William Henry Lewis Biography


	This biography appears on pages 625-626 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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				WILLIAM HENRY LEWIS

	William Henry Lewis, who energetically and successfully carries 
on general farming on section 35, Nunda township, Lake county, was born 
in Winnebago, Illinois, on the 8th of March, 1849, a son of Nelson and 
Elizabeth (Vance) Lewis. The father was both a tailor and farmer and in 
the year 1851 he went to California, where he engaged in mining, 
remaining for four years and four months on the Pacific slope. He also 
became the owner of much land in the Sacramento valley but in 1855 
returned to the middle west, again taking up his abode in Illinois. He 
afterward purchased land in Mitchell county, Iowa, where he engaged in 
farming until he enlisted for service in the Civil war, joining the 
army at the age of fifty-two years, although he would have been exempt 
from duty. He was a member of Company A, of the Twenty-first Iowa 
Infantry, and died in the service in 1864, thus giving his life as a 
sacrifice on the altar of his country. 

	William H. Lewis attended the public schools and afterward took 
up the occupation of farming, which he followed in Iowa for several 
years before coming to South Dakota in 1878. He was among the pioneers 
of the territory and secured a homestead on section 35, township 108, 
range 52, and also a timber claim. He was also the first to file on a 
claim in that locality, at which time there were only three men living 
in that district and they came to the county with him. In addition to 
his homestead and tree claim he purchased a quarter section and he 
endured all of the hardships and privations of pioneer life. The 
winters were intensely cold. The storm-swept prairies, however, were 
greatly changed with the coming of summer, when wild grasses and wild 
flowers gave an indication of the rich soil. The labors of Mr. Lewis 
soon wrought a marked transformation in his place, as he converted the 
wild land into productive fields, and today he has a valuable farm 
property, from which he annually gathers golden harvests. 

	On the 16th of November, 1873, Mr. Lewis was married to Miss Mary 
Reish, a daughter of Peter Reish, of Iowa, and they have three 
children: George; Ida, the wife of I. Woodward; and Ina, at home. Mrs. 
Woodward has three children. Mr. and Mrs. Lewis lost a son, Jacob, who 
died at the age of nineteen years. He was a most promising young man 
and the sorrow which came with his passing still rests heavily upon the 
family. 

	In religious faith the family are Presbyterians, while in his 
political belief Mr. Lewis is a republican. He took quite an active 
interest in state politics in his younger days and acted as a delegate 
to state conventions. He has held township offices and has served on 
the school board and is interested in everything pertaining to the 
welfare and improvement of his part of the state, including the good 
roads movement.