Marshall County, SD History - Books .....Miller Township 127-58 1886
************************************************
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 April 18, 2005, 8:24 pm

Book Title: History Of Marshall County, Dakota

MILLER, 127-58.

    Miller township is centrally located and the surface slightly undulating,
with the exception of the quite prominent elevation upon which Britton is
located. This low range of hills commences in the southwest corner of the
township and gradually rises higher, and extends across the northwestern part of
Pleasant Valley township into White township, where it abruptly terminates.
Between this point and the Coteaus there is a gap through which the Wild Rice
flows north. All of this elevation is good farming land, and the best of water
is easily obtained almost anywhere. This township was not surveyed until the
summer of 1883, and consequently was wholly settled by squatters, some of them
not hesitating to gobble school land when they must have known from the
proximity of the town line that it was school land. It is a disputed point as to
the first actual settler of the township. After carefully investigating this
question, the writer sifted the matter down to the following, viz:

    J. E. Roberts personally stated to the writer that in the fall of 1882,
about November 1st, he built a small sod shanty on section 14. He then returned
to his home in Budd, Iowa, and came back here the next spring. Mr. Wm. H. Ross,
of Stena, who located most of the settlers in the township, told the writer that
about March 20,1883, he was looking over this towship and found a sod stable and
a hay stack on what is now section 11. These improvements were that spring
claimed by Mr. Wm. Greeves, who now lives on section 1. We regret that we did
not learn the above statement in time to interview Mr. Greeves and settle the
dispute. About the 11th of April James Merrill, of New York, settled on section
31. His son David died in 1884; Wm. Nay, from Michigan, settled on the same
section. Chas. Craft, from East Burlington, Ill., came into the township April
9, and on 11th and 12th built a shanty on section 6. He now lives on section 4.

     JOSEPH S. MILLER, for whom the township was named, was born in Green Briar
county, Va., in 1816. In 1822 removed with his parents to Jackson Co., Ohio. In
1853 married Mary Staines, and in 1855 moved to Jo Daviess Co., Ill.; later to
Macon Co., Ill. In the spring of 1883, April 11th, settled on his present home,
section 29. Mr. Miller was the first settler with a family and dug the first
well in the township. Mr. Miller has taken an active part in the organization of
the township and also in school matters, his age and experience giving him quite
an advantage in such business. His children located as follows: J. Lincoln
Miller, section 32; Mary, section 29, now lives in Andover, having married Fred
Pew. Ann Eliza, section 29; Dutton, section 29. Alice, who lives at home, is the
youngest daughter and took no claim.

    The following named settlers all came here in 1883-4:

     The Burch family was among the first and came here from Kent Co., Mich.,
Mrs. H. D. Burch and son, A. L. Burch, section 9; W. T. Burch, section 4; A. J.
and E. Burch, section 17. Chas. Mitchell, from Ann Arbor, Mich., a brother to
the Mitchells of Newark, settled on section 5, April 11, '83. Fred Cowan, from
East Burlington, section 6. W. R. Rowland came here from California and located
on section 6; afterwards sold out and settled northeast of Britton. H.
Christopher bought out D. Freeman in '86 on section 5. Julius Zellmer, from
Wisconsin, section 4. Robert Sayers, from Cassleton, Dak., section 4. Frank
Tank, from Wisconsin, section 8. Albert and Herman Bundrock, from Wisconsin,
section 7. Ferdinand Zielk and Albert Tesch, from Wisconsin, section 17. John H.
Moore, from Battle Creek, Mich., section 18. Ferd. Tank, from Wisconsin, section
18. Rudolph Snyder, from La Pierre Co., Mich., and Paul Snyder, section 19.
Agustus Smith and Chas. Smith, from La Pierre Co., Mich., sections 19 and 20;
Chas. Smith died in April, 1885. S. Baker and father, S. C. Baker, from Burr
Oak, Iowa, section 20. Mrs. S. Baker died Aug. 16, 1884. S. T. Miles and S. T.
Miles, Jr., from Macon Co., Ill., section 30. Opened their blacksmith-shop in
Britton, '85. John and Edward Waite, from Kalamazoo, Mich., section 21. Fred
Anderson and sister Lucinda, from Canada, sections 21 and 28. J. L. Shepherd,
from Macon Co., Ill., section 30. George Heath, from Macon Co., Ill., section
30; June 12, 1885, he went with other parties to Four Mile Lakes on the
reservation, fishing, where he ate a poisonous root and died within an hour. His
mother, Mrs. M. E. Hughes, died December 27, 1885. Benj. and James Madole, from
Pennsylvania, section 32. James H. Pike, from Greenville, Mich, section 27; Mr.
Van Camp, from same locality and on the same section. Miss T. Collins, from
Canada, section 28. George Anderson and Geo. Anderson, Jr., from Canada, section
33. Lee Brown, from. New York, section 33. Richard Jones, from Howard county,
Iowa, located his claim on section 35, April 7, '83, but did not settle there
until June 1st, same year. John Guy, from Freeborn, Minn., section 35. I. H.
Olson came from Norway in '79 to Lacque Parle, Minn., section 36. Richard Ryse,
from Shelbyville, Ind., section 36. His father, Wm. J. Ryse, section 25. D. C.
Bell, from Hartland, Vt., section 26. Mr. Bell is now assessor of Miller
township, including Britton. Quince E. Kreiger, from South Bend, Ind., section
26. Wm. P. Plaisted, section 23; he and Wm. Pomeroy now operate the steam
feed-mill erected by Geo. Heath and Madole in spring of '85. Wm. Plaisted, the
father of Harry, Thomas and Wm. P. Plaisted, came here in '84 and settled on
section 35. Harry Plaisted came here in the spring of '83 and squatted on
section 25, now a part of Britton. (See Britton). The Plaisteds are from
Lincoln, Me. J. Parker, from Grant county, Dak., section 25. Orlando Stevens,
from Lisbon, section 36. Geo. Hudson, from Wisconsin, section 34. C. M. Peters,
from Wisconsin, section 34. Lyman D. Jacox, from Michigan, section 22. Hans
Overbo, from Wisconsin, section 24. Wm. Kenner, from Michigan, and Chas.
Buchart, from Wisconsin, section 15. Henry Arness, from Iowa, section 24. Isaac
Robertson, section 23. Geo. A. Wilson, from Freemont, Ohio, section 13. Mr.
Wilson has been deputy treasurer since the organization of the county. Orrin
Martin, from Illinois, section 13. Ralph Hay, from Minnesota, section 12. Mr.
Hay was elected commissioner for the central district of this county in July,
1885. Fred Jahnig, from Missouri, and Chas. Theiman, from Van Buren county,
Mich., section 14. James Drake, Wm. Cook, F. Bennett and John Vicory, all from
St. Johns, Mich., and live on section 11. Ole Dalberg, from Houston county,
Minn.,section 10.

Agustus McEldowney, from Kalamazoo, Mich., section 10. John Sutherland from
Kalamazoo, Mich., E. J. Stokes and Frank Taylor, from Buffalo, Minn., section 3.
Hugh Bell, on section 2, and Wm. Johnson, Wm. Greeves and Geo. Davis are all
from Ontario, Canada, and settled on section 1. Cyrus Secord, from Lansing,
Mich., section 18.



Additional Comments:
HISTORY OF MARSHALL COUNTY, DAKOTA.
ITS TOPOGRAPHY AND NATURAL HISTORY, SKETCHES OF PIONEER SETTLERS, WITH THE NAMES
OF ACTUAL SETTLERS, WHERE THEY ARE FROM, AND WHERE THEY LIVE; ALSO THE MILITARY
AND SISSETON RESERVATIONS.
BY
GEORGE HICKMAN.
BRITTON. DAK.: J. W. BANBURY, PUBLISHER. 1886.


File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/sd/marshall/history/1886/historyo/millerto119gms.txt

This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/sdfiles/

File size: 7.9 Kb