Lincoln County, SD Biographies.....Gifford, Oscar S. 1842 - ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/sd/sdfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com December 28, 2007, 12:39 am Author: Geo. A. Ogle & Co. (1897) HON. OSCAR S. GIFFORD is a noted lawyer of Canton and a gentleman who holds a conspicuous position among the most eminent members of the Bar of South Dakota, both for his legal ability and forensic power. His residence in South Dakota extends over a period of a quarter of a century, and his record as an honorable and upright citizen is without a blemish. The natal day of Judge Gifford was October 20, 1842, and his birth place Watertown, N. Y. When he had attained the age of five years his parents removed to Rock county, Wis.; but five years later he returned to New York to take up his residence with his maternal grandfather, David Resseguie, for two years. In the meantime his parents had removed to Boone county, Ill., from Wisconsin, and in the latter place our subject joined them and continued to make his home much of the time until 1871, although in the meantime he was in the employ of the government for about a year and a half in the engineer corps. Judge Gifford enlisted in the cause of the preservation of the Union in September, 1864, and served in the Elgin (Ill.) battery until July, 1865, when he received an honorable discharge. After the war was over he decided to study for the legal profession, as he had a natural aptitude for that calling, and, with this objective point in view, he became a student at the Beloit academy at Beloit, Wis., and also taught school. In 1868 he took up his law studies in earnest in an office at Belvidere, Ill., and in 1870 was admitted to the bar. In 1871 he came to Lincoln county, and the first year of his residence here was spent in the mercantile business, and was later engaged for a time in surveying. He did not enter into the practice of his profession exclusively until 1873, and that year was elected a justice of the peace, the following year enjoyed election to the responsible position of district attorney, but did not qualify. Early during 1875 he formed a partnership with the late Mark W. Bailey, which continued till the death of the latter, in the fall of 1878. Since 1873 Mr., Gifford has given close attention to his professional duties and those of official life, continuing the habit of study which he formed in youth, and necessary to the remembrance of the precedents established under the great principles of law and equity. As a citizen Judge Gifford has been constantly before the public. In 1882 and '83 he served as mayor of Canton, and was a delegate to the constitutional convention, which convened at Sioux Falls September 7, 1883. He was elected territorial delegate to the Forty-ninth and Fiftieth congresses, and enjoyed re-election to the Fifty-first congress on the Republican ticket, receiving 51,136 votes, against 22,153 cast for his opponent, Mr. J. M. Booth, on the Democratic ticket. He was also a candidate for the nomination of governor before the Republican state convention at Aberdeen, S. Dak., which assembled July 7, 1896. While in congress Mr. Gifford served upon the committees of agriculture, Indian affairs, and public buildings and grounds, which had charge of the more important measures in which the people of Dakota were interested. It was largely through his efforts that the great Sioux and Sisseton and Wahpeton Indian reservations were opened to settlement, and Indian industrial schools were established at Pierre and Flandreau, and a large number of day schools opened in the Indian country. Mr. Gifford also reported to the house of representatives and had full charge of the measure for the construction of the public building at Sioux Falls. The question concerning the division of Dakota and the admission of North and South Dakota as states was the most important measure before congress while Mr. Gifford was a member thereof, and it was largely through his efforts, aided by the sentiment of his constituents, that Dakota was divided and two states formed from the immense territory. The measure known as the omnibus bill, by which North and South Dakota, Montana and Washington became states, was approved by the president and became a law February 22, 1889, and at the first election thereafter, held in October, 1889, Mr. Gifford was elected one of the representatives for South Dakota. From the above record it will be seen that Judge Gifford has been actively identified with the affairs of the state, and it is with pleasure that we give to the readers of this volume, a brief history of his life work. None know him but to respect him for his honorable, just, and straightforward manners, and his character is above reproach. The interesting ceremony which united the lives of Mr. O. S. Gifford and Miss Phoebe M. Fuller, was performed in Canton, May 14, 1874. This estimable lady is a native of Ohio, and her domestic life, with our subject, has been brightened by the birth of one son, on whom has been bestowed the name of Oscar Bailey. Mr. Gifford holds the commission of attorney for the C., M. & St. P. railroad company, and socially belongs to the Masonic fraternity. In this order he has served as grand master of the Blue Lodge, in which he holds membership. From 1882 to 1884 he was grand master of the territory of Dakota. Our subject also belongs to the Knights of Pythias, and commemorates his service as a soldier in the late war, by membership in Gen. Lyon post, G. A. R. Additional Comments: Extracted from: MEMORIAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF Turner, Lincoln, Union and Clay Counties, SOUTH DAKOTA. Containing Biographical Sketches of Hundreds of Prominent Old Settlers and Representative Citizens, with a Review of their Life Work; their Identity with the Growth and Development of these Counties; Reminiscences of Personal History and Pioneer Life; and other Interesting and Valuable Matter which should be Preserved in History. ILLUSTRATED CHICAGO. GEO. A. OGLE & CO. Publishers, Engravers and Book Manufacturers. 1897. Biography is the only true history.—EMERSON. A people that take no pride in the noble achievements of remote ancestors will never achieve anything worthy to be remembered with pride by remote generations.—MACAULAY. File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/sd/lincoln/bios/gifford235gbs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/sdfiles/ File size: 6.7 Kb