Frank M. Ziebach

Frank M. Ziebach (also known by his full name of Francis Marion Ziebach) was a noted political figure in the Dakota Territory during the territorial period from 1861 to 1889. He was a pioneer newspaperman, founding the Yankton "Weekly Dakotan" in 1861, which is still published today as the Yankton "Press and Dakotan". [A South Dakota Guide, Federal Writer’s Project, 1938, p. 35.] Ziebach County, South Dakota is named for him.

Frank M. Ziebach was born near Lewisburg, Pennsylvania in 1830 [http://files.usgwarchives.org/sd/ziebach/history/z-hst-2.txt "South Dakota's Ziebach County, History of the Prairie", published in 1982 by the Ziebach County Historical Society, Dupree, SD, see Section in page 20-41.] and died in 1929 in Yankton, South Dakota at the age of 99. His life spanned the period from the presidency of Andrew Jackson to that of Herbert Hoover.

Frank M. Ziebach established the second newspaper in the area that became South Dakota. He started the "Weekly Dakotan" in Yankton on June 6, 1861, bringing his outfit from Sioux Falls by team and wagon. [”History of American Journalism”, James Melvin Lee, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1917, pp. 246, 247. “Who’s Who in South Dakota”, Oscar William Coursey, Educator Supply Company, 1917. According to these sources, the first newspaper in what is now South Dakota was the "Dakota Democrat" published in Sioux Falls for about four years starting in 1858, and the "Weekly Dakotan" was the second newspaper in what is now South Dakota, starting on June 4, 1861.] The "Weekly Dakotan" originally proclaimed itself to be a "Douglas Democrat" newspaper, but after the elections in the fall of 1861, then newspaper became inactive for a short period. The paper resumed publication in 1862, now declaring itself a Republican newspaper. [http://sdgenweb.com/kingsbury/History.html] At resumption, "political party prudence" dictated that Ziebach become a silent partner, and George M. Kingsbury, a Republican, should be the named manager of the paper, though Ziebach still retained a full half interest. [http://sdgenweb.com/kingsbury/History.html] Yankton was the territorial capitol of the Dakota Territory from 1861 until 1883 (when the capitol was moved to Bismarck) and during this period the "Dakotan" grew swiftly with its reporting of the political wars of Dakota Territory. [http://johnson.senate.gov/sd/county/ziebach.cfm Page for Ziebach County in South Dakota Senator Tim Johnson's web site] In the following decades other newspapers were started in the area, but many become consolidated with the "Dakotan". [http://sdgenweb.com/kingsbury/History.html]

Frank M. Ziebach was appointed captain of militia participating in the Indian wars of 1862. [http://www.sdcounties.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=85&Itemid=45] He was mayor of Yankton, South Dakota, 1876. He was a member of the territorial legislature 1877-78 and 1883-84. [http://legis.state.sd.us/historical/LegislatorDetail.aspx?MemberID=3631 South Dakota Legislature Historical Listing] He was a delegate to the South Dakota state constitutional convention, in 1883. He was popularly called "Governor", [http://www.sdcounties.org/index.php? option=com_content&task=view&id=85&Itemid=45] an honorary title he acquired when, as a member of the territorial legislature, he presided over the "third house", a caucus of territorial leaders. [http://files.usgwarchives.org/sd/ziebach/history/z-hst-2.txt "South Dakota's Ziebach County, History of the Prairie", published in 1982 by the Ziebach County Historical Society, Dupree, SD, see Section in page 20-41.] He made an unsuccessful bid to secure an appointment as governor in 1885 from President Cleveland. [] He was appointed a commissioner of the United States Land Office in 1886. [http://files.usgwarchives.org/sd/ziebach/history/z-hst-2.txt "South Dakota's Ziebach County, History of the Prairie", published in 1982 by the Ziebach County Historical Society, Dupree, SD, see Section in page 20-41.] After the Dakota Territory was divided into North and South Dakota and they were admitted as states in 1889, he was honored in 1911, when Ziebach county was created and named for him.

He is buried in Yankton Cemetery. [http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/zebb-ziegenheim.html#REV1DEDWA]

Notes

The Dakota Territory became an organized governmental unit on March 2, 1861. Upon creation, the Dakota Territory included present day North and South Dakota, and much of present-day Montana and Wyoming; by 1868, creation of new territories reduced Dakota Territory to the present boundaries of North and South Dakotas. Increaseing population caused the Dakota Territory to be divided in half, and a bill for statehood for North Dakota and South Dakota (as well as Montana and Washington) titled the Enabling Act of 1889 was passed on February 22, 1889.

On February 1, 1911, Governor Vessey signed the bill creating Ziebach County. [http://www.sdcounties.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=85&Itemid=45]

References

External links

* [http://johnson.senate.gov/sd/county/ziebach.cfm Page for Ziebach County in South Dakota Senator Tim Johnson's web site]
* [http://www.yankton.net/ Yankton Press and Dakotan web site]
* [http://www.sdcounties.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=85&Itemid=45 South Dakota Association of County Officials]
* [http://legis.state.sd.us/historical/LegislatorDetail.aspx?MemberID=3631 South Dakota Legislature Historical Listing]

See also

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ziebach_County,_South_Dakota Ziebach County, South Dakota, Wikipedia]