An illustrated history of Klickitat, Yakima and Kittitas counties; with an outline of the early history of the state of Washington, Part 135

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 135
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 135
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 135

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BIOGRAPHICAL.

of the Ahtanum, died at the Deaconess hospital, North Yakima. Saturday, October 24, 1903, as the result of injuries received by his team running away near his home and throwing him to the ground from the wagon, which was heavily loaded with logs, the injuries resulting from the logs falling on him. He was buried in Tahoma cemetery, Monday, Oc- tober 26th, a large number of neighbors and friends attending the services. Mr. Trayner's age was sev- enty years seven months and sixteen days. He leaves a widow, but no children, to mourn his loss. He was a man respected by all who knew him and general regret is expressed at the unfortunate acci- dent that cost him his life."

DAVID B. GREENWALT, an Ahtanum valley farmer, living eight miles west and three miles south of North Yakima, was born in Illinois, December 21, 1860, to the marriage of Abraham and Louise (Bilich) Greenwalt. His parents were both born in Pennsylvania, and were of Dutch stock. His father immigrated to California in 1870, where he lived for nine years and then moved to Oregon, later, in 1882, coming to Yakima county, where he still re- sides in the Ahtanum valley. The mother, who raised eight children, died in 1893. The subject of this article traveled from his native state with his parents to the Pacific coast, and received his early education in the schools of the Golden state, later taking a course in the Empire business college at Walla Walla, after coming to this state. He worked with his father until he was twenty-five, when he and his brother formed a partnership and engaged in ranching together for five years. In 1891 he was appointed deputy auditor, which position he held five and one-half years. At the end of this time he returned to farm life and has continued to follow farming since. He was married on the home place on the Ahtanum, April 6, 1892, to Miss Mary Crosno, a native of Clarke county, Washington, born during 1868. Six months later her parents moved to Yakima county, and here she grew to woman- hood. She was educated in the Ellensburg State Normal, and in Seattle, and followed teaching for five years. Her father, William P. Crosno, who was a teacher in early life, and later a farmer, was a pioneer in Yakima county, where he settled in 1869, and lived until his death. He was a native of Jefferson county, Illinois, as was also his wife, Frances (Smith) Crosno. Mrs. Greenwalt's broth- ers and sisters are: Horatio, May F., Olive V. and Eldridge, all residents of Washington. To the mar- riage of Mr. and Mrs. Greenwalt have been born the following children: Elliott, Francis L., Char- lotte and William. They are members of the Con- gregational church. Fraternally, Mr. Greenwalt is affiliated with the Modern Woodmen of America and the Maccabee orders. He is a pronounced Re- publican. In addition to the home place he owns another ranch of seventy-five acres, with plenty of

stock, large orchard, and other improvements and conveniences in keeping. He is an enterprising citi- zen.

WILLIAM WILEY, dairyman and hop grower, living seven miles west and two miles south of North Yakima, was born in Minnesota, July 15, 1859. He is a pioneer of 1867, and has grown up with the country since a lad of eight years. His father, Hugh Wiley, was born in Pennsylvania in 1831, and was one of the early settlers in Minne- sota. In 1865 he moved with his family to the Pacific coast, going via the Isthmus to San Fran- cisco; thence to Salem, Oregon. In 1867 they came to the Ahtanum valley, and took a homestead, where he engaged in farming until his death in 1883. Mary (Tufft) Wiley, the mother, was born in Can- ada in 1840. Her father was John, and mother, Isabella (Crawford) Tufft, and they came from Ireland. She now lives in the Ahtanum valley. Our subject remained at home with his parents un- til twenty-one, working on the farm and attending school. He then began working out for wages, and at the end of four years purchased the farm where he now lives. It was a raw tract and he has made his home from the foundation up, bringing it to a high state of cultivation, with good house and one of the largest, most convenient barns in the valley. He was married in the Ahtanum valley December 23, 1883, to Miss Anna Cole, a native of Wiscon- sin, where she was born in 1865. She was edu- cated in Portland, Oregon. Her mother, Kate ( Dit- tendollar ) Cole, was a native of Wisconsin. Mrs. Wiley has two sisters: Minnie and Elsie Hansen, living in Portland. To the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Wiley have been born three children, as fol- lows: Mrs. Vera May McDonald, Ernest and Howard, all living in the Ahtanum valley. They are members of the Congregational church. Politic- ally, Mr. Wiley is a Republican, and fraternally, he affiliates with the Modern Woodmen of America. He is an enterprising farmer, and is engaged exten- sively in hop raising, dairying and stock raising, making a specialty of the Holstein breed of cattle, of which he has some fine specimens.

SILAS A. GILSON, an extensive land owner, living eight miles north of North Yakima, is a pioneer settler of 1877 in Yakima county. He is a native of Washington, born July 25, 1855, in Cowlitz county. His father. Allen Gilson, was a native of the Green Mountain state, and came of Scotch and English parentage. He crossed the Plains to Washington in 1852, and located in Cowlitz county, where he took up land and farmed until his death. Elizabethı (Johns) Gilson. the mother, was a native of Illinois, and was married at the age of twenty. The subject of our sketch grew to manhood in Cowlitz county, working with his

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father on the farm and looking after the stock. At the age of twenty-one he went to Puyallup county, remaining over a year, and from there came to Yakima county in February, 1877. He filed that year on a tract of land now known as the Simpson nursery, where he lived for ten years. Just prior to the sale of this place he purchased the land where the fair grounds are now located, and sent to Walla Walla for seeds and set out the beautiful grove which now adorns the grounds. He built the first track there, purchasing additional ground for the purpose. He put the place in fine condition and then sold it, taking up a home- stead in the Selah valley. He later purchased a six hundred and sixty acre tract adjoining his homestead, and now has seven hundred acres in a body.

Mr. Gilson's brothers and sisters are: Hiram, a real estate dealer, Minneapolis; Charlie, de- ceased ; Oliver, a merchant in California ; Sumner, deceased; Mrs. Harriet Caples, Forest Grove, Oregon; Mrs. Sarah Benzor, Clarke county. Wash- ington; Melissa, Vancouver, Washington; Mrs. Martha Gardner, deceased. Mr. Gilson has seen his county pass through the transition period from desert wilderness to a thriving, prosperous community, teeming with life and active industry, and dominated by civilizing and christianizing in- fluences, to which results he has contributed his part, and which transformation he today views with pride.

JOHN W. WALTERS, a Yakima county pio- neer of 1879, was born in Arkansas, April 2, 1843. His father, James Walters, was a native of Ohio, and a typical frontiersman and woodsman. He crossed the Plains to California in 1848, and was there at the time of the gold discovery, months before the rumors of the vast gold finds reached the east and produced that wonderful wave of excitement which resulted in a veritable exodus to the Pacific coast. He lost his life in that country and never saw his family after leav- ing them in the states. Martha Walters, the mother, died when her son John was but three years of age, and he was taken by some distant relatives to their home in Ohio, where he was raised. He received a common school education, working as best he could to pay for his support until he reached the age of nineteen. He at that time enlisted in Company K, One Hundred and twenty-sixth Ohio volunteer infantry, and was assigned to the eastern department of the Poto- mac, serving under both Generals Meade and Grant, and taking part in many of the hotly con- tested battles of the Rebellion. He served until the close of the war, when he returned to Ohio, and from there moved to Illinois, where he lived until 1869. He then went to the Pacific coast, and, settling in California, engaged in farming for

ten years, at the end of which time he sold out and moved to Yakima county, Washington. He lere filed on one hundred and sixty acres of land under the desert land act, and, set- tling upon it, began its development. He was one of the first movers in the irrigation of land in his vicinity, and helped run the first furrow plowed in the construction of the Union ditch. He is still living on the original claim. He at one time operated the Valley lodging house in North Yakima. Since 1895 he has spent some time in both Oregon and California, for his health. He was married in Illinois, in 1868, to Miss Mary Harrison, daughter of Simeon and Mary Harrison. The wife was born in Iowa, in 1853. To this union were born eight children : Warren, James, John, Nettie Reed, Mary Casey Will, Cora Chapman, Alonzo and Lewis. Mr. Walters is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic and the Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows; also the Lutheran church, while Mrs. Wal- ters is a member of the Methodist Episcopal com- munion. Politically, Mr. Walters is a Republic- an. He is a man of influence in the community, and is esteemed and respected by all.

ZACH HAWKINS, hop grower, and pioneer of 1871, was born in Oregon in 1859. His father, Samuel S. Hawkins, was a native of Iowa, born in 1834. At the age of eleven he started to cross the Plains with his parents, but the father died while en route, and the mother and family continued on their way to Oregon. When sixteen he went to the California gold mines; later, returning to Oregon, he moved to Walla Walla in 1864, soon after returning to the Webfoot state, thence go- ing to Vancouver, Washington, and in 1871 com- ing to Yakima county. Here he took up land near Tampico. In later years he moved to North Yakima, where he now resides. The mother, Cynthia J. Cahoon, is a native of Missouri, and has two brothers living in Kittitas county. Mr. Hawkins has grown to manhood in Yakima county, his parents coming here when he was twelve years old. He was with his father on the farm and attending to the stock until becoming of age; he then went to do for himself. He was married at twenty-two and took up a claim on the Cowiche, where he engaged in stock raising, hop growing and general farming, on an exten- sive scale for those days. He lived on his ranch until 1893, when he moved to North Yakima. In 1898 he sold his ranch and bought land nearer town, devoting it to the cultivation of hops. Mr. Hawkins has six brothers and sisters living: Ada Miller, Alice Shaw, Anna Boyle, Rosa Larson, Elbert and Willis Hawkins, all of whom live in North Yakima but Mrs. Boyle, wife of Judge Boyle, of Ellensburg. His sister Jane passed away at the age of eleven. The subject of this

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biography was married on the Cowiche, during 1881, to Miss Nancy Tigard, daughter of Andrew J. and Sarah J. (Edwards) Tigard. Her father was born November 24, 1828, and was a pioneer of Oregon, to which country he went in 1845. He was also a pioneer of Yakima county, where he settled in 1872, making his home in the county until his death on October 6, 1898. His wife was born February 22, 1832, and married Mr. Tigard on the fifteenth of September, 1848. The husband and wife crossed the Plains during 1852, settling on a donation claim some three miles southwest of Portland, Oregon, where they resided until 1871, at which time they came to Yakima county, as before narrated. Mrs. Tigard passed away February 2, 1902. Her daughter Nancy, now Mrs. Hawkins, was born in the Webfoot state, Decem- ber 6, 1863. She has three sisters and two broth- ers, all living in Yakima county, namely : Mrs. Mary White, Mrs. Sarah Seward, Mrs. Almeda White, James and Robert Tigard. Mr. and Mrs. Hawkins have had five children, as follows: Lela, now attending the State University at Seattle; Asa, a student at the North Yakima business col- lege; Estella (deceased); Chester and Myron, both also deceased. The father of the family is fraternally affiliated with the Woodmen of the World. Politically, he is a Republican. The fam- ily church connection is with the Methodist Epis- copal denomination. Mr. Hawkins is one of the most extensive hop raisers of the valley; has one of the best homes in the city, and is a progressive, energetic and highly respected citizen.

CAPTAIN WILLIAM £ L. SPLAWN. Among the many worthy pioneers of Yakima county, few, if any, are more deserving of hon- orable mention in a history of the events and ex- periences of the early days than is the subject of this article, Captain William Splawn. His ex- periences in the new Northwest date from 1852, when he crossed the Plains from his home in Holt county, Missouri, in company with his mother and four brothers, Charles, George W., Moses and. Andrew Jackson, to Linn county, Ore- gon, driving ox teams the long, dreary journey. He was but fourteen when he made that trip, his birth occurring September 15, 1838, in Holt county, Missouri, and his life since that time has been that of the energetic, dauntless pioneer, ever ready to enter new and unexplored countries ; fearless of dangers, undismayed by hardships ; with a list of experiences varying from the hu- morous incidents of camp life amid congenial spir- its to the more serious ones of encounters with Indians, wild beasts and sometimes equally wild white men, the recounting of which our limited space forbids. It was he who fearlessly and capably led the company of Yakima volunteer soldiers into Chief Moses' country in 1878, an

expedition which completely cowed that haughty warrior, and none was more active than William Splawn in the bringing of retribution upon the heads of the Indians who murdered the Perkins family that same year. Mr. Splawn came from pioneer stock of the Virginia and Kentucky kind, his father, John Splawn, being a native of the latter state and a pioneer in Missouri, where he died in 1848 at the age of thirty-eight. The mother, Nancy (McHaney) Splawn, a native of Virginia, was married at the age of fifteen, faced the hardships and deprivations of the early days in northwest Missouri and, after the death of her husband, with a courage worthy of her pioneer ancestors, crossed the Plains with her family, enduring the hardships of that hazardous journey to the new El Dorado on the Pacific coast. She still lives in Ellensburg, Washington, at the goodly age of ninety ; a modest, unassuming old lady who seems to little realize that she has well earned the title of a "pioneer heroine." With the blood of pioneers flowing in his veins, and with the experiences he has had, it is not sur- prising that Mr. Splawn should take high rank as a pioneer himself and carry with him that in- dependent, self-reliant spirit, untiring energy and generous hospitality for which he is noted. As a boy he was among the stockmen of Oregon; in 1858 he went to California and engaged in mining in Siskiyou county, where he also ran a pack- train for some time. Returning to The Dalles, he outfitted and packed supplies into the various mining camps then booming, among others the Cariboo and Fraser river districts, and followed this occupation some six years. He filed a pre- emption on a quarter section of land in Parker Bottom, Yakima county, in 1864, and engaged in the stock business, which he followed there for nine years. He then sold his pre-emption and took up a homestead, still following stock raising for some eight years on the new place. His next move was to Yakima City, where he lived until 1889, when he purchased his present home, which he has transformed from wild sage-brush land to its present high state of cultivation. On his ranch he has also erected a comfortable dwelling and has equipped the place with all needful con- veniences.

Mr. Splawn was married in Linn county, Ore- gon, in 1858, to Margaret Jacobs, a native of Pennsylvania, born in 1843. She crossed the Plains with her parents to Oregon in 1852; later met her present husband and was united to him in marriage at the age of seventeen. Her father, Richard Jacobs, also born in Pennsylvania, of Dutch parents, was a pioneer in Oregon, where he settled in 1852 and where he also died. Mrs. Splawn has two sisters living, Eliza and Addic, the former in Idaho and the latter in the Moxee valley. To the union of Mr. and Mrs. Splawn have been born four children: Mrs. Nettie Rich-

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mond, born May 1, 1863, the first white child now living born in Yakima county; Mrs. Belle Campbell, Onah Boyington and William R. Mr. Splawn has improved three farms in the county, taking them from their raw, sage-brush condition, and now owns eighty acres, on which he resides, and eighty of timber ; also a fine bunch of cattle and horses. He is an avowed and consistent Democrat, ever ready to assist his party friends to office, but not liimself a seeker after official preferment. William Splawn is a man who has earned and will always retain the respect and confidence of his fellow citizens of the Yakima valley, and his name will ever be inseparably associated with the history of its reclamation and development.

ALFRED B. WEED, hop dealer and grower, North Yakima, was ushered upon the scene of life in the state of Wisconsin in 1850, to the union of Oscar and Laura (Conger) Weed. His father, who is a lawyer by profession, was born in New York. He went to Wisconsin when a young man and en- gaged in the practice of his profession, which he pursued for forty years in Palmyra and New Lon- don. In 1885 he moved to Pasadena, California, where he still resides. The mother was a native of New York, and was married to her husband in Wisconsin. Alfred Weed, after completing his edu- cation, at the age of eighteen, engaged in clerking in a general merchandise store. At the end of two years he went into the offices of the Northwestern Life Insurance Company, at Milwaukee, and later accepted a position with a manufacturing company at Grand Haven, which position he held for six years. In 1879 he came west to Washington, locat- ing at Walla Walla. Here he entered the Baker- Boyer Bank as bookkeeper and continued in that capacity five years. In the spring of 1884 he came to Yakima City and purchased a stock of hardware of Imbre & Hinman. In 1885 he put up the first business house erected in North Yakima, and in March, of that year, moved his hardware stock from Yakima City into his new building, opening the business under the firm name of Weed & Rowe; the location being where the Yakima National Bank now stands. His health failing in 1889, he sold his business and traveled for two years. Returning home in 1891, he purchased a tract of raw land near town and, after placing it in a state of cultivation, engaged in hop growing, since which time he has given his entire attention to the cultivation and ship- ment of hops. He was married in Wisconsin in April, 1882, to Miss Alice Gordon, born in Wiscon- sin in 1855. Abram Gordon, her father, was a native of New York, and was a pioneer in Wiscon- sin. He was a merchant and farmer, and was of Scotch parentage. Emeline Place, the mother, was born in New York and went to Wisconsin when a girl, where she met and married her husband. She

was the mother of five children. Charles Gordon, of the Yakima Hardware Company, is Mrs. Weed's brother. Fraternally, Mr. Weed is affiliated with the Masonic order. Politically, he is an active Re- publican, faithful in the councils of his party, where his opinions are deferred to. In 1892 he received the nomination of his party for representative, to which office he was duly chosen by the voters of his district. He prepared and introduced in the legis- lature the bill, which afterwards became a law, per- manently establishing the State Fair at North Yakima. He has served on the city council of his home town, and twice has been called to the mayor- alty. He has also acceptably filled the office of state fair commissioner for two terms. In addi- tion to his farm interests, Mr. Weed owns the "Weed block" and one of the most beautiful homes in the city. He is a broad-minded, public spirited citizen, walking hand in hand with enterprise and progress, and has much to do with the development and advancement of his county.

JOHN LEE MORRISON, who lives on his farm in the Ahtanum valley, is a native of the good old state of Illinois, born in the year 1836, in Pike county, to the union of James D. and Lydia (Lee) Morrison. His father was of Irish stock, born in Pennsylvania. He was one of the very early set- tlers in Indiana, and from there moved to Illinois in 1828. From the Sucker state he went to Mis- souri, where he remained until the close of his life. The mother was a native of Kentucky. While re- ceiving his early education, the subject of this article did farm work with his father in Illinois, re- maining at home until twenty-three, in which year he was married to Miss Caroline Bilicks, daughter of Michael Bilicks, a Pennsylvania farmer. Mrs. Morrison was a native of Pennsylvania, in which state she grew up and was educated, coming later to Illinois, where she was married at the age of twenty-three. After his marriage Mr. Morrison moved to Missouri, in the fall of 1859, and engaged in farming and raising stock. In 1862 he returned to Illinois and enlisted as a soldier in the One Hundred and Eighteenth Illinois infantry, and was sent to the front, where he was shortly afterwards taken seriously sick and was dis- charged for disability to serve, passing through a long period of sickness extending over sev- eral months. In 1865 he returned to Missouri to look after his property interests, remaining there for eleven years. In 1877 he moved to Ore- gon by team, settling in the Willamette vallev. He resided there three years, then moved to Yakima county and took up land near the present site of North Yakima, on which he remained until 1892, when he sold and bought one hundred acres of raw land in the' Ahtanum valley. Here he has since lived, improving his farm and developing it into a very desirable home. To the marriage of Mr. and

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Mrs. Morrison have been born five children, only two or whom are now living: Joseph H. and Ellen. The family are members of the Christian church. Mr. Morrison was an enthusiastic member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and helped or- ganize Lodge No. 22, in North Yakima. He is also an active Democrat, faithful in the councils of his party.

JAMES E. COOK, pioneer farmer and stock- man, Yakima City, was born in the county of Ran- dolph, Virginia, October 12, 1828, and settled in Yakima county in 1870. Like many of the old Vir- ginia families, Mr. Cook's family trace their lineage back to English ancestors, who came to America at a time when the land was under the rule of British royalty. His father, Thomas Cook, was born in England, and came to America with his father, who was sent to the colonies by the government as a blacksmith. Our subject's mother, Elizabeth Ken- nedy, was a native of Kentucky and the mother of eight children. Mr. Cook left his native state at the age of fourteen, went to Ohio and worked in the city of Columbus, and at various other points. He ran on the river steamboats for some three years, and in 1858 found himself in Burlington, Iowa. Here he remained until 1834, when he outfitted and crossed the Plains to Oregon, wintering in Canyon City, and the next spring crossing the state line into Klickitat county, Washington. He bought land here and engaged in stock raising and farming five years, when he sold out and moved to Yakima county, taking up a homestead near Yakima City, which he still owns, there never having been a transfer made during thirty-three years. He has followed stock raising ever since his settlement in the county. He was married in Washington county, Ohio, in 1858, to Miss Sarah Ann Dalson, a native of Ohio, and daughter of George Dalson, an Ohio farmer of English descent, and Nancy (Gordon) Dalson, a native of Virginia, also of English par- entage. To the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Cook have been born the following children: Mrs. Fran- ces M. Tustin, William L. Cook, Alonzo R. and Arthur N. The family are meinbers of the Chris- tian church, and Mr. Cook is a zealous Democrat. He owns two hundred and thirty acres of land and gives his attention to raising hay and stock, prin- cipally Holstein cattle. Many wonderful changes have taken place in this most wonderful valley since the advent of Mr. Cook in 1870, at which time the principal products were Indians, cayuses and sage- brush ; and to these hardy, dauntless pioneers is due a world of gratitude from the present and future generations who are to enjoy the fruits of their labors.

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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 135

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