Walter H. Cox Biography


	This biography appears on pages 26-27 in "History of Dakota 
	Territory" by George W. Kingsbury, Vol. V (1915) and was 
	scanned, OCRed and edited by Maurice Krueger, mkrueger@iw.net.

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				WALTER H. COX. 

	Walter H. Cox is a factor in journalistic circles of South Dakota 
as editor and publisher of the Fairfax Advertiser, which he purchased 
in 1909. His birth occurred in Lafayette, Indiana, on the 5th of 
September, 1860, his parents being Sanford C. and Charity E. (Davis) 
Cox, likewise natives of the Hoosier state. Joseph Cox, the paternal 
grandfather of our subject, was a native of Kentucky. For many years 
the Cox family have annually held a reunion at Campbell's Island in the 
Mississippi river. Sanford C. Cox was a lawyer by profession and an 
able writer, being the author of a volume of poems depicting pioneer 
days and also of a book entitled "History of the Wabash Valley.,, He 
was the first recorder of Tippecanoe county, Indiana, and a prominent 
political leader and speaker, stumping the state in the campaigns of 
both Lincoln and Grant. His religious faith was that of the Methodist 
church. His wife was a daughter of George Davis, who fell a victim to 
the cholera plague of the '40s, dying while on a trip to St. Louis. 

	Walter H. Cox, the second in order of birth in a family of six 
children, acquired his education in the graded and high schools of his 
native town and since early boyhood has been interested in the 
newspaper business, printing a small sheet on a hand press while still 
in school. This was called the Lafayette Bee and later became one of 
the city's leading journals. Subsequently Mr. Cox and his brother 
Joseph established the Lafayette Call, which became one of the most 
widely read newspapers of the state. His brothers are practical 
printers and the inventors of the Cox press and various other printing 
machinery in universal use. In 1887 Mr. Cox made his way westward and 
became connected with the Sioux City Daily Tribune of Sioux City, where 
he remained as general mechanical foreman until 1909. In that year he 
located in Fairfax, South Dakota, and purchased the Advertiser, of 
which he has since been the editor and publisher. The sheet is devoted 
to the dissemination of local and general news and boasts an extensive 
advertising and subscription patronage. 

	On May 11, 1878, Mr. Cox married Miss Anna Reese, of 
Francesville, Indiana, and to this union were born two children: Jessie 
B. and Joseph S., who are now living in North Dakota. His first wife 
died in November, 1885, and on the 24th of October, 1894, Mr. Cox was 
united in marriage to Miss Bessie Richardson, by whom he has two 
children: Milton and Ralph. 

	In politics Mr. Cox is a stanch republican, and in 1914 was 
elected to the state legislature, serving with distinction during the 
session of 1915 as chairman of the committees on engrossing and 
enrolling, insurance and printing. E eternally he is identified with 
the Modern Woodmen of America, while his religious faith is that of the 
Baptist church. As a means of recreation he indulges in hunting, 
boating and other outdoor sports. His has been a well spent life, in 
which he has made good use of his opportunities. Early realizing that 
there is no excellence without labor and that the present and not the 
future holds one,s chance for advancement, he has so directed his 
efforts day by day that he has laid a solid foundation for a successful 
career. His friends-and they are many-find him a genial, companionable 
gentleman and his good traits are acknowledged by all who know him.