When Drayton Bernard Burton was born on 8 February 1886, in Saint Charles Township, Kane, Illinois, United States, his father, Edwin Drayton Burton, was 22 and his mother, Bernice S "Birdie" Bentley, was 19. He married Mathilde Kongelf on 4 March 1907. They were the parents of at least 2 sons and 2 daughters. He lived in Cass, North Dakota, United States in 1920. He died on 24 November 1974, in Minneapolis, Hennepin, Minnesota, United States, from complications of diabetes, at the age of 88.
Few called him Drayton, he was known as "D.B."
From A BRIEF HISTORY OF DRAYTON BERNARD BURTON AND THOSE WHO CAME BEFORE HIM…
An independent feisty guy, he told me that he left home at the age of 12 to make his own way. His Grandfather, John Henry Burton, promised him $100 if he made it to his 21st birthday without having a smoke or drink… D.B. collected. He was short, only about 5'5″ and his small size probably contributed to his no-guff mannerisms, his temper was quick to flare. As a boy, he made his living doing everything from selling newspapers on the streets of Chicago and cleaning stables. He really liked working with the horses and eventually, he took up riding as a sulky jockey. He claimed to have owned a grandson of the great Dan Patch. I can't find any documentation of this but I never, ever doubted the veracity of the stories he told.
Some of his racing adventure took him into Duluth, Minnesota and later Detroit Lakes, MN doing deliveries with his horse, now too old to race. In Lake City, MN, about 10 miles from Detroit Lakes, he met Lily Kongelf. a pretty redheaded Norwegian girl. They were married in Fargo, he was 21 and she was 16.
After the wedding, they moved to Gary, Indiana where D.B. worked his delivery business out of his father, Edwin's livery service. They stayed in the area for a couple of years and that's where their oldest son, Bernard was born in 1909. The opportunity arose for D.B. and E.D, to manage the Des Moines Hotel in Des Moines IA. The life of a night manager at the hotel was more than Lily was willing to put up with and back to Fargo they went and again, he did deliveries, with the first motorized delivery vehicle in North Dakota. whatever it took to make a living. He had a wide range of activities to supplement their income. One of my favorite stories was the scam of wrestling a Dancing Bear. D,B. won the bear in a poker game and he trained it. Dad, (Les) remembers being harnessed to one of the clothes poles in the backyard and the bear harnessed to the other when he was 3 (1915). The story goes that D.B. and a couple of friends would go around to range towns in the outstate Dakotas on Saturday night when all the cowhands would come into town with a fresh paycheck. His friends would set up a ring near the local saloon and offer prizes to the cowboy who could wrestle the bear to its back. (A bear will do almost anything to avoid being put down on its back… unless, of course, it's a trick his trainer has taught him!) After the liquor flowed and the betting was heavy. D.B., would rise to his full 5'5″, 145 lbs. and come from the back of the crowd to wrestle the bear. Betting would go crazy against him and the odds would skyrocket… then D.B. would put on a great show of sparring with the bear… which always ended with the bear on its back and Grandpa hi-tailing it out of town with his pockets full of the cowboys; money.
Just after WWI, the family moved to Roanoke, Virginia, where they stayed for 3 years, D.B was working for another relative, his Uncle Oliver and the Burton Dixie Corporation. Then, once again, back to Fargo, ND and the delivery business. There D.B. joined the AOUW, a fraternal and financial support organization. As the Depression struck and banks were failing, this group insured that savings were safe and loans were available. By 1927, the mission was more about insuring families wealth was protected, it became life insurance and in 1948, the AOUW of Fargo became the Pioneer Mutual Insurance Co. D.B. worked for them in Bismarck and western ND area from 1925 to his retirement in 1956.
With retirement, D.B. and Lily left their apartment in the Patterson Hotel in Bismarck and bought their first home in Ventura California. Two of their children, Bernard and Vivian are living nearby and Virginia frequents Arizona in the winters. They lived there for 10 years and in 1966, they moved to Minneapolis.
Few called him Drayton, he was known as "D.B."
From A BRIEF HISTORY OF DRAYTON BERNARD BURTON AND THOSE WHO CAME BEFORE HIM…
An independent feisty guy, he told me that he left home at the age of 12 to make his own way. His Grandfather, John Henry Burton, promised him $100 if he made it to his 21st birthday without having a smoke or drink… D.B. collected. He was short, only about 5'5″ and his small size probably contributed to his no-guff mannerisms, his temper was quick to flare. As a boy, he made his living doing everything from selling newspapers on the streets of Chicago and cleaning stables. He really liked working with the horses and eventually, he took up riding as a sulky jockey. He claimed to have owned a grandson of the great Dan Patch. I can't find any documentation of this but I never, ever doubted the veracity of the stories he told.
Some of his racing adventure took him into Duluth, Minnesota and later Detroit Lakes, MN doing deliveries with his horse, now too old to race. In Lake City, MN, about 10 miles from Detroit Lakes, he met Lily Kongelf. a pretty redheaded Norwegian girl. They were married in Fargo, he was 21 and she was 16.
After the wedding, they moved to Gary, Indiana where D.B. worked his delivery business out of his father, Edwin's livery service. They stayed in the area for a couple of years and that's where their oldest son, Bernard was born in 1909. The opportunity arose for D.B. and E.D, to manage the Des Moines Hotel in Des Moines IA. The life of a night manager at the hotel was more than Lily was willing to put up with and back to Fargo they went and again, he did deliveries, with the first motorized delivery vehicle in North Dakota. whatever it took to make a living. He had a wide range of activities to supplement their income. One of my favorite stories was the scam of wrestling a Dancing Bear. D,B. won the bear in a poker game and he trained it. Dad, (Les) remembers being harnessed to one of the clothes poles in the backyard and the bear harnessed to the other when he was 3 (1915). The story goes that D.B. and a couple of friends would go around to range towns in the outstate Dakotas on Saturday night when all the cowhands would come into town with a fresh paycheck. His friends would set up a ring near the local saloon and offer prizes to the cowboy who could wrestle the bear to its back. (A bear will do almost anything to avoid being put down on its back… unless, of course, it's a trick his trainer has taught him!) After the liquor flowed and the betting was heavy. D.B., would rise to his full 5'5″, 145 lbs. and come from the back of the crowd to wrestle the bear. Betting would go crazy against him and the odds would skyrocket… then D.B. would put on a great show of sparring with the bear… which always ended with the bear on its back and Grandpa hi-tailing it out of town with his pockets full of the cowboys; money.
Just after WWI, the family moved to Roanoke, Virginia, where they stayed for 3 years, D.B was working for another relative, his Uncle Oliver and the Burton Dixie Corporation. Then, once again, back to Fargo, ND and the delivery business. There D.B. joined the AOUW, a fraternal and financial support organization. As the Depression struck and banks were failing, this group insured that savings were safe and loans were available. By 1927, the mission was more about insuring families wealth was protected, it became life insurance and in 1948, the AOUW of Fargo became the Pioneer Mutual Insurance Co. D.B. worked for them in Bismarck and western ND area from 1925 to his retirement in 1956.
With retirement, D.B. and Lily left their apartment in the Patterson Hotel in Bismarck and bought their first home in Ventura California. Two of their children, Bernard and Vivian are living nearby and Virginia frequents Arizona in the winters. They lived there for 10 years and in 1966, they moved to Minneapolis.
When Drayton Bernard Burton was born on 8 February 1886, in Saint Charles Township, Kane, Illinois, United States, his father, Edwin Drayton Burton, was 22 and his mother, Bernice S "Birdie" Bentley, was 19. He married Mathilde Kongelf on 4 March 1907. They were the parents of at least 2 sons and 2 daughters. He lived in Cass, North Dakota, United States in 1920. He died on 24 November 1974, in Minneapolis, Hennepin, Minnesota, United States, from complications of diabetes, at the age of 88.
Few called him Drayton, he was known as "D.B."
From A BRIEF HISTORY OF DRAYTON BERNARD BURTON AND THOSE WHO CAME BEFORE HIM…
An independent feisty guy, he told me that he left home at the age of 12 to make his own way. His Grandfather, John Henry Burton, promised him $100 if he made it to his 21st birthday without having a smoke or drink… D.B. collected. He was short, only about 5'5″ and his small size probably contributed to his no-guff mannerisms, his temper was quick to flare. As a boy, he made his living doing everything from selling newspapers on the streets of Chicago and cleaning stables. He really liked working with the horses and eventually, he took up riding as a sulky jockey. He claimed to have owned a grandson of the great Dan Patch. I can't find any documentation of this but I never, ever doubted the veracity of the stories he told.
Some of his racing adventure took him into Duluth, Minnesota and later Detroit Lakes, MN doing deliveries with his horse, now too old to race. In Lake City, MN, about 10 miles from Detroit Lakes, he met Lily Kongelf. a pretty redheaded Norwegian girl. They were married in Fargo, he was 21 and she was 16.
After the wedding, they moved to Gary, Indiana where D.B. worked his delivery business out of his father, Edwin's livery service. They stayed in the area for a couple of years and that's where their oldest son, Bernard was born in 1909. The opportunity arose for D.B. and E.D, to manage the Des Moines Hotel in Des Moines IA. The life of a night manager at the hotel was more than Lily was willing to put up with and back to Fargo they went and again, he did deliveries, with the first motorized delivery vehicle in North Dakota. whatever it took to make a living. He had a wide range of activities to supplement their income. One of my favorite stories was the scam of wrestling a Dancing Bear. D,B. won the bear in a poker game and he trained it. Dad, (Les) remembers being harnessed to one of the clothes poles in the backyard and the bear harnessed to the other when he was 3 (1915). The story goes that D.B. and a couple of friends would go around to range towns in the outstate Dakotas on Saturday night when all the cowhands would come into town with a fresh paycheck. His friends would set up a ring near the local saloon and offer prizes to the cowboy who could wrestle the bear to its back. (A bear will do almost anything to avoid being put down on its back… unless, of course, it's a trick his trainer has taught him!) After the liquor flowed and the betting was heavy. D.B., would rise to his full 5'5″, 145 lbs. and come from the back of the crowd to wrestle the bear. Betting would go crazy against him and the odds would skyrocket… then D.B. would put on a great show of sparring with the bear… which always ended with the bear on its back and Grandpa hi-tailing it out of town with his pockets full of the cowboys; money.
Just after WWI, the family moved to Roanoke, Virginia, where they stayed for 3 years, D.B was working for another relative, his Uncle Oliver and the Burton Dixie Corporation. Then, once again, back to Fargo, ND and the delivery business. There D.B. joined the AOUW, a fraternal and financial support organization. As the Depression struck and banks were failing, this group insured that savings were safe and loans were available. By 1927, the mission was more about insuring families wealth was protected, it became life insurance and in 1948, the AOUW of Fargo became the Pioneer Mutual Insurance Co. D.B. worked for them in Bismarck and western ND area from 1925 to his retirement in 1956.
With retirement, D.B. and Lily left their apartment in the Patterson Hotel in Bismarck and bought their first home in Ventura California. Two of their children, Bernard and Vivian are living nearby and Virginia frequents Arizona in the winters. They lived there for 10 years and in 1966, they moved to Minneapolis.
Few called him Drayton, he was known as "D.B."
From A BRIEF HISTORY OF DRAYTON BERNARD BURTON AND THOSE WHO CAME BEFORE HIM…
An independent feisty guy, he told me that he left home at the age of 12 to make his own way. His Grandfather, John Henry Burton, promised him $100 if he made it to his 21st birthday without having a smoke or drink… D.B. collected. He was short, only about 5'5″ and his small size probably contributed to his no-guff mannerisms, his temper was quick to flare. As a boy, he made his living doing everything from selling newspapers on the streets of Chicago and cleaning stables. He really liked working with the horses and eventually, he took up riding as a sulky jockey. He claimed to have owned a grandson of the great Dan Patch. I can't find any documentation of this but I never, ever doubted the veracity of the stories he told.
Some of his racing adventure took him into Duluth, Minnesota and later Detroit Lakes, MN doing deliveries with his horse, now too old to race. In Lake City, MN, about 10 miles from Detroit Lakes, he met Lily Kongelf. a pretty redheaded Norwegian girl. They were married in Fargo, he was 21 and she was 16.
After the wedding, they moved to Gary, Indiana where D.B. worked his delivery business out of his father, Edwin's livery service. They stayed in the area for a couple of years and that's where their oldest son, Bernard was born in 1909. The opportunity arose for D.B. and E.D, to manage the Des Moines Hotel in Des Moines IA. The life of a night manager at the hotel was more than Lily was willing to put up with and back to Fargo they went and again, he did deliveries, with the first motorized delivery vehicle in North Dakota. whatever it took to make a living. He had a wide range of activities to supplement their income. One of my favorite stories was the scam of wrestling a Dancing Bear. D,B. won the bear in a poker game and he trained it. Dad, (Les) remembers being harnessed to one of the clothes poles in the backyard and the bear harnessed to the other when he was 3 (1915). The story goes that D.B. and a couple of friends would go around to range towns in the outstate Dakotas on Saturday night when all the cowhands would come into town with a fresh paycheck. His friends would set up a ring near the local saloon and offer prizes to the cowboy who could wrestle the bear to its back. (A bear will do almost anything to avoid being put down on its back… unless, of course, it's a trick his trainer has taught him!) After the liquor flowed and the betting was heavy. D.B., would rise to his full 5'5″, 145 lbs. and come from the back of the crowd to wrestle the bear. Betting would go crazy against him and the odds would skyrocket… then D.B. would put on a great show of sparring with the bear… which always ended with the bear on its back and Grandpa hi-tailing it out of town with his pockets full of the cowboys; money.
Just after WWI, the family moved to Roanoke, Virginia, where they stayed for 3 years, D.B was working for another relative, his Uncle Oliver and the Burton Dixie Corporation. Then, once again, back to Fargo, ND and the delivery business. There D.B. joined the AOUW, a fraternal and financial support organization. As the Depression struck and banks were failing, this group insured that savings were safe and loans were available. By 1927, the mission was more about insuring families wealth was protected, it became life insurance and in 1948, the AOUW of Fargo became the Pioneer Mutual Insurance Co. D.B. worked for them in Bismarck and western ND area from 1925 to his retirement in 1956.
With retirement, D.B. and Lily left their apartment in the Patterson Hotel in Bismarck and bought their first home in Ventura California. Two of their children, Bernard and Vivian are living nearby and Virginia frequents Arizona in the winters. They lived there for 10 years and in 1966, they moved to Minneapolis.
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