Benjamin Paul Prather

1880 - 1902  (22 years)

• Name	Benjamin Paul Prather
  Relationship	with Kathleen Alice Jones-Rouse
  Birth	29 May 1880	Urbana, Champaign County, Illinois, United States
  Gender	Male
  Occupation	Farmer
  Stories and Notes	See Notes  [1]
  	Benjamin Paul Prather, for many years a prominent farmer in Brown County, South Dakota, was born in Urbana, Illinois, May 29, 1880. He was the son of Homer Silsby and Jessie Emma (Marriott) Prather who were born in Ohio and Illinois, respectivel y. "Paul" Prather married Cordie May Reese in Urbana, Illinois, in 1902, to which a son Avery Montell Prather was born in 1903. After their divorce in 1906, Paul removed to the plains of South Dakota where he met his second wife-to-be, Mae. In his beginning years in South Dakota Paul worked on a local farm, the "Lincoln Ranch". Near there he met Mae Rose Harrington of Brown County, SD. They married in 1907, and lived and farmed on rented land near Plana, SD, Cambria Township. In 19 15 they bought 160 acres in Bath Township, raised their four children (Homer, Jessie, Raymond, Frank), and lived until Paul's death in 1947. Over the years Paul and his family raised live stock, including hogs, a few cattle, milk cows, horses, and chickens. One of Paul's specialities was the development of "Improved Brown County Yellow Dent Seed Corn". To develop this champion seed c orn he took a good ear of corn, cut off and discarded the tip and butt (small kernels), shelled the ear, "graded" the kernels, and planted the bigger plump kernels. The result was ears with bigger plump kernels. Paul sold this improved seed cor n by the ear to farmers who came from miles around. During the dry weather periods of the 30's, their sandy South Dakota plains soil blew easily, requiring extraordinary measures to ensure a crop: these included the spreading of manure and straw using horse power to keep the soil in place. Horse s were used extensively in farming in those days. In 1938 a new house was built on the farm. Daughter Jessie applied her talents in the drawing of the house plans. Paul liked trees and so planted many around the homestead. At a later date, Paul and Mae purchased a second quarter section of farm land. Years later it was subdivided into two 80 acre parcels and deeded to sons Frank and Raymond. Frank farmed as a close neighbor to his parents until 1946 when he sold h is land and moved to California. Raymond farmed about 6 miles from Paul and Mae's farm until his death in 1962. After Paul's death from a heart attack at age 67, Mae moved to Aberdeen, SD, and son Homer worked and lived on the farm briefly.
  Death	21 Nov 1902	Aberdeen, Brown, South Dakota, United States
  Person ID	I7539	Enchanted Family Tree
  Last Modified	14 Mar 2012

  
  

  Father	Homer Silsby Prather,   b. 10 Jun 1853, , Clermont, Ohio, United States d. 23 Sep 1905, Urbana, Champaign County, Illinois, United States (Age 52 years)
  Mother	Jessie Emma Merriott,   b. 18 Feb 1857, Somer Township, Champaign County, Illinois, United States d. 13 May 1883, Somer Township, Champaign County, Illinois, United States (Age 26 years)
  Family ID	F3880	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family 1	Cordie May Reese,   b. 30 Jul 1884, St. Joseph, Champaign County, Illinois, United States d. 26 Jul 1962, Masonville, Delaware, Iowa, United States (Age 77 years)
  Marriage	6 Sep 1902	Urbana, Champaign County, Illinois, United States
  Children	+ 1. Avery Montell Prather,   b. 31 May 1903, St. Joseph, Champaign County, Illinois, United States d. 25 Nov 1931, Dubuque, Dubuque, Iowa, United States (Age 28 years)
  Family ID	F3884	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	14 Mar 2012

  
  

  Family 2	Mae Rose Harrington,   b. 4 May 1888, Groton, Brown, South Dakota, United States d. 11 Sep 1950 (Age 62 years)
  Children	1. Homer Justin Prather,   b. 24 Feb 1908, Aberdeen, Brown, South Dakota, United States + 2. Jessie Myrtle Prather,   b. 25 Jan 1910, , Brown, South Dakota, United States d. 13 Nov 1997, Aberdeen, Brown, South Dakota, United States (Age 87 years) + 3. Raymond Howard Prather,   b. 10 Mar 1912, Plana, Brown, South Datoka, United States d. 31 Jul 1962, Plana, Brown, South Datoka, United States (Age 50 years)   4. Frank Edward Prather,   b. 18 Feb 1914, Aberdeen, Brown, South Dakota, United States d. Aug 1980, Napa, Napa, California, United States (Age 66 years)
  Family ID	F3946	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	14 Mar 2012

  
  

• Event Map

  Birth - 29 May 1880 - Urbana, Champaign County, Illinois, United States Marriage - 6 Sep 1902 - Urbana, Champaign County, Illinois, United States Death - 21 Nov 1902 - Aberdeen, Brown, South Dakota, United States  = Link to Google Earth

  
  

• Sources

  [S60] Researcher - Jessie Myrtle Prather Phillips & Patricia Mae Phillips Dennert.