An illustrated history of Skagit and Snohomish Counties; their people, their commerce and their resources, with an outline of the early history of the state of Washington, Part 100

Author: Inter-state Publishing Company (Chicago, Ill.)
Publication date: 1906
Publisher: [Chicago] Interstate Publishing Company
Number of Pages: 1172

USA > Washington > Skagit County > An illustrated history of Skagit and Snohomish Counties; their people, their commerce and their resources, with an outline of the early history of the state of Washington > Part 100
USA > Washington > Snohomish County > An illustrated history of Skagit and Snohomish Counties; their people, their commerce and their resources, with an outline of the early history of the state of Washington > Part 100

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SKAGIT COUNTY

children, of which John is the eldest living, and at the age of forty-three, laid down the burdens of a well-spent life, greatly mourned. John Ball, at the early age of fifteen severed his connection with home and boyhood scenes and started out in the world for himself, going first to St. Louis, Mis- souri. Here he engaged at his trade for several years, working two years on the government cus- tom honse, then under construction. It was at this period, in 1859. that the great Pike's Peak excite- bent came up, and hither young Ball determined to go and seek a shorter road to fortune than prom- ised by means of the hammer and saw. In com- pany with forty other equally adventurous spirits, he negotiated for passage across the plains with an ox outfit, the terms of contract being $40 each for the transportation of the luggage and provisions. the men to walk: and the company on their part contracted to land them at the desired point, and not to turn back so long as even one of the party insisted on going forward. This contract they car- ried out even to the paying of the passage of young Ball and another companion to California, from Fort Laramie, when it was learned by returning prospectors that the mining bubble had burst. At the Little Blue river the feed for their cattle gave out, and the grass not being far enough advanced for grazing they were compelled to lie over for a number of weeks, and here their party was aug- mented by outfits delayed for similar reasons, until a crowd of over one thousand people was assem- bled. Reaching Fort Laramie, they met the dis- heartening news of failure at Pike's Peak, and of their entire crowd only young Ball and one other persisted in pushing on westward, and they changed their objective point to California. Enroute to Fort Laramie they rescued two men from starvation, and found them subsisting on the remains of a for- mer companion, whose death had been determined upon by lot, when the last hope of rescue had left them. Reaching California in the fall, Mr. Ball engaged in mining, which he followed for three years, for other parties, rising rapidly from fore- man to sole owner of a mine. In connection with one mine he constructed seven miles of ditching for his own use at his hydraulic plant, which proved a failure. Prospering, however, in general, at min- ing, he then decided to marry and settle down to the quiet life of the rancher, purchasing the Butter- fly ranch, in Plumas county, where he engaged in raising cattle for the mines. In May, 1843, he sold his ranch and came to Washington Territory, set- tling in Seattle, where he built a residence near where the court house now stands, later moving to Walla Walla, where they wintered. Discouraged with the failure of railroad building, which had been expected at that place, he bought a large band of cattle, horses and sheep in the spring and re- turned to Seattle, where he disposed of the best butcher stock, and that summer took the remainder to the Swinomish Flats, in Skagit county, where

he had in the meantime purchased a half interest in a ranch owned by his brother-in-law, M. D. Smith and a Mr. McClellen. This was the first introduc- tion of horses in the Swinomish Flats. Here he resided for four years, during which period, 1876, he purchased the right of Sam McNutt to a claim and filed a preemption on it. This preemption, now greatly added to by purchase, constitutes the home ranch. Selling out his interest in the M. D. Smith ranch, he moved in 1879 to the James Porter ranch near Mount Vernon. Here he made his home until 1885, when he built his present house on his own place, transferring his residence as soon as the building was completed, to the home ranch, which has since continued to be the abiding place of him- self and family. During all these years Mr. Ball was actively engaged in diking, ditching and clear- ing the land on his home place, making the initia- tory improvements which have developed the land into its present high state of cultivation and pro- ductiveness.

The marriage of John Ball and Eleanor Mary Massey was celebrated November 15, 1864, in Plumas County, California. Mrs. Ball's father, Thomas Massey, a merchant by calling, was born in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England, where he was married. Later he came to the United States, settled first in Iowa, then in the year 1854 crossed the plains to California with ox teams. He died in 1870. Eleanor Leake Massey, the mother, also a native of England, is now residing at Anacortes, at a ripe old age, having passed safely through a long life filled with many unusual and strange inci- (lents, to which she recurs with becoming pride. Mrs. Ball was born in England, September 30, 1848, but upon the removal of her parents to the United States, crossed the plains with them at the age of five years, and at the early age of sixteen met and married Mr. Ball. She is the mother of four children, William M., deceased ; Thomas A., born March 12, 1867, residing in Skagit county ; Globe E. Woodburn, born November 24, 1868, all three natives of California. Puget E., the fourth and last of the children, was born at La Conner, Washington, August 21. 1879, and was united in marriage September 20, 1905, to Elizabeth A. Mackey, daughter of Timothy and Katherine E. ( Buckley) Mackey, the former deceased and the latter now residing at Bayview. Mrs. Elizabeth Ball was born in King County, Washington, in 1886.

Politically Mr. John Ball is a staunch Repub- lican. That he has been a successful business man, is amply attested in his large land holdings of 1,082 acres, his well kept farm, stocked with high bred draft and driving horses, sheep and cattle, in which features of farm life he is especially interested ; while in the line of good citizenship his attainments are evidenced in the universal respect and esteem in which he is held in his community and through- out the county.

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BIOGRAPHICAL

EDGAR P. GORTON, a well known farmer and stockman residing five and one-half miles south- west of Mount Vernon, is a native of Scituate, Rhode Island, born November 24, 1852, the son of Nelson Gorton, who was for many years inter- ested in the cotton and woolen factories in that state, and also followed farming to some extent. He was a veteran of the Civil War, serving in the Twenty-second regiment, Connecticut Volunteers. His death occurred in 1900, at the age of seventy- two. Emila M. (Whitman) Gorton was the moth- er, born in Rhode Island and now living with her son near Mount Vernon. His parents having moved to Connecticut when he was three years of age, Mr. Gorton received his education in the schools of that state, while also assisting his father on the farm. When the family moved later to Pocahontas County, Iowa, he came also, and there engaged in farming for himself, having purchased a farm with the means he had so carefully laid aside year by year. At the end of eleven years, in 1885, he came west to La Conner, locating on Pleasant Ridge for two years, at the end of which he took up a homestead near Bay View and began lumbering. He and his two brothers, Elmer and Walter, built a saw-mill three miles from Bay View, and operated it for a year. Selling out his interest in the mill to his brothers, Mr. Gorton bought his present place in the fall of 1903, and moved on it the following January.

In Connecticut, April 2, 1873, Mr. Gorton was united in marriage to Miss Prudence A. Carpenter, born February 12, 1854, in North Coventry, Con- necticut. Six children have blessed this union : James, the oldest, now dead; Edith: Emma ; Henry; Hazel, and Ivy. Mr. Gorton served for five years as deputy sheriff in Iowa. Realizing that much of the future greatness of our country is dependent upon the educational advantages afford- ed by the common schools, he gives this subject careful attention, and is one of the progressive members of the school board. In addition to his homestead of one hundred and sixty acres in Bay View he owns fifty acres where his home is, upon which he raises hay, oats and stock, and may well be classed as one of the prosperous citizens of this county.

JASPER GATES, a distinguished veteran of the Civil War, and a pioncer of pioneers in the Mount Vernon section of Skagit county, now re- siding on his farm two miles southwest of Mount Vernon, was born in Jefferson City, Missouri, April 9, 1810. His father, Abel Gates, was a native of New Bedford, Massachusetts, born July 4, 1787. As lieutenant of the Fifth Rifle Regiment, Com- pany C, he served under General Snellen in the war of 1812, participating in the battles of New Or- leans and White Plains. At the close of the war he engaged in farming for four years, then in the packing business in Missouri, in which state he later

returned to agricultural pursuits. His death oc- curred November 2, 1870. The mother, Mary (Burns) Gates, born in Ireland, was the daughter of a well known soldier in the war of 1812. She was the mother of four children, James A., Samuel U., Jasper and Acaph. After the completion of his education, Jasper Gates was for several years associated with his father in the work of the farm, owning one-half interest in it. Loyally responding to the call of his country in 1862, he enlisted in Company C, Twenty-Seventh Missouri Infantry, and like his father before him, he was soon in the thickest of the fight. He received an honorable discharge in Saint Louis, in June, 1865, having been promoted from the rank of private to color ser- geant. He was actively engaged in the following battles: Vicksburg, Grand Gulf, Jackson, Corinth, Pea Ridge, Chattanooga, Lookout Mountain, Mis- sionary Ridge and Chickamauga, and was also one of those who made the famous March to the Sea, under Sherman. At Resaca, Georgia, he received a severe wound that disabled him for some time. Taking up his residence in Adair county at the close of the war, he remained there until he came to Skagit county, in 1820, where he took up as a home- stead the quarter section of land where Mount Ver- non is located, and where he lived for twenty-one years. He moved on his present property in 1891. Mr. and Mrs. Gates have seen frontier life in all of its phases, and have undergone many hardships which will never be recorded.

Mr. Gates was married in 1860 to Clarinda Kimble, the daughter of Aaron and Nancy ( Snod- grass) Kimble. Her father, a native of New Jer- sey, was a stonemason and bricklayer. He died in 1846. Her mother, a Virginian, born in 1812, died in Mount Vernon in 1886. Mrs. Gates has the following brothers and sisters: Vina (deceased) , Joseph, John Aaron, Newton, Mary Catharine and Mrs. Martha Clifton. Mr. and Mrs. Gates have eight children : Newton J., Mrs. Matilda Hartson, Mrs. Mary Beacon and Mrs. Martha Jane Parker. of Mount Vernon; Otto and William, at home ; Mrs. Clarinda Cowell, living two miles south of Mount Vernon, and Cleon Emmett. Mr. Gates is a prominent Republican ; was sheriff from 1876 to 1880, and United States marshal from 1880 to 1884. Hle is an honored member of the Grand Army of the Republic. The family attend the Methodist church of which Mrs. Gates is an active member. Reaping fair returns from his business undertak- ings, Mr. Gates now owns fifty-three acres of im- proved land, worth one hundred and fifty dollars, together with one hundred and fifteen acres of tim- ber land in Missouri. Identified with the interests of Mount Vernon for so many years, Mr. Gates has a wide circle of friends and acquaintances who ac- cord him the highest respect, and among the carly settlers he is accorded the distinction of being the "Father of Mount Vernon," and a pioneer par ex- cellence.

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SKAGIT COUNTY

CHARLES C. HANSEN. Few agriculturists of Skagit county have attained a larger measure of success than he whose name initiates this biog- raphy. Born in Denmark, November 10, 1852, he is the son of Hans and Annie Sophia (Carlsen) Larsen, also natives of Denmark. The father was born September 12, 1818, and is still living in the land of his birth. The mother, born July 2, 1820, died in September. 1846. She has two other sons, Lors Peter, and Fred V. Hansen. When a child of six and one-half years, Charles C. Hansen began the active duties of life, herding cattle and sheep and tending the geese on a neighbor's farm. He was away most of the summers, but spent the win- ters at home till he was fourteen years of age, when he began farming. In 1814 he decided to come to the United States as so many of his countrymen had done. Landing in New York he crossed the continent, locating in California on a ranch. At the end of a year and a half he purchased a wood ranch, working on it for six months, at which time he found his health was failing. He went at once to San Francisco, and upon his recovery, spent the following three years nursing the sick in a hos- pital. In 1899 he came to Mount Vernon, going into partnership with his brothers on a farm. Three years later he invested in his present property, situ- ated three miles south of Mount Vernon, since mak- ing it his place of residence.

Mr. Hansen and Mrs. Mahila (Stage) Wash- burn were united in marriage March 10, 1882. Mrs. Hansen was born in New York state in 1846 and was first married there. Her husband died in Skagit county July 12, 1880. Two children have been born to this union, Cora Sophia and Birdie H. Mr. Hansen is a loyal Republican, willing to advance the interests of his party by every honor- able means. Both he and his wife are members of the Baptist church, contributing liberally to its sup- port, and taking an active part in all its work. Mr. Hansen is past grand in the Odd Fellows fraternity, which has honored him by selecting him to fill the leading offices of the order. He is also a prominent Yeoman. Possessed of the thrift and industry so characteristic of the Danish people, Mr. Hansen has been blessed with a large measure of the pros- perity he so richly deserves. He owns eighty acres of land, fifty-one of which are in a fine state of cul- tivation, worth at least one hundred and fifty dol- lars per acre. The beautiful eight-room house, erected at a cost of sixteen hundred dollars, bears evidence of his taste, and is an ornament to any community. He has a fine barn and out buildings. He devotes a large share of attention to dairying, now milking fourteen cows, realizing from them a substantial yearly income. The sterling qualities which have insured his business success, have at the same time given him the confidence and respect of his fellow men, thus rendering him a man of influ- ence in the community.

PETER EGTVET. To the Scandanavian Americans Skagit county is especially deeply in- debted not only for the pioneer work they have done in reclaiming its rich marsh and forest lands and converting them into one of the finest, prettiest farming regions in the country, but for the pres- ent day part they are taking in its progress. So it is with pleasure and a fitting sense of justice that we accord a biographical sketch of one of their foremost leaders a place in this history.

Wisconsin is the state of his nativity and April 25, 1851, the date of his birth. From far across the seas, in the year 1840, Peter A. Egtvet, the father, emigrated from Norway, where he was born in 1998, to the Wisconsin frontier. There with the energy and persistence so characteristic of his race, he soon leveled a forest into a substantial farm and later acquired wealth and influence in agricultural and stock pursuits. Ingeri (Selge) Egtvet was also a native of Norway, born in 1811, and there lived until she accompanied her husband and family to America. Her death occurred in 1893. Six chil- dren came of this marriage: Amon P. (deceased), Sever, Loui, Mrs. Anna Lee, Peter and Charles. To Peter came the lot of the usual farmer's son, hard work on the place in every department of la- bor, an education in the common schools of the dis- trict and the opportunities that come to most young men in similar positions. From the age of fifteen young Egtvet devoted himself most assiduously to mastering every detail of farming and stock rais- ing, something that he did not regret in later years when he came to farm for himself. At the age of twenty-three he left the old home to seek his for- tune in the far West, going first to California, where he was engaged in various pursuits for a year and a half. Then, his attention having been strongly drawn to Puget sound, the young man came north to the newly opened Skagit river valley to the developinent of which he was to give at least the succeeding thirty years of his life. Securing a claim near the mouth of the great river, the hardy settler began the work of clearing and diking and otherwise improving his farm. Those were days of hardship and discouragement, when freshets were haunting nightmares, and often the labor of months if not years was swept away in a single night. In 1883 he sold this farm and purchased the tract of land five miles south of Mount Vernon upon which he still resides. In common with most pioneers, Mr. Egtvet devoted a portion of his earliest years in Skagit to the logging industry, which furnished quick cash returns.

His marriage took place March 15, 1885. MIiss Anna. a daughter of John P. and Charlotte ( Erick- son) Shamstrom, becoming the bride. Mr. Sham- strom was a native of Sweden, born in 1815, and he lived in the old country until 1851. At that time he emigrated. settling in Iowa, where he success- fully engaged in farming until his death. January 1, 1900. His place consisted of 180 acres of very

MR. AND MRS. PETER EGTVET AND THEIR HOME, SOUTH OF MOUNT VERNON

THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY

ASTOR. IFNOX

, TILDEN CIO'T

541

BIOGRAPHICAL

valuable land. The mother, who was born in Sweden, died in lowa in 1869. Mrs. Egtvet was born in Iowa, January 6, 1862, and spent the first twenty years of her life in that state. Then she came west to Seattle and made her home with a sis- ter, Mrs. Nelson Chilberg, at whose house she was married. She has two other sisters living, Mrs. Carrie G. Smith in Seattle and Mrs. Allie V. Gray in Colorado: one. Mary J. Burnell, is dead. The brothers are John A. and Perry G. Mr. Sham- strom was married a second time, his bride being Mrs. Gustava Burke, who was born in Sweden, August 8, 1841. To this union Della M., Etta L. and twin boys, Isaac and Jacob, were born. Mr. and Mrs. Egtvet have been blessed with three children, the eldest being Clifford, aged nineteen ; Ashley W., aged sixteen, and Kirby, aged eleven. The Egtvet dwelling is one of the finest in the Skagit country and is pervaded by an atmosphere of refinement and progress that gives it additional charm. The fam- ily are attendants of the Lutheran church. Mr. Egtvet is affiliated with the A. O. C. W. and in po- litical affairs is not only a member of the Repub- lican party, but an aggressive and an influential one.

His farm of two hundred and forty acres is one of the largest and best improved in the Skagit basin, only twenty-five acres not being under culti- vation. Cattle and horses in plenty, including a picked dairy heard of milch cows, stock the place, while an average yield of crops is 100 bushels of oats or four tons of timothy hay to the acre. These facts alone testify to the skill which the owner of the farm possesses and to his business acumen. Fur- ther, he is also the owner of a quarter section of valuable Illinois bottom land and other interests of various kinds. Known throughout the north- western portion of the state as a man of unques- tioned integrity and strong business ability, one who has accumulated wealth and attained position by his own unaided efforts, he represents the type of manhood upon which are dependent the stability and growth of our country.

OLE GUNDERSON, one of the most prosper- ous and energetic farmers of Skagit county, claims Norway as the land of his birth. His father, Gund- mun Tostenson, born in Norway, May 11, 1811. came to this country in 1866, finding a home in Goodhue County, Minnesota. In the spring of 1867 he moved to South Dakota, being one of the pio- neers of that state, in which he spent the remainder of his life, dying there in 1883. The mother, Jo- hanna ( Peterson) Tostenson, was born in 1814, and lived in her native country, Norway, till her mar- riage. Her death occurred in South Dakota in 1897. She was the mother of the following sons and daughters: Tosten, Peter, Ole, John Martin, Mrs. Mali Olson ( deceased). and Mrs. Martha Rekdahl. Born July 22, 1852, Ole Gunderson spent

the first thirteen years of his life in the land of his nativity, attending the common schools in which he received the rudiments of an education. Immigrat- ing with his parents to the United States, in 1866, he assumed the responsibilities of life early, assist- ing his father in the support of the family, and at his death providing for his mother during her life- time. At the age of twenty-one he took up a home- stead, remaining in South Dakota till the death of his mother, after which he came to Skagit county in 1892, and purchased his present ranch of one hundred and fifty acres, paying sixty-five dollars per acre.

Mr. Gunderson and Annie Maria Johnson were joined in marriage, May 28, 1880. Mrs. Gunder- son's parents are Jens and Helen (Trouseth) Ny- troc, both of Norwegian birth, who celebrated their golden wedding in 1902. Her father, born in Nor- way, came to America on the same vessel that brought Mr. Gunderson, locating in Minnesota, and later in South Dakota near Sioux Falls, where he still lives, owning a two hundred and forty acre farm. Mrs. Gunderson was born in Norway in 1846, and has been a resident of the United States since she was six years of age, her parents having crossed the ocean at that time. Mrs. Gunderson has five brothers and sisters: Jens, Bess, Nelse, 'Sarah and Mary. Twelve children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Gunderson: Josephine, Gertie, Belva, James G., Joseph H., Bennic, Nicholi, Oscar, Ida, Selma, Loui and Lilian. The son Joseph was injured in a runaway November 8, 1905, and died the following day. Mr. Gunderson loyally supports the Republican party, and during his residence in North Dakota held numerous offices. He is deeply interested in the educational affairs of the com- munity, now serving on the school board. He and his family are active members of the Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran church. Mr. Gunderson's thorough understanding of farming, combined with his untiring energy and splendid management, has placed him in the front rank of successful farmers in the Northwest. He now owns his fine one hun- dred and fifty acre farm, worth at the lowest figure two hundred dollars per acre, besides eighty acres of pasture land. He has large dairy interests, and also devotes much attention to stock raising. One of the substantial farmer citizens of Mount Vernon district, he has contributed his full share to the growth and prosperity of the community which is pleased to claim him as a resident, and has estab- lished a naine for integrity and progressiveness equaled by few.

OLE N. LEE, a well known farmer and dairy- man residing four and one-half miles south of Mount Vernon, was born in Norway, May 8, 1831. His father was Nelse Johnson Lee, a thrifty and industrious farmer in his native land, Norway, born in 1297. His death occurred there in 1828. His

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SKAGIT COUNTY

mother, Ingeborg (Sonsvold) Lee, born in Norway in 1298, died in 1880, after a long life devotion to her family. She was the mother of nine children, John, Ingebor, Lars, Ole, Christopher, Nelse, Ell- ing, Mickel and Joseph. Like most young men of his country, Ole N. Lee spent his early life on the farm, acquiring huis education in the common schools of Norway. At the age of twenty-five he decided to seek an opening in the country to which many of his countrymen had immigrated. Locating in Wisconsin in 1856, he remained there for three years, removing thence to California in 1859 to seek his fortune in the mines. Seventeen years later he came to Skagit county, purchasing his present farm in July, 1876.

Mr. Lee was married March 23, 1874, to Anna Egtvet, born January 17, 1848, the daughter of Peter A. and Ingeri (Selge) Egtvet, both natives of Norway. Her father, born in 1798, came to the United States in 1846, his death occurring in Wis- consin. Her mother was born in 1811 and died in 1893. Mrs. Lee received her education in the com- mon schools of her native state, Wisconsin, where she lived with her parents until her marriage. The other children in the family are: Amund P. (de- ceased), Sever, Lars, Peter and Charlie. Three children have blessed the home of Mr. and Mrs. Lee : Nellie I. P., Peter A. and Oscar E. Mr. Lee is an earnest supporter of the Republican party, but has never cared to become a politician. He and his family are identified with the Lutheran church. Mr. Lee's well directed energies and tireless indus- try have crowned him with prosperity. He now owns two hundred and forty acres of bottom land, one hundred and sixty of which are cleared and worth two hundred dollars per acre. His principal products are oats and hay. His dairy interests are extensive and make large demands upon his time. A resident of Skagit county for nearly thirty years, Mr. Lee has witnessed its remarkable growth, en- joying, meanwhile, the confidence and respect of his fellow citizens, who realize that he has contrib- uted materially to the general prosperity.

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An illustrated history of Skagit and Snohomish Counties; their people, their commerce and their resources, with an outline of the early history of the state of Washington, Part 100

Author: Inter-state Publishing Company (Chicago, Ill.) Publication date: 1906 Publisher: [Chicago] Interstate Publishing Company Number of Pages: 1172

Author: Inter-state Publishing Company (Chicago, Ill.)
Publication date: 1906
Publisher: [Chicago] Interstate Publishing Company
Number of Pages: 1172