Trails to the Past

Cass County North Dakota Biographies

Compendium of History and Biography
of North Dakota

Published by George A. Ogle & CO. in 1900

 

 

G. W. Dakin
Clifton G. Dalrymple
Edward M. Darrow
Thomas B. Dawson
Leonard Delamater 

Peter Donahoe
William Bruce Douglas
John B. Dundas
Stevenson Dunlop
John Dynes

 Biographies Index

 

 

G. W. DAKIN. who enjoys the distinction of being one of the earliest settlers of Lake township, Cass county, is a gentleman of excellent characteristics and has accumulated a comfortable competence since taking up his residence there, by dint of his own efforts. He has a well developed farm and is among the substantial citizens of that region.

Our subject was born in Digbee county, Nova Scotia, November 23, 1850. His parents, John and Weltha A. (Tucker) Dakin, were natives of Nova Scotia, and passed their lives there. The father was a shipbuilder and farmer. They had four sons and two daughters, and our subject has one brother in the United States.

Mr. Dakin was reared and educated in Nova Scotia and remained there until 1881 and then went directly to North Dakota. He entered a homestead claim to land in section 12 of Lake township, and was among the first settlers of the township, and drew the first load of lumber into Page. He has followed farming there since and is now the owner of a half-section of tillable land which gives an ample competence.

Our subject was married, May 11, 1874, to Augusta Small, a native of Nova Scotia. Mr. and Mrs. Dakin are the parents of two children, named as follows: Nellie B. and Albert G.  Mr. Dakin assisted in the organization of Lake township and served as assessor, and a member of the town board and in other local offices, and is widely known for his active public spirit. He is a Republican in political sentiment and strong in his convictions. He has made a success of his calling and is deservedly popular with those among whom he has resided for nearly twenty years.


CLIFTON G. DALRYMPLE, one of the wealthy and highly esteemed citizens of Harmony township, Cass county, is proprietor of a well in.-proved farm comprising one section of land, and has pursued that calling in Cass county for over twenty years. He went there as a pioneer settler, and has braved the dangers and overcome the discouragements of making a home in a new country, and is today among the well-known men of his community.

Our subject was born in Warren county, Pennsylvania, September 1, 1856, and was a son of Reuben and Isadore (Jackson) Dalrymple, both of whom were natives of Pennsylvania. His father was a farmer and still resides in Warren county, Pennsylvania, aged seventy-one years. His mother died in 1887. Our subject was one of three sons, two being in North Dakota and one in St. Paul, Minnesota. The grandfather, Clark Dalrymple, was born in New York, and engaged in farming in Pennsylvania.

Mr. Dalrymple was reared and educated in Pennsylvania, and resided there until 1878, in which year he went to Cass county. North Dakota, and entered claim to land in Cass county as a homestead, and later purchased the farm on which he now lives. The land was unimproved, and he has transformed it into one of the best developed farms of the country. He has followed farming there continuously since, and is now the owner of one section of land, and has made a success of general farming.

Our subject was married, in 1892, to Harriet Shutt, a native of Pennsylvania . Mr. Dalrymple is a man of progressive ideas, and keeps abreast of the times in current matters, but does not seek public office. Politically, he is identified with the Republican party, and is strong in his convictions.


EDWARD M. DARROW M. D. In comparison of the relative value to mankind of the various professions and pursuits it is widely recognized that none is so important as the medical profession. From the cradle to the grave human destiny is largely in the hands of the physician and the most successful of these is he, who through love of fellow men, gives his time and attention to the relief of human suffering. One of the ablest representatives of his noble calling is Dr. Edward M. Darrow, the pioneer physician and surgeon of Fargo and the Red river valley.

He was born in Winnebago county, Wisconsin, January 16, 1855, and is a son of Daniel C. and Isabelle (Murray) Darrow, both natives of New York. The father, who was a farmer and contractor by occupation, went to Wisconsin when it was still a territory, and there spent the remainder of his life. He had two sons who took up the medical profession, the other being now a physician of Moorhead, Minnesota. The grandfather of our subject, Elezer Darrow, was also a native of New York, and was a son of Daniel Darrow, of Connecticut, who served as a soldier in tlie Continental army during the Revolutionary war and died at the extreme old age of ninety-six years.

Mr. Darrow, of this review, was reared in his native county, where he attended school for some time and later was a student at the Oshkosh high school and the Lawrence University at Appleton, Wisconsin. In 1874. before leaving college, he began the study of medicine under Dr. Thomas Russell, of Oshkosh and the following year entered Rush Medical College of Chicago, from which he was graduated in 1878. He commenced practice at Fargo in the spring of that year and has prosecuted his profession here continuously since. He has visited the principal hospitals of England, Scotland, France and also of this country, where he obtained much valuable knowledge not to be gained in text books and he is constantly improving on his own and others' methods, being one of the most progressive physicians of the state. In 1878 he started the first Cass county hospital, which is still in existence, and he enjoys an excellent private practice. He was the first superintendent of the board of health of Dakota territory and issued the first license to practice within its borders. He was also surgeon-general under Governor Burke; was county physician for years, and is still a member of the insanity board, with which he has been connected for some time.

In 1879 Dr. Darrow was united in marriage with Miss Clara Dillon, also a native of Wisconsin, and to them have been born five children: Mary H., Clara E., Kent E., Frank I. and Daniel C. Politically, the Doctor is an ardent Democrat and takes an active interest in the success of his party.  He is one of the few thirty-third-degree Masons in this country, and also belongs to the Knights of Pythias, the State Medical Society and the American Medical Association. His entire life has been devoted to his profession and he has met with the most excellent success in practice, thereby gaining a reputation second to none in the state. His kindly and benevolent spirit is manifest by the readiness with which he responds to a call that comes from one from whom he knows he can receive no possible remuneration.


THOMAS B. DAWSON. The pioneer settlers are the ones who mould the future of the country, and among those who entered Cass county in early days and have been useful citizens and earnest workers for the general welfare of their respective communities, the name of this gentleman stands foremost. He settled in Wheatland township when it was an uncultivated section and has remained to assist in transforming it into one of the thriving agricultural districts of the county and has gained a good property and an enviable name by his industry and honesty.

Our subject was born in Licestershire, England, April 19, 1854, and was a son of Joseph and Jane (Baxter) Dawson, both of whom were natives of England. His father was a farmer and died in his native land. Our subject was one of two sons and five daughters born to this worthy couple and is the only member of the family now in North Dakota. Mr. Dawson was reared and educated in England and came to America in 1874, settling at Brownsville, Mitchell county, Iowa, where he remained until June, 1880, and then located at Wheatland, North Dakota, and purchased land in Wheatland township, where he has since followed farming. For five years he was engaged in the machine business at Casselton, North Dakota, carrying on the farm at the same time. During the early days of the settlement of that locality he bought and shipped horses to North Dakota from Iowa, and was among the first men to open up a farm in that township.

Our subject was married, in 1892, to Jennie N. Delamater, a native of Pennsylvania. Mr. Dawson is active in public affairs and has served as chairman of the township board four years and held various local offices. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity. Independent Order of Odd Fellows and several insurance societies. Politically, he is a Republican and is strong in his convictions. He is widely known as a gentleman of true worth and enjoys well merited success.


LEONARD DELAMATER, an honored resident of Erie township, of which he is an old settler, is successfully pursuing farming, and has gained a comfortable home and pleasant surroundings.

Our subject was born in Crawford county, Pennsylvania, October 1. 1836. His parents, Abel and Celinda (Wilcox) Delamater, were natives respectively of New York and Vermont. His father was a blacksmith by trade, and passed his life in New York and Pennsylvania, his death occurring in the latter state. The mother of our subject survives, and is now aged eighty-nine years. Our subject had three brothers and two sisters, all of whom are deceased.

Mr. Delamater was reared in Pennsylvania and educated there, and then followed the carpenter's trade until 1861, when he enlisted in Company F, Eighty-third Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, and served sixteen months. He participated in the siege of Yorktown and Hanover Court House, and Gain's Mills, West Virginia, where he was wounded and taken prisoner, and was confined in Libbey prison three months, when he was exchanged and later discharged. He was also held a prisoner in Belle Isle prison. He returned to Pennsylvania after his discharge, and continued his residence there until 1884, and then went to North Dakota, going direct to Erie, Cass county. He purchased land and worked also at his trade, and he now has a half-section of good land, and is also engaged in handling farming implements.

Our subject was married in Pennsylvania, November 8, 1855, to Mary E. Smith, who was a native of the same county as Mr. Delamater. Her parents, Lemuel and Janette (Thurston) Smith, were natives of New Hampshire and Pennsylvania respectively. Seven children have been born to bless the home of Mr. and Mrs. Delaimater, as follows; William M., Homer L., Jennie M., Amelia L., Frank W., Sarah A. and Alfred E. .Mr. Delamater has served as a member of the town board for several years, and also as town treasurer and a member of the school board. He is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic and Knights of Honor. He is a Republican politically and has served on the county committee and in other important offices of the party.. He holds membership in the Knights of Honor in Pennsylvania. He is a gentleman of good citizenship and deservedly popular with the people.


PETER DONAHOEis one of the enterprising and industrious agriculturists of Cass county, and has a pleasant home and fine farm on section 10 of Tower township. He is one of the early settlers of that region, and has been a material aid in its development and the extending of its agricultural interests, and is widely known and highly respected.

Our subject was born in Toronto, Canada, March 29, 1831, and was a son of Bernard and Ellen (Flinn) Donahoe, both of whom were natives of Kings county, Ireland. They emigrated to America in 1830, and died in Canada. They were the parents of four sons and two daughters, of whom three sons are now in the United States, one in Arizona and two in North Dakota.

Mr. Donahoe was reared in Canada and followed farming there until 1880, when he went to Cass county and entered claim to land in section 10, of Tower township, as a homestead, where he still resides. He is the owner of a half-section of choice land, all of which is under cultivation and is made to yield abundantly, furnishing a comfortable competence.

Our subject was married in Canada, in 1855, to Elizabeth Kenney, a native of Canada. Eight children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Donahoe, as follows: Ellen, now Mrs. McArthur; Annie, now Mrs. Dickinson; Joseph; Mary J., now Mrs. Somerville, of Canada; Edward; Laura, now Mrs. Batchelor; Francis, deceased, and Peter. The family are members of the Catholic church, and are highly esteemed in the community in which they reside. Mr. Donahoe is a man who keeps pace with the times, and in political sentiment is independent.


WILLIAM  BRUCE DOUGLAS, a well-known attorney of Fargo, North Dakota, has for eighteen years been prominently identified with the business interests of that city, and as the result of his untiring labors, his enterprise and well- directed efforts, he is today the possessor of a handsome competence.

A native of Lockport, New York, he was born June 29, 1849, and is a son of Asa W. and Mary L. (Bruce) Douglas, also natives of that state, where both died. Two sons were born to them, but our subject is the only one now living. The father was a pioneer merchant, miller and lumberman of western New York, and assisted in building the Erie canal. He was a captain of the war of 1812, participated in the battle of Lundy's Lane and engagements on the New York frontier, and was wounded in one of the Indian wars in New York. The grandfather. William Douglas, served as a soldier in the colonial army during the Revolution, and his father took an active part in the French and Indian war.

Our subject was graduated from Dartmouth College in 1871, and from Union University, of Albany, New York, in 1875. For six years he engaged in the practice of law at Lockport, New York,  after coming to Fargo, North Dakota, in 1881, he gave up practice for some years on account of ill health, spending his time in looking after his farming interests and city property. He founded the old Fargo Water & Steam Company, of which he was secretary for some years, but m 1892 the company sold out to the city. He also installed the fire alarm system of the city of Fargo as a private enterprise, and assisted in organizing other companies at this place, and has been a prominent factor in commercial circles. In 1897 he resumed the practice of law, to which he now gives the greater part of his time and attention. He is successfully engaged in general practice, and is attorney and director of the Northwestern Mutual Savings & Loan Association, of which he was one of the organizers, and which is now the largest company of the kind in the state. He has never held official positions nor sought public office, preferring to give his undivided attention to his business interests and professional duties. He has met with marked success in his undertakings. Socially, he is a thirty-second-degree Mason, and also belongs to the Knights of Pythias and the Benevolent and Patriotic Order of Elks.

In 1878 Mr. Douglas was united in marriage with Miss Flora R. Newhall, a daughter of Daniel Newhall, of Milwaukee , Wisconsin , and they have one daughter, Maie Bruce.


JOHN B. DUNDAS, one of the well-to-do and influential citizens of Cass county, is pursuing farming in Webster township, where he was a pioneer settler. He has devoted his mature years to agricultural pursuits, and has met with eminent success, and is one of the men in whose coming to the county all who honor honest industry and good citizenship can rejoice. The reader will pronounce his portrait that of an upright and honorable man.

Our subject was born in Durham county, Ontario, Canada, December 10, 1844, and was a .son of David and Ann (Swain) Dundas, natives respectively of Ireland and Canada. His father was a farmer and shoemaker and went to Canada about 1812 and settled in Durham county, where he remained many years. He died near London, Canada, in 1874. The grandfather of our subject, Moses Dundas, was a native of Ireland, and settled in Canada in 1812, and died there at the advanced age of ninety-four years. Our subject had two brothers and two sisters, and he is the only one of the family in the United States.

Mr. Dundas was reared in Canada and educated there, and followed farming in Canada until 1871, when he removed to Detroit, Michigan, where he resided nine years and engaged in building and contracting, having learned the carpenter's trade in Canada. He went to Cass county. North Dakota, in 1879, and entered claim as a pre-emption to land in section 6, of Webster township, and was one of the first settlers of the township. He followed his trade at Casselton two years and then took up his residence on the farm, where he has since made his home. He spent two years in Pullman, Illinois, at his trade, and is a man of ability and good judgment and has prospered in every enterprise.

Our subject was married, in 1868, to Isabella Hockridge, a native of Canada. Five children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Dundas, as follows: Elizabeth, now Mrs. A. R. Dundas; Granville, May, James and Isabella. Mr. Dundas has served his community in various school offices, but does not take interest in political affairs and is an independent.


STEVENSON DUNLOPstands among the foremost agriculturists of Raymond township, Cass county, and is a pioneer settler of that county. He is actively interested in the welfare of his adopted county, and is a citizen who is highly esteemed throughout his community. His pleasant home is on section 29, where he has resided many years, and has thoroughly improved his land and gathered about him the comforts of life.

Our subject was born in Symington, Ayreshire, Scotland. July 25, 1858. His father, John Dunlop, emigrated from Scotland to Ontario, Canada, in 1859, and settled at Woodstock, where he now resides. He went to Dakota in 1874, and was interested with two other parties in seventeen sections of land in the vicinity of Mapleton.

Mr. Dunlop was the seventh in a family of eight children, and was one year of age when he went to Woodstock, Ontario, with his parents, where he was reared and educated. He also attended the Agricultural College at Guelph, Ontario, and was given a liberal education. He went to Dakota in the spring of 1876 and has been a resident of Cass county since that date. He is the owner of two sections of land in Raymond township, and has always followed agricultural pursuits, and has been successful.

Mr. Dunlop was married, in Toronto, Ontario, June 16, 1877, to Miss Bertha McDonald Playfair, who was born in that city. Two children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Dunlop, as follows: Robert S. and Lois I. Mr. Dunlop was chairman of the first board of supervisors of Raymond township and served two years, and was township assessor for several years. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity and the Presbyterian church of Mapleton, of which church he is trustee and elder. He takes an active interest in church work, and is a gentleman of exemplary character, who is highly esteemed by his fellow men.


JOHN DYNESmay be truly classed as one of the leading farmers of Kinyon township. He has for some time been numbered among the agriculturists of Cass county, and in prosecuting his farm work is very industrious and progressive in his ideas and is the fortunate owner of an extensive tract of land, on which he conducts general farming. His handsome residence is on section 29, and he has a thoroughly-equipped and improved farm

Our subject was born in Dufferin county, Ontario, March 29, 1860, and was reared on a farm in his native county and remained there until he reached the age of twenty years. He went to North Dakota in the spring of 1881 and worked at farm labor until the spring of 1888, when he rented land in Traill county, and engaged in farming thereon one year, and in the fall of 1888 purchased six hundred and forty acres of land in Kinyon township, Cass county, in section 29, where he has since resided. He and his brother, James W. Dynes, own, in company, fourteen hundred and forty acres of land and are well known as successful men. Mr. Dynes has spared no pains in making his home farm one of comfort and for the family a fine residence has been constructed and the other buildings on the farm are in keeping with this and altogether present a pleasing appearance and evidence the thrift and prosperity attendant upon the owner.

Our subject was married, in Kinyon township, Cass county, June 6, 1888, to Miss Emma Flatt, a daughter of Josiah Flatt, a sketch of whose life appears elsewhere in this volume. Mrs. Dynes was born in Ontario, August 15, 1867. Two children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Dynes, as follows: Rachel Fern and John Elmer. Mr. Dynes is a man of active public spirit and has held numerous school offices in his township and is recognized as a worthy citizen, who is deserving of the highest esteem of his fellows. Mr. Dynes, his wife and family are all members of the Free Methodist church. A fine church building of his denomination if within half a mile of his residence and stands on the Dynes farm, to which the Dynes family were and are liberal contributors. In politics he is a Republican.

 

 

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