Biography of Alexander A. Shoemaker
Alexander A. Shoemaker, born June 18, 1849, in Keokuk, Iowa, was the son of Jesse and Henrietta Shoemaker. His family moved to Council Bluffs in 1849 during the California Gold Rush, and later to near Omaha, Nebraska, in 1857. In 1877, Alexander relocated to the Black Hills of Dakota Territory, engaging in freighting and surviving numerous Indian encounters. He later settled on a ranch near Rapid City, then moved to Hermosa, Custer County, and eventually to a ranch on the Bad River. A successful cattle and horse rancher, Shoemaker served as a government scout and deputy sheriff. He married Anna Lawson in 1874, and they had five children.