Henry Grant Walters, BiographyPorter County biographical sketches . . . .
Transcribed biography of Henry Grant Walters
Henry Grant Walters (September 1863 - 10 November 1927). Henry was usually recorded as Grant Walters or sometimes Grant H. Walters. Grant was the son of John Wesley Walters (1831-1903) and Maria Mock (1834-1888); see John's biography on this Porter County GenWeb site. After his family moved to Porter County Grant lived in Boone Grove and the newspaper calls him a "former resident of Boone Grove." Grant married Ora May Flewellen (1867 -19 January 1932) in Porter County on 5 April 1893. Her parents were Isaac Flewellen (circa 1837 -5 August 1929) and Elizabeth Brownin (circa 1838 - ?). Grant followed a number of occupations. In 1900, he was operating a butcher shop in Porter Township of Porter County. The census identifies him as "Grant Walriss" and the indexer has added in brackets "Grant Wolters." With him were Ora, Hazel Walters and Harvey Walters; the census bizarrely identifies him as "Hazza Walriss." This census also contains the only reference I have found to "Bess" Walters a daughter born in July of 1898. In 1910, the family, without Bess, were living in Hammond, Indiana, where Grant was employed as a streetcar motorman. Hazel was working as a saleslady in a general store. Harvey, incorrectly identified as "Henry" W. Wauters, was a foreman. Grant is called identified as "Grant H. Wauters."
In 1920, Grant Walters was living with his wife and son called "Jim", where they operated a grocery store in Delphi, Carroll County, Indiana. Both Grant and Ora worked in the store which they owned; the census identifies him as "G. H. Walters." The Valparaiso Vidette-Messenger notes several occasions when Porter County friends or relatives visited the Walters in Delphi. In 1928, Grant became ill with blood poisoning and was taken to Elizabeth Hospital in Lafayette, Indiana. He died here on 10 November 1927. His brother Sherman Walters and Sherman's son-in-law Charles Mockler came from Porter County. His body was returned to Cornell Cemetery, Porter County, to be buried with his parents. In 1930 his widow was operating a rooming house in Delphi who was with her mother, his invalid daughter Hazel Jacobson and his grandson Grant Jacobson. His wife, Ida May Walters, who was a resident of Delphi, died Lafayette, Indiana. The cause of death was heart failure. Her body was brought back to Porter County to rest with her husband in Cornell Cemetery.
Grant and Ora Mae had three children. Hazel D. Walters (January 1889 -1932) was the first. About 1915, Hazel married Swedish-born Hilding Jacobson. In 1920, Hazel and Hilding were living in Chicago where he worked as a railroad conductor. In 1927, she was described as a complete invalid. On 19 January 1932, her uncle Sherman Walters contacted the Valparaiso paper to inform them that Hazel had died in Chicago. She had one son, Grant H. Hilding (1916 - ?), who was born in Chicago. Grant and Ora Mae's second son was Harvey W. Walters (May 1891 - after 1927) who is called Jim in the 1920 census. A third child, Bessie Walters, was born in July 1898 and I have only found her in the 1900 census.
Bill Walters
112 Riss Drive
Normal, Illinois 61761
Source: Submitted to Porter County GenWeb on February 10, 2009, by Bill Walters, 112 Riss Drive, Normal, Illinois 61761
Page(s) in Source: Not applicable
This biography has been transcribed exactly as it was originally published in the source. Please note that we do not provide photocopies or digital scans of biographies appearing on this website.
Biography transcribed by Steven R. Shook