David W. Lewis 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 709-710

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

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	http://usgwarchives.org/sd/sdfiles.htm


DAVID W. LEWIS, a prosperous agriculturist of Edmunds county, South 
Dakota, and one of the pioneer settlers of Cortlandt township, is a 
native of Vermont, and was born in 1830. His present home is on section 
34 in Cortlandt township, and the appearance of his fine estate, with 
its grove of trees, the only grove in Cortland township, breaks the 
monotony of the surrounding country, and evidences the painstaking care 
of the owner of the property. Mr. Lewis is thoroughly acquainted with 
his calling and has enhanced the value of his farm by beautifying and 
improving it and is now the possessor of as fine a tract as can be 
found in the county. 

The family of our subject on the father's side is of Welch descent and 
on the mother's is of Dutch extraction. His grandfather, David Lewis, 
was a native of Vermont and was a farmer and carpenter, and the 
grandmother, Lucinie (Goodyear) Lewis, was of English descent. Our 
subject is one of five children who grew to maturity, and the second in 
order of birth, born to Norman and Rachel Russell (Warner) Lewis, the 
former a native of Vermont and the latter of German descent and a 
native of His parents were married in 1 828, and the father followed 
the occupation of a farmer, meeting his death in 1860, by falling from 
a wagon. 

Our subject was afforded a common school education and at the age of 
eighteen years began working for himself. He was employed in his 
brother's store and three years peddled agricultural implements in 
Canada. About 1856 he went to farming in Wisconsin, on land which he 
rented, and soon afterward purchased land. He spent fourteen years in 
Wisconsin on the farm of his cousin, consisting of one hundred and 
twenty acres. Our subject set out a good orchard and had plenty of 
small fruits and followed his calling there with success. He located on 
section 34 in Cortlandt township, Edmunds county, South Dakota, in the 
fall of 1882, and the following spring the family joined him, living 
for three weeks in the newly erected barn, awaiting the completion of 
the dwelling. They moved three carloads of goods to the new home, 
including four cows, five horses, machinery and household goods, and 
the entire lot was hauled from Aberdeen. Before the arrival of the 
family our subject teamed from Aberdeen to the farm, and six persons 
had but a 6 x 8 foot shanty in which to sleep. The first crop in 1884 
averaged eighteen bushels per acre. The country settled fast during the 
summer of 1883 and the first two years the home of our subject was 
headquarters for the incoming settlers. Mr. Lewis many times was forced 
to fight prairie fire and on one occasion, in 1893, his labors for the 
safety of his buildings did not cease until two o'clock in the morning. 
During the past seven or eight years our subject has engaged 
principally in cattle and sheep raising. The family owns four hundred 
and eighty acres, and our subject has the control of eight quarter-
sections, including his own, on which to run stock. 

Mr. Lewis was married March 26, 1856, to Miss Jane L. Russell, a native 
of the city of Quebec and daughter of Andrew Russell, a cloth dresser 
in North Ferrisburgh, Vermont. Her father was of Scotch birth and 
served seven years in the British army in the Ninety-ninth Highlanders, 
and with this organization came to America. Mrs. Lewis was reared in 
the United States and was the eldest child in the family. Six children 
have blessed the home of Mr. and Mrs. Lewis, as follows: Norman 
Russell, in machine business in Mellette, South Dakota; Calvin A., 
druggist, in Wisconsin; Janette, teacher in Ipswich high school; James 
Henry, agriculturist of Cortlandt township, Edmunds county; Ida, 
teacher in Ipswich high school; and Shirley, living at home. 

Our subject is a member of the Masonic fraternity. He has been an 
important factor in the organization of Cortlandt township and has been 
called upon to serve in various official positions. In politics he is a 
Republican and an ardent worker for the principles of his party. He has 
been delegate to every county convention held in Edmunds county, and 
two different state conventions, and is at present a member of the 
county central committee. As a public spirited and earnest citizen he 
commands the respect of a large acquaintance.