1900 Biography - John S. Darling

JOHN S. DARLING, residing in township 140, range 73, in Kidder county, is one of the most prosperous and energetic farmers of the county. He has a fine estate of one hundred and sixty acres and annually crops about five hundred acres of land. He also raises fine stock, including horses, and has made a success of his work.

Our subject was born on a farm at Kingston, Ontario, Canada. His father, Charles Darling, was a farmer throughout his career. The grandmother was of German descent and his grandfather was a Yankee, and went to Canada about 1812. The mother of our subject bore the maiden name of Kate Spooner, and she was born in Canada. The father died when our subject was but twelve years of age.

Mr. Darling was the eighth in a family of twelve children, three of whom died in infancy. He was raised on a farm in Canada and received little schooling, and at the age of eighteen years left home and went to Michigan where he worked in the lumber woods two years and in 1883 came to North Dakota and settled in Kidder county, and the next year entered claim to government land. For five years after he left home he aided in the support of the family and after purchasing his ticket to North Dakota had but five dollars in money. He worked for others during 1883-84 and sent a good share of his earnings to his mother, and in 1884 began the improvement of his farm. He built a small shanty and he and his two brothers put in twenty acres of wheat and seventeen acres of oats. Crops then varied for the next few years, from almost a total failure to fairly good crops, and the first four years our subject lived alone and endured the hardships of pioneer life. He also engaged in threshing and had a twelve-horse-power steam rig, and has followed that line of work each season for the past fifteen years, and is the only farmer to make a success of threshing in Kidder county. He now owns one hundred and sixty acres of choice land, all of which is under cultivation, and has all machinery necessary for operating a farm of seven hundred acres and rents additional land each year. He is also interested in raising fine stock and has ten head of brood mares, twenty-four head of cattle and seventy head of sheep. He has a fine residence, one of the best to be found in the township, and has gained his possessions and a comfortable home by his persistent efforts and has cancelled his indebtedness dollar for dollar, and is now in comfortable circumstances.

Mr. Darling was elected supervisor of his township in 1900, and is actively interested in the welfare of his community. He is a stanch Republican, and is a man who keeps pace with the times.

Extracted 22 Nov 2020, by Norma Hass, from Compendium of History and Biography of North Dakota published in 1900, pages 991-992.