Harry Lacey, a man known to all the residents of the city, shot his mother-in-law Mrs. Lydia Bunker, his wife Clara, and himself, all three dying within a few minutes, and before any of the neighbors arrived at the place where the terrible deeds had been committed.

    Harry Lacey came to the City of Sioux Falls in 1882, and commenced the practice of law.  He was quiet and unassuming, but it was soon known he was a man of considerable ability.  He obtained a good standing in the community, and although he soon abandoned his profession, he was always occupied in some business enterprise.  His mother-in-law, in 1889, sold her farm east of the city (except a few acres where the tragedy took place) for quite a large sum of money, and invested fifteen thousand dollars of this sum in a phonograph enterprise, and lost it all.  Mrs. Bunker charged Lacey with this loss and Lacey denied his responsibility in the matter.  Soon after the sale of the farm, Mrs. Bunker came to the city and resided with the Laceys.  It was known among their neighbors that family matters were not running smoothly, but not until the early part of December, 1891, was there an open outbreak.  At this time there was a serious disturbance in the family, and all three of them bore marks of a personal combat.  Mrs. Lacey had Mr. Lacey arrested for assault and battery, and immediately brought a bill for divorce.  After a few months she told the writer, that she could not live without her husband, and soon after, the divorce proceedings were abandoned, and they commenced living together again.  It did not prove a happy re-union, and they lived apart and together, as they could agree, until the spring of 1893, when Mr. Lacey secured rooms a short distance from Mrs. Bunker’s place.  During the summer there were frequent quarrels, and Mr. Lacey grew more and more dissatisfied and unhappy, and one thing more than anything else that seemed to trouble him was the fact that his little children were under the influence of Mrs. Bunker.

    On Sunday, the day the tragedy occured, he was in Sioux Falls and went home late in the afternoon.  Shortly after he walked over to the Bunker house.  In less than thirty minutes after he had been seen going to Mrs. Bunker’s, his two little children, aged four and seven years, who had witnessed the terrible deed of their father, came to a neighbor by the name of Jones, the eldest boy saying: ‘Papa Jones come over; they are all dead. Papa has shot grandma and ma, and went out in the yard and shot himself.’  Mr. Jones went immediately to the house, and found them all dead.  Mrs. Bunker and Mrs. Lacey were both shot in the back part of the head, near the base of the brain, and were lying but a little distance from each other in the kitchen.  Lacey was lying in the yard, a few feet from the house, where he evidently fell and died without a struggle, after firing a bullet into his own head.  Mr. Lacey was an expert marksman,and knew where the vital spark could be most quickly extinguished, and whether with the coolness of a wicked, desparate hate, or the frenzy of a man who thinks that nothing but blood can atone his wrongs, he brought his skill and knowledge into action, and committed the fearful tragedy with wonderful precision and fatality will never be known.  He completed his work, and left nothing to be done but to bury the dead.

   The foregoing is sufficient to outline the incidents connected with one of the most horrible tragedies that ever occured in a civilized community, and one which undoubtably will never be paralleled in Minnehaha county.”

     Dana R. Bailey, History of Minnehaha County, South Dakota, (Sioux Falls: Brown & Saenger, 1899)  pp. 232 – 233.

    Lydia Bunker and Clara Lacey were buried next to each other in Block 25 – Lot 13 of the cemetery.  Harry Lacey was buried in another part of the cemetery.  In 1957 Harry’s remains were disinterred and reburied between the graves of his wife and mother-in-law.

     Dana R. Bailey, History of Minnehaha County, South Dakota, (Sioux Falls: Brown & Saenger, 1899)  p. 740.

    Eliza Tupper Wilkes died at the age of 72 years.  Her ashes were buried on her husband’s (Judge William A. Wilkes) grave on February 18, 1917 in the family lot in Block 13, Lot 5 of the cemetery.

     Dana R. Bailey, History of Minnehaha County, South Dakota, (Sioux Falls: Brown & Saenger, 1899) pp. 739 – 740.

    Judge Wilkes lived to the age of 65 years and died in Los Angeles in 1909.  His body was returned to Sioux Falls and buried in the family lot (Block 13 – Lot 5) of the cemetery on May 18, 1909.

‘Harry’ was not only born in a hotel, but knows how to ‘keep a hotel,’ and his brother Henry is not only a brother in blood, but was a full brother in the hotel business.

With good business qualification, attentive to the wants of their guests, always genial and pleasant, it is no wonder that they were successful hotel keepers, and until the hotel was leased in January, 1894, stood at the head of the list of popular hotel keepers in South Dakota.  Mr. Corson is at the present time residing in his residence in the city of Sioux Falls, and occupies his time in the management of a farm in Sioux Falls township, which is owned by himself and his brother Henry.  He has always been active in promoting the interests of the city of Sioux Falls, and his friends are as numerous as his circle of acquaintance is extensive.”

Bailey, Dana R. History of Minnehaha County, South Dakota. Sioux Falls: Brown &

Saenger, 1899, pp. 500 – 501.

Harry Corson died in 1910 and rests in Block 9, Lot 14 of the Cemetery. He rests with his wife Mary who preceeded him in death in 1901 and a son, Edwin H., who drowned in 1874 at five years of age.

    Mr. Peck was born in Caledonia Springs, Canada, on the 16th of April, 1843.  His parents were Hersa and Susannah (Southworth) Peck, the former born in Massachusetts and the latter in Middlebury, Vermont.  The father was one of the early instructors in the Middlebury Academy and was a well known educator in the Green Mountain state.  The parents removed to Canada in 1838 but in 1853 again crossed the border, settling in Kenosha, Wisconson, where Mr. Peck was successfully engaged in the manufacture of brick through the remaining years of his life, passing to the Great Beyond in 1855.  His widow survived him until 1897, in which year she died in Harvard, Illinois.

    The educational opportunities of Porter P. Peck were not of the best, partly on account of the pioneer conditions prevailing in the districts in which the family resided and partly because of their various removals in his earlier youth.  He began his education in the common schools of Canada and, removing with his parents to the state of Wisconson when he was about ten years of age, continued to attend the common schools there until he had attained the age of about eighteen.  His education was intermittent as during those years he assisted his father and was also employed in farm work.

    On the first call for troops to defend the Union he loyally responded and enlisted in April, 1861, at Lake Geneva, Wisconson, becoming a private in the Geneva Light Guards, which were attached as a company to the Fourth Wisconson Infantry.  He served with that command for three months and, showing a preference for the mounted service, enlised in November, 1861, for three years in Company K, Second Wisconson Voluntarry Calvary, at the end of which he veteranized, continuing in active service until the close of the war.  He received his honorable discharge in the fall of 1865.  His regiment was one of the best known calvary troops in the service and was at various times commanded by all of the celebrated calvary leaders with the exception of General Pleasanton.  At the close of the conflict it was under General Custer.  It was first known as the Walworth Calvary and was assigned to Washburn’s Calvary but later became incorporated in the Twenty-second Wisconson Calvary.  In the spring of 1862 it was assigned to the Department of Missouri and soon thereafter assigned to the Army of the Frontier, with which the First Battalion, of which Mr. Peck was a member, remained until the fall of 1864. It was then transferred to the Military Division of the Mississippi.  During the nearly three years of active service on the frontier Mr. Peck participated in all of the engagements of his command, the most notable being the battles at Prairie Grove, Arkansas, and at Springfield, Missouri.  He also took part in the engagements of the Mississippi Division after being transferred thereto under General B. H. Grierson.  In the spring of 1865 the regiment accepted the surrender of General N. B. Forrest, the noted Confederate calvaryman, at Grenada, Mississippi, and after paroling the prisoners the regiment returned to Memphis, Tennessee, from which point it embarked for Alexandria, where it joined the command of General George A. Custer for the march across the country to Texas.  Just prior to this Mr. Peck was ordered with a detail to escort some prisoners to the Dry Tortugas and did not go to Texas with General Custer, on whose staff he had served for a short time.  He was never seriously wounded nor taken prisoner and received his honorable discharge at New Orleans, August 12, 1865.  His promotions were as follows:  Sergeant, July 13, 1863;  reenlisted as a veteran, February 26, 1864;  second lieutenant, July 21, 1864;  first lieutenant, February 4, 1865.

    Shortley after his discharge Mr. Peck made his way to Dakota county, Minnesota, where he farmed for a time, and in 1867 settled in West Union, Iowa, where for two years he was engaged in the livery business, also giving his attention to agricultural pursuits.  In 1872 he came to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and being favorably impressed with its attractions and surroundings and wisely foreseeing its future growth although it was then but a small village, he decided to take up his residence here.  He located definitely in the town early in the following year and established himself in the livery business, being one of the pioneers in that line.  He continued active in that business until 1889 and met with a gratifying degree of success.  He owned the first two-seated carriage in the state and also brought the first omnibus and the first landau to Sioux Falls.  In 1878, in partnership with Col. Melvin Grigsby, he erected a substantial building opposite the Cataract Hotel, on Phillips avenue, and in its construction were utilized the first pressed brick, metallic cornice work and plate glass in the city.  Mr. Peck has done much building in Sioux Falls and by his activity along this line has materially contributed to its progress and attractiveness

    A former biographer says of him:  ‘He has also done his share in farming, having broken fourteen hundred acres of prairie land contiguous to the city.  He is a man of great energy and force and has been identified with nearly all the public enterprises of the city.  While in Iowa he was deputy sheriff for several years.  The Dakota National Bank was organized through the efforts of Mr. Peck and his long-time friend and associate, Mr. Grigsby, and the former was its first cashier.  He was a director and vice-president of the Minnehaha National Bank at the time of the death of its president, J. M. Bailey, Jr., and was subsequently elected president, holding this office until June, 1898.’  He held this position for seven years, being elected in 1891.  Mr. Pecks interests are wide and varied, not only covering the city but extending throughout the county and state.  He now enjoys in retirement the fruits of a career rich in labor and also rich in gratifying results.

    In Christiana, Minnesota, in March, 1866, Mr. Peck was united in marriage to Miss Alice C. Caskey, of Farmington, that state, who passed away on the 18th of November, 1875, being survived by three children:  Ella M., who married B. F. Snook, of Mankato, Minnesota;  Florence L., the wife of L. W. Wood;  and Porter C.  On the 2d of July, 1877, Mr. Peck married Miss Catherine W. Cornue, of Lynn, Wisconson, ahd they have two sons, Harold C. and Clifford H.  The former is a resident of Moline, Illinois and the latter received his college education in the famous Phillips-Exeter Academy of New Hampshire.

    Mr. Peck is a staunch republican in politics, and he has always given his support to that party which upheld the Union during the dark days of civil warfare.  He has interested himself in state, county and municipal politics and has been particularly prominent inthe latter, serving as alderman and treasurer.  In 1890 he was elected mayor and served by reelection for four years or two terms.  Mr. Peck has always allied himself with interests that make for the public good and has on many occasions taken to the platform and expounded his views in convincing oratory.  His adminstration as mayor was a path of obstacles to be overcome and a man of  less self-reliance and determination would have given in to the deterring influences in his way.  He never deviated, however, from the road which he considered right and always stood for progress and advancement.  While he was mayor a number of important improvements were completed and a number of widely beneficial measures became law.  Under his administration the pros and cons fought for or against the prohibitory law and he had to contend with both factions in trying to guide to success measures which he considered of value.  The position Mayor Peck took was never an equivocal one and it was always perceptible to all on which side of the question he stood.  It cannot be said of him, as can be of so many polititians, that he was ‘straddling.’  After he came to the conclusion of what was right or wrong he stood by his convictions honestly and openly, and his sturdy spirit of independence nearly always won the day.  In his first election for mayor Mr. Peck defeated Captain W. E. Willey and in his second Rev. E. B. Meredith, the prominence of his defeated rivals being alone proof of his popularity.  He is still an important factor in public affairs.

    Mr. Peck affliliates with the Congregational church.  Fraternally he stands high in the Masonic order, having attained the thirty-second degree in the Scottish Rite and he is also a Knight Templar and a Shriner.  He is a member of Oriental Consistory, No. 1, and is identified with the Minnesota Commandery of St. Paul, Order of the Loyal Legion, which he joined in 1889.  He keeps in touch with his comrades of the battlefields of yore through his membership in Joe Hooker Post, No. 10, G. A. R., of which for three years he was commander.  Mr. Peck comes of an old American ancestry, although born in Canada.  His paternal forebears were early settlers of Massachusetts and the maternal of Vermont.  Like his ancestors he has shown himself to be a patriot in times of war and peace.  He implanted the spirit of loyalty in the far west, to which land of promise he has contributed so much by his activities, and his name is worthy of being inscribed upon the honor roll of the builders of this state.”

     George W. Kingsbury, History of Dakota Territory, Vol. 5 (Chicago: S. J. Clarke, 1915) pp. 1242 – 1246.

    Porter Pascal Peck was buried on February 1, 1923 in the family lot in Block 27 – Lot 12 of the cemetery.  He lived to the age of 80 years.  Also buried in the lot are his mother, both wives, and several children.

    Harold E. Judge acquired his education in the public schools and an academy at Fort Dodge, Iowa, and subsequently entered the State University of Iowa at Iowa City, completing the course in the law department with the class of 1894.  He was admitted to the bar in the same year and located for practice in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.  In 1895 he became interested in the newly organized firm of Aikens, Bailey & Voorhees, though his name was not used.  Two years later Messrs. Aikens and Judge withdrew and formed a partnership which has been maintained to the present time.  An extensive and lucrative clientage has been accorded them.  Mr. Judge is known for the wide research and provident care with which he prepares his cases.  In no instance has his reading ever been confined to the limitations of the question at issue;  it has gone beyond and has compassed every contingency and provided not alone for the expected, but for the unexpected, which happens in the courts as frequently as out of them.  His logical grasp of facts and of principles of the law applicable of them has been another potent element in his success, and a remarkable clearness of expression, an adequate and precise diction, which enables him to make others understand not only the salient points of his argument, but his every fine gradation of meaning, may be accounted one of his most conspicuous gifts and accomlishments.”

     George W. Kingsbury, History of Dakota Territory, Vol. 5 (Chicago: S. J. Clarke, 1915) p. 88.

    Harold Eugene Judge lived to the age of 63 years and was buried on February 25, 1936 in Block 12 – Lot 3 of the cemetery.  His wife, Susie Judge, lived to the age of 90 years, dying in 1958. She rests by his side.

    In 1896 Dr. Roy George Stevens was graduated from the high school at Springfield, South Dakota, and in 1900 from the Springfield (S.D.) Normal School.  Following this he entered the medical department of the University of Illinois, graduating from that institution with the degree of M. D. in 1905.  Following the completion of his course he located at Heron Lake, Minnesota, as an assistant in the Southwestern Hospital, retaining that connection for four years.  In 1909 he removed to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and formed a partnership with Dr. N. J. Nessa, with whom, in 1910, he established the Samaritan Hospital.  They conduct this institution for the comfort and convenience of their own patients and they have made it one of the finest and most complete institutions of its kind in the state.  Dr. Stevens controls a large and representative patronage and he is a director in the Sioux Life & Casualty Company of Sioux Falls.  He belongs to the American Medical Association, the South Dakota and Seventh District Medical Societies and the Sioux Valley Medical Association, of which he was vice president in 1913, his membership in these bodies keeping him in touch with the most advanced thought of his profession.

    On the 25th of March, 1907, at Heron Lake, Minnesota, Dr. Stevens was united in marriage to Miss Henrietta O. Dickinson, a daughter of Edwin and Sarah (Nelson) Dickinson.  Dr. Stevens is connected fraternally with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Masonic chapter and Shrine, the Knights of Pythias and the Order of the Eastern Star.  He holds membership in the Episcopal church and is a republican in his political views.  Practically all of his time and attention is given to the duties of his profession in which he has made rapid and steady advancement, standing today among its foremost representatives in his part of the state.”

     George W. Kingsbury, History of Dakota Territory, Vol. 5 (Chicago: S. J. Clarke, 1915)  p.  1228.

    Dr. Roy George Stevens died at the age of 66 years, and was buried on February 24, 1947 in the family lot, Block 18 – Lot 11, of the cemetery. His wife, Henrietta, lived on until 1954, dying at the age of 67 years. She rests alongside her husband.  Also buried in the lot is Helen Reed, a sister of Mrs. Stevens.

    Henry W. Smith pursued his early education in the public schools but put aside his textbooks in order to enter the army at the age of eighteen years.  He joined Company H, Seventy-seventh Illinois Infantry, in the fall of 1862 and continued with that command until the war was over, serving as a noncommissioned officer.  He was taken prisoner and confined to Camp Fort, Texas, for thirteen months and a half, during which he suffered many hardships incident to life in the southern prisons.  He was wounded at Vicksburg.  He participated in all of the engagements of the Vicksburg campaign, also in the famous Red river expedition under General Banks, and was taken prisoner at Sabine Crossroads, in Louisiana.  He received his honorable discharge in 1865 and with a most creditable military record returned to his home.

    It was not long after this that Mr. Smith was married, the lady of his choice being Miss Catherine Weisenmiller, a daughter of Jacob Weisenmiller, the ceremony taking place on the 14th of February, 1867.  They became the parents of thirteen children, and the wife and mother passed away in 1887.  In 1890 Mr. Smith was married again, his second union being with Ada Wadsworth, by whom he had seven children.  She died in the year 1900.

    Following his first marriage Mr. Smith engaged in farming in Illinois until the spring of 1872, when he came to South Dakota and homesteaded in Wayne township, Minnehaha county, acquiring a quarter section where the old packing house now stands.  He met all of the hardships of pioneer life in a district where the work of civilization had advanced to so slight a degree that the early settlers had to depend almost entirely upon their own efforts for everything which they secured.  It was also an arduous task to break the sod and till the fields upon prairies which had hitherto never known the plow.  His oldest son now lives on the old homestead while he resides at his suburban home at West Sioux Falls.  However with the assistance of his two younger sons he still engages in farming and stockraising to some extent.

    Mr. Smith maintains pleasant relations with his old army comrades through his membership in the Grand Army of the Republic.  He was a member of the territorial legislature in 1885, elected upon the republican ticket, and in 1898 was chosen county auditor on Minnehaha county on the peoples party ticket, which position he filled for two terms of two years each.  He was also the candidate of the peoples party for congressman to fill the vacancy caused by the death of John R. Gamble.  He has always been deeply interested in all movements looking to the betterment of farming and farm life and was for a time president of the State Farmers Alliance.  He belongs to the Baptist church and the moral forces of his life have made his an honorable and honored career.” 

     George W. Kingsbury, History of Dakota Territory, Vol. 5 (Chicago: S. J. Clarke, 1915)  pp. 1152 – 1155.

    Henry W. Smith lived to the age of 93 years and was buried in Block 21 – Lot 8 of the cemetery on August 7, 1937.  He rests in the family lot along with both of his wives and several of his children.  Cemetery records list the dates of death of his wives as one year later than Kingsbury’s account, Catherine dying in 1888 at the age of 37 years from blood poisoning and Ada in 1901 at the age of 36 years from childbirth.

    In the public schools of Wisconson William A. Crooks pursued his education and during the periods of vacation and after his school days were over he assisted his father in the work of the home farm.  The year 1877 witnessed his arrival in Dakota territory, at which time he took up his abode on the present site of the town of Crooks, homesteading the northeast quarter of section 3, township 103, range 50.  He also secured a tree claim, after which he devoted his time and energies to general farming until about six years ago, when he sold his property and took up his abode in Sioux Falls, where he now has some valuable realty.  While upon his farm he converted the land into productive fields, working diligently and persistently year after year to make the place a profitable property.  He added to it many modern improvements and equipments, using the latest farm machinery to facilitate the work of the fields.

    In 1867 Mr. Crooks married Miss Sarah Emery and they became the parents of five children:  David N., living at Lyons;  George, who is living at Crooks and who is mentioned elsewhere in this volume;  William H., residing in Montana;  Alma N., deceased; and Arthur, who died in infancy.

    Mr. Crooks has always been a believer in the teachings of the Methodist church, in which he holds membership.  In politics he was formerly very active and has always supported the republican party since age conferred upon him the right of franchise.  He has filled a number of public positions of honor and trust.  He was deputy sheriff for six years and for eight years was at the state penitentiary  as assistant deputy warden, but was obliged to give up that position on account of ill health.  He served for one term as sergeant-of-arms in the state legislature and for one term represented his district in the general assembly, covering the years 1894 and 1895.  He has also been assessor and justice of the peace at Crooks and in these different positions has discharged his duties with a promptness and fidelity that have won for him confidence and high regard.  His record at al times has been that of a progressive business man, a loyal, public-spirited citizen and a faithful friend.”

     George W. Kingsbury, History of Dakota Territory, Vol. 5 (Chicago: S. J. Clarke, 1915)  pp. 1146 – 1147.

    William A. Crooks lived to the age of 72 years and was buried on August 11, 1922 in Block  28 – Lot 1 of the cemetery.  He rests in the family lot along with his parents, wife and several children.

    He was admitted to the bar in November, 1886, but continued in the office of Mr. Keith until January, 1889, when they formed a partnership under the title of Keith & Bates, which continued until January, 1893, when the partnership was dissolved and Mr. Bates engaged in the practice independently until January, 1898, at which time he entered into partnership with P. J. Rogde, under the firm name of Bates & Rogde.  On January 1, 1904, this partnership was dissolved and Mr. Bates formed a business alliance with Ralph W. Parliman, under the firm name of Bates & Parliman, which continued until January 1, 1911, when the partnership was dissolved and Mr. Bates again engaged in the practice alone. On July 1, 1915, he took his son, Chester Bates, into partnership with him, which partnership exists at the present time under the firm name of Bates & Bates.

    Mr. Bates has held the following official positions:  city attorney of Sioux Falls for the years 1894, 1895 and 1907;  states attorney of Minnehaha county from 1897 to 1901;  and state senator from Minnehaha county from 1909 to 1911.

    He has always been active in civic affairs, and in 1914 assisted in reorganizing the Sioux Falls Commercial Club and was elected its president.  He has been president of the Minnehaha County Bar Association, and, for a number of years, has been active in the South Dakota State Bar Association, having held important committee positions, including the chairmanship of the committee on legal reform in 1914.

    He is a member of the various branches of Masonry, being a thirty-second degree Mason, a Knight Templar and a Shriner.  He is also a member of Sioux Falls Lodge No. 262, of the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks;  has held all of the offices in the subordinate lodge, was president of the State Association in 1914;  was for three years a member of the judiciary committee of the Grand Lodge;  and for two years chairman of such committee.  He is also a member of Granite Lodge, No. 18, in which he has held all the official chairs, and has frequently represented his lodge in the Grand Lodge of the state.  He is also affiliated with the Modern Woodmen of America and the Ancient Order of United Workmen.

  On February 5, 1891, Mr. Bates was united in marriage to Miss Grace Chester, of Elmira, New York.  They are the parents of two sons, Chester Bronson Bates, who is now engaged in the practice of law with his father, and Lawrence Russell Bates, who is a district agent for the Mutual Benefit Life Insurance Company.”

     George W. Kingsbury, History of Dakota Territory, Vol. 5 (Chicago: S. J. Clarke, 1915)  pp. 1140 – 1143.

    Charles P. Bates lived to the age of 61 years and was buried on October 4, 1920 in Block 13 – Lot 4 of the cemetery.  His wife , Grace, lived on until 1948, and lies buried next to him.