Very little information can be found regarding John P. Lewis. He is listed in the 1850 Census for Grant County as being 26 years of age, a native of Austria, with property valued at $75. The 1860 Census records him as being a merchant in Lancaster with property valued at $18,000, a native of Bohemia, 35 years of age, with a wife, Thiza E., who was born in Ohio, and a son, William H., age 2, born in Wisconsin.
“John P. Lewis operated the store [in Lancaster] just south of the alley running north and south, and dividing the block north of the Court House into two equal sections. This would have put the store in the building now occupied by Walker & Seip as a clothing store--and east of the store of Ivey and Webb which was a land mark there for many years. Lewis never had a partner in his business, and for many years did a very large volume of business....He had two sons, Orville and William, both of whom moved to the west about the time that the lands were thrown open in the Dakotas. Lewis was known as a very shrewd business man, a good dealer, but 'hard' in his collections....” (John L. Grindell, June 11, 1945, Letter in Historical Society Files.)
