John O. Walrath 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 653-654

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

	This file may be freely copied by individuals and non-profit 
	organizations for their private use. 

	Any other use, including publication, storage in a retrieval 
	system, or transmission by electronic, mechanical, or other 
	means requires the written approval of the file's author.

	This file is part of the SDGENWEB Archives. If you arrived here inside
	a frame or from a link from somewhere else, our front door is at

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


JOHN O. WALRATH is one of Mitchell's oldest settlers and leading 
business men. Perhaps no man in all of Davison county is so well known 
for his intelligence, active public spirit and thorough appreciation of 
the wants of his locality as is the gentleman whose name heads this 
article. He came to the county in an early day and has since been 
identified with all matters which pertain to the improvement and 
upbuilding of the better interests of the locality in which he lives. 

In tracing the history of the subject of this sketch, we find that his 
birthplace is Rock county, Wisconsin, and. his natal day February 18, 
1855. His father, Sylvester Walrath, is a native of New York and moved 
to Rock county, Wisconsin, about the year 1839, where he still resides, 
a retired farmer. His mother was of Swiss descent. Our subject's 
mother, who bore the maiden name of Chelly Green, is a native of 
Ireland and came with her parents to America when a child. She is also 
still living. 

John O. Walrath is the oldest of a family of seven children, five of 
whom, one daughter and four sons, grew to maturity. He was reared in 
the county of his birth and, was educated in the public schools. In 
1878 he migrated to what was then Dakota Territory and took a claim in 
Hanson county, but the following year he located in Davison county and 
selected for his home section 33, township 103, range 63, upon which he 
filed a homestead claim, and which is one mile south of the city of 
Mitchell. He was one of the first to open a mercantile business in the 
new city, and he also operated a livery and a farm machinery business 
for nine years. In connection with these, he was interested to 
considerable extent in farm lands. After discontinuing these lines of 
business in 1892, he started a hardware business and has continued to 
operate the same until the present time. At the reorganization of the 
First National Bank, in 1896, Mr. Walrath was made its president and 
filled that position with credit to himself and to the satisfaction of 
all concerned until January 12, 1898. He is still connected with this 
institution, being one of its directors, as well as one of the 
principal stockholders. Mr. Walrath is a potent factor in the 
prosperity enjoyed by Mitchell and vicinity, having located there when 
that section was an unbroken stretch of prairie, and, has always been 
recognized as one of the solid men tin the work of building up the 
city. Besides what he has done in the way of promoting the commercial 
interests, he has built many of the dwellings and business houses. He 
also owns considerable farm land in Davison county. 

In January, 1881, Mr. Walrath returned to Wisconsin and was united in 
marriage to Miss Sarah J. Craig, also a native of that state, and a 
daughter of James Craig, who was one of the earliest settlers of Rock 
county, Wisconsin, having settled there about the year 1838. To this 
congenial union have been born three children named as follows: Jessie 
May, Elbert O. and Florence, all of whom were born in Davison county. 
Socially, Mr. Walrath affiliates with the Masonic fraternity, the 
Ancient Order of United Workmen and the Independent Order of Odd 
Fellows. Politically, he is a Republican, and on that ticket has been 
elected to some of the local offices. He was a member of the city 
council for eight successive years, and has served on the county board 
of commissioners.