An illustrated history of Klickitat, Yakima and Kittitas counties; with an outline of the early history of the state of Washington, Part 100

Author: Interstate publishing co., Chicago, pub
Publication date: 1904
Publisher: [Chicago] Interstate publishing company
Number of Pages: 1146

USA > Washington > Kittitas County > An illustrated history of Klickitat, Yakima and Kittitas counties; with an outline of the early history of the state of Washington > Part 100
USA > Washington > Yakima County > An illustrated history of Klickitat, Yakima and Kittitas counties; with an outline of the early history of the state of Washington > Part 100
USA > Washington > Klickitat County > An illustrated history of Klickitat, Yakima and Kittitas counties; with an outline of the early history of the state of Washington > Part 100

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

Mr. White was married in the Willamette val- ley, June 18, 1894, the lady being Miss Minnie Trumbo, a native of Dakota, born in 1873. Her father, John Trumbo, who was born in Ohio in 1840, resided in Dakota for some time, taking part in the Sioux Indian war. He served in the army for eight years. In 1876 he came to Oregon, in which state he died on the Ist of February, 1890. His wife, Ruth, still resides in Washington county, Oregon, and draws a pension from the government on account of her husband's long service in the United States army. Mrs. White is one of nine children, her brothers and sisters being, Mrs. Rachel Gosney, the oldest, Mrs. Ida Gosney and Ira, twins, Frank, Mark, John, Uriah B. and Maud. Mr. White has four brothers, Richard R., John, Peter and Grover, and one sister, Mrs. Mary Weld, residing with her husband in Portland. Mr. and Mrs. White have two sons, Edward and Ellis, and two daugh- ters, Maud and Vera. In politics, Mr. White is a Republican. An energetic, shrewd and successful homme d'affaires, an honorable, upright man and a public spirited citizen, he has won and still retains the full confidence and hearty good will of all with whom he has been associated.

MERIEL S. SHORT, a minister of the Church of Christ, engaged in farming and stock raising twelve miles southeast of Goldendale, is one of Klickitat's earliest and most honored pioneer citi- zens. Nor is he a stranger to the Northwest, for he came here more than half a centuryago and has done his full share in the subduing of this erstwhile wil- derness. He was born in Lawrence county, Indiana, March 12, 1827, the son of John and Ava (Owens) Short. . John Short was born in Virginia, 1786, of Welsh parentage. His father came to Kentucky from North Carolina and took part in the early In- dian wars of that section. John Short served in the War of 1812, settled in Indiana in 1818, removed to Illinois in 1847, and thence to Iowa in 1853, where he passed away in 1867. His wife, of Irish descent, was a Kentuckian, born November 10, 1788, the daughter of early pioneers of that commonwealth. Meriel was one of a family of eleven children, and until he was eighteen years old, lived in Indiana. There he obtained a good education in the public schools and later attended two, seminaries, one lo-

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BIOGRAPHICAL.

cated at Cherry Grove, Illinois. In 1853 he left the Illinois home to seek his fortunes in the far west, going overland to the Willamette valley and settling in Marion county. During the years 1855-6, he served as a volunteer in the Indian war of that date, being a member of Company J, under Captain Ru- ford Miller, Colonel Shaw commanding. For this loyal service, he now draws a pension from the gov- ernment. At the time of the outbreak, he was teach- ing school near Silverton, being among the earliest teachers in Oregon. As a soldier, he visited the Yakima country, Wallula, Walla Walla and the Grande Ronde valley, Oregon, where the troops en- gaged the hostiles. In the battle, forty-two redskins were killed, besides several soldiers. In 1861, in the month of March, he came to Klickitat county, taking as a homestead what is now known as the old Cof- field ranch, on the Grants-Goldendale road. That was the first homestead taken in the county. Mr. Short brought in with him sixty-five head of cattle, but these were nearly all destroyed by the severe winter of 1861-2. That winter was the severest ever known in the Northwest. The cattle them- selves seemed to realize at its beginning that it would be their death. They lowed and tramped around all the time. During the winter one animal was known to stand on the Swale forty-two days without feed ; it died after reaching food and water. One of the settlers wintered four yoke of cattle on the dead bodies of his other stock, which he cut up and fed in chunks. The starving animals ate the food voraciously and throve. For five years, or until 1866, Mr. Short conducted a blacksmith shop on the Columbus road. Then he removed to Chamberlin's Flats and took up cattle raising. He suffered con- siderable loss during the winter of 1871-2 and ex- perienced his worst reverse in 1880-81. He bought his present ranch in 1880 and has since made it his home, following farming and stock raising with success. His property now embraces 360 acres of deeded land, while he controls fully 700 acres of school and railroad land. He began raising sheep in 1896 and now has nearly 2,000, a portion of which he leases. Mr. Short has also devoted much of his time to church work. In 1845 he joined the Church of Christ, and in 1875 he organized his first church with ten members. Subsequently this church was removed to Goldendale.

Mr. Short was married in Marion county, Ore- gon, June 16, 1859, to Miss Louise Anderson, a daughter of James and Eleanor (Simpson) Ander- son. The father was born in Virginia, not far from Blue Ridge: the mother was a native of North Carolina. Mrs. Short was born in Platte county, Missouri, in April, 1837. Of the nine children born to this union, three, Adelia, Angelo and John M., are now dead. Two daughters, Mrs. Viletta Bul- lock and Mrs. Ella McDonald, reside in this county. The other children are Ari, Meriel J., Dudley G. and Clarence W. Mr. Short has two brothers liv- ing, Wesley, in Bloomington, Illinois, and Living-

stone, in Kaslo, B. C. His eldest brother, Washing- ton, now deceased, was a Christian minister for more than fifty years. The other brothers and sis- ters were: Samuel, Martin, Hansford, Hubbard, Nancy, Mary and Jael. Mr. Short belongs to the Grange, and, politically, is a Democrat. An estima- ble man of high character, benevolent and charita- ble, he commands the respect of the entire commu- nity and is held in high esteem by his wide circle of friends in Oregon and Washington.

RALPH W. FENTON, a well-to-do farmer of Klickitat county, resides on his well improved ranch of 880 acres, eight miles east of the city of Golden- dale. He cultivates the entire tract individually, and is said to be the most extensive farmer in his part of the county. He was born in The Dalles, Oregon, October 29, 1871, the son of Solomon and A. Emma (Osborn) Fenton. His father, who now lives with him, is of English descent and likewise a farmer, al- though his health is such that he does not do any hard work now. He was born in Indiana in 1828 and came by the isthmus to San Francisco, thence to Portland in 1851. He was one of the settlers who worked for the admission of Oregon to the Union. Some years later he returned east and engaged in the mercantile business, following it until 1864, at which time he crossed the Plains to Dallas, Oregon, whence in 1870 he came to The Dalles. Two years later he moved to the Goldendale country and took up a homestead near the site of the present town. He has continued to reside in the locality ever since and has only lately retired from active work, on ac- count of enfeebled health. His wife, who was born in Iowa in 1845, was of English parentage. She passed away in 1874. Her father had the distinc- tion of having been the first Baptist minister on the western coast and of having founded a church in Colorado, which cost $100,000. Ralph W., whose life it is our task to here chronicle, was but six months old when he came to Klickitat county with his parents in 1872, from The Dalles, Oregon, and he grew up in the county, acquiring his education in the local schools. An apt pupil, he in due time se- cured a teacher's certificate, but did not take up the profession of pedagogy. For a period of eleven years he rode the ranges steadily, engaged in the cattle business with his brothers, Frank and B. Fen- ton, who had entered this business on an extensive scale and were at one time among the most promi- nent Klickitat cattlemen. In 1895, our subject and his brother, Frank, invested in land, the latter un- dertaking to run the farm, the former to look after the cattle. For about two years Ralph handled the stock of Baker Brothers. In 1902 the partnership was dissolved, the stock and property being divided, and since that time our subject has been in business on his sole account. Lately he has sold his cattle and now farms on an extensive scale. He is a young man of superb executive ability, great energy and

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unstained reputation, and he certainly has cause for gratification in the splendid success he has already attained and in the brightness of his prospects for the future.

At Walla Walla, Washington, December 24, 1902, Mr. Fenton married Miss Ella, daughter of Joseph and Matilda C. (Perry) Yox. Her father and mother were formerly residents of Omaha, Ne- braska, where Mr. Yox was engaged in the furni- ture business, but now live in Walla Walla, Wash- ington. Mrs. Fenton was born in Omaha and edu- cated in Walla Walla, where she took, in addition to public school work, a thorough business course. She was a teacher before her marriage. She and Mr. Fenton have one child, Bruce Harvey, born near Goldendale, December 28, 1903. Mr. Fenton's brother. Frank, has a farm adjoining his own, but his brother, B. Fenton, now lives in Roseburg, Ore- gon. A sister, Mrs. Maggie J. Wing, lives four miles southwest of Goldendale. Fraternally, Mr. Fenton is affiliated with the I. O. O. F. and in poli- tics he is an active Democrat.

JEFFERSON D. SMITH, an enterprising farmer of Klickitat county, lives on his 480-acre ranch, at Pleasant postoffice, two miles north and twelve east of Goldendale. He was born in Haw- kins county, Tennessee, in 1870, the son of Samuel H. and Nannie (Shaver) Smith. His father, a na- tive of Tennessee, born in 1836, is likewise a farmer. He grew up in his native state, and at the age of twenty-two drove a stage from St. Joe, Missouri, to Salt Lake, Utah. When the Civil war broke out, he enlisted in the First Missouri volunteer cavalry, and served first under Colonel Gates, and later under General Price, of the Confederate army. He was wounded several times, and at Vicksburg was captured by the Union forces, but later paroled. He came to Klickitat county in 1877, and the following year took up a farm a mile and a half northeast of Pleasant postoffice, where he still resides. His wife, who belonged to an old Virginia family of German origin, died in Tennessee, in 1876. The subject of this review grew to manhood in the states of Ten- nessee and Virginia. His mother having died when he was six years old, he then went to live with his maternal grandparents, in Smith county, Virginia, with whom he resided until past twelve years of age. During this time he received his education, also learned the miller's trade, which he followed until he reached the age of nineteen. At that time his grandparents passed away, and he came west with his father, and settled in Pleasant valley, where, with his father's help, he bought his present farm. He has lived on the property and followed farming and cattle raising ever since with splendid success, also pursuing the threshing business during harvest seasons for some years. He started with a horse- power thresher, but now owns an interest in a valu- able steam machine. Mr. Smith has been unusually

successful in his various business ventures, his land, especially, having quadrupled in value since it came into his possession. He has a splendid orchard of many varieties of choice fruit, and numerous im- provements on his fine farm testify to his skill and his thrift.

Mr. Smith married, in Klickitat county, on the 12th of January, 1898, Ella, daughter of Alexander M. and Eliza A. (Brack) Wylie. Her father, a farmer, was born in Indiana, November 29, 1850, and came to Klickitat county in 1878. Her mother was born in the Blue Grass state, in 1853. She is a native of Sonoma county, California, born twenty- five years later. Mrs. Smith has three brothers, James W., Francis S., and Thomas A., and four sis- ters, Ethel E., Lorena G., Mrs. Nancy J. Stump and Mrs. Hettie Hornibrook. Mr. Smith has one sister, now Mrs. Benna Vesta Allyn, a resident of Klicki- tat county. Fraternally, Mr. Smith is connected with the Woodmen of the World, and in politics he is a Democrat, while he and his wife both adhere to the Methodist Episcopal faith. He is a successful farmer and enjoys the respect always cheerfully ac- corded those who succeed in what they undertake, as well as the confidence which none but the upright and honorable may have.

WILLIAM SCHUSTER, a prosperous Klickitat county farmer, resides on his well im- proved ranch of five hundred and eighty acres, twelve miles east of Goldendale, and two miles north of Pleasant postoffice, in rural free deliv- ery district No. I. He is a native of the state, born in Klickitat county on September 27, 1866. His father, August Schuster, was a very early settler in the county, and a prominent man in his time. He was a native German, but came to the United States when a young man, crossed the Plains to California in 1852, and took up a home- stead on the site of the present city of Oakland. He did not remain there long, however, but re- turned east, and in 1862 brought his family to Washington, settling in Klickitat county, on the site of the present town of Lyle. He lived on the property five years, then bought a large ranch across the river from The Dalles, where le resided until his death, which occurred July 9, 1894, at the age of seventy-four years. He served by appointment as the first sheriff of Klickitat county, Rockland being the county seat at the time. He was afterward elected to the office and served continuously for sixteen years. He was always very active in politics. His wife, whose maiden name was Catherine Dell, was a native of Ohio, of German descent. She passed away April 27, 1901, at the age of seventy-five. William Schuster is one of a family of five chil- dren. He grew up in the county, attending the pioneer public schools, and at the age of twenty- one started in the meat market business in Gold-

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endale. This occupation was followed by him for eight years, then he rode the range for some time. In 1895 he rented a ranch in Pleasant val- ley, consisting of a section of land, and began farming the property with profit. Purchasing his present place in 1899, he has made it his home for three years past, cultivating about two hundred and fifty acres of his land, and raising wheat upon it principally. He owns a steam thresher which he operates in the surrounding country during the harvest seasons.

Mr. Schuster was married in the county, in 1888, to Miss Alice Cowles, daughter of Joel and Elizabeth (Blackburn) Cowles. Her father, who came to the county with his wife and daughter, some twenty-two years ago, is now deceased. Her mother lives with her. Mr. and Mrs. Schus- ter have two sons and one daughter, namely, William Raymond, Calvin Floyd and Sylvia May. Mr. Schuster has one brother, Charles A., a resident of Seattle, and three married sisters, Mrs. Mary Wickman and Mrs. Eliza Schanno, in The Dalles, and Mrs. Rosa Davis, in Walla Walla. Mrs. Schuster is a member of the Chris- tian church, and her husband is affiliated with the Maccabees; also is overseer in the Grange, a lodge recently organized. In politics, he is an active Republican, attending caucuses and con- ventions. He has been a committeeman for a number of years, and constable in his precinct for nine years, also has served a like time as school director. At present he is road overseer in district No. 2. An energetic, ambitious and progressive man, and a good, public-spirited citi- zen, he enjoys an enviable standing in the com- munity and much popularity.

WILLIAM H. MILLER is a farmer and fruit grower, residing eight miles south of Gold- endale. He was born near Syracuse, New York, in the old Salina salt works, December 23, 1837. His father, James Miller, was a contractor and builder, born in New York state, in 1797, and was possessed of considerable wealth until he hecame involved in losing investments in the Salina salt works. After these reverses, which de- prived him of his fortune, he came west to Illi- nois, hoping to better his financial condition, but died ten days after his arrival. The mother of William H .- Nancy (Van Vorst) Miller -- was a native of New York state, born December 9, 1797. Her deathı occurred in 1881, near Golden- dale, and her monument was the first erected in the Goldendale cemetery. She was of French and Holland Dutch extraction, and her husband, the father of William H., was of German. Our subject's grandfather, Van Vorst, when a boy of twelve, drove a supply wagon in the Revolu- tionary war.

When but seven years of age William went

with his parents to Illinois, and remained there till he reached the age of thirty, meantime ac- quiring his education in the common schools. In 1868 he moved to Story county, Iowa, and in 1876 went west to Oregon, proceeding thence to Klickitat county, where he arrived June 10th of the same year. He immediately took a home- stead one and one-half miles east of Goldendale, which he held till he made final proof on it, after- wards selling out. He then moved to Oregon and remained there for two years, at the end of which time he returned to Klickitat county and took up his residence upon a place he owned in the Goodnoe hills, which he later sold, only to purchase his present place. He has since be- come one of the promoters of the small-fruit in- dustry in the Columbia river fruit bearing locali- ties, and is finding the vocation quite profitable.

On March 19, 1866, Mr. Miller married Miss Mary A. Richmond, a native of New York, born in Oneida county, March 19, 1844. She was the daughter of Justus and Catherine (Wendell) Richmond, both of whom were born in New York state, the mother in 1822, and the father March 27, 1815. Mrs. Richmond died in 1862, and her husband on January 12, 1903, having survived her over forty years. The former was of Holland Dutch descent and the latter of Eng- lish, but the families of both were among the colonial founders of this country, the grandsires of each, during the Revolution, having engaged actively in the struggle for liberty. Besides Wil- liam H., of this sketch, there were ten children in his family. Those living of his brothers and sisters are James A., Captain S. H., Walter C., Frances T. and Mrs. Sophia M. Craig. The ones deceased are Mrs. M. A. Gibson, Mrs. E. A. Everham and R. G. Mrs. Miller's sisters and brother are: Mrs. Sarah Sheldon, Mrs. Emma Shinkle, Mrs. Henrietta Day and Alonzo. Three children, Ethelda, Hattie and Bertha, have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Miller. Fraternally, Mc. Miller is associated with the Odd Fellows and the Enterprise Grange organizations, of the lat- ter of which he is a charter member. Politically, he is independent, though he was in sympathy with the Populist ideas a few years ago, and is now a Roosevelt supporter. In politics, as in all other things, Mr. Miller takes a broad, altruis- tic view, aiming to support the principle most worthy, be it of one party or the other. He is one of the substantial men of his community.

CHARLES H. WEDGWOOD, an energetic farmer of Klickitat county and the owner of six- teen hundred acres of its tillable soil, situated three miles south and eleven east of Goldendale, was born in Brownville, Maine, March 14, 1841. His father, Amaziah, who was likewise born in Maine, March 10, 1804, a son of French and Eng-

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lish parents, was a mechanic and farmer. His people were among the first settlers in Maine. He removed to Ohio in 1850, and thence to Michigan four years later, settling near Grand Rapids, where he resided until his death, at the age of ninety-six. Mrs. Elizabeth (Kelly) Wedgwood, his wife, was born in Connecticut in 1811, and died in Michigan in 1884. Charles H., the subject of this article, got his education in the common schools of Maine and Michigan. He remained at home with his parents until August, 1861, at which time he enlisted in the Tenth Missouri regiment, for twelve months' service. Upon receiving his discharge he again enlisted, this time in a Michigan regiment, and he served until the last gun of the war was si- lent, being honorably discharged in 1865. He then took up the blacksmith's trade, and worked at it for three years, then followed lumbering for several additional years, but eventually he purchased a farm and engaged in agriculture. In 1880 he moved to Hancock county, Iowa, where he resided eight years more, engaged in farming and stock raising. Coming to Klickitat county in 1888, he farmed rented land there for four years, then filed on the land which is now his home. Being a thrifty, energetic man, he has added to the original homestead from time to time since until he now owns a princely domain, of which a thousand acres are now being culti- vated, much of it being in wheat this year. He also has considerable stock.

In Grandville, Michigan, on December 7, 1866, Mr. Wedgwood married Persis, daughter of Jesse and Sarah (Schoonover) Ellis. Her father, who is of French and Welsh descent, and a native of Summit county, Ohio, is a farmer by occupation. He went to Michigan in 1860 and has since lived in the state, now residing near Manton. Her mother, who was born in New York state in 1830, and married in Ohio, is also still alive. The place of Mrs. Wedgwood's birth is North Hampton, Ohio, and the date April 28, 1847. She was educated in the public schools of her native state and married at the age of nine- teen. She and Mr. Wedgwood are parents of eight children, namely, Mrs. Rosa Condon, a resident of Goldendale, born in Michigan, Janu- ary 26, 1868; Mrs. Flora Wallis, born February 16, 1870, now in Biggs, Oregon; Clarence, born June 26, 1872, at home; Fred, born January 3, 1874, Sarah A., born July 3, 1876, now in Port- land, Oregon; Warren, Ray and Grover C., all born in Iowa September 7, 1878, May 14, 1880, and November 9, 1882, respectively. Mr. Wedg- wood is a member of the Methodist church, to which he has belonged since he was fifteen years old. In politics he favors the principles of the Republican party. A man of great energy and splendid business ability, he has achieved a splendid victory in his battle for material suc-

cess ; and has, at the same time, contributed large- ly to the development of Klickitat county, by whose citizens he has the honor to be esteemed and respected most cordially.

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN FENTON is a comfortably situated farmer and stockman resid- ing eight miles east of Goldendale, Washington. He was born in Polk county, Oregon, July 24, 1869, the son of Solomon and Emma (Osborn) Fenton. Solomon Fenton was born in Madison county, Indiana, in 1828. He was a farmer and stockman and also, in a less degree, a merchant. He moved from Indiana to Iowa in an early day, and after several years spent there, in 1851 went west to California, via the Isthmian route. At a later date he returned to the eastern states, whence, still later, he crossed the Plains to Ore- gon, settling in Polk county in 1864. His final migration was to Klickitat county in 1872, where, immediately upon arrival, he took up land one and one-half miles from Goldendale. At present he is living, though very feeble. Emma (Osborn) Fenton was born in Iowa in 1845; her death occurred in 1874. Her father was a Baptist preacher who carried on his ministerial work in California during the early days, the greater part of his life, as well as his fortune,' being spent in this work. From both of his parents Benjamin F. derived English blood. He arrived in Klicki- tat county with his father and mother when three years of age and here grew up on a farm, attend- ing the common schools till well advanced in his class work, then taking a year's course in Salem, Oregon. When twenty-one years of age he taught one term of school, after which he took up farming, later engaging with his brother, Ralph, in the cattle business. He remained in partnership with his brother at this vocation for seven years. In 1898 the brothers sold their cattle and invested in land which they farmed jointly until two years ago, at which time they dissolved partnership. Since then they have farmed independently.

On February 12, 1895, Mr. Fenton married Miss Ida M. Day, a native of Iowa, born Janu- ary 8, 1876. Her parents were Jacob and Etta (Richmond) Day, the former born in Indiana in 1851, and the latter in Illinois in 1859. Both par- ents are now living, their home being a garden ranch near Goldendale. Mr. Fenton has two brothers and one sister, namely, B. Fenton, re- siding in Oregon; Ralph, in Klickitat county, and Mrs. Maggie Wing, also in Klickitat county. Mr. and Mrs. Fenton have three children, Claud, Ethel and Alma. Both Mr. and Mrs. Fenton are members of the Methodist church, and in politics the former is a Democrat. He takes a commendable interest in school affairs, and has served two terms as a school director. In his farm he has six hundred and forty acres of land, and he

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An illustrated history of Klickitat, Yakima and Kittitas counties; with an outline of the early history of the state of Washington, Part 100

Author: Interstate publishing co., Chicago, pub Publication date: 1904 Publisher: [Chicago] Interstate publishing company Number of Pages: 1146

Author: Interstate publishing co., Chicago, pub
Publication date: 1904
Publisher: [Chicago] Interstate publishing company
Number of Pages: 1146