Soon after he organized the 
firm of C. E. West & Co., and opened a large furniture and undertaking 
establishment at Brookings, of which he was general manager and principal owner 
until his death. The enterprise was a flattering success from the start, though 
inaugurated at a time of great business depression, when firms upon every side 
were either failing or going into voluntary liqrndation.  Mr. West devoted his 
entire time and attention to the building up of this business, and his great 
ability and capacity for hard work were amply demonstrated in the succeeding 
years.  The firm of C. E. West & Co. soon took its place as one of the largest 
and most flourishing concerns in the city, and remains today a splendid monument 
to the enterprise, progressiveness and honesty of its founder.

Mr. West's death was a very sudden one.  He had been ill less than ten days when 
the end came, and the shock to the family and the whole community was a most 
severe one.  Mr. West was a man of kindly disposition, very popular with all 
classes, honorable in all his dealings - a man whose loss was sincerely felt, 
not only by those near to him, but by the people at large of the city of 
Brookings.  He was a man who loved his home and family better than the glamour 
of the outside world, and his happiest hours were passed in his modest and 
comfortable abode, entertaining and being entertained by the company he never 
tired of, his wife and little children.  Mr. West was prominent in civic affairs 
and was ever aiding and encouraging movements and projects tending to benefit 
his city. He was one of the leading Masons of Brookings, being a member of the 
lodge, chapter and commandery of the Knights Templar, in all of which he held 
offices.  He was also well known in Eastern Star work.  Mr. West and his family 
attended the Presbyterian church.  Although not subscribing fully to that creed, 
he was a conscientious Christian, and always active in aiding benevolent and 
charitable enterprises.  Mr. West married Miss Francesca Rosche, a daughter of 
John and Elizabeth Rosche, and a native of Waupaca, Wisconsin, on the 27th of 
November, 1888.  Two children, Elizabeth Clare and Clarence Elwin, are the 
result of the union. Mrs. West still resides at Brookings.  She is a lady gifted 
with remarkable musical talent, and in the past has been a teacher of 
instrumental music in the State Agricultural college, at Brookings.  Mrs. West 
manifested her love for music when but a girl, and her parents put her under one 
of the best teachers in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  Later she attended the celebrated 
Chicago Conservatory of Music, one of the best-known schools in the west.  
Previous to her marriage Mrs. West gave instructions to private classes in 
instrumental and vocal music, and still continues the same.  Mrs. West is a 
finished artiste, both as a virtuoso and teacher, and is frequently heard in 
concert in Brookings and the surrounding towns, her services always being in 
demand.