Union County, SD Biographies.....Rust, Francis M. 1844 - 
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Author: Geo. A. Ogle & Co. (1897)

FRANCIS M. RUST, one of Union county's esteemed and highly respected citizens,
is a native of Switzerland, and from the mountains of that picturesque land he
imbibed the patriotism that makes the Swiss famous the world over for love of
country. He was born in the city of Sullidorn, near the border of the French
republic, October 4, 1844, and is a son of Joseph and Elizabeth (Eckard) Rust,
both natives of Switzerland. Francis was but five years of age when his parents
emigrated to America, in 1849. They landed at New York city, and came directly
west to Chicago and settled in Du Page county, Ill., where they lived for two
years. About 1851 they continued on westward and settled in Buchanan county, on
the border of Blackhawk county, Iowa. This was on the frontier then, and they
entered government land and made a permanent home there till their deaths, Mr.
Rust dying in 1876, and Mrs. Rust in 1885, both at advanced ages. They were the
parents of nine children, all of whom were born in Switzerland save the
youngest; four are living, viz.: Mary Ann Pratt, who resides in Turner, Ill.;
Frank, who lives in this county; Elizabeth Genier, of Buchanan county, Iowa; and
Francis M. Of the deceased Johnny was a member of company B, Fourth Iowa
cavalry, and was killed at the battle of Memphis, Tenn., in 1863, aged seventeen
years. Frank was also a member of the same company and regiment, as was likewise
Francis M., the subject of this memoir. The latter enlisted in 1862, and
participated in the battle of Pea Ridge, Ark.; it was his first engagement, and
lasted three days, during the third day of which he received a wound in the arm
from a bayonet thrust at close quarters, and, besides this, his horse was shot
and he was ruptured by the animal falling on him. While in this precarious
condition he was run over and had an ankle dislocated. From the battle field he
was taken to the hospital tent, where he remained for three weeks, and was
subsequently discharged and sent home. He returned to his home in Iowa, and
after recovering from his wounds he took up farming in connection with a broom
factory, which business he was engaged in for several years. He established a
broom factory in Albany, Mo., near St. Joe, which he operated for several years,
subsequently returning to the Hawkeye state and locating in Palo Alto county,
where he engaged in farming. He afterward traded off his farm and went to
Emmetsburg and engaged in the carriage-making and broom factory business; but
later on all his property was totally destroyed by fire, leaving him with but
$20. He then returned to his old home in Waterloo, Iowa, and in 1880, with his
family, removed to Union county, Dak. Ter., purchasing 160 acres for $1,000.
This property he improved, and three years later disposed of for $4,000. Then he
bought 110 acres adjoining his present place, paying $2,200 for it, and two
years later sold this property for $4,000. His next move was to erect a double
brick store in Elk Point, now occupied by Ed Ringsrud, which was the first brick
building in that city, the citizens donating him the lot, for which they had
paid $700. The same summer he built a large dwelling for his own use in Elk
Point, which for a time was his place of residence; then he sold his store and
bought the property where he now lives, one mile from the town (160 acres), for
which he paid $4,000. He has rebuilt and remodeled the premises, and it is now
nicely improved and comfortable, and the land is in a high state of cultivation.
In addition to farming, raising principally broomcorn, he conducts a broom
factory for the consumption of his product. He plants from thirty to eighty
acres of broomcorn every year.

    Mr. Rust is an all-around good citizen, kind-hearted, sociably inclined and
deservedly popular, and he is possessed of a keen business judgment, which has
made him successful in all his undertakings. He affiliates with the Republicans
in politics, and is a member of the G. A. R. post at Elk Point, in the welfare
of which he is much interested. He is also a member in good standing in both the
Masonic and Odd Fellow lodges, having attained the master degree in the former,
and noble grand in the latter.

    Mr. Rust was married in Iowa in 1864 to Miss Alice Fenstermaker, daughter of
a minister located in that state, and they are the parents of the following
children, viz.: George, Adda, L. T., Cora, Arthur, Martin, Ralph, Leonard;
Sadie, deceased. Both he and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal
church, and in religious matters take a prominent part.

    During the past seven years Mr. Rust has been conducting experiments in the
raising of fruit, and has met with success. He was one of the first in this
section to make such experiments on an extensive scale, having put out 200 apple
trees at one time, and about half of these are now bearing. Mr. Rust has
demonstrated that cherries, apples and plums thrive well and can be grown
successfully in this climate, and the orchard of these varieties of fruit
established by our subject, after several years of careful study as to its
demands and needs, is one of the largest and finest in Union county. In small
fruits, currants and gooseberries are all that can be grown with any degree of
success, according to Mr. Rust's experience, which has been very wide and thorough.



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.


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