Walter W. Skaggs was born May 23, 1879, of humble parentage, on a farm three and a half miles southwest of Marion, in a log house in the midst of the virgin forest. Walter assisted in the clearing and breaking of the new ground and the development of the farm until he was seventeen years of age. His parents were William T. Skaggs and Amanda Oglesby of Williamson County who were farmers.
He attended country school regularly, after which he attended Southern Illinois Normal University at Carbondale, from which he graduated in 1901. In the Normal University he was an active member of the Socratic Literary Society.
The 1900 Federal Census found Walter, 21, living in Carbondale while attending SINU. He boarded in the home of Samuel and Olive Harwood, a school teacher in Carbondale.
After graduation he taught in the Marion High School one year and then went to Mattoon, where he taught in the high school for a period of three years.
While in Mattoon he registered in the office of Andrews & Vance, a leading law firm of Central Illinois and after three years of hard study in that office was admitted to the bar in 1906 and began practicing in Marion on January 1, 1908, becoming a member of the Williamson County Bar Association.
The 1910 census taken on April 27th found Walter, who was 30 and single, living in the home of attorney Robert P. Hill at 1007 W. Main Street. Walter listed himself as a self-employed lawyer and his relationship to the head of household was “partner”, implying a business relationship in the law firm.
On November 16, 1910, he was united in marriage with Miss Laura Belle Casey, daughter of editor and publisher of the Marion Evening Post, Samuel K. Casey who resided in a large home at 812 N. Market Street in Marion. Samuel Casey’s wife, Anne, had died while his daughter, Laura, was only four and before they had moved to Marion, so Walter and Laura moved in with Casey on N. Market.
Mr. Skaggs was one of the leading attorneys of the county and served in 1912 and 1913 as City Attorney of Marion.
In 1913, Walter and Laura had their first child, a daughter, named Helen Skaggs. They would have a second child, a son named Walter Casey Skaggs in 1918.
The first origination of the 4-Minute Men in Williamson County was perfected in June, 1917, with R. R. Fowler as Chairman. The members of the organization were, respectively, R. R. Fowler, Ed. M. Spiller, George R. Stone, Leon A. Colp, John I. Gunn, Rufus Neely, John M. Reid, W. 0. Paisley, Walter W. Skaggs, and William H. Warder. The group gave public talks on behalf of the government during the war to dispel rumors and ease any anxieties about the war.
In the book, Williamson County in the World War, printed in 1919, it was said of Skaggs,” Since January 1, 1908, Walter W. Skaggs has been a member of the legal fraternity of Williamson county. By hard work and persevering tactics he has forged to the front as one of the leading commercial lawyers in the state, and is now one of the prominent members of the Commercial Law League of America and of the Illinois State Bar Association, with offices on the third floor of the Marion State and Savings Bank Building.
Mr. Skaggs has never been an office holder and politics has never interfered with his attention to professional affairs, with the exception of an unsuccessful run for State’s Attorney in 1920.
Mr. Skaggs was intensely patriotic during the war with Germany and gave his time and energy to work assigned him as a member of the Legal Advisory Board, and was a liberal purchaser of Liberty Bonds, although extending his credit was essential to do so. He was also a liberal contributor to the causes of charity growing out of the war and has been enthusiastic in his support of every effort to perpetuate the memory of the soldiers and sailors of this county.”
When the 1920 census was taken, the couple, now with two children were living in the home of Samuel Casey at 812 N. Market Street. Casey was 54, Walter 40, Laura 31, daughter Helen 7 and son Walter was 1 year and 10 months of age. Casey was still actively publishing the Marion Evening Post newspaper in competition with the Marion Daily Republican operated by the Paisley family.
Walter was maintaining an office in rooms 30 and 31 on the third floor of the Marion State and Savings Bank. Interestingly, there were eleven lawyers operating in offices located in this building during this time.
Skaggs suffered a severe stroke, June 15, 1921, from which he never fully recovered and after that time to his death he remained under the constant care of physicians.
Death came Thursday morning, June 6, 1928, from pneumonia, following an attack of the influence, for Walter Skaggs, who had been in ill health for seven years and had been in a hospital most of the time. His weakened condition from his previous heart attack made him an easy victim of the influenza and pneumonia. Walter was just short of being 48 years old.
He was an active member of the Elks and the Mason and was also an active member of the First Christian Church in Marion on N. Market Street. He was highly admired and liked by everyone.
Miss Laura Belle Casey, who with her two children, Helen Casey Skaggs, aged 16, and Walter Casey Skaggs, aged 10, survived. Three sisters, Mrs. Noah (Ruth) Hestand, Mrs. Tom (Lou) Fleming and Mrs. John (Ora) Fleming, also survived.
While funeral arrangements had not been fully completed at the time of his obituaries release, it was expected to take the body to the Skaggs home on N. Market Street where it would lie in state until time for the funeral. Funeral service was to be held, the next day, Friday afternoon at 2 p.m. at the Christian Church.
The service was conducted by Dr. John I. Gunn of Arcola, pastor of the Marion church at the time Mr. Skaggs was most active.
After Walter’s death, Laura Belle and her children remained in the home under the care of housekeeper Susan Davis, who had served the family for decades and would continue to do so.
In 1939, Samuel Casey, died of a heart attack in the foyer of his N. Market Street home. After his death, Laura, the heir to his estate, took over management of the newspaper and continued overseeing its operations.
Ironically, her daughter Helen died in 1945 at the age of 32 and her son, Walter C. Skaggs died in 1948 at the age of 30. The reasons for their young deaths, are as yet, unknown. Laura Belle appears to have vacated the home around this time and died in 1954.
Laura Belle Casey Skaggs was active in numerous women’s clubs in Marion and was an active member of the Pioneer Daughters of Williamson County and participated in the 1939 County Centennial Celebration.
(Data extracted from Williamson County in the World War, 1919; Marion Daily Republican Obituary, June 1928; Federal Census Records; Illinois Death Records; Marion City Directories; Marion City Cemetery Records; Williamson County historical records; compiled by Sam Lattuca on 08/30/2013)