An illustrated history of Klickitat, Yakima and Kittitas counties; with an outline of the early history of the state of Washington, Part 124

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 124
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 124
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 124

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).

is making a specialty of raising Hereford cattle and fine horses and his herd of one hundred cattle and thirty horses is convincing proof of his abili- ties in this direction. Mr. Longmire has been among those progressive stockmen who have fore- seen the immediate exhaustion of the open range under prevailing conditions and has, therefore, al- ready purchased four sections of grazing land and contemplates buying a much larger tract, which, together with his immense hay ranch, will give him an ideal property for the business of stock raising.

HON. WALTER J. REED, a pioneer of 1879 in the Yakima valley, now engaged in the real estate business in North Yakima, was born near Edinburgh, Scotland, April 3, 1842. He is the son of John and Isabella (Craig) Reed, both natives of Scotland, the former born in 1821 and the lat- ter in 1824. They were married in 1841, the bride being at the time in her seventeenth year. She still lives, at the age of eighty, in Carnegie, Alle- gheny county, Pennsylvania. Walter J. Reed was brought to the United States by his parents when he was six years old. The family first located in Maryland, but moved in a short time to Ohio, where the father engaged in farming and mining until 1859, when he again moved with his family to Pennsylvania, continuing for a time in his former occupations. In 1861 he enlisted for service in the Civil war, in the One Hundred and First Pennsylvania volunteers, following the fortunes of this regiment through many hard fought campaigns until the fall of 1864, when he was wounded and taken prisoner by the Con- federates. He died in Florence, South Carolina, in November, 1864, from the effects of his wounds and imprisonment. Walter J. Reed ob- tained his education in the common schools of Ohio and continued at home, assisting his father on the farm, until nineteen years of age, when, in August, 1861, he enlisted in Company K, Six- ty-third Pennsylvania volunteers, and followed his father to the front. His regiment belonged to the first division of the third army corps. Among other battles of less importance, he took part in the following: Yorktown, Williamsburg, Fair Oaks, the Seven Days battle before Rich- mond, the second battle of Bull Run, Gettysburg, the battles of the Wilderness, at Spottsylvania, Cold Harbor and Petersburg. He was wounded in the battle of Gettysburg, honorably discharged from the service in August, 1864, and returned home, where he engaged in coal mining until 1877. In this year, leaving the region where his youth and early manhood had been spent, he im- migrated to California, where he followed min- ing for a short time in Shasta county. He after- wards spent some time in The Dalles, Oregon, as a contractor and builder, going from this point

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to the mining regions of Grant county, in the same state; prospected there a few months and, in 1879, came to the Yakima valley. Locating a soldier's homestead just south of the present city of North Yakima, he passed four years in farm- ing and stock raising. In 1883 he moved to what is now a portion of Kittitas county, taking up a pre-emption claim where the town of Cle-Elum was afterwards built. In 1886, before the rail- road reached the location, he laid out the town- site of Cle-Elum and built the Reed House, still the leading hotel of the town. In the fall of the same year, while out hunting, in company with C. B. Brosious, he made a discovery of coal, the find resulting in farther and more extensive re- search and in the eventual opening of the great Roslyn and Cle-Elum coal fields. Mr. Reed's pre- emption claim was the second entry in that re- gion. When we consider the wonderful devel- opment that has since taken place in this region, the inestimable value of this discovery is appar- ent. When North Yakima was laid out, in 1885, Mr. Reed owned forty acres of land that was included in the townsite and built the first two- story house erected in the city. In 1897 he re- turned from Cle-Elum to his homestead near North Yakima and, the following year, was ap- pointed register of the United States land office located at this point. He served in this capacity four years. He has also served a like period as member of the city council.

Mr. Reed was married in Pittsburg, Pennsyl- vania, in September, 1864, to Miss Barbara A. Steiner, daughter of Joseph and Margaret (Rob- bins) Steiner. Mrs. Reed was born in Mercer county, Pennsylvania, May 17, 1843. Her father was the first white child born in what is now Mercer county, Pennsylvania, the date of his birth being 1813. He was a farmer and con- tractor and died at Cle-Elum in 1888. Mrs. Reed's mother was a native of Ohio, born in 1815, of Scotch and Welsh parents, they being pioneers of that state; she died in Pennsylvania in 1868. Mrs. Reed was educated in the common schools of Pennsylvania; she was twenty-one years old when she and Mr. Reed were married. She has two brothers: Theodore Steiner, proprietor of Hotel Reed at Cle-Elum, and Frederick, living on a farm near the same place. She also has one sister, Mrs. Margaret Nye, wife of Colonel N. C. Nye, of Prineville, Oregon, one of the wealthiest stockmen in that part of the state. Professor David C. Reed, superintendent of the schools of Redlands, California, is a brother of W. J. Reed. Another brother was John Reed, a man prominent in the affairs of city and county, whose biography will be found on another page of this volume. He died in 1902. Fraternally, Walter J. Reed is connected with the Masons and with the Grand Army of the Republic. He is a commander of the Grand Army of the Republic post in North

Yakima. Mr. Reed is a Republican. He has ex- tensive real estate interests in Cle-Elum and in North Yakima; in timber and farming lands throughout the valley, and has heavy interests in the mines about Cle-Elum. He has taken a most active part in the development of Yakima and Kittitas counties ; he has been and still is a promi- nent factor in their progress and is one of the best known and most successful of the pioneers of central Washington.

MRS. ADDIE REED, now residing at No. 310 North Selah avenue, North Yakima, has lived within the present boundaries of Yakima county since 1871. She was the wife of Honorable John Reed (recently deceased), one of the hon- ored pioneers of the county. Mrs. Reed was born in Yamhill county, Oregon, April 2, 1863. Her father was Levi Gibbs, a native of Indi- ana, and a mining man. He crossed the Plains in the early days and followed mining in Oregon until some time in 1864, when he was murdered near The Dalles, Mrs. Reed being at the time but little more than one year old. Her mother was Mary J. (Vaughn) Reed, a native of Missouri, born December 14, 1835. She crossed the Plains with her parents in 1846, when eleven years old, the family locating in Oregon. She died when Mrs. Reed was ten years of age. Bereft of her parents, she was cared for during her youth by her grandparents, who came with her mother to Washington in 1871, locating on the Naches river. Her grandfather died in 1882 and her grandmother in 1890. Mrs. Reed re- ceived her education in the common schools of Yakima county. Her marriage with John Reed was solemnized September 20, 1882. They lived on the Naches for two years and in 1884 took up a pre-emption claim, where the water-works are now located. After a residence of three years on the pre-emption they moved into North Yak- ima, remaining here ten years. Going again to the old homestead taken up by Mrs. Reed's grandfather, they resided there one year, during which time the land was divided among the heirs. A homestead was then taken in the Sunnyside district and, after remaining on the land for eighteen months, they returned to North Yakima, where they made their home for two years. In 1901 they again moved, this time to Cle-Elum, where Mr. Reed died, August 8, 1903. The chil- dren of Mr. and Mrs. Reed are: Fred R., born in North Yakima, December 6, 1890, and William M., born in North Yakima, August 18, 1893. One child, Walter J., was born in North Yakima, March 13, 1888, and died at the age of three years and eight months. Mrs. Reed is one of the highly respected pioneers of Yakima county. She affili- ates with the Methodist church and has many friends in the social circles of the city. Her hus-

HENRY J. BICKNELL.

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BIOGRAPHICAL.

band, John Reed, was a pioneer of 1878. He was a native of Pennsylvania and the son of John and Isabella (Craig) Reed, both natives of Scotland. John Reed, Sr., came to the United States in 1848 and was a soldier in the Civil war, belonging to the One Hundred and First Pennsylvania volun- teers. He died in Florence, South Carolina, No- vember, 1864, from the effects of confinement in a Southern prison and from wounds received in the service. His wife and the mother of the Yakima county pioneer still lives, in Carnegie, Pennsylvania. John Reed, Jr., was educated in a soldiers' orphan school in Pennsylvania and, as has been stated, came to Yakima county in 1878. He was always prominent in the political and industrial progress of the county and of the city of North Yakima. He was at one time mayor of the city and served for several years as a mem- ber of the city council. He was prominent in Masonic circles, being a Master Mason, and was held in highest esteem by all who knew him as the possessor of those sterling qualities of man- hood so often revealed by the pioneers of the great Northwest.

EARL G. PECK. Earl G. Peck is the treas- urer of Yakima county, and was born in Sauk county, Wisconsin, June 1I, 1865. He is the son of Francis N. and Eliza J. (Montgomery) Peck, the former a native of Vermont, and now a resi- dent of Baraboo, Wisconsin, where he has held the office of register of deeds for three consecu- tive terms. Mr. Peck's mother is dead. The sub- ject attended the public schools of Baraboo, but left his studies before graduating in order to take up railroad life. He entered this work as a call boy, and while thus engaged he learned telegraphy. He next took a position as operator, which vocation he followed five years. The next four years he served as train dispatcher. During his experience at the key, Mr. Peck served in twenty-eight different offices. In February, 1894, he came west and located a homestead in the Naches Gap, which place he now has set out in fruit trees. He remained on this ranch until Jan- uary, 1899, when he took a position as deputy under County Treasurer William B. Dudley. He held the position of head deputy in this office under Mr. Dudley for two terms, when, in Jan- uary, 1903, he became Mr. Dudley's successor in office. He was elected on the Republican ticket, and carried the entire vote of his party. Mr. Peck was married in Racine, Wisconsin, April 21, 1890, to Miss Lillian A. Peck, a native of Racine, and the daughter of Erastus C. and Helen M. (Sears) Peck, the latter dying during Mrs. Peck's infancy. The father was clerk of Racine county during a period of sixteen years, and died in 1902. Mr. Peck has one brother, Tracy L., who is sta- tion agent of the Chicago & Northwestern Rail-

way at Dodgeville, Wisconsin, and three sisters, whose names are: Mrs. C. W. Randall, Baraboo, Wisconsin; Mrs. Thomas A. Lawson, Chicago, wife of the assistant general superintendent of the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad, and Mrs. Lawrence A. Dash, whose husband is station agent at Ralph, Iowa, for the Chicago & North- western Railroad. Mrs. Peck has one brother, Lewis N. Peck, of Los Angeles, California. Mr. and Mrs. Peck have two children, Helen A. and Francis E., both at home. The family belong to the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Peck is a man of refinement and sound sense, both in poli- tics and in business, in both of which he has been eminently successful. He is a competent official, courteous and obliging, standing high, not only in his own party, but with the entire public of Yakima county, which admires and trusts him almost witliout an individual exception.

WILLIAM B. NEWCOMB. William B. Newcomb, county auditor of Yakima county, was born in West Point, Wisconsin, December 24, 1871. His father and mother are J. I. and Delia D. (Christler) Newcomb, and are both living on a farm near North Yakima. The subject has two sisters, Mrs. Elizabeth C. Janeck and Mrs. May R. Kelso, both of North Yakima. Mr. Newcomb was educated in the common schools of Lodi, Wisconsin, and after leaving school he occupied the position of telegraph operator and station agent for the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad for a period of eight years. After leaving the road he came to North Yakima and purchased a fruit farm of fifteen acres in Fruit Vale, upon which he has resided since. He was deputy audi- tor for four years under E. E. Kelso. In 1902 he was elected to the office which he now holds. On June 28, 1893, he was married to Miss Lillie B. Nott, a native of the same place as is her hus- band, the wedding being solemnized at Lodi, Wisconsin. Mrs. Newcomb is the daughter of W. S. and Josephine (Green) Nott, both of whom are living in the town in which Mrs. Newcomb was married. To Mr. and Mrs. Newcomb have been born two children: Wallace R., born De- cember 10, 1898, and Vera M., born during Octo- ber, 1901. Mr. Newcomb is a member in good standing of the Ancient Order of United Work- men fraternity. He is regarded as an efficient and obliging official, and his general standing in his county is of the highest.

HENRY J. BICKNELL. Among the Yak- ima county pioneers who have taken an active part in the development of that most wonderful country, and who in passing from the scenes of life will have left the marks of their energy and enterprise stamped indelibly upon the surface of

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that goodly land for the contemplation and grati- tude of coming generations, few take higher rank than the subject of this sketch. Born in Penob- scott, Maine, on the rock-ribbed Atlantic coast, where thrift and hardiness are indispensable to even a meager success in the common vocations of life, and these conditions in his case being ac- centuated by the death of his father when he had reached the age of twelve years and was called upon to take an active part in winning a living for the family upon the farm, the lessons learned in this early school of experience have stayed with him all through after life. Henry Bicknell, his father, was a Vermonter, born November 2, 1798, and came of the old Puritan blood that crossed the ocean in the Mayflower. His mother, Betsie (Foster) Bicknell, came of English an- cestry and was a native of Rhode Island. In 1851, when subject was but seventeen, his mother mar- ried again, and he started out in life for himself, working at whatever he could find to do. At the age of nineteen he took passage on a sailing ves- sel bound for California, via the Cape Horn route, landed at San Francisco six months later, in the spring of 1853, and went to work in a sawmill. He followed lumbering at Redwood City five years, then returned to Maine, via Panama, and after a brief visit located in Illinois, where he bought a place and farmed, later engaging in mer- chandizing at Petersburg, Illinois, and still later. in the wholesale liquor business in Jacksonville. The next five years were spent in the lumbering business, in California, then one year in Maine, when he again returned to California and launched out in a mining project, which, through the dishonesty of a trusted friend, swept all of his capital away at one stroke. After a few years more, spent in California and Oregon, he came to Parker's Bottom, Washington, and bought the right to a tract of land, which he at once began to improve, being the first one to get water upon the bench land of that bottom, in 1883, two years after his arrival in the country. He was chosen president of the irrigation com- pany organized at that time for the purpose of irrigating the valley. He at once set out a small orchard, consisting of apples, peaches and pears, and demonstrated the adaptability of climate and soil to fruit raising; from this early be- ginning has sprung the now famous Sunny- side country. He sold this original homestead in 1895 for twenty-two thousand dollars. Mr. Bicknell had three brothers and one sister, of whom two, James and Stephen, are still living. Politically, he is an avowed Republican, and takes a lively interest in political campaigns and the success of his party. He is interested in some fifteen hundred acres of improved and raw lands in the county, as well as in the new coal fields which have been discovered in the vicinity. As a citizen and neighbor none rank higher.

ARCHIE L. FLINT, merchant at North Yakima, is an 1869 pioneer in Yakima county, and the blood of pioneer ancestors flows in his veins. His father, Isaac A. Flint, who came of the hardy and indefatigable Scotch and Welsh stock, left his home in New York in a very early day and went as a pioneer into Wisconsin, and later to Missouri, from which state he crossed the Plains to California in 1845, and a few months later crossed the line into Oregon, where he took up land. He, with a party, explored the Sound country, and later, in 1849, went to the California gold fields. He then returned to the states, via the Isthmus, and in 1853 again crossed the Plains to Oregon, settling this time in Douglas county, where he remained for years and reared his fam- ily. He was a Christian minister, and founded the first Christian church in North Yakima. Hc gave many years of his life to the ministry, and was esteemed for his many good qualities by all who knew him. His wife, Emeline L. (Phinney) Flint, was of English ancestry and a direct de- scendant of Sir John Hollister. Subject received his education in the Portland high school and in Monmouth college. At the age of eighteen he went to work for his brother in the stock busi- ness, investing his earnings in cattle. At the end of five years he and his father engaged in stock raising together, he making his home with his parents and looking after the cattle on the range. The severe winter of 1880-81 swept away at one fell swoop two-thirds of their herd, and he then sold the remainder and engaged in merchandizing in Yakima City. After two years he sold and ran a planing mill for two years, then went to railroading with the Northern Pacific Railroad Company, which he followed for eight years. In 1894 he returned to North Yakima, and in 1896 was appointed deputy county auditor, in which capacity he served for two years. In 1899 the North Yakima Furniture Company was incor- porated, of which he is the secretary and treas- urer, as well as stockholder and one of the active managers of the business. He was married in Yakima City in 1882, to Clara Wright, whose birth place was Oregon, where she made her ad- vent into this world in 1856, and where she was educated and learned dressmaking. Her father is one of the early Oregon pioneers, in which state he still lives and farms. Mr. and Mrs. Flint have two children, Alda and Avera L. They were both born in North Yakima, the former on July 25, 1883, and the latter on October 4. 1886, and will both soon complete the high school course. Fraternally, Mr. Flint is connected with the In- dependent Order of Odd Fellows, of which he is at present vice-grand; the Woodmen of the World, and the Fraternal Brotherhood. He is an active member of the Christian church. Polit- ically, he is a Republican. He is recognized by

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BIOGRAPHICAL.

all who know him as a man of integrity and of many sterling qualities.

JOHN C. MACCRIMMON, a Yakima county pioneer of 1883, and a resident of North Yakima since its infancy, where he has engaged in various lines of business, merchandizing, real estate and loans, is a native of Scotland, in which country he was born February 1I, 1848. His parents, Neil and Mary (Campbell) MacCrimmon, were both natives of Scotland, where they were born re- spectively in 1809 and 1812, and where they both died. His father was a commission man. Sub- ject received his early education in Glasgow, and later took a course of study in the United States. At the age of thirteen he took passage for the United States via South America, arriving in California in December, 1861. He lived the first year in the new country with a Mr. Handley, later working on a milk ranch, and then holding the position of clerk in a San Francisco store for a year. After an eight months' course in school, he went to Victoria, British Colum- bia, and held the position of express mes- senger for Wells, Fargo & Company for three years, and after trying a season in the Cariboo mines, went to Portland, Oregon. He there engaged in merchandizing, which he fol- lowed for some nine years, and again sought the British Columbia mines, and for three years wooed the goddess of fortune with varying suc- cess. He next spent a year at Victoria and a brief period at Portland, and brought up at The Dalles, where he shortly engaged in railroad work, holding the position of superintendent of construction on the Cascade branch of the North- ern Pacific Railroad, then building, which posi- tion he held four years, and by means of which he finally landed in Yakima county in 1883. In 1884 he was appointed postmaster at Yakima City, but resigned the office the next year to move to the new town of North Yakima. Here he formed a partnership with Matt Bartholett, in the general merchandizing business, which he followed until 1888, when he sold out and en- gaged in the real estate and loan business, with J. H. Needham. He continued this partnership for eight years, when he again tried merchandiz- ing for a brief time. But in a few months he once more took up the real estate and loan busi- ness, which he has since followed without cessa- tion. Mr. MacCrimmon's brothers and sisters are: Norman, Angus, Donald, Margaret and Will- iam. He was married in Portland, Oregon, in 1886, to Fannie Klippel, who died a few months later. He was married the second time in 1887 to Martha Needham, a native of Wisconsin, born October 17, 1860. She was a teacher a number of years, having taught in her native state and also in the schools of Yakima. Her father was

a native of Vermont, and was a pioneer of Wis- consin, where he settled in 1855. His name was John C., and the mother's, Marcia (Munger) Needham. She was a native of New York and a school teacher. Subject's children are: Nannie M., Lillian S., John M. (deceased), Myrtle E., Donald H. and Margaret B. (deceased). So- cially, Mr. MacCrimmon is connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and has the distinction of having represented that order four times as delegate to the grand lodge. His re- ligious connection is with the Christian church. He is a stanch Republican, and has held the office of justice of the peace two terms. He or- ganized the first company (Company E) of the National Guard in the state, and was elected captain of the same.

SYLVIUS A. DICKEY, superintendent of public instruction in Yakima county, Washing- ton, is a native of Butler county, Pennsylvania, born in 1858. His father was a Pennsylvania farmer, Archibald Dickey, of Scotch-Irish de- scent, a pioneer of western Pennsylvania, born in 1822 and passed away in 1897. The father's grandfather was a native of Ireland. The mother of the subject of this article was Jane (Cross) Dickey, born in western Pennsylvania of Ameri- can parents in 1822. She died in 1871. Sylvius A. Dickey spent his youth and early manhood in Pennsylvania, assisting his father on the farm and attending school. After a course of study in Grove City college he began his career as a teacher. In 1883 he came West, locating first at Seattle, and for sixteen years engaged in school work in various localities on the Sound. For four years he was superintendent of public in- struction in Kitsap county; he also, during his residence there, served several terms as justice of the peace, and for two years occupied the edi- torial chair on the Washington Post-Sentinel. In 1889 he represented the Eighteenth district in the convention which framed the constitution of the state of Washington. Coming to Yakima county in 1898, he settled in Parker's Bottom and engaged in teaching. In recognition of his prac- tical knowledge, of his executive ability and of his success as a teacher, he was elected superin- tendent of public instruction in Yakima county in 1900, and re-elected in 1902. In the matter of organization and in the grading of the schools he has been remarkably successful and all his work as superintendent has been eminently satis- factory. He is regarded as the right man in the right position. In 1889 Mr. Dickey was married to Mrs. Alma (Hill) Banker, a native of New York and a daughter of Walton and Sarah (Hose) Hill, both natives of New York, the for- mer an architect. Mr. Dickey has four brothers and one sister in Pennsylvania. There is one

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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 124

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