William S. Giles was born Nov. 8, 1892 in South Dakota to second-generation English immigrants, John and Nellie. His father listed his occupation as farmer, at least in 1900, and they lived near Lake Preston, west of Arlington. In the 1905 SD Census, "Willie" Giles appears as a 12-year-old student; in the 1910 U.S. Census, "Will" is a 17-year-old student, and in the 1915 SD Census, "William S." is a 22-year-old farmer. He registered for the WWI draft at 24 as William Stanley Giles, and is described as a tall young man with a medium build, brown hair and gray eyes. He remains single in the 1930 U.S. Census, now 37 and still farming with his father. But his life is soon to change, as he marries the widow Ellen Anna (Nielsen) Pedersen with her five daughters and a son in 1933, and by the 1940 U.S. Census, "Wm" has three children of his own, from three to six, with the fecund Mrs. Giles. The family had moved to Orient in Faulk Co., SD in 1935, but in 1940 were back closer to home, in Estelline, north of Arlington. He was the manager of a farmers' elevator there, where he remained for the 1945 SD Census, but now listing his occupation as grain buyer. Ellen Anna died in 1974, after 41 years of marriage to William, and he buried her in the family plot she bought for her first husband, Anton, 43 years before. William took his place next to Anna five years later, dying at 86 on March 3, 1979.
William S. Giles was born Nov. 8, 1892 in South Dakota to second-generation English immigrants, John and Nellie. His father listed his occupation as farmer, at least in 1900, and they lived near Lake Preston, west of Arlington. In the 1905 SD Census, "Willie" Giles appears as a 12-year-old student; in the 1910 U.S. Census, "Will" is a 17-year-old student, and in the 1915 SD Census, "William S." is a 22-year-old farmer. He registered for the WWI draft at 24 as William Stanley Giles, and is described as a tall young man with a medium build, brown hair and gray eyes. He remains single in the 1930 U.S. Census, now 37 and still farming with his father. But his life is soon to change, as he marries the widow Ellen Anna (Nielsen) Pedersen with her five daughters and a son in 1933, and by the 1940 U.S. Census, "Wm" has three children of his own, from three to six, with the fecund Mrs. Giles. The family had moved to Orient in Faulk Co., SD in 1935, but in 1940 were back closer to home, in Estelline, north of Arlington. He was the manager of a farmers' elevator there, where he remained for the 1945 SD Census, but now listing his occupation as grain buyer. Ellen Anna died in 1974, after 41 years of marriage to William, and he buried her in the family plot she bought for her first husband, Anton, 43 years before. William took his place next to Anna five years later, dying at 86 on March 3, 1979.
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