Dr. David O. Bennett was born in the town of McDonough, Chenenga County, New York, January 10, 1843. He was educated in public schools until he was 15 years of age; then he went to Cincinnatus Academy in Cortland County for three years and was ready for college.
He moved to Juneau, Wisconsin with his parents in 1861, just before the rebellion broke out. In 1862 his parents consented to his joining the service and he joined the Co. K 29th Wisconsin Volunteers Infantry, in which he served until the surrender of Vicksburg. Upon his return from
the service he worked in a drug store and studied medicine at Fond du Lac, Wisconsin and in 1870 graduated from Rush Medical College in Chicago; he settled in Waterloo, Wisconsin and practiced medicine there until 1888. He married Floretta Elizabeth Young on February 17, 1873 and they had three children. Henry Judson, Luella and a daughter
Mary who died when she was 13 months old.
In the spring of 1888 David Bennett homesteaded in Maydell
Township in Section 22. Although the Dr. wanted to
give up the practice of medicine the people would not permit him to and the family lived between Clark and the farm until 1895, when they moved to Clark.
During Dr. David Bennetts sojourn in Clark County he held several town and school offices and in 1893 and 1895 he represented his county in the State Senate. In 1901 he received the appointment of Surgeon of the 3rd Battalion of the 1st South Dakota Regiment and was commissioned 1st Lieutenant; the following year he was commissioned
a colonel. He had a great interest in having a well drilled and efficient state military organization so that the nation would not be caught as unprepared in a time of need as it was in 1861. He was particularly interested in the National Guard.
Dr. Bennett was converted when he was 17 and united with the
Baptist Church, of which he was a life long member, his father and one of his brothers being Baptist ministers. He died April 16, 1904, from a complication of troubles brought on by overwork. The attendance at this funeral was probably the largest that has ever been witnessed in
the city of Clark. It was the military burial of the dead - a man of the highest Christian character, a brave soldier of the Civil War, a beloved physician, a man in whom all found a true and honest friend.
After the services the procession was formed in the following order of march to the Rose Hill Cemetery: cadet band, pallbearers, hearse containing the body, mourners, riderless horse draped in black, with saddle on, an empty pair of boots in the stirrups and sword strapped to
side of saddle, Adjutant General Conklin and Captain Rowland of the United States Army in a carriage, commissioned officers of various ranks, two by two, on foot, enlisted men of the various companies,
veterans of the Grand Army, Masons and citizens. At the grave the usual services of the Grand Army were held, after which the usual Military Salute of three volleys were fired and taps sounded by the bugler, and thus ended the very notable burial service of a very worthy man. The funeral was held at the Methodist Church, conducted by W.L.
Meinzer, assisted by Rev. W.J. Oldfield and Rev. J.W.C. Swan, pastor of the Baptist Church of Bradley.
Above taken from the Clark Centennial History Book 1881-1981
The book is not copyrighted.
Below provided by Contributor: Heather Hall (48030601)
Bio from "History of South Dakota" by Doane Robinson, Vol. II (1904), pp 1523-1525.
DAVID OLNEY BENNETT, deceased, was born in McDonough, Chenango county, New York, on the 10th of January, 1843, and is a son of Olney and Elizabeth (Place) Bennett, both of whom were born and reared in Rhode Island, where the former's birth occurred in 1800 and the latter about the year 1810, while their marriage was there solemnized. The father of the subject was a clergyman of the Baptist church, and about 1830 removed with his family to Madison county, New York, where he remained until 1860, when he removed to Wisconsin, where he passed the remainder of his life, engaged in the noble work of his high calling and also being identified with agricultural pursuits. His wife likewise died in that state, and of their seven children two are yet living, our subject having been the sixth in order of birth. David 0. Bennett received his early education in the common schools of his native town and those of McGrawville, Cortland county, New York, while at the age of fifteen he entered Cincinnatus Academy, in Cortland county, where he continued his studies until 1861, being prepared for matriculation in college and expecting to thus continue his educational work. About this time, however, there came the call to higher duty, as the integrity of the Union was menaced by armed rebellion, and in August, 1862, having joined his parents in Wisconsin, he enlisted as a member of Company K, Twenty-ninth Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, which was assigned to the western department and served under General Grant until after the surrender of Vicksburg, when his corps, the Thirteenth, was transferred to the Department of the Gulf. Mr. Bennett was discharged, on account of disability, in February, 1864, at New Orleans, and then returned to his home in Wisconsin. After recuperating his energies he, by chance, identified himself with the mercantile business, having been for six months employed in a clerical capacity in general stores in Beaver Dam and Juneau, Wisconsin, his intention being to soon enter college and complete his education. He was deflected from this course, however, and began the study of medicine under the direction of his brother, Henry Judson Bennett, a prominent practicing physician at Juneau, and finally, as offering further discipline along this line, he took a position in a drug store at Fond du Lac, that state, where he remained until 1869. His brother, previously mentioned, died in December of that year, and the subject thereafter continued his study of medicine under the preceptorship of Dr. H. M. Lilly, at Fond du Lac, and completed his technical course in that famous institution, Rush Medical College, in the city of Chicago, where he was graduated in February, 1870, with the degree of Doctor of Medicine. He thereafter remained with his preceptor, Dr. Lilly, until the following June, when he removed to Waterloo, Jefferson county, Wisconsin, where he was actively engaged in practice until 1887, when his health became so seriously impaired by rheumatism that he was compelled to withdraw largely from the active work of his profession. He purchased a half interest in a local drug business, but his health became even more precarious while in the store, so that in the latter part of 1887 he disposed of his interest in the same and in the following spring came with his family to Clark county, South Dakota, locating on a farm and devoting his attention to its improvement and cultivation for the ensuing eight years, within which time his health steadily improved. During the hard times of 1896 people left the state in great numbers and among them many of the physicians, so that there were left in Clark county or near its borders only three practicing physicians. Under these conditions calls upon the professional services of Dr. Bennett became so frequent and insistent that he was constrained to remove to the city of Clark and establish himself in practice, and here he continued, having built up a large and representative business as a physician and surgeon, until his death, April 16, 1904. He had been confined to his home about a week with a complication of diseases brought on by overwork, though the direct cause of death was heart failure. In politics the Doctor ever gave an uncompromising allegiance to the Republican party, and he recalled to the writer the fact that when a boy of thirteen years! at the time of the candidacy of General John C. Fremont, the first presidential nominee of the party, he was most enthusiastic in his youthful enthusiasm for the newly organized party. He held various village and school offices after coming to South Dakota and in 1892 was elected to represent the twenty-ninth district in the state senate, and was chosen as his own successor in 1894. In 1901, upon the reorganization of the state militia. the Doctor was commissioned assistant surgeon of the Third Battalion of the First Regiment, South Dakota National Guard, with rank of first lieutenant, and about a year later he was appointed surgeon general of the National Guard of the state, with rank of colonel. and remained incumbent of this office. He was a member of the Masonic fraternity with which he was identified from 1885 and also of the Grand Army of the Republic, and while a resident of Wisconsin he was affiliated with the Temple of Honor, in which he passed the various official chairs. He was a prominent and zealous member of the Baptist church as is his widow.
On the 17th of February, 1873, at Concord, Jackson county, Michigan, was solemnized the marriage of Dr. Bennett to Miss Floretta Elizabeth Young, the eldest child of Andrew Sproul Young, who was a son of Andrew Young. The Young family formerly lived near Williamstown, Massachusetts, whence representatives removed to Bergen, Genesee county, New York, in 1833, and from that locality Andrew Young and his family removed to Concord, Jackson county, Michigan, in 1855. The maiden name of Mrs. Bennett's mother was Elizabeth Lewellin, who was a daughter of Lewis Lewellin. The Lewellin (or Llewellyn, as the name was originally spelled, according to the Welsh form) family removed from Pennsylvania to Genesee county, New York, in 1826. Mr. and Mrs. Bennett have three children, Henry Judson Bennett, D. D. S., who is engaged in the practice of dentistry at Fond du Lac, Wisconsin; Luella Elizabeth, who is in Clark, and Mary, who died March 13, 1886, at the age of thirteen months.
He moved to Juneau, Wisconsin with his parents in 1861, just before the rebellion broke out. In 1862 his parents consented to his joining the service and he joined the Co. K 29th Wisconsin Volunteers Infantry, in which he served until the surrender of Vicksburg. Upon his return from
the service he worked in a drug store and studied medicine at Fond du Lac, Wisconsin and in 1870 graduated from Rush Medical College in Chicago; he settled in Waterloo, Wisconsin and practiced medicine there until 1888. He married Floretta Elizabeth Young on February 17, 1873 and they had three children. Henry Judson, Luella and a daughter
Mary who died when she was 13 months old.
In the spring of 1888 David Bennett homesteaded in Maydell
Township in Section 22. Although the Dr. wanted to
give up the practice of medicine the people would not permit him to and the family lived between Clark and the farm until 1895, when they moved to Clark.
During Dr. David Bennetts sojourn in Clark County he held several town and school offices and in 1893 and 1895 he represented his county in the State Senate. In 1901 he received the appointment of Surgeon of the 3rd Battalion of the 1st South Dakota Regiment and was commissioned 1st Lieutenant; the following year he was commissioned
a colonel. He had a great interest in having a well drilled and efficient state military organization so that the nation would not be caught as unprepared in a time of need as it was in 1861. He was particularly interested in the National Guard.
Dr. Bennett was converted when he was 17 and united with the
Baptist Church, of which he was a life long member, his father and one of his brothers being Baptist ministers. He died April 16, 1904, from a complication of troubles brought on by overwork. The attendance at this funeral was probably the largest that has ever been witnessed in
the city of Clark. It was the military burial of the dead - a man of the highest Christian character, a brave soldier of the Civil War, a beloved physician, a man in whom all found a true and honest friend.
After the services the procession was formed in the following order of march to the Rose Hill Cemetery: cadet band, pallbearers, hearse containing the body, mourners, riderless horse draped in black, with saddle on, an empty pair of boots in the stirrups and sword strapped to
side of saddle, Adjutant General Conklin and Captain Rowland of the United States Army in a carriage, commissioned officers of various ranks, two by two, on foot, enlisted men of the various companies,
veterans of the Grand Army, Masons and citizens. At the grave the usual services of the Grand Army were held, after which the usual Military Salute of three volleys were fired and taps sounded by the bugler, and thus ended the very notable burial service of a very worthy man. The funeral was held at the Methodist Church, conducted by W.L.
Meinzer, assisted by Rev. W.J. Oldfield and Rev. J.W.C. Swan, pastor of the Baptist Church of Bradley.
Above taken from the Clark Centennial History Book 1881-1981
The book is not copyrighted.
Below provided by Contributor: Heather Hall (48030601)
Bio from "History of South Dakota" by Doane Robinson, Vol. II (1904), pp 1523-1525.
DAVID OLNEY BENNETT, deceased, was born in McDonough, Chenango county, New York, on the 10th of January, 1843, and is a son of Olney and Elizabeth (Place) Bennett, both of whom were born and reared in Rhode Island, where the former's birth occurred in 1800 and the latter about the year 1810, while their marriage was there solemnized. The father of the subject was a clergyman of the Baptist church, and about 1830 removed with his family to Madison county, New York, where he remained until 1860, when he removed to Wisconsin, where he passed the remainder of his life, engaged in the noble work of his high calling and also being identified with agricultural pursuits. His wife likewise died in that state, and of their seven children two are yet living, our subject having been the sixth in order of birth. David 0. Bennett received his early education in the common schools of his native town and those of McGrawville, Cortland county, New York, while at the age of fifteen he entered Cincinnatus Academy, in Cortland county, where he continued his studies until 1861, being prepared for matriculation in college and expecting to thus continue his educational work. About this time, however, there came the call to higher duty, as the integrity of the Union was menaced by armed rebellion, and in August, 1862, having joined his parents in Wisconsin, he enlisted as a member of Company K, Twenty-ninth Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, which was assigned to the western department and served under General Grant until after the surrender of Vicksburg, when his corps, the Thirteenth, was transferred to the Department of the Gulf. Mr. Bennett was discharged, on account of disability, in February, 1864, at New Orleans, and then returned to his home in Wisconsin. After recuperating his energies he, by chance, identified himself with the mercantile business, having been for six months employed in a clerical capacity in general stores in Beaver Dam and Juneau, Wisconsin, his intention being to soon enter college and complete his education. He was deflected from this course, however, and began the study of medicine under the direction of his brother, Henry Judson Bennett, a prominent practicing physician at Juneau, and finally, as offering further discipline along this line, he took a position in a drug store at Fond du Lac, that state, where he remained until 1869. His brother, previously mentioned, died in December of that year, and the subject thereafter continued his study of medicine under the preceptorship of Dr. H. M. Lilly, at Fond du Lac, and completed his technical course in that famous institution, Rush Medical College, in the city of Chicago, where he was graduated in February, 1870, with the degree of Doctor of Medicine. He thereafter remained with his preceptor, Dr. Lilly, until the following June, when he removed to Waterloo, Jefferson county, Wisconsin, where he was actively engaged in practice until 1887, when his health became so seriously impaired by rheumatism that he was compelled to withdraw largely from the active work of his profession. He purchased a half interest in a local drug business, but his health became even more precarious while in the store, so that in the latter part of 1887 he disposed of his interest in the same and in the following spring came with his family to Clark county, South Dakota, locating on a farm and devoting his attention to its improvement and cultivation for the ensuing eight years, within which time his health steadily improved. During the hard times of 1896 people left the state in great numbers and among them many of the physicians, so that there were left in Clark county or near its borders only three practicing physicians. Under these conditions calls upon the professional services of Dr. Bennett became so frequent and insistent that he was constrained to remove to the city of Clark and establish himself in practice, and here he continued, having built up a large and representative business as a physician and surgeon, until his death, April 16, 1904. He had been confined to his home about a week with a complication of diseases brought on by overwork, though the direct cause of death was heart failure. In politics the Doctor ever gave an uncompromising allegiance to the Republican party, and he recalled to the writer the fact that when a boy of thirteen years! at the time of the candidacy of General John C. Fremont, the first presidential nominee of the party, he was most enthusiastic in his youthful enthusiasm for the newly organized party. He held various village and school offices after coming to South Dakota and in 1892 was elected to represent the twenty-ninth district in the state senate, and was chosen as his own successor in 1894. In 1901, upon the reorganization of the state militia. the Doctor was commissioned assistant surgeon of the Third Battalion of the First Regiment, South Dakota National Guard, with rank of first lieutenant, and about a year later he was appointed surgeon general of the National Guard of the state, with rank of colonel. and remained incumbent of this office. He was a member of the Masonic fraternity with which he was identified from 1885 and also of the Grand Army of the Republic, and while a resident of Wisconsin he was affiliated with the Temple of Honor, in which he passed the various official chairs. He was a prominent and zealous member of the Baptist church as is his widow.
On the 17th of February, 1873, at Concord, Jackson county, Michigan, was solemnized the marriage of Dr. Bennett to Miss Floretta Elizabeth Young, the eldest child of Andrew Sproul Young, who was a son of Andrew Young. The Young family formerly lived near Williamstown, Massachusetts, whence representatives removed to Bergen, Genesee county, New York, in 1833, and from that locality Andrew Young and his family removed to Concord, Jackson county, Michigan, in 1855. The maiden name of Mrs. Bennett's mother was Elizabeth Lewellin, who was a daughter of Lewis Lewellin. The Lewellin (or Llewellyn, as the name was originally spelled, according to the Welsh form) family removed from Pennsylvania to Genesee county, New York, in 1826. Mr. and Mrs. Bennett have three children, Henry Judson Bennett, D. D. S., who is engaged in the practice of dentistry at Fond du Lac, Wisconsin; Luella Elizabeth, who is in Clark, and Mary, who died March 13, 1886, at the age of thirteen months.
Dr. David O. Bennett was born in the town of McDonough, Chenenga County, New York, January 10, 1843. He was educated in public schools until he was 15 years of age; then he went to Cincinnatus Academy in Cortland County for three years and was ready for college.
He moved to Juneau, Wisconsin with his parents in 1861, just before the rebellion broke out. In 1862 his parents consented to his joining the service and he joined the Co. K 29th Wisconsin Volunteers Infantry, in which he served until the surrender of Vicksburg. Upon his return from
the service he worked in a drug store and studied medicine at Fond du Lac, Wisconsin and in 1870 graduated from Rush Medical College in Chicago; he settled in Waterloo, Wisconsin and practiced medicine there until 1888. He married Floretta Elizabeth Young on February 17, 1873 and they had three children. Henry Judson, Luella and a daughter
Mary who died when she was 13 months old.
In the spring of 1888 David Bennett homesteaded in Maydell
Township in Section 22. Although the Dr. wanted to
give up the practice of medicine the people would not permit him to and the family lived between Clark and the farm until 1895, when they moved to Clark.
During Dr. David Bennetts sojourn in Clark County he held several town and school offices and in 1893 and 1895 he represented his county in the State Senate. In 1901 he received the appointment of Surgeon of the 3rd Battalion of the 1st South Dakota Regiment and was commissioned 1st Lieutenant; the following year he was commissioned
a colonel. He had a great interest in having a well drilled and efficient state military organization so that the nation would not be caught as unprepared in a time of need as it was in 1861. He was particularly interested in the National Guard.
Dr. Bennett was converted when he was 17 and united with the
Baptist Church, of which he was a life long member, his father and one of his brothers being Baptist ministers. He died April 16, 1904, from a complication of troubles brought on by overwork. The attendance at this funeral was probably the largest that has ever been witnessed in
the city of Clark. It was the military burial of the dead - a man of the highest Christian character, a brave soldier of the Civil War, a beloved physician, a man in whom all found a true and honest friend.
After the services the procession was formed in the following order of march to the Rose Hill Cemetery: cadet band, pallbearers, hearse containing the body, mourners, riderless horse draped in black, with saddle on, an empty pair of boots in the stirrups and sword strapped to
side of saddle, Adjutant General Conklin and Captain Rowland of the United States Army in a carriage, commissioned officers of various ranks, two by two, on foot, enlisted men of the various companies,
veterans of the Grand Army, Masons and citizens. At the grave the usual services of the Grand Army were held, after which the usual Military Salute of three volleys were fired and taps sounded by the bugler, and thus ended the very notable burial service of a very worthy man. The funeral was held at the Methodist Church, conducted by W.L.
Meinzer, assisted by Rev. W.J. Oldfield and Rev. J.W.C. Swan, pastor of the Baptist Church of Bradley.
Above taken from the Clark Centennial History Book 1881-1981
The book is not copyrighted.
Below provided by Contributor: Heather Hall (48030601)
Bio from "History of South Dakota" by Doane Robinson, Vol. II (1904), pp 1523-1525.
DAVID OLNEY BENNETT, deceased, was born in McDonough, Chenango county, New York, on the 10th of January, 1843, and is a son of Olney and Elizabeth (Place) Bennett, both of whom were born and reared in Rhode Island, where the former's birth occurred in 1800 and the latter about the year 1810, while their marriage was there solemnized. The father of the subject was a clergyman of the Baptist church, and about 1830 removed with his family to Madison county, New York, where he remained until 1860, when he removed to Wisconsin, where he passed the remainder of his life, engaged in the noble work of his high calling and also being identified with agricultural pursuits. His wife likewise died in that state, and of their seven children two are yet living, our subject having been the sixth in order of birth. David 0. Bennett received his early education in the common schools of his native town and those of McGrawville, Cortland county, New York, while at the age of fifteen he entered Cincinnatus Academy, in Cortland county, where he continued his studies until 1861, being prepared for matriculation in college and expecting to thus continue his educational work. About this time, however, there came the call to higher duty, as the integrity of the Union was menaced by armed rebellion, and in August, 1862, having joined his parents in Wisconsin, he enlisted as a member of Company K, Twenty-ninth Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, which was assigned to the western department and served under General Grant until after the surrender of Vicksburg, when his corps, the Thirteenth, was transferred to the Department of the Gulf. Mr. Bennett was discharged, on account of disability, in February, 1864, at New Orleans, and then returned to his home in Wisconsin. After recuperating his energies he, by chance, identified himself with the mercantile business, having been for six months employed in a clerical capacity in general stores in Beaver Dam and Juneau, Wisconsin, his intention being to soon enter college and complete his education. He was deflected from this course, however, and began the study of medicine under the direction of his brother, Henry Judson Bennett, a prominent practicing physician at Juneau, and finally, as offering further discipline along this line, he took a position in a drug store at Fond du Lac, that state, where he remained until 1869. His brother, previously mentioned, died in December of that year, and the subject thereafter continued his study of medicine under the preceptorship of Dr. H. M. Lilly, at Fond du Lac, and completed his technical course in that famous institution, Rush Medical College, in the city of Chicago, where he was graduated in February, 1870, with the degree of Doctor of Medicine. He thereafter remained with his preceptor, Dr. Lilly, until the following June, when he removed to Waterloo, Jefferson county, Wisconsin, where he was actively engaged in practice until 1887, when his health became so seriously impaired by rheumatism that he was compelled to withdraw largely from the active work of his profession. He purchased a half interest in a local drug business, but his health became even more precarious while in the store, so that in the latter part of 1887 he disposed of his interest in the same and in the following spring came with his family to Clark county, South Dakota, locating on a farm and devoting his attention to its improvement and cultivation for the ensuing eight years, within which time his health steadily improved. During the hard times of 1896 people left the state in great numbers and among them many of the physicians, so that there were left in Clark county or near its borders only three practicing physicians. Under these conditions calls upon the professional services of Dr. Bennett became so frequent and insistent that he was constrained to remove to the city of Clark and establish himself in practice, and here he continued, having built up a large and representative business as a physician and surgeon, until his death, April 16, 1904. He had been confined to his home about a week with a complication of diseases brought on by overwork, though the direct cause of death was heart failure. In politics the Doctor ever gave an uncompromising allegiance to the Republican party, and he recalled to the writer the fact that when a boy of thirteen years! at the time of the candidacy of General John C. Fremont, the first presidential nominee of the party, he was most enthusiastic in his youthful enthusiasm for the newly organized party. He held various village and school offices after coming to South Dakota and in 1892 was elected to represent the twenty-ninth district in the state senate, and was chosen as his own successor in 1894. In 1901, upon the reorganization of the state militia. the Doctor was commissioned assistant surgeon of the Third Battalion of the First Regiment, South Dakota National Guard, with rank of first lieutenant, and about a year later he was appointed surgeon general of the National Guard of the state, with rank of colonel. and remained incumbent of this office. He was a member of the Masonic fraternity with which he was identified from 1885 and also of the Grand Army of the Republic, and while a resident of Wisconsin he was affiliated with the Temple of Honor, in which he passed the various official chairs. He was a prominent and zealous member of the Baptist church as is his widow.
On the 17th of February, 1873, at Concord, Jackson county, Michigan, was solemnized the marriage of Dr. Bennett to Miss Floretta Elizabeth Young, the eldest child of Andrew Sproul Young, who was a son of Andrew Young. The Young family formerly lived near Williamstown, Massachusetts, whence representatives removed to Bergen, Genesee county, New York, in 1833, and from that locality Andrew Young and his family removed to Concord, Jackson county, Michigan, in 1855. The maiden name of Mrs. Bennett's mother was Elizabeth Lewellin, who was a daughter of Lewis Lewellin. The Lewellin (or Llewellyn, as the name was originally spelled, according to the Welsh form) family removed from Pennsylvania to Genesee county, New York, in 1826. Mr. and Mrs. Bennett have three children, Henry Judson Bennett, D. D. S., who is engaged in the practice of dentistry at Fond du Lac, Wisconsin; Luella Elizabeth, who is in Clark, and Mary, who died March 13, 1886, at the age of thirteen months.
He moved to Juneau, Wisconsin with his parents in 1861, just before the rebellion broke out. In 1862 his parents consented to his joining the service and he joined the Co. K 29th Wisconsin Volunteers Infantry, in which he served until the surrender of Vicksburg. Upon his return from
the service he worked in a drug store and studied medicine at Fond du Lac, Wisconsin and in 1870 graduated from Rush Medical College in Chicago; he settled in Waterloo, Wisconsin and practiced medicine there until 1888. He married Floretta Elizabeth Young on February 17, 1873 and they had three children. Henry Judson, Luella and a daughter
Mary who died when she was 13 months old.
In the spring of 1888 David Bennett homesteaded in Maydell
Township in Section 22. Although the Dr. wanted to
give up the practice of medicine the people would not permit him to and the family lived between Clark and the farm until 1895, when they moved to Clark.
During Dr. David Bennetts sojourn in Clark County he held several town and school offices and in 1893 and 1895 he represented his county in the State Senate. In 1901 he received the appointment of Surgeon of the 3rd Battalion of the 1st South Dakota Regiment and was commissioned 1st Lieutenant; the following year he was commissioned
a colonel. He had a great interest in having a well drilled and efficient state military organization so that the nation would not be caught as unprepared in a time of need as it was in 1861. He was particularly interested in the National Guard.
Dr. Bennett was converted when he was 17 and united with the
Baptist Church, of which he was a life long member, his father and one of his brothers being Baptist ministers. He died April 16, 1904, from a complication of troubles brought on by overwork. The attendance at this funeral was probably the largest that has ever been witnessed in
the city of Clark. It was the military burial of the dead - a man of the highest Christian character, a brave soldier of the Civil War, a beloved physician, a man in whom all found a true and honest friend.
After the services the procession was formed in the following order of march to the Rose Hill Cemetery: cadet band, pallbearers, hearse containing the body, mourners, riderless horse draped in black, with saddle on, an empty pair of boots in the stirrups and sword strapped to
side of saddle, Adjutant General Conklin and Captain Rowland of the United States Army in a carriage, commissioned officers of various ranks, two by two, on foot, enlisted men of the various companies,
veterans of the Grand Army, Masons and citizens. At the grave the usual services of the Grand Army were held, after which the usual Military Salute of three volleys were fired and taps sounded by the bugler, and thus ended the very notable burial service of a very worthy man. The funeral was held at the Methodist Church, conducted by W.L.
Meinzer, assisted by Rev. W.J. Oldfield and Rev. J.W.C. Swan, pastor of the Baptist Church of Bradley.
Above taken from the Clark Centennial History Book 1881-1981
The book is not copyrighted.
Below provided by Contributor: Heather Hall (48030601)
Bio from "History of South Dakota" by Doane Robinson, Vol. II (1904), pp 1523-1525.
DAVID OLNEY BENNETT, deceased, was born in McDonough, Chenango county, New York, on the 10th of January, 1843, and is a son of Olney and Elizabeth (Place) Bennett, both of whom were born and reared in Rhode Island, where the former's birth occurred in 1800 and the latter about the year 1810, while their marriage was there solemnized. The father of the subject was a clergyman of the Baptist church, and about 1830 removed with his family to Madison county, New York, where he remained until 1860, when he removed to Wisconsin, where he passed the remainder of his life, engaged in the noble work of his high calling and also being identified with agricultural pursuits. His wife likewise died in that state, and of their seven children two are yet living, our subject having been the sixth in order of birth. David 0. Bennett received his early education in the common schools of his native town and those of McGrawville, Cortland county, New York, while at the age of fifteen he entered Cincinnatus Academy, in Cortland county, where he continued his studies until 1861, being prepared for matriculation in college and expecting to thus continue his educational work. About this time, however, there came the call to higher duty, as the integrity of the Union was menaced by armed rebellion, and in August, 1862, having joined his parents in Wisconsin, he enlisted as a member of Company K, Twenty-ninth Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, which was assigned to the western department and served under General Grant until after the surrender of Vicksburg, when his corps, the Thirteenth, was transferred to the Department of the Gulf. Mr. Bennett was discharged, on account of disability, in February, 1864, at New Orleans, and then returned to his home in Wisconsin. After recuperating his energies he, by chance, identified himself with the mercantile business, having been for six months employed in a clerical capacity in general stores in Beaver Dam and Juneau, Wisconsin, his intention being to soon enter college and complete his education. He was deflected from this course, however, and began the study of medicine under the direction of his brother, Henry Judson Bennett, a prominent practicing physician at Juneau, and finally, as offering further discipline along this line, he took a position in a drug store at Fond du Lac, that state, where he remained until 1869. His brother, previously mentioned, died in December of that year, and the subject thereafter continued his study of medicine under the preceptorship of Dr. H. M. Lilly, at Fond du Lac, and completed his technical course in that famous institution, Rush Medical College, in the city of Chicago, where he was graduated in February, 1870, with the degree of Doctor of Medicine. He thereafter remained with his preceptor, Dr. Lilly, until the following June, when he removed to Waterloo, Jefferson county, Wisconsin, where he was actively engaged in practice until 1887, when his health became so seriously impaired by rheumatism that he was compelled to withdraw largely from the active work of his profession. He purchased a half interest in a local drug business, but his health became even more precarious while in the store, so that in the latter part of 1887 he disposed of his interest in the same and in the following spring came with his family to Clark county, South Dakota, locating on a farm and devoting his attention to its improvement and cultivation for the ensuing eight years, within which time his health steadily improved. During the hard times of 1896 people left the state in great numbers and among them many of the physicians, so that there were left in Clark county or near its borders only three practicing physicians. Under these conditions calls upon the professional services of Dr. Bennett became so frequent and insistent that he was constrained to remove to the city of Clark and establish himself in practice, and here he continued, having built up a large and representative business as a physician and surgeon, until his death, April 16, 1904. He had been confined to his home about a week with a complication of diseases brought on by overwork, though the direct cause of death was heart failure. In politics the Doctor ever gave an uncompromising allegiance to the Republican party, and he recalled to the writer the fact that when a boy of thirteen years! at the time of the candidacy of General John C. Fremont, the first presidential nominee of the party, he was most enthusiastic in his youthful enthusiasm for the newly organized party. He held various village and school offices after coming to South Dakota and in 1892 was elected to represent the twenty-ninth district in the state senate, and was chosen as his own successor in 1894. In 1901, upon the reorganization of the state militia. the Doctor was commissioned assistant surgeon of the Third Battalion of the First Regiment, South Dakota National Guard, with rank of first lieutenant, and about a year later he was appointed surgeon general of the National Guard of the state, with rank of colonel. and remained incumbent of this office. He was a member of the Masonic fraternity with which he was identified from 1885 and also of the Grand Army of the Republic, and while a resident of Wisconsin he was affiliated with the Temple of Honor, in which he passed the various official chairs. He was a prominent and zealous member of the Baptist church as is his widow.
On the 17th of February, 1873, at Concord, Jackson county, Michigan, was solemnized the marriage of Dr. Bennett to Miss Floretta Elizabeth Young, the eldest child of Andrew Sproul Young, who was a son of Andrew Young. The Young family formerly lived near Williamstown, Massachusetts, whence representatives removed to Bergen, Genesee county, New York, in 1833, and from that locality Andrew Young and his family removed to Concord, Jackson county, Michigan, in 1855. The maiden name of Mrs. Bennett's mother was Elizabeth Lewellin, who was a daughter of Lewis Lewellin. The Lewellin (or Llewellyn, as the name was originally spelled, according to the Welsh form) family removed from Pennsylvania to Genesee county, New York, in 1826. Mr. and Mrs. Bennett have three children, Henry Judson Bennett, D. D. S., who is engaged in the practice of dentistry at Fond du Lac, Wisconsin; Luella Elizabeth, who is in Clark, and Mary, who died March 13, 1886, at the age of thirteen months.
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