Amund O. Ringsrud

Amund Olson Ringsrud (born September 13, 1854 in Segalstad , Norway , † January 8, 1931 in Elk Point , South Dakota , United States ) was an American businessman, businessman and politician .

Career

Amund Olson Ringsrud, son of Ole O. Ringsrud († 1876) and his wife Karen (1822-1914), née Amundson, was born during the reign of the Swedish King Oskar I in Norway, which was then a union with Sweden . He had three siblings. Nothing is known about his childhood. The Ringsrud family emigrated to the United States in 1867 . She moved to what was then Dakota Territory and settled in Union County . Much of the land was still owned by the government at the time. Ole O. Ringsrud owned 160  acres of land in Brule Township, where his family farmed. The family belonged to the Evangelical Lutheran Church .

After the family moved to the Dakota Territory, Ringsrud attended public school there for a short period. He then worked on his father's farm until he was sixteen. At that time he decided to pursue a career as a businessman. So he got a job in a clerk's position at a general store in Elk Point, the administrative seat of Union County. He worked there for eight and a half years. During this time he acquired extensive practical knowledge, which became the basis for his later success.

In 1876 he married Miss Emma F. Snyder from New Hampton ( Iowa ). The couple had two daughters and one son: Grave Ellen, Sella May and Alfred H.

Ringsrud was active on the political stage. As a result of his skills, his fellow citizens elected him in 1878 as the Registrar of Deeds of Union County. Ringsrud was re-elected twice in a row and held the post for six years. He was then elected County Treasurer of Union County. He was re-elected once and held the post for four years. In 1889 he was elected Secretary of State of the newly formed state of South Dakota. Ringsrud was the first person to hold the post. He was re-elected once and held the post for four years.

In 1885 he founded a trading company in Elk Point, which he registered under the name Ringsrud Mercantile Company in 1896 . The economic crisis of 1893 overshadowed the last few years.

Ringsrud ran for Republican governor of South Dakota in 1896 . In the elections he suffered a defeat against his challenger Andrew E. Lee of the Populist Party . The vote gap between the two candidates was only 319 votes. He then represented his county as a Committeeman for the Republican Party.

In the following years he devoted most of his time to his growing commercial interests. Ringsrud carried a very large and carefully selected range of goods in order to serve the diverse needs of its customers. He also sat on the board of directors of Union County Bank.

Ringsrud attended the Republican National Conventions of South Dakota as a substitute in 1912 and as a delegate in 1916, 1924 and 1928 . He sat on the Credentials Committee in 1924 and 1928 . In the presidential election of 1920 he was a Republican elector in South Dakota.

He was a leader in the Masonic circles . In this context he was a member of Elk Point Lodge No. 3 (Free and Accepted Masons), Vermillion Chapter No. 21 (Royal Arch Masonry), De Molay Commandery (Knight Templar) from Yankton, Oriental Consistory No. 1 (Ancient & Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry) from Yankton and El Riad Temple ( Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine ) from Sioux Falls. He was also an active member and president of the Elk Point Commercial Club.

Web links

• Amund O. Ringsrud in the database of Find a Grave (English)
• Amund O. Ringsrud at The Political Graveyard
• Amund O. Ringsrud on the usgwarchives.org website