Person:David Braught (4)

David is buried at Graceland Cem., Mitchell, SD Sec.3 Lot 339A. Wife Louisa is also buried there. See Lorenzo Obit (Dec.6, 1916) stating that David was then living in White Cloud, ND. See letter from D.E. to sister Mary, dated Oct.25, 1888. That letter mentions his letters around that date to brother Sam, Josie, Cloid, etc. and death of his father Oct. 17, 1888 after one week of kidney illness. There should be much more data available on this family without major difficulty, just added time.

  1880 Warren Co., Census shows Braught, David, 68; Sarah, 62; David, 30 son; Louisa, 30 d-in-law; Stella, 8; Frederick ,4; and Cecil, 8/12 (children listed as dau or son, but actually grandchildren).  See photocopy of letter dated White Lake, D.T. Oct. 25, 1888 to "sister Marry" from D.E. Braught regarding 17 Oct 1888 death of their father, David Braught.  Many family comments included.

US Bur. of Land Mgmnt records show that David E. Braught filed for 5 patents of land in Davison County, Perkins County, and three in Aurora Co., SD between 1887 and 1913. His action was apparently stimulated by his nephew, Cortes C. Braught who first filed for patent of lands in Aurora County 5/14/1887 (see all document numbers for David, David E., Cecil, and Cortes in the file for Cortes #16 (as the first to file there), but I copied one image of a patent for David E. (signed by president Wm.H Taft) in the file for David E. Braught 32c8. We know that David E. and Cecil died in SD, but David (Sr.) and Cortes died in Iowa. The Aurora County and Davison records were filed in the late 1880s at the Montana State Office, but the Perkins County records were filed in the Lemmon, SD District Office after 1900. David E. filed the most number of patents in SD among those four Braught men.

  Interesting how LDS record #AFN: 1zft-4q2 spells his surname Braucht, yet I have never seen any other record with this spelling for him (and knowing this family personally, I am certain that they did not ever spell his surname with this common alternative spelling).  See (faded) photos on file of this man obtained from his descendants.
 Lula Closson advised me that she and her husband (a professional gravestone maker) had taken the original deteriorated grave stone for David's mother (Rebecca Imboden) from Hewett Cemetery in Warren County, IA and placed it next to this David's burial site.  They later produced a newer stone for Rebecca Imboden and placed that at her IA grave site.

Aurora County, SD "The First 100 yrs." , a July 1982 book at SD State Library (reported by Alice Baumann Jan. 2002). shows a White Lake Twp. 103-66 map with D.E. Braught in Section 9 (NE of White Lake city) with 1882 date with his name and what appears to be a renter Anton Nettinger, 1884 and a school house in the SE corner of his section of property. Nearby are J.C. Palmer and A.A. Closson. HWYs US 90 and state 16 barely touch the SW corner of that property today and the maps shows a building still there where the old school house was located. Narration on pg. 5 mentions D.E. Braught with a real estate agency. It mentions on pg. 8 that there was a July 4, 1883 Standard newspaper report that the town of White Lake had grown from 100 to 1000 in one year, due apparently to discovery of coal in the area. In Eureka Twp 103-65 (adjacent on East border of White Lake Twp.) map there is (older brother to D.E. Braught) F.C. Braught Franklin Charles Braught) property in sections 4,5,8, and 9 that also contains a school building Narration on pag 55 states that F.C. was living there by 1882. On page 56 there is mention of the Law and Loan office of Jones and Braught, north of the railroad; also that Miss Alice Braught was vice president of the Methodist Church (Mrs. C.E. Taylor was secretary). In 1883 Lake Twp. 104-66 there are 1882 properties in sec. 10 and 15 owned by David Braught on the NE banks of the White Lake and narration that reports among the earlier settlers of that township wereCharles Thompson, David Braught, R.L. McIntosh, etc. On pg 85 an article on D.E. Braught states," D.E. Braught, with his wife and son, David E., came to Dakota Territory in 1882. The Braughts homesteaded one mile west and one north of White Lake on the Feinler farm. David Married Louisa Owens at Winterset, IA and they homesteaded north of White Lake on what is known asthe Pete Hansen farm. To them were born four children: Estella (Closson), Margaret (died in infancy), Frederick, and Cecil. David also homesteaded in Gilbo, OH, Winterset, IA, and Lemmon, and MItchell, SD. He was in the implement business is White Lake and in the real estate business in Mitchell and Lemmon.". Be sure to recognize that this David Braught is actually D.E. Braught, Jr. who married Louisa Owens (who is a sister of Martha Owen Motley Turbett, the mother of Ida Motley who married Cortes Cloyd (C.C.) Braught (a nephew of David Braught). These interrelationships are indeed fascinating, but not rare for those times when populations were sparse and pickin's were small. On page 95 this report mentions that periodically a prairie schooner or covered wagon would arrive around White Lake, but in 1882 most arrivals came by rail. Among the first in White Lake Twp. was D. E. Braught. In 1883 the Methodist Church was opened and among the charter members was D. Braught. In 1945 the parsonage burned with all of the church vital records. In Warren Co., IA History Book 1878, p. 533 is mention of David E. Braught.

A timeline of use:moved from Gilboa,Putnam,OH to Indianola,Warren,IA 1852 (with family) moved from Warren Co., IA to (near White Lake) S.D. 1882 moved from White Lake to Mitchell, SD 1889 moved from Mitchell to Lemmon, SD 1899. He was a Free Mason, co-owner of real estate company with David Mizener.

1. ↑ Mitchell, SD Graceland Cemetery Sec.3 lot 339A
2. ↑ Mitchell,Davison,SD