John Doering, born February 2, 1868, in southern Russia, became a prominent businessman in Parkston, Hutchinson County. Son of Gottlieb and Juliana (Lempke) Doering, he emigrated to America at age twelve. The family settled near Parkston after a year in Menno. Educated briefly in South Dakota, Doering married Louisa Eberhard in 1892 and established a grist mill in Parkston. He later transitioned to the grain business and agricultural implements. In 1897, he co-founded the South Dakota Grain Company, managing multiple grain elevators. A respected Republican and community leader, Doering owned significant land and served on Parkston’s city council.
John Doering, a representative and progressive business man of Parkston, Hutchinson County, was born in the southern part of Russia, which great empire has contributed a not inconsiderable quota to the valued population of South Dakota. The date of his nativity was February 2, 1868. He is a son of Gottlieb and Juliana (Lempke) Doering, who emigrated to America when he was about twelve years of age, coming to South Dakota and spending one year in Menno, Hutchinson County, after which they removed to a farm seven miles southeast of Parkston, where they have since maintained their home, being numbered among the worthy pioneers of this section of the state.
The subject of this sketch received excellent educational advantages in his native country but was able to attend school only three months after the removal of the family to the United States, for institutions of learning, even of the primitive sort, were notable more specially for their absence in the pioneer districts of South Dakota at the time when the family located here. On June 7, 1892, Mr. Doering was married to Miss Louisa Eberhard, of this county, and shortly afterward, he came to Parkston, where he erected and equipped a grist mill, operating the same for two years. At the expiration of this period, he disposed of the property and engaged in the grain business as a buyer for others, continuing in this capacity for about three years. In 1897, he turned his attention to dealing in agricultural implements and machinery, and the same year, in company with two others, purchased two elevators in Parkston, operating one under the firm name of Doering & Company and the other under the title of Rempfer, Kayser & Company.
Subsequently, the interested principals effected the organization of the South Dakota Grain Company and purchased nine other elevators at different points. These nine elevators are conducted by the company mentioned, while the original two in Parkston are still maintained under the control of the firms previously noted. The subject of this sketch has held the responsible office of general manager of the South Dakota Grain Company from the time of its organization, the concern being among the heaviest buyers and shippers of grain in the state, while the responsibilities devolving upon Mr. Doering indicate that he is a man of excellent executive ability. Mr. Doering and John Kayser are now the sole owners of the nine elevators outside, and Mr. Doering holds stock in the Parkston Land and Implement Company, of which he is vice-president, and he is also manager of the South Dakota Grain Company. He is candid and honorable in all his transactions and retains the unequivocal confidence and esteem of all who know him, while he is recognized as one of the substantial men and representative citizens of the county. He is the owner of two hundred and eighty acres of valuable farming land in Hutchinson County and has reason to be gratified with the success he has attained through his energetic and progressive efforts. In politics, he holds the faith of the Republican party, being a member of the common council of his home city at the time of this writing, and both he and his wife are zealous members of the Lutheran church.
Source: Robinson, Doane, History of South Dakota: together with mention of Citizens of South Dakota, [Logansport? IN] : B. F. Bowen, 1904.