WALTER S. EMERY. There is no class of biographies which is more interesting to read than that of the industrious and enterprising, farmer's boy who has risen unaided from humble circumstances to a position of affluence and comfort. Prominent among the men of Barnes county who have thus laboriously toiled onward and upward is Walter S. Emery, a prosperous and substantial farmer residing, on section 14, township 142, range 58.
He was born on a farm in Somerset county, Maine, June 26, 1861, and is a son of Edwin and Mary (Ricker) Emery, also natives of the Pine Tree state, where the mother still resides. In 1861, at the opening of the Civil war, the father was following the peaceful occupation of farming, but he laid aside all personal interests and in response to his country's call for aid he enlisted in the Seventh Maine Volunteer Infantry. Some months later he was taken ill and died in the service.
During his boyhood and youth our subject attended school and assisted in the operation of the home farm, remaining under the parental roof until the spring of 1883, when he came west. After a short time spent in Minneapolis he went to Turtle Lake, Wisconsin, where he worked in a sawmill one season. In the fall of that year he came to Barnes county, North Dakota, and found employment on the farm where he now lives. In 1884 he took up a tree claim and during his residence in this state he has been remarkably successful, being now the owner of twelve hundred and eighty acres of rich and arable land.
In Valley City, Barnes county, Mr. Emery was married, in March, 1884, the lady of his choice being Miss Martha B. Beal, also a native of Maine, born February 17, 1866. Her parents, Henry and Emily Beal, make their home at present in Wisconsin. Mr. and Mrs. Emery have eight children, four sons and four daughters, all born on the farm where they still reside. In his political views he is a staunch Republican, but has never sought nor desired public office, preferring to give his undivided attention to his business interests. In connection with general farming he is quite extensively, engaged in stock raising, and at present has upon his place forty-nine head of good horses and a large herd of high-grade cattle. For the success that he has achieved in life he deserves great credit, as it is due entirely to his own industry, enterprise and good management. He is now one of the wealthiest men in the northern part of Barnes county. Socially he is a member of the Knights of Pythias and the Ancient Order of United Workmen.
Source: Compendium of History and Biography of North Dakota 1900 Page 213