Hitt Brothers Biographies


	These biographies appears on pages 869-870 in "History of Dakota 
	Territory" by George W. Kingsbury, Vol. IV (1915) and was 
	scanned, OCRed and edited by Maurice Krueger, mkrueger@iw.net.

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				HITT BROTHERS. 

	The Hitt family is one of the best known in Bon Homme county, 
where three brothers, Martin E., Thomas M. and Henry P., and a sister, 
Mrs. Elizabeth Wagner, reside and are among the largest landowners in 
that section of the state. The father. Rev. Thomas S. Hitt, was a 
native of Bourbon county, Kentucky, born February 14, 1797, a son of 
Rev. Martin Hitt, who was born in Virginia but as a young man crossed 
the mountains to Kentucky, later removing to Ohio. The family, which is 
of German descent, had lived for several generations in Virginia 
previous to the removal to Kentucky. Rev. Thomas S. Hitt went to 
Indiana in 1827 and seven years later settled in Ohio, both states 
being at that time but sparsely settled. There he won distinction as a 
minister of the Militant Methodist church. In 1837 he removed to Ogle 
county, Illinois, that region being then upon the western frontier, and 
in 1851 he established the Rock River Academy at Mount Morris, which 
for years was the most famous institution of higher learning in 
Illinois. Many of the prominent statesmen and business men of the 
Prairie state today claim it as their alma mater and are proud of its 
record. 

	Rev. Hitt married Miss Emily John, whose father, Robert John, was 
a son of John John, who resided in Philadelphia during the 
Revolutionary war. Robert John removed from Pennsylvania to Indiana, 
becoming a resident of the latter state in the early days of its 
history. Of the eight children born to Rev. Thomas S. Hitt four 
remained in Illinois and four came to Dakota. The two sons who 
continued to reside in the Prairie state both became prominent in 
political circles there. John was for almost forty years deputy United 
States collector of revenue in Chicago and Robert R. represented his 
district in congress for twenty-four years. He was assistant secretary 
of state under James G. Blaine and accompanied General Grant upon the 
latter's tour around the world. 

	Martin E. Hitt, the oldest of the family, was born in Urbana, 
Champaign county, Ohio, April 27, 1836. He was but a year old when the 
family removed to Illinois and the other children were all born in that 
state. He received his education in the Rock River Academy, established 
by his father and which he inherited after the latter's death. In 
September, 1874, he came to Dakota territory and secured a half section 
of land in what is now Bon Homme county under the homestead and timber 
acts. In the fall of the following year he settled upon the place and 
began its improvement. He has purchased additional land there from time 
to time and now owns almost a thousand acres. After the death of his 
brother-in-law, Captain Wagner, in 1898, his sister, Mrs. Wagner, took 
charge of his bachelor quarters and still makes her home with him. In 
1913 he retired from active farming and he and his sister now live in 
Tyndall. 

	Thomas M. Hitt served in the Fourth Illinois Cavalry from 1863 
until the close of the Civil war, participating in the fighting around 
Memphis and in other parts of the Mississippi valley. After the 
cessation of hostilities he learned stenography and was for a time 
employed in the department of the interior. Later he became private 
secretary for Governor Oglesby when he was elected United States 
senator from Illinois and subsequently served in a like capacity for 
Charles B. Farwell, United States senator from Illinois. In 1878 Mr. 
Hitt removed to Dakota territory and acquired a large tract of land, 
giving his attention principally to the breeding of fine horses. In 
1894 he retired and removed to Tyndall, where he is still residing. He 
has never ceased, however, to take an interest in fine horses and 
always owns a few standard bred horses of the Wilkes stock. He finds 
much pleasure in driving and indulges himself in that regard almost 
every fine day. 

	Henry P. Hitt, the youngest of the three brothers who removed to 
this state, was born November 11, 1842, and came to Dakota territory in 
1875 but remained only long enough to make entry on a claim He then 
returned to Illinois, where he remained for three years, but in 1878 
permanently located here. He has also become a large landowner in Bon 
Homme county and derives a handsome income from his property At one 
time the three brothers and their sister, Mrs. Wagner, owned a tract of 
land in the western part of Bon Homme county extending on both sides of 
the road for a distance of six miles. The family is not only one of the 
wealthiest in the state but its members have also gained positions of 
leadership in their locality, where they are universally respected and 
esteemed.