An illustrated history of Klickitat, Yakima and Kittitas counties; with an outline of the early history of the state of Washington, Part 140

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 140
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 140
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 140

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).

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CENTRAL WASHINGTON.

ima. As with many another young man in his twenties, Mr. Chamberlain has found a strong, loving helpmeet in life's work in the person of his wife, formerly Miss Daisy M. Labbee, whom he married in 1903 at North Yak- ima. She is a native of Illinois, born in 1876, the daughter of Alexander and Elizabeth (Foiles) Labbee, both of whom were also natives of Illinois. Her father came to North Yakima in 1901, and now resides in Toppenish. Mrs. Chamberlain was educated in the common schools of her native state and was graduated at the Bloomington, Illinois, College. She taught school a number of years. Mr. Chamberlain is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America and the Fraternal Brotherhood, and politically, is an ardent Democrat. His prospects for a long, useful life are indeed bright.

WILLIAM TERRY. Of all the tradesmen in a pioneer community none is more important than the skillful, brawny blacksmith; no neigh- borhood is complete without him, and, as the country is settled, no man has greater demands made upon his time. His forge, covered by a crude roofing, is usually the first business enterprise to be established in the new settlement, and it would sometimes seem that life would come to a stand- still without his assistance. To this class of our citizenship belongs William Terry, living in North Yakima, where he conducts a well equipped smithy. Born in the state of Illinois, March 27, 1851, he comes of old Virginia stock, his parents being James and Lucinda (Metzker) Terry, of German extraction. They lived in Illinois twenty years, and then moved to Missouri, where the father died. William remained at home until he was twenty years of age, meanwhile receiving a fair schooling, when he went to Iowa and there took up in earnest the trade he had partly learned in Missouri. But in 1876 the far west- ern field attracted him so strongly that he went to Walla Walla, where he was engaged at his trade three years. Then he removed to Pendle- ton, where two years of his life were spent; thence to Pilot Rock for a short stay; thence into Grant county, Oregon, and, after two years there, re- turned to Washington and settled in North Yak- ima in 1889. While comparatively a new resident of Yakima county, he filed a homestead claim to a quarter section in the Cowiche. valley, and there lived five years, finally disposing of it and returning to the city, where he opened the shop he is at present conducting. His marriage to Miss Emma Weddle, of Walla Walla, took place in 1883. She was born in the Willamette valley in 1863, the daughter of Jasper and Jane (Sut- ton) Weddle, natives of Virginia and Ohio, re- spectively. Mr. Weddle was one of Oregon's earliest pioneers, and is now living in Yakima

county. Mrs. Weddle was the mother of eleven children, of whom nine are living: Frank, Mrs. Eliza Laswell, David D., Mrs. Ellen Laswell, Mrs. Esther Little, Mrs. Anna Chase, Mrs. L. Foster and Joseph, besides Mrs. Terry. The Terry home has been brightened by the follow- ing children: Nellie, born February 22, 1885; Glenn, born March 13, 1887; Winnie, October 3, 1889; William, August 9, 1892; Bun, April 3, 1894; Camma, September 2, 1898; and Emma, February 7, 1901. Mr. and Mrs. Terry are mem- bers of the Baptist church in North Yakima. He is an ardent admirer of President Roosevelt and a strong Republican. Mr. Terry owns the busi- ness building and grounds at 108 South First street, and bears the reputation among his fellow men of being a first-class blacksmith and a good citizen.

DANIEL G. GOODMAN. With the decline of the once great master industry of the Yakima country, cattle raising, has come the steady growth of the sheep business, until at the present time it is entitled to a position among the three or four leading occupations of that section. On every great range the business of sheep raising has met with most discouraging obstacles, but, despite the strenuous opposition manifested to the intro- duction of sheep, they have come, remained and multiplied, remunerating their owners amply for the trouble and extra expense involved in their rearing. Fortunately, in the Yakima region no serious clashes have occurred to mar the fortunes of the advancing sheep men, but, rather, wise, conservative counsel has prevailed, and the range difficulties have been satisfactorily adjusted. No one among the sheep men has been more prom- inently identified with the upbuilding and con- servation of that industry than has the subject of this sketch. For eighteen years he has been a leading sheep man, owning at one time sixteen thousand sheep, and none has been more progress- ive or capable among the stockmen than he. Mis- souri, the birthplace of so many pioneers of the · far west, is also Mr. Goodman's birthplace, the year being 1860. His parents were Joseph and Eliz- abeth (Stutsman) Goodman. Both have long since crossed the Great Divide of life. Joseph Goodman was by occupation a farmer and carpenter and a pioneer successively of Iowa, Illinois, California, Missouri and Umatilla county, Oregon. He died at his Oregon home. In 1858, he came to Cali- fornia via the Isthmus, and in 1862 again came west, having returned east some time previously. He located on what is now known as the Hudson Bay Farm, in Umatilla county, where, with the ex- ception of two years spent in the Willamette val- ley, he lived the balance of his days. Mrs. Good- man died at the age of sixty-two, revered and

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mourned by twelve children. Daniel received his education in Umatilla county, being only two years old when his parents crossed the Plains to Oregon. At the age of twelve he began riding the range for the various stockmen in Oregon, working for wages until he was seventeen, when he purchased a band of horses from the Indians and drove them to the site of Sprague, Washing- ton, where he took up a land claim. This was during the building of the Northern Pacific across Washington. The following spring he built a fine stone corral at Washtuckna lake, which he made headquarters for four years, during which time he followed horse raising. He then disposed of his holdings, borrowed more money from John McCloud and W. P. Sturgis, of Umatilla county, and entered the sheep business in Umatilla county, where he remained three years. In 1886, he re- moved his large band of sheep to the Rattlesnake range of hills, Yakima county, where he lived the following five years, in 1891 taking up his abode at Kiona. Nine years later he came to North Yakima, his present home. With a multitude of others, he was caught in the financial panic of 1893, during which he sold four hundred thou- sand pounds of wool at four and one-quarter cents, and sheep at from seventy-five cents to one dollar and fifty cents a head. In 1895, Mr. Goodman was united in marriage with Miss Jen- nie Agor, a native of sunny France, born in 1870. There, too, she was educated, and, in 1886, ac- companied by her sister and two brothers, left its shores, coming direct to California. After a year's residence in San Francisco, she came to North Yakima, where she was married. One child has blessed the union, Daniel L., born at North Yakima, June 10, 1899. Mr. Goodman has three brothers, William S. and Ira W., living near Walla Walla, and Enos B., living near Milton, Oregon; and one sister, Mrs. Mary Swartz, who also lives near Milton. Mrs. Goodman is a zeal- ous member of the Catholic church. Politically, Mr. Goodman is a strong Republican, being especially loyal to the tariff policy of that party. That he has been gratifyingly successful in the accumulation of worldly goods may be easily seen from the fact that he owns at least twelve thousand acres of grazing land, to which he is constantly adding, and a band of six thousand sheep. Truly, he is one of the substantial, respected citizens of the county.

DANIEL SINCLAIR, No. 103 North Sixth street, North Yakima, is a sterling man, citizen and husband in every sense of the word, as all who know him can well testify, and it is a pleasure to chronicle his life in these pages. What persever- ance, indomitable energy and courage, and stead- fast adherence to correct principles will accom- plish is a lesson that the younger generation can

well afford to learn from such a life. Born in 1845 on the peninsula of Nova Scotia, he is the son of early pioneers of that famed little section of North America. His father, Donald Sinclair, was a Scotchman by birth, and, with the exception of the first five years, spent his entire life in the land of his adoption. Jane McNeil, the mother, was also born on Scotch soil. The son, Daniel, was educated in the schools of Nova Scotia and remained at home until he was nineteen years of age, when the tempting world led him to deter- mine to seek his fortune in the United States. With this idea in view he went to Iowa in 1867, and there for five years was engaged in farming. Then he crossed the Plains to Seattle, Washing- ton, and for three years conducted a logging camp on the Snohomish river. While on the Sound, in 1872, he purchased land where a portion of the present city of Everett stands, but, in 1875, sold land from which he might have reaped an im- mense fortune in later years. Four years later, in 1879, he came to Yakima county, and, the fol- lowing year, filed a pre-emption claim to one hun- dred and twenty acres and a homestead claim to eighty acres, all lying in the Naches valley. Sub- sequently he purchased an adjoining forty-acre tract, and, on this magnificent ranch of two hun- dred and forty acres, he lived for twenty-two years, farming and raising stock. He disposed of this farm to advantage during 1901, and removed to North Yakima, but still retains considerable property in the same vicinity. Mr. Sinclair's mar- riage to Miss Annie M., daughter of Duncan and Jessie (Murray) Cameron, took place in Califor- nia in 1886. Her parents were natives of Nova Scotia, living and dying there, and Nova Scotia was her birthplace, the date being 1853. Three children-Jean, Malcolni and Jessie-brought hap- piness into the Sinclair home, and then brought the terrible sorrows which follow in the wake of death. Jean, the oldest child, was born in 1887; Malcolm in 1889, and Jessie in 1892. Malcolm lived only two years, the others died in August, 1902, at Oakland, California. Mr. Sinclair has two brothers, John H. and Alexander, both of whom live in Nova Scotia, the former being a lawyer, and two sisters, Mrs. Mary M. Bishop, living at North Yakima, and Mrs. Kate McBain, of Fitchburg, Massachusetts. He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and also a devoted member of the Presbyterian church. In political matters, Mr. Sinclair takes his stand with the Republican party. Besides his home in North Yakima, he owns three thousand acres of grazing land, sixty head of cattle and horses, and other property. In bringing this biography to a close, it is only necessary to say further that Mr. Sinclair is a representative citizen and deserving of a place in these chronicles of the pioneer inhabitants of the Yakima region.

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CENTRAL WASHINGTON.

WILLIAM L. WRIGHT owns one of the finest orchards in the Yakima country, and is a fruit grower of prominence in eastern Washington. He comes of a long line of American pioneers, the Wrights having come to Pennsylvania with William Penn in the seventeenth century, and were prominent in the settlement of the middle west. His father, Paschal L. Wright, was born in Pennsylvania, and emigrated therefrom to Illinois, in 1838, where he lived until his death at the age of sixty-eight. Many important offices were held by him, he was a pillar in the Presbyterian church of his community, and a man highly respected by all. Wrightsville, Penn- sylvania, was named in honor of his father. The mother, Jane C. (Lawson) Wright, was also a na- tive of the Quaker state, where her forefathers came two hundred years ago. She died in Illinois at an advanced age. William L. received a com- mon and high school education at his home in Il- linois, and worked for his father on the farm until of age, when he took the management of the place for an interest in the production. After his father's death, when William was twenty-four years old, he having been born on the farm in Ste- phens county, in 1851, he assumed full control of the place, buying out the other heirs, and there farmed for nineteen years. Then, in 1894, he immigrated to the Northwest, purchasing a tract of twenty-five acres of sage-brush land, half a mile west of North Yakima. By commendable energy and skill, he has transformed this bit of wilderness into one of the prettiest and most productive fruit farms to be found in central Washington: and a more ideal spot for a home in the Yakima valley could not well be found. Since his orchard came into bearing, Mr. Wright has taken many premiums at different fairs, his latest' conquests in this direction being first premiums for the excellence of his fruit ex- hibited at the Washington state fair held in. 1903, and at the Inter-State fair held last fall in Spokane. At Shannon, Illinois, March 11, 1875, Mr. Wright was united in marriage to Miss Lura, daughter of Thomas and Esther ( Foster) Buckley, natives of Pennsylvania, and descendants of the earliest pioneers of that state. The father came to Illinois in the early days, where he conducted a drug store and operated an iron foundry at Mount Carroll. In 1858, he joined the rush to Pike's Peak, but the venture, like those of so many others in 1858 and 1859, was bootless, and he returned home. Mrs. Wright was born at Mount Carroll, and was edu- cated in the Freeport common and high schools. After graduation, she taught school for four years, and was then married. Four children have blessed the Wright household: John Howard, born at Freeport, December 21, 1878; William C., born in Illinois, June 10, 1883; Helen B., born in Illinois, September 18. 1885, and Grace E., who was born in Illinois, North Yakima, in August 28, 1891, and who died at

1894. John went to the Spanish-American war as a sergeant in Company E, First Washington volunteers, and, after a service of eighteen months, returned with the company to North Yakima, where lie now resides. He is now second lieutenant of the Yakima company of the Washington National Guard. William is a successful shoe salesman. Mr. Wright is a member of the Order of Washing- ton, belongs to the Presbyterian church in North Yakima, of which he is one of the trustees, and is one of the stalwarts in the Republican party. He is president of the Schanno Ditch Company, clerk of school district No. 25, and a forceful leader in various other enterprises in the county. But it is as one of the most successful fruit growers in the state that Mr. Wright's influence is most felt, and that he himself takes greatest pride. At present he is president of the Yakima County Horticultural So- ciety and Fruit Growers' Union, and is serving as first vice-president of the Inland Empire Horticul- tural and Floricultural Association, in all of which organizations he is a power. He has recently been appointed by the St. Louis fair commission of the state as general manager of the horticultural de- partment of the state's exhibit at St. Louis, and will remain in that city until the close of the exposition. This is a lucrative position, and an office of consid- erable importance, and Mr. Wright is well worthy the appointment. That he is recognized throughout the state as one of the commonwealth's most capa- ble, upright and progressive citizens is evidenced by the fact that Mr. Wright is one of the Washing- ton state fair commissioners, and his standing and popularity in Yakima county are attested by the multitude of friends he has made.

FLAVEIUS A. CURRY, a paint and oil iner- chant in North Yakima, where he resides at No. 25 South Second street, was born in Iowa, December 23, 1858, and is the son of Michael Curry, a native of West Virginia, who went to Iowa in 1852, becoming one of its pioneers. Subsequently the father removed to Missouri, and lived there for twenty years, after which he took up his abode in Kansas, where he still lives at a ripe old age. The so11, Flaveius, worked on his father's farm until he reached the age of twenty-one, receiving a good education in his boyhood, and then left the shelter of his home to make his own way in the world. His first work was that of cutting railroad ties, at which occupation he continued until 1886. In that year he immigrated to Washington, settling in the Horse Heaven region, south of Prosser, where he filed a pre-emption claim to a fine tract of land. He re-

mained there only one year, however, going to work for the Northern Pacific on the famous Stampede tunnel. A year later he returned to the Horse Heaven country, went thence to the Rattlesnake springs, where he made his home for four years, and

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BIOGRAPHICAL.

in 1890 took up his residence in North Yakima. After working at various occupations in this city for thirteen years, he opened a general paint and oil store in 1903, which gives every indication of a prosperous growth. Mr. Curry was married to Miss Agnes Matteson, in North Yakima, December II, 1898. Her parents are James and Adelphine ( Mul- len) Matteson, natives of New York and Pennsyl- vania respectively. She was born in Minnesota, No- vember 17, 1873, received a high school education, and was granted a teacher's certificate in Minne- sota, but never taught school. In Seattle, Washing- ton, she learned the printer's trade, and worked at it for some time previous to her marriage. Mr. Curry is a member of two fraternal orders, the Knights of Pythias and the Eagles. His wife is an active mem- ber of the Christian church. In political matters, Mr. Curry is an enthusiastic Republican, and an energetic worker in every campaign, attending all preliminary caucuses and primaries, and county and district conventions. He is a pushing business man, and commands the respect and friendship of all who come in contact with him, either in a business or a social way.

THOMAS W. DAVIDSON is one of the prominent commission merchants of North Yakima, and as such is respected as a capable, progressive and straightforward business man and citizen. Wis- consin is his native state, he having been born in Brown county in 1862. His parents were David, a native born Scotchman, who came to Canada when a boy, and to Wisconsin at a later date, and Melinda (Wilson) Davidson, of English descent, and born in New York state in 1842. His father was born in 1824 and died in 1902. The subject of this biogra- phy was fortunate in securing a good education in the schools of Brown county, and remained with his parents until twenty-one years old, when he followed Horace Greeley's advice to young men · by coming west to Washington. He made Yakima county his destination, and, arriving there, took charge of the Yeates sawmill on the Naches river, where he worked for three and one-half years. He then returned to Wisconsin, remained there for a like period, and engaged in the lumbering business. In 1889, however, he again turned westward, and settled permanently in the county where he now lives. After lumbering a year, he leased a ranch in the Naches valley. industriously cultivated it for three years, and in 1893 moved to North Yakima, and entered the commission business, at which he has been successful. He is associated with the firm of C. E. Jones & Company. In 1886, he and Miss Ann, daughter of Elijah S. and Jessie (Davidson) Yeates, were united in the bonds of matrimony, and to this union have been born the two children whose names follow : Harold C., born in Brown county, Wisconsin, July 15, 1888; Jeannette, born in North 40

Yakima, February 6, 1900. Mr. Yeates is an Eng- lishman by birth, coming to America when a boy of fifteen years, and settling in Wisconsin. In 1849, he crossed the Plains by ox teams to California, later lived in Nevada, and finally became a pioneer of the Yakima country. The mother was a native of Scot- land. Mrs. Davidson was born in Green Bay, Wis- consin, in 1869, and became the wife of Mr. David- son at the age of nineteen. She has five sisters liv- ing, four of whom are married: Mrs. Jennie Joan- nas, Mrs. Maggie Keiser, Mrs. Jessie Hessin, Mrs. Mary Parsons and Isabella. Mr. and Mrs. David- son are both church members, he belonging to the Episcopal and she to the Presbyterian church. Of the two great political parties of the country, Mr. Davidson believes that the Republicans are the more capable of administering the nation's affairs, and is, therefore, a member of that party. Mr. and Mrs. Davidson own their own home in North Yakima, and some other city property, and, as good and re- spected citizens and members of a large social circle, are prosperous and contented, and willing to bide the future.

CHARLES R. HARRIS, the subject of this biography, was born in Madison, Indiana. in 1854, the son of Samuel M. and Mary A. (Voorhees) Harris, both natives and pioneers of the Hoosier state and both of English descent. Samuel M. followed the occupations of farmer, cooper and merchant at different times in his life, and, after a residence of twenty years in Mississippi, came to Yakima county in 1891, where he died eight years later. The mother was united in marriage with Mr. Harris in Indiana and came with him to Yakima county, surviving her husband only one year. Charles received his early schooling in Indiana, leaving there with his parents upon their removal to Mississippi, in which state he finished his education and left the family hearth to go forth alone into the world and work out as best he could the problem of life. For six years he was engaged in the sawmill business. He then entered his father's store as a clerk, and remained in that capacity three years, and was then taken into the firm, the style of the firm name being S. M. Harris & Son. Three years later he pur- chased his father's interest in the business, and was sole owner for three years. At the end of that period his wife fell heir to the old family homestead, a plantation of 800 acres. In order to look after this extensive property Mr. Harris disposed of his mercantile business, and for two years devoted his time to the management of the plantation. Unfortunate reverses in business checked his prosperity for the time being, and he decided to immigrate to the far west and be- gin life anew, a plan which he put into execution by removing to North Yakima. Washington, in

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1889. After a varied experience in several lines, including contracting, restaurant keeping, and clerking for Lombard & Horseley and the Co-Op- erative Store Company, Mr. Harris in 1891 again entered into partnership with his father in con- ducting a general store in North Yakima. He bought his father's interest in the business, and for a year and a half the business prospered ex- ceedingly, only to receive a very serious setback by fire, nearly everything being destroyed. How- ever, the doors were re-opened as soon as possi- ble, and the business conducted by father and son until the former's death in 1899, after which our subject continued the business until 1902 when, on account of failing health, he was forced to sell the mercantile business. Mr. Harris and Miss Emina M. Powell, daughter of Jethro and Mary A. (Roberts) Powell, were united in the bonds of matrimony, November 24, 1881, in Mississippi. Her father was a Mississippian, her mother a na- tive of Connecticut. Mrs. Harris was born in Mis- sissippi in 1857, and received her education at Bloomington, Illinois. For several years previous to her marriage she taught school in the south. To this union have been born five children, as follows: Sanford M. (deceased), May 11, 1883; Stella P. (deceased), October 15, 1884; Earl D., April 19, 1886; Marian W. (deceased), Febru- ary 26, 1893: Robert W. (deceased), April 21, 1899. The first three were born in Mississippi, the remaining two in Yakima county. Frater- nally, Mr. Harris is affiliated with the Woodmen of the World and the Ancient Order of United Workmen. He is also a member of the Meth- odist church of North Yakima, and a strong Pro- hibitionist in politics. By dint of much energy and perseverance he has accumulated considera- ble property, which includes ten acres of fine fruit and hay land in the Moxee valley, a three hun- dred and twenty-acre desert land claim, and one thousand shares of stock in the Yakima Land Company. These, together with other interests, require his constant attention and place him o11 the list of Yakima's substantial and useful citizens.

JOHN L. LASSWELL, proprietor of the Ho- tel Lasswell, North Yakima, and a representative citizen of Yakima county, comes of a distinguished family of northwestern pioneers, he himself hav- ing been born in Oregon in 1858. His parents were Isaac and Rachel (McNary) Lasswell, na- tives of Iowa and Illinois respectively, his father being born in 1820 and the mother three years later. Isaac Lasswell crossed the Plains with ox teams and settled in Clackamas county, Oregon, where he lived until 1861, then removed to Walla Walla. From Walla Walla he came to the Yak- ima country in 1876, settling in the Cowiche val- ley. His death occurred at this place in the

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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 140

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