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 117

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 117
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 117

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).

Upon completing a common school course, William F. Robinson of this article, finished his educational training in the French Business Col- lege, of Boston. A restless ambition impelled him to go on the road as a commercial traveller at the age of sixteen and for the ensuing sixteen years he was thus employed. Grit, energy and native ability failed not to tell for success in this line of endeavor, but ever watchful for oppor- tunities for advancement Mr. Robinson determined to seek a larger field for the exercise of his commercial abilities, and the fish industry, the life

632

SKAGIT COUNTY

work of his father, with its world wide possi- bilities, very naturally attracted him. His resi- dence on the Pacific Coast dates from 1893, when he came to San Francisco and established a plant for the manufacture of liquid fish glue, a branch of the fish industry which has appealed to him most powerfully, in which he is a pioneer and to which he has contributed very materially by his own researches and discoveries. This plant he operated very successfully three years, but he was too vigilant to overlook the superior advantages of the Sound country, with its excellent harbors and its proximity to the cod of the northern seas, so in 1896 he moved to Seattle, where he and N. B. Colt, whom he had interested in his enterprise, formed a firm known as the Robinson & Colt Com- pany, Inc., and began the manufacture of fish fertilizer and oil. In 1897 the business was removed to Anacortes, that location offering su- perior advantages over any other point on the Sound. Two years later Mr. Robinson purchased. his partner's 'interest, but as soon after sold it again to men in Seattle, and in January, 1904, the old company was entirely superseded by a new corporation then formed known as the Robinson Fisheries Company, which assumed all the rights and privileges of its predecessor and elected the following officers: William F. Robinson, presi- dent and manager ; Andrew Chilberg, vice presi- dent ; A. H. Soelberg, secretary. The paid up capital stock of the concern is $100.000. The scope of the business has been materially widened by these progressive men, the most important advance being the taking up of the codfish trade, no limits to the possibilities of which can be fore- seen at this time. Two vessels of 450 tons capac- ity each have been fitted up by this enterprising firm to catch fish in the waters of Behring Sea and transport them to Anacortes, where an im- mense plant has been built and equipped for the purpose of curing the fish and preparing them for market. A really superior product is the result, one which is in demand not alone in this country but in foreign lands as well and one which is rapidly finding new markets for itself as its excellence becomes better known. Mr. Rob- inson is still deeply interested in the manufacture of liquid fish glue, the industry in which he has achieved his greatest triumphs, triumphs which first made him famous in the annals of the fish industry, though he has now come to be recog- nized throughout the entire Northwest as authority on all matters pertaining to the subject.

In the year 1880 Mr. Robinson married Nellie E. Orne, who was born in Gloucester, Massachu- setts, September 13, 1861, the daughter of Free- man and Mary (Jeffries) Orne, natives of Maine and Nova Scotia respectively. Mr. and Mrs. Robinson have one daughter, Mrs. Mary M. Traf-

ton, born in Massachusetts, December 19, 1883, whose husband John E. Trafton, is associated with his father-in-law in the fish industry. They also have one son, Guy W., born in Massachu- setts July 24, 1884; also a grandson, Ellsworth Trafton, born in Anacortes in June, 1902. Though a very busy man, as a man must be, whose field of business operations includes so large a part.of the earth's surface and who attempts the mastery of an intricate and exacting industry, Mr. Robin- son finds time to discharge his duties as a good citizen and public spirited member of the com- munity, even consenting to accept and attend to the sometimes vexatious requirements of such offices as school director and president of the board of school trustees. He is active also in fraternal matters, though in this direction he con- fines his energies to the mastery of the teachings of the Masonic order, that most ancient of all brotherhoods and the parent of all. His mammoth establishment is the most important in the city of Anacortes both in its present accomplishment and its prospects for future development. The citizens of the progressive little seaport city recog- nize this as a fact and are firm in the belief that great benefit will accrue to them in particular and to the entire Sound country in general from the operations of Mr. Robinson and his worthy asso- ciates.

MRS. CATHERINE NELSON, wife of the late Noah Nelson, was born in Indiana. March 16, 1842, the daughter of Henry and Margaret Greenwood, the father a native of North Carolina, the mother, of Virginia. Both parents are de- ceased. Growing to womanhood in the home of her parents, Mrs. Nelson acquired her education in the schools of her native state, while at the same time becoming practically familiar with the work incident to farm life.

In 1863 she was united in marriage to Noalı Nelson, a prosperous young farmer of Indiana, born June 9, 1839. After spending the first three and a half years of their wedded life in Indiana, they decided to locate in Minnesota and in the full flush of youth, health and happiness, they soon took up an eighty .acre homestead in Wright county, all heavily timbered. They resided upon it for the ensuing eighteen years. Sharing her husband's toil in the woods and fields, Mrs. Nelson ably assisted in clearing the ranch, of which only six acres remained in timber when they sold it, to move to Washington. Upon arriving here they purchased one hundred acres of the present town- site of Anacortes, and the task of clearing was at once begun. In 1890, during the phenomenal activity in real estate Mr. Nelson platted the forty acres he has cleared into town lots, selling the re-

633

BIOGRAPHICAL

mainder of the homestead. He later built a shingle mill, which he operated for some time but during the panic of the early 'nineties he lost this prop- erty, and other holdings amounting to a large sum. That he could not have foreseen future events and thus availed himself of the opportunity of making a fortune, was a matter of ceaseless regret to him. He died in Anacortes, May 29, 1902. Eleven children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Nelson as follows: Columbus, of Anacortes; Mrs. Ellen Burg, of Nooksack: Marion, who was drowned two days after the family came to Ana- cortes ; Charles, at home; Harvey, on Fidalgo island; Mrs. Elva Welte, of Enumclaw; John, at Anacortes : Mark and Helen (deceased) ; Mrs. Bertha Gadbois, of Anacortes; Hugh, also of Anacortes. Posessed of rare strength and sweet- ness of character, Mrs. Nelson has endeared her- self to the entire community. Her holdings in- clude the block whereon is her neat and com- modious nine room house, and much other Ana- cortes property in the form of houses and lots.

COLUMBUS NELSON, a well known resi- dent of Anacortes, until recently in the employ of the Fidalgo Lumber Company, was born in Grant County, Indiana, January 25, 1863. His father, Noah Nelson, who was a native of Indiana, born June 9, 1839, in early manhood moved to Minne- sota. After farming there for several years, he decided to seek the superior advantages afforded by the Northwest to young men of industry; so came to Washington, locating in Anacortes, where he invested in one hundred acres of timber land, the present site of the town, and at once began improving it. During the boom of 1890, he plat- ted the forty acres he had cleared, into town lots, selling the remainder of the farm. About this time also, he was offered a fortime for his hold- ings, and his refusal to sell was a matter of life- long regret to him. In the financial depression that soon overwhelmed the country, he lost heav- ily. His death occurred in Anacortes, May 29, 1902. Catherine (Greenwood) Nelson, the mother, was born in Indiana, March 16, 1842, remaining at home till her marriage in 1863. Coming with her husband to Anacortes in 1883, she experienced the trials and dangers incident to pioneer life, nobly assisting her husband in every possible way. She is now an honored resi- dent of Anacortes.

The oldest child of a family of eleven, Colum- bus Nelson was brought by his parents to Minne- sota in infancy, there growing to manhood, and acquiring his education in the common schools. At the age of nineteen he began learning, the carpenter's trade, and he worked two years for wages, at the end of which time he was able to take contracts for residences in Anacortes, whither

he had come at the beginning of his business career. Forming a partnership with his father and brothers, he assisted in building the shingle mill, which was lost during the panic of the 'nineties. Moving to Bellingham, he worked a year for the Morris Hardware Company, later accepting the position of saw filer in the shingle mill of R. P. Thomas, at Anacortes. Returning two years after- ward to Bellingham, he was employed by the Northwood Cedar Company for three years. Again making Anacortes his home, he worked for a time in various mills in the town. Two years ago he became associated with the Fidalgo Lum- ber Company, taking charge of filing the saws used in their extensive works, a position which he has filled with entire satisfaction to the com- pany until very recently.

Mr. Nelson and Clara M. Kale were united in marriage June 12, 1890. A native of Iowa, Mrs. Nelson moved with her parents to Bellingham in 1882. Her father, C. Stewart Kale, was born near Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, February 7, 1848. He located in Iowa in boyhood, remaining there until 1882: when he became a resident of Bell- ingham. Her mother, Charlotte E. (McNeal)' Kale, a native of Andover, Massachusetts, born May 18, 1850, is now residing at Everson, Wash- ington. Mr. Nelson is a loyal Republican, but has never sought political prominence. He is interested in real estate, owning six city lots and a neat, commodious home, equipped with modern conveniences and luxuries. He also owns a fine yacht, and he and his wife enjoy many a sail on the river. He is a man of industry, energy, and sterling worth, held in the highest esteem by his many acquaintances.

JOHN NELSON, a prosperous shingle weaver of Anacortes, residing on Twenty-third street, was born in Wright County, Minnesota, March 3, 1877. His father, Noah Nelson, a native of In- diana, moved in early life to Minnesota, and farmed there until 1883, when he decided to find a home in the Northwest. Stopping in Seattle for a short time, he then came on to Anacortes, purchasing a farm of one hundred and sixty acres, all heavily timbered with the exception of a four-acre orchard. The town at that time con- sisted of one store, a hotel and several rude dwelling houses. During the boom of 1889, he was offered the sum of $151,000 for his prop- erty, but refused the sale. The following year he built a shingle mill on his part of the townsite, selling shingles at one dollar and a half to two dollars a thousand for the first few months. The price having dropped to ninety cents per thousand. he lost heavily ; he died May 28, 1902, never ceasing to regret that he had lost his opportunity of making a fortune. Catherine (Greenwood)

634

SKAGIT COUNTY

Nelson, the mother, was born March 16, 1842, in Indiana, growing to womanhood and receiving her education in that state.

Brought by his parents to Anacortes when a boy of six, John Nelson attended school for ten years, then entered his father's shingle mill, where he worked until, on account of the low price of the product, his father went out of the business. After working a short time for B. D. Minkler at Lyman, he returned to Anacortes, and was em- ployed in mills for several months, after which he visited various towns in British Columbia and Washington. While in the employ of the Co- operative Shingle Mill he had the misfortune to lose all the fingers of the left hand.

Mr. Nelson was married November 15, 1899, and he and Mrs. Nelson have two children: Leah E., born August 1, 1900, and Louie C. B., Aug- List 24, 1903. Mr. Nelson is prominent in frater- nal circles, being a member of the Odd Fellows and the Modern Brotherhood of America; his wife is also identified with this latter organization, and with the Royal Circle of Foresters. Mr. Nelson is a Republican, loyally supporting his party in every way. Upon his return to Anacor- tes, he invested in ten city lots and the neat house where he now lives. For the past eighteen months he has been with R. P. Thomas, establish- ing for himself an enviable reputation for industry and faithfulness, A young man of correct busi- ness habits, his future success is assured.

ROBERT P. THOMAS, saw-mill man and merchant of Anacortes, is one of the prominent citizens of that city, as well as a man of recog- nized ability throughout the Northwest country. He has been mayor of his town, is a public spirit- ed gentleman and one who has received honors from his fellows and peers. Mr. Thomas was born in Philadelphia in 1861, the son of Robert P. Thomas. also a native of the Quaker city, whose forebears came to this country with the illustrious William Penn. The elder Thomas was born in 1820 on the land received under grant by his ancestors from the founder of Philadelphia in 1682. which has since been condemned by the city for park purposes, and forms a portion of Fairmount park. The elder Mr. Thomas enlisted in the Civil War in 1861, and received successive promotions until he was killed, February 2, 1864, in a skirmish in Virginia, while ranking as col- onel. Mrs. Sarah (Bacon) Thomas, his wife, was also a Philadelphian, born in 1822, and was the mother of six children, of whom the subject of this sketch is the youngest. Robert P. Thomas, of this sketch, received his education in the Pordicey school of Philadelphia, graduating when sixteen years of age and at once entering upon

the wholesale drug business as clerk. After four years' experience in that line he went (1881) to St. Paul, Minnesota, and entered the employ of the Northern Pacific railroad, serving two years as clerk and timber inspector and in 1883 be- coming general fuel and timber agent at St. Paul. Ile served in that capacity for nine years, resign- ing in 1892 and coming to Tacoma. He followed various pursuits for two years and then leased a couple of small shingle mills near Tacoma and operated them successfully for two years. At the end of this period, hearing of the financial con- dition of the mill at Anacortes, he came here and looked the proposition over. It was a shingle mill, built in 1891 by the Anacortes Co-operative Shingle Company, but had changed hands sev- eral times and was then for sale by the mort- gagees. It was the first mill on Fidalgo bay. Mr. Thomas decided to purchase the mill. He oper- ated it as a shingle mill until the summer of 1900 when he remodeled it into a saw-mill and has con- tinued to operate it ever since.

In 1891 Mr. Thomas married Miss Effie Lahr, to whom one child was born, Sarah. In 1902 he was again married and to Miss Mary E. Colt. In fraternal circles Mr. Thomas is a Mason, of the Royal Arch degree, a Mystic Shriner and a grand regent. In politics he is a Republican and active in all party matters and councils. He was mayor of Anacortes from 1900 to 1903 and has served in the city council for two years. He was also a member of the Washington commission to the Louisiana Purchase Exposition. Mr. Thomas has engaged in a wide field of activities, and in each of them he has been a leader. He has fine qualities of mind and heart and is a whole-souled, public spirited man.

JAMES H. CAVANAUGH is a successful mill man of Anacortes who has followed the shin- gle business almost continuously since attaining the years of manhood and who knows it thorough- ly in all its branches. He was born in Albany, New York, October 3, 1852, the son of Charles Cavanaugh, who emigrated from Ireland in 1851 and settled at Albany, a few years later going to Lewis County, New York, where he is still living. Mrs. Margaret ( Kenney) Cavanaugh was also a native of the Emerald Isle and was married there. She was the mother of ten children, of whom James is the second in order. James re- ceived his education in the schools of Albany and Lewis county, remaining at home until he was twenty years of age. In 1822 he went to Penn- sylvania and began life in the logging camps of that state, remaining there for two years, when he went to Michigan and took his first steps in the shingle mill business. Six years of work in

635

BIOGRAPHICAL

the Peninsula state were followed by a year in the woods and with shingle mills in Arkansas. I11 1881 he returned to New York and for six years sawed timber for T. B. Baslieu in the Black river section of New York's wooded belt. He then re- turned to Arkansas and to the shingle business until 1894, when he came to Washington and lo- cated at Francis, where he built a shingle mill of his own and operated it, and a tributary logging camp for eight years. He sold out in 1902 to the Globe Lumber Company, then came to Anacortes and built his present mill on Fidalgo bay. The output of this mill is 200,000 a day.

In 1812, at Greenville, Michigan, Mr. Cava- naugh married Miss Addie Butterfield, daughter of Myron Butterfield, then a carpenter and now a farmer in Arkansas. The mother of Mrs. Cava- naugh, Mrs. Mary (Mason) Cavanaugh, was a native of Michigan and died in Arkansas. Mrs. Cavanaugh was born in the Peninsula state in 1860 and was educated in the schools of that state. She and Mr. Cavanaugh have seven children : Mrs. Mary Moore, of Tacoma: Mrs. Maggie McNutt. of Tarbo Bay: Addie ; Charles : James : Hattie, and Sadie. The two sons work in the mill and are their father's assistants in the management of the business. In politics Mr. Cavanaugh is a Repub- lican, in religion a Catholic. His previous mill- ing experience has been used to the best advan- tage since he came to Anacortes and his affairs are in a very prosperous condition. He is a man of forceful character, and one of the progressive citizens of Anacortes. During the twelve years of his residence in Skagit county he has been a promi- nent figure in commercial and industrial circles, at all times lending the weight of his influence for the promotion of the public's best interests.

HON. R. LEE BRADLEY, representative from Skagit county in the state legislature and one of the leading business men of AAnacortes, is also a native son of Washington, his parents be- ing among the early pioneers of Puget sound. The fertile tide and valley lands, the magnificent, end- less forests of fir and cedar, and the beautiful, bold shored inland waters of the sound, which dis- tinguish this region from all others and render it so enchanting to all strangers have formed his lifelong environments and have been his continual inspiration from childhood. Unlike many, he has recognized his opportunities and grasped them without going to a strange country, and almost within sight of his birthplace has won what suc- cess he has attained thus far.

The little village of Oak Harbor, Whidby island, was the family's home when R. Lee Brad- ley was born January 3, 1869. Valentine B. Bradley, the father, a Virginian by birth, was, as

he has been informed, a cousin of W. O. Bradley, the well known governor of Kentucky. Sailing from New York in 1862, the elder Bradley came direct to Washington Territory, by way of the Isthmus of Panama, and located in 1863 on Whid- by island, taking a homestead in the little settle- ment being gradually formed on the peaceful shores of Penn's Cove. At that date Skagit coun- ty's only settlement was a very small one at the head of Fidalgo bay, while the only settlements on the entire mainland between Seattle and What- com were trading posts at Mukilteo and Snoho- mish City. The great tide flats for the most part were still reigned over by Neptune and the sound of the woodman's ax had as yet scarcely been heard in the virgin forests. Even nine years later, when the Bradleys took up their abode on the flats at the mouth of the Stillaguamish river, the rec- lamation of those rich lands had been barely be- gun and the town of Stanwood was years from its inception. U'pon that pioneer claim. the elder Bradley passed away the same year in which he settled. Mrs. Josephine ( May) Bradley, the moth- er of R. Lee, was born in Missouri. She came with her husband to Washington in 1862, shared with him the privations and dangers of pioncer life on Puget sound, and, hale and hearty, still survives him, living in Anacortes at present.

After attending the public schools of Snoho- mish county until he was thirteen years of age, the subject of this review accompanied his mother to La Conner. There he received instruction from a teacher who was later to reach the foremost offi- cial position in his state, Henry McBride, now ex- Governor McBride. After supplementing his pub- lic school work by a course in the normal school, Mr. Bradley, at that time only fifteen years old, took up the serious duties of life on the farm of his brother-in-law, Rienzi E. Whitney, one of the leaders of his time in this section of the state. Five years later, in 1890, the young man went to Seattle and entered a store as clerk, but a few months afterward purchased from Mr. Whitney the farm on which he had previously worked. He farmed this place in the Swinomish flats twelve years with marked success, selling it in 1902 to enter the mercantile business at Anacortes, as the successor of Lewis Foss. As in other lines of activity, Mr. Bradley has attanied success in this venture, his business keeping step with the advance of that prosperous little seaport. For many years a loyal, active Republican, he was honored by his party in 1901 by being elected a representative to the legislature, an office which he is filling with credit to himself and those who placed their trust in him.

Miss Jessie Stearns, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Earl H. Stearns, of Edison, a full biograph- ical sketch of whom appears elsewhere in these

636

SKAGIT COUNTY

chronicles, was united in marriage to Mr. Brad- ley at Bay View, in 1895, and thus two pioneer families were united. Mr. Stearns, a Pennsyl- vanian by birth and descent, is a pioneer of Kan- sas. Hle came to Skagit county in 1883 and is at present a well known Samish farmer. Mrs. Mar- garet (Closson) Stearns, whose death occurred in June, 1905, was a native of Kansas, and before her marriage taught school several years. Com- ing with her parents to Washington from Kan- sas, where she was born December 1, 1875, Mrs. Bradley attended the public schools here, complet- ing her education by a course in the normal at Whatcom. She then took up the teaching profes- sion and at the time of her marriage was known as one of the most successful teachers in Skagit county. She is a prominent member of the Metho- dist church. Mr. Bradley is affiliated with but one fraternity, the Odd Fellows, being a past grand of Bay View Lodge No. 128. Both Mr. and Mrs. Bradley are highly esteemed in social circles for their genial, sterling qualities, and in his sphere Mr. Bradley is recognized as a leader of ability and substantial virtues.

JOHN P. MILLET, the proprietor of the Ven- dome Hotel in Anacortes, is one of the best known pioneers of Skagit county, a man who more than once has been compelled by the demands of the people to lay aside his own affairs to accept pub- lic office. He was born in Milo, Maine, April 26, 1853, the son of Christopher C. and Olive (Sar- gent) Millet, both natives of the Pine Tree state. The mother died five years ago at the age of eighty-four; the father passed away when John P. Millet was a boy. The young man remained at home faithfully assisting his mother and attend- ing school until 1821, when he went to Saginaw, Michigan, and engaged in lumbering, two years later going to Mexico and Arizona, where he found employment in the mines. He came by the southern route to San Diego, California, thence up the coast to Seattle, where he landed in 1875. Fifteen years he spent in logging camps on Hoods canal, and on the Snohomish, Snoqualmie and Skagit rivers. In 1881 he went into business at the site of the present town of Burlington, under the firm name of Millet & Mckay. A census taken in 1875 would have shown just ten white women in the entire Skagit valley. Mr. Millet re- tired from the lumber business in 1894 and in 1896 was elected sheriff. It was in the discharge of his duties as such officer that he won not a little local fame for his capture of "Jack King," a notorious burglar. Sheriff Millet had arrested King in Mount Vernon for robbing a store in that town, but the miscreant succeeded in breaking jail and escaping. Sheriff Millet started on his trail,

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

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 117

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