John L. Pyle (May 5,1860 - February 22,1902) was an attorney and politician from the state of South Dakota. A Republican,he was notable for his service as State's Attorney of Hand County (1886-1888) and state Attorney General (1899-1902).
John Levis Pyle was born in Coal Run,Ohio on May 5,1860,the son of Mary (Dean) Pyle and Dr. Levis Pyle,a Union Army veteran of the American Civil War.[1] Pyle was raised in Coal Run until shortly after the war,when his family moved to Raritan,Illinois.[2] In 1882,the Levis Pyle family moved again,this time settling in Miller,Dakota Territory where he maintained a medical practice until shortly before his death in 1896.[2]
John Pyle was educated in Coal Run and Raritan.[2] He attended Westfield College in Westfield,Illinois for a year before traveling to Montana in 1879.[3] He resided in Glendale and Wickes,where he was employed as a laborer,furnaceman and foreman in the smelting works associated with the local silver mines.[3] When the smelter in Wickes was destroyed by fire,Pyle worked as a carpenter on the crew that rebuilt it,then decided to return to South Dakota to pursue studies in preparation for a career as an attorney.[3]
Legal career
Pyle moved from Montana to a farm near Miller in 1882,and operated his farm and worked as a carpenter while studying law with attorney Manford E. Williams of Miller.[3] He attained admission to the bar in 1885,and practiced law in partnership with Williams.[3] A Republican,from 1886 to 1888,Pyle served as State's Attorney of Hand County.[2] In May 1888,he was elected to a term as a member of Miller's board of aldermen.[4]
In 1889,Pyle moved to Huron,South Dakota and became head of the legal department for the Dakota Farm Mortgage Company.[3] He continued to practice law in Huron until becoming state attorney general,and his caseload extended throughout the state and into North Dakota and Montana.[3] In 1895,Pyle was admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court.[3]
After moving to Huron,Pyle was instrumental in the relocation of Pierre University to Huron,where it was renamed as Huron College.[5] He was a major benefactor,served on the board of trustees,and all four of his children attended the school.[5] After he died,his seat on the board was filled by his wife.[5]
State attorney general
In 1898,Pyle was a candidate for Attorney General of South Dakota.[3] At that year's state Republican convention,which took place in August,Pyle defeated George Rice of Flandreau and James W. Fowler of Deadwood for the Republican nomination.[6] In the November general election,Pyle defeated Cornelius S. Palmer,the Fusion candidate of the Democratic Party,People's Party,and Silver Republican Party by a vote of 38,701 to 34,147.[7] He was reelected in 1900,defeating Abner E. Hitcocock,the Fusion nominee of the Democrats and People's Party by a vote of 53,900 to 40,059.[8]
Pyle served from January 1899 until his death.[2] He was the first South Dakota statewide official elected from Beadle County,and the first holder of a statewide elective position in South Dakota to die in office.[2]
Death and burial
In January 1902,Pyle became ill shortly after returning from a trip to Montana,and was diagnosed with typhoid fever.[9] His condition continued to worsen,and he died at his home in Huron on February 22,1902.[10] Pyle was buried at Riverside Cemetery in Huron.[11]
Family
In 1886,Pyle married Mary Isabella "Mamie" Shields (1866-1949) of Miller.[1] They were the parents of four children -- John Shields (1887-1948),May (1888-1974),Nellie (1889-1961),and Gladys (1890-1989).[12]
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