Sumner County Biographies
"Portrait and Biographical Album of Sumner County"
Chapman Bros., Chicago, 1890
IRA M. LEWIS is the owner and occupant of
a half-section of land in Ryan Township, of
which he took possession when there were but
three houses in sight from his claim. Although he
obtained a good insight into the trade of a carpenter when he was
a young man, he has made farming his life work, and has shown ability and
judgment in tilling the soil and in every department of
labor connected with a successful farmer's career.
His land is improved, intelligently cultivated, and
makes an estate which any man might be well
pleased to own.
The Buckeye State claims Mr. Lewis as one of
her sons, his birth having taken place in Harrisville, November 7, 1837. He is the first-born in
a family of twelve children, whose parents, Insley
and Amy (Grissell) Lewis, were natives of Ohio.
They were married in Columbiana County, and
two years afterward removed to Jay County, Ind.,
where they made their permanent home. The
father was a mechanic and the owner of a farm.
The devoted husband and wife, and loving parents,
"in death were not divided," both contracting typhoid fever, which occasioned their decease at the
same time, in 1864.
The subject of this biography grew to manhood
in Indiana, and began his life work by superintending his father's farm until he was twenty-three
years of age. He had acquired a good common-school education, to which his native intelligence
and his keen observation have added much practical knowledge since he left the schoolroom. In
1863 he started for the pineries of Michigan and
tarried at a place six miles from Battle Creek, that
State. There he was drafted, but not being able
to pass the required physical examination, he did
not enter the service. In 1872 he removed with
his family to Carroll County, Iowa, building the
second house in the township in which he located.
The Hawkeye State was the home of the family
until 1877, at which time they were numbered
among the inhabitants of Kansas, the first two
years of their sojourn in this State being spent in
Sedgwick County. At the expiration of that time
a removal was made to the place which is now their
home, and where Mr. Lewis is successfully giving
his attention to the raising of crops and stock.
On August 11, 1861, Ira M. Lewis and Sarah J.
Spayd were united in marriage at the home of the
bride. She is a daughter of Reuben and Mary
(Hart) Spayd, and was born in Darke County,
Ohio, on Christmas Day, 1840. She acquired a
good common-school education, and before her
marriage was engaged in school teaching, a work
for which her tact, excellent education and pleasant
disposition admirably qualified her. Her father, a
cabinetmaker by trade, was born in Dauphin
County, Pa., October 24, 1814, and died in 1886.
Her mother was born in Wayne County, Ohio,
August 10, 1824, and her death took place July 12,
1882. Mr. and Mrs. Spayd were the parents of
ten children, seven of whom now survive.
To our subject and his worthy wife five children have been born, two of whom are married
and living in homes of their own. Estella J. is the
wife of William A. Adams and the mother of three
children; she occupies a pleasant dwelling two
miles north of the parental home. Annie M., the
fourth born, married John Miller, who lives on the
northeast quarter of section 11, Ryan Township;
they have one child; Linley I., Insley M. and
John W. remain with their parents. All the children are well educated, and Estella has been a
teacher.
Mr. Lewis belongs to the Farmer's Alliance, and
is now a member of the Committee on Inquiry. He
is Treasurer of the School District, has been a
member of the Board for several years, and takes
a deep interest in the progress of the schools. He
is also serving as Road Overseer. The Republican ticket is that which he always votes, and he
IS much interested in political movements. While
in Indiana, prior to the Civil War, he lived in a
settlement through which the underground railroad
passed, and became somewhat acquainted with the
workings of that road and quite interested in the
abolition of slavery. Among his neighbors and
fellow-citizens he is spoken of as a reliable citizen
and an honorable man.
In this connection we present a lithographic
view of the residence wherein Mr. and Mrs. Lewis
are so pleasantly domiciled.
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This website created Oct. 29, 2011 by Sheryl McClure.
� 2011 Kansas History and Heritage Project
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