Brule County News
January To August 1905
Kimball, South Dakota
All these news articles came from the same source - The Kimball Graphic. They were printed in the first half of the year, and help us see our ancestor's activities.
James Byrne
James Byrne was a young man living in or near Kimball. James was not married at this time. Later you will see he married Francis Turgeon's daughter, Josephine. James appears to have dabbled in many business ventures in and around Kimball. Francis's brother was our own ancestor, Philias Turgeon.
Kimball Graphic & Index, Kimball, South Dakota; January 20, 1905, page 4
John Ryan
John lived in Kimball in its early years before moving away to Sioux City. He appears to have a family connection with Ben Ryan and several Ryan families living in nearby White Lake.
Kimball Graphic & Index; Kimball, SD, January 20, 1905, page 4
Below are various advertisements found inside the Kimball Graphic and Index.
Alice Boney Wedding
This is one of my favorite wedding announcements. Alice married Charles Warner, and sponsors included her brother, James Boney, and our grandmother, Mary Turgeon. Their honeymoon took them to Iowa and Colorado. James and Alice Boney's uncle was our great grandfather, Batt Ryan. Their mother was born Mary Ryan.
Kimball Graphic & Index, Kimball, South Dakota; January 20, 1905, page 4
Merida Delire
Merida Delire was born in Beaumont, Bellechasse County, Quebec, to Louis Turgeon and Angele Shink. She married our ancestor, Philias Turgeon. Philias died in 1895 and Merida married Peter Delire circa 1898. Small town newspapers regularly reported illnesses among its population. In this case, Merida came down with a severe cold that sent her to bed for a week.
Kimball Graphic & Index, Kimball, South Dakota; January 27, 1905, page 4
James Byrne Returns From Avon
Avon, South Dakota, is located in the western portion of Bon Homme County. At one time Avon was a thriving community; however, today it is a shell of its former self. Avon's claim to fame is it is George McGovern's birthplace. Several Kinsella brothers lived in Avon. The Kinsellas were early Brule County pioneers and one of the founding families of St. Margaret's Catholic Church. James was visiting his ill sister.
Kimball Graphic & Index, Kimball, South Dakota; February 3, 1905, page 4
Mary Turgeon Ill
Based on timing it is very likely Mary caught her bad cold from her mother, Merida Delire.
Kimball Graphic & Index, Kimball, South Dakota; February 10, 1905, page 4
Lester Miller
Lester would one day marry Margaret Smith, daughter of "Irish" John Smith and Mary McPhillips. In 1904 Lester started his first Laundromat in Kimball. Now he is creating new laundry businesses in surrounding communities.
Kimball Graphic & Index, Kimball, South Dakota; January 20, 1905, page 4
Edward Ryan - Merlia Kelly Nuptials
This is a real find as we could not find this news item previously. Ed's brother, James, served as best man. From this news article we discover Ed and Merle lived in Cleveland Township, Brule County. Proud parents were Batt and Eliza Ryan.
Cleveland Township is just north of Smith Township where our Ryan and Boney ancestors lived and farmed. Cleveland Township is northeast of Pukwana.
Kimball Graphic & Index, Kimball, South Dakota; February 24, 1905, page 4
John Smith Visits Newspaper
Must have been a slow news day! In 1904 and 1905 'Irish' John's name was always in the newspaper.
Kimball Graphic & Index, Kimball, South Dakota; March 10, 1905, page 4
Charles Delire
Charles or 'Charley' Delire's brother, Peter, lived in Kimball. Peter or 'Pete' married our ancestor, Merida Patry Turgeon', in the Catholic Church at White Lake.
Kimball Graphic & Index; Kimball, SD, March 17, 1905, page 4
Will Smith Visits Parents
Grandpa Bill did not stay many weekends in Plankinton. He was a bank cashier for one of the local banks.
Kimball Graphic & Index, Kimball, South Dakota; March 24, 1905, page 4
Peter Smith Visits Kimball
'Irish' John and Susan's boy, Mike, visited relatives and friends in Wisconsin. Mike returned with his cousin, Peter L. Smith (or Smyth). In 1900 we do find a Peter F. Smyth living in Bear Valley. Peter was also known as 'PF' and was born in 1874 to Patrick Smyth and Margaret Greenan. Patrick Smyth was Susan McPhillips Smith's maternal uncle. Margaret Greenan Smyth was 'Irish' John's first cousin; therefore, Susan and "Irish" John shared cousins. Incidentally, PF Smyth was 'Irish' John's travel companion to Ireland.
Kimball Graphic & Index, Kimball, South Dakota; March 24, 1905, page 4
Charley Delire Visits
Charley and The Kimball Graphic's publisher, CR Tinan, must have struck up quite a relationship since we see Charley's name frequently brought up in the newspaper. Interesting that none of these articles indicate whether Charley visited his brother, Peter. Perhaps it was assumed he did.
Kimball Graphic & Index, Kimball, South Dakota; March 31, 1905, page 4
James Boney's Fine Horse
James (or 'JJ') Boney bought a fine stallion in Nebraska and put him out for stud services. The Kimball publisher never adds photographs of local people. Perhaps he felt everyone knew the people discussed, or Publisher CR Tinan did not own a camera. However, Tinan did include pictures of Boney's horse in ads for stud services.
According to WikiPedia "The Percheron is a breed of draft horse that originated in the Huisne river valley in northern France, part of the former Perche province from which the breed takes its name. Usually gray or black in color, Percherons are well-muscled, and known for their intelligence and willingness to work".
Kimball Graphic & Index, Kimball, South Dakota; April 14, 1905, page 4
Which Peter Smith?
Which one? Peter from Bear Creek, or 'Irish' John's son, or local businessman?
Kimball Graphic & Index, Kimball, South Dakota; April 14, 1905, page 4
Charley Delire Visits
OK, this is getting tiresome. Just kidding; however, Charley was a frequent visitor to Kimball and a man trying to find his way in life. It is unclear if Charley ever sold an insurance policy in Kimball, or if his many trips were an excuse to get out to town. At any rate, the Graphic's publisher thought highly of him.
Kimball Graphic & Index, Kimball, South Dakota; April 21, 1905, page 4
Lester Miller in White Lake
Dancing Party? Probably similar to what we went to in high school. The publisher was being cute describing the events as 'aaractions'. He did have one fact right though. The distance between White Lake and Kimball is 12 miles as the crow flies.
Kimball Graphic & Index, Kimball, South Dakota; April 28, 1905, page 4
Thomas Ryan
This Tom Ryan was born circa 1869 in Ireland. He married a French Canadian woman named Bertha Wentzy. the Wentzy family owned several businesses in Pukwana, including the local newspaper. They had a son named Albert who was born on March 1, 1900. This article does not say who they were visiting. There was a Thomas Ryan family living beside the John Boney family in Smith County according to the 1895 South Dakota census, but it is unclear if the younger Tom Ryan had a connection with this other Thomas Ryan family.
Kimball Graphic & Index, Kimball, South Dakota; May 5, 1905, page 4
James Boney's Pride and Joy
Earlier you read about JJ's latest purchase - a fine, coal-black, Percheron stallion. Publisher Tinan did not add any human photographs in his newspaper. I suspect he did not own a camera at the time. However, he thought highly of Boney's prized horse to include it in his fine local newspaper.
First item discusses James' black beauty, and the second news item actually shows a photograph of this excellent animal.
Kimball Graphic & Index, Kimball, South Dakota; May 5, 1905, page 4
Alice Boney Warner
This appears to be Alice's first trip back home since marrying Charles earlier in the year.
Kimball Graphic & Index, Kimball, South Dakota; May 12 1905, page 4
Below are advertisements which appeared in various 1905 editions of the Kimball Graphic and Index.
Memorial Day
This was always a big event in the Smith household.
Kimball Graphic & Index, Kimball, South Dakota; June 2, 1905, page 4
Mr. And Mrs. Charles Delire
This is the first time we discover Charley Delire was a married man. It probably never came up for discussion.
Kimball Graphic & Index, Kimball, South Dakota; June 2, 1905, page 4
Kate Boney
Kate Boney was John Boney and Mary Ryan's daughter. She is a single gal living in Sioux City, Iowa, possibly living near other relatives. Later Kate will marry Fred Weiss.
Kimball Graphic & Index, Kimball, South Dakota; June 23, 1905, page 4
John Ryan's Trip
Kimball Graphic & Index, Kimball, South Dakota; June 23, 1905, page 4
Mamie and Margaret Smith
The Smith gals were attending school at Sinsiniwa Mounds, Wisconsin. The Dominican Order of Sisters ran St. Clara's College in that town.
Kimball Graphic & Index, Kimball, South Dakota; June 23, 1905, page 4
Delires Travel to Charlevoix
It sounds like an elegant location. Charlevoix is a beautiful town located in northwest Michigan, bordering both Lake Michigan and Lake Charlevoix. Today this town is mainly a tourist trap.
The picture above shows the steamer Manitou, which the Delire's traveled on while sailing Lake Michigan.
Kimball Graphic & Index, Kimball, South Dakota; June 30, 1905, page 4
Charles Delire
While Peter and Merida vacationed in Michigan, brother Charley was in town drumming up business. It is interesting to note that Charles and his wife left Platte and moved to Sioux City.
Kimball Graphic & Index, Kimball, South Dakota; June 30, 1905, page 4
PG and Merida Delire Return Home
The Delire's returned rested from a well earned vacation out of state.
Kimball Graphic & Index, Kimball, South Dakota; July 7, 1905, page 4
Will Smith and Will Chevalier
Both visited Kimball. In a few years they would be brothers-in-law.
Kimball Graphic & Index, Kimball, South Dakota; July 7, 1905, page 4
'Irish' John Answers a Question
Rarely do we find a news item which quotes one of our ancestors. Publisher Tinan asked John how his crops were doing. My father, John William Smith, would always claim corn should be 'knee high' by July 4. That meant your crops were on track to a good harvest.
Kimball Graphic & Index, Kimball, South Dakota; July 14, 1905, page 4
Lester Miller in Chicago
Lester started several Laundromats in the area and owned an ice skating rink; however, he probably did not think he was busy enough. From this article we know Lester would start a new job as pharmaceutical representative with a Chicago Drug Company.
Kimball Graphic & Index, Kimball, South Dakota; July 14, 1905, page 4
Will Smith Visits Kimball
I wonder if he was dating our grandmother, Mary Turgeon, by this time.
Kimball Graphic & Index, Kimball, South Dakota; July 14, 1905, page 4
Batt Ryan
Batt Ryan is my great grandfather and/or our ancestor. Today this trip is such a short distance by automobile that it may not even be deemed newsworthy. However, in those 'old horse and buggy' days such a trip would have taken a better part of the day. Chamberlain was the County seat, so we assume Batt had government business.
Kimball Graphic & Index, Kimball, South Dakota; July 14, 1905, page 4
Turgeon News
All the news that is fit to print! First item tells us our ancestor's brother, Louis Turgeon, was painting his house. Next item tells our grandmother, Mary Turgeon, was visiting Platte. Platte is located in Charles Mix County, and the County of her birth. She had many friends and relatives in the area.
Kimball Graphic & Index, Kimball, South Dakota; July 14, 1905, page 4
Charley Delire Moves Once Again
Charley's last whereabouts were in Sioux City, and now he is located in Mitchell. Eventually, his brother, Peter, would join him in Mitchell selling insurance for New York Life.
Kimball Graphic & Index, Kimball, South Dakota; July 21, 1905, page 4
Bertha And Albert Ryan
Bertha was married to Thomas Ryan, and by this time a young son named Albert. Bertha's birth surname was Wentzy. The Wentzy family owned the newspaper in Pukwana, and considered a 'Republican' newspaper. Publisher Tinan of the Kimball Graphic from time to time would go on a rampage against Wentzy and other right- leaning citizens in the County.
Kimball Graphic & Index, Kimball, South Dakota; July 21 1905, page 4
Bertha Ryan Goes Back to Menno
Bertha, Thomas and little Albert Ryan all lived in Menno, South Dakota.
Kimball Graphic & Index, Kimball, South Dakota; August 11, 1905, page 4
Lester Miller Starts New Job
Kimball Graphic & Index, Kimball, South Dakota; August 11, 1905, page 4
