Biography of Edward L. Abel

Edward L. Abel, born November 19, 1860, in Springfield, Illinois, was the son of Oramel H. and Mary (Moore) Abel. Abel pursued education at Southern Illinois Normal University before being admitted to the Illinois bar in 1884. After relocating to Bridgewater, South Dakota, in 1887, he joined the State Bank of Bridgewater, eventually becoming its president. Abel was active in public service, serving as mayor of Bridgewater, a state senator, and president of the South Dakota Bankers’ Association. He married Ella C. Smith in 1883, and they had two children, Roy W. and Gertrude M. Abel.


Edward L. Abel, president of the First National Bank of Bridgewater, was born in Springfield, the capital city of Illinois, on the 19th of November 1860, being the only child of Oramel H. and Mary (Moore) Abel, the former of whom was born near Buffalo, New York, June 19, 1833, while the latter was born in Springfield, Illinois, on the 17th of May 1838. The father is now a resident of Murphysboro, Illinois, the mother having died at Springfield, Illinois. As a boy, Oramel H. Abel accompanied his parents on their removal to Springfield, Illinois, and he was there reared and educated, becoming a successful railroad contractor. At the outbreak of the war of the Rebellion he enlisted as a private in an Illinois regiment, being made lieutenant of his company. Later he was appointed mustering officer and was stationed for some time at Camp Butler. He was then sent to the front, being first lieutenant in his company, which formed a part of the One Hundred and Forty-fourth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, of which he was eventually made adjutant general, serving until the close of the war. He then returned to Springfield, and for a number of years served as city clerk. In 1874 he removed to Carbondale, that state, where he engaged in the banking business and where he also held the position of city clerk for several terms, besides being called to other offices of local trust. About 1887 he removed to Murphysboro, Illinois, where he has since lived retired. He is a staunch Republican in politics and was a personal friend of Abraham Lincoln, their intimacy continuing from their boyhood days until the death of the martyred President, at whose personal request the subject of this sketch received his second name, Lincoln. The father of our subject is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Grand Army of the Republic, having been commander of his post in the latter organization.

Edward L. Abel received his early education in the public schools of his native city and supplemented this by a course of study in the Southern Illinois Normal University, at Carbondale, while he was engaged in teaching school for two winters after leaving college. In 1879 he began reading law under the preceptorship of Judge Andrew D. Duff, of Carbondale, one of the most eminent members of the Illinois bar, and while prosecuting his legal studies he worked at various occupations, being dependent upon his own resources. In February 1884, Mr. Abel was admitted to the bar of his native state, and the same spring was elected city attorney of Carbondale, being chosen as his own successor, without opposition, in the spring of 1885. During these years he was associated with the banking business in Carbondale, accepting a clerkship in 1878 and shortly afterward being made cashier of the bank. In 1887 Mr. Abel came to Bridgewater, South Dakota, being admitted to the bar of the territory in the following year, though he has never devoted much attention to the work of his profession here. Upon his arrival in his new home, he purchased stock in the State Bank of Bridgewater, of which institution he was made cashier. In 1897 he was elected to the presidency of the same, and upon the reorganization of the institution as the First National Bank, in August 1903, he was elected to the presidency of the same. In 1889 he was appointed, by Governor Mellette, a member of the board of trustees of the state penitentiary, at Sioux Falls; he has served with signal acceptability as mayor of Bridgewater, retaining this office three terms, and he is now serving his third term as a member of the board of education, of which he was president in 1902. He is a member at large and chairman of the Republican committee of the second circuit. In 1902 he was elected to represent his district in the state senate, in which he served with characteristic ability, proving a valuable member of the body. For two terms he was secretary of the South Dakota Bankers’ Association, and in July 1903, he was honored by his associates in that body by being chosen its president. He has been an active and efficient worker in the Republican party, having delivered many campaign addresses and being regarded as one of the party’s most able and forceful speakers in the state. Mr. Abel is a member of Eureka Lodge, No. 72, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons; Salem Chapter, No. 34, Royal Arch Masons; Constantine Commandery, No. 17, Knights Templar, of Salem; El Riad Temple, Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, at Sioux Falls; Sioux Falls Lodge, No. 262, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks; Bridgewater Lodge, No. 72, Ancient Order of United Workmen; and Bridgewater Lodge, No. 3790, Modern Woodmen of America.

On the 25th of December 1883, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Abel to Miss Ella C. Smith, of DuQuoin, Illinois, and they have two children, Roy W. and Gertrude M.


Source: Robinson, Doane, History of South Dakota: together with mention of Citizens of South Dakota, [Logansport? IN] : B. F. Bowen, 1904.


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