The Gold Brothers, consisting of Sidney R., Frank O., James A., John T., and William H., were influential businessmen in the northwest, with interests spanning banking, real estate, and livestock across South Dakota and Minnesota. The brothers, originally from Pennsylvania and of German lineage, moved westward, establishing significant enterprises such as the Gold-Stabeck Land and Credit Company and various banking institutions. Their ventures also included the Gold Brothers Brick Company and involvement in the Inter-State Chautauqua Association. Active in public and religious affairs, they played a substantial role in the development of their communities.
The Gold Brothers.— The progressive spirit and initiative power so typical of the men who have built up a splendid civilization in the great northwest are significantly shown forth in the careers of the Gold brothers, five in number, who have been for many years closely associated in their business operations and who now control interests of broad scope and marked importance not only in South Dakota but also in Minnesota.
Sidney R. Gold, the eldest of the five, was born in Northampton county, Pennsylvania, on the 4th of March, 1857. The Gold family is of German lineage and was founded in the Keystone state in its early settlement, though the religious faith of the family was that of the Reformed Lutheran church instead of that of the Society of Friends. The parents of these five brothers were Aaron and Ellen (Gaboon) Gold, both of whom were born and reared in Pennsylvania, the latter being of English extraction and a representative of one of the old families of Pennsylvania. Of the family of thirteen children, five sons and five daughters are still living. The names of the five brothers are Sidney R., Frank O., James A., John T., and William H. They are engaged in the banking business at Big Stone City and Albee, South Dakota, and also in Renville, Wabasso, Revere, Belview, Vesta, Redwood Falls, and Marietta, Minnesota, while they also conduct an extensive business in real-estate loans, having agencies at Milbank, South Dakota, and at Redwood Falls, Minnesota. The old family home was located in eastern Pennsylvania, eighty miles west of New York City, and thence the parents came to Illinois in 1857, becoming pioneer settlers of Stephenson county. From Illinois, each of the five sons crossed over the Mississippi into Iowa ere he had attained his legal majority, and there all became associated in their business operations, following various pursuits until 1887, when they all moved on to the extreme western section of Minnesota and eastern South Dakota, with whose interests they have since been prominently identified, contributing materially to the march of progress. Here they began to purchase and improve farming lands and finally to loan money for New England capitalists. In the year 1894, they established a banking institution in Big Stone City, and they now own or have the controlling interests in banks in the various towns mentioned. They also have controlling interest in three land and loan companies, the Gold-Stabeck Land and Credit Company, of Renville, Minnesota; Gold Brothers Land and Investment Company, of Big Stone City; and a branch of the latter at Indian Head, Assiniboia, Northwest Territory. They own and have under cultivation about fifteen thousand acres of land, mostly in South Dakota, and are also largely engaged in the raising of high-grade livestock. They are the owners of the Gold Brothers Brick Company, of Big Stone City, which could dispose of an output many times greater than the present capacity of the plant, which is kept constantly in operation, affording employment to about twenty men. They were also identified with the organization of the Inter-State Chautauqua Association, whose assemblies are held at Big Stone Lake, and also with the improvement of Simpson Park, which is used by the association and which is pronounced the largest and handsomest summer resort in the northwest. From a brochure describing this park, we quote as follows: “There is a large auditorium and pavilion used for public meetings, lectures, etc., the former having a seating capacity for about two thousand persons. There are also seventy-five cottages in the park that can be secured on the grounds. This park is situated on the banks of the finest and most picturesque lake in the northwest, its length being between thirty-five and forty miles, while it varies in width from one-half to two miles. Its banks and islands are beautiful and pleasing to the eye, being fringed with groves, and numerous stony points may be seen as you sail over the placid bosom of this lake of all lakes for grandeur and sport.” It may also be said that the hotel accommodations are excellent and that fine hunting and fishing are to be had. Sidney R. Gold is secretary of the Inter-State Chautauqua Association and of the company controlling Simpson park, where are also held the summer schools of the Inter-State Teachers’ Association, covering the states of North and South Dakota and Minnesota.
Sidney R. Gold has been prominent in public affairs and is a staunch advocate of the principles of the Republican party, as are also each of his brothers. He represented Grant county in the house of the state legislature in 1893 and 1895, and served on the appropriation committee. Fraternally, he is identified with the Masonic order and the Modern Woodmen of America.
In Clinton, Iowa, on the 18th of May, 1876, Sidney R. Gold was united in marriage to Miss Eva M. Sloan, who was born and reared in Clinton, Iowa, and they are the parents of seven children, namely: Mabel E., who is a stenographer in the Big Stone Bank; Edith M., who is the wife of Charles Wallace, cashier of the Albee Bank, at Albee; Florence L. and Ruth S., who are students in the Northwestern University, at Evanston, Illinois; and Ralph S., Milton J., and Eva A. The family residence, one of the finest in the county, is located on the hill in the north section of the town, commanding a most beautiful view of the lake and surrounding country, while it is modern in all its appointments and equipment.
Frank O. Gold was born and reared in Davis, Illinois. He is the president of the Gold-Stabeck Land Company and vice-president of the First National Bank, both of Renville, Minnesota, where he makes his home. He is a strong Methodist and is not only prominent in his own church, but has been further honored by being chosen as a lay delegate from the Northern Minnesota conference to the general conference of the Methodist church, held at Los Angeles, California, in the early summer of 1904.
James A. Gold was born in Davis, Illinois, on the 14th of May, 1860. At the age of fifteen years, he joined his older brothers in Iowa and acted as station agent and telegraph operator in the various towns in which they were located, having served in such capacity for eight years after coming to Big Stone City. He has served as treasurer of the school district for the past decade. He is affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Modern Woodmen of America, and the Ancient Order of United Workmen. He is a member of the board of trustees of the First Methodist Episcopal church of Big Stone City. He has executive charge of the affairs of the Gold & Company Bank, of which he has been cashier from the time of its establishment in 1894. His residence is the finest in the city and one of the best to be found between Minneapolis and Aberdeen. At Waubay, Day county, on the 22d of December, 1884, Mr. Gold wedded Miss Ida B. Stone, who was born in the state of Maine, being a daughter of C. C. Stone, now a resident of Big Stone City. Of this union have been born nine children, namely: Ray E., Lee A., Earl S., Grace M., Irene M., Verna B., Mildred C., James C., and Kenneth.
John T. Gold was born in Davis, Stephenson county, Illinois, on the 15th of November, 1862, and he joined his brothers in Iowa in 1875. He is now treasurer of the Gold Brothers Land and Investment Company, to which he devotes the major portion of his attention. He was a member of the village council of Big Stone City for eight years, and is one of the public-spirited and popular citizens of the county. He is identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Modern Woodmen of America, and is one of the stewards of the First Methodist Episcopal church, having held this office from the time of coming to the county, and having been superintendent of the Sunday school for the past twelve years. His attractive modern home is eligibly located on the shores of Big Stone lake. On the 18th of September, 1885, John T. Gold was united in marriage to Miss Alice Harrington, of Delmar, Iowa, and they have three children, Marjorie A., Paul J., and Malcolm L.
William H. Gold is president of the Gold-Stabeck Bank, at Redwood Falls, where he resides, and devotes his attention to that institution. Mr. Gold is a Methodist and in the early summer of 1904 was a lay delegate from the Southern Minnesota conference to the general conference of the Methodist Episcopal church, held at Los Angeles.
Source: Robinson, Doane, History of South Dakota: together with mention of Citizens of South Dakota, [Logansport? IN] : B. F. Bowen, 1904.