Dakota County History 101: George Washington Daniels (Approx. 1845-1921)

Born into slavery in Georgia between 1829 and 1845, George Washington Daniels went on to serve on both sides of the Civil War, work in Minnesota, and become a prominent and respected farmer in South Dakota. 

Forced to serve in the Confederate Army, Daniels escaped in the aftermath of a battle by pretending he was dead and then sneaking across the Union army lines.  It was around this time that Daniels first met General William LeDuc, for whom he would work for the remainder of the war. With the conclusion of the war, LeDuc hired Daniels to transport his horses from Washington, D.C. to Hastings. Upon arriving in Hastings, Daniels moved into the carriage barn at the LeDuc mansion and served as a hired hand. 

Daniels’ working relationship with LeDuc continued until he and wife Chloe moved to Medford, Minnesota in early 1880.  The Daniels’ and their children then moved to Brookings County, South Dakota in 1884 to homestead a farm where the Daniels became pillars in the community. 

George sold the farm in 1912 and tried moving back near his childhood home in Georgia. It wasn’t a happy homecoming. Facing harassment, discrimination and having most of their life savings taken from them, George and Chloe moved back to South Dakota only six years later. The former-slave-turned-homesteader died April 29, 1921 in Watertown, South Dakota.