Alonzo Rockwell Stoddard

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Alonzo Rockwell Stoddard was born in Middletown, Rutland County, Vermont on 22 June 1824, to Marcus and Julia (Buel) Stoddard. He apparently lived in the Middletown area through his youth. He married Sarah Irene Frisbie in Middletown on 8 May 1848. Five of their six children, Juliaett, William Henry, Mary Ann (or Anna), Kelsey Barns, and Betsey Clark, were born in Vermont. Their sixth child, Delia, was born in Dakota Territory. Alonzo wanted to enlist with the Vermont Sharpshooters to "do his part to quiet the [civil war] rebellion". He was a crack shot and passed the sharpshooters test, but was rejected because he suffered from asthma. Wartime prices were high, and he had a hard time making a living on his farm, which was rocky and had only a few tillable acres. Sarah's brother, William Willard Frisbie, had moved to Dakota Territory in 1860 and wrote of available tillable land there. Alonzo decided to leave Vermont. After the harvest of maple syrup in the spring of 1865, he sold the farm and left with his family, except Juliaett, who had recently married, for the west. They boarded a train in Poultney Vermont, and rode to Coral, Illinois, where Alonzo's older brother, Charles Noble Stoddard, lived. They spent three weeks in Coral. While there, they learned of Lee's surrender (9 April 1865) and then Lincoln's assassination (14 April 1865). Then they re-boarded the train and rode to Cedar Falls, Iowa, the end of the line. In Cedar Falls they boarded a government stagecoach for the 225 mile ride to Sioux City, Iowa. In Sioux City, they met Mr. Milton M. Rich, founder of a settlement which later became the town of Richland, South Dakota. Mr. Rich offered them a free ride to Richland on one of his oxen drawn freight wagons. Alonzo accepted this ride, and the family entered Dakota Territory on 23 April, 1865. They proceeded to William Frisbie's homestead, on Brule Creek, about a mile west of Richland, and a few hundred feet from Fort Brule, where soldiers were stationed to protect the settlers. A Mr. Zee had a claim adjacent to William Frisbie's claim. "Not a furrow broke, but a very good log house". Mr. Zee offered to sell his claim to Alonzo for $50. Alonzo accepted, and this claim, along with other land that he acquired, became their home for many years. Alonzo and Sarah moved to the town of Vermillion, South Dakota, in the fall of 1889. Alonzo died 13 January 1892. After living in the homes of her children for twenty four years, Sarah died 6 January 1916. ~~Above information provided by Jim Stoddard