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 131

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 131
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 131

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WILLIAM BARRATT, living across the river from Marblemount, is one of the men who have secured a competence since coming to Skagit county and are well satisfied with the good fortune which directed them to this part of the country. Ile is a native of London, England, born January 13, 1851, the son of AAlexander Barratt. The elder Barratt was born in London in 1820 in the house in which his father before him had first seen the light of day. He is still living in the English capital and run- ning a shoe store there. Mrs. Sarah ( Montgomery) Carratt, the mother of William, was a native of Scotland, but was taken when a mere child by her parents to London and lived there until her death

in 1901. William Barratt has three brothers and one sister, Alexander B., Charles, James and Sarah. Young Barratt grew up in the world's metropolis, went to work when very young and so was unable to obtain more than a meager education. He lived with his parents until he was nineteen years of age, when he crossed the Atlantic alone and settled in Canada, in which country he remained three years, working on farms in the summers and at the shoe bench in the winters. In 1813 he went to Chicago, where he put in eight years driving team and fol- lowing various lines of occupation. In 1884 he came to Washington, stopping at Seattle for a time, and then coming to Mount Vernon. Here he com- menced driving a logging team for Clothier & Eng- lish, and he continued at that line of work for seven years, then came up the river, took a pre-emption near Sauk and lived there three years, moving on to his present place in 1891. He has resided here ever since.

In 1828, while living in Chicago, Mr. Barratt went back to Canada and married Miss Maggie Glover, daughter of David Glover, a native of Can- ada, a farmer who had moved to Marlette, Michi- gan, where he still resides, having accumulated sufficient of this world's goods to live the life of a retired gentleman. Mrs. Catherine ( Ramsay) Glover, the mother of Mrs. Barratt, is a native of Scotland, but came to America when a girl after receiving her education in the land of her nativity. For a time after coming to Canada she worked ont. She is still living, the mother of six children : Arch- ibald, Martha, Maggie, William, Mary and David. Mrs. Barratt was born August 15, 1861, and was educated in the Canadian schools, living with her parents until her marriage. She and Mr. Barratt have five children : William A., Barbara L., Cleve- land, Charles W. and lola M. In politics Mr. Bar- ratt is a Republican and in fraternal affiliations an Odd Fellow. The Barratt farm consists of 120 acres of excellent land, half of which is under cultivation, the whole being now valued at $8.000. L'pon it are fifteen head of cattle and five horses at present. In addition to his farm Mr. Barratt has a half interest in four good mineral claims on the Skagit river. Many changes have taken place since he came to Skagit county. The railroad at the time of his arrival had not reached Mount Vernon and but a very little diking had been done. The town site had not been fully laid out and no roads worthy of the name had been built. In the Sauk country there were no roads and no trails, so Mr. Barratt had to bring his family here in a canoe, taking four days to pole up from Mount Vernon. He was in- strumental in establishing the school at Sauk and later the schools at Rocky Creek and at Marble- mount, and he has further manifested his interest in popular education by serving as school director for sixteen years, ile cleared his own land by hand.

SKAGIT COUNTY

The distinction is his of having put in the first cat- tle ferry at Marblemount, his present farm being across the river from that town. Mr. Barratt is one of the leading citizens of the up-river commu- nities and is respected and honored by his fellows.

JAMES M. YOUNG, farmer and stock raiser, living seven miles east of Sedro-Woolley, is one of the pioneers of the upper Skagit valley who has participated in all the changes which have taken place in the county since he came in 1828. His un- erring foresight told him twenty-seven years ago of the future of that section and he has been an important factor in laying the foundation of a prosperous community. He was born in Ireland in 1845, the son of Hamilton and Sarah ( Mitchell) Young, who came to America when James was eighteen and settled in Dearborn county, Indiana. They died in Kansas more than a quarter of a cen- tury ago. James was the oldest of seven children and on coming to this country commenced the life of a farmer. At twenty-one years of age he went into the brick manufacturing business, in which he continued until he moved to Lawrence, Kansas, in 1868. Seven years later he went to Nevada and worked in the timber two years, then came to Skagit county and located on his present place. Messrs. Duffey, Connrey and Lagget were his nearest neigh- bors, and Mount Vernon was the only postoffice within reach. The only white women in that sec- * tion were Mrs. Minkler and Mrs. Charles von Pres- sentin, but Mrs. Van Fleet and Mrs. Batey came soon after and located down the river. Mr. Young helped cut the first road to where Sedro afterwards grew up, all travel before that time being by cance on the river. Soon after he arrived there was an Indian scare and the men gathered at the logging camps and stood guard. The country was a wikler- ness of timber with bears everywhere. He spent parts of his first few years working in the logging camps and the rest of the time clearing the timber from his land.

In 1890 in Seattle. Mr. Young married Miss Mary Matthews Cochrane, a native of Ireland, daughter of Adam and Elizabeth ( McKibbin) Cochrane, the eleventh of their fifteen children. In 1905 Mr. Young sold seventy of his 170 acres, in- cluding improvements and most of his live stock, and he has since built a handsome new home. Mr. Young is a member of the Sedro-Woolley lodge of the Order of Pendo. His services and good judg- ment have been in demand in the county where he has been called upon to fill the offices of road super- visor, clerk of the school board and twice the office of county commissioner. While he was in the lat- ter position the new county jail was built. He has manifested his deep interest in popular education by at all times favoring tax levies for school purposes.

Mr. Young has been an active man and a success- ful one, enjoying the respect of the pioneers and the confidence of the newcomers.

WILLIAM WOODS is a well-educated and well-read farmer who has resided in Skagit county for twenty-six years and has a good stock farm adjoining Sedro-Woolley on the east. He was born January 17, 1835, in County Tyrone, Ireland. His father, William Woods, born in 1810, spent his life in Ireland, engaged in farming until his death in 1843. Ellen ( Mclaughlin) Woods, the mother, also of Irish nativity, was born in 1812 and died in Syracuse, New York, in November, 1891. William Woods, though only a boy of eight when his father died, bravely shouldered the responsibilities of life and relieved his mother of much of the care of the farm, remaining at home until nineteen, when he found he could be spared. He then went to Eng- land and obtained a position as furnace man in a chemical manufacturing establishment, where his work was so satisfactory that his employers were glad to keep him four years, at the end of which time he determined to return to America. After a visit of a month with his mother at her home he crossed to Quebec, in which province he was em- ployed for a year on a farm and for another year in a mill. He then went to Syracuse, New York, and worked twelve years there for a salt company. In 18:5 he removed to California. He stayed in Colfax for the winter, then went to San Francisco, and thereafter he was engaged in operating a hoist- ing works in Knoxville for nine months, and spent a year in the mines of Southern California. He had heard much of the Puget sound country and having finally determined to investigate it for him- self, came here in 1818. After working for a time in the logging camps of Hood's canal he moved to Sedro-Woolley in the fall of that year and took 147 acres of land under the pre-emption act. His present home is a part of this claim. During the boom he sold ten acres of this land for $8,000, re- ceiving one-half of the purchase price at the time of the sale. When the financial crash came he bought back the property on a tax sale. Later he divided the land with the man who had purchased it and presented him with the mortgage he held on it. This transaction is characteristic of the straightforward dealings which have established his reputation. Neighbors were few in the first year of his residence in the valley, Joseph Hart, David Batey and William A. Dunlop being the only men living within seven miles. Mrs. Van Fleet, who came two years later, was the first white woman on that part of the river. Mr. Woods is an inde- pendent Democrat and has been several times the recipient of honors at the hands of his party, hav- ing been the second mayor of Sedro-Woolley. a member of the city council and more than once

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Democratic central committeeman. He is an ad- herent of the Catholic faith. Prosperity has at- tended his efforts until to-day he is one of the well- to-do residents of the county. He owns 100 acres, seven of which are cleared and under cultivation, also some good town property. He raises beef cat- tle on the home place.

FRED KIENS, a farmer, a half mile north of Sedro-Woolley, has made a success of farming iu Skagit county, at the same time winning by de- grees the high respect and esteem of his neigh- bors and all those with whom he comes in contact. Mr. Kiens was born in Germany January 9, 1859, the son of Fred Kiens, a miner, who never left the Fatherland. The mother died when the subject of this sketch was two years of age. Fred Kiens re- ceived his early education in Germany, and after completing it remained on the parental farm until cighteen years of age, when he entered a steel fac- tory. He was there for the next three years, leav- ing only to take up the military service incumbent on every able-bodied male citizen of Germany. After he had served the required number of years in the Kaiser's army he returned to the steel fac- tory, determined to save money until he should have enough with which to come to America. Having realized his ambition in about six months, he crossed to the United States in 1883 and settled in Illinois, but after eight months there he came to Skagit county, arriving in April, 1884, and took up the land comprising his present home farm. He has since lived on this place, and has acquired an- other farm also, making his holdings at present aggregate 260 acres, eighty of which are under cultivation and producing the crops for which Ska- git county is famous.

In Seattle in 1885 Mr. Kiens married Miss Mary Tcal, daughter of Bert Teal, a farmer of Germany. Mrs. Kiens was born in the old country in 1859 and received her education there. She had known her husband before he left Germany and when he was so situated as to justify marriage, the old acquain- tance was renewed and she traveled across an occan and a continent to be wed. Mr. and Mrs. Kiens are the parents of seven children, all born in Skagit county: Dena. Frank, Lizzie, John, Anna, Joseph and Mary. In fraternal connections Mr. Kiens is a member of the Improved Order of Red Men and in church membership a Catholic. While in poli- tics he is a Republican generally, he is not bound so strictly by party tics as to overlook a good can- didate on the opposing ticket. In addition to a few horses for farm purposes, Mr. Kiens keeps twenty- five head of cattle. He is recognized as one of the solid conservative farmers of the Scdro-Woolley section of Skagit county and he enjoys the full con- fidlence of his neighbors.

PLIN V. MeFADDEN, farmer and stock raiser, residing a mile and a quarter east of Sedro- Woolley, is one of the Skagit county men who with their own hands have cleared their farms and turned the heavy forest into pleasant and profit- able dwelling places. Mr. McFadden was born near New Philadelphia, Ohio, September 21, 1849, the son of Wilson McFadden, whose father was one of the pioneers of Guernsey county. later mov- ing to Harrison county. Wilson McFadden was of Scotch-Irish descent and died in 1892 at the age of eighty-four. Mrs. Tilitha ( English) McFadden was a native of Harrison county, descended from Pennsylvanians of Irish. Scotch and English ex- traction. Plin V. was next to the youngest of her ten children. Until fourteen years old he attended school in Ohio and worked on the farm, but in 1863 on his parents' removal to Iowa he accompanied them. A little later, when still a young boy, he en- listed in the Thirty-sixth lowa Infantry and in the closing days of the Civil War saw service in Ar- kansas. On his return to Iowa he operated a ferry near Ottumwa on the Des Moines river. He camc to Skagit county, Washington, in 1885 and bought ot Mortimer Cook his present farm. The place at that time was without improvement and the forest was so dense that his only glimpses of the sky were from directly overhead. Clearing the place was a great undertaking and at times Mr. McFadden was discouraged, but matters brightened as soon as he had cleared enough for a garden and had set out an orchard. When not engaged in clearing his place he worked in logging camps, returning home only at the end of the weck. Those were trying days for Mrs. McFadden. Bears were plentiful and! would come to the house, driving away the dogs and compelling the brave woman to bar doors and windows for her protection. In such times she had as companion in trouble her neighbor. Mrs. George Wicker, and the two managed to keep away the wild beasts.

September 22. 1822, while still living in Iowa, Mr. McFadden married Miss Olive A. Wicker, a native of Wapello county, and daughter of Andrew and Jenett" ( Butin) Wicker. Her father, at dif- ferent times, was merchant, bricklayer and farmer, and was one of the pioneers of Wapello county. Mr. and Mrs. McFadden have four living children : Lillie Pearl, Anna Belle, Edith C. and Cecil C., the last of whom was born in Washington. Mr. McFadden is a Democrat and an active worker in the party, attending primarics and conventions. He was a delegate to the first Democratic county con- vention after Skagit county was formed from a portion of Whatcom county. He has been a direc- tor of schools and is an ardent advocate of better education. As a farmer he has been successful. His live stock consists of cattle, hogs and sheep, the latter being of the Cotswold breed. He is ex- perimenting with Angora goats, keeps bees and has

SKAGIT COUNTY

a good orchard. Mr. McFadden is highly thought of by his neighbors and is one of the leading men of the community.

JAMES M. HARRISON, dairy farmer, living two miles east of Sedro-Woolley, came to Skagit county, bought land, and with his own hands changed an uninviting tract into a modern, highly improved farm. He is a native of Harrison county, Ohio, born November 4, 1855, the son of John Har- rison, who still is living on the old homestead, which was taken by his father, Joseph Harrison, in 1816. The Harrisons are of English parentage. Mrs. Euphemia ( Patterson) Harrison, the mother of James M., was born in the same county and was a schoolmate of the lad who afterwards became her husband. She is of Scotch descent. She is still a resident of Ohio, the mother of twelve chil- dren, of whom eight are living, all in the East ex- cept the subject hereof. James M. Harrison lived on the farm and attended school, which included a short course in college, until eighteen years ckl, when he commenced to teach and he taught for five years, then he and his father built a drain and tiling factory on the home farm, which he operated eight years, after which he bought a half interest in his grandfather's place, but continued in the manage- ment of the factory, becoming an expert on the sub- jeet of drainage and kindred matters. In 1885 he delivered an address on this subject, which has been incorporated in the Ohio state history. Mr. Har- rison spent the year 1887 in California with an in- valid brother, and on his return sold his interests in Ohio, moving to Skagit county in the spring of 1889. He purchased the pre-emption claim of Mr. Moody of Mount Vernon, where he has since made his home. A cabin was the only evidence that the property had been located, though some timber had been removed. Mr. Harrison personally has done all the work of improvement on this place, which consists of one hundred and thirty-three acres, thirty of which are cleared and the rest in pasture. In 1892 he sold one hundred cords of shingle bolts and hauled them to Batey's mill.

In 1880, while yet living in the Buckeye state, Mr. Harrison married Miss Ora E. Holmes, daugh- ter of George W. and Mary ( Quiplever ) Hol:nes, both natives of Pennsylvania of Dutch stock. Mlrs. Harrison was born in 1859. She is the mother of three children : George H1., Elmina and John. Mr. Harrison is a member of the Knights of Pythias and in polities is an influential member of the Re- publican party, attending primaries and conven- tions, and in 1901 representing his district in the lower house of the state legislature. He is deeply interested in schools, has been president of the pub- lic school board and a director of the district ; also has spent some time organizing new school dis-

tricts. Besides his home place he has a farm on the Skagit river of nearly the same acreage. His cattle are of the roan Durham breed, good milkers and good for beef. He milkes thirteen head and separates his cream at home. He also raises fine fruit of many varieties and has a large stand of bees which thrive well and produce highly in this county. In addition to his activity on the farm and in educational matters, Mr. Harrison keeps abreast of the times and is well informed. He is in de- mand in political campaigns, is an interesting and forceful speaker and has delivered addresses in nearly every school-house in the county. Mr. Har- rison has large private interests, but finds much time to give to public affairs where his assistance is in great demand.

JOHN KELLEHER, a thrifty and industrious farmer, residing two and one-half miles northwest of Sedro-Woolley, was born in Killarney, Ireland, August 19, 1862, the son of Maurice and Julia ( Crean) Kelleher, also natives of Ireland. The father, born in 1818, was a farmer in his native country till his death in 1881. The mother, emi- grating to the United States after the death of her husband, died in 1902, after a lifetime of devotion to her family. She was the mother of twelve chil- dren. After acquiring his elementary education in the common schools of the country, John Kelleher studied for some time under a private instructor, thus enjoying unusual advantages. On coming with his mother to this country in 1881, after the death of his father, he located in Massachusetts, where he worked as helper in a blacksmith shop for four years. He then decided to investigate the superior advantages offered by the Northwest, so moved to Washington in 1885. He stopped a short time in Olympia and Tacoma, then came on to Mount Ver- non, filing on a pre-emption claim on the Olympia marsh that fall. Three years later he took up his present property, then a wilderness, and he has made it his home for the past seventeen years. Toiling arduously year by year, he has cleared off eighty aeres, but he has now sold off all of the homestead except fifty acres. No finer land can be found in the state than this portion of his ranch, which is peculiarly adapted to raising fruit and oats. His four-acre orchard yields the choicest varieties in the market. He has a splendid dairy and a number of horses. In political belief Mr. Kelleher advocates the single tax principle, adhering to no party. He is a hearty supporter of the Catholic church, to which he belongs. The Ancient Order of United Workmen claims him as a worthy men- ber, and he is also identified with the Good Tem- plar lodge. Being of a happy, genial disposition, he makes friends of all with whom he comes in con- tact, while his untiring energy and careful manage-

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BIOGRAPHICAL

ment have made him one of the successful and well- to-do farmers of this locality.

HANS PETER SORENSEN is developing an excellent farm in an untraveled part of Skagit county, where he will own a handsome and valuable property when transportation comes. Ilis place is eight miles east of Sedro-Woolley on the south side of the river, where cougar, bear and deer are found. Until a year ago he could come and go only by canoe and brought in his supplies in the same way. Now there is a road. Mr. Sorensen was born in Omaha, Nebraska, April 30, 1874, the son of Peter Sorensen, who was born in Denmark about sixty years ago, came to the United States when a young man and ultimately took up land where his son now is living. This was in 1880. He had been a tailor before coming to the West, and later he moved into Sedro-Woolley and re-entered the business. He now lives in Oakland, Califor- nia. His wife, Mrs. Christina ( Petersen) Soren- sen, a native of Denmark, died in America in 1901, the mother of three children, of whom Mrs. Chris- tina Johnson and Hans Peter Sorensen are living. The latter attended the schools of San Francisco until thirteen years old; also went to school in Skagit county after his parents came here. When he came there was no town of Woolley. The chief industry of the farm has been cattle raising and growing peas, hay and oats. Recently thirty-three head of cattle were sold at a good price.

In 1902 Mr. Sorensen married Miss Carolina B. Moe, a native of Norway, born at Trondhjem in 1883, and educated in the old country. Her parents, Ole and Beret ( Einersen) Moe, were natives of Norway, the father a brickmason. Mr. and Mrs. Sorensen have two children, Harry, born May 21, 1903, and Nels, born March 20, 1905. In politics Mr. Sorensen is a Republican and generally is a delegate to conventions. He has served as justice of the peace for two years and had been on the school board several years prior to 1905, taking an active interest in the improvement of the schools of the neighborhood. The Sorensen place contains two hundred and twenty acres of unusually fertile land. Mr. Sorensen is a bright young man, certain that the future will make his place one of great valne, hence quietly developing it and biding his time.

JAMES SCOTT, farmer and stockman, font and a half miles east of Sedro-Woolley, on the Ly- man road, is one of the pioneers of that section of the county and has watched the development of the community from a forest land to a country of farms and homesteads. Mr. Scott was born in Ire- land of Scotch parentage November 15, 1843. His

father, John Scott, was a native of Glasgow, Scot- land, who moved to Ireland, and later, in 1844, came to the United States and settled in Pennsylvania. Mary Ann (Thompson ) Scott was a native of Scotland and after marriage followed the fortunes of her husband, both dying in Pennsylvania. Nine children were born to them: Joseph, Mary Ann, John, Robert, Margaret, Jane, Nancy, James, Sam- nel and Thomas. . James lived with his parents until he was twenty years of age and during the Civil War was employed by the government in the construction corps. At the close of the war he en- listed in the regular army and served a term of three years, seeing Indian fighting with the Sioux. On receiving his discharge he farmed in Dakota for a time and then passed the greater part of a year in California. Then followed work in a log- ging camp at Olympia, this state, and in 1895 he came to Skagit county and located on a place up the river near Hamilton. For a number of years he followed prospecting and mining, during which time he located some of the coal claims in the vi- cinity of Hamilton, but lost valuable property there through the rascality of his partner. In 1892 he returned to his homestead and lived there until he sold out in 1897 and purchased the place on which he is still living.

In politics Mr. Scott is a Socialist and in fra- ternal circles a member of the Knights of Pythias. Ile has 113 acres of land, forty of which are cleared. He has two horses and twenty-five head of stock cattle in addition to six milch cows. His cattle are of the Durham breed and one of his horses is descended from the famous Messenger. He is a well-to-do farmer who has prospered by conscientious work and upright dealings.

WOODBRIDGE ODLIN, retired farmer and lawyer, two and a half miles west of Sedro-Wool- ley, has had a career of more than the usual ac- tivity and excitement and is now spending the even- ing of his life on a Skagit county farm. Mr. Odlin comes of a family which has a record for energy and public service, and his own life has shown him no unworthy member of that family. Mr. Odlin was born in Dayton, Ohio, in 1833, the son of l'eter Odlin, a native of Trenton, New Jersey. The elder Odlin was prominent in legal and political circles in Ohio and was the law partner of Robert C. Schenck, at one time representative of the United States at the court of St. James. He served in the lower house and the senate of Ohio and was a member of one of the electoral colleges. For thirty-two years he was president of the bank at Dayton, now the Dayton National bank. His father, Peter, was a sea captain and owner of West India merchantmen which were impressed into the federal service during the War of 1812, he re-

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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 131

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