Eliza Tupper Wilkesy

Eliza Tupper Wilkes

Sioux Falls Public Library

Eliza Tupper Wilkes

BY WAYNE FANEBUST

The Dakota frontier offered difficult challenges and tempting opportunities to both men and women. The latter were subservient to the husbands and fathers, but women represented something new and daring, if they had talent and determination. Married women were almost always referred to as “Mrs. John Smith” as if they were an extension of their husband, and unable to escape the shadow of the man they married. And yet some women were able to stand out on their own. For example, a woman known only to history as Mrs. Warren Cowles was a very talented artist who sketched and painted scenery in both Vermillion and Sioux Falls. Her artistry was so pure and beautiful that she was actually mentioned in newspaper articles, praising her skills, without having to share the newsprint with her husband, who was a leading territorial official.

Still there were some things among the many that a pioneer woman could not aspire to: hold political office and preach sermons in church. That was destined to change when Eliza Tupper Wilkes arrived in Sioux Falls, Dakota Territory, in 1878. A native of Holton, Maine, she was born October 8, 1844, the oldest child of Allen and Ellen Tupper. Information about her childhood is sketchy, but it is known that young Eliza fell under the beguiling influence of the Quaker Movement or the Religious Society of Friends, that started in England in the 17th century. The peaceloving Friends encouraged her to study the precepts of the Quaker faith, something she took seriously, and she was ordained as a minister May 2, 1871, in Rochester, Minnesota. It was an achievement that would have been impossible in other Christian sects that did not believe in the equality of men and women.

When the female minister arrived in Sioux Falls, she was accompanied by her husband and attorney William A. Wilkes. They may have been induced to come to Sioux Falls by Eliza’s parents, Allen and Ellen Tupper, who were living in nearby Canton. Allen was a Baptist minister and Ellen gained national recognition as an authority on beekeeping. They were simply elements of a remarkable family until something bad happened. That came in September of 1876, when it was reported in an Iowa newspaper that Ellen S. Tupper had been indicted by a grand jury for forgery and “uttering a false note.” The article teasingly referred to Mrs. Tupper as the “Queen Bee of Iowa.”

The outcome of this criminal accusation is unknown to this writer, but it apparently

had no negative effect on Eliza and her husband. The virtuous couple wasted no time in becoming civic leaders in their adopted city. William, an Ohio native, established a law practice and a real state business in Sioux Falls, after having been an attorney in Rochester, Minnesota, and Colorado Springs, Colorado. He was elected to the position of County Judge of Minnehaha County in 1896. While he was active in political and public affairs, it was his wife who took the lead in becoming an innovator and a creative leader.

Eliza was a founding member of the Ladies History Club, an organization devoted to promoting and preserving local history. It is known today as the Sioux Falls Women’s Club at its south Phillips Avenue location. Oh, and men are welcome to attend events as well. Pastor Wilkes also devoted her time to a project that made her unpopular with some men, namely the Women’s Christian Temperance Union, a group whose goal was the abolition of alcoholic beverages. She was also instrumental in starting the first public library in Sioux Falls. Eliza and her husband donated $50.00 to the local reading club that she and others created. It was a gesture that ultimately led to the building of the Carnegie Library.

Her most remarkable and lasting achievement was the founding of the All Souls Church that was built at the southeast corner of Dakota Avenue and 12th Street in Sioux Falls. She worked tirelessly to see that the project was funded and constructed. As a preacher, she was known for her devotion to the gospel of her faith, which included the belief that God exists in every person. Pastor Wilkes was also known and respected for her quiet, modest demeanor when she spoke. She was especially popular with young women who saw in her good character, a model for their lives.

But the Sioux Falls church was just the beginning. Pastor Wilkes created ten more including Madison, Huron and Miner County in Dakota Territory; Luverne and Adrian, Minnesota, Rock Rapids, Iowa, Colorado Springs, Colorado, and Palo Alto and Alameda, California. In times of good weather, she would travel and conduct services in Luverne, Rock Rapids and Sioux Falls. She was an important ambassador for the All Souls religion. Once referred to as the “Angel of Liberal Evangelism,” she preached sermons that were welcoming, thoughtful and progressive, and seen by believers, as more warm and pacifistic than the older, more conservative forms of faith.

Eliza and William were the parents of six children: five boys and one girl. Son Paul, the first born child, was talented too and at age 20, he set out become an actor. His aunt, Kate Tupper, a university professor, whom Paul met while he was a student, supported him in his quest to perform on stage. Paul also attended an acting school in Chicago, an experience that led to roles in several plays. An acting career, however, was not in his future. He died rather young in 1911.

In the early 1890s, the South Dakota pastor went to California, hoping that the climate would improve her health. Eliza continue to build on her reputation as a ground-breaker when in 1895, she became the first woman to give a sermon at the Stanford University chapel. The next several years were spent traveling between California and South Dakota, until 1909 when she retired, at which time, she made California her permanent home.

Pastor Eliza Tupper Wilkes died on February 5, 1917, while visiting her daughter in New Jersey. Her cremated remains were returned to Sioux Falls for burial in the family plot at Mount Pleasant Cemetery, where her husband, son Paul and her parents are buried. Her ashes were interred but her grave was unmarked for decades. The grave marker pictured in this article was paid for by the church she helped to found. It was a long time coming and long overdue considering the many worthy contributions to life and learning that she made throughout America.

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