WALTER F. HALL.

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         Walter F. Hall, who for more than thirty years has been identified with the commercial activities of Columbus Junction, was born in Louisa county, on the 6th of June, 1842. His parents, both of whom are now deceased, were James G. and Celestia A. (Miller) Hall, the father a native of Pennsylvania and the mother of New York. They came to this county in 1837, settling on the present site of Columbus City where Mr. Hall preempted one hundred and sixty acres of land, which he was cultivating at the time of his death. He passed away in 1876, at the age of sixty-four, but the mother was eighty at the time of her demise. They were both laid to rest in the cemetery at Columbus City. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Hall were born ten children, of whom the three eldest died in infancy. The others are: William C. and Morris O., both of whom are deceased; Walter F.; Mary J., the widow of G. B. Williams, a son of Judge Williams of Wapello, who was employed in a wholesale house in St. Louis until his health failed when he returned to Iowa, passing away at the home of Walter F. Hall; Edward I., who is a resident of Jennings, Louisiana; Arthur W., who is living in Colfax, Iowa; and Frances A., the wife of W. H. Hughes of Washington, Iowa.

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         Reared on the homestead on which he was born, in the acquirement of his education Walter F. Hall attended the common schools. At the age of twenty-three years he began his business career as a druggist in Columbus Junction and for thirty years continued to be identified with that business. He subsequently removed to Colfax, Iowa, where he engaged in the dry-goods business for two years, at the expiration of which period he returned to Columbus Junction. Here he engages in merchandising and for four years he was also postmaster, his term expiring on the 31st of December, 1910.

         On the 7th of June, 1883, Mr. Hall and Miss Octavia Jane Brown were united in marriage. Mrs. Hall is a daughter of Dr. I. C. and Ruth M. (Hamlet) Brown, the father a native of Tennessee and the mother of Indiana, but both are now deceased. Four children were born unto Mr. and Mrs. Hall: Arthur B., who is advertising manager of the Johnson Educator Food Company, of Boston, Massachusetts; Walter Channing, the assistant cashier of the Louisa County National Bank; Harry O., who is engaged in business with his father; and Hamlet C., who is attending high school.

         Mr. Hall, who is a veteran of the Civil war, enlisted in July, 1861, in Company C, Fifth Iowa Infantry, and went to the front where he served for two years. The most severe and closely contested engagement in which he participated was that at Iuka. They went into battle with four hundred and eighty men, two hundred and sixteen of whom were killed or wounded within an hour. Three bullets grazed Mr. Hall, one of which, passing across his right hand, would have killed him had it not been deflected in its course by his canteen, which was badly dented by the encounter. Three men on his left were killed and one on his right. He also took part in the three days battle at Corinth and the Vicksburg campaign. After the surrender of the latter city Mr. Hall was discharged because of disability, returning home in July, 1863.

         The candidates of the republican party always receive the support of Mr. Hall. For a time he served as deputy revenue collector. His church relationship is with the Christian church, and that of his wife is with the Presbyterian. Mr. Hall and his family are highly regarded in Columbus Junction, in the social life of which they take a prominent part.