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 152

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 152
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 152

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On June 6, 1901, Mr. Gorham married Miss Elsie E. West, a native of Illinois and the daughter of M. J. and M. E. (Waggoner) West. Mr. West is interested in the Leaf River Bank, at Leaf River. Illinois, of which institution his son, H. S., is cashier. Two children, Harlan W. and Helen M.,

have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Gorham. In poli- tics Mr. Gorham is a Republican, active and influ- ential in city, county and state. In fraternal cir- cles he is a Mason, being a Knight Templar ; is also a member of the Knights of Pythias and of the Knights of the Maccabees. The Gorhams are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. In addition to his newspaper interests, Mr. Gorham is a stockholder in the large mill now in process of building at Snohomish by the Cascade Lumber & Shingle Company, one of the largest concerns of the kind in the county and which is to be fully equipped with modern machinery. He has re- cently built a fine, handsome residence-one of the most attractive places in the city. As a newspaper man Mr. Gorham ranks with the leaders of thought and public opinion in the state, having served as president of the State Press Association and as its delegate to the national association which met at St. Louis during the Louisiana Purchase Exposi- tion. In business Mr. Gorham has shown commer- cial ability of a high order, while in politics he has exhibited executive and legislative faculties quickly recognized. He is a man of energy and tact, well poised and commanding in influence and esteem.

JOHN F. RHOADES, deputy in the county treasurer's office, is one of the pioneers of Snoho- mish county, having come to Florence more than twenty-seven years ago, since which time there has been a great transformation in all parts of the county along lines of population, development and commercial activity. Mr. Rhoades is favorably known all over the county and has a large list of acquaintances in all sections of the community be- tween King county and the international boundary. Mr. Rhoades was born in Genesee county, New York, in the summer of 1856, the son of John and Alice ( Brown) Rhoades. The Rhoades family is now and has been for several generations well known to the people of the Holland Purchase in western New York, and may be traced back to set- tlers from England in the colonial days when the white men were treating with the Indians led by Red Jacket and Cornplanter. John Rhoades was a well known physician of the Holland Purchase section and a veteran of both the Mexican and Civil Wars. Of the members of the present gen- eration of the family in direct line there is but one other representative than the subject of this bi- ography, Frank M. Rhoades. In 1864 the elder Rhoades removed to California, traveling via the isthmian route, and settled in Sonoma county, where he practiced his profession for nine years, later removing to Red Bluffs in Telma county. In the schools of California John F. Rhoades re- ceived his education, attending until seventeen years of age when he learned the glove makers"

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trade at Red Bluffs. He followed that occupation for five years. In 1818 the family removed to Florence, Snohomish county, Washington, near which settlement the elder Rhoades took up a homestead. The country was sparsely settled and the work of clearing a home amid the giant trees was a laborious task. Much of it fell to the lot of young Rhoades. After three years' work clearing the land, John F. Rhoades left the farm and en- tered the employ of J. H. Irvine in a general store at Stanwood. He remained there for two years and was in the employ of D. O. Pearson in 1883, when the death of Dr. Rhoades recalled the son to the farm. In 1889 Mr. Rhoades was elected county assessor on the Republican ticket and re-elected on the expiration of his term. Between terms he re- moved to Snohomish, where he has since resided. In 1893 he opened an abstract office in that city, which he conducted until called in 1900 to a deputy- ship in the office of County Treasurer Charles Lawry. Mr. Rhoades served under Mr. Lawry for two terms and was reappointed by W. R. Booth when the latter succeeded to the office in January, 1905.

In 1892 Mr. Rhoades married Miss Lennie A. Fenderson, a native of Maine and the daughter of Horace and Susan ( Pineo) Fenderson, also natives of the Pine Tree state, and of Scotch and French extraction, respectively. Mr. Fenderson was a veteran of the Civil War. At the close of that con- flict he removed to Wisconsin. Remaining of the family, besides Mrs. Rhoades is her brother, Orin Fenderson, a resident Snohomish ; and three sisters, Mrs. J. E. Esper, of Lowell; Mrs. R. E. Wood, of Seattle, and Mrs. R. Granger, of Wisconsin. Mrs. Rhoades received her education in the schools of Wisconsin, being a graduate of the state normal school at Oshkosh. She followed the calling of a teacher in Wisconsin before coming to Washing- ton and was one of the early teachers in the Snoho- mish schools. In 1889 she was chosen one of three enrolling clerks of the house of representatives in the first legislature of the new state of Washing- ton, filling the unaccustomed position with fidelity and marked executive ability. Mrs. Rhoades is a lady of culture and refinement, qualities which are impressed upon the guests received in her home. To Mr. and Mrs. Rhoades has been born one child, Earle D., born December 26, 1893. In politics Mr. Rhoades is a Republican and of the stamp which endorses the energetic measures of President Roosevelt. He was one of the nine delegates from Snohomish county who sat in the first state con- vention of the party held at Walla Walla after the admission of Washington to statehood. Mr. Rhoades believes in the advancement of education for the masses and the broadening of the lines of progress toward civic attainment, and is an ardent advocate of good roads measures. In fraternal

cireles he is a prominent member of the Masonic order, of the Odd Fellows, of the Knights of the Maccabees, of the Fraternal Aid and of the Order of Washington, in all of which organizations he has filled important offices. Mrs. Rhoades is an active member of the ladies' auxiliary bodies of these societies. The Rhoades home is one of the pleasantest and most attractive in the city of Snoho- mish, ruled over by culture, hospitality and the spirit of sincerity.

WILLIAM HARRISON WARD, police judge of the city of Snohomish, is one of the pioneers of the county and is a man whose influence has been felt from the time that he took up a soldier's home- stead a short distance south of the present city, in the days when the embyro settlement was known by the name of Cadyville. Mr. Ward is a native of New York, born the 28th day of November, of 1840, the second of four children of Chauncey H. and Margaret ( Hufstater) Ward. The elder Ward was born in Massachusetts, but after becoming a mechanic he moved to the Empire state, coming still further west to Chicago in 1853. Mrs. Ward was born in New York of German parentage and received her education in that state. She died in Illinois. William H. Ward received his early edu- cation in New York schools and after the removal of his parents to Ottawa, Illinois, attended the high school in that city. He says, however, that the best part of his education was gained in a printing office, which he entered when seventeen years of age and where he served three years. This was at Ottawa, Illinois, where he also became noted as a vocal and instrumental musician. It is among Mr. Ward's pleasant recollections that he was a member of a band which played at the debates between Douglas and Lincoln in the great campaign of 1858 and listened to the forensic duel of the "Little Giant" and "Old Abc." At a later time Mr. Ward trav- eled extensively throughout the middle west with a concert band. At Beloit, Wisconsin, he enlisted as a member of a regimental band for a three-year term in the Civil War, but fifteen months later by act of congress was ministered out and discharged at Harrison's Landing, Virginia, in 1862. MIr. Ward returned to his Illinois home for a short time when he went to Watertown. New York, and learned the trade of carriage ironer. Ile remained there for a year and a half, when he engaged as member of a circus band, with which organization lie played for one season. He passed the following winter in Albany, New York, and then returned to Illinois, where he worked at blacksmithing. In 1811 Mr. Ward came to Snohomish, then but a hamlet under the name of Cadyville. He took up a soldier's homestead two miles south of the settle- ment and at the same time rented an adjoining

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piece of land, which he worked for two years. In the spring of 1874 Mr. Ward opened the first blacksmith shop in the town and remained at his forge until 1899, having sold his homestead after proving up.

In 1866 in Chicago Mr. Ward married Miss Mary A. Carroll, daughter of Peter Carroll, a na- tive of Ireland who came to the United States and became a mechanic in New York state. Mrs. Ward was born in Rome, Oneida county, in the central part of the Empire state, in 1844. To Mr. and Mrs. Ward has been born two children : Frank C., who died when an infant, and Mrs. Lillian C. James. who is now a resident of Everett. In fraternal cir- cles Mr. Ward is a member of the Odd Fellows. being a Past Grand, Master of the State, and was the first Noble Grand of the Snohomish, and also one of the Rebekahs, as is also Mrs. Ward, who is Past Noble Grand and also Past Grand President. Mr. Ward is also a Mason, a past master and mem- ber of the blue lodge, and of the Order of the Eastern Star. In politics Mr. Ward is a Republi- can, having served out an unexpired term as county auditor, having been a justice of the peace and now police judge since 1902. In the summer of 1903 Judge Ward took a trip to Alaska for the purpose of a pleasure trip and, incidentally, to satisfy his curiosity about that country of the North.

Mr. Ward has ever been interested in the bet- terment of his community and his influence on the musical tastes of the people of Snohomish has been very marked. His early training in this line has made him of great value to the community and he has always been ready to lend his knowledge for any occasion. Mr. Ward is a popular citizen of Snohomish, a sterling character and one whose in- fluence is always in the direction of liberality and broadness of view.

ELMER LENFEST. C. E., county surveyor. with headquarters at Snohomish, which is also his home, has for the past eighteen years been closely identified with the interests of this section. espe- cially in a business and political way, his period of residence being practically co-eval with the period of the county's greatest development. He has been active and able in the pursuit of his profession, one of the greatest importance in the rapidly grow- ing community, and has attained to an enviable position.

The Lenfest family originally came to America with General Lafayette at the time of the Revolti- tionary War from the Island of Guernsey in the English Channel. Its members fought through that memorable struggle under the great French patriot, and afterward settled in the new republic. Eugene Lenfest, the father of the subject of this sketch, was born in Waldo county, Maine, and after

living at various points on the American frontier finally settled in Snohomish in 1889, following ag- ricultural pursuits. He now resides in Snohomish. Hle is seventy years of age, but still hale and hearty. Mary M. ( Blackman) Lenfest, the mother of El- mer Lenfest, was also born in Maine and is still living. She is a sister of the Blackman brothers of Snohomish, among the most widely known of the county's pioneer lumbermen. Biographical sketches of them appear elsewhere in this volume.

The subject of this review was born at Bradley, Maine, September 10, 1864, and grew to man- hood's estate in that far northern commonwealth. He worked on the farm and attended the public schools until he was fitted to pursue higher educa- tional work, then entered the University of Maine, from which he received his decree of civil engi- neer. At the age of twenty-one he commenced the practice of his profession, locating first in · Minne- sota, where he was employed in a general survey- ing office. Thence with the beginning of railroad construction in Montana he came to that territory and joined the corps in charge of the building of the Montana Central. Upon the completion of that line he pushed still further westward toward the Pacific. coming direct to Snohomish county and at once opening an office in Snohomish City. This was in 1888. At that time he was associated with H. P. Niles, now assistant state land commissioner of Washington, in the establishment of this office. In 1890 Mr. Lenfest was elected county surveyor on the Republican ticket and served two years in that public capacity, retiring to engage in general work by himself. He pursued his profession suc- cessfully and almost continuously until January. 1905. when, having been re-elected surveyor of Snohomish county, he again entered the public service. The only interruption of his private prac- tice was in 1896, when he accepted the principalship of the Emerson public school at Snohomish tempo- rarily. The fire system of roads which now net- works the county was scarcely begun when Mr. Lenfest took up his residence here and the general condition of the region was wild and undeveloped. Perhaps few can appreciate these great changes so thoroughly as members of his profession which has for its very object the bringing of order out of chaos and the outlining of schemes for systematic growth and development of a region's resources.

The marriage of Miss Sylvia M. Ferguson to Mr. Lenfest was solemnized at Snohomish in No- vember. 1891, She was born in that city in 1870. when it was yet a mere trading post, and is the daughter of E. C. Ferguson, the county's distin- guished pioneer. A comprehensive biographical sketch of the Ferguson family appears on another page of these records. One child has blessed the union of Mr. and Mrs. Lenfest, Norman F., born July 7. 1893, in Snohomish.

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Fraternally, Mr. Lenfest is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias and the Independent Order of Foresters. As a Republican he has been tor years one of the influential members in his party's local councils. Besides filling his present office, he has served the city of Snohomish as its engineer, and from the government he holds a commission as a United States mineral surveyor. His private prac- tice, large and varied, has led him into government work of different kinds, railroad construction, road building, mining operations and other special lines, thus giving him a rounded experience of immense value. As an official he has served and is serving faithfully and efficiently the people's interests, as a citizen he has never been found lacking in public spirit of the right kind, and he is respected and esteemed by all with whom he is associated. for his sterling, stable qualities of character.

ROBERT HUGHES, retired farmer and logger, living in Snohomish, is one of the pioneers of the county for whom it is indebted to England. He was born in Warwickshire late in 1835, the fifth of the nine children of Henry and Mary ( Brom- ley) Hughes, who passed their entire lives in Eng- land. The father was a laboring man. Mrs. Hughes lived to the remarkable age of ninety-seven. Robert Hughes enjoyed the advantages of school only until he was thirteen years old. Ile then be- gan to work and was hired out to do teaming and farm work. When twenty-four years of age he entered the marine artillery of the government service and during the four years of his service visited many ports and many countries of the globe In 1864, having then been two years on the Pacific stations, Mr. Hughes left the service at Victoria and crossed the straits in a canoe on May 1st of that year to Port Angeles. He went from there to Port Gamble, but after a time was taken sick in a log- ging camp and returned to town. Upon recovery Mr. Hughes came to Snohomish county, locating at Loyal and working in a logging camp. In the summer of 1864 he was logging on Eby's slough. In the fall of the following year Mr. Hughes went up the Snoqualmie valley and took up a squatter's right to 160 acres of land. He remained there but a short time, finally abandoning his claim and tak- ing up another place on the Snohomish. Here he worked during the summer time and passed the winters in improving his land. He added to these holdings by purchase, but sold out and in 1867 preempted 160 acres adjoining the present site of the city of Snohomish. Here he remained for thir- teen years and then traded half of his land for 400 acres on Eby's slough, where he had worked in previous years. He lived on his slough farm for four years before selling out; then he returned to Snohomish. Soon after his arrival Mr. Hughes

purchased twenty acres of lowland near town and resided there for fifteen years. This property he sold in 1902 and purchased his present place.

In 1869 at Salem, Oregon, Mr. Hughes mar- ried Miss McDonald. No children have been born to this union. Mr. Hughes is a communicant of the English church. In politics he is a Republican and has served as road supervisor, especially in the early days of the settlement. Mr. Hughes is one of the find old gentlemen of a school of life which is fast passing away. Ile is highly respected in the community, a man of inany attainments and a character of much charm.

CLARK FERGUSON, a successful farmer liv- ing at Snohomish, has been a resident of this county for four decades and has played a large part in the development of the resources of the county. He was born in Putnam county, New York, October 13, 1835, the fifth of seven children of Samuel S. and Maria (Clark) Ferguson, both of whom have been dead for many years. The elder Ferguson was a far- mer and paper maker by occupation. Clark received his education in the common schools of New York and at twenty years of age went to California, via the Panama route, and passed two years at mining. He later opened a store in Eldorado county. The vear 1857 he passed at his old home in New York, but in the spring of 1858 Mr. Ferguson went to Kansas and took up a preemption claim in Brown county, remaining there for about two years. In the spring of 1860 Mr. Ferguson visited the Pike's Peak country, Colorado, but returned shortly to Leavenworth. In November of that year, in com- pany with others, Mr. Ferguson was employed by a firm who engaged to furnish beef cattle and other supplies to Fort Laramie, Wyoming. The caval- cade had proceeded as far as the Platte valley in northern Nebraska when it was overtaken by a ter- rific snow storm which destroyed nearly 600 head of cattle, only four yoke of oxen surviving the ter . rible exposure to the elements. The men of the company returned to Leavenworth in January of 1863 and Mr. Ferguson entered the employ of the government at Fort Leavenworth as a teamster and general utility man about the post. Ile remained with the government about a year, coming west to Idaho and passing one summer in the Boise Basin. It was in September, 1865, that Mr. Ferguson came to Snohomish county. On his arrival here he allied himself with his brother, E. C. Ferguson, working in the store and looking after the logging camp. Subsequently Mr. Ferguson commenced farming for himself, on his retirement from his brother, receiving 280 acres of land. He remained a farmer until 1903, when he sold out and moved to town. In the early days Mr. Ferguson estab- lished a milk route, being the first man in that line

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of business in the city, and for twenty-one years his milk wagon never failed to make its daily rounds.

In Seattle Mr. Ferguson married Mrs. Martha E. Breen, daughter of a Mr. Brown, one of the venturesome spirits of the middle west who started to eross the plains in 1852, but died before reaching the Pacific slope. Mrs. Ferguson was born in Arkansas, but received her education in the schools of Oregon, where she was taken after the death of her father. To Mr. and Mrs. Ferguson have been born four children: Samuel Y., who died when eleven years old; Eleanor C., who is living in Snohomish ; Grover F., who died at seven years, and Carl W., who is living with his parents. In politics Mr. Ferguson is a Democrat and was one of the county commissioners in the early days of the county. At the time of election he was the only Democrat on the ticket who was elected. The Ferguson home farm now consists of fifteen acres of cultivated land. Mr. Ferguson also owns con- siderable city property. Though not playing so prominent a part in the carly days of the city of Snohomish as did his brother, Mr. Ferguson is still one of the men who left his imprint on the early business life of the city and the adjoining country. He is a man of excellent character and attainments, highly respected by the entire com- munity.

OLIVER McLEAN, carpenter and building contractor by trade, at present writing street com- missioner of the city of Snohomish, is one of the men who early cast in their fortunes with those of this county. Ile still believes that his choice was not the result of mis-chance. Since 1886 he has been in the county and by his fellows in the com- munity is recognized as a citizen who has given of his strength and vitality to the development of the resources of this part of the Evergreen state. Mr. McLean was born on Prince Edward's Island, Gulf of St. Lawrence, in July, 1855, the older of the two children of Howatt and Pamelia (Howatt) McLean. The elder McLean operated a saw mill and grist mill in his native town. When Oliver MeLean was less than three years of age a falling tree killed the father, but the mother is still living on Prince Edward's Island. Mr. MeLean attended the schools of his native island until at twelve years of age he was thrown on his own resources for a livelihood. For six years he worked in the vicinity of his home, then went to Wisconsin, at first work- ing on a farm and later learning the trade of car- penter, which he followed for two years. In 1875 Mr. McLean went to North Dakota and took up a homestead near Grand Forks, remaining there farming until in 1882 he decided to come to Wash-

ington. Ile chose Snohomish county, and for two years after his arrival he worked at lumbering in the woods. He then operated vapor and electric baths for some years, giving treatments of various kinds to his patrons. In 1890 when gold was dis- covered in the Monte Cristo mining district, Mr. MeLean became one of the first to commence oper- ations there. He located several promising claims and put in some time developing them, sending his product to the Everett smelter. Mr. MeLean still owns properties in the Monte Cristo district from which he derives some revenue. In 1899 he re- turned to Snohomish and entered upon a contract- ing and building business. He received the ap- pointment of street commissioner in 1904 and still holds that office.

In 1888 at Snohomish Mr. McLean married Miss May English, a native of Canada. One child, Pamelia, was born to this union, but she died in 1904 at the age of fourteen years. In politics Mr. McLean is not very active, preferring to be known as a nonpartisan. In fraternal cireles he is a mem- ber of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and of the Modern Woodmen of America. Mr. Me- Lean considers Snohomish county one of the choice places of the earth for a man of moderate means to make his home. He has done the advance work of a pioneer here and has participated in the steps taken to advance the community. He is a con- servative man, conscientious in his dealings with men and the public.

URSINUS K. LOOSE .- Possessing the ge- ninis for organizing and carrying to a successful issue great undertakings, the almost prophetie foresight which characterizes the innate captain of industry, unerring judgment in commercial and in- dustrial lines, marked executive ability and a rare faculty for giving attention to the details of inter- ests numerous and divergent, Ursinus K. Loose has achieved a degree of success in the world of industry and finance surpassed by few if any in all the commonwealth of Washington. Though his in- terests and undertakings are widely scattered over the state, Snohomish county has benefited most from his operations, for it is there that his home has been for many years and it was in the de- velopment and utilization of the resources of that seetion that most of his fortune has been amassed. Mr. Loose was not reared in the lap of luxury, had no advantages superior to those enjoyed by most of his schoolmates and the friends of his boyhood ; his success has been due to inherent ability and persistent effort ; furthermore it has been achieved without sacrifice of the esteem and confidence of associates or neighbors, without the development of those deplorable characteristics that distinguish "money madness."

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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 152

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