James B. Fox Biography


	This biography appears on pages 531-532, 533 in "History of Minnehaha
 	County, South Dakota" by Dana R. Bailey and was scanned, OCRed
 	and edited by Joy Fisher, http://www.rootsweb.com/~archreg/vols/00001.html#0000031
.

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FOX, JAMES B., was born in October, 1839, in Ohio, and lived there until he 
was twenty years of age, when he removed to Iowa and remained there until 
the breaking out of the war.  In October, 1861, he enlisted in the 14th 
Iowa Infantry and served two years and a half, then enlisted in Company M, 
7th Iowa Cavalry and served until his discharge at Sioux City on the 22d day 
of June, 1866.  Quite a portion of the time his regiment was stationed on 
the frontier in the northwest, he participated in a good many battles with 
the Indians. He was with his regiment at Forts Randall, Thompson, Sully and 
Dakota.  The winter of 1864-5 he spent in the barracks at Fire Steel, and 
speaking of "blizzards" Mr. Fox said: "We had a blizzard that winter that 
was a blizzard, nothing of the kind has happened in this section of Dakota 
since then to be compared with it."  During the fall of 1865 he was at Fort 
Dakota, where Sioux Falls is now located, and during the summer of 1866 he 
says, "the water was so low in the Sioux river that people could cross it 
where the Cascade mill is now without getting their shoes wet."  At that time 
there were only two small buildings within the present limits of the city of 
Sioux Falls, aside from the buildings occupied by the military forces. One 
building was located near where the Cataract hotel is now, and the other on 
the west bank of the river, near the location of the Tenth street bridge.  
The last mentioned building was very small and built of stone, and was 
occupied by a white man who had a turning lathe and was engaged in 
manufacturing ornaments of pipestone. This was undoubtedly the first 
manufacturing industry in the County of Minnehaha.

After his discharge from the army, Mr. Fox remained a few months in 
Sioux City and then returned to Ohio.  In 1867 he went to Illinois, 
where he married his present wife and lived two years, then went back 
once more to Ohio and remained there until 1878, when he removed to 
Dakota. He arrived in Sioux Falls on the 15th day of April of that year, 
and has been a resident of Dakota ever since. He is a carpenter by trade, 
and for the last five years has been employed as janitor for the Central 
school building in Sioux Falls.  He has always been an upright and 
respected citizen.