Notizen zu dieser Person
REFN: 547
William Benjamin Boswell Biography This biography appears on pages
1110-1113 in "History of Dakota Territory" by George W.Kingsbury, Vol. IV
(1915) and was scanned, OCRed and edited by Maurice Krueger,
WILLIAM BENJAMIN BOSWELL. "Ben" Boswell is the editor and proprietor of
the
Hamlin County Republican of Castlewood and he has long been a leading
factorin molding public thought and opinion in connection with affairs
of vital significance in his part of the state. He was born in Menominee,
Michigan, April 16, 1864, and is a son of Albert W. and Ellen (Hannan)
Boswell, the formera native of New Hampshire and a representative of one
of the old New Englandfamilies, tracing
his ancestry back to the Mayflower Pilgrims. The mother wasborn in
Peterboro, Canada, and her parents were from Ulster, Ireland.
AlbertW. Boswell and Ellen Hannan were married in De Pere, Wisconsin,
and settledin Menominee, Michigan, where the father was identified with
the lumber industry for many years. In September, 1880, he came west to
South Dakota on a tour of inspection and when on that trip took up a
homestead of one hundred andsixty acres in Estelline township, Hamlin
county. On his return to Michigan for his family he stopped off at
Marshall, Minnesota, to buy one hundred and sixty acres of railroad land
adjoining his homestead. The father and his son Ben took up their abode
on the homestead in the spring of 1881 and kept bachelor's hall until the
fall of 1882, when they were joined by the others of thefamily. Upon the
farm which he there developed Mr. Boswell still remains andown his
original holdings of three hundred and twenty acres. Ben Boswell was
reared under the parental roof and was a youth of seventeen years when he
accompanied his father to South Dakota. He acquired his education in the
highschool of Menominee, Michigan, in the South Dakota State College at
Brookingsand in the Curtiss Business College at Minneapolis, Minnesota,
and was thuswell qualified for life's practical and responsible duties.
He accompanied his father to this state on his trip of inspection in 1880
and again in the spring of 1881 returned with him and aided in making the
initial improvements upon the home farm. He continued under the parental
roof until 1893 but duringthat period, or in 1884, took up the vocation
of teaching and for seven yearswas identified with educational work. He
was the first teacher of the Bryantschools, which he helped to organize,
continuing as an instructor there forthree years, during which time he
built up the school system to a high state of efficiency. In 1892 he was
elected auditor of the county and served for twoterms, retiring from the
position as he had entered it—with the confidence and goodwill of all
concerned. On the expiration of his second term in that office, in 1897,
he purchased the Hamlin County Republican of Castlewood, whichhe has
since published, and he is today a well known
figure in journalisticcircles in his part of the state. The paper which
he publishes is thoroughlyup-to-date in its methods of securing and
handling news and in its workmanship. In 1885 Mr. Boswell purchased a
quarter section of land in Estelline township, which he still owns. He
has been active in the public life of the community along many lines. In
1890 he was a candidate for county superintendent of schools but owing to
the populist landslide of that year he was defeated bynine votes. In
1900 he was elected county treasurer of Hamlin county, serving in that
position for two terms, and in the fall of 1912 he was elected a member
of the board of county commissioners, in which position he is now
serving. There is perhaps no resident of the county to whom the public
owes a greater debt of gratitude for efforts to promote the interests and
improve the conditions of the schools. He has served for seven
Goetz
Krueger
