Notes for Andre DUPREL

Notes for Andre DUPREL

Andre was born in the village of Goeblange a commune of Koerich in the canton of Capellen Luxembourg near the Belgium frontier. He was the forth son of Jacque Duprel and Jeanette Mathey. His father, Jacque was a contractor by trade, worked as a carpenter and slater (schieferderker) building schools, churches, houses and other public buildings. Andre four brothers and one sister grew up in the village and as the boys grew to manhood they worked with their father learning his trades. From his mother, Andre learned his love of the land, working with the soil. While her husband was at his work, the mother with the help of the children planted and harvested the crops on their small acreage, and as they were able, a portion of each pay check was invested in more land, and woods and forests. Andre loved working the land and tired to persuade his father to buy a team of horses for him, but his parents, thinking it was just a passing fancy, deemed it unwise. Andre undaunted, used a team of oxen to work the ground and harvest the potatoes and other crops. As time went on the family's holdings became larger and larger and as the boys grew they gradually took over the operations, later becoming large lumber dealers in Luxembourg and France.

When Andre was about 19 years of age, two men who had lived in Port Washington Wisconsin for 10 years came to Koerich, where the Duprels were then living, to visit. They told of the wonders and opportunities to be had in the new country of America. They said, there in America you can just shovel the gold up. Andre found it din't come that easy, but much easier than in the old country. They finally induced Andre and four other young men from the village to return to America with them. They arrived in Wisconsin in March, 1901. Andre found work in the Gilson Foundry, and while working there he met and married Anna Gilson,

Anna was from Colmar-Berg, canton of Mersch Luxembourg. Although Colmar-Berg (meaning castle on the hill) is only twenty kilometers from the village of Koerich where Andre was raised he and Anna never met until they met in America. Anna and Andre lived in Port Washington about a year before they left Port Washington. Their first child a daughter Katherine was born. Later they moved to Chicago, where their second child, another daughter, Florence was born. Wages were much higher in Chicago. Top wages at that time were about $6 per day. They lived in Chicago about 2 years, at which time they returned to Wis. For a visit with Anna's family and while there read a letter from Mrs. Leo Keffeler who was a 1st cousin to Anna's mother. In the letter she told of the area around Sturgis South Dakota where they lived. She said there were no factories, there was land to be had for homesteading. The lure of the land again got the better of Andre. Anna parents said there is land in Wisconsin to buy and you don't have to go where there are indians to file on land. However in spite of the misgivings of Anna parents, he decided to go to South Dakota. So the next day he quite his job at the foundry. They packed up their furniture and other > belongings including a hunting dog, and left by train for South Dakota, arriving in Sturgis in March 1905. Upon their arrival at the station Anna was left on the platform with their luggage, while Andre went to get his dog from the baggage compartment. She inquired directions to Leo Keffeler's from tow men at the station. It turned out that their name was also Keffeler. They helped the Duprels get settled in the Fruth Hotel. Later the Duprels made arrangements to visit with the Leo Keffelers. At the hotel they also became acquainted with the Schummer family, including a daughter, the present Anna Leveque, who became a life long friend of Anna Gilson Duprel. They also learned that Mrs. Wm. Komes, Mrs John Schaff and Mrs. Gean Molitor, also cousins of Anna's mother, Katherine Steichen Gilson, were living in the area, Mrs. Leo (Veronica) Keffeler's mother and Mrs. Andre (Anna Duprel's grandfather were brother and sister.

Mrs. Komes sent word for them to come out to their place as there was land to filed on next to theirs. They filed on their homestead, then Andre worked at Fort Meade as a carpenter until the next spring. Their 1st son, John, was born while they lived in Sturgis. In the meantime, while Andre worked at Fort Meade, he built their new home, a two room house and they with their three children, Katherine, Florence and John moved there in May, 1906 and lived there until 1936 when they moved back to Sturgis. They bought a team of horses and a plow and he was able to break and plant 17 acres of corn the first year, along with fencing their claim, building other buildings and doing the necessary things for survival for their future life. Later they filed on an additional claim, making 320 acres. About this time the dry years moved into the area and as each year became worse it was necessary for them to find additional means of making a living, so Andre returned to his carpenter work. Some of the buildings he built in the area inculded houses for Felix Bachand, Robert Sparks, John Phiefers, John Molitor, Abe French, and Steffes, also barns for Hodie Jenks, Charlie Nichols and others. Still the drought continued and it became increasingly harder to find work around Sturgis, so it was decided that Andre would go to Canada where it was reported that work was plentiful. This was during the years of 1910 and 1911. he stayed at a hotel in Canada and while there became acquainted wtih E.E. Bailey who lived in Canada and contracted to build a house for him. While working on the house, he met and talked with other farmers in the area and found that they were very much in need of horses, and were willing to pay as high as $500. for a good work team. E.E. bailey offered to furnish the money if Andre would purchase the horses in South Dakota and return them to Canada where they could be sold, so they formed a joint business venture and returned to Sturgis and the surrounding area to purchase the horses. They purchased 180 head at $42. per head from William Uren, a rancher in the area. Then began the long job of driving the horses to Canada. Andre hired four boys from the neighborhood, namely; Martin Stolz, Phillip Mailloux, Leonard Molitor and Little Max Meyer, to help him and they left on the long hard drive. In the meantime Anna was alone on the homestead with the children who now included Leonard and Jeanette. The older three by now were of school age. Schools were far apart in those days, the closest one being near the old Windred Martin place (now Andy Duprel's) which was over four miles from their home. In the fall of 1912, it was decided to send the three older children to their grandparents in Wisconsin to attend school there, while Mrs. Duprel and the two younger children remained at home to await Andre's return. Andre returned sometime after Christmas, only to tell his wife that he must return to Yorkton, to finish collecting for the horses he had sold. After two years the hardship of a wife alone began to tell on Anna, so she decided to join her older hildren in Wisconsin until the time when Andre could be home with them. However, rearing five children in a city by herself turned out to be no easy chore, so when Andre returned from Canada with enough money from his venture to give them a new start they both decided to return to South Dakota. They returned in March of 1914. Although most of the groceries, bedding and supplies they had left stored in their house when they left had disappeared, they were able to buy livestock, both horses and milk cows, furniture and new supplies and began their life anew.

Eleven children blessed their marriage, Catherine, Florence, John, Leonard, Jeanette, Alfred, Walter, Clarence, Edwin, Mae Jo and Laura. By this time a school had been built within a mile of their home, so the children received their first eight years of education at the Meyer School. They attended church in Bear Butte Valley. Through the years their holdings grew to a sizeable ranch, their roots grew deeper each year. Ther land was passed along to sons daughters and grandchildren following in their footsteps. five of the children are still located in the area.

Written by Anna Gilson Duprel & Berneice McKillips Duprel
Land of the Pioneers (Mato Paha) pages 120 - 122 Sturgis South Dakota (1968)

Andre arrived port of New York April 1901. this is per the papers in the Sturgis
City Court House 1989)