An illustrated history of Klickitat, Yakima and Kittitas counties; with an outline of the early history of the state of Washington, Part 106

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 106
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 106
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 106

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).

The man whose life history forms the theme of this article remained on the farm during boy-

hood and worked with his father, attending school during term time until fourteen, when, his father's health being poor, he was compelled to leave school and take charge of the family affairs, a task he nobly performed, keeping his parents with him until their death. His father took land upon com- ing to the Bickleton country, and he also filed on a homestead at Mabton, Yakima county, in 1891, upon which he has since made final proof and which. he still retains. He devoted himself chiefly to farming it until about ten years ago, when he engaged in the stock business, also.

Mr. Story was married at Bickleton, October 3, 1888, to Rosamond Flower, a native of Ed- wards county, Illinois, born November 3, 1861. Her father, Camillus Flower, was born in Edwards county, the date being October 5, 1825. He was of English descent. He died on the 4th of Janu- ary, 1904. after having given his life mostly to tilling the soil His father, George F. Flower, came to Illinois in an carly day and there found- ed the town of Albion, locating an English colony at that point-an event of note in history. Mrs. Story's mother, Edith (Prichard) Flower, was also born in Edwards county, Illinois, her parents hav- ing come there from England at the time her husband formed the colony at Albion. She still lives, a resident of Bickleton, though her seventy- fourth birthday occurred on the 28th of February, 1904. Mrs. Story has eight brothers and sisters now living, namely, Samuel P., of Mabton, Wash- ington ; George F., Philip H., of Illinois; Charles E., Edward F., Mrs. J. T. McCredy, of Bickleton, Washington ; Mrs. J. H. Bristow, and Harold D., M. D., of Portland, Oregon. Mr. and Mrs. Story have two children, Charles F., born September 6, 1891, and Frederick C., born April 6, 1894. Mr. Story's Brother. William J., is a publisher and editor of the Klickitat County Agriculturist, a Goldendale newspaper. Fraternally, our subject is connected with the A. O. U. W., and the Modern Woodmen of America, and he and Mrs. Story are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. In politics, he is a Republican. Interested always in educational matters, he is now serving as director of his district; he possesses an especially fine library. His property besides his Bickleton land, where he has a well appointed house and barn, embraces a quarter section at Mabton. An up- right. honorable, energetic man of sterling integ- rity of character, he is certainly reflecting no dis- credit upon his distinguished ancestors.

LYSANDER COLEMAN, a respected citizen of Klickitat county, resides on his farm of four hundred and eighty acres about four miles south- east of the town of Bickleton. He is a native of Indiana, born in Rushville, in the year 1838. His father, Ambrose Coleman, a farmer by occupation, was born in the Blue Grass state, March 4, 1783.

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CENTRAL WASHINGTON.

He came of sturdy English stock. He served under General Harrison in the War of 1812, and on account of such service drew a pension until his death. Crossing the Plains to California in 1849, the year of the first gold excitement, he mined some on Feather river, but moved to Sonoma county in the same state two years later, where he followed farming and stock raising as a business. He died in that county on the 23rd of February, 1867. Throughout his entire life, his loyalty to the Democratic party never wavered. His wife, Sarah (Iles) Coleman, was a native of Maryland, but she, too, could trace her ancestry back to England. However, her grandfather, Samuel, served eight years in the Revolutionary war under General Washington, and, strange to say, escaped without a wound. Married in Ken- tucky, she shared with her husband the danger and tedium of the journey across the Plains, and at Ellensburg, Washington, her death occurred in December, 1884, she being over ninety years of age at the time of her demise. She was the mother of seven sons, one of whom was named William Madison, also of a girl named Ellen and one named Elizabeth, who afterward married into the McCauley family, and Hester, who was later the wife of Joseph Wright, sheriff of Sonoma county, California, and two infants, who died while young. Lysander Coleman is the youngest of the family. He grew up in Sonoma county, there attending the common schools, and following farming. At the age of twenty-five, he married. He was with his father in business until the demise of the latter in 1867, then undertook the super- vision of his affairs. Moving to Klickitat county, in 1880, he first secured a section of railroad land there, but later took up and made final proof on a homestead, which he now owns. The country was wild when he came, and there was a good deal of enmity between the cattle men and settlers, which sometimes led to trouble, but fortunately he got along peaceably with the cattle owners. His farm is now well improved, with a modern, seven-room dwelling, two large barns, a good orchard, good fences, etc. He is deeply interested in the breeding of good horses, giving special attention to Percherons.

Mr. Coleman was married on the first day of the year 1864, in Sonoma county, California, to Frances S. Epperly, a native of Randolph county, Missouri, born on the 3rd of October, 1847. She came west the year previous to her marriage. Her father, Thomas S. Epperly, was a Kentuckian, born in 1813, but when a small boy, he had re- moved to Missouri, and there married. He lived in Missouri until 1862, leaving home, however, in the year 1851 for a short trip to California. He was of German descent. His death occurred August 6, 1896. Mrs. Coleman's mother's maiden name was Elizabeth Lingo. Mr. and Mrs. Cole- man have five children, namely, Sarah Emma, now

Mrs. George W. McCredy, residing in Bickle- ton; William Thomas, John Calvin, Hiram I. and Joseph F., all residents of Klickitat county. Mr .. Coleman is an elder in the Presbyterian church of Bickleton, and president of its board of trustees, and Mrs. Coleman also adheres to that church. In politics, Mr. Coleman is a Democrat, but he does not take an active interest in political mat- ters. He is a genial, approachable gentleman, of sterling character, and thoroughly respected by all.

ALCANA MILLER, one of the earliest set- tlers in the country surrounding Bickleton, is the owner of a farm about a mile north of the town, where he has followed the occupation of a farmer and stocknaan for a number of years, though he is too old to do much work at the present time. He is a native of Indiana, born in Gibson county, September 10, 1828. His father, Peter Snider Miller, who was of the old Dutch stock, was born in Amsterdam, New York, in the year 1795, and took part in the War of 1812. He was an early pioneer of Gibson county, Indiana, having moved there when about all the living things in the coun- try were Indians and wild game. He died at the age of sixty-three. His wife, Rachel (Snider) Miller, the mother of our subject, was also brought up in Amsterdam, New York. She died in 1837. The Mr. Miller of this review grew to manhood on his father's farm in Indiana and got his education in the pioneer log school house in his settlement. When twenty years old, he start- ed to make his own living, at the same time cour- ageously undertaking to gain a livelihood for another person, Eliza Kuntz, a native of Indiana, born in June, 1830, whom he induced to become his life partner. When the Civil war broke out, Mr. Miller quickly enlisted in Company A, Sixty- third Indiana volunteers, and he served efficient- ly under General McClellan and also under Gen- eral Pope, in the Army of the Potomac. After his discharge, he settled in Indiana for four years, going thence to Kansas and locating in Green- wood county, where he followed farming and stock raising for the ensuing seven years. He then sold his land and stock, removed to Wash- ington and on February 13, 1878, settled near what is now the town of Bickleton. He took up his present property at that time, as a homestead. There were only five families of settlers in the vicinity when he came, which was just prior to the Indian outbreak and scare and the Perkins massacre. Everybody was leaving for Goldendale and The Dalles at the time, but Mr. Miller bravely continued while others were fleeing. The settlers got out timber for a stockade to be erected near the present location of the Bickleton school house, but the scare dying down, the stockade was never built. About this time, Bob Burton, brother of the Mrs. Perkins who was killed by Indians, went

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on the warpath by himself in quest of the murder- ous redskins, and succeeded in capturing one of the culprits just across the Columbia, after first severely wounding him. He brought him into Bickleton trussed on the back of a horse, and later took him to Yakima City for trial.

At the time of Mr. Miller's arrival here, there was considerable enmity between the cattle men and the settlers. Prior to the advent of settlers, the cattle owners were ranging their stock undis- turbed, over the entire country, and they were extremely arrogant in their dealings with the in- coming settlers, who, by putting up fences, kept them from ranging over a large part of the land. Mr. Allen, of the firm of Snipes & Allen, called on Mr. Miller one day soon after his arrival, and asked him what he expected to do for a livelihood. On being told that he was going to make an honest living, the cattle owner replied, "You will starve to death, sure as h -. " Mr. Miller in- stantly answered, "I will be here when your kind is driven ont." The prophecy has since come true, as Ben Snipes is now financialy ruined, and Mr. Allen, in a later conversation with Mr. Miller, of whom he purchased some grain, reluctantly ad- mitted his surmise to have turned out correctly. The former cattle owner is now a druggist in North Yakima. Mr. and Mrs. Miller have four children, namely: Mrs. Sarah Davison, living at Castle Rock, Washington; George, living at Bickleton ; Clark, at Belma postoffice, and Rachel, now living in Kansas. Mr. Miller is an avowed Dernocrat. He was once threatened with hanging for his views, while residing in Indiana, in the early part of the last century. He is also a pen- sioner. An Irishman located a claim on what is now the town of Bickleton, for Mr. Miller, and put up a notice to that effect, but on his arrival the latter decided to take up his present land in- stead and to let the original location go. C. N. Bickle, the founder of Bickleton, and LeRoy Weaver wanted to build the town on Mr. Miller's property, but he would not entertain this proposi- tion. A vigorous, hale, old gentleman, though in his seventy-sixth year, and possessed of a genial disposition, Mr. Miller is a favorite with all who meet him, while those who knew him before old age compelled him to retire respect him for his well known integrity in all the relations of life.

CHARLES E. FLOWER, a prominent and successful stockman of Klickitat county, who makes his home at Bickleton, is a native of Illi- nois, born in February, 1856. His father, Camil- lus Flower, was also born in Illinois, where he followed farming until 1891. He then came to the far west, and at the time of his death, January 4, 1904, was a resident of Klickitat county. The mother, Mrs. Edith (Prichard) Flower, also a native of Illinois, is now living in Bickleton. Mr.

Flower has several brothers and sisters: Samuel P., at Mabton; Fred, in Grayville, Illinois; Philip H., living in Albion, Illinois ; Mrs. Eliza McCredy, Mrs. Rosamond Story and Edward F., all of Bickleton; and Mrs. Alice Bristow and Harold H., residents of Portland. Mr. Flower received his school education in the public schools of Al- bion, Illinois, and in that community attained man's estate. However, in the spring of 1879 he came to Washington territory, and homesteaded a quarter section lying between Bickleton and Arlington, living upon that farm until 1884. At that time he engaged actively in the stock raising industry, to which he has since given most of his attention. In this business he has been unusually successful. At present he owns a herd of 500 cattle, considerable other stock, and 2,000 acres of land, farming and grazing. He also conducts a meat market in Bickleton, under the name of Flower & Coleman, Mr. Coleman being his busi- ness associate. In the organization of the Bank of Bickleton last year Mr. Flower took an impor- tant part, and he is now serving as one of the board of directors of that institution. In all mat- ters of public concern he is invariably active, be- ing known as a public spirited citizen. He is a member of the Masonic, Odd Fellow and United Workmen fraternities, and politicially is a Repub- lican, attending all conventions and otherwise laboring for the advancement of his party. Mr. Flower has been closely identified with the Bickle- ton region for the past quarter of a century, and is still numbered among its respected and suc- cessful pioneer citizens.

RALPH COSENS, an industrious farmer in Klickitat county, is the owner of a farm of 320 acres of tillable land, about two miles east of the town of Bickleton. He is a native of Canada, born in the province of Ontario, on the 14th of March, 1848. His father, Cornelius Cosens, was a farmer by occupation. Born in Manchester, England, he came thence to Canada as a young man, later moving to North Carolina, where he died in 1874, at the town of Greensboro, in Guilford county. He was sixty-five years old at the time of his demise. Our subject's mother, whose maiden name was Emily Turner, was likewise a native of England, born in Manchester and married in Canada. She passed away years before her husband did, after having become the mother of fourteen children, of whom Ralph is sixth in age. Six besides him are still living, namely, Stephen, in Michigan; George, in California ; Mary Ann, in Canada ; Silas, also living in Canada, in British Columbia ; Isaac, in California ; and Emily in British Columbia, with her brother Silas. Ralph was eighteen when he left Canada and settled in California, which state he reached by the Nicaragua route. He lived in that state for a period of thirteen years, farming and teaming. In 1878 he

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removed to Klickitat county, and took up some rail- road land near Cleveland, but soon afterwards sold the improvements on it and purchased property north of the present town of Bickleton, in which locality there were only a handful of settlers when he arrived. During the Indian scare of 1878, he remained on his place near Cleveland. He continued his residence on his land near Bickleton until five years ago, when he bought his present home. He devotes his time and energies to wheat raising, principally, though he keeps considerable stock. A year or two ago he was unfortunate in having his large residence totally destroyed by fire, and he is now living in a smaller home and preparing to build again this spring. He pays strict attention to his farming and is achieving the success which his industry merits.

On March 18, 1883, Mr. Cosens married Mary A. Martin, a native of Colorado, born in 1867. Her father, Samuel Martin, a farmer by occupation, was born in Manchester, England, in 1841. He crossed the ocean to this country in the fifties, becoming a pioneer of the state of Colorado, and also of Klick- itat county, to which he moved in the fall of 1877, settling near the present town of Cleveland. He now resides in Wyoming. His wife, Mary (Camp- bell) Martin, was likewise born in Manchester, Eng- land, in the year 1842, and died in this country in 1873, her daughter, Mary, being the only child now living. Mr. and Mrs. Cosens have eight children, namely, Josephine, George, Samuel, Ernest, Ed- mund, Stanley, Lester and Emily. Mr. Cosens is a member of the Yeomen and politically is a Democrat. His standing in the community is an enviable one, the respect and good will of all his neighbors being his in abundant measure.

LELAND McCREDY, a stockholder in the Bank of Bickleton and engaged in the sheep business with his brother John, lives on his twelve sections of land located a mile and a half south of the town. He is a native of Oregon, born in Yamhill county, June 22, 1873. William R. McCredy, his father, was born in Ohio in 1831 and emigrated to Missouri in the early days. He crossed the Plains to Oregon in 1853, traveling with ox teams, and finally set- tling in the Willamette valley. He resided there for a period of twenty-seven years, coming to Klick- itat county in the year 1880. At present he is an in- fluential business man of Cleveland. The mother of our subject, Elizabeth (Beaman) McCredy, a native of Missouri, also crossed the Plains in the early fif- ties. Leland McCredy, of this article, was seven years old when he came to Klickitat county with his parents. He attended the local public schools until sixteen, then went to McMinnville, Oregon, and took a three years' course in the college there. While in school he had some cattle, horses and sheep on the range, and on completing his education he turned his attention to the stock business, also purchasing some land. In 1900, he formed a partnership with his

brother, John, and they engaged in the sheep busi- ness, to which industry they are still devoting their energies. They have 12,000 head of sheep and 2,000 of horses, and they farm about 400 acres of their land to provide feed for the stock.

On December 24, 1899, Mr. McCredy married Cora M. Peters, a native of Pennsylvania, born in 1879. Her father, Craig W. Peters, is also a native of the Keystone state. He came to Klickitat in 1889, and engaged in cattle and sheep raising, but has since retired from active work. At present he lives across the Columbia river from Arlington, Oregon. Her mother, Anna (Fry) Peters, is also living. Mr. and Mrs. McCredy have two children, Lowell C., born November 29, 1900, and Cecil L., born May 14, 1903. Mr. McCredy owns an interest in the mercantile establishment at Bickleton. He is one of the most enterprising and successful young men of Klickitat county, and has already achieved a success in different lines of endeavor of which many men twice his age would be proud. Politically, he is a Republican.

JACOB PIENDL, a carpenter by trade and a farmer by occupation, resides on his ranch, two miles north and one mile east of Bickleton. He is a native German, born in the province of Bavaria, July 24, 1850. John Piendl, his father, was a farm- er by occupation, born in Germany in the year 1815. The elder Piendl, after serving in the German army, as required by law, immigrated to this country in the year 1853, and settled in the state of Iowa, where he died three years later. His wife, Anna Maria (Brabeck) Piendl, the mother of our subject, was also of German nativity, born in 1822. She was the mother of eight children, only two of whom are now living ; John, the youngest, at Portland, Oregon, where his mother died in 1888; and Jacob, the sub- ject of this review. The latter grew to manhood in Iowa, there attending the public schools, and in spare hours working on the farm. His father had died when he was six years old. He learned the carpenter's trade in Iowa, and followed it for a time, contributing his spare earnings to the support of his widowed mother. He lived there until 1877, then removing to the Willamette valley, Oregon, where he devoted a number of years to the pursuit of his trade. Some time later he returned to Iowa, brought his mother to Oregon, and settled with her at Castle Rock, on the banks of the Columbia river, just across from Klickitat county. After a residence of two years there, he came to the Bickleton country in December, 1886, rented a place and went to stock raising, also following his trade a portion of the time. He bought his present place in 1894, increas- ing its acreage by homesteading adjoining land, and since that time he has made this property his home, raising stock and grain. His land holdings now aggregate a section, and among the many improve- ments upon them is a good orchard of well selected

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fruit trees. He is also engaged in the threshing business on quite an extensive scale.

On the 23d of November, 1880, in Salem, Or- egon, Mr. Piendl married Emiline McCarty, a na- tive of Iowa, born March 27, 1858. Her parents came to Iowa from the state of Maryland in the early days, though her father, James A. McCarty, was born in the Quaker state, the date being 1825. He was a miller by trade and for some years oper- ated a mill in Village Creek, Iowa, where he died in 1864. Mrs. Piendl's mother, Sarah (Wilhelm) McCarty, was of German descent, born in Mary- land in 1835. She died in 1891. Mr. and Mrs. Piendl have had eight children: Mrs. Chloe Wall- ing, in Klickitat county ; Mrs. Pearl Wattenberg, now deceased; Mrs. Ida Shattuck, in Bickleton; Mark, Belle, Henry, Velma and John, with their parents at home. Mr. Piendl is a member of the Catholic church, and he and Mrs. Piendl are both connected with the fraternal organization of Yeomen. In poli- tics, he is a Democrat. Always interested in the securing and maintenance of good schools, he has served efficiently as a member of the school board of his district, but other preferment he has never sought. He is one of the substantial and progressive men of the community, and belongs to the great class which forms the real strength of state and nation- the men who quietly and assiduously perform the work nearest their hands, contributing their mites to the development of latent resources.

GOTFRED PETERSEN, an enterprising cit- izen of Klickitat county, Washington, and a farmer . and stock raiser by occupation, resides on his ranch of four hundred acres adjoining the townsite of Bickleton. He is a native of Denmark, born on the Langeland Island, April 5, 1844. His father, Gotfred Petersen, was a Danish farmer, born in 1811; he died at the age of ninety. His mother, Frederika (Olsen) Petersen, was likewise born in Denmark, and was nine months her hus- band's senior. She died about the same time that her husband did. The twain had been married for a period of sixty-one years and had a family of seven children, six of whom are still living. Got- fred Petersen reached the age of twenty-five in his native land, remaining at home until fourteen years old, and attending school, the laws of his country compelling attendance between the ages of seven and fourteen. While quite young, he learned the wagon maker's trade and at that handicraft he wrought continuously afterward until he left Den- mark. He had numerous friends in the United States who wrote him frequently, describing the advantages of the new country, and persuaded by them, he crossed over in 1869 and settled in Racine, Wisconsin, a city famed for its large manufacturing plants, the greater part of which were devoted to wagon making. Unfortunately, the establishments were temporarily closed at the time of his arrival,

so he engaged in farming near-by, but he soon gave it up and went to Minnesota, where for a time he followed his trade. His next move was to Leaven- worth, Kansas. From there he went to Chicago, and from that city he journeyed to San Francisco, California, in 1874. There he readily obtained em- ployment. In 1877 he moved to Portland, Oregon, thence to Tacoma, Washington, and in the spring of 1878 he came to the district surrounding the pres- ent town of Bickleton. There were few settlers in that country at the time, and no town was started until the succeeding year. The year 1878 will be remembered as the date of the Indian scare, and most of the settlers around the site of the present town removed to Goldendale and The Dalles, and the few who remained gathered together and hauled logs to build a stockade where the Bickleton school- house now stands. The fort was never completed and Mr. Petersen used some of the timber to build a stable. During the preceding spring he had built his log cabin, after having completed which he went to the coast and helped to build a steam- er. In the spring of 1879 he assisted in the erec- tion of the first sawmill on Pine creek, hauling the timber from a distance. He also helped to set up in the mill the engine, which had been hauled from the banks of the Columbia river, about fifteen miles away. The mill was later moved to the vicinity of Cleveland, where it burned some years later. Though the engine passed through the fire, it still does duty in a flouring mill in the town. When Mr. Petersen first settled in the district, he took a homestead and a timber culture claim, also bought eighty acres of railroad land. He was married in 1889 to Lenora Martinsen, a Danish girl, who passed away two years after their marriage. Of his brothers and sisters still living, the following account may be given: Oline Johansen, the oldest, lives with her husband in Denmark, and a brother, Hans Gotfredsen, resides at Greenleaf, Kansas. Rasmus Gotfredsen lives near Bickle- ton, and another brother, Peter Gotfredsen, makes his home in the vicinity of The Dalles, Oregon. The other sister, Carantine Gotfredsen, is now keeping house for him. The fact that Mr. Petersen's brothers and sisters have not the same surname as he is explained in this way: When taking out his naturalization papers in this coun- try, Mr. Petersen changed his name for the sake of convenience, while his brothers still retain the family name, which, according to Danish custom, is formed by adding "sen" to the father's given name. Mr. Petersen's old country name was Gotfred Petersen Gotfredsen. Mr. Petersen is a member of the Lutheran church, and in politics he is a Republican. His land is mostly under cultivation. He raised considerable grain and has some cattle, also some fine Norman and Per- cheron horses, as valuable animals as can be found in the country. He had a hard time dur-

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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 106

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