An illustrated history of Klickitat, Yakima and Kittitas counties; with an outline of the early history of the state of Washington, Part 195

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 195
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 195
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 195

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).

rand, Wisconsin, but on account of his desire to help support his parents he left before graduating from the high school and went to work on a farm, where he labored until he was twenty-seven years of age. He then moved to Blaine, Washington, where he engaged in the sawmili business for about seven years. He then moved to Kittitas county and lo- cated some prospects on the Man-as-lash river. Fail- ing to secure returns he engaged in farming and stock raising, to which he has since devoted his en- ergies and ability.

He was married in Ellensburg March 29, 1893, to Miss Marian H. Williams, daughter of Thomas D. Williams, a native of Canada and pioneer of Illi- nois. Her mother, Margaret E. (Crawford) Wil- liams, was born June 26, 1848, near Canton, Illinois. The Crawford family made the trip across the Plains from Illinois to Oregon, in 1851, by wagon and were among the earliest settlers in the Willamette valley, arriving there August 2, 1851. Charles F. Stoops had four brothers and five sisters, as follows: Mary E. Ottly, born June 2, 1859, the wife of John Ottly of Custer, Washington ; Mrs. Amanda Mercer, liv- ing in Pierce county, Wisconsin, her native state; William, born January 31, 1850, in Dunn county, Wisconsin, his present residence,; where he has served three terms as justice of the peace ; Jesse E., born August 31, 1866, died in Walla Walla, Wash- ington, July 11, 1899; Mrs. Alice Hays, died June 17, 1898; Mrs. Irene G. Robertson, living in Seattle ; Herbert P. and Archibald, residents of Blaine, Wash- ington, and Clara A. Stoops, the youngest, born September 19, 1876, now living in North Yakima, Washington. Mrs. Charles F. Stoops was born in Santa Rosa, Sonoma county, California, June 13, 1869. She has three brothers and one sister. The brothers are: John H., residing in Rexburg, Idaho; Thomas A., living in Ellensburg, and Ralph, a resi- dent of Wasco, Oregon. The sister, Mrs. Margaret E. Sharp, is living in Seattle.

Mr. and Mrs. Stoops have one son, Roy T., born December 21, 1893. They are both members of the Methodist Episcopal church. The husband has 120 acres of state school land leased for five years from August 2, 1902, and they have a comfortable house on the place. The farm has an ample barn, is well stocked with horses, cattle and swine, and is a mod- ern, well-cultivated ranch.

CHARLES M. RICHARDS, a successful farm- er and owner of a well-improved ranch six and one- half miles west of Ellensburg, Washington, has been a farmer all his life. Born November 7, 1860, in McLean county, Illinois, Mr. Richards received his education in the common schools of that state and of Iowa, and worked on his father's farm until he was twenty-two years old. His father, Albert Rich- ards, was a native of Indiana, born in 1829, and died in Waterville. Washington, in 1896. The mother, Elizabeth (Cooper) Richards, was born in

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Ohio in 1835, and is now a resident of Nebraska. Her son, Charles, has three brothers and two sis- ters. Allen, born February 22, 1858, is living in Sunset, Washington. Oliver, born July 3, 1865, re- sides in Thorp, Washington, and the youngest broth- er, William, born in March, 1873, is a resident of Ponca, Nebraska, where both sisters live. They are: Mrs. Fannie Jones, born in 1867, and Mrs. Jennie Tucker, born in 1869. In 1884 Mr. Richards came to Kittitas county, Washington, where he worked one year on a farm and later rented the same place for a like period. He then moved to the Big Bend coun- try, remained there until the spring of 1898, then returned and purchased the farm he is now working with so much success. He owns 400 acres of farm land, and the ranch is equipped with all necessary implements. There are two large barns and a com- fortable home on the place, and he owns about sixty- two head of cattle, fifteen head of horses and thirty hogs.

Mr. Richards was married in Thorp, Washing- ton, October 5, 1885, to Miss Salena M. Southern, daughter of Braxton D. and Nancy J. (Veach) Southern ; the former a native of Virginia, the latter of Michigan. Mrs. Richards was born in Cedar county, Iowa, December 28, 1868, and was one of nine children. Her brothers were: Leroy, born in Iowa; Eli C., who died in 1892; Seward, Festes E. and Edward E. Southern. The last named is a resi- dent of Thorp. One sister, Clara J., passed away May 28, 1898, at the age of twenty-five. A married sister, Anna E. Ross, died in North Yakima. The other sister, Mrs. Corinne Beck, born in 1865, is a resident of North Yakima.

Mr. and Mrs. Richards have one child, Leroy D., born in Waterville, Washington, November 17, 1892. The father is a member of the Woodmen of the World and his wife belongs to the Women of Woodcraft. Mrs. Richards is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. Her husband is a Re- publican in politics and active in party work.

JAMES T. HAYES, a well-known resident of Kittitas county, is at present residing on a farm five miles east and five miles south of Ellensburg. He was born in Iowa, May 23, 1856, the son of San- ford and Rebecca (Fry) Haves, both of whom are now residing in Kittitas county. Sanford Hayes is a native of Vermont, born in 1827. After at- taining manhood he farmed for several years in his native state, and later went to Iowa, this state then being in the earliest stages of settlement. After re- siding in Iowa for several years. during which time he was married, he crossed the Plains to Washing- ton Territorv, his newly wedded wife accompany- ing. This journey was made in the latter fifties. Mr. and Mrs. Hayes settled in Olympia, then a pioneer town of Washington. Later they proceeded to Oregon, and thence to California, where they re- mained for several years. The West at this time,

however, was a bit too wild to suit Mr. Hayes and his wife, so they returned to Iowa, but eventually tound that they had seen too much of the West to be satisfied to live permanently in the East. In 1881 they came back to Washington, this time to stay, and are now residing in Kittitas county. Mrs. Re- becca Hayes was born in Pennsylvania in 1835, and when a child moved with her parents to Iowa. She grew up in pioneer Iowa, and after marriage, as mentioned, crossed the Plains to the Pacific coast states, thus more than keeping pace with the west- ward march of settlers. She shared with her hus- band all the hardships incident to the journey west- ward, then returning with him to Iowa. James T. spent the greater part of his boyhood in Iowa, the state of his nativity. He lived with his parents at the Iowa home till twenty years of age, then going to Missouri, where he was engaged in farming for one year. Farming, however, did not prove entirely to his taste, so he went to Colorado and for a year was employed as a freighter. Next, he went to the vicinity of Nebraska City, Nebraska, where he farmed for two years, after which he moved to Cherokee county, Iowa, there farming for a year. His final move was to Kittitas county, Washington, in 1882. For eleven years after his arrival he fol- lowed freighting, the greater part of the time be- tween The Dalles and Ellensburg, and from Ellens- burg into the Salmon river country. He acquired his present farm in 1890, first renting, and later pur- chasing it.

On April 25, 1876, in Cedar county, Missouri, Mr. Hayes married Miss Nancy Fortney, a native of Iowa, born March 14, 1858. Her parents were David and Neta E. (Cox) Fortney, early settlers in Missouri. David Fortney was born in Kentucky in 1828, and in after life was a farmer. He was among the early settlers in Missouri, residing there all his life except a short time spent in Iowa, during which time Nancy was born. Neta E. (Cox) Fortney was born in Indiana and died in Cedar county, Missouri, in 1898. She was the mother of ten children. Chil- dren that have been born to the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Hayes are: Elsie, in Colorado, February 21, 1877, deceased at the age of five years ; Johnthan, February 22, 1880, George, January 30, 1881, both in Nebraska ; Abraham, July 31, 1883; Maria, May 24, 1885 ; Dora, August 25, 1889 : Clarence, Decem- ber 13, 1892; Samuel, May 28, 1894; Harry, June 16, 1897, and Cora, September 8, 1899, all in Kitti- tas county. Fraternally, Mr. Hayes is affiliated with the Woodmen of the World. He is a man of high standing socially and in a business way, undoubtedly being, as he is reputed, one of the leading men of lıis community.

CHRIS JACOBSON is a hale and hearty ranch- er. residing at present on his farm four miles east and five miles south of Ellensburg. He was born in Denmark, August 14, 1869, the son of Jacob and

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CENTRAL WASHINGTON.

Else (Larsen) Jacobson, both now deceased. The elder Jacobson was born in Denmark in 1823, and in after years was a farmer. His death occured in Denmark in 1894. Else (Larsen) Jacobson was also a native of Denmark, and is now'deceased as mentioned. Young Chris received in his Denmark home the parental training usual to Danish lads, such being conducive to his development into a young man respectfully obedient to the wishes of his elders, rather than a young "tinder-head" who strikes out during the pin-feather stage charged with fervor to set the world on fire with his achieve- ments, to the utter demoralization of all filial ties. His home training, however, did not prevent his being seized with a desire to come to America when he had reached the age of eighteen. He managed to work his way across the broad Atlantic, landed at New York, and after divers experiences in the New World,-utterly new to him-sometimes pros- pering and frequently the reverse, finally drifted into Nebraska. Here he found farming congenial to his desires, so he tried it. Two years satisfied him with farm life in Nebraska; then he hied himself west- ward, and the year 1889 found him in Ellensburg. Here he accepted employment of the Northern Pacific Company, first as a section workman and later as oiler in the yards at Ellensburg. After a year thus spent he was promoted to the position of car inspector, and acted in this capacity until 1894, then quitting the railroad for good. Since that time he has farmed to the exclusion of any other regu- lar vocation, and at present possesses a neat little farm, one of the most attractive, perhaps, in the community of which he is a resident.

On August 8, 1891, Mr. Jacobson married Miss Johne Shorman, then a resident of Kittitas county. She was born in Denmark, November 16, 1866, and in the land of her nativity grew to womanhood and was educated. In 1890 she came with her brother from the old country to the United States, her ob- jective point being Kittitas county, and a year later married Mr. Jacobson. Carl Shorman, her father, was born in Germany in 1838, and when seventeen years of age went to Denmark, where he was married later. He came from Denmark to the United States in 1904, and on May Ioth of that year landed in Kittitas county. Annie (Fredricksen) Shorman, the mother, was born in Denmark in 1843. At present she is residing in Kittitas county. Children born to the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Jacobson are : Annie, in Klickitat county, October 13, 1893, now living at home ; Carl, November 5, 1894, and Emma, November 30, 1899, the latter two being natives of Kittitas county. Fraternally Mr. Jacobson is affili- ated with the Modern Woodmen of America, and in religion with the Lutheran church. He is a Repub- lican and ardently in favor of the Roosevelt admin- istration. Though not one of the most extensive farmers of his neighborhood he is one of the most worthy, and what his farm lacks in size it makes

good in being extremely well cultivated and neat in appearance.

JENS SORENSON is a sturdy son of Den- mark, residing on a well-cultivated farm four miles east and four miles south of Ellensburg. He was born in Hourup, Denmark, June 29, 1860, the son of Soren C. and Mary (Nelson) Sorenson, both now deceased. Soren C. Sorenson was born in Denmark in 1823, and in after life was a farmer. He died in Denmark in 1897. Mary (Nelson) Sorenson, also native of Denmark, was born in 1828, and died in 1887, having lived in the land of her nativity all her life. Jens lived with his parents till he was twenty-one years of age, during boyhood receiving as good an education as was to be had in the com- mon schools of Denmark. At the age mentioned, in 1881, he came to the United States, his objective point being Council Bluffs, Iowa. Here he was a railway employee for five years, the last two of which he was in the car repairing shops. Upon dis- continuing this employment he went to Nebraska, where he farmed for three years. Then, in 1888, he came west, settling at Ellensburg, where he ac- cepted employment of the Northern Pacific Com- pany in the car repairing shops. He was thus en- gaged for five years, at the end of which time he bought a tract of fine hay land, on which is his pres- ent home. This was in 1892. The next vear he moved his family upon the place, making prepara- tions to reside there permanently. The house they occupied at the time was an unpretentious "shanty" answering only the purpose of a shelter, but well in keeping with the worldly means of its occupants. Since then, however, the prosperity due to hard work and capable management has enabled Mr. Sor- enson to build a fine seven-room house on his farm, as well as an equally good barn and divers other farm buildings necessary for the protection of stock and crops.

Mr. Sorenson has been married twice. The first marriage occurred June 10, 1885, in Nebraska. Miss Mary Jacobson was the bride, twenty-two years of age at the time of her marriage. She was born in Denmark in 1863, and when a young woman came to the United States. Her parents, Jacobed P. and Else (Larsen) Jacobson, were natives of Denmark, the former born in 1823, and dying in 1896; the lat- ter born in 1833, and passing away in 1889. The first Mrs. Sorenson, at the time of death, was the mother of five children. The present Mrs. Sorenson was Miss Sinea Jacobson before her marriage. She was born in Denmark, August 18, 1879, and in her native land grew to womanhood and was educated. She came to the United States in 1896, and her mar- riage occurred seven years later. Children born to the first marriage are: William, in Nebraska, and decensed when a child ; Clara, May 17, 1888; Amel, March 31, 1890; Mary, December 10, 1892, and

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Elga, January 1, 1894, all but the first born near Ellensburg. The present Mrs. Sorenson has one child, John, who was born February I, 1904. In re- ligion Mr. Sorenson adheres to the Lutheran church, and in politics he is a Republican. He is a native of the old country, a Dane throughout, but notwith- standing is now thoroughly imbued with the politi- cal and social principles of newer America and fully in sympathy with the national spirit of the country of which he is a citizen.

GEORGE W. WEAVER is the owner of a fine grain and stock ranch of 600 acres, located on rural free delivery route No. I, northwest of Ellensburg, Washington. He was born July 4, 1851, in Clinton county, Indiana, and received his early education in Tippecanoe county, that state. He left school when he was about sixteen years old and followed farnı- ing, the nursery business and mining, until 1875, when he purchased a farm in Cherokee county, Kan- sas. He resided there and conducted the place until 1883, then sold out and moved to Washington, ar- riving in Yakima county, June 18, 1883. He bought one hundred and sixty acres of land from the North- ern Pacific Railroad and engaged in farming and stock raising, which pursuits he has since followed with abundant success. His home is modern, and the place is supplied with well built barns and all the necessary farming implements. He owns about one hundred head of horses and cattle.

August 2, 1876, during his residence in Cherokce county, Kansas, Mr. Weaver was married to Miss Eulia E. McDowell. Her father, Calvin C. Mc- Dowell, a native of Virginia, was born September 30, 1820. He was a practicing physician in Wir- tonia up to the time of his death in 1883. During the War of the Rebellion Dr. McDowell was a cap- tain of Company G, 26th regiment Indiana infan- try, which was one of the last regiments to return after peace was declared. His wife, mother of Mrs. Weaver, was Nancy A. (Strain) McDowell, born in Ohio, May 6, 1835, and now a resident of Ellens- burg, Washington. Mrs. Weaver was born in In- diana, January 27, 1855, and was one of a family of six children. Her eldest brother, J. Frank Mc- Dowell, born in Indiana, April II, 1843, is living in Gray county, Kansas. Samuel O., born March 3, 1848, is also a resident of Kansas. Andrew W., the youngest brother, born October 8, 1856, is a resident of Missouri. Mrs. Eliza J. Coleman, born August 18, 1867, and Mrs. Clauda J. Hall, born July 7, 1871, live in Ellensburg, Washington. Mr. and Mrs. Weaver have five children. Clyde C., the eldest, was born May 7, 1877. Clyne E. was born Novem- ber 27, 1879. Velma, the eldest girl, was born May 22, 1884, Vera, November 1, 1886, and Hazel, born April 30, 1893, passed away July 6, 1901. The par- ents are active members of the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Weaver is a Republican and takes an active interest in matters of political importance.

OLIVER R. GEDDIS is a farmer and stock raiser residing near Ellensburg, Washington, on his well-improved farm one and one-half miles west of that city. Always a hard worker and ambitious, the panic of the early nineties, which swept away the bulk of his property, did not dismay him. Starting in with a few horses in 1893, he pluckily determined to achieve success. In 1900 he purchased his pres- ent farm of one hundred and twenty acres. By close attention to business he has accumulated a property valued at about eight thousand dollars. Stock rais- ing, to which he devoted much attention in former years, he is abandoning to a considerable extent, He has sold most of his stock and is devoting his farm to hay and grain, for which he finds an excel- lent and profitable market. It is quite natural that Mr. Geddis should achieve the success that has come to him, as he is the son of a farmer and stock raiser, and for many years was his father's right hand man. He was born in Albany, Oregon, March 30, 1864, and came to Kittitas county, Washington, when but seven years old, so he might almost be considered a native of that county. He received his early education in the common schools of this county. At the age of nineteen he left school and began to ride range for his father, which he con- tinued for twelve years. He and his father accumu- lated a large amount of property, consisting of live stock and land, which was almost all swept away, during the hard times following the panic of 1893. His father, S. R. Geddis, was born in Pennsylvania, February 12, 1837, of Scotch descent. He served in the Rogue River war during his residence in Oregon. He is now a resident of Alaska, where he is engaged in mining. The mother, Emma (Tureman) Geddis, was a native of Pennsylvania, born in 1844, of Dutch descent. Oliver R. was onc of a family of ten children. His sisters, Mrs. Mel- inda Barnes and Mary Geddis, and brother, Charles B., were born in Oregon and are now deceased. The surviving brothers and sisters all live in Ellens- burg. They include Fred L., Jessie A., and Lott O. Geddis, all born in Yakima county, Washington; Mrs. Emma C. Van Geisen, Mrs. Pearl Wilson and S. R. Geddis, all born in Kittitas county.

Mr. Geddis was married in Ellensburg, Washı- ington, March 25, 1897, to Miss Minnie Charlton, daughter of Charles A. and Permelia (Newland) Charlton. Her father was born in West Virginia, March 23, 1829, was a farmer and served in the Rogue River war in Oregon. Her mother was born in Missouri, December 12, 1843, the daughter of a lumber merchant. Both parents were of Scotch extraction. Mrs. Geddis was born in Lebanon, Linn county, Oregon, November II, 1876, and had six sisters and five brothers, as follows: Mrs. Fran- cis S. Turner of Colville, Washington ; Mrs. Eliza- beth J. Burrell, a widow, of Denison, Texas; Mrs. Mary E. Smithson, and James M. Charlton, both dead; MIrs. Charlotte A. Burke, a resident of the Kittitas valley; Joseph H., living in Wenatchee;

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Mrs. Margarette H. Clifton, a widow, of Kittitas county ; Charles H., of Seattle; Mrs. Iva M. Hol- brook, of Tacoma; William L., a traveling sales- man with headquarters in Ogden, Utah, and Alfred H. Charlton, of Ellensburg, Washington. Mr. and Mrs. Geddis had one child, born June 12, 1899, who passed away March 4, 1900. Mrs. Geddis is a member of the Presbyterian church, and she and her husband are regular attendants. Mr. Geddis is an active Republican. He does not believe in fraternal insurance and for that reason is not a member of such orders.

CHARLES W. MOFFET, living on his place two miles west of Ellensburg, is a skilled butter maker, a calling followed by his father and fore- fathers. He was practically raised in the business of butter and cheese making and relatives are today still operating the plant in Ohio that his grandfather started in 1832. In 1890 Mr. Moffet came to Ellensburg, Washington, where he commenced work for the Ellensburg Creamery Company, as butter maker and manager, which position he has filled so successfully that he has finally consummated a deal for its purchase. Mr. Moffet was born in Shawnee county, Kansas, August 17, 1856. His father, Orlando Moffet, was a native of New York, of Scotch descent, born in February, 1818. The mother, Catherine (Beam) Moffet, was a native of Iowa.

Charles W. received his education in the schools of his native state and when seventeen years old commenced work in his father's dairy, where he learned his trade. He worked there four years and then engaged in the dairy business for himself, in the same county, at which he continued six years, with much success. He then sold out and moved to Topeka, Kansas, where he learned the trade of a brickmason and followed that for sixteen years in that state, and in Oregon; but later returned to butter making in the Ellensburg creamery. He has three sisters and two brothers, as follows: Mrs. Margaret Cruese, now residing in Tecumseh, Kan- sas; William, now living near Topeka, where he has been operating a dairy for thirty years; Mrs. Susan Howey, whose husband has been engaged for many years in breeding fancy swine and has taken many first premiums at state and county fairs in Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska; Isaiah, a farmer near Topeka, and Mrs. Laura Beam, wife of a car- penter living near Topeka-all being residents of Kansas.

He was married in Shawnee county, Kansas, February 4, 1877, to Miss Fanny Burbank, daugh- ter of Samuel Burbank, a native of Canada, since deceased, and Margaret (Washington) Burbank, a native of Illinois and now a resident of Kansas. Mrs. Moffet was born in Scott county, Illinois, April 19, 1857, and has the following brothers and sisters : Mrs. Ellen Moffet, born February 7, 1854 ;

Ottis Burbank, born August 2, 1859, and now re- siding in Shawnee county, Kansas; Mrs. Mary Tavis, born January 1, 1861, and residing in Kan- sas; Mrs. Hattie Reed, born April 5, 1865; Mrs. Jane Foust, born December 12, 1870; Mrs. Anna Middendorf, born February 12, 1871, now a resi- dent of Scott county, Illinois, and Joseph, born in Kansas, October 8, 1872, and now living at home. With the exception of the first and last named, they were all born in Illinois. Mr. and Mrs. Moffet have four children, all born in Kansas. Their eldest daughter, Minnie I., born February 15, 1880, is now keeping books for the Ellensburg creamery; Edith, born December 7, 1882, died the following spring, and Calley O., born July 21, 1883, died May 19, 1885. Frankie M. was born March 29, 1886. The father of the family has been most successful in his business undertakings and has accumulated a com- fortable property. He is a Republican in politics and is a member of the Knights of Pythias and of the National Union. Mr. Moffet and his family are members of the Methodist Episcopal church.

EVEN T. STRANDE was born in Christiania, Norway, March 20, 1851, and came to the United States when he was but eighteen years old. He was one of the first settlers in Kittitas Valley, Washing- ton, having freighted for twelve years from The Dalles, Oregon, before there was any railroad. His home is on rural free delivery route No. I, one mile south and four miles west of Ellensburg, Washing- ton, where he is engaged in farming four hundred acres of land which he owns. He has fifty head of cattle and fifteen head of horses on the place, which is fitted up with a nice home. He is now building a large barn.

His father, Thorston L. Strande, was born in Norway about 1821. He was a stone mason, but for fifty years just previous to his death, about two years ago, he was foreman of a glass factory at Christiania. Mr. Strande's mother was born in Nor- way, about 1822. Her maiden name was Bertha Evens. Mr. Strande's elder brothers, Engon and Lars, are also in this country, residing respectively in Iowa and South Dakota. Senard Strande, born in Norway in 1854, took the father's place in the glass factory. The other brother, Andrew, who was born in 1863, is living in Norway. The sister,

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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 195

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