Hayes - South Dakota Genealogy

Biography of R. E. Hayes

History of South Dakota vol 1 title page

R. E. Hayes, senior member of Hayes & Black, a firm dealing in grain and agricultural implements in Pollock, Campbell County, was born on December 24, 1862, in Erie County, Pennsylvania. He was educated in Pennsylvania’s public schools and moved to South Dakota in 1882 to join his uncle, J. L. Thompson. After various business ventures in Vanderbilt and North Dakota, Hayes assisted in a trading business at the Cheyenne Indian Agency. In 1901, he relocated to Pollock, where he and his partner, David Black, established a successful grain and agricultural implement business, earning widespread respect in the community.

Biography of James Alfred Copeland

James Alfred Copeland was born on September 21, 1852, in Fountaindale, Illinois. He was the son of Alfred Williams Copeland, born June 18, 1809, in Massachusetts, and Hannah Brewster, a Pennsylvania native and descendant of Elder Brewster from the Mayflower. James received his education in Illinois and attended Wheaton College. In 1879, he began studying law in Nebraska and was admitted to the South Dakota bar in 1890. He served as clerk of courts, justice of the peace, and county judge in Vermillion, South Dakota. Copeland was active in the Republican Party and various fraternal organizations. He married Estella E. Hayes in 1880, and they had eight children, though three died young.

Biography of Edward Charles Ericson

Edward Charles Ericson, a prominent figure in South Dakota, has dedicated three decades to the state’s growth and progress. As a respected member of the bar, he has served in positions of public trust and responsibility. Currently practicing law in Elk Point, Union County, and holding the esteemed position of president of the South Dakota Bar Association, Ericson’s professional peers highly regard him. Born in Sweden in 1856, he immigrated to the United States with his family at a young age. With a strong educational foundation and a thriving legal career, Ericson is known for his expertise, advocacy, and conservative counsel.