For
Muscatine County Iowa
1911
| Biographies For Muscatine County Iowa 1911 | |
Source: History of Muscatine County Iowa, Volume II, Biographical, 1911, page 193
WALTER I. SMITH. Few residents of Wapsinonoc township deserve more credit for patient industry than does Walter I. Smith, whose name stands at the head of this review. By his undaunted perseverance he has acquired a competence, being now the owner of one of the valuable farms of the county, which he has brought to a high state of cultivation. Born in Davis county, Iowa, June 23, 1864, he is a son of William and Melindy ( Evans ) Smith, both natives of Indiana. They were married in Iowa and the father engaged if farming in Davis county until 1890, when he disposed of his place and removed to Cedar county, purchasing a small tract upon which he lived until his demise in 1896.The mother made her home with her children until her death, which occurred in 1907. There were twelve children in their family, one of whom died in infancy, the others being Angeline; Albion; Frank; Lorilla, who died at the age of three years; Charley; Allen; Walter I.; Della; Lilly; Arthur; and Millard.As a member of a large family, Walter I Smith performed his share in the duties about the house and also in the work in the fields. He attended the district school, where he was inducted into the rudiments of an education, which he has greatly widened by reading and a habit of close observation that has been one of his prominent traits ever since his boyhood. He continued at home until twenty-one years of age and then worked out by the month for six years. After his marriage he rented land for three years and, having acquired the necessary funds, he purchased eighty acres in Cedar county, which he cultivated for ten years, and then sold at a good profit upon the investment. In 1901 he purchased the farm of one hundred and sixty acres upon which he now lives and has provided it with all the desirable improvements, greatly adding to its value. He cultivates the cereals and is also very successful as a stock raiser. He has worked hard and can look forward to rest from labor in later years, having provided himself with ample means by which he will be able to command the comforts and, if he do desires, the luxuries of life.
On the 25th of December, 1886, Mr. Smith was united in marriage to Miss Dora E. Shepherd, a native of Ohio, and a daughter of Richard and Amanda ( Ball ) Shepherd, the former of whom was born in Newfoundland, and the latter in Pennsylvania. The parents were married in Ohio and in 1871 settled on a farm in Iowa which Mr. Shepherd disposed of in 1896, residing for a few years in in Missouri. He and his wife are now lining at Tipton, Iowa. He was a faithful soldier for the Union at the time of the Civil war and is a man of noble and generous traits that have greatly endeared him to many friends. There were two children in the family of Mr. and Mrs. Shepherd: Dora E., now Mrs. Walter I. Smith; and William, of South Dakota. The home of Mr. and Mrs. Smith has been made happy by the arrival of four children: Earl, born October 2, 1889, who attended the high school at Downing, Iowa, and is now living at home; Hazel Pearl, born November 10, 1891, who attended the high school and also studied music, and is now married to Carl Crozer, living in Cedar county; Verda M., born November 2, 1898; and Vae O., born April 25, 1901.
Mrs. Smith is a lady of many excellent qualities who possessed the advantages of a high school education in her early womanhood. She engaged successfully as a teacher previous to her marriage. Mr. Smith is a valued member of the Knights of Pythias lodge at West Liberty and is a firm believer in the fraternal principles of that order. He and his wife are connected with the Methodist church and politically he gives his adherence to the republican party, believing that in so doing he is advancing the best interests of the nation. He is a member of the school board and the local telephone company. He has won a position of independence financially by the well established principle of industry, and his career cannot fail to be a valuable incentive to young men who have the ambition to accomplish a noble purpose in life.
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