Chessmur Arlen Fisher (1868-1948)

From the Bismarck Tribune, November 8, 1924.

  From South Dakota and Burnace Worth Baer we journey to that state's northern neighbor to profile Chessmur Arlen Fisher, a two-term State Treasurer of North Dakota who is also the first professional photographer to receive a write-up here. Despite his election to such a lofty office, Fisher's life largely remains obscure, and after several years of searching, there exists only a minimal amount of information on his life. Photographs of him have also proven elusive, with just two being found via the archives of the Bismarck Tribune. Born in Milford, Massachusetts in 1868, Chessmur Arlen Fisher was the son of Samuel Fisher (1835-1899), who was later to serve a term in the first session of the North Dakota state senate in 1889. While the name Chessmur is certainly unusual, its origins remain unknown, and most period literature mentioning Fisher records him by just his initials.

   In 1881 the Fisher family removed from Massachusetts to Barnes County, North Dakota, where his parents established a home. During his youth, he engaged in farm work and in 1891 received an injury that "obliged him to give up the hard labor on the farm." Prior to 1889, Chessmur Fisher married to Abbie Montgomery, who predeceased him in 1905. The couple would have five children, Edgar (1889-1918), Samuel, Mabel, Edith, and Mary Ann. After a short spell at farming in the town of Grand Prairie, Chessmur Fisher joined with his father in the latter's photography business. By 1892 he is recorded as operating a photography studio with his father in Tower City in Polk County. 

   In 1894 the Fisher family removed to Valley City, where both men continued their business, operating under the firm name of Fisher and Co. Following his father's death in 1899 Fisher continued business alone and by 1902 was operating under the name C.A.Fisher and Co. Widowed in 1905, Fisher would remarry in 1907 to his wife's sister Ida Montgomery (1864-1952), who survived him upon his death in 1948. Fisher would be beset by further tragedy in July 1918 with the death of his eldest son, Edgar, who lost his life in France during WWI.

  Nearly two years following the death of his son, Chessmur Fisher was called to his first political office, being appointed as Treasurer of Barnes County in the wake of the resignation of Harry E. Nelson. Fisher's tenure as county treasurer extended until the expiration of his term in May 1924 and was succeeded by his daughter Edith, who, in a strange twist,  appointed her father as deputy county treasurer! 

  In February 1924 Chessmur Fisher was endorsed by both the Republican party and the Nonpartisan League of North Dakota as their candidate for state treasurer and in June 1924 won the primary, defeating John Lyngstad by a vote of 77,169 to 62,984. Fisher would again triumph in the general election that November, besting Democrat J.V. Birder by a substantial margin. A few days prior to taking office in January 1925, Fisher and his wife removed to the state capitol at Bismarck and, after taking stock of the office in which he was about to enter, settled into his duties.

  Several months into Fisher's tenure as treasurer the Bismarck Tribune announced that North Dakota had set a "high mark" in terms of state finances, noting that the "state has more cash now than at any time since admission to the union." The Tribune gave further note to state auditor Ole B. Lund's findings, remarking:

"The average amount of cash in the hands of State Treasurer C.A. Fisher during the first six months of his term has exceeded any previous six months period since statehood by over four million dollars. The high point was April 30, 1925, with a balance of $9,444,069.97 in the regular fund, and $1,410, 108.33 in the workmen's compensation fund, or a total of $10,854,178.30 on hand at that date. These funds are deposited by Mr. Fisher in the Bank of North Dakota."

Fisher's name was misspelled in this political advertisement from the Nov. 8, 1926 Bismarck Tribune.

   Chessmur A. Fisher won reelection as treasurer in November 1926 and in 1928 announced that he'd be retiring from office at the completion of his term in January 1929. In his last year in office, Fisher announced that he'd be seeking the nomination for state commissioner of agriculture and labor. A candidate in the primary election that year, Fisher lost out at the polls that June, being defeated by incumbent commissioner Joseph A. Kitchen (1878-1935), who had first been elected in 1920.

  The final months of Fisher's term saw him support his friend and state tax commissioner, the plentifully named Thorstein Hartvig Haugen Thorsen, in the latter's bid for Governor of North Dakota. In April 1928 both men were "guests of honor and principal speakers" at a banquet in Lunds Valley, where Thoreson gave his first speech after announcing his candidacy. Despite the backing of Fisher, Thoreson lost the Republican primary to George Shafer, who would go on to win the governorship that November.

  After leaving office Fisher and his wife resided in Fargo and in 1932 were guests of honor at a picnic supper given by the city of Bismarck. The couple later removed to St. Paul, Minnesota, and on March 29, 1948, Chessmur Fisher died at the Abbot Hospital in Minneapolis, aged 79. He was survived by wife Ida and was returned to North Dakota for burial at the Woodbine Cemetery in Valley City. 

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