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 103

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 103
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 103

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On October 12, 1886, Mr. Thompson was mar- ried to Miss Lillie Leigh, daughter of William Leigh, a native of England, whose parents brought

him while a boy to the state of Iowa. Later Mr. Leigh went to Kansas, where he passed fourteen years, and in 1877 the Leighs came to Washington and settled on the White river near Seattle. Mrs. Leigh, an Iowan by birth, still lives in Mount Ver- non ; her husband died near that city in 1897. Mrs. Thompson was born in Washington County, Kan- sas, during the residence of her parents in that state, and was only twelve years of age when she came to Washington. She was married at eighteen. Of the six children born to Mr. and Mrs. Thomp- son, the eldest, Harvey J., was born in Tacoma, December 21, 1887; Mabel was born in Skagit county April 10, 1889 ; Ida M., born in Skagit county July 16, 1891; Violet L., born in Skagit county May 7, 1893 ; Philip, born in Skagit county April 12, 1892; and Agnes T., who died in infancy. Mr. Thompson is an active Republican. He has served his school district as director for five years. In addition to doing a general farming bus- iness Mr. Thompson gives especial attention to his herd of Durham cattle. The farm is well improved, the buildings ample and the whole composes a mon- ument to the thrift and hard headed conservatism of Mr. Thompson and his wife.

FRED SLOSSON is an example of what will and pluck, supplemented by an application to work in hand, can do. Out of the woody wilderness of Puget sound he has literally carved a handsome competence within comparatively few years. Born in Pocahontas County, Iowa, in 1872, the son of a veteran of the Civil War, young Slosson has made his way since thirteen years of age. Oscar Slosson, his father. was a native of New York, but went to Ohio when eighteen years old. In 1854 he removed to Iowa and followed farming. In 1862 he went to Pennsylvania and there responding to the call of President Lincoln for volunteers, enlisted in the Eleventh Pennsylvania Cavalry and served throughout the war with that command. After the grand review and muster out, he turned his face once more to the plains of Iowa, where he remained until 1818, when he went to California. Hearing of the Puget sound country Mr. Slosson left Cali- fornia after a year's residence, came to Skagit county and settled on a farm near La Conner, where he continued until his death in 1901. Julia (Tous- lee) Slosson was the mother of nine children of whom Fred is the seventh. Mrs. Slosson was a native of Ohio and died at La Conner in 1904. Fred Slosson received his education in the schools of Skagit county, but did not have the opportunity of pushing his studies to the extent hie desired. His father being of infirm health, the young man was carly called from school to the sterner duties of life. For the greater part of his life young Slosson has made a business of clearing land of the big for- ests, doing a contract business, in which he has gained an enviable reputation. When he first com-

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menced his operations that section of Skagit county where he resides was a huge forest. It was during these years that Mr. Slosson cleared his present farm of sixty acres. Among the contracting enter- prises which he successfully carried to completion was the construction of four miles of the Gray's Harbor branch of the Northern Pacific railroad, which work was finished in seven months. With the exception of one business trip to Chicago Mr. Slosson has remained on the sound since he first reached there.

In 1895 Mr. Slosson married Miss Ethel Tous- lee, daughter of Horace Touslee, a veterinary sur- geon of New York, who came to Tacoma in 1889 and one year later moved to Skagit county. He is now making his home with Mr. and Mrs. Slos- son. Mrs. Slosson's mother, Sarah (Cable) Tous- lee, a native of Iowa, is living in Chicago, where she is in the millinery and dressmaking busi- ness. Mrs. Slosson was born in Iowa in 1822 and received her education at St. Paul, Minnesota. She was married when eighteen years of age. Mr. and Mrs. Slosson have an adopted daughter, Gladys, a native of Skagit county. In politics Mr. Slosson is a Republican. His farm is all in a high state of cultivation and includes five acres of fine orchard. Mr. Slosson is a lover of cattle and has seventy head on his place. He is contemplating raising cattle on a larger scale. His home is modern in every way, with ample buildings and every conven- ience, showing taste and enterprise. Few men of Mr. Slosson's age, starting under similar circum- stances, can give better evidence of their success from a material standpoint than is displayed on his well kept place, and his value as a neighbor and citi- zen is as fully evidenced by the respect and esteem in which he is held by his fellow-citizens.

DARLEY C. HAYWARD was born in Dires- ville, lowa, in May, 1866, the son of Henry and Ellen Hayward. The elder Hayward was born in England and learned the trade of a butcher. Com- ing to the United States when a young man, he en- listed in the Union army and served until the cur- tain was drawn over the Lost Cause at Appomat- tox court house. Mr. Hayward is still living in Iowa. Mrs. Ellen (Tilley ) Hayward was also Eng- lish by birth, but came to this country with her parents and when but sixteen years of age became the wife of Mr. Hayward in lowa. She is the mother of seven children, of whom Darley C. is the second. After finishing a course in the schools of lowa young Hayward for a time cast in his for- tunes in the meat business with his father, but in 1886, when twenty years old, he left home and went to Kansas. After one year on the plains he came to Washington and obtained employment on the farm of Hyman Scheurkogle in Skagit county. with whom he remained but a few months. A year was then passed in working in various places, when

Mr. Hayward returned to his first employer. This time he remained with Mr. Scheurkogle for three years and married his employer's daughter.

In August, 1892, the ceremony uniting Darley C. Hayward and Miss Mary E. Scheurkogle was performed. In a short time Mr. Hayward purchas- ed twenty acres of the land of Mr. Scheurkogle and went to work to clear it for cultivation. The big trees have disappeared and in their place is a mod- est farm in excellent cultivation, with orchard and dwelling house. Hyman Scheurkogle was born in Holland, but at an early age crossed the Atlantic and settled on a farm in Iowa. In the early sev- enties he came to Washington and purchased the land on which he has ever since lived. His wife was Sarah Slosson, a native of Iowa. Their daughter, Mary (Scheurkogle) Hayward, was born in Iowa August 9, 1879, but came to Washington with her parents when three years old. Her educa- tion was gained in this state. Mr. and Mrs. Hay- ward are the parents of three children. all of whom were born in their present home: Minnie M., Fred H. and Bertha E. Mr. Hayward is a Republican in politics and is affiliated with the Methodist church, though not an active communicant. The Haywards are very pleasantly situated, with an at- tractive home, a farm well stocked and every proba- bility for still greater success than that already gained by them.

JOHN EDWARD CARLSON'S career in Skagit county marks him as a typical young Swed- ish-American citizen. Born in Sweden in 1864, he remained on his father's farm in the old country until, at the age of twenty-five, he decided that America beckoned him to fortune. Carl Carlson, his father, followed the son to the United States in 1890 and is now spending the evening of his life with the son. Johanna (Johnson) Carlson, the mother, died in Skagit county in 1903. John E. obtained his education in the Swedish schools and remained on the farm of his parents until he came to this country in 1888. For seven years after he arrived in Skagit county he was in the employ of T. O. Rudene as a farm hand, but in 1895 bought his present farm of eighty acres, a little over three miles west of Mount Vernon. At that time the land was not all cleared, but it is now entirely un- der cultivation, half in grass and a number of acres in garden produce. A fine seven-room house and a good barn constitute the chief building improve- iments.

In 1896 Mr. Carlson married Miss Ella Larson, daughter of Ever Larson, a Swedish farmer who emigrated to the United States when a young man and settled in St. Paul, Minnesota, where he work- ed as a machinist in the railroad shops. Mr. Larson came to Washington in 1888 and now resides on Pleasant Ridge in Skagit county. Mrs. Larson was also a native of Sweden. She died at the Pleasant

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Ridge home in 1902. Mrs. Carlson was born in Sweden in 1863, but came to this country when very young, receiving her education in the schools of Minnesota. She married at the age of thirty-three and is the mother of Lloyd .1. and Louis E. Carl- son, both of whom were born in Skagit county. Mr. Carlson is a Republican in politics, a member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen and a commun- icant of the Methodist church. His eighty-acre farm is in good state of cultivation and is yielding excellent returns in both crops and livestock.

NELS ELDE is one of the young Swedish- American citizens of Skagit county who are fast making a reputation for thrift and shrewdness in handling a farm. Born in Sweden in 1865, he left the old home at the age of twenty-one years to seek his fortune in America. His father, who likewise bore the name of Nels Elde, was a farmer in Swed- en. His mother, Eliza ( Magnussen) Elde, passed her whole life in Sweden and her remains are bur- ied there. She was the mother of eight children, of whom Nels is the youngest. On his arrival in the United States Nels Elde came at once to Washing- ton, and in Skagit county entered the employ of his brother Charles, continuing with him for the period of six years. In 1892 he made a trip to his native land and remained there one year. Four years later he bought his farm of thirty-eight acres, about four miles west of Mount Vernon and resides there now. When he first placed foot on this land there were only seven acres cleared, the remainder of his purchase consisting of brush and timber. These have all been removed and in their place are acres of good plow land of more than ordinary fer- tility, potatoes yielding as high as thirty-five sacks to the acre. It was not until a year after his pur- chase that Mr. Elde moved on his place, the inter- vening time being given over to removing brush and getting the land in shape for cultivation.

In 1896 Mr. Elde married Christina Jensen, daughter of Mrs. Boel ( Pearson) Jensen, now liv- ing in Skagit county. Mrs. Elde was born Septem- ber 27. 1873. She was educated in the old country and crossed the Atlantic when nineteen years of age. Five children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Elde, Ruth, Lizzie, Ilildur, Ruby and Mildred. Mr. Elde attends the Mission church. He is a member of the Woodmen of the World and in politics a Democrat. With fertile and well tilled soil. abundance of livestock, commodious buildings and pleasant and convenient home conditions, the Elde family may well be counted among the highly fav- ored of an unusually prosperous community.

HON. JAMES POWER, of La Conner, Wash- ington, is a pioneer of this section of the state, hav- ing come to Puget sound in 1873. He located at Whatcom and established the Bellingham Bay Mail,

the only paper then published north of Seattle. In 1879 he removed to La Conner and continued the publication of the paper under the title of the Puget Sound Mail, by which name it is still known, the present publishers being Messrs. Carter & Carlson. Mr. Power is a native of Ireland, but grew to man- hood in Columbus, Ohio, where he served an ap- prenticeship at the printing business, Just previous to coming West he worked three years in the gov- ernment printing office at Washington, D. C. Mr. Power had two brothers, Edward and Frank, in the Third Ohio Union Infantry, while his father served in the Confederate army, in the Tenth Tennessee, one of the instances where father and son contended with each other in the Civil War.

Mr. Power has always been Republican in poli- tics, and has always taken an active interest in pub- lie affairs, having served the public with credit and distinction in various positions, such as inspector of customs, United States commissioner, member of the territorial board of regents, member of the leg- islature, his last public service being as one of the framers of the state constitution. In the legislature of 1883, with the able assistance of his colleague, Hon. Orrin Kincaid, now deceased, he procured the division of Whatcom county and the division of the county of Skagit. These counties are now two of the most prosperous in the state although at that time the division met with considerable opposition from citizens of the old county.

Mr. Power refers with satisfaction to his spe- cial work in the constitutional convention of 1889,- the passage of the provision confirming patent title to tide, swamp and overflowed lands, previously taken up by bona fide settlers. Owing to a mooted constitutional question as to whether or not the general government should have reserved such lands from settlement, as a heritage for the future state, as such lands had previously been granted to other states, it was deemed important to enter a formal disclaimer in the constitution. This most reasonable proposition to quiet the settler's title was met by strenuous opposition from the delegates from eastern Washington, led by Judge Turner, who very speciously argued throughout the pro- tracted debates that if the state had any interest in these lands it should not be relinquished, while if it had no such interest, a disclaimer was unnecessary ; in any event he argued that the matter should go over for future legislative action. But Mr. Power and other advocates of the provision insisted on settling the question then and there, for all time, and in this contention they were eventually success- ful.

"Judge" Power, as he is popularly known, is now living in retirement on his hop ranch near La Conner, Washington.

SAMUEL DUNLAP. though in point of age one of the younger leading men of the Skagit val-

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ley, is nevertheless a pioneer of that section of the Puget sound country. He was born November 22, 1870, in the state of California, the son of Isaac Dunlap, a Pennsylvania farmer who later moved to Iowa. In the latter state he noted the tide of mi- gration to California and joined it, traveling there by mule team. In 1877 he came to Skagit county and purchased a place on Pleasant Ridge ; he still lives in the county. Mrs. Susan ( Maxwell) Dun- lap, mother of our subject, was born in Iowa and married to Mr. Dunlap during his residence in that state. She is still living. the mother of seven chil- dren, of whom Samuel Dunlap is the sixth. The son, thoughi born in California, is in reality a prod- uct of Skagit county, obtaining his education here and growing to manhood in the Skagit valley. Two years were passed by him in educational pursuits in the academy at Coupeville when, at the age of twenty years, he went to work for a brother. Two years as employe were followed by four years of farming on land rented of his brother. At the close of this period our subject bought forty acres of heavily timbered land which he cleared, and a little later added the forty-acre tract known as the Wells place, upon which he moved in 1899. This holding of eighty acres of as good farm land as lies in Ska- git county produces principally oats of which the yield is invariably large.

Mr. Dunlap married Mrs. Hattie Williams at La Conner in 1894. Her father, Richard Ball, a pio- neer of Skagit county whose biography appears in this history, came to Washington and settled on the La Conner flats in the Centennial year. Mrs. Dun- lap's father has served as mayor of La Conner for four years. Amanda (Horney) Ball, mother of Mrs. Dunlap, is a native of Nashville, Tennessee, born in 1842. She still lives in La Conner. Mrs. Samnel Dunlap was born near Cincinnati, Ohio, on New Year's day, 1867, in the same house which saw the birth of her father. She received her educa- tion in the Skagit county schools and after pursu- ing a course of study in the Portland high school, began teaching in Skagit county when seven- teen years of age ; continuing to teach in the schools here for a total of nine years. When twenty years of age she became the wife of Dr. A. C. Williams, whose death occurred two years later, after which she resumed teaching. The Dunlap home is one of the pleasant places in the Skagit valley and its host and hostess are respected by all. The farm is well kept and with a goodly number of horses and cattle constitutes one of the solid properties in the county. Mr. Dunlap is a member of the Woodmen of the World. In politics he is an ardent Republican.

AXEL W. AXELSON. Prominent among the hardy Norsemen who have won enviable success in the industrial development of Skagit county is the worthy citizen and successful farmer whose name initiates this article. Born in Sweden in the year

1861, he passed there the first twenty-six years of his life, and his father, Axel W. Magnusson, and mother, whose maiden name was Sophia Nygren, are still residents of that far-away northern land. In 1887 he arrived in the state of Iowa, where he lived three years, coming at the end of that time to Mount Vernon, Washington. His first employment in Skagit county was clearing land, then for three years he worked for R. E. Whitney, building dikes, but in the fall of 1893 he went to Seattle, where for some time he was employed in different brick yards and by the railroad company. Returning at length to Whitney island, near La Conner, he spent a half decade there in the business of raising cabbage on a five-acre garden tract. The ensuing three years were spent in general farming first on Samish flats and then on the Beaver Marsh, then three years more were spent in farming on Whitney island. In 1901 he purchased his present place in the vicinity of Mount Vernon, known formerly as the Lindsay farm, and to its cultivation and improvement he has ever since devoted himself zealously, making a fine farm and a comfortable home. Every acre is in condition to yield a crop. A convenient, moderate- ly large house adds materially to the value of the farm and the comfort of living on it, while a nice little orchard supplies fruit of all varieties for fam- ily use. Realizing the value of stock on a farm, Mr. Axelson keeps a goodly number of both cattle and horses.

In Skagit county in March, 1895, our subject married Sarah, daughter of James and Eliza ( Brad- ley) Williamson. Her father is a native of Scot- land, but at the early age of eight years came with his mother to the United States, settling ultimately in Dungeness, Washington. Though deprived of educational advantages in his youth, he has, by his native shrewdness and application, accomplished more than many more favored men, and to-day he is one of the most highly respected citizens of La Conner, of which he is a pioneer, having helped to dike in the land upon which the town or a portion of it stands. Mrs. Axelson's mother was a native of Missouri, but was brought by parents to this state when only three years old, and passed here al- most her entire life. She died in December, 1903. Mrs. Axelson was born on La Conner flats May 17, 1877, but was educated in the public schools of Port Townsend, where her family lived for ten years, during which time her father was a custom house official under Bradshaw. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Axelson are Anna. Helen, Herman and Katlı- erine, all born in Skagit county. Our subject is a member of the Methodist church, and in fraternal affiliation an Odd Fellow, but he acknowledges no allegiance to any political party, preferring to de- termine for himself without bias to whom his sup- port should be given. He is one of the most sub- stantial men in the county, and in the past few years especially has been one of the most success- ful in his line of business. He belongs to that class

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of Europeans who are always welcome to the land of the free because they employ both brain and brawn in pushing forward the industrial and social progress of whatever community they may choose as a place of abode.

HARRIS B. PECK, one of the most popular and successful men of the Skagit valley, was born in New Brunswick in 1846, the son of a farmer, Elias Peck, who in his early years had followed the sea for a livelihood. He was a native of New Bruns- wick and died there in 1825. The elder Mrs. Peck. whose maiden name was Rachel Calhoun, came of a well known New Brunswick family. Her death occurred in 1865, when Harris was nineteen years old. Receiving his education in the schools of New Brunswick, Harris B. remained at home until he was twenty-one years of age; then he began his in- dependent career. He first went to Massachusetts in 1867, remaining there a year and a half, after which he returned home to care for his father in the declining days of his eventful life. In 1877 Mr. Peck left the rugged shores of the Bay of Fundy for the balmier climate and superior advantages of Puget sound. Soon after his arrival he took up forty acres of railroad land to which he soon added a homestead. Then followed a period of buying and selling land, during which he materially in- creased his holdings. In 1890 he disposed of a part of his land and invested in a furniture store in La Conner, which he directed for two years, after- ward returning to his farm, then reduced to one hundred and twenty acres, sixty-five of which were cleared. He later acquired forty acres adjoining, of which thirty-five were cleared, and in 1903 he added yet another forty acre tract. While Mr. Peck's land is adapted to general farming, he is partial to growing grass for hay, and only seven- eighths of his land is now under the plow.

Before leaving New Brunswick Mr. Peck mar- ried Miss Susan West. After ten years of wedded life Mrs. Peck died in Washington leaving five children. Mr. Peck remained a widower seven vears, in 1892 marrying Miss Hattie Crandall at La Conner. She is a daughter of John Crandall. who was at one time numbered among the pros- perous farmers of New Brunswick, but is now de- 'ceased as is also his worthy helpmeet. Mrs. Peck herself is a native of New Brunswick, and in that province was reared and educated, receiving an un- usually broad literary training. She taught there for a number of years, then removed to Boston, and in 1892 came to this state. Mr. and Mrs. Peck have no children, but four of the progeny of the first union are living, namely, Mrs. Edna Reay, resid- ing near Mount Vernon; George, of Bellingham ; Floyd, who operates the home farm, and Mrs. Susan Cole, also of Bellingham. Mr. Peck is recog- nized as one of the grand old men of the Skagit country and one of its most prosperous and sub-

stantial citizens, an exemplar of the sturdy quali- ties which make for the best in any American com- munity. Ele is a member of the Grange and of the Baptist church, and in politics is a Republican, but not specially active.

CHARLES ELDE is one of the oldest and best known of the Swedish-American settlers of the Skagit valley. He was born in Sweden in 1857 on the farm which had been kept in the family since the year 1640. His father was Nels Carlson, who died many years ago on the famous old Swedish family homestead. Mr. Elde's mother was Lisa Magnusson. She also died in her native land, the mother of eight children, of whom Charles is the fifth. After passing through the Swedish schools. Charles Elde remained on the historic farm of his forefathers until twenty-three years of age. In 1881 he left Sweden and soon after reaching this country went to Colorado and followed mining for a year and a half. On Christmas day in 1882 he reached Seattle, traveling by boat from San Fran- cisco, reaching there by overland train. Mr. Elde remained in Seattle but a short time, going thence to La Conner where he was engaged at farm work with Dr. Calhoun, a year later renting from that gentleman 240 acres on the Sullivan slough. For ten years he conducted farming operations on this place and at the close of the term purchased from Dr. Calhoun the 160 acres five miles southwest of Mount Vernon on which he has ever since made his residence. The land at that time was all under cultivation, but it was without house or farm build- ings. This is as rich land as Skagit county boasts and of it Mr. Elde has made one of the best pro- ducing farms in the Pacific Northwest.

Mr. Elde was married in 1898 to Miss Nora Anderson of Seattle, the ceremony taking place in Victoria, British Columbia. Mrs. Elde's father was Andrew Carlson and her mother Sophia Bengt- son, both of whom passed their lives in Sweden, where Mrs. Elde was born in 1868 and where she received her education. Four children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Elde, all of them on the farm in Skagit county : Thyra, born in 1898 Dagny M., born in 1900; C. Tage, born in 1901, and Signe E., born in 1903. Mr. Elde is an active Democrat in his political alliance. He attends the Mission church, which is a branch of the Lutheran denomi- nation. He is a Mason, a past grand in the Odd Fellows' fraternity and a member of the Woodmen of the World. The Elde place is one of the most attractive farmsteads in the county, as well as one of the very best in point of cultivation and pro- duetiveness.

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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 103

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