John H. Sheffield, well known as one of the older settlers of Bon Homme county, who has successfully applied himself to farming in section 9, Cleveland township, was born near Lansing, Michigan, December 14, 1846. He is a son of John Sheffield, a native of England, who came to America about 1837 and located in Michigan. At present he lives in Woodbury county, Iowa, and is eighty-five years of age. The mother of our subject bore the maiden name of Miss Margaret Anderson, and was born in Ireland. She died when our subject was fourteen years of age.
Of his parents' five children, four of whom grew to maturity, our subject was the youngest son. He was five months old when his parents located on Eagle river, in Michigan, where he lived until fifteen years of age. He then moved with his father to Dane county, Wisconsin, where he worked by the month on a farm until he came to Bon Homme county, Dakota in 1876. Here he took a claim in what is now Albion township, and resided thereon until 1883.
In 1877 our subject was united in marriage to Miss Margaret Colgan.
In 1883 Mr. Sheffield sold his farm in Albion township and bought the one hundred and sixty acres he now lives in Cleveland township. It is adjoining a farm of one hundred and sixty acres which belongs to Mrs. Sheffield. Both farms are under cultivation and are well improved. In connection with his farming interests, Mr. Sheffield is extensively engaged in stock-raising, and is one of Bon Homme county's flouring and well-to-do farmers. Until lately, he has been a Republican in political views, but he now affiliates with the Populist party and is a stanch advocate of its principles. in all matters tending to the welfare and improvement of his vicinity, Mr. Sheffield has always proved a valuable factor. He has always sanctioned and given material aid in the development of all financial matters which tended to the better establishment of business, and in the organization of various societies he has rendered valuable aid. He is a man of the very best character, thorough and systematic as a farmer, pleasant to meet, and is held in high esteem by all with whom he comes in contact. He has a profitable farm, comfortable and commodious home, and has a pleasant family of three children: George I., Charles T., and William E., all born in Bon Homme county.[1]
Birth
When John H. Sheffield was born on December 14, 1846, near Lansing, Michigan, his father, John, was 34 and his mother, Margaret, was 30.
Residence
1850, August 1st in Houghton Township, Houghton County, Michigan, United States[2]
Houghton Township was founded in 1843 as one of the earliest settlements in the Keweenaw Peninsula. (Pronounce Keweenaw: KEY-win-awe)[3]
1860, June in Eagle River, Houghton Township, Houghton County, Michigan, United States[5]
Eagle River was a boom town of the copper mining era in the Keweenaw. Copper was discovered in 1845 at the Cliff Range nearby, the so-called "Cliff Lode". The land of the Eagle River community had been leased by the Keweenaw Copper Company in 1843. It was later platted by the Phoenix Company and sold as individual lots. The first postmaster was named on October 24, 1845. It was part of Houghton County until Keweenaw County was organized in 1861. The profitability of the area's copper mines had begun to decline sharply by around 1870.[6]
1870, June 18th in Busseyville, Sumner Township, Jefferson County, Wisconsin, United States[7]
The Town of Sumner was established in November of 1858. Its first meeting as a Town was on the first Tuesday in April of 1859. In its earliest years, Sumner was a bustling frontier community with a grist and flour mill, a saw mill, a harness shop and a blacksmith shop. The geographical features include having the Rock River and Lake Koshkonong on its southern boundary and Koshkonong Creek which passes under Hwy 106 just at the outskirts of Busseyville on its way to Lake Koshkonong.[8] The Potawatomis called Lake Koshkonong as Éndayang-zagegen (Lake Where-we-live-on), but the early settlers began calling this lake in the Koshkonong region as Lake Koshkonong.[9]
1880, June 8th in Township 94, R60, Bon Homme County, Dakota Territory, United States[10]
Lewis and Clark, who were commissioned to explore the new lands, noted in their journal "passed a large island-----Called Bon Homme or Good Man----2nd September, Sunday, 1804"---on their expedition up the Missouri River. This journal entry is what may have caused the county to be named. Bon Homme is the French word translated to mean "Good Man" which leaves speculation that natives had given this name to someone that had lived on the island prior to the exploration of Lewis and Clark and named the island in his honor.[11]
Date of South Dakota Statehood: November 2, 1889[12]
1900, June 12th in Township 94, R59, Bon Homme County, South Dakota, United States[13]
1905 in Cleveland Precinct, Bon Homme County, South Dakota, United States[14]
1910, April 18th in Cleveland Precinct, Bon Homme County, South Dakota, United States[15]
Property Map, Cleveland Precinct, 1912
1915 in Cleveland Precinct, Bon Homme County, South Dakota, United States[16]
1920, January 12th in Geddes, Goose Lake Township, Charles Mix County, South Dakota, United States[17]
The 1862 territorial legislature established Charles Mix County, which was named after Charles Mix, who has been variously described as an Army Captain who was killed on active duty, or an early Commissioner of Indian Affairs, who assisted in negotiating the Treaty of 1858 which established the Yankton Sioux Reservation.[18]
1925 in Washington Precinct, Bon Homme County, South Dakota, United States[19]
Death
John H. Sheffield died on May 2nd, 1928, in Yankton, South Dakota, at the age of 81.[20]
Burial
John H. Sheffield was buried in Tyndall Cemetery, Sec I, Lot 81, Grave 9, Tyndall, Bon Homme, South Dakota
Paternal relationship is confirmed through Y-chromosome DNA testing for Michael Sheffield, FTDNA kit #420484 / mitoYDNA kit #T13630, and his 4th cousin once removed, Fred Sheffield, FTDNA kit #B674911 / mitoYDNA kit # T13938 match at a Genetic Distance of 2 on 37 markers confirming their direct paternal lines back to their MRCA Thomas Sheffield. FTDNA indicates that the probability the two share a common ancestor within the last 8 generations is 71.28%.
Paternal relationship is confirmed through Y-chromosome DNA testing for Fred Sheffield, FTDNA kit #B674911 / mitoYDNA kit # T13938, and his 6th cousin once removed, Luke Sheffield, FTDNA kit #86802 / mitoYDNA kit #T13628 match at a Genetic Distance of 2 on 37 markers confirming their direct paternal lines back to their MRCA Thomas Sheffield. FTDNA indicates that the probability the two share a common ancestor within the last 8 generations is 71.28%.
WikiTree profile created through the import of Thomas Sheffield Descendants.ged on Dec 21, 2011 by Michael Sheffield
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DNA Connections
It may be possible to confirm family relationships with John by comparing test results with other carriers of his Y-chromosome or his mother's mitochondrial DNA.
Y-chromosome DNA test-takers in his direct paternal line on WikiTree: