William H. Hewitt Biography


	This biography is from "Memorial and biographical record; an illustrated
 	compendium of biography, containing a compendium of local biography,
	including biographical sketches of prominent old settlers and 
	representative citizens of South Dakota..." Published by G. A. Ogle & 
	Co., Chicago, 1899. Pages 837-838

	Scan, OCR and editing by Maurice Krueger,mkrueger@iw.net, 1998. 

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WILLIAM H. HEWITT, whose pleasant home is located in Elida township, is 
one of the progressive farmers of Potter county. He has made a success 
of his vocation, and has gained a competence upon which he can depend 
for the comforts of his declining years. In the acquisition of his 
estate he has displayed such excellent characteristics as commend a man 
to the respect and esteem of his fellow men, and he now enjoys an 
enviable reputation as a gentleman of integrity and enterprise. 

Mr. Hewitt was born in Colombia county, Wisconsin, June 1, 1854. His 
father, Eland Hewitt, was of Welch descent, and was a farmer by 
occupation and the first settler on the prairie near Portage, 
Wisconsin. The mother of our subject, Almeda (Holcomb) Hewitt, was of 
German descent on her mother's side, but was born in New York. 

Of the family of eleven children, nine of whom grew to maturity, our 
subject was the sixth in order of birth. He was raised on a farm and 
attended the district schools, and at the age of twenty-one years left 
home and hired out. During 1882-83 he engaged in farming for himself 
and in the fall of the latter year went to Potter county, South Dakota, 
and filed on land on the northwest quarter of section 17, township 117, 
range 75. His family joined him the following spring, and he began 
farming. He erected a 14x18 shanty, and had a team of horses, one cow 
and a pig. He now has a farm of four hundred and eighty acres, and 
cultivates about three hundred acres annually. He has a complete set of 
farm buildings and all necessary machinery, and engages principally in 
grain raising, but is interested to some extent in the raising of 
cattle. He has a bountiful supply of good water on his farm, and ten 
acres of timber, and the estate bears evidence of good management and 
careful attention to the details of the work. He hauled wheat to Blunt, 
thirty two miles, in 1896, and sold it for thirty nine cents per 
bushel. 

Mr. Hewitt was married in 1880 to Miss Kate L. Hughes, a native of 
Columbia county, Wisconsin. Mrs. Hewitt's parents were natives of Wales 
and came to America before the Civil war, and the father, Hugh Hughes, 
followed the calling of a farmer. Mr. and Mrs. Hewitt are the parents 
of two children, as follows: Hannah, born August 22, 1881, and Wallace, 
born in 1893. 

Our subject was one of the first in that community to take up the 
movement on the silver question and strongly advocate it in that 
region. He has attended numerous county conventions, and has ever taken 
an active interest in local affairs, and worked ardently for the better 
government of the people. He is a gentleman who keeps pace with the 
times, and in all matters of importance is found on the side of right 
and justice, and lends his influence for the upbuilding of his 
community, and the raising of the standard of excellence in the local 
government. He is a member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen and 
the Modern Woodmen of America.