An illustrated history of Klickitat, Yakima and Kittitas counties; with an outline of the early history of the state of Washington, Part 136

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 136
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 136
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 136

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).

ANSON S. WHITE, farmer and dairyman, resident in North Yakima, is a pioneer of 1851

on the Pacific coast, and came to Yakima county in 1871. He was born in Wisconsin, December, 1848. His father, William White, was a wheel- wright and farmer, and a native of Illinois. He went to Wisconsin in an early day, and in 1850, leaving his family in that state, crossed the Plains by the then common ox team conveyance and set- tled in the present city of Chehalis, Washington, then in Oregon territory, which had at that time been organized but two years. In 1851 he sent for his family and took up a donation claim near Olympia. Here he lived until 1856, when he was killed by the Indians while he and his family were returning home from church, the family effecting their escape after the death of the father. The mother. Margaret M. (Stewart) White, was a native of Iowa, in which state her parents were pioneers. She brought her family across the Plains to her husband in 1851, and continued to live on the home place near Olympia until her death. Her son, Anson, was but two years of age at the time his mother crossed the Plains, but remembers distinctly the wild life of the early days in the new home in Oregon territory. He remained with his mother on the farm until sixteen, then spending two years in various occu- pations, after which he and his brother took charge of the home place for a period of three years. At the age of twenty-one he tried clerk- ing for one year. In 1871 he came to Yakima county and took up a pre-emption on the Wenas, but did not prove up on it, returning to the Sound at the end of one year. For several years following he divided his time between the Sound and the Yakima country. In 1878 he filed a homestead on a tract of land on the Cowiche, which he has since owned, and where he con- tinued to live until he took up his residence in North Yakima.

He was married in Olympia, in 1869, to Miss Nancy A. Hale, a native of Olympia, who died two years later. Her father, Charles H. Hale, was a sea captain and a pioneer of 1852 in Wash- ington. Her mother, Waitstill (Look) Hale, was born in Maine. Mr. White was again married in Yakima county, in 1875, to Miss Almeda Tigard, daughter of Andrew Jackson and Sarah (Ed- wards) Tigard. Her mother was a native of Arkansas, born February 22, 1832, and passed away on February 2, 1902. Her father was born November 24, 1828, and was married on the 15th of September, 1848. He crossed the Plains with his wife during 1852, and settled on a donation claim some three miles southwest of Portland, Oregon, in Multnomah county. He made his home on the property until 1871, at which time he came to Yakima county and resided until his death, which took place on October 6, 1898. To the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. White have been born the following children: William A., Lillie M., Robert G., Roy A., Sarah A., Charles H. and

598

CENTRAL WASHINGTON.

Harry Lee, all of whom were born in Yakima county, with the exception of the first named, whose birth occurred in Olympia. Mr. White and family are members of the Methodist Epis- copal church, of which the father has been an officer for many years. He is connected with the fraternal order of Yeomen. Politically, he is a Republican. He has been connected with the schools of his community in an official capacity at various times. He is now operating a dairy, milking fifty cows, and is giving special attention to the breeding of the Durham and Red Polled cattle. He owns seven hundred and sixty acres of land, besides several pieces of city property, and is accounted a man of thrift and enterprise, of influence in the community, and one of the respected and reliable pioneers of the county.

ADONIRAM J. PRATT, one of the early pioneer officials of Yakima county, who served his constituency two terms, acceptably, as county treasurer, from 1876 to 1880, is A. J. Pratt, the subject of this brief article. He was born in the state of Maine in 1846, his father and mother being Ebenezer and Mary (Smith) Pratt. The father was a native of Maine and a mechanic. His ancestors were early settlers in the state of his birth, where he continued to make his home until 1871, when he sold out and came west to the state of Washington, where his son, the sub- ject of this sketch, had come the preceding year. Here he continued to reside until his death. The mother was also a native of Maine. Mr. Pratt was educated in the common schools of his native state, and continued to assist and work with his father until he reached his majority. He then engaged to learn the trade of cabinet maker, which he followed in Maine for three years. In 1870 he decided to seek a new field of labor, and turned his face westward. He came to Yakima county, and took up land in the Ahtanum valley, engaging in the stock business, which he followed four years, then went to Yakima City. Here he went to work at his trade, which he pursued for two years, when he was called to fill the office of county treasurer. At the end of the two- years term he was re-elected, serving altogether four years. During this period he continued to run a cabinet shop in Yakima City, and at the close of his term of office took up the work where he had laid it down. His shop was burned out in 1881, and he at once rebuilt, and continued there until 1885. when he moved to North Yakima, at the starting of that town by the railroad com- pany. He has continued to follow his trade ever since at that place. He is, no doubt, the pioneer carpenter and builder of the county. There were three brothers and a sister in his family: George W., North Yakima; Sarah Meade, Montana, and Henry, now deceased. Mr. Pratt is one of the

popular, successful and substantial pioneers of the county and city.

JAMES HARRISON THOMAS, land attor- ney and real estate dealer, North Yakima, was born in Jefferson county, Ohio, January 6, 1842, to the union of William T. and Catherine (Drum- mond) Thomas. His father was a native of Har- risburg, Pennsylvania, of Welsh parentage. He moved to Ohio when young and engaged in the stock business, where he died. The mother was born in Dublin, Ireland, and came to the United States when fourteen years of age, and a few years later met and married her husband. To this union were born nine children, four daughters and five sons. Mr. Thomas, the subject of this article, was left an orphan at twelve years, the father dying in 1850, and the mother in 1854. Honorable J. H. Tripp, of Carrollton, Ohio, was appointed his guardian, and wisely administered the estate. Subject was educated in the acad- emies of Harlem Springs and Carrollton, later graduating from the Allegheny College at Mead- ville, Pennsylvania, with the degree of A. B. in the 1863 class. In 1866, the same institution con- ferred upon him the degree of A. M. In his Junior year he received the highest literary honor in the Philo Franklin Society. The war had broken out at this time, 1862, and young Thomas, while home on a vacation, organized a military company, and was chosen captain of the same, but declined the honor at the advice of his brother, Captain A. J. Thomas, and returned to college, another brother, Daniel, being chosen in his stead. At the close of his college course, in 1863, he enlisted in the signal corps, and at once repaired to Washington, District of Columbia, taking up his work within five miles of the seat of government, being called upon to train the first gun that was fired upon the advancing forces of Early and Breckenridge, in their attack upon the national capital. He then took a course at the Military Academy at Philadelphia, at the instance of Secretary of War Stanton, from which he graduated in tactics and was commis- sioned a lieutenant in the regular service, and assigned to the Twentieth United States infantry at New Orleans. At the close of the war he set- tled at Plattsburg, Missouri, and purchased and conducted a college there for four years. He was the Republican nominee for the Twenty-fifth General Assembly of Missouri, in 1868, over which there was a contest. In 1870 he was ap- pointed deputy United States survevor for the Territory of Montana, and had charge of the work in northern Montana. It was Mr. Thomas. who discovered and named the lake near the British line, bearing the name of Lake Blaine. After a period in the milling business in Platts- burg, Captain Thomas was appointed to the

599

BIOGRAPHICAL.

United States internal revenue department. He was candidate for Congress from the Third Missouri district in 1882, and made such a good race that he was appointed by President Arthur register of the United States land office at Yakima City, Washington, which position he held throughout the Arthur, Cleveland and part of the Harrison administrations. He was a d delegate to the National convention that nominated Blaine for president. Since his retirement from the land office he has been a practitioner in the same line. He is the owner of the Yakima City townsite and is extensively interested in Cripple Creek mines, where he spent two years. He was mar- ried in Missouri, in 1868, to Miss Lucy B. Guyer, a native of Ohio, and a graduate from the Har- lem Springs Academy. Her father, Henry Guyer, was a native of Ohio and one of the best known men in the eastern part of the state. The mother, Rebecca Dewell, was born in Pennsylvania of German parents. To the union of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas have been born the following children : Dana H., deceased; Rosco G., drowned in 1902 while cashier of the Wenatchee Canal Company ; Mrs. Maud E. Granger, wife of W. N. Granger, general manager of the Washington Irrigation Company, at Zillah ; James B., assistant engineer for the Washington Irrigation Company ; Guyer D. and Harry V., deceased. Mr. Thomas is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, and his church connection is with the Methodist Epis- copal communion. Since coming to the state he has ever been connected with all movements for the development and advancement of the inter- ests of his town and community. His life has been a most active one, and few men have served more constantly in a public capacity than he.

HONORABLE WILLIAM H. HARE. Since his arrival in the county in 1883, William H. Hare, present representative of Yakima county, has been actively connected with public affairs in his community and county, ever striving to promote the best interests of the people and locality where he lives, and is at present conspic- uous for his untiring efforts in the awakening of interest in the construction and maintenance of good roads in the county and state, he at the present time being a member of the executive committee of the "Good Roads Association" of the state. In his legislative work he has been one of the strong and enthusiastic workers for all irrigation and good roads legislation of any value to the people whatever, and his efforts along those lines have not been without avail. Mr. Hare is a native of the Buckeye state, born in Barnesville, in 1853, to the union of William and Anna M. (Davenport) Hare, the father a native of England. He came to the United States when a boy, and studied medicine in Ohio, where he

practiced until his death. The mother was born in the Shenandoah valley, Virginia ; was married in Ohio, and died when her five children were quite young. Mr. Hare received his early educa- tion in West Virginia, and was graduated from the Ohio Dental College, of Cincinnati, in 1874. He went to Sacramento, California, in 1875, and opened a dental office, where he practiced his profession until 1883. He at this time moved to Yakima City, and practiced until the starting of North Yakima, when he moved here and opened an office. He soon built up a good practice. In 1891 he was appointed receiver of the United States land office by President Harrison, which position he held until 1894, when he resigned. The following year he was appointed on the State Board of Agriculture, serving as president until the election of Governor Rogers, when he resigned. He sold his dental office in 1900, and engaged in the stock business, in which he is still interested. In 1902 he was elected on the Republican ticket as representative of his county, and served as speaker of the House at the fol- lowing session, being called to that position of honor by the unanimous vote of his Republican colleagues. Mr. Hare has two brothers and one sister living: John A., in Ohio; Mrs. Jennie C. Peppert, Virginia, and J. W., for two terms sher- iff of Clatsop county. Fraternally, Mr. Hare is connected with the Elks, in which organization he has frequently been honored with office. He is prominent in the councils of the Republican party, a man of scholarly attainments, a good public speaker and one who has earned and who retains the good will and esteem of his fellow citizens.

REUBEN VAN BUSKIRK, carpenter, North Yakima, came to Washington in 1886, settling first in Klickitat county, and one year later in Yakima. He is a Hoosier by birth, and was born in 1833, in Fayette county, Indiana, to the mar- riage of George Van Buskirk and Rachel Helm. The father, a native of the Blue Grass state, set- tled in Indiana in a very early day, engaging in farming, and continued to make that state his home until his death at the age of ninety-four. The mother was a native of Pennsylvania and lived to the age of eighty-one. There were eleven children born to this union. Subject remained at home until twenty-two, doing farm work with his father, and then went to farming for himself. He settled in Kansas in the early and troublous times of that state, when the pro-slavery and free-soiler elements were contending for supremacy, and re- mained there until 1861. He went to Indiana at this date and enlisted in the Eighth Indiana vol- unteer infantry. At the end of one year's service he was taken sick and was discharged, returning home, where he continued in ill-health for two

600

CENTRAL WASHINGTON.

years. He served as United States enrolling offi- cer for some time in Indiana. Returning to Kan- sas, in 1866, he engaged in ranching near Fort Scott, remaining in that state for twenty years. He then moved to Klickitat county, Washington, and, a year afterwards, to North Yakima. Here he purchased property, and engaged in carpenter- ing, which he has since followed. He was married in Indiana in 1866 to Miss Letitia Jamison, who died nine months later. He was married the sec- ond time, in 1867, to Julia Walrod, a native of Illinois, where she was educated. She taught school for a number of years in Kansas. Her father, Daniel Walrod, a native of New York, though of German parentage, was a soldier in the Civil war. Jane (Wolcox) Walrod, the mother, was a native of Connecticut. Nine children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Van Buskirk : Charley, living in Ashland, Oregon; Carrie Whitsen, Edna Waldon, Ella, Ralph, who was killed in the Philip- pine war; George, Lee, Jessie and Velma; all the living children are in Yakima county. Mr. Van Buskirk and family are members of the Christian church. Fraternally, Mr. Van Buskirk is con- nected with the Grand Army of the Republic. He is a stanch Republican, and has filled the office of assessor in Indiana and in Kansas. In addi- tion to a finely improved place in North Yakima, he has a homestead on the Columbia river. He is a man who commands the confidence and re- spect of his neighbors and acquaintances, and his influence is always exerted for progress in polit- ical, educational and industrial institutions.

CHARLES POLLOK WILCOX, lumber- man, North Yakima, is a native of New York, making his advent into this world in 1836, to the union of Lansing H. Wilcox and Miranda Holmes. The father, a farmer by occupation, was born in Massachusetts in 1809, the son of English parents, and moved with his father to New York when a small boy, where he followed teaching for a time. He died in 1894. The mother, a native of Penn- sylvania, was of English parents, her ancestors coming to the United States in the sixteenth cen- tury. She was the mother of seven children, and departed this life in New York, A. D. 1867. Mr. Wilcox grew up on the farm with his parents until twenty-one years of age, when he learned the trade of carpenter and millwright. He was an enthusiastic Union man, and when the war broke out he enlisted in the One Hundred and Fifty- fourth New York infantry, but being rejected for physical defects, he tried enlistment in the Ninth New York cavalry, but was again rejected. Later he was drafted, and once more was released for apparent disability. In 1865, he went to Europe as manager of a coal oil refining establishment, and was there for four years. Returning, in 1869, he engaged in the building business in Minnesota,

and for several years later was interested in the retail lumber business, with headquarters at De- troit City, Minnesota. In 1888 he removed to the Pacific coast, settling at Tacoma. After remaining there two years he removed to North Yakima, purchasing a tract of land on Summit View, ad- joining the city, where he built a fine home and still resides.

He was married in Salamanca, New York, July 18, 1864, to Miss Hannah M. Mckinstry, a native of that state, and a graduate of the Acad- emy of New York. She was a teacher for some time. Her father, William Mckinstry, was a na- tive of Vermont and a Methodist Episcopal min- ister, a profession he followed for about forty years, dying in Minnesota at the age of eighty- seven. The mother, Sallie M. Cole, was a native of New York, and followed teaching for years. She died at the age of eighty-six. Mr. and Mrs. Wilcox's children are : William H. and Alvan B., born in North Wales; Warlo C. and Fenner L., born in Minnesota, and Agnes, adopted, born in England.

Mr. and Mrs. Wilcox are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, in which they have been active workers for many years, Mr. Wilcox holding positions as steward, superintendent, trustee and chairman of the board through long periods at different places of his residence. He is a stanch Republican, casting his first vote for Abraham Lincoln, and one vote for every Repub- lican president since that time, and has been hon- ored by office a number of times by his party and the suffrage of the people. He served three years as commissioner of Becker county, Minnesota, and four years as assessor. At present he is vice- president of the Wilcox Lumber Company, inter- ested in a mill and real estate in Tacoma, and a farm at Parker Bottom. He is a man of energy and push, and is highly esteemed by his fellow citizens.

LEVI C. LOVELL, carpenter and builder, settled in North Yakima fifteen years ago, coming from the state of Illinois, and has followed his trade during that period with the exception of four years' service as deputy sheriff under Sheriff H. L. Tucker. His father, Simeon Lovell, was born in New York of Scotch-Irish parents, and resided in his native state until his family was raised, when, in 1859, he moved to Ohio, and died there at the age of seventy. His wife, Nancy (Allen) Lovell, was the mother of ten children. She was born in New Jersey, and was of Scotch descent. She lived to the age of seventy. Levi C. Lovell is a native of New York, born August 13, 1839. At the age of sixteen he learned the trade of carpenter, and later, removing with his parents to Ohio, he there worked at his trade until 1861, when he enlisted in the service of his

601

BIOGRAPHICAL.

country in Company A. Eighteenth Ohio infantry, serving for three years. Returning to Delaware, Ohio, at the time of his discharge, he was there married, and in 1867 removed to Illinois, where he engaged in farming and working at his trade for twenty-three years. In 1888 he came to Wash- ington, locating at North Yakima, which place he has seen grow from the little hamlet to its present size and importance, and in which development he has taken an active part. He was married in Delaware county, Ohio, in 1865, to Miss Elizabeth R. Stockard, who was born in Lancaster, Ohio, April 4, 1847, and was educated in the Delaware, Ohio, college. William C. and Mary E. (Bur- lingame) Stockard were her parents; the former, a farmer and native of Virginia, born in 1818. He died in Illinois in his seventy-fourth year. Her mother, born in Marietta, Ohio, in 1820, came of English ancestry, and was the mother of ten chil- dren. Four children were born to the union of Mr. and Mrs. Lovell: William E., Susan C. (de- ceased), Mrs. Mary E. Walker and Jesse G. Fra- ternally, Mr. Lovell is connected with the Masonic order, the Yeomen and the Grand Army of the Republic, and his wife with the Eastern Star and the Relief Corps. They are Presbyterians, and Mr. Lovell is an avowed Republican. He owns a comfortable home in the city, is energetic and progressive, and is known and esteemed as one of the worthy pioneers of both city and county.

ROBERT SCOTT, one of the leading contrac- tors and builders of North Yakima and central Washington, was born in Scotland in 1840, coming to Canada with his parents, Walter and Margaret (Stothart) Scott, when two years of age. His father was a blacksmith by trade, and immigrated with his family to Canada in 1842, where he died in 1867. His wife was the mother of six children, and lived to the age of seventy-five. Mr. Scott, at the age of sixteen, began to learn the carpenter trade on the Canada side of Lake Huron, at the same time attended school in the winter. In the spring of 1860 he and his brother went to Olney, Ill., where he worked at his trade until August 5, 1862, when he enlisted in the Ninety-eighth Illinois infantry, from which he was discharged seven months later for disability. He then returned to Canada for two years, and in the spring of 1867 opened a wagon and carriage house in Old Mexico, in connection with his brother. After one year he located in Mis- souri and engaged in contract work; later, in 1878, opening in the hardware and furniture business, which he followed until 1883. One year he spent as traveling salesman and another in operating a bargain store in Springfield. This he disposed of and came west to Washington and, July 1, 1884, took up a railroad claim of one hundred and sixty acres of land on the Naches river. Here he resided for five years, then moved to North Yakima and

re-entered his old business as contractor and build- er. His first building was the H. H. Allen block ; following with the Hotel Yakima, Vining and J. J. Lowe blocks, with part of the Ward block. He put in the flumes and building for the Water Power Company, and later built the Wilson, McEwen and Yakima National Bank blocks, and various other buildings both in the city and in outside towns. He was married in Olney, Illinois, in 1863 to Miss Sa- rah A. Morehouse, daughter of Daniel W. and Adelia M. Morehouse, the father a native of Illinois and a merchant in Olney, and the mother also a na- tive of the same state and the mother of a fam- ily of five children. Mrs. Scott was born in Illinois in 1845, and was married at the age of eighteen. She is the mother of nine chil- dren-Walter D. (deceased in 1899); Robert W., living on the Naches; Charles E., Naches; James N., two years in the Philippines as ser- geant; Tom H., two years in the Philippines in active service ; Harry, Amy K., Bert and George. Fraternally, Mr. Scott is connected with the Grand Army of the Republic and Ancient Order of United Workmen. Politically, he is a stanch Republican, and has served in the capacity of committeeman. In 1898 he was elected as assessor of the county on the Republican ticket, and was re-elected in 1900, serv- ing the four years in an acceptable manner. In addi- tion to one hundred and ninety-eight acres of land he owns considerable city property, including his home. He is an energetic, thorough-going business man, and is recognized as one of the citizens who has contributed greatly to the upbuilding of the community where he lives.

INGRAM B. TURNELL, proprietor of the popular hostelry, the Pacific Hotel, North Yakima, is a native of Eagle, Wisconsin, born January I, 1853, of English parents. His father, Richard Tur- nell, came from Lincolnshire, England, the land of his nativity, to the United States in 1842, at the age of twenty-four, settling in Wisconsin, where he fol- lowed farming until his death. The mother, Sarah (Bingham) Turnell, was also a native of England, and came to the United States with her husband. Mr. Turnell grew to manhood on the farm at Black Earth, Wisconsin, going on the railroad as brake- man at the age of nineteen. Meeting with an acci- dent in which one hand was crippled, he took a course in telegraphy, and after a brief service as assistant, he was given a position as station agent at Marshland Junction, two years later being pro- moted to New London. Here he was married and remained for thirteen years. He then moved to Waupaca, where he held the position of express agent and engaged in shipping produce for nine years, doing well. After a service of two and one- half years as station agent in Illinois, he came west to North Yakima, and filled the position of night operator for the Northern Pacific for two years, at

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

An illustrated history of Klickitat, Yakima and Kittitas counties; with an outline of the early history of the state of Washington, Part 136

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