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(Written by Family and Submitted by Darrell R. Fransen) MELVIN T. CURRIER was born in Wisconsin on February I9, 1856. He moved to Iowa with his parents later and lived ther for several years. Mary Rebecca Bouchie, who became his wife in 1878, was born May 13, 1861. In 1883 the family moved to Kingsbury County and in the spring of 1906, they located in Sully County. They homesteaded in Farmington Township where they lived until his death in 1922. Mrs. Currier lived for some time in Agar, later moving to Onida, where she passed away in 1938. The Currier's had nine children, one son passed away in infancy. Two children, Ruth and Alfred, were married before 1906 and never lived in Sully County. The six other children who were all married were Willis, Clarence, Ernest, Gladys, Lester and Grace. Clarence married Minnie Weischedel on May 26, 1915 and they made their home in Troy Township. They had three sons, Arnold, Marvin and Leslie and twin daughters Myrtle and Minnie Marie. Arnold married Laura Todd of Potter County and they lived in Oregon. Myrtle, Marvin and Leslie are also married and live in Oregon. The family left their farm in Troy Township in 1936, and moved to Oregon where Mrs. Currier passed away in 1937. Mr. Currier remarried and have both passed away. Ernest married Viola Rilling and taught in the rural schools of Sully County for seven years. Then after special training he entered the ministry of the Methodist church. He received his first license to preach in 1911 and retired in 1957 at Britton. Later, he preached a few years at Cavour, until their health failed and passed away at Selby, where their daughter Leora Mikkelson lives. They had three other children, Wilbur, Virgil and Ursal. In 1936, Mrs. Currier's sister-in-law, Mrs. David Rilling passed away, leaving a seven day old son James. The Currier's took him into their home and raised him as their own. Gladys married Arthur Todd of Farmington Township where they lived until they retired and moved to Onida in 1946. They had seven children, Alvin, Ethel who married Paul Ramler and live in Onida, Irene, Doris, Richard. Jean and Marian who married Larry Mayes and lived in Pierre. She was a nurse at the Medical Associates Clinic until her death in 1981. Lester married Ferne Pierce, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Francis Pierce of Hartford Township. They had two children Melvin and Neoma. Melvin married Noami Glee McGuire. They were divorced. They had one adopted son Roger. Roger in married and has two children. He lives in Sioux Falls. On December 8, 1978 Melvin married Merna Jensen. They live in Pierre and he works for the Sully County Highway Department. Neoma married Darvin Fields, October 18, 1972. He passed away January 4, 1980. Neoma still lives in Sioux Falls and teaches high school at Brandon Valley where she has taught for twenty years. Pat Cullinan, Lester's nephew, made his home with Lester and Fern. He is a dentist and has been in Chicago for five years. He married Carolyn Kennedy and they have two girls both in college and their son Cory is 12 years old. Lester passed away April, 1955. His wife Fern lives in Onida. Grace, now Mrs. Lot Cullinan lives in Glendive, Montana. They have five children. Willis married Mabel Nontz in 1905 and came to Sully County in 1907. They lived in Farmington Township for a short time. They filed on a claim in Perkins County, where two of their five children, Harold and Dorothy, were born in a sod house. In October 1911, they proved up their claim and came back to Sully County and remained there the rest of their ilves. They moved to the Melvin T. Currier farm in Farmington township in 1921, until Willis' health forced him to retire. They moved to Onida after a wind storm blew all of the buildings on the farm away except the house. In 1939 they moved to Agar in the house formally occupied by Willis' mother and lived there until their deaths. Mabel passed away December 21, 1941 and Willis in January 1946. Their oldest daughter Faye married William Hart and are living in Spokone, Washington. They have seven children, William Jr., Howard, Dorothy, James, Donald and Eleanor. Helen, Howard's twin passed away at the age of three. Harold married Minnie Ripley in 1934. They lived in Okobojo and Hartford townships before moving into Onida in 1958. They have five children. Janice married Rich Millage and they have one adopted daughter. Kimi and live in Burbank. Washington. He is a truck driver. Duane married Monita MeKenney. They have five children, Mike, Monty, Monette, Monica and Misti. Mike has a daughter Trista and Monte married LiAnn Nuttall.The boys live in Onida and the girls are at home. Duane farms and does custom work. Gary married Susan Barnes. They had two children, Cindi and Jason. They were divorced and Gary works for the City of Onida; The children live with their mother at Stickney. Cecil married Rosemary Heintz. They have four boys, Scott, Thad, Danny and Kyle. They live in Onida. Cecil works for Oahe Implement in Pierre. Sandra married Donald Anderson of Sioux Falls where he works at Northwestern Bank They have two children, Angela and Brian. Dorothy married Harold Martin from Moundville, Missouri in 1930. They lived in Sully County all of their married life except for nine years when they lived in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. They lived in Onida since 1942. Dorothy was employed in the Sully County Treasurer and Assessors offices for 15 years. Harold, better known as Tuffy, was a truck driver, custom farmer and combiner. He passed away in 1973. Dorothy now lives in East Haven Apartments in Onida. They had one son Larry. He married Cleo Grage. They live in Rapid City. where he is in the advertising business, and Cleo works at the United Bank. They have one daughter Pamela. She married Larry Pawluuski of Sturgis in 1978. They live at Kemmerer, Wyoming. He is a geologist and works for a mining company. Pam is a special education teacher. They have a two-year-old son Ryan. Donald married Edna Westphal. They lived most of their married life in and around Onida. They owned the Coast to Coast Store, then sold it and retired. They have four girls, ten grandchildren and one great grandchild. Donna Lee married Rev. Donald Lee in 1956 and they live in Amaranth, Manitoba, Canada, where Donald is a minister. Donna works in an office. They have three children. Sharon who marricd David MacAuloy. They live at Vancouver, British Columbia, where Dan is a youth pastor at a church there. They have a son Christopher Daniel, one year old. David is at home and works at a gypsum mine. John married Sherry Vivier, and they live near Amaranth where he works at a grain elevator. Carol Currier married Daniel Eggebraaten in 1961. They live at Sunshine Bible Academy, twelve miles south of Miller, where Dan is business manager at the school and Carol helps teach in the elementary classes. They have three children, Bradley, Tonya and Kevin. Bradley and Tonya are students at Grace Bible College, Omaha, Nebraska and Kevin is a freshman at Sunshine Bible Academy. Brenda married Glen Collard in 1966 and they live in Placentia, California. Glen is assistant principal at Fullerton Junior High. They have two children, Michael and Heather. They both attend Golden Elementary. The highlight of their summer is visiting Grandma and Grandpa Currier in South Dakota. Susan married Donald Wilson in 1972. They live in Kansas City, Missouri. Don is employed by the Social Security Department. They have two children, Kamela and Angela in kindergarten. They are expecting their third child in September of 1982. Evelyn, the youngest daughter married Harold Graves in Montana in the late 1930's. They lived in Seattle, Washington while he was in the service. They were divorced in the late 1950's and Evelyn lived in Seattle until her death in 1978. They had three children Patricia, Darrell and Sharon. HAROLD AND MINNIE CURRIER and daughter, Janice, age seven, and son, Duane, age two, moved from the place that was known as the R. J. Courtney place, in Okobojo Township to the farm in Hartford Township, which they had purchased from Joe and Hazel McGuire in the spring of 1942. The house was one of the houses that had been built by Spaulding. There wasn't a well on the farm. Therefore, the water for the household was hauled from the dam in the pasture and the drinking water was hauled from the Gasperich well, eight miles away and stored in the cistern. On June 18,1942, another son, Gary, was born, and on September 17, 1943, another son, Cecil, was born. With three little boys, things were pretty hectic, all full of mischief and very interested in farm machinery and what made the wheels turn. There was never an idle moment wondering what they were doing or maybe which piece of machinery they might have torn apart to see if they could get it together again. On July 19, 1947, another daughter, Sandra Lynn, was born. The children attended all eight grades at Hartford School, except Sandra, who finished her eighth grade in Onida. All the community affairs were held at the school house. Sunday School and church were held every Sunday, with Martin McGuire preaching the sermons. Once a month, Farm Bureau meetings were held, with games and visiting and lunch following the meetings. The harvesting and working of cattle was a neighborhood affair, usually Phil Seaman and his boys helping out. In the bad winters, when there was lots of snow and roads were blocked, the neighbors, which were Theron McKenney, Elmer LaFave. Meade Barber and James Brooking, would help open roads with the snow plow Harold had mounted on his tractor. Getting the roads open meant a trip to Onida on Saturday to get groceries and visit each other. Sometimes, all would go in a truck and one time in a hayrack, with Theron McKenney pulling it with his tractor. After the roads were open again, there would be a neighborhood card party or a club meeting, so we could all get together to visit. One of the highlights was when R.E.A. brought electricity to our farm. That took the place of the battery operated light plant we had, that was sure to break down when the weather was the worst. A few years later, telephones were installed. Now, we could all keep in touch with each other and visit. The wires were kept busy for awhile, until everyone caught up with what each one was doing. In the late 1940's, the Currier's decided to modernize their home, building a bathroom and running water brought into the house. A large cistern was built and water hauled from the Gasperich well. To keep water running through the pipes kept Minnie busy hauling water. Many days were spent all day to and from the well. The water had to be pumped by a windmill. Sometimes, the wind would decide to quit blowing and the trip home was made with an empty tank. In the fall of 1958, the family decided there was an easier way of living and moved to Onida, where Cecil and Sandra could finish school. Janice was married and gone and Duane and Gary had already dropped out of school and were working. Harold continued driving to the farm a few years to do the farming, but as years went by, Duane started farming the home place. The buildings are unoccupied, but Duane continues to farm the ground. Harold passed away in the fall of 1982. CLARENCE CURRIER came to Sully County from Kingsbury county in 1906 and married Minnie Weisehedel of Lewiston on May 26, 1915. They lived on the Julius Brehe farm until 1919, when they bought the Wilcox place in Troy Township, near the Missouri River hills, and built up their home there. They raised four children, Arnold, Marvin, Myrtle and Leslie. In June, 1936, the family moved to Oregon and it was there that Minnie passed away on June 17, 1937. Clarence later married Nellie Ann Gummow, who survives him. Clarence passed away on December 29, 1961, at Salem, Oregon. Arnold married Laura Todd on November 2, 1947, and they made their home at Gettysburg, South Dakota, until 1957 when they moved to Oregon. They have three children, Arlyn, Caryl, and Daniel. Arlyn married Evelyn Cavender on June 24, 1971, and they live at Merced, California They have three daughters, Katherine, Arleyne, and Stephanie. Caryl married Edward Black and they live in Eugene, Oregon. They have two children, Tamara and Robert. Daniel married Marie Everett on October 7, 1978, and they live at Delhi, California. They have one son, Daniel, Jr. Marvin married Pearl Geer on November 24, 1950, and they live at Kent, Washington. Pearl's two sons, Donald and Robert live near there. Robert married Sheryl Weddel and they have four children, Kevin, Katherine, Jeffrey, and Collin. Donald is unmarried. Myrtle married Joseph Kline on November 17, 1940, and live at Salem, Oregon. They have three children, Maryls, Gary and Steven. Marlys lives in Salem and is unmarried. Gary married Susan Byquist at Wenatchee, Washington. On March 18, 1972, and they live at Bellevue, Washington. They have two children, Joshua and Lyndsy. Steven married Patricia Corbett on October 28, 1978, at Eugene. Oregon. They live at Salem, Oregon, and have one son, Justin. Leslie married Doreen Place on June 10, 1951, and they live in Eugene, Oregon. They have one daughter, Cheryl, who lives in Portland, Oregon. |