An illustrated history of Klickitat, Yakima and Kittitas counties; with an outline of the early history of the state of Washington, Part 123

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 123
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 123
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 123

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. Jones was married in 1886 at Enfield, Illi- nois, his bride being Miss Minda Nelson, a native of that state. To this union have been born two children, both of whom are living: Harry, aged fifteen, and Hazel, aged five. Mr. Jones has one brother, C. A. Jones, living at Sunnyside, and one half-brother, William P. Guthrie, who was his law partner until Mr. Jones was elected to congress; a half-sister, Mrs. Rae Coleman, resides near Bethany, Illinois. Fraternally, he is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias, and, because of his soldier- father, is allowed the privilege of membership in the Sons of Veterans. Congressman Jones owns a fine ranch of nearly a hundred acres under the Sun- nyside canal, and also possesses a comfortable resi- dence in North Yakima, and at these places he passes his time when not engaged in business affairs.

JUDGE FRANK H. RUDKIN, of the superior court, with jurisdiction over Yakima, Kittitas and Franklin counties, Washington, came to North Yak- ima in 1890. Previous to this time he had for three years followed the practice of law in Ellensburg. Judge Rudkin was born in Vernon, Ohio, April 23. 1864. He is the son of Bernard and Winifred (Leonard) Rudkin, both natives of Ireland, the

BENJAMIN F. BARGE.

539

BIOGRAPHICAL.

former born January 6, 1818, and the latter in 1823. Bernard Rudkin came to the United States in 1850 and still lives in Ohio, having attained the age of eighty-five. His wife, the mother of Judge Rudkin, who came to the United States in 1847, is also living, at the age of eighty. Judge Rudkin spent his youth in Ohio and the usual term of years in the common schools of that state. At the age of twenty-two, he was graduated from the law department of the Washington and Lee University, at Lexington, Vir- ginia, with the class of 1886. The following year he came to Ellensburg and at once began the practice of law, in which he has ever since been remarkably successful. Until 1896 the judge was affiliated with the Democratic party. He was never, however, an advocate of the doctrine of "free coinage," as taught by the Democratic leaders in that memorable cam- paign, and when this was made the paramount issue between the two great parties, he became a pro- nounced advocate of the gold dollar as the base or unit of our national currency, and eventually became a leader in the councils of the Republican party. In 1900, he was the candidate of the Republican party for judge of the superior court and was elected. The evident benefits of a sound currency, the successful issue of the Spanish war and the era of wonderful prosperity that has followed have tended to cement the bond of union between the judge and the party of Mckinley and Roosevelt. Aside from a study of the more important political issues of the day, Judge Rudkin devotes the major portion of his time to the law and to his judicial duties, to which, both by nature and profession, he is wedded. He ranks with the best lawyers and judges of law in the state. He has one brother in North Yakima, John J. Rudkin, the brothers being to some extent associated in the practice of law, although not partners. He also has three brothers and one sister living in Ohio: M. L., E. J. and W. B. Rudkin and Mrs. Kate A. Collins. Both as cit- izen and jurist, Judge Rudkin is one of the foremost men of central Washington, and indeed of the Northwest; progressive and public-spirited, of scholarly attainments, of strictest integrity and fear- less in the enunciation of what he conceives to be right principles, whether in the courtroom, in the councils of political party, or in the walks of every- day life. He is held in highest esteem, not alone by his immediate associates and friends, but by his fellow citizens of the state and of the Northwest.

BENJAMIN F. BARGE. It affords great sat- isfaction and pleasure to the chronicler of biograph- ical and historical events to come in touch with the life of a man of resources and talent ; one who may truly be termed a man of affairs; who has looked upon life from many view-points, and has familiarized himself with the manners and conduct of leading men in the various business pursuits of life, and in his associations with them has won re-

spect and deference for his business tact and judg- ment, abiding confidence and faith in his upright- ness and business integrity, and love and esteem by his affable, gentlemanly deportment to all with whom he comes in contact, either in a business or social way. In the subject of this sketch, Benjamin F. Barge, it can truthfully be said are combined in a pronounced degree those inherent characteristics and cultivated qualities above mentioned; which claim is established beyond peradventure by his own business success and the honors and public offices of trust which he has received at the hands of those who know him best and esteem him most. Mr. Barge was born in the historic city of Concord, Massachu- setts, on February 2, 1834, and comes from good old Scotch stock, tracing the history of his family in America back to the landing of the Mayflower at Plymouth Rock. A paternal forefather was an associate of the Christian pioneer and martyr, Roger Williams, and assisted in the founding of Providence, Rhode Island. His father and mother were John M. and Flora M. (Nash) Barge, the for- mer born at Concord, Massachusetts, in 1784, where he lived and died, following the vocation of farmer. The latter was born in Massachusetts, also, in the year 1790, and came of Scotch-Irish stock. She was well educated and followed teaching for many years. She was sister to Stephen W. Taylor, founder and president of Bucknell University, for- merly Lewisburg University. She departed this life in 1858. Mr. Barge finished a three years' course at Yale University, and at the age of eighteen went to Louisiana and engaged in teaching, which he fol- lowed for eight years. The country then being rent in twain by the outbreak of the Civil war, he removed to Henry county, Illinois, where he continued to fol- low the calling of teacher. He was called to the superintendency of the Cambridge schools in that state, and continued to hold this position for six years; following which he was called to fill a like position at Geneseo, where he continued for fifteen years, during eleven years of which he filled the office of county superintendent. Removing to Iowa in 1881, he located at Webster City, and here for the first time since taking up the work of pedagogy. at the age of eighteen, he abandoned the birch and ferule and assumed the role of agriculturist and stock raiser, which he followed with success for some six years. At the close of this period he sought a new field and a new vocation, taking up the work of editor and publisher in Minnesota, which he fol- lowed for three years. In 1890 he immigrated to the Pacific coast and settled at Olympia, the Wash- ington state capital. His reputation as a practical and successful educator followed him to his new home, and upon the enactment into law of the bill establishing the State Normal school at Ellensburg, he was appointed to the position of principal, and upon his shoulders was laid the work of opening up and establishing upon a permanent basis this well- known institution of learning ; which laborious task

CENTRAL WASHINGTON.

he accomplished with success, and, at the close of three years, being elected to represent his county in the legislature, he resigned the principalship of the Normal, having accomplished his mission in this line, and assumed the role of law-maker. In June, 1896, following the close of the legislative term, he received, at the hands of the national government, an appointment as member of the special Indian commission appointed for the purpose of negotiat- ing treaties with the Indians of Montana, Idaho, Utah, Colorado and Washington, for the sale of their surplus lands and the opening of certain res- ervations to settlement by the whites. For four years he was a member of this commission, three years of which he was chairman, and all the time held the position of disbursing officer. In 1896, Mr. Barge located at North Yakima, since which time he has been actively identified with the progress and development of that thriving young city, having con- tributed fully his share, along all lines, and in many much more, to the end that North Yakima might assume and hold its place as the leading city of central Washington. He has himself had construct- ed twenty-one houses in the town and has had cleared and put in a high state of cultivation some fifteen hundred acres of sage brush lands in that vicinity. In June, 1863, Mr. Barge and Miss Carrie W. Show- ers were united in marriage at Cambridge, Illinois. Mrs. Barge was born in Cambridge, June 2, 1841, and came of pioneer stock in that state, her father and mother, Joseph and Nancy (Cady) Showers, emigrating from their native state of New York to Illinois, in a very early day. To the union of Mr. and Mrs. Barge have been born the following chil- dren : Hattie and Cora, residing at Webb City, Ia .; Jennie Leckey, Eagle Grove, Ia., and Alice Mc- Credy, living in North Yakima. Socially, Mr. Barge is connected with the Masonic order, in which society he holds the rank of thirty-second degree Mason. Politically, he is an ardent Republican, and relig- iously he is a Baptist, with which church he has been identified for the past sixty years. Mr. Barge was a member of the state board of education in Illinois, from 1879 until the time he left the state, when he resigned his position. He is president of the board of education of North Yakima at present, which po- sition he has capably filled the past two years. Mr. Barge has been a most successful business man and possesses his share of this world's goods, owning some twenty-four hundred acres of land in the val- ley and a considerable amount of city property in North Yakima.

HON. GEORGE S. TAYLOR was one of the earliest and most highly respected pioneers of the Yakima valley. He was born in Fountain county, Indiana, March 8, 1832. At the age of twenty he located in Lucas county, Iowa. Six years later he was united in marriage to Miss Rebecca McGlothlen. Mrs. Taylor still lives on the homestead in the Selah

valley. Husband and wife made their home in Iowa until the fall of 1864. In 1862, Mr. Taylor enlisted in Company G of the Thirty-fourth Iowa infantry, for service in the Civil war, and followed the for- tunes of his regiment through many hard-fought campaigns until the spring of 1863, when he was honorably discharged on account of disability. After the recovery of his health, he started across the Plains with his family, in wagons drawn by oxen. This was in the fall of 1864, and, after a long and eventful journey, the Columbia river was eventually reached and the first stop was made in Umatilla county, Oregon. After a few months of rest, they moved on to Yelm Prairie, near Puget Sound, where relatives were located. In 1866, when the Yakima valley was still occupied by hostile bands of In- dians, Mr. Taylor returned from the Sound country and took up land in Selah valley, which has ever since been the family home. During the Indian troubles he was active in the work of running down and capturing the hostiles, and was one of a party that captured old Chief Moses in the late seventies and turned him over to the military authorities. Although not an office seeker, Mr. Taylor served several terms as county commissioner ; was elected in 1880 to the territorial legislature; several times refused the nomination of his party for sheriff, and was a candidate for joint senator in 1894, run- ning several hundred votes ahead of his ticket. He was a man of extremely generous impulses, deny- ing himself many times to help others. He was one of the most successful stockmen in the valley. In April, 1900, with the assistance of others, he was caring for a large herd of cattle which had been taken to the Cascade mountains for the season. About forty miles from North Yakima, in the re- gion where the cattle were ranging, between the Big and Little Rattlesnake creeks, is a mountainknown as the "Devil's Table." While amusing himself one afternoon rolling stones down the precipitous side of this mountain, Mr. Taylor thoughtlessly loosened a rock which was supporting one on which he was sit- ting, and was carried with the rocks over a sheer precipice, meeting instant death. In its issue of April 21, 1900, the Yakima Democrat referred to Mr. Taylor as one of nature's noblemen, and said further editorially: "A newer generation owes much to the class of men of whom 'Uncle' George Taylor was a type, a debt that can never be repaid. Is it any wonder, then, that the tragic death of such a man comes as a personal bereavement to all who knew him?"

HARLAND J. TAYLOR, a pioneer of 1866, resides three and one-half miles north of North Yak- ima. He is the eldest son of Hon. George S. Taylor, whose biography appears elsewhere in the volume, and was born in Lucas, Iowa, April 2, 1857. He crossed the Plains with his parents in 1864, and ac- companied them through Oregon and Washington

HON. GEORGE S. TAYLOR.

541

BIOGRAPHICAL.

to Puget Sound and back again to the Selah valley, where, in 1866, the father settled on land which has since been the family home. His mother and father were of Scotch-Irish extraction, both natives of In- diana, and pioneers of Iowa. The mother's name is Rebecca (McGlothlen) Taylor, and she is still living on the old homestead in Selah valley. During Mr. Taylor's almost lifelong residence in Yakima county, he has been identified with every step in its wonder- ful progress, and is regarded as one of the most sub- stantial and successful men in the valley. In 1892, he was united in marriage to Miss Hattie Cherry, daughter of Thomas C. and Bell Cherry, of Selah valley. Mr. Cherry was a pioneer of Oregon and there Mrs. Taylor was born in 1867. Mr. Taylor received a good education in the common schools of Yakima county, and Mrs. Taylor in the common schools of Oregon. Mr. Taylor is an active Dem- ocrat, though not an office-seeker. He holds mem- bership in the fraternal orders Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Eagles and the Fraternal Brotherhood. He is energetic and progressive; owns a half interest in one thousand acres of graz- ing and farm land ; has a large number of cattle and horses, and one of the best homes in the county.

GEORGE W. TAYLOR, farmer and stock- man, residing four and one-half miles north of North Yakima, is the second son of Hon. George S. Taylor, whose biography will be found on an- other page of this volume. He was born at Fort Simcoe, Yakima county, August 17, 1867, one year after the arrival of his parents in this county from Lucas, Iowa. His early life was spent on the homestead and pre-emption lands taken up by his father in 1866. With his father and brother Harland, he engaged in farming and stock raising, in the meantime securing in the common .schools a good education, and, early in life, assuming equally with father and brother the responsibilities attendant upon the care of their extensive farm and stock in- terests. At the age of twenty-two, in 1889, he was married to Miss Anna Moore, daughter of Theodore Moore, a native of England and for many years a sailor. Mrs. Taylor was born in Oregon in 1882, but grew to womanhood and was educated in Washington. She was eighteen years old at the time of her marriage. Mr. and Mrs. Taylor have three children, as follows: Eugene, born Novem- ber 7, 1889; Clara, born September 2, 1891, and Hazel, born August 8, 1893. The family attend the Congregational church, while Mr. Taylor, fra- ternally, holds membership in the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Politically, he is an active Demo- crat ; attends the councils of his party, and uses his influence for its best success. He is highly respected by all who know him, and as a business man has been most successful. He has a good home; owns a half interest in one thousand acres of valley lands, with several hundred head of cattle and other stock ;

has mining and other interests, and is one of the substantial and reliable residents of the valley.

CHARLES A. MARKS, living on his ranch, eight miles west and four south of North Yakima, is a native of Yakima county, born in the Ahta- num valley in 1874. His father, John P. Marks, one of the prosperous farmers of the county, is a native of Kentucky and crossed the Plains to Ore- gon in 1853 and located in Linn county. He came to Yakima county in 1871, taking up land in the Ahtanum country. Here our subject was born and raised. The mother, Ellen Williams, was born in Illinois. Subject attended school in a log cabin in his district and finished his education in the Whitman College at Walla Walla. He worked with his father until nineteen, when he decided to go out into the world and try conclusions with Dame Fortune on his own account. He went to Weiser, Idaho, and took up a claim, on which he worked for some time, trying to ditch it for irri- gation purposes ; but, finding it too much of an undertaking, at the end of one year and one-half went to Butte, Montana, then to Gibsonville, Idaho. After a more extended tour of Montana he returned home to the Ahtanum and went to work for his father, and, profiting by his experi- ence while away, began to accumulate stock, and now has a fine bunch of cattle, with a half-interest in ten and one-half sections of grazing and timber land. He was married in the Ahtanum valley in 1897 to Miss Leah Reed, daughter of John C. and Mary J. (Ferris) Reed, the former a native of Pennsylvania, born in 1839, and also a pioneer in Yakima county, where he settled in 1882, in the Ahtanum valley and where he still lives. The mother was a native of Illinois, born in 1850. Mrs. Marks was born in Nevada in 1880. They have one child, Ellen, born in Yakima county, December 23, 1901. Mr. Marks has one brother, Elmer B., who lives near him. Mr. Marks is a Democrat and, fraternally, is connected with the Yeomen. Mrs. Marks is a member of the Chris- tian church.

JOHN D. CORNETT, cashier of the Yakima National Bank and president of the North Yakima Commercial Club, was born in eastern Ontario, Canada, October 4, 1853, and came to Yakima county in 1887. He is the son of William and Sarah (Reid) Cornett, both natives of north Ire- land and both pioneers of Leeds county, Ontario, his father locating there in 1866. He came to North Yakima from Canada in 1891 and still makes this his home. John D. Cornett spent the years of his youth and early manhood in Canada. In youth he attended the common schools of his native province and was afterwards graduated from the Ganaoque academy. He then took a

542

CENTRAL WASHINGTON.

course in telegraphy, but abandoned its study at the age of seventeen to accept a clerkship in a general store, continuing so employed · for two years. Going to Huron county, Michigan, in 1876, he taught school for four years and also, during the vacation months, studied pharmacy. In 1880 he took charge of a drug store for Dr. R. C. O'Gilvie, a physician of Port Hope, Michigan, remaining in this position seven years. In 1887 he came to North Yakima and accepted the posi- tion of timekeeper and paymaster for George Mc- Donald, who at that time was building the North- ern Pacific railroad from Cle-Elum to the Roslyn mines. In the spring of 1888 Mr. Cornett, witlı others, organized the Yakima National Bank. He served as assistant cashier until the annual meeting of officers and directors of the bank in 1889, when he was elected cashier, an office which he still retains. During his residence in North Yakima he has also served four years as city treasurer. He has always had faith in the future of the city and county and, besides his holdings in the bank, has become interested to a consider- able extent in city property, and some years ago took up a timber culture claim near Kiona, which he still holds. Mr. Cornett was married in Kings- ton, Ontario, March 9, 1881, to Miss Jessie Don- ald, daughter of John and Jean Donald, both na- tives of Scotland. Her parents came to Kingston in early days and her father was master mechanic of the Kingston Locomotive Works. Her mother was a woman of culture and refinement and was greatly esteemed for her qualities of mind and heart. Mrs. Cornett was born in Kingston, On- tario, November 16, 1861, and was educated in her native city, being graduated from the higlı school. Following her high school course, she taught for three years, the first term at the age of sixteen. She was nineteen years of age when she met and married Mr. Cornett. Mrs. Cornett has brothers and sisters as follows: Edward Donald, almoner and tax land agent for the Grand Trunk railroad in Ontario; George, president of the Yakima National Bank, in North Yakima; John, an engineer, living in New Mexico; James, a stockman of North Yakima; Mrs. Mary Ely of Chicago, wife of an engineer, and Mrs. Jean Vance of North Yakima. Mr. and Mrs. Cornett have the following children: Jean, born in Mich- igan, 1884; George W., born in Michigan, 1886; John, born in North Yakima, 1891; William, born in North Yakima, 1897. Jean is a graduate of the North Yakima high school. Two children have died: Edna, born in Port Hope, Mich., October 6, 1882, died when three and one-half years old; Donald, born in North Yakima, 1893, died when eighteen months old. The family attend the Presbyterian church. Mr. Cornett is a Repub- lican. The fraternal spirit is a prominent charac- teristic of Mr. Cornett's individuality; he is a Blue Lodge and a Shrine Mason; also a Knight

Templar; a member of the Knights of Pythias and of the Ancient Order of United Workmen and Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. He and Mrs. Cornett are prominent and popular in the social circles of North Yakima and their home, at the corner of Yakima avenue and Sixth street, is one of the best in the city.

DAVID LONGMIRE. Among all the citizens of Yakima county, none is more highly respected and honored for his integrity, sterling business abilities and true beneficence than is the man whose name commences this chronicle. As a courageous pioneer, an energetic farmer and keen business man, a man devoted to his home and loyal to his friends, he has been justly popular since his advent into the life of the Yakima com- munity when that little company numbered only a few score souls, and he is today recognized as one of the leaders in the county where he has made his home and concentrated his energies for so many years.

The Longmire family, of which our subject is a member, is well known in the early annals of Washington, having been among the earliest set- tlers on Puget Sound. His mother, Susan (Nisely) Longmire, died in Indiana many years ago. Fifty-one years ago, when Olympia and Steilacoom were the only towns north of the Co- lumbia river, excepting the military post at Van- couver, David's father, James, and his stepmother, Verinda (Taylor) Longmire, crossed the inhospit- able plains and mountains of the continent and toiled wearily up the Yakima valley to the Naches river, which they followed to its source, and then descended to Yelm prairie, where they founded a new home. The story of this trip through the Cascade country has been fully told elsewhere in this volume, so that here it is sufficient to say that the boy David accompanied his parents, giving him the honor of being, so far as is known, the first white man now living in Yakima county to gaze upon its sage brush plains and sparkling streams. James Longmire was a native of Indiana, born March 17, 1820, and lived there until 1853. His death occurred on Yelm prairie, Washing- ton, in 1897. David's mother was also a native of Indiana, where she died in young womanhood. Mr. Longmire was again married, Miss Verinda Taylor becoming his wife; she is still living. David was born May 8, 1844, and received two years' education before crossing the Plains during his ninth year. He finished his schooling in Olympia, where he attended the common schools. Until he became of age he remained at home farming and raising stock, but, upon attaining his major- ity, he engaged in the now unusual occupation of cutting fence rails. When twenty-three years old he filed on a land claim in Thurston county and lived there three years. In 1867, he came to the

DAVID LONGMIRE.

543

BIOGRAPHICAL.

Yakima valley with a party of Northern Pacific surveyors and was occupied with them until late in 1868, returning then to his farm. But the trip to Yakima county had disturbed his peace of mind by revealing to him its wonderful undevel- oped resources, and, since it could no longer be quieted, February 16, 1871, witnessed his depart- ure for the new home he had chosen, which was purchased in the Wenas valley. The promised land came up to expectations and upon the Wenas ranch Mr. Longmire has since lived and pros- pered. Mr. Longmire and Miss Lizzie Pollard, daughter of Asa and Tillatha Pollard, natives of lowa and Indiana respectively and pioneers of the sixties in Washington, were united by the bonds of matrimony in Thurston county in 1869. She departed this earthly life in 1888 and was laid at rest in Yakima county. In 1890 Mr. Long- mire again married, the bride this time being Mrs. Lizzie Treat, daughter of George and Catherine Lotz, of German birth, who crossed the Plains in 1853 and settled in Washington. Mr. Lotz died in 1895; his wife, five years later. Mrs. Longmire was born in Thurston county, May 17, 1860, and was there educated and married to Charles Treat. By his first wife Mr. Longmire had six children : Alice, born June 11, 1870; Mrs. Martha Porter, born September 5, 1876; Mrs. Burnette Small, born June 6, 1878; David C., born November 8, 1883; George M., born March 8, 1886; and James G., born November 6, 1888. Mr. and Mrs. Long- mire's only child is Roy B., whose birthday was January 17, 1896. Mr. Longmire has the following brothers and sisters: Elaine, John, Robert, Frank, Mrs. Melissa Rice and Mrs. Martha Conine, living on the Sound; George and Mrs. Tilatha Kandle, living on the Wenas, and Mrs. Laura A. Longmire, living in North Yakima. Mr. Longmire is a mem- ber of only one order, the Masonic fraternity. He is a member of the Christian church. During his en- tire life he has been a strong Democrat, and in 1878 was elected county commissioner, in which position he served the people four years. He was the Democratic nominee for representative to the legislature, some years ago, and was defeated by the narrow margin of eleven votes, the Republicans carrying the county generally by a large ma- jority. Aside from his main occupation of ranch- ing, Mr. Longmire has done considerable pros- pecting for minerals on the headwaters of the Yakima and its branches and also on the western slope. At present he is interested in the develop- ment of a valuable coal deposit on the headwaters of the Cowlitz river. This mine was discovered as early as 1867 by Mr. Packwood and Mr. Long- mire, but its inaccessibility has heretofore pre- vented its being properly opened. But his pride is his magnificent six hundred acre ranch, five hundred acres of which are in alfalfa and timothy and the balance plow land and building sites, ly- ing along the banks of the Wenas creek. Here 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 123

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