William Walpole Biography


	This biography appears on pages 1317-1318 in "History of South 
	Dakota" by Doane Robinson, Vol. II (1904) and was scanned, 
	OCRed and edited by Maurice Krueger, mkrueger@iw.net.

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	WILLIAM WALPOLE is a native of County Kilkenny, Ireland, where he 
was born on the 6th of November, 1842, being a son of William and Ellen 
Walpole, who were both born in Ireland, being of English and Scotch 
lineage. Both the paternal and maternal grandfathers of the subject were 
signally loyal to the interests of the fair Emerald Isle and took an 
active part in the struggles made by the patriots to throw off the yoke 
of tyranny. The subject secured his educational discipline in the 
schools of his native land, where he remained until he had attained the 
age of twenty-three years, when, in 1866, he came to America, realizing 
that here were to be had better opportunities for the attaining of 
independence and prosperity through personal effort. In the July of 1866 
he came to the territory of Dakota and for the ensuing twelve years 
followed the dangerous and somewhat precarious vocation of scout and 
trapper, meeting with many encounters with the Indians and enduring 
hardships that would try the mettle of any man. He was also among the 
early pioneers in the Black Hills, having run an overland freighting 
train between Pierre and Deadwood and having had at this time numerous 
encounters with the Indians, who were a constant menace to life and 
property. Mrs. Walpole is a communicant of the Roman Catholic church. At 
one time while the subject was freighting from Pierre, Harry Knowlton, 
alias Reable George, shot and killed David Rouck on the tongue of Mr. 
Walpole's wagon. Knowlton was tried at Yankton and was found guilty of 
murder. He subsequently got a new trial and was acquitted. Since then he 
has served time in several prisons, but reformed and is now a Christian 
evangelist in San Francisco. It is but just to state that his faithful 
wife stuck to him through all the vicissitudes of his career. In 1879 
Mr. Walpole took up his residence in Yankton county, and for a time was 
identified with railroad construction work, while since that he has 
given his attention to farming and stockgrowing, in which he has been 
successful, while he is one of the honored pioneers of the state and 
popular citizens of Yankton county. In politics he gives a staunch 
support to the Democratic party, and both he and his wife are 
communicants of the Protestant Episcopal church, while fraternally he is 
identified with the Improved Order of Red Men, Gray Eagle Tribe, No. 9. 

	On the 4th of March, 1878, Mr. Walpole was united in marriage to 
Miss Rosa A. Fagan, who was born in Dunleath, Illinois, in 1856, being a 
daughter of Michael and Mary Ann (Walsh) Fagan. Mr. and Mrs. Walpole 
have three children, Robert E., William R. and Elizabeth M.