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 126

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 126
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 126

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681

BIOGRAPHICAL

determined to come to the Puget Sound country and boarded the Forest Queen for the trip to Port Gamble, in Kitsap county, reaching his destina- tion after an exciting voyage in which the vessel was driven 200 miles to the south of the Golden Gate on the third day out from San Francisco. At Port Gamble Mr. Villeneuve passed two years in a saw-mill, engaged in sawing and tallying, then he went back east and visited his family and friends for six months, returning with his dangh- ters. In the fall of 1813 Mr. Villeneuve came to what is now Skagit county and took up land where now stands the town of Conway. In a few months his family came. On the east side of the river at that time were Big Wilson. Little Wilson, Willard Sartwell, Orin Kincaid and Billy Johnson. During the following summer an Eng- lishman named Marshall started a little trading post across the river where Fir now stands. Marshall had to leave because he was selling whis- key to the Indians, and a Frenchman named Long- pre, who became his successor, left after a time for the same reason, but was later caught by the authorities and had to serve a term in prison. The stock of goods was bought by Charles Mann early in 1876. and the steamers, which by that time came up the river quite frequently, gave the place the name of Mann's Landing. Further up the river were Joe Lisk, William Caton, James Abbott and John Wilber, in regular order toward Mount Ver- non, all squaw men. Next came Thomas and John Moore with their white wives, and Robert Gage and Mc.Alpin came next after them, all on the west side of the river. To the south was Tom Jones, who came shortly after the Villeneuves. There were no roads, and travel was wholly by boat. Mrs. Villeneuve had preceded Mrs. Tom and Mrs. John Moore, and was thus the first white wo- man in that section of the county. At that time on the site of Mount Vernon were Mrs. Jasper Gates, Mrs. Hartson and her mother, Mrs. Kimball and Mrs. Ford, the Washburn family not coming till later. In order to get humber with which to build his house Mr. Villeneuve went to Utsalady, on Camano island, made the lumber into a raft and towed it behind his Whitehall boat. The tides greatly hindered progress, and he was four days in making the return trip. The house built from that lumber was the first board structure in this section of the country. A suggestion as to the utter wildness of the country may be gathered from the fact that on the site of Mann's landing was an old Indian burial place and bodies were found wrapped in blankets and hung in canoes in the trees, which were removed by the first two traders because they caused so great a stench. Many of the Indians at that time had long fiery red hair.

January 29, 1868 at Ottawa, Ontario, Mr. Vil- leneuve married Miss B. A. Treacy, daughter of

William and Rachael (Dagg) Treacy, who were of Irish descent. Mrs. Villeneuve was born in Ottawa in 1842, the tenth of a family of eleven children. She and Mr. Villeneuve have six chil- dren: Mrs. Drusilla T. McGregor ; William Eu- gene, now in Alaska; Mrs. Idla Emogen Lloyd, wife of John Lloyd ; Charles F. and Joseph Benja- min. both of whom are in British Columbia ; and Cecilia, living at home. In politics Mr. Villen- etive is a Democrat, always active in attending the conventions of that party and prominent in its work. He was postmaster at Conway for eight years, during the last three of which he was a resident of Sedro-Woolley and conducted the post-office through a deputy. When Mr. Villeneuve first set- tled on the Skagit where Conway now is, he worked in the woods and logging camps for a number of years. In 1880 he sold out and went to Snohomish county, taking up a preemption near Stanwood, but on proving up, he came back to Skagit county in 1885. For a year after his return he ran a hotel at Fir. Later he purchased land on the east side of the river hard by Conway and commenced to operate a ferry across the Skit- git. also built the first store in Conway and ar- ranged for keeping boarders. When he attempted to get a post-office located there, he met with op- position from the people of Mann's Landing who looked with displeasure on the rival town across the river. In 1892 Mr. Villeneuve came to Sedro- Woolley and built the Hotel Royal. now the Ven- dome, the largest hostlery in the city, in the mean- time renting out his property in Conway and ultimately selling it. In 1903 Mr. Villeneuve sold the Hotel Royal and built the St. Charles which he continues to operate. In addition to his hotel property he owns seven acres of the town site. During his residence at Conway and in Snohomish county he was justice of the peace; he was a mem- ber of the city council at the time of the consolida- tion of Sedro and Woolley and is still a member of that body, also is secretary of the Skagit County Pioneer Association. Mrs. Villeneuve, who is deeply interested in education, was the prime mover in the establishment of the first school built on the Skagit river, the himber for which was brought by boat at half charge owing to Mrs. Villeneuve's individual effort and public spirited action.

OTTO K. VON PRESSENTIN and his father are pioneers of Skagit county, the latter as a farmer and the son as a teacher, and, in more re- cent years, a hardware merchant. Charles von Pressentin, the father, is a native of Germany, de- scended from one of the old families of that coun- try which dates back to the thirteenth century without a lapse in the family record. Mr. von Pres- sentin came to America, landing first at Quebec ; but in 1867 he moved across the border into Wis-

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consin and remained there a short time before going to Michigan. In the Peninsula state he worked in a logging camp and afterwards became bookkeeper for Louis Sands, with whom he con- tinued for two years; he was also town clerk in his home town. In 1877 Mr. von Pressentin crossed the plains and came to Washington via San Francisco, settling at Birdsview and taking up a homestead. Mrs. Wilhelmina ( May) von Pres- sentin was also born in Germany of an ancient family, but as a girl accompanied her parents to Michigan in 1869, marrying in that state. She is the mother of seven children, six of whom are living. Otto being the third. Otto von Pressentin was born in Manistee, Michigan, June 4. 1876. After his parents came to Washington he at- tended school in Birdsview and prepared himself for teaching, in which vocation he engaged when twenty years old, in a school at Marblemont. Two years later, in 1898, he and his brother Paul opened a general merchandise store in Marblemont and continued to run it for four years, at the end of which time he sold out to his brother Paul and en- gaged with the Great Northern railway as timber cruiser. During his business partnership with his brother in the general store, he had been forest re- serve ranger. In 1903 Mr. von Pressentin took a two-months' trip through the eastern states, and on his return, went to work in Fritsch Brothers' hard- ware store. Six months later he bought the hard- ware store of R. Lamont at Sedro-Woolley, which business he is conducting with marked success at the present time. Mr. von Pressentin has five brothers: Bernhard, now in the Klondike; Paul, in the general mercantile business at Marblemont : Frank, in the hotel business at Marblemont: and Hans and Charles in the employ of the govern- ment at the Birdsview fish hatchery. In politics Mr. von Pressentin is a Republican and in church relations a Lutheran. He is one of those whose qualities are such that he attracts men to him, and is very popular with all classes. He is a success- ful business man, full of energy and enterprise, and whatever he undertakes, he throws his whole soul into its accomplishment.

T. WILLIAM KYLE. a well educated and cultured gentleman, proprietor of the Sibley & Kyle Mercantile Company of Sedro-Woolley, was born in Jamestown, Ohio, May 25, 1858. His father, Doctor Joseph A. Kyle, a native of Green County, Ohio, born in 1811, passed away in 1884, after a long and useful life. Mrs. Sarah (Mooney) Kyle, the mother, was born in 1824 in Indiana and died in 1895. Intending to follow his father's profession, J. William Kyle supplemented his excel- lent high school training by a course in the Kan- sas City Medical college, but on completing his studies he took up an entirely different line of

work. entering the employ of the Union Pacific Railroad company, as agent. He was ten years in this service in Kansas and ten more in Elgin, Ore- gon, after which he went to Portland. Ile soon after accepted a position in the Great Northern office at Sedro-Woolley, which he held until 1891, when he resigned to begin a mercantile career. Hle formed a partnership with Mr. Sibley and es- tablislied the business of which he now is the sole owner, having bought out the interest of Mr. Sib- ley soon after the partnership was formed.

Mr. Kyle married Lizzie E. Farringer in Kan- sas City in 1883. She is a native of the Buck- eve state, as also was her father. Philip Farringer. Her mother. Sarah (Singleton) Farringer, was born in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, in 1812 and died in 1823. Mr. and Mrs. Kvle have two children living. Edwin, born December 21. 1893, and Eliza- beth, November 15. 1883, now a student at the Anna Wright seminary in Tacoma. Mr. Kyle heartily endorses Republican principles but never has had political aspirations. In religious faith he is a Presbyterian. He takes pride in the fact that he is a descendant of the Covenanters who were driven out of Scotland during the terrible perse- cutions of the seventeenth century. Besides his business and other real estate he is the owner of the property of the Mortimer Cook estate, com- prising twenty-four city lots. He is a man of ster- ling character. enjoying the entire confidence of his fellow citizens, and possessed of keen, practical business ability.

FREDERICK R. FALLER, one of the skilled mechanics of Sedro-Woolley and also vice president of the Sedro-Woolley Iron Works, is a man of recognized ability in his special line of work and a business man of excellent standing. Mr. Faller is a native of Germany, born at Seppen- hofer in 18:2. Matthew Faller, the father, was born in England, but moved to Germany when a boy with his parents and became a bookkeeper by profession. Mrs. Helena (Wetzel) Faller. the mother, was born in Germany, the daughter of German parents, and continued to reside there until her removal to the United States. She is now living at Everett with a daughter, Mrs. Sophia Creese. Frederick Faller came to the United States with his mother in 1883 and lived in Illinois dur- ing the years of his early youth and young man- hood. On the completion of his education. he came to Snohomish County, Washington, and entered Sumner's Iron Works, at Everett as apprentice to the iron workers' trade. In 1900 he went to Seattle, and he put in the next year and a half there in the shops of Moran Brothers, shipbuilders. Com- ing to Sedro-Woolley in 1902, he became one of the organizers of the Sedro-Woolley Iron Works, accepting the position of vice-president of the com-

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pany, and he has devoted all his time since then to this business, contributing much to the success it has attained.

In 1898 at Everett Mr. Faller married Miss Myrtle A. Havercroft, daughter of Thomas Haver- croft, an English carpenter, who is now a resident of Everett and janitor in the schools of that city. Mrs. Sarah (Collins) Havercroft, the mother of Mrs. Faller, a native of Nebraska, is now living in Everett. She has four children, Mrs. Faller, Mrs. Eliza Squires, Mrs. Ethel Hotchkiss and Henry Havercroft. Mrs. Faller was born in Nebraska in 1828 but received her education in Everett, graduating from the high school. She and Mr. Faller have four children, Herbert, Edna, Freddie and Pearl. In politics Mr. Faller is a Republican ; in fraternal affiliation a member of the Masonic order. He is now serving in the city council. He owns a one-third interest in the Sedro-Woolley Iron Works, which employs fifteen men and has a payroll of $1,200 a month. Since coming to Sedro- Woolley he has not only established himself firmly in business, but has won popularity with all classes of citizens, and is now enjoying in full measure the respect and confidence of those who have been as- sociated with him.

DARIUS KINSEY, the popular photographer of Sedro-Woolley, learned the art before the Ska- git county communities had developed sufficiently to warrant the establishment of a gallery, but as soon as the population increased enough to make it profitable he entered the business which he and Mrs. Kinsey have successfully conducted ever since. Mr. Kinsey was born in Nodaway County, Missouri, in 1869, the son of Edward J. Kinsey. The father, of German and English descent, was born in New Jersey in 1844, learned the trade of carpenter and cabinet maker, went to Missouri just after the Civil War had closed, moved to Barton county in 1880, in 188? went to the Indian territory, returned to West Virginia in 1887 and two years later came to Washington, locating at Snoqualmie in the hotel and mercantile business ; he died there in 1896. The mother, Mrs. Louisa (McBride) Kinsey, of Scotch lineage, a native of Boone County, Illinois, born in 1846, became the mother of six children, Darius being the second. Darius Kinsey received his education in the schools of Kansas. He remained at home until he was twenty-one years old, when he learned the artistic and professional ends of the photography business and went to Seattle. After one year's experience, so skillful had he become, he was engaged by the Seattle & Lake Shore Railroad company and spent five years taking views along its line. In 1895, while temporarily in Sedro, he conceived the idea of establishing a branch gallery in that commun- ity, which he did in 1897. He rightly judged that

the place would give good support to a first class artist.

In 1896 Mr. Kinsey married Miss Tabitha Pritts, daughter of Samuel A. Pritts, a Pennsylvan- ian, of German descent. Adam and Andrew Poe the historical Indian fighters were his great uncles.

Mrs. Pritts came to Washington in 1881 and lo- cated at Nooksack as a farmer. Mrs. Elizabeth (Berg) Pritts, Mrs. Kinsey's mother, of Pennsyl- vania Dutch stock, still is living in the Sound coun- try. Mrs. Kinsey was born in Minnesota, May 24, 18:5, and received hier education in Whatcom coun- ty, this state, marrying when twenty-one years old. She and Mr. Kinsey have one child, Dorothea, born in Sedro, May 30, 1901. Mr. Kinsey owns his home. He is a prominent worker in the Methodist church, and superintendent of its Sunday school. He believes in the duty of the people to abolish the liquor traffic and that the only means of doing it is through the Prohibition party. Mrs. Kinsey also is a photographer and takes charge of the office. Mr. Kinsey's camera is said to be the largest in the state of Washington and he is especially skillful in scenic work. He is in great demand for outside photography, while at the same time he and Mrs. Kinsey have the reputation of conducting one of the best galleries north of Seattle.

WILLIAM J. THOMPSON, the well known liveryman of Sedro-Woolley, was born February 2, 1862, in Perth, Ontario, which was also the birthplace of his parents, William C. and Margaret (Gamble) Thompson. His father, born in 1831, is now a retired farmer living in his native city, his mother, born in 1832, died in December, 1902, after a long life of devotion to her husband and children. Leaving home at the age of twenty, Will- iam J. Thompson went to Assiniboia and took up land near Moosomin remaining three years. At that time no settler had penetrated farther into the Northwestern part of Canada. When the North- west rebellion broke out in 1885, he volunteered to go as one of Major Bolton's scouts, and he was in several skirmishes before the uprising was put down. Ilaving spent the following winter in Moosomin, he went to Donald, British Columbia, where he worked two years in constructing bridges on the Canadian Pacific railroad which then terminated at that point. Ile spent some time in Vancouver, later made Seattle his home, being employed in building docks there for a year, after which he came to the present site of Bellinghanı. He worked the next three years in logging camps, and during the first four years of his residence in Sedro-Woolley was also engaged in logging, be- ing manager of the Sterling Mill company's camp. Eventually moving into town, he opened the livery barn that he now owns. While convalescing from a severe attack of appendicitis in the fall of 190-4,

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he made his first visit to his old home in the East from which he had been absent twenty-three years.

Mr. Thompson in 1892 married Louise Gra- ham, a native of Berlin, Germany. Her father died in Germany when she was a small girl, and she immigrated with her mother to Michigan, coming later to Whatcom with a sister. Her mother died in Michigan in 1896.

Mr. and Mrs. Thompson have two children, Margaret. born September 26, 1893, and William G., born July 31. 1895. Mr. Thompson is active in fraternal circles, being a member of the Masonic lodge, Number 90, and Truth lodge, Number 147. Odd Fellows, also of the Ancient Order of United Workmen, while Mrs. Thompson is actively iden- tified with the Rebekahs. In politics Mr. Thomp- son is a loyal Republican. Peculiarly fond of horses from his boyhood. he is especially fitted for the business that now claims his attention, and in which he is winning marked success. He gratifies his passion for fine horses by keeping the pedigreed stallion Nortwood, which though never entered in a race, has paced a mile under 2:17, and a half, mile in 1:05; also a pedigreed gelding. Teddy C .. with a record of ?: 24 as the result of two months' training. He does not keep these horses for rac- ing purposes, but simply because they are splendid specimens of what years of careful, scientific breed- ing have succeeded in producing. Few men in the Northwest enjoy a wider reputation for accurate knowledge in regard to horses than does Mr. Thompson, whose excellent judgment is relied upon by those less familiar with the subject. A man of broad intelligence, public spirited, and withal possessed of a reputation for strict integ- rity, he enjoys an enviable position in his com- munity.

FRANK J. HOEHN, who gives his name to the livery and stage business of F. J. Hoehn & Company of Sedro-Woolley, has had an interesting and successful career and has been engaged in many operations in many parts of the United States. Mr. Hoehn is a native of Posey County, Indiana, born August 28, 1864. His father, Blasius Hoehn, was a New Englander by birth, of French descent and of ancient family, who became a farmer in the early settlement of the Iloosier state. Mrs. Jose- phine ( Phister) Hoehn, was a native of Ohio, of German descent, the mother of nine children of whom Frank is the youngest. The others still living are Charles, George L. and Mary, all resi- dents of Indiana. School and boy's work around a farm occupied young Hoehn until thirteen years of age when he abruptly left home and started for himself in Illinois. The year 1877 found him in Texas riding cattle ranges for a living, and he continued at this work three years, during which time he made frequent trips north to Niobrara river points in Nebraska. In this work he was employed

by Irving Brothers. He was with them in all five years, then entered the service of the Chicago & Northwestern railroad at Gordon, Nebraska, con- tinning with the company for a year and a half af- terward. In the fall of 1886 he went to Douglas, Wyoming, and entered the second hand and bro- kerage business, later going to a mining camp called Hartville, but eventually he determined to try the Pacific coast. He started overland by team from Laramie, Wyoming, in July, wintered in Boise, Idaho, resumed his journey in the spring, stopped at Ellensburg, Washington, a short time and finally reached Sedro-Woolley, February 28, 1890, with fourteen head of horses. The Fair- haven & Southern railroad was under construction. and Mr. Hoehn used his horses in freighting and packing for the road. He did the same when the Cokedale road was built. For the following three seasons he dealt in horses which he bought in the Ellensburg and North Yakima country and sold at a good profit in Skagit county. He spent one sea- son breaking horses on a ranch and for four years was foreman of the Hightower Lumber Company's logging camp and mill, and in 1904 he, with J. T. Hightower and W. M. Kirby bought the livery stable and business of William Thompson. It has since been managed entirely by Mr. Hoehn, his partners being mill men. The business is in excel- lent condition. It includes the operation and own- ership of a stage line between Sedro-Woolley and Burlington. Mr. Hoehn never was married. In fraternal circles he is an Odd Fellow, including membership with the Rebekahs and in the Encamp- ment : he also is a member of the Fraternal Order of Eagles and recently has joined the Masonic or- cler. In political faith, he is a Republican. He is an active man, of generous nature, good adminis- trative ability and of much shrewdness, all of which qualities have contributed to his present prosperity.

DANIEL A. MCGREGOR. contractor and builder, of Sedro-Woolley, Washington, is a native of Bruce county, Ontario, born December 14. 1868. Hle is the son of Angus and Catherine (McLen- nan) McGregor, natives of Ontario, of Scotch an- cestry. Angus McGregor, a farmer and stock man now living in Bruce, Ontario, was born December 11, 1841, in Nova Scotia. His parents were native Scotch Highlanders, his great-grandfather having been a companion of Rob Roy and an active parti- cipant in the councils of the famous McGregor clan. His life companion .- still his companion in the Canada home .- was born in America in 1852, and is of Scotch ancestry, tracing back to the clans of the Highlands. She is the mother of eight chil- dren. of whom the following are living: Daniel A., of this article: Richard. a stock dealer of Can- ada who ships to Buffalo, New York, and to Bos- ton, Massachusetts; Murdock, at present in Eu-

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rope ; Angus, living in Manitoba ; Joseph, a bicycle expert, and Ross, a teacher in the schools of On- tario. As a lad, Daniel A. MeGregor lived on the the home farm and attended school. From the common schools he entered Queen's College, Tor- onto, and he was graduated from McMaster's Hall at the age of eighteen with the degree of B. A. Early in life he evinced a fondness for mechanics, even in his boyhood days being skilled in the use of tools, so much so that at one time he succeeded in making an excellent model in miniature of his grandfather's mill. Shortly after graduation he went to Fargo, North Dakota, and engaged in car- pentering, with the idea of ultimately establishing himself as a contractor in wood work. 1le spent nine years in Fargo in contract carpenter work and in metal and other fire-proof roofing, then, in 1897, started for the Klondike country. Arriving in Seattle he formed a company for the purpose of packing goods over the trail into the mining regions of Klondike, himself investing $1,600 and his part- ner $600 in the venture. They started at once with their first, and what proved to be their last, train of loaded pack mules. Skagway was their starting point, Lake Lindeman their destination. In at- tempting to get over the White Horse pass the whole outfit was swept down the mountain side and buried beneath an avalanche of snow, Mr. McGreg- or himself narrowly escaping death. Returning to Seattle he spent two years there in contract work, coming then to Sedro-Woolley. This was in 1899 and until 1902 he worked at the carpenter's trade, establishing himself then as a contractor. Since that time he has done the woodwork on every brick building erected in the city and on many of the buildings has also had the contract for the brick- work.

In April, 1902. Mr. McGregor married Miss Zella Villeneuve, daughter of Charles and Betsy A. (Treacy) Villeneuve, two of the earliest settlers of southwestern Skagit county and at present proprie- tors of the St. Charles hotel in Sedro-Woolley. Mrs. McGregor was born in San Francisco in 18:3. To Mr. and Mrs. McGregor have been born three children, Anna Catherine, Helen and Charles Wal- lace. Mr. MeGregor is a member of the American Yeomen, and is at present Foreman of the llome- stead,-the chief office in the local branch of the order. In politics he affiliates with the Republican party, taking an active interest in primaries and conventions. He is proud of his Scotch ancestry and holds that it makes a better American citizen of one, if one does not forget old country associa- tions and history. Success is crowning his efforts in business life, and with success have come the re- spect and confidence of his fellow citizens.

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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 126

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