He was a blacksmith in Fort Hale Reservation, Lyman County, Dakota Territory in 1880.252

The following biography appears on pages 1506-1507 in "History of South Dakota" by Doane Robinson, Vol. II (1904):

“R. H. Somers Biography

R. H. SOMERS, who holds the responsible office of government agent for the Lower Brule Indian agency, is a native of New Brunswick, Canada, where he was born October 23 1857, being a son of Lafayette and Elizabeth A. (Chapman) Somers, and the eldest of their nine surviving children, the others being as follows: Amelia, the wife of L. W. Lewis, who lives at Madison, Wisconsin; Lowell, a resident of Lafayette, Indiana; Clifford M., a farmer on the Lower Brule reservation; Lafayette, a resident of Chamberlain, this state; and Le Baron B., Peolia L. Fred D. and Eliza M., who remain at the parental home. The father of our subject was born in New Brunswick, Canada, in 1826, and when a young man he removed to Robertstown, Maine, where he served an apprenticeship at the trade of blacksmith, after which he returned to his home in Canada. There he continued to follow his trade until 1878 when he emigrated with his family to the territory of Dakota, locating in Brule City, the prospective terminal of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad, though by a later dispensation Chamberlain was made the terminus. He engaged in farming and stock growing and continued to reside in Brule City until 1898, when he removed to Chamberlain, where he is now living retired. His wife was likewise a native of Canada, and is one of the honored pioneer women of the state.

Major R. H. Somers, the immediate subject of this sketch, acquired his early education in the schools of his native province, and before attaining the age of sixteen he entered upon an apprenticeship at the blacksmith trade, under the effective direction of his father. After the removal of the family to Dakota he bought an ax and began chopping wood for the steamboats plying the Missouri river, and after being thus occupied for one year he was tendered and accepted the position of blacksmith at Fort Hale, where he served four years. In 1883 he left this position and removed to Chamberlain, and devoted the following three years to farming and stock raising. In July, 1886, he married Miss Helena F. Archer, of Brule county, and as a severe drought the following year caused an entire loss of his crops he removed from his ranch to the village of Chamberlain and here opened a blacksmith shop, which he conducted until the spring of 1888, when he sold the same and returned to his farm. The droughts continued, however, and in 1891 he was forced to again abandon his agricultural operations and to re-engage in the blacksmith business in Chamberlain, where he continued at his trade until 1898, having also engaged in the livery business in 1894, making a success of both enterprises. In October, 1897, Major Somers was appointed deputy United States marshal, in which capacity he served until May, 1901, when he resigned to assume the duties of his present office as agent at the Lower Brule Indian agency, his appointment having been conferred on the 15th of May. He is a staunch Republican in his political proclivities, and fraternally is identified with Chamberlain Lodge, No. 56, Free and Accepted Masons; Pilgrim Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; Castle Lodge, No. 10, Knights of Pythias, of which he is a charter member; and Chamberlain Lodge, No. 88, Ancient Order of United Workmen. Our subject and his wife are the parents of five children, all of whom are still beneath the home roof, namely: Robert E., Frances E., Evelyn, Lucky H. and Thomas M.”257