Hiram Walter

WALTER, DEAHL

Posted By: Bruce L. Pearson (email)
Date: 7/28/2010 at 13:34:09

Hiram and Elizabeth Walter

Hiram L. Walter was born on 18 November 1860 in Appanoose County, Iowa, the son of John Walter and Barbara Spack Walter. According to Jay Dixon, the great-grandson of William Walter (Hiram's brother), Hiram's middle name was Leesta.

According to a family Bible owned by Bob Hagan (Hiram's grandson) and to the Appanoose County marriage records, on 9 May 1880, Hiram (age 19) married Elizabeth Jane Deahl, who was born on 6 October 1856 in Exline, Appanoose County, Iowa. .The marriage took place at the residence of "E. Deahl" in Appanoose County. The first names of Elizabeth's parents, Mr. and Mrs. Deahl, are not known, but according to Bob Hagan, their name was pronounced "Dale" and is probably of German origin. Hagan also has a very old copper or tintype photograph of Mr. and Mrs. Deahl which probably dates to sometime around 1850. According to Jay Dixon, Elizabeth was the daughter of Emmanuel Deahl, born 7 June 1826 in Pennsylvania, died 28 July 1903 in Iowa, and Mary Ann Peckham, born 12 March 1840 in Ohio and died 20 September 1879 in Iowa. Both Emmanuel and Mary Ann Deahl are buried at Exline Cemetery, Appanoose County

The U.S. Census of 1870 lists two people named Elizabeth Deahl in Iowa. One Elizabeth Deahl, born c. 1792 in Pennsylvania, was residing in Caldwell, Appanoose County, Iowa, as of 1870. (Note: could she have been Emmanuel's mother?) Also, one Elizabeth Deahl, born c. 1852 in Pennsylvania, was living in Birmingham, Union Township, Van Buren County, Iowa, as of 1870, along with the following individuals: Samuel Deahl, age 54, farmer, born in Pennsylvania (her father); Susan Deahl, age 56, housekeeper, born in Pennsylvania (her mother); and her brothers, George, age 22, and Samuel, Jr., age 14. The Elizabeth Deahl who was born in Pennsylvania in 1792 may have been the grandmother of the Elizabeth who married Hiram Walter. Samuel, Susan and the Elizabeth Deahl who lived in Van Buren County may also have been related in some way to the Elizabeth who married Hiram.

The Iowa State census of 1895 lists John Walter, farmer, born c. 1822 in Germany, and his wife, Barbara Walter, born c. 1822 in Germany, as living in Caldwell, Appanoose County, Iowa in 1895. It also lists Hiram, Hiram's wife, Elizabeth J., Minnie, Lity, Edward R., Harley and Mamie Walter in the same household. Minnie, Lity, Edward Roy, Harley and Mamie Walter were all children of Hiram and Elizabeth.

Hiram and Elizabeth had three sons -- Harley Walter, Lidy (or Lity) Walter, and Edward Roy Walter, known as Roy, and two daughters, Minnie and Mamie.

Harley Walter was born on 29 November 1892, married Bertha (maiden name unknown) on 3 March 1914 and was living in Denver, Colorado as of 1950. Lity V. Walter was born on 3 June 1884. He got married on 4 December 1910 (name of spouse and place of marriage not known), and died on 26 November 1938. Minnie (Mrs. Minnie Benefield) was born on 3 October 1881, shortly after the death of an infant sister, Minnie May Walter, who was born on 1 November 1880 and died on 12 August 1881. The Minnie who survived married a man named Benefield on 30 April 1899 and lived in Noel, Missouri, as of 1964. Mamie was born on 15 September 1891. (See separate write-up on Mamie).

Hiram, Elizabeth and their children must have lived in Muscotah, Kansas, around 1904. Bob Hagan had a school photo of Roy Walter and his sister Mamie, taken at a school in Muscotah. Roy appears to be about 14 and Mamie about 12. Something else is very interesting about this photo. Among the 30 students are two black children. The school at Muscotah must therefore have been integrated, although it was not until 1954 that the Supreme Court of the United States ruled, in its landmark decision of Brown vs. the Topeka Board of Education, that racial segregation of public schools was unconstitutional. In this photo, Roy is clearly the tallest child, and Mamie the second tallest.

According to Bob Hagan, Hiram worked putting shingles on roofs as a young man. The U.S. Census of 1910 lists Hiram and Elizabeth Walter living in Fort Lupton, Weld County, Colorado. In July 2007, Hagan recalled that his grandparents Hiram and Elizabeth Walter had moved to southern Colorado sometime in the 1920's, where Hiram either worked in or invested in some coal mines. The investment did not go well, so in 1928, Hiram and Elizabeth moved to East Olympia, Thurston County, Washington, on the recommendation of their son, Roy Walter, who was already living there. Elizabeth J. Deahl Walter died on 11 May 1934 in Olympia, Washington. Hiram died in Olympia on 24 February 1950 and is buried in the Odd Fellows Cemetery in East Olympia. (The foregoing information about Hiram and Elizabeth is from Hiram's granddaughter, Mrs. Claribel Walter Haley, from the Federal Census of 1910, from Hiram's obituary in the "Daily Olympian" newspaper of 26 February 1950, and from the recollections of Bob Hagan).
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Edward Roy Walter, who went by the name of Roy, was born on 20 April 1889, place unknown. As noted above, he attended school in Muscotah, Kansas, around 1904. On 20 March 1913, Roy married Grace Etta Lawrence, who was born on 18 July 1892, place unknown. Roy and Grace had four children: Vane Walter (son) and Claribel Walter Haley, both of whom were still living in Washington as of July 2007; Glenn, who was born circa 1917 and drowned in 1934; and Elaine, who died of multiple sclerosis sometime in the 1950's. Vane was married to Stella Leach on 4 July 1942. He served two years in the U.S. Army. Vane and Stella had two sons, Jerry and Larry. Stella died in 2000. Vane later married Hazel Rahland, who died in December 2005. As of September 2007, Vane and his sons were living in the Olympia area.

Elaine had a son, also named Glenn, who also died young, and a daughter, Virginia, who was residing in Spanaway, Washington, as of 1996. Edward Roy Walter died on 22 February 1952, presumably in Olympia. His wife Grace died on 29 September 1963, also presumably in Olympia.

Harley and Bertha Walter had a son, also named Harley, and another son, named Lidy (or Lity), who went by the nickname "Jinx." (Lidy was apparently named after his uncle, Lidy. See below). Harley and Bertha also had a daughter, Dorothy, who married Jim Badini. Dorothy is deceased, but Jim Badini and their son, Larry, were still living in Grand Junction, Colorado, as of 1996.

Lidy Walter had two daughters: Mrs. Myra Brown, residing in Westminster, Colorado, as of 1996, and Mrs. Betty Welborn, residing in Denver as of 1996. (Source: Mrs. Claribel Haley). According to Bob Hagan, both Mrs. Brown and Mrs. Welborn are now deceased.

Claribel Walter married Terry Haley, born in February 1918 in Cascade, Montana. They had two daughters: Karen (Mrs. David Johnson), residing in Winthrop, Washington; and Donna, formerly married to a man named Grozzini. Karen has two sons: Tad Johnson and Terry Johnson. Donna has a daughter, Alison (born circa 1983), and a son, Andy, born circa 1986. Terry died on 13 June 2010 and is buried in New Tacoma Cemetery. Claribel was still residing in Spanaway, Washington, as of December 2010.

Note: Bob Hagan, Hiram Walter's grandson and the son of Mamie Hagan, nee: Walter, resided in Irving, Texas. He died on 22 May 2009 in Irving.