Union County, SD Biographies.....Duncan, Robert 1837 - ************************************************ 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 29, 2007, 10:34 pm Author: Geo. A. Ogle & Co. (1897) ROBERT DUNCAN. This name will be at once recognized by many of our readers as that of a prominent and influential old settler of Union county, in Prairie Prairie township, of which he is conducting farming operations. He has been since 1873 connected with the agricultural labors of the county, and is well-known and highly regarded for his progressive ideas in all matters pertaining to the cultivation of the soil. The parents of our subject were Samuel and Janet (Flockhart) Duncan, both natives of Scotland, where the latter died at the age of forty-eight years. Mr. Duncan was a blacksmith by trade and a fine workman. He emigrated to Canada in 1846 and on the voyage was shipwrecked off the coast of St. Johns, narrowly escaping death. He crossed the dark river after having attained the ripe old age of eighty-nine years. They were the parents of eleven children, of whom a complete record will be found in the sketch of Archibald Duncan, Sr., in another part of this volume. Robert was the seventh child in order of the birth of the children and first saw the light of day in Sterlingshire, Scotland, August 9, 1837. He was reared until eighteen years of age amid the usual surroundings of farm life in the land of heather, and under circumstances that developed in him habits of industry and practical observation of that which was going on about him. He attended the common schools, acquiring a good knowledge of the branches usually taught, and prepared his mind for the battle of life in future years. In 1856 he emigrated from his mother country to Canada and located at East Oxford for two years, at the expiration of that time buying a piece of land at the head of the Georgian bay. He cleared this land and lived on it until 1861, when he sold out and went to Omaha, Neb. He came back to Canada shortly after, however, for his family, and then went to southern Illinois, settling on a farm in Effingham county. He lived there all during the Civil war, surrounded by "copperheads" and rebel sympathizers, but he remained true to the northern cause, and on one occasion carried word to Union headquarters of a contemplated raid on the railroad property which through this timely information was prevented. He continued to make his home on the farm there until 1873 when he removed his family to Dakota territory, settling on the property where he now lives. The settlers lived in "dug outs" then and when he arrived the grasshoppers were in their glory, devouring everything that came in their way. The farm on which he located was all prairie, and there wasn't a neighbor near. He first lived in a "dug out" and later built the first house in Prairie township. He had to travel thirty miles for provisions in those pioneer times, which, on account of the poor roads, etc., occupied almost two days. He has lived here continuously and has taken a prominent part in the development of the county and the elevation of its civilization. All the present improvements on his farm he has put there himself; the land is well cultivated and tilled and compares favorably with any in the township. He originally owned the whole of section 17, but divided it in half and gave 160 acres to each of his two eldest sons. He carries on an extensive general farming business exclusively, and the methodical manner in which the farm is conducted, speaks well of its manager. The subject of our sketch was married in Scotland in 1855, shortly prior to his emigration to Canada, the bride being Miss Mary Meikle. Mrs. Duncan was born October 10, 1837, and followed her husband to the home he had located in the new world in 1857. To this congenial union have come the following children, viz.: Janet, the wife of Willis Thompson; William, married Miss Louise Blake; Archibald, married Miss Nellie Oaks; Mary, now Mrs. William Staley; Marian, the wife of Stephen Godfrey; Margaret, deceased; Eva; Ella; John; David; Robert; and an infant, deceased. Mr. Duncan has always taken an active interest in educational matters, and has given all his children the advantages of good, sound schooling, sending them to various colleges after completing their common school courses. He was instrumental in organizing his school district; in fact he built the first school house and hired the first teacher, and has ever since been a member of the board of directors. The family are all members of the Baptist church at Beresford, in which Mr. Duncan has served as deacon for a number of years. Besides the interest in the advancement of the cause of education which our subject takes, he also takes an active part in local political matters. He is a Populist in belief and was the first man in his section of the county to renounce the Republican party for the Populist, and he has always attended the various conventions of the party. Although he has often been importuned to do so, he has never accepted the nomination for any public office, preferring to allow others of his fellow citizens to become candidates and then use his influence in their favor. Take him all in all, he is a man of prominence in agricultural, political and religious circles, and has made himself useful to the community in divers ways. On another page of this volume the reader will notice a portrait of our subject and his estimable wife. 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/union/bios/duncan260gbs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/sdfiles/ File size: 6.6 Kb