Brown-Statewide County, SD News.....Sessions For Congress,  Something About His Past History, His Qualifications and His Business Intersts  August 8, 1890
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Marilyn Johnson McDowell texas26@gmail.com August 26, 2009, 7:30 pm

Aberdeen Press August 8, 1890
Something About His Past History, His Qualifications and His Business 
Interests.

Henry C. Sessions has been a resident of Brown county nearly ten years. He is 
45 years old having been born in 1844 in Ionia, Michigan, the son of Hon. 
Alonzo Sessions who was one of the sturdy pioneers of that state, a large 
farmer who was for four years lieutenant governor of Michigan. Mr. Sessions 
was reared upon a farm, remaining there until he reached the age of 19, when 
he enlisted in Custer's Calvary brigade at a time when no government of state 
bounties were being offered or paid, and served with credit til the close of 
the war, and is a member of the Ralph Ely Post, No. 45, G.A.R. of Columbia. 
After the close of the war he spent two years at the Wesleyan Seminary, N.Y. 
and one year at the State Agricultural College, Lansing, Michigan, in taking a 
special course preparatory to the study of law, which he entered upon at the 
age of 24, in the office of Wells and Morse at Ionia. He preceptors in the law 
were among were the most able men of Michigan. Mr. Wells afterward being 
consul at Dundee, Scotland, and Mr. Morse being elected judge of the supreme 
court of the state to succeed the famous jurist, T. M. Cooley. Mr. Sessions 
was a deputy clerk of Ionia county in 1868 and 1869, and was unanimously 
nominated for clerk in a convention where there was a sharp contest and in 
which all other nominated by majorities of one or two. After serving two years 
he was unanimously renominated and at the end of four years' service in this 
capacity declined a renomination, preferring to devote his whole time to the 
active practice of law, he having been admitted to the bar in 1872. In this, 
he was very successful, the firm of Smith & Sessions being one of the leading 
law firms of that section of the state, and having a large and lucrative 
practice. After seven years practice of his profession there he came to 
Dakota. For ten years beforecasting his fortunes with this growing 
northwestern territory he was a member of the republican committee of his 
native county, a for several years a member of the state committee, serving 
for a considerable time under Hon. Zacharia Chandler, as chairman, where he 
had much experience as an organizer during some of Michigan's hardest fought 
contests which will be of great value in helping to lead the party to victory 
this fall. Since coming to Dakota, Mr. Sessions has refrained from engaging in 
politics further than taking such an interest as every good citizen should 
take. He was unanimously elected mayor of Columbia in 1888, which is the only 
office held by him in Dakota. Last year he was elected Vice President of the 
Republican State League both of which honors came to him unsolicited. Twice he 
has declined the use of his name by his friends in Brown county for congress, 
but on the day of the convention he finally changed his mind.
While Mr. Sessions is an officer in a bank, he has large farming and stock 
interests, being a joint owner in one of the largest farms in Brown county, 
and which during the past five years, has never, until last year, produced 
less than 12,000 to 14,000 bushels of wheat.  He has the only herd of Guernsey 
cattle in the state. His agricultural interests far exceed all his other 
interests, and he is a friend of the farmer in the highest and best sense of 
the word - always encouraging and assisting them whenever opportunity offers.
He used all of his influence to get the legislature to pass some measure to 
assist the farmers to seed and feed last winter, and finally, when he saw that 
the steps taken would prove inadequate, used his influence in one of the 
orders to which he belongs to get an appeal promulgated to the lodges of the 
order throughout the United States and Canada, that resulted in $8,700 being 
raised which helped 200 destitute farmers to seed wheat oats and barley as an 
absolute donation.
By education, experience and natural ability Mr. Sessions is well qualified to 
fill an important position in the halls of our national legislature. The 
spontaneous and unanimous endorsement he received at the hands of our 
delegates to the state convention is in itself splendid evidence of the favor 
which the candidacy is looked upon in his own county, and an earnest to those 
who may not know him well, that his will be a strong name to place upon the 
state ticket.


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