Walter Farwell (1863-1943)

He was born in Chicago and educated at Yale (Class of 1885). He was a major shareholder and Vice President of the business started by his father and uncle in Chicago, Farwell & Co., wholesale dry goods merchants. He also inherited the vast XIT Ranch in Texas of 3-million acres with 150,000 head of cattle enclosed within 6,000 miles of fencing. He and his wife lived on the ranch for several years just after they were married. They were both very popular with the cowboys, though they avoided showing their best horses to Walter as he had a habit of appropriating them for the polo field he laid out there, which to a cowboy was an utter waste of a good horse! Before the War, he and his wife purchased a house in London at 13 Grosvenor Square (demolished in 1961) where they planned to spend their winters while summering at the stunning house they built on Long Island, Mallow. Despite having lost an eye playing racquets at Yale, Walter managed to enter the army in World War One, serving as a Captain in the Engineers and helping the Red Cross Mission. He went over sooner than expected to track down his wife who was being held captive in Serbia by the Bulgarians. After the war, he and his wife settled at their beloved home, Mallow. For some years, Walter was Treasurer of the National Committee on Prisons and Prison Labor, but with impaired eyesight he was forced to retire earlier than otherwise. He died at Mallow, without children.