At the time of his death in 1905, Peter was one of the largest landowners in Yankton and Hutchinson counties. While we know he owned more than 1,500 acres in Yankton County in 1905, we do not know how many acres he owned in Hutchinson County. The Daily Press & Dakota wrote: “At one time, before he deeded his holdings to his grown up family, he was one of the very largest property holders of this and Hutchinson counties.”
In The History of South Dakota, historian Doane Robinson described Peter and Theresia’s early years in America:
“Peter Huber was born in Passau, Bavaria, Germany, about 1838, his parents being agricultural people. He came to America . . . and settled in McGregor, Iowa where he worked as a farm hand for about one year. At the end of that time he purchased twenty acres of timberland and at once commenced clearing and cultivating the ground.
After three years, he exchanged this land for a yoke of oxen, a cow and a wagon, and with these moved his family overland to South Dakota, settling in Yankton, in the James Valley.
He pre-empted three claims of 160 acres each, two of which were timber claims, and afterwards purchased three more claims of the same size and character.
He erected buildings and farmed the ground as fast as his limited resources and physical strength would permit, and successfully conducted the place until 1901, when he moved to Yankton and retired from active life. He still owns 666 acres of the original farm, the remaining portion of it having been divided among his sons.”*
The Land Owner
Peter and Theresia were in Iowa after the passage of “The Homestead Act of 1862.” However, much of the land in Iowa had already been purchased in the “land boom” of the 1850s. While they may have owned 160 acres, Peter had much bigger plans.
Peter, Theresa and their children, Franz (Strunk), Caroline (Heirigs), Joseph (Rothmeyer), and Peter (Wallace) traveled 400 miles from McGregor to settle in the James Valley.
Peter did not permit much if any time to lapse between his arrival in The Dakota Territory and literally staking his claim in the James Valley. The family arrived in Jamesville some time between the birth of Peter (Wallace) in Iowa in May 1868 and the birth of Mary Magdalena (Mack) on August 6, 1869 in Jamesville.
He pre-empted three claims of 160 acres; two of the claims were timberland – this at a time when the scarcity of wood meant that most homes had to be carved out of sod.
While he may have paid for the additional 320 acres; Theresa may have claimed 160 acres as well. Wives were allowed to homestead lands that were adjacent to their husbands. The fact that Peter claimed 480 acres, provides insight into his plans. One historian notes:
In the early days few people bought more than the minimal acreage required by law, because farm machinery was primitive, and a man with horses could not cultivate more than 40 to 80 acres even if he had a large family of husky sons. Some settlers bought larger blocks, but most of the eastern Corn Belt was alienated in parcels of 40 to 80 acres, and even today few farmers own as much as 160 acres.*
An article about his death in the November 22, 1905 Daily Press & Dakotan stated:
Mr. Huber was one of the most progressive farmers in this county; he early grasped the necessity of energetic effort, without which the pioneer failed to succeed. To his great industry, which was natural to the man, he added honorable dealing, for which he was noted throughout the community; and excellent business foresight, which eventually placed him with the most successful farmers of the county. At one time, before he deeded his holdings to his grown up family, he was one of the very largest property holders of this and Hutchinson counties.
As shown in the diagram below, Peter never stopped buying land. We were only able to find a portion of the land he owned in Yankton. We could not find records of his Hutchinson County lands. At the time of his death in 1905, we know that he owned more than 1,500 acres in Yankton County. To get a better idea of the land holdings of Peter and other relatives, visit the Yankton map in the Library of Congress.
*This quote has been handed down through the generations. Many of us mistakenly assumed an ancestor wrote it. Doane Robinson, would go on to become South Dakota’s official Historian, is the author. It is more likely than not that Peter and Robinson knew each other. (Later, Robinson would come up with the idea of Mt. Rushmore.)