An illustrated history of Klickitat, Yakima and Kittitas counties; with an outline of the early history of the state of Washington, Part 162

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 162
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 162
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 162

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ANDREW E. FISK, of the firm of Brown & Fisk, proprietors of one of the best-equipped ton- sorial establishments in central Washington, came to Sunnyside in December, 1902, and in the period which has elapsed since then has founded and built up a lucrative business and gathered around him a host of warm friends. Mr. Fisk, the son of Hiram F. and Martha (Parks) Fisk, was born in Wash- ington county, Kansas, Decoration Day, 1879. His father, a farmer, was born in Lawrence county, New York, in 1837, and is a pioneer of Kansas, living at present in Meriden. Mrs. Fisk was born in Ohio, 1846, and is also living. Andrew attended the pub- lic schools of Kansas, and also the Friends' Acad- emy at Washington, Kansas, leaving school when nineteen years old. During the latter years of his school life he gradually acquired a knowledge of barbering, often working Saturdays, and so in time became skilled in this branch of work. After leav- ing school he worked one season on his father's farm, and then went to Creston, Iowa, where he commenced working for his uncle, S. B. Parks, a dairyman. He remained in Iowa until November, 1900, returning home at that time and remaining until the following March. He then came to the Northwest, locating in Yakima county. In May, 1901, he arrived in the Sunnyside valley, spent a season farming, and the next February purchased the barber's equipment being used by Archie Fleming, and opened a shop. The business pros- pered from the beginning. In November, 1902, Fred Brown, another experienced barber, became a partner, and the next month the young men leased the building now occupied and equipped a first- class barber shop and public bath, which are well patronized.

Mr. Fisk is the fifth child in a family of six boys and three girls, all living: William F., a farmer, near Washington, Kansas; Charles R., an engineer in the Carnegie steel works, in Pennsyl- vania ; Lewis S., an oil driller, residing in Sisters- ville, West Virginia; Mrs. Margaret Root, wife of a Meriden editor; Alexander J., a farmer, near Washington, Kansas, and Estella, Guy H. and. Inez, living with their parents. Mr. Fisk is affili- ated with the Sunnyside lodge of Odd Fellows, and is a Republican. He is one of the popular young men of the community, and has won the respect of all by his honorable methods of dealing and his in- dustry.

JOHN FERRELL. The esteemed pioneer of the Pacific coast, and of Yakima county in par- ticular, who forms the subject of this biography, is yet hale and hearty at the mature age of seventy- two, and is an unusually active man. He started on life's journey from his birthplace in Holmes county, Ohio, where he came into the world July 29, 1832, to gladden the home of Hanson and Sarah (Rubel) Ferrell. The father was born near Har- per's Ferry, Virginia, in the year 1803, and early in life immigrated to Ohio, where he followed milling and farming until his death in 1861. The mother was born in Maryland, 1804, and died in Ohio at the age of eighty. After working upon the farm and attending school until he was seventeen years old, the son John was apprenticed to the mercantile business and served two and a half years in a coun- try store. But, fired with the pioneer instinct im- planted in his nature, the young Ohioan in 1853 set out for the most distant part of the country, California, walking most of that long, dreary route. In the Pacific eldorado he was engaged in mining for a time, then clerked in a store, farmed and raised stock; and finally, in 1858. established a general store at Suisun City, which he conducted seven years. During this time he served as post- master under President Lincoln, and one term as treasurer of Solano county. After retiring from the mercantile business he was engaged in farming and reclaiming the arid lands of California, until 1878. In that year he visited Yakima county. with the view of taking desert land claims, and two years later settled in the Yakima valley about six miles from the site of Sunnyside, and engaged in farming and stock raising. He purchased a steam pump for use in irrigating with Yakima river water, but the experiment failed to be a success. Engaging in the hop business, he first made money and then, owing to the depression of the market for several years, lost heavily. However, his stock interests thrived, and he was fairly successful in farming, but in recent years has turned the active management of his property over to his children, and now spends what time he cares to work in prospecting and developing his claims.

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CENTRAL WASHINGTON.

Mr. Ferrell and Miss Julia A. Sheldon were united in marriage at Suisun, California, in 1854. She was the daughter of Jasper S. and Emily (Bull) Sheldon, natives of New York and Vermont respectively, and was born in Stark county, Ohio, in 1833. Mrs. Ferrell laid down the burdens of life in 1887, her death occurring in Yakima City. Besides her husband, seven children survive: George H., born in 1855, a Yakima county farmer ; Mrs. Louise E. Adams, born in 1857, living in Yak- ima City ; Lela F., born in 1860, a resident of North Yakima; Mrs. Kate Gibbons, born in 1862, now at The Dalles, Oregon ; Oliver R., 1864, a prosper- ous Yakima stock raiser; Mrs. Elsie St. John, 1867, now in Everett, Washington, and John S., 1870, also a Yakima county farmer ; all were born in California. The father is living with his son George, a well-to-do ranchman of the valley. Mr. Ferrell is a Mason, and politically, is a firm be- liever in the principles of the Socialist party. The old pioneer, who has witnessed many of the ups and downs of life on the western frontier, and ex- perienced the vicissitudes common to all home builders in a new region, has done his share in the development of the Yakima country's resources, and, respected and honored by those who know him, he still keeps step with the tread of Yakima's younger pioneers.

MORRIS SISK, a farmer and stock raiser, residing on rural free delivery route No. 2, seven miles southeast of Zillah, was born in Mas- sachusetts, April 10, 1858, his parents being Mor- ris and Abbie (Lynch) Sisk, natives of the Em- erald Isle. The elder Sisk was born in 1812 and came to America about 1840. He was engaged in farming until his death. The mother's birth oc- curred in 1822. Morris Sisk, Jr., was taken to Illinois when a boy, and in that state and Iowa re- ceived the little schooling he was able to obtain. Upon arriving at nineteen years of age he left the old home and commenced working on a farm in Nebraska. A year later his father's death called him home, and there he remained until the death of his widowed mother in the spring of 1889. After the loss of his parents he returned to Nebraska and engaged in railroad contracting, which he fol- lowed until 1891, in that year coming to Yakima county. At that time the great Sunnyside canal was just being constructed, and Mr. Sisk obtained the contract for building the first mile of this im- portant work. He remained at work upon the en- terprise until the canal was finished. In payment for his labor he was obliged to take considerable land, which led him to undertake farming and stock raising, and the success that he has attained is ample proof of his good judgment and ability.

He was married at Cheyenne, Wyoming, in 1888 to Miss Mary A. Driscoll, the daughter of

Timothy and Bridget (Melvin) Driscoll. Her father is a native of Ireland and her mother a Ca- nadian. They are at present living in Yakima county. Mrs. Sisk was born in Iowa in 1865. Mr. Sisk has the following brothers and sisters: Ed- ward, in Indian Territory; John, in Michigan ; Mrs. Mary Hurley, in St. Louis; Thomas, in Colorado; Mrs. Maggie Norton, Nebraska; Mrs. Ellen Shay, St. Louis; Mrs. Abbie Shultze, in Denver; Will- iam, in Maryland; and Mrs. Lizzie Seabrock, in Indian Territory. Mr. and Mrs. Sisk have two children-Morris W., born in North Yakima, March 1, 1893; and Carrie V., born on the farm, October 18, 1895. Mr. and Mrs. Sisk are mem- bers of the Catholic faith and are united with the church. He is an ardent Republican in politics. The farm consists of forty-five acres, all under cul- tivation, upon which a comfortable residence, barns and outbuildings have been erected, making the place one of the best in the valley. Mr. Sisk is breeding draft horses, and now owns about thirty head of fine animals. He is respected as a citizen and counted as one of the successful farmers of the Sunnyside country.

GEORGE G. MAYENSCHEIN is one of the pioneers of the Sunnyside valley, having arrived in that region in 1894, when the few settlers living there were widely scattered and experiencing the hardships of home building during a period of financial depression. With characteristic foresight and ability, however, Mr. Mayenschein planted a considerable crop of sorghum. It thrived wonder- fully, and the crop was large. With this as a me- dium of exchange he traded with his neighbors and at the stores, even using it to pay ferriage across the Yakima river (for there was no bridge at that time), and was able to live comfortably and steadily improve his farm while others were 110t so fortunate. Of German and American par- entage, Mr. Mayenschein was born in Baltimore, Maryland, December 4, 1858, to the union of Adamı and Mary (Koon) Mayenschein. Adam Mayen- schein was born across the ocean in 1834; Mary . Koon was born in Pennsylvania in 1838. The father was a farmer by occupation, and at the time of his death, in August, 1902, lived at Hillsbor- ough, Wisconsin, where the mother still resides. The subject of our sketch received his education in the schools of Ohio. After leaving school in his nineteenth year he worked with his father two years. Then he commenced farming for himself, spending the first two years in Ohio, and from 1880 to 1894 in Vernon county, Wisconsin. In the latter year he was attracted by the Sunnyside country and purchased land under the ditch. He has improved and added to this original property until he now has one of the best and most com- fortable farms in the county.

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BIOGRAPHICAL.

At Millville, Ohio, August 21, 1888, he was married to Miss Mary A. Nance, the daughter of John and Rachel ( Moulders) Nance. Mrs. Nance, who died in 1897, was born in Ohio in 1827; the father was also an Ohioan by birth. He died in 1896 at the age of seventy-one. Mr. Mayenschein has several brothers and sisters, whose names are: Mrs. Anna Mootz, Hartman, Alexander, Freder- ick, Mrs. Phoebe Taylor, Adam, Lewis, William, Mrs. Elizabeth Cookenhiefer and Henry, the first three living in Ohio, the others in Wisconsin. Mrs. Mayenschein has three sisters and three brothers -Mrs. Sarah Corn, Mrs. Lavina Nance, Mrs. Em- ily Powell, James, George and Charles, living in Wisconsin, Ohio, and one, Mrs. Powell, in Idaho. They have three children-Otto L., born in Wis- consin, January 27, 1883; Frederick V., also born in Wisconsin, February 13, 1885; and Mamie, born in Yakima county, October 27, 1899. Mr. Mayen- schein is identified with three fraternities, the In- dependent Order of Odd Fellows, the Modern Woodmen of America and the Modern Brotherhood of America. He takes an active interest in poli- tics, and is an adherent to the principles of the Democratic party. Mr. and Mrs. Mayenschein are identified with the Methodist denomination, and are interested workers in the church. Of the twenty-acre farm, lying a mile and a half south- west of Sunnyside, seven acres are set out in bear- ing orchard, the balance of the land producing hay. Mr. Mayenschein is a man of sterling integrity and untiring energies, favorably known through- out the valley, and is deserving of the success that is his.

JOHN J. BROWN. Among the hardy pioneers of the Sunnyside valley, who have suf- fered and endured and bravely faced a hundred discouragements in their efforts to rear a home in that erstwhile wilderness of sage-brush, is the subject of this biography, whose residence dates from 1894. Born in Lamoille county, among the Green mountains of Vermont, July 13, 1844, he is the son of Luther and Nancy (Ferrin) Brown, also natives of the New England states, the father having been born in New Hampshire, and the mother in Vermont. Luther Brown was engaged in agricultural pursuits during his whole life. At. the ripe old age of eighty-eight, Mrs. Brown is still living, residing in North Dakota. John J. Brown received his school training in Vermont, Wisconsin and Minnesota. He was seventeen years old when the South arose in arms against the North, and upon the call for volun- teers being issued, the young man enlisted in Company A. First Minnesota mounted rangers, in February, 1862. With this unique organization he served one year ; then re-enlisted in Company A, First Minnesota infantry, and with that regiment

remained until the close of the war. He was mustered out of the army in July, 1865. Upon his return to Minnesota, Mr. Brown engaged in farming pursuits, which he followed in that state until his immigration to Sunnyside in 1894. He purchased twenty acres of raw land from the Yakima Investment Company and immediately commenced to improve it, planting potatoes, corn, et cetera, and setting out an orchard besides seed- ing a small portion of alfalfa. His place was the first tract of land improved in section thirty-five. Success did not come to these pioneer farmers at first, nor did the climate seem to favor the home- builders, for about November 19, 1896, the region suffered from an unusually severe frost, seriously, though not mortally, injuring orchards and other perennials. In 1896, Mr. Brown became so dis- couraged that he offered his entire holdings for fifteen cents on the dollar. In the light of their value now, this offer seems preposterous, but, nevertheless, it was made in good faith.

Mr. Brown's marriage to Miss Ellen E. Ben- nett, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Abner H. Ben- nett, took place while he was a resident of Min- nesota, the date being 1870. Her parents were natives of New England, and she herself was born in historic Boston, in October, 1847. There is only one other member of her immediate family still living, a sister, Mrs. Frances Harris, residing in Minnesota. Mr. Brown is the fourth of a family of eight children, his brothers and sisters being: Stephen F., a veteran of the Civil war, Second Minnesota cavalry, who now lives at Washington (state) Soldiers' Home; Mrs. Mary J. Garvin, a widow, whose home is at Battle Creek, Michigan ; Mrs. Alcina Blakely, living in the province of Alberta; Azro D., deceased; Mrs. Ellen B. Town, living in North Dakota, and Mrs. Viola Reily, also a resident of North Dakota, Orvilla being her home. Mr. and Mrs. Brown are the parents of eight children: Mrs. Isabella Henderson, living in Sunnyside ; Mrs. Ida Day, in North Yakima; John F., dead; Edna, dead ; George, dead; Edith, at home; Olive, now attending the North Yakima Business College, and Bertha, also living at home. As a veteran of the Civil war, Mr. Brown enjoys the privilege of a membership in the Grand Army of the Republic, belonging to Eugene M. Wilson Post, No. 188. Min- nesota ; he is also a Mason. Politically, he is a Dem- ocrat, and cast his first presidential vote for Benja- min Butler. Both Mr. and Mrs. Brown are connected with the Methodist church, he being a member of that denomination for the past thirty-four years. His property consists of forty acres, well improved, of which ten and a half acres are de- voted to orchard. He is a man of recognized in- fluence in the community, progressive, energetic and a man of integrity, who has battled well on the frontier and now enjoys the fruits of faithful labor.

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CENTRAL WASHINGTON.

IRA S. MILLER. Among the most impor- tant factors in the development of a community are its real estate men, whose whole capabilities and energies are daily turned toward the adver- tising of a region's resources and opportunities and the interesting of homeseekers and capitalists in its lands and enterprises. This is as true of the Sunnyside valley as in other favored regions of the Northwest, and one of its wide-awake, able young citizens who is devoting his time and talent to this work is the subject of this biogra- phy. A native son of Iowa, he was born April 20, 1876, in Waterloo, and there has lived most of his life. His father, Samuel H. Miller, was born in Somerset county, Pennsylvania, 1836, and came as a pioneer into Iowa. He followed farming in that state until 1898, when he sold his property and with the proceeds bought eighty acres of raw land near Sunnyside, coming to Yak- ima county at the same time. He has trans- formed the sage-brush wilderness into a garden spot and in the home thus erected he and his family are enjoying all the comforts and con- veniences to be found in a thrifty, progressive farming community. Mrs. Susan (Saylor ) Miller, the mother, was also born in the east-Penn- sylvania being her native state. In Waterloo Ira S. Miller was reared and educated, attending the excellent public schools of that city until he reached manhood's estate. He then entered the service of Kyd & Company, of Filley, Nebraska, grain merchants, as a buyer, and for the ensuing two years was thus successfully engaged. How- ever, in July, 1899, he joined his father in Sun- nyside and for the first year of his residence in the valley worked on the farm. The following year he formed a partnership with J. Peterson and together they established a livery business at Sunnyside. This business they sold in May, 1002, and the succeeding September Mr. Miller and F. H. McCoy, as partners, formed the real estate firm in which he is now interested. They have made a very auspicious beginning, and. no doubt, will continue to increase the scope of their transactions and win greater success. Mr. Miller has two brothers younger than himself, Howard and Quinter, an elder sister, Mrs. Grace Blough, living in Iowa, and another sister. Mrs. Catherine Amundsen, who is residing in Sunnyside. Po- litically, Mr. Miller is identified with the Repub- lican party.

ASA B. FLINT, living five miles west of Sunnyside, upon his ranch, is a pioneer of Yak- ima county, and one of its successful and well known ranchmen. He is a son of a prominent pioneer family who have had much to do with the development of the Yakima country, and many of whom are still among its inhabitants. Rev. Isaac and Emeline (Phinney) Flint, natives of New York state, who crossed the Plains to Oregon in

the sixties and subsequently settled in the Yak- ima valley, were his parents; both are now dead. In Douglas county, Oregon, February 11, 1869, Asa B. was born. When his parents settled on Parker Bottom, below Union Gap, he accompa- nied them and there spent his boyhood on the farm, attending school and riding the range. Winters he attended the district school in the neighbor- hood; summers he was engaged, as were most boys of that period, in manual labor either on the farm or on the range. When he was nineteen years old he left Parker Bottom, going to Ellens- burg, where he entered the employ of the North- ern Pacific Company as car accountant. After two years of office work in this line, he returned to Yakinia county and settled upon the quarter section which is now his home, taking the tract as a homestead.

The ceremony which united him to Miss Rosa Eglin for life was performed November 14, 1890, in Victoria, British Columbia. She is the daugh- ter of James M. and Frances (Kearns) Eglin, and was born April 6, 1875, at Corvallis, Oregon. Mr. Eglin, now a resident of Yakima county, was born in Indiana: Mrs. Eglin is at present living near Spokane. Mr. Flint has one brother, A. L. Flint, in the furniture business in North Yakima; two sisters, Mrs. Minnie M. Look, living at Bay View, Washington, and Mrs. Hattie M. Ferris, a resi- dent of Yakima City. The household of Mr. and Mrs. Flint is brightened by the presence of one child, Gwen M., born on the Sunnyside farm Jan- uary 19, 1895. Mr. Flint is a member of North Yakima lodge, No. 27, A. O. U. W. He is active and influential in political affairs, having been elected auditor of Yakima county in 1896 as the candidate of the Fusionists. His majority in that contest was one hundred and fifty-three votes, an excellent showing considering that his Repub- lican opponent was F. C. Hall, a very popular citi- zen. Upon the disintegration of the Populist party, to which he belonged, Mr. Flint joined the Socialists and is still one of their number. As auditor he made an enviable record. Mr. and Mrs. Flint are united with the Christian church, of which denomination his father was the first pastor in the county. Mr. Flint owns a quarter section of farming land, where he lives, fifty acres being in cultivation ; also two lots and a modern five- room cottage in the city of North Yakima. He is one of the county's popular, able and success- ful farmer-citizens.

FRANK A. MARTIN, formerly proprietor of the Hotel Mabton at Mabton, Yakima county, is one of the leading business men and property owners of that town, in whose growth he has been a prominent factor. Mr. Martin was born in Rock Island county, Illinois, April 8, 1866, the son of |

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BIOGRAPHICAL.

Medad W. and Rebecca (Marshall) Martin, na- tives of New York and Illinois respectively. His father moved to Illinois with his parents when a boy, and in the Fifth Illinois cavalry went forth in 1861 to fight for the preservation of his coun- try. He is still living, a resident of Ritzville, Washington. The subject of this article. was edu- cated in Kansas, where his father lived many years, and remained at home on the farm, learning the dairy business, until he was seventeen. He then took a position with the Rock Creek Dairy Com- pany, driving one of their wagons six years. In 1889 he came west to Tacoma and there was suc- cessively employed by the Rainier meat market, Tacoma Dairy Company, Washington meat mar- ket, the I. X. L. Dairy Company, and the Neil- and-Spofford Company. He continued to live in and around Tacoma until 1893, when he was at- tracted by the prospects of the newly established town of Mabton and turned his footsteps in that direction. His first employment in Mabton was the handling of sheep and cattle for Carstens Brothers; then, in the fall of 1894, he opened a small livery stable and built the Mabton Hotel, which he conducted until 1902. In 1899 he bought thirty acres in the Sunnyside district, thus adding to his holdings in the Yakima country. The following year he entered the saloon business in Mabton, the next year he opened a blacksmith shop and last year (1903) he erected the building occupied by the Mabton Drug Company. At pres- ent he is occupied in looking after his different business and farming interests. Mr. Martin was married in 1892 to Miss Belle M. Angus, daugh- ter of Alexander and Jennie (Bruce) Angus, na- tives of Scotland who immigrated to the United States in 1890 from Canada, whence they had come in an early day. Mr. Angus is a farmer by occupation and with his family resides at Prosser. Mrs. Angus was eighteen years of age when mar- ried. Mrs, Martin was born in Canada in the year 1859, where she was educated and grew to womanhood. Mr. and Mrs. Martin have two children : Hazel, born November 16, 1893, in Yakima county, and Reba, also born in Yakima county, November 17, 1899. In politics Mr. Mar- tin is an active Republican, and a stanch ad- mirer of President Roosevelt. He is a horse fan- cier and owns three excellent animals, well bred and from racing stock; Lady Myrtle, a running horse; and two stallions, Barnato and Medad, the latter being a two-year-old. He also owns fifteen head of dairy cows and a small band of stock horses. In Mabton he owns seven lots, a saloon, store building and other town property. Mr. Martin is recognized as one of the county's hust- ling young business men of ability and standing.

JOHN G. McCREADIE. Among the sons of Scotland who have sought new homes in the beat-

tiful, fertile and progressive Yakima country and given of their strength and talent for the develop- ment of America, may be mentioned the young farmer whose name commences this biography. His home, consisting of seventy acres of unex- celled irrigated land, of which sixty are producing the staple crop, alfalfa, and one is set in orchard, lies two and a half miles northeast of Mabton. He is also devoting some attention to stock, hav- ing a small number of select horses and cows.

Mr. McCreadie came into the world in the year 1874, his parents being James and Margaret (Gracie) McCreadie, also natives of Scotland. They came to America in 1893, bringing with them the subject of this sketch, and settled in the Yak- ima valley. There the faithful wife and mother laid down life's burden in 1896. After her death the father went to live with his daughter, Mrs. Eliza Grey, also a resident of Yakima county, with whom he is still living. Equipped with a fair ed- ucation and endowed with a hardy constitution, John G., upon arriving in Washington, immedi- ately commenced laying the foundation of his pres- ent prosperous condition. For several years he worked for others, farming principally; then pur- chased a ranch in the Ahtanum valley. There he was engaged in farming and raising stock until 1900, when he disposed of his property and with the proceeds bought his present home near Mab- ton. Mr. McCreadie has four sisters-Mrs. Annie Harvey, living in Wide Hollow basin; Mrs. Jen- nett Kennedy, in North Yakima; Mrs. Maggie Vol- iva, in the Selah valley, and Mrs. Eliza Grey, also a resident of the county. He is a faithful mem- ber of the Baptist church, and fraternally is con- nected with the Knights of Pythias. Mr. Mc- Creadie is a young man of sterling qualities, whose honest efforts are winning success and loyal friends.

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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 162

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