An illustrated history of Klickitat, Yakima and Kittitas counties; with an outline of the early history of the state of Washington, Part 104

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 104
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 104
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 104

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DIETRICH H. STEGMAN is one of the most comfortably situated farmers and stockmen of Klick- itat county. His home and principal property in- terests are two miles southwest of Centerville. He was born in Thedinghausen, Germany, July 4, 1853, the son of Dietrich and Meta (Buschman) Stegman, both natives of Germany. The elder Stegman was born in Thedinghausen, and after attaining his ma- jority followed the dual vocation of wagon-maker and farmer. In 1889 he sold his extensive land holdings in Germany, came to the United States and made his home with our subject. His death oc- curred December 3, 1897. Meta (Buschman) Steg- man was born in 1824, and died in 1885, having lived all her life in Germany. Her people for sev- eral generations before her time were agriculturists, some of them being quite wealthy. She had three brothers who came to the Unitd States, one of whom served in the Civil war.

Dietrich H. acquired the greater part of his ed- ucation in Germany before he had reached his six- teenth year. At this age he left the parental roof and came to the United States, his objective point being New York, earning his passage across the Atlantic by peeling potatoes; and it may well be noted that the potato-peeler on a trans-Atlantic pas- senger steamer is generally about the busiest person on the ship, even though his- task does not entail great responsibility. At any rate, Mr. Stegman has never felt that he did not fully earn his passage. In New York the potato-peeler ceased peeling potatoes and accepted employment at his trade, wagon-mak- ing, having previously become skilled in this hand- icraft under the tutelage of his father in Germany. While pursuing his vocation, he attended evening schools, thus becoming fairly well acquainted with the English language. In 1873 he was employed in Florida by the government, his work being to cut live-oak trees for use in the United States navy. His next move was to San Francisco in 1876, where his first employment was to help a man tear up an old ship, but he soon found more lucrative employ- ment in Oreville, Butte county, California. In the spring of 1877 he went to Portland, and there re- sumed his trade, working continuously for one year. At the end of that period he went to The Dalles, proceeding thence to Klickitat county, where he arrived in 1878. Here he filed upon a homestead, which is now one of his present farms, and a year later he bought five hundred head of sheep. Since coming to Klickitat county, sheep raising has been his principal occupation.

Mr. Stegman was married in The Dalles, Or- egon, January 1, 1881, to Miss Anna Gelhouse, a native of Cumberland county, Virginia, born in 1858. Her father, Benedict Gelhouse, began busi- ness as a farmer and shoemaker, and at a later period of his life was one of the directors of a bank at Riverside, Iowa. He died in April, 1904, aged seventy-eight years. After marriage Mr. and Mrs. Stegman established their residence on a farm, the

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location of which presented few attractions in the way of neighbors-Indians and wild animals ex- cepted. Packing provisions from The Dalles on horses, herding stock from the door-yard, and guarding the sheep against the inroads of wild ani- mals and equally ruthless Indians were trials that Mr. and Mrs. Stegman were subjected to during the first years of their married life. Children that have been born to the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Steg- man are Meta, now eighteen years of age; Henry D., fourteen ; Mamie, eleven, and Bertha, aged two. Charles, the eldest of the children, was killed in a runaway three years ago. Mr. Stegman has a brother, John, now residing west of The Dalles. Fraternally, our subject is affiliated with the Ancient Order of United Workmen and the W. of W., and in politics he is a Republican. In religion he adheres to the Roman Catholic church. He is one of the most active politicians of Klickitat county, office- seekers excepted, having served as a central com- mitteeman for years, and also as a delegate. His record in this county is that of an industrious, law- abiding citizen always ready to contend for the best interests of his community.

ROBERT D. SUNDERLAND is a prosperous ranchman, residing six miles northwest of Golden- dale. He was born near Williamsport, Pennsyl- vania, December 8, 1874, the son of Benjamin and Mary (Green) Sunderland, who were among the more recent settlers in Klickitat county. Benjamin Sunderland was born in 1819 and was of English parentage. His grandsires were Quakers and suf- fered many of the trials incident to the persecution of that sect. At the time of the Civil war he was .one of the first to volunteer his services in defense of the Union, but was prevented from enlisting on grounds of disability. He came to Klickitat county in 1891, where he resided till the time of his death in 1897. Mary (Green) Sunderland was a native of Pennsylvania, and of English descent. She died in 1889 at the age of fifty-three.

The Sunderland family settled near Atchison, Kansas, when Robert D. was a child of five years. Here he grew up on the farm and received his ed- ucation, first completing the studies offered in the common schools, and later taking a course in Law- rence business college of Lawrence, Kansas. At the age of seventeen the responsibility of managing his father's farm devolved upon him, and in addi- tion he personally cared for his father, who was in poor health. In 1891, the elder Sunderland's health had improved sufficiently to enable him to accom- pany Robert to Klickitat county, where each filed on a homestead, afterward farming the land thus ac- quired in partnership. The two worked in this manner, devoting their efforts exclusively to the raising of stock, till the death of the elder Sunder- land in 1897. Then the management of the entire es- tate devolved upon Robert D. Our subject's brothers

and sisters are James A., William H., Josiah, Dan- iel, Hannah L., Elizabeth, Jessie A., and Maggie. Robert was the ninth and youngest of this family.

Mr. Sunderland was married in Klickitat county, November 17, 1896, to Miss Hattie E. Johnson, a native of Klickitat county, born August 24, 1878. She was the daughter of David A. and Anna (Konkle) Johnson, who were among the earliest settlers of the Pacific Northwest. When a young man the former came to Willamette valley, Oregon, and early in the seventies he arrived in Klickitat county, where he is living to-day. Anna ( Konkle) Johnson died in 1892. To the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Sunderland one child, Anna Genevieve, has been born. She is now four years of age, the date of her birth being August 7, 1900. Fraternally, Mr. Sunderland associates with the Woodmen of the World, and in politics he is a Republican. At present he is road supervisor of one-fourth of Coun- ty District No. 3, and is executing the duties of his office with credit to himself and satisfaction to the public. His land interests comprise four hun- dred and eighty acres, on which he raises wheat principally, but not to the entire exclusion of stock.

THEODORE JACKEL is a comfortably sit- uated farmer and stockman residing three and one-fourth miles south of Centerville. He was born in Manitowoc county, Wisconsin, June 5, 1852, the son of Conrad and Margaret (Fox) Jackel, both natives of Germany. Conrad Jackel was born in 1818. Upon leaving the land of his nativity he came first to Canada, where he re- sided till after he reached manhood. From Can- ada he moved to Wisconsin, and there for sev- eral years followed the dual occupation of farm- ing and lumbering. In 1874 he moved to Swift county, Minnesota, thence coming to Klickitat county in 1889, where he resided till the time of his death. Margaret (Fox) Jackel was born in Germany in 1812, and died in Klickitat county. Theodore. Jackel grew to the age of nineteen in Wisconsin and received a practical education in the common schools of that state. After reach- ing maturity he was employed in a sawmill in Wisconsin for five years. Then he went to Min- nesota, and after living in that state for a num- ber of years came to Klickitat county, arriving in October, 1876. Here he was first employed in a sawmill owned by Presby & Schurtz, and at this and other lines of work in the timber was engaged for four years. Then he filed on his present farm and began his career as an agricul- turist.

Mr. Jackel was married in Klickitat county, September 27, 1883, to Miss Mary F. Niemela, a native of Norway, born December 14, 1865. She came with her parents to the United States in 1876, the objective point being Klickitat county. John A. and Elizabeth (Pietela) Nie-

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mela, her parents, both natives of Finland, are at present residing in Klickitat county. Chil- dren born to the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Jackel are Lillie, Nettie, August, Edward, Arvilla and Conrad. The last mentioned child was named in honor of Conrad B., a brother of Mr. Jackel. Besides this brother, Mr. Jackel has three sis- ters, Carrie, Mary and Minnie. All are now liv- ing, one in California, one in The Dalles, and one in Seattle, Washington.

Mr. Jackel is one of the old settlers of Klick- itat county, and has experienced all the trials incident to the settlement of an undeveloped country. Farming had scarcely begun in his lo- cality when he settled, and the consensus of opinion was that Klickitat county would be a failure from an agricultural point of view. The attitude of the Indians toward the white usurpers was then not entirely quiescent, and the pioneers more than once had reason to be thankful for the military protection available at Fort Simcoe.

Fraternally, Mr. Jackel is affiliated with the Woodmen of the World and the Grange. He is a member of the Evangelical Association, and is strong in his religious convictions. In politics he favors the Republican party, and is generally present at the county conventions. For many years he has been intimately associated with school affairs of his district, having served a number of terms as director, and at present being both clerk and director. His land holdings comprise four hun- dred acres, one hundred and fifty of which are under cultivation. It is one of a large number of highly improved farms in Klickitat county.

CHARLES F. JAEKEL is a jovial bachelor residing on a farm three and one-half. miles southeast of Centerville, Washington. He is a native of Manitowoc county, Wisconsin, born August 26, 1869, the son of John and Christina (Lindemann) Jaekel, the former a native of Man- itowoc county, Wisconsin, and the latter of Ger- many. Both are now residing in Klickitat county. Their biographies are given complete elsewhere in this volume. When Charles F. was seven years old he came from Wisconsin with his parents to the Willamette valley, Oregon. After a stay of two years in this place the family came to Klickitat county, arriving in 1878. Here the elder Jaekel immediately took up land, and this property has since then been his home. Dur- ing boyhood Charles worked on his father's farm, rode the range after cattle and horses, and re- ceived his educational training in the common schools. He survived the Indian panic of 1878 without being tomahawked, though the stand he and his parents took on that occasion seemed to invite such a fate. The father was absent from home working in the timber at the time, and the mother and children remained at home.

From good luck, or a then unapparent lack of real danger, they were not molested. When he had reached the age of twenty-five Mr. Jaekel left the paternal roof and filed on a homestead. By purchase he has since then added to this original tract, until he now owns four hundred and eighty acres of land. Fraternally, Mr. Jae- kel is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias, and in politics with the Republican party. He has the patriotism of the true Westerner-that which holds the Pacific coast to be the best place on earth for the man of small means who wishes to build a home of his own. The eldest of a large family of children is, as a rule, expected to be somewhat more sagacious than his younger brothers and sisters, this superiority not proceed- ing from any particular reason, perhaps, other than that the eldest usually assists in bringing up and caring for the younger children, and lience in this manner unconsciously absorbs a certain amount of the parental wisdom. Mr. Jae- kel is the eldest of a family of nine children. Whether or not his good judgment was acquired in part through his experience in assisting in the rearing of this family, it is assured that in his judgment of the possibilities of the west he is not greatly in error. He believes that the man who will rustle can be successful in the west to a greater extent than anywhere else in the United States. The brothers and sisters above referred to are: Frank, John, Ida, Emil, James, Albert, Mrs. Minnie McQueen, and George, now de- ceased. All, excepting the deceased, grew up and were educated in Klickitat county, and arc now engaged at divers occupations in the west. The Jaekel family is thoroughly imbued with western business methods and the broad, free spirit of the west.

EMERY E. KELLEY is a prosperous ranch- man residing one and a half miles southeast of Centerville. He was born near Sandusky, Ohio, June 15, 1874, the son of William and Sarah (Van Osdell) Kelley, who were among the pioneers of the middle west. William Kelley was a me- chanic by trade. He was born in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, in 1829, and when a young man went to Smith county, Kansas, that section being then in the earliest stages of settlement. He is living in Oklahoma at the present time. During the Civil war he was in active service, participating in a number of the greatest battles. He is of Irish descent. Sarah (Van Osdell) Kel- ley is a native of Ohio, born in Wyandotte county in 1836. Her parents were among the earliest pioneers of Ohio, having come to that state before wagon roads were built and when pack-horses were the most generally used means of transportation. She is living today at the age of sixty-eight. Her parents were German.

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GEORGE W. McCREDY.

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BIOGRAPHICAL.

Emery E. went to Smith county, Kansas, with his parents when a boy. Here he grew to young manhood on his father's farm, where lie worked very hard at the tasks incident to home- building in a pioneer country, as Kansas was at that time. School facilities in those days were limited, but by studying at home and taking ad- vantage of such opportunities as were offered by the common schools, Emery acquired a practical education by the time he had reached his ma- jority. When nineteen years of age he left the parental roof. For a time he worked for wages, but soon became dissatisfied with his prospects ir Kansas and went to Oklahoma. Oklahoma he found not altogether to his liking, so he re- turned to Galena, Kansas, where for two years he worked in the lead mines. His final move was to Klickitat county, where he arrived De- cember 31, 1896. Since the choicest of the gov- ernment land had been taken up before this date Mr. Kelley preferred buying a farm to taking what was left of the government locations. The farm which he bought has been his home since the time of his arrival in this county.

Mr. Kelley was married January 14, 1899, to Miss Emily M. Eshelman, a native of Klickitat county, born November 5, 1882. Her parents were Levi J. and Rosa (Tobin) Eshelman, who are written of elsewhere in this volume. Two children, Nellie M. and Clarence D., have been born to this marriage. Fraternally, Mr. Kelley is associated with the Woodmen of the World, and in politics with the Democratic party. His principal property interests are comprised in his fine farm of three hundred and twenty acres and the stock, buildings and implements that are upon it.

URIAH B. TRUMBO, a Klickitat county farm- er and sheep man, residing on his ranch of one hun- dred and twenty acres, six miles south and twelve east of Goldendale, was born in North Dakota, Feb- ruary 20, 1872. His father, John, likewise a farmer by occupation, was born in Ohio, but moved thence to Dakota when that country was a ter- ritory and settled near the present city of Ver- million, the county seat of Clay county, South Dakota. He resided there until 1878, at which time he removed to Oregon and settled some twenty miles west of the city of Portland, where he died in 1891. Our subject's mother, whose maiden name was Ruth Brady, was married in Dakota. Uriah B. received his education in the common schools of his part of the Willamette valley, Oregon. He remained at home until he reached the age of twenty-two, then followed farming on his own account for a twelvemonth. In '894 he came to Klickitat county, where for about five years he worked for various sheep men. He started in the sheep industry on his

own account in 1899, purchasing his present place the following year. He is rapidly reducing his land to a state of cultivation, combining agri- culture with the raising of sheep, of which he has a herd of three hundred.

On February 13, 1899, in his home county he married Rosa, daughter of James and Flor- ence (Speer) White. Her father, a farmer and stockman, crossed the Plains at an early date and settled in Washington county, Oregon, but at present lives with Mr. and Mrs. Trumbo. Mrs. Trumbo's mother, a native of Missouri, died at the age of forty-five. Her people were early pioneers in the present city of Portland, Oregon .. Mrs .. Trumbo was born in Klickitat county in 1874 and received her education in the local pub- lic schools. She and Mr. Trumbo have one child, Clifford U., born August 25, 1903. Fraternally, Mr. Trumbo is affiliated with the Modern Wood- men of America, and in politics he is a Repub- lican. He belongs to the Christian church. A young man of good habits, integrity of character and ability, he seems destined to achieve a splen- did success in the dual occupation he has es- Foused.

GEORGE W. McCREDY, owner of the south part of the townsite of Bickleton, Klickitat county, Washington, and president of the Bank of Bickleton, is engaged in the mercantile busi- ness, the firm name being Clanton, Mitty & Com- pany. He was born about five miles south of McMinnville, Oregon, in the Willamette valley, February 22, 1854. William A. McCredy, his father, now a retired stockman, is a native of Ohio, born in 1830. He moved to Missouri and i11 1853 crossed the Plains by ox team, and set- tled in the Willamette valley, where he lived until the fall of 1880. He then removed to Klick- itat county, settling at the Coil landing on the Columbia river, where for nine years he made his home, then removing to Cleveland, Wash- ington, his present place of abode. His mother, Elizabeth (Beaman) McCredy, was born in Mis- souri, and crossed the Plains with her husband in 1853. She passed away on the 6th of August, 1894. George W. McCredy grew to manhood in the Willamette valley, acquiring his education in the Oregon schools. He remained at home until about twenty-four years old, attending to the stock and performing the various duties con- nected with the farm. He came to the Bickleton country in 1878, before there was any settlement there, only three ranches in the locality-the Huntington, the Holbrook and the Imbrie farms-being located and fenced in. Goldendale was but a small trading point, and the whole bunch-grass country was thinly populated. When he came to the locality, he brought a band of sheep with him. At that time there were no

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fences to interfere with his bringing them into the country. He did not take any land at first, but grazed his sheep on the open prairie, which then, in his opinion, furnished the best stock range at the time east of the Cascades. In 1890 he took a homestead a mile and a half south of the present town of Bickleton. However, he continued in the sheep business until the fall of 1900, then sold his 10,000 sheep to his brothers, John and Leland, who still own the large band. He had bought an interest in the mercantile es- tablishment at Bickleton the year previous, and since that time has given his undivided atten- tion to the upbuilding of his business. The coun- try thereabouts is greatly improving at the pres- ent time and hundreds of land locations have been recently filed.

Mr. McCredy was married in 1885, the lady being Emma, daughter of L. I. Coleman. Her father came west to California during the first gold excitement in 1849, crossing the Plains with ox teams. He removed to Klickitat county in 1880, where he has since followed ranching and cattle raising principally. Her mother, Fannie (Epperley) Coleman, is also living. A biograph- ical sketch of Mr. and Mrs. Coleman appears elsewhere in these pages. Two of Mr. McCredy's brothers, John T. and Leland W., are residents of Bickleton; another brother, Alexander E., lives at Wapato, Yakima county, and a married sister, Mrs. Pauline Varner, resides at McMinn- ville, Oregon. Mr. and Mrs. McCredy have one child, Clarence R., sixteen years old, who lives at home with his parents. Mr. McCredy is a member of the I. O. O. F., and in politics a Republican, having severed his connection with the Democratic party after Cleveland's term as president. In the early eighties he was a candi- date on the Democratic ticket for representative. His Bickleton property consists of about two hundred acres in and adjoining the town. Mr. McCredy has the distinction of having been the first sheep man to venture into the Little Klick- itat meadows, where he went with his herd in 1885, packing his provisions from Goldendale the first year and later from Yakima City and Tam- pico. He was also the first man to take sheep into the Ellensburg mountains, where he went in 1887. Mr. McCredy is a big-hearted man, gen- erous to a fault, and esteemed by the large num- bers of people who know him either socially or through having had commercial relations with him.

ABRAM J. SPOON, chairman of the board of county commissioners of Klickitat county, re- siding at Bickleton, was born in Niagara county, New York, near the city of Lockport, October 15, 1835. His father, Abraham, a stone mason and farmer, was a native of Pennsylvania,

whence he moved to New York. He died in the year 1873. His parents belonged to two of the oldest Pennsylvania families and traced their lin- eage back to German ancestors. Martha (Er- nest) Spoon, his mother, a daughter of German parents, was born in Pennsylvania on the 12th of January, 1804, and died on the 7th of March, 1887. She moved to Rock county, Wisconsin, with her husband in 1845, and there lived until 1860. Abram J. Spoon, of this review, worked on the farm as a boy and as a young man, at- tending betimes the common schools of Wis- consin, where for three years he later followed the profession of teaching. He also learned the carpenter's trade. In 1865 he moved to Plumas county, California, and engaged in the stock rais- ing and dairy business, also farming, which oc- cupations were his for a number of years. In 1880 he sold his California ranch and went over- land to Klickitat county, his family following him by boat after an interval of a few months. Almost as soon as he arrived he bought an in- terest in a claim which he still owns, and en- gaged in cattle raising and the horse business. At that time it was the general impression that the uplands could not be cultivated, but he suc- cessfully raised wheat, oats, barley and grain hay. His land was situated two miles and a half northwest of Bickleton, where at that time a postoffice was started, and also a small store owned by C. N. Bickle. The best grain ranches of the present are located where it was then thought that rye could not be raised. He later . devoted more attention to farming than to stock, putting out several varieties of fruit trees, in- cluding pears, apples and prunes, which all did well.

On the 14th of December, 1869, in California, Mr. Spoon married Josephine Alexander. Her father, Charles, was born in Illinois, March 20, 1820, and married when twenty-two, celebrating his golden wedding in 1892. He was of Scotch- Irish descent, and related to the Rev. John Alex- ander, of Lanarkshire, Scotland, who emigrated to this country from Ireland in 1736. He settled in Chester county, Pennsylvania, and there wrote a history of the family which was later pub- lished1. Charles' uncle, Cyrus Alexander, settled in California in 1832. Mrs. Spoon's mother, Achsah (Smith) Alexander, was born in New York in 1818, and died in 1894. Mrs. Spoon was born in St. Louis, Missouri, January 23, 1850. She and Mr. Spoon are parents of three children -Ernest O., deputy auditor at Goldendale; Mrs. Alice Mabel Flower, living in Bickleton; Roy M., bookkeeper in McCredy's store in Bickleton. Mr. Spoon has a number of brothers and sisters, all living in Wisconsin, namely, Mrs. Anna Strang, Mrs. Elizabeth Strang and Mrs. Mary Jeffris, Samuel, Solomon, George, Conrad and John F. Mrs. Spoon is a member of the Meth-

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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 104

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