Edwin H. Williams 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 451-452

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

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EDWIN H. WILLIAMS, a prosperous and public spirited farmer of Alton 
township, Brookings county, South Dakota, was born at Elgin, Illinois, 
May 25, 1855, a son of Edward and Eliza (O'Cain) Williams. Edward 
Williams was a son of George Williams, a Welshman whose wife was a 
native of England.  George Williams served as an officer in the United 
States army during the war of 181 z.  Edward Williams was a native of 
Niagara, New York, and for a number of years was captain and proprietor 
of a vessel on Lake Erie.  He located at Elgin, Illinois, about 1850 
and engaged for a time in real estate, and kept a country tavern in 
Kane county.  In 186o he removed to Fillmore county, Minnesota, and 
located on a farm where he resided until his death, January 12, 1897, 
at the age of eighty-two years.  He was a public-spirited citizen and a 
Republican in political views.  His wife still lives in Fillmore county 
at the age of sixty-nine years.  She was born in Ireland and came to 
America when seven years of age.  The family settled at Niagara, New 
York.

Edwin H. Williams spent the most of his boyhood in Fillmore county, 
Minnesota. In 1878, when he came to Brookings county, Dakota, his only 
possession was a team which he paid for with most of his first season's 
earnings after settling in Brookings county.  He took a pre-emption on 
section 28, Alton township, the same on which he still resides.  The 
first year he lived in bachelor quarters with his brother, after which 
he built a frame house, developed and improved his farm which has 
yielded him a comfortable fortune.  For the past twelve years he has 
given special attention to breeding Shropshire sheep, and has one of 
the finest flocks in the county.

January 7, 1885, Mr. Williams was united in marriage to Miss Lillie 
Renderknecht, daughter of John and Rebecca (Davis) Renderknecht, 
natives of Pennsylvania, and came to Dakota in 1883.  The former died 
at St. Charles, Minnesota, May i8, i888, at the age of seventy years, 
and the latter at St. Charles, Minnesota, June 2, i886, at the age 6f 
sixty-five years.  Mr. and Mrs. Williams have one son, Harry.  The 
family attends the Methodist church at Bushnell, but Mrs. Williams is a 
member of the Presbyterian church of Brookings.  Mr. Williams is a 
member of the Aurora lodge of the A. O. U. W.  Politically he 
affiliates with the Populist party.