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 188

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 188
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 188

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JOHN ELLINGSEN, the well known lumber- man and mill owner residing at Arlington, Wash- ington, was born at Arendal, Norway, November 27, 1872. His parents, Elling and Susanna ( Lyder- sen) Ellingsen, were also born in Norway. The father, familiarly known as Captain Ellingsen, fol- lowed the sea till his death in ISTE : the mother is now living in Snohomish county, whither she im- migrated some years after the death of her hus- band and married a cousin, Elling Ellingsen. John Ellingsen received his early education in the schools of his native country, prior to 1881, at which time he came with his mother to the United States, lo- cating with her in Wisconsin. After attending school there a short time, he went, when sixteen years old, to Seattle, where he found employment in a store. Six months later he was taken ill with fever. and removed to a hospital, where he was con- fined six weeks, or until he was able to go to his mother's home on the Stillaguamish river. Early in 1890 he was employed by Oaks & Anderson in a logging camp, and remained with them till late in the fall. Hle assisted his mother in the work of the farm that winter, taking up the logging business again, however, the next season. In 1891 he opened a grocery store at Haller, which was his for two years, at the end of which time he sold out and re- turned to his former occupation. Purchasing 200 acres of timber land on the Stillaguamish, in Jan- mary, 1899, he ent shingle bolts for a time, but later disposed of this property, and in 1901, he became a member of the Arlington Shingle Company, with

which he still continues to be actively associated. Ilis wide acquaintance throughout the county to- gether with his thorough knowledge of the lumber trade. renders him a valuable member of the firm.

Mr. Ellingsen was married in Seattle in 1896, to Ingebor Berge, a native of lowa, born in 18:2. Her father, Colben 11. Berge, a native of Norway, is an honored pioneer of Washington. now living at Bryant. Snohomish county. Bertha (Erdahl) Berge, the mother, is also of Norwegian nativity. Mr. and Mrs. Ellingsen have two children, both born in Snohomish county: Clarence E., Septem- ber S. 1591 ; and Myrtle S. September 1, 1599. Mr. Ellingsen and his family attend the Lutheran church. He is a loval member of the Republican party, lending the strength of his influence to fur- thering its interests. A keen and practical young business man, he has accumulated considerable property, owning in addition to his interest in the shingle mill. a neat home in town. Just in the prime of life, energetic, ambitious, and possessed of those traits of character that insure success, he seems to have before him a future of usefulness and inth- ence.

DANIEL S. BAKER, one of the carly pioneers of the upper Stillaguamish river, has seen that coun- try develop from the wilderness of the former days to the present stage of settlement and civilization. One of the first settlers on the north fork, he has done his share of the work of transforming a wil- derness of trees into homesteads, himself being in the forefront of progressive forces. He was born in Maine, February 23, 1811, with the blood in his veins of the hardy people who came from England soon after the Mayflower had landed amid Decem- ber snows on Plymouth Rock. His father, Nathan Baker, was born June 30, 1808, a descendant of an- cestry which settled on the bleak New England shores in 1630 and helped make the Pine Tree state. Mrs. Sarah (Smith ) Baker, a native of Maine, born in 1820, was the mother of six children, the subject of this biography being the oldest. After attending the common schools of his native state, young Baker entered Hampden Academy and was pur- sning a collegiate course in Bowdoin College at Brunswick, Maine, when the Civil War broke out. The entire Sophomore class enlisted for the Union in the Twentieth Maine infantry. J. 1 .. Chamberlain. president of the college, being chosen lieutenant- colonel. After two years and ten months of service in that command Mr. Baker was transferred to the navy, and served with the rank of lieutenant for the remainder of the war. Resigning his commission in 1866 to accept a billet aboard a merchantman. he continued to follow the sea for fifteen years, then. in 1881. located in Clark county. AArkansas, as man- ager of a saw-mill. Two years later he came to Washington and took a homestead near Tacoma,

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relinquishing it in 1886. In 1884 Mr. Baker had become foreman of the hop yards of Ezra Meeker, the pioneer of the hop industry in this state, and that time the hop king of Washington. Two years of this service were followed by Mr. Baker's se- lection of Snohomish county and the Stillaguamish valley as the scene of his future operations. In 1886 he took a homestead some six miles northeast of the site of the present town of Arlington, though at that time it was a wilderness accessible only by canoe from Stanwood and twenty-five miles dis- tant by the river route. Seventy acres of the land Mr. Baker then took up have been cleared and the heavy timber has been removed from the remainder. He resided on this place until 1901 when he leased it and removed with his family to Arlington.

In 186: Mr. Baker married Miss Melissa Little- field, who became the mother of three children, two of whom are still living. George, the youngest, died in Arlington in 1902, twenty-two years after the death of his mother. Mr. Baker in 1892 mar- ried Miss Annie Rowley, daughter of William and Ann ( Mlorledge) Rowley, natives of England who immigrated to the United States and died in In- diana. Mrs. Baker was born in Ohio in 1852 during the residence in the Buckeye state of her parents. She received her education in the schools of Ohio and Indiana. In lodge circles Mr. Baker is affilia- ted with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, being a charter member of No. 34 at Kent. He is also a prominent Mason, having joined that order in 1880. and being a past master now and also at present master of the blue lodge at Arlington. In politics he is a Republican. In 1888 he was chosen one of the commissioners of Snohomish county and served for a term of two years. In 1892 he was made state appraiser of tide lands and for four years thereafter he performed the duties of that office. When the town of Arlington was incorporated he was made a member of the city council, and he has ever since served the people of his home town in that capacity. Mr. Baker is the owner of 260 acres of farm land, 100 of which are under cultivation, and at present is making a specialty of raising Dur- ham cattle. He is one of those rare characters who preserve into the afternoon of life something of the freshness and vigor which have always attached to the pine forests of his native state. Hale, hearty and resonant of the pioneer days, he is also one of the wide awake men of the present, active, alert and closely in touch with the life and thought of the day.

JOHN W. MORRIS, while not one of the earliest pioneers of Snohomish county, is yet one of the men who cut the heavy timber from the ground on which the main street of Arlington has since been built. A veteran of the Civil War, he had also been active in the opening up of the Indian Terri-

tory before coming to Washington. Mr. Morris was born in Kentucky January 28, 1844, the son of William and Eva (Carpenter) Morris. The elder Morris was born in Lexington, Kentucky, the home of the famous Breckinridges, and in the early days of the great conflict between the North and the South raised a company of Union soldiers and be- came its captain. At Independence, Missouri, in the campaign against Price, he received a wound from the effects of which he died. Mrs. Morris was also a native of Kentucky, but after the war removed to Illinois and died there. John W. Morris re- ceived his education in the common schools of Il- linois. When he was seventeen years of age he enlisted in Company D, Ninety-first Illinois Infan- try, under Captain Hanna and served with that com- mand until it was mustered out in 1864. Mr. Mor- ris at once re-entered the service as a member of Company K, Twenty-eighth Illinois, under Captain John W. Stokes, and served in the campaign on the Mexican border against General Kirby Smith until mustered out on the 9th of April, 1866. After leaving the army he returned to Illinois and en- gaged in farming for one year, in 1869 going to Ne- braska and a year later to southern Kansas. While in the latter state he helped to lay out the town of Peru in Chautauqua county, and participated ac- tively in the county seat fights in Chautauqua and Elk counties. Those were the days when county seats in the middle west were on wheels and easily mobile, according to the wishes of the persons in charge. In 1814 Mr. Morris engaged in the stock business, mostly in a speculative way, on the lands of the Cherokee nation in the Indian Territory and continued in this line of activity until 1885, when he opened a livery stable in Peru, Kansas. This was his home until February, 1890, when he came to. Washington. His first work in the new state was clearing timber from the site of the main street of Arlington. Very soon after this he took a soldier's homestead on Jim creek, where he lived for two years, selling out then and purchasing his present farm of thirty acres, twenty of which are under cul- tivation. This place adjoins Arlington on the sontheast.

In 1871 at Peru, Kansas, Mr. Morris married Miss Louise Stearns, daughter of Sheldon A. and Mary J. Stearns, who came to Linn county in the Sunflower state from Iowa. Mr. Stearns is dead, but is survived by Mrs. Stearns, now living in Whatcom county. Mrs. Morris was born in Penn- sylvania, August, 1854, and received her education in the schools of Iowa and Kansas. Eight children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Morris, namely : Ralph, Claude W., Mrs. Mae Murphy, Arthur N., Mrs. Katie Iles, Earl, Winnie and Queenie. In pol- ities Mr. Morris is aligned with the Socialists, but aside from acting as deputy sheriff in 1892 and 1893, has never been an officeholder. In fraternal circles he is a Mason and an Odd Fellow, in the

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BIOGRAPHICAL

latter order being a past grand ; also a member of E. M. Stanton Post. He is a man of sterling char- acter. respected by all in the community, one of the men who leave their imprint on their surroundings. alive to all the questions of the hour.

MATTHEW M. McCAULLEY. residing two and a half miles cast of Arlington, Washington, on one of the finest farms in the forks region, is a pioneer among pioneers, and is deserving of the rich rewards he is now reaping after years of un- remitting toil and labor. He was born in Madison county, Illinois, June 18, 1812. His father, James McCaulley, was a native of Kentucky who followed mechanical pursuits. He eventually moved to Penn- sylvania, residing there for a time and then going to Illinois of which state he became one of the earli- est pioneers. His death occurred there three months before the birth of his son, Matthew. Flora ( Fer- guson) McCaulley, the mother, was born and mar- ried in Pennsylvania.

Left an orphan at the age of two years, Matthew M. McCaulley was taken by an aunt who lived in Pennsylvania and he grew to manhood in that state. receiving his education in the common schools there established. When sixteen years old he went to Ohio where he lived for some time. At the out- break of the Civil War, although but a boy of nine- teen, he was one of the first to volunteer, enlisting in the 10th Illinois Volunteers. He served throughout the entire conflict and was mustered out at Washington City, in June, 1865. Returning to Illinois, he spent a few months, then decided to lo- cate in Iowa, so went to Des Moines where he em- barked in the hotel business and was thus engaged for four years. In 1869 he migrated to California. After dealing in stock there for two years he again took up his residence in Iowa and farmed in that state for six years, at the end of which time he de- cided to come to the Northwest. He reached Stan- wood in February, 1879, intending to take up a homestead, but not finding one to his taste he worked in a logging camp owned by James Long for the following four years, and later rented a farm on Camano island. He filed on a homestead two and a half miles east of the present city of Ar- lington in May, 1883, he being the first man to take a claim on the South Fork of the Stillaguamish. The land was then covered with a dense growth of timber and brush, but of the 209 acres that he now owns he has 115 in cultivation. He is devoting the greater share of his attention to dairying, keeping a herd of fine Jersey cattle.

Mr. McCaulley was married on Camano island, in October, 1882. to Frances L. Davis, a native of that island, born in 1863 and educated in the Seattle schools. Her father, Reuben J. Davis, who was a native of New York state was a mechanic. Cross- ing the plains to California, he made that his home

until 1858, then came to Washington as one of its very earliest pioneer white men and here spent the remainder of his life. Ile was among the first white men to settle north of Seattle. Mrs. McCaulley died in 1891, mourned as a personal loss by the community, leaving the following children: Lena B., born on Camano island, now living in Suoho- mish county; James W., Fred and Maud, all of whom were born in this county and are living at home. In political belief Mr. McCaulley inclines to Socialism and in lodge connections is a member of the Masonic fraternity; also a member of the G. A. R. He is a typical pioneer, possessed of those sterling qualities of ambition and tireless energy that are requisite in those who would subdue the forests and transform the wilderness into a garden of beauty and fruitfulness. His personal character and life are such as to command the esteem of his fellow citizens, who respect him not alone for the noble part he played in rallying to the support of the flag during the dark days of civil strife, but for the courage and devotion shown in the later battles with adverse conditions in the conquest of natural barriers to the enjoyment of nature's blessings.

JACKSON H. PERSUN, one of the thrifty and prosperous farmers of Arlington, Washington, was born in Lycoming county, Pennsylvania, March 17, 1858. the son of Elias and Hannah (Moyer) Per- sun, who were also natives of that state. His father, a farmer, sought the fertile lands of Wash- ington in 1889, and died here in February, 1890. The mother, to whom nine children have been born, is still living in her native state, at the age of seven- ty. Jackson Persun spent the first twenty-one years of his life at home on his father's farm, acquiring his education in the common schools of Pennsyl- vania. He became a resident of Washington in April. 1888, stopping first at Stanwood. After working in the logging camp of Cummings & Jones for two years, he filed on a pre-emption on Jini creek, a tributary of the south fork of the Stilla- guamish river, in the spring of 1889. He made that his home for fourteen months, working meanwhile in lumber camps. Moving to Arlington in 1891, he still followed the same business, his wife going with him to the camp where her skill as a cook was in great demand. Thus working together during the summer months, and when winter came moving to a home in town which they had previously built, they spent seven profitable years, but in 1899 he abandoned the occupation that had claimed his at- tention for so many years, and went to the gold fields of Alaska, where he mined for eighteen months. Returning to Arlington in 1901 he pur- chased seventy acres of land adjoining the town, and has since spent his entire time in farming.

Mr. Persun was married in Pennsylvania, in 1885, to Sarah E. Cronkrite, born in New York

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state in 1856. She is the daughter of John and Sarah (Pearson) Cronkrite, also natives of New York. The father farmed in Pennsylvania for many years before his death; the mother still re- sides in that state. Mrs. Persun received her edu- cation in New York, and after being graduated from the high school, went to Pennsylvania in which state she was a successful teacher prior to her mar- riage. Mr. and Mrs. Persun have one child, a daughter, R. Lee, born in Pennsylvania, January 29, 1886, who is now attending the high school at Arlington. Mr. Persun is identified with the Odd Fellows fraternity, and his wife is an earnest worker in the Baptist church. In political belief he adheres strictly to Republican principles, and lends his influence to the advancement of that party's interests. He makes a specialty of dairying. and owns a fine herd of Jersey cattle. In addition to his excellent farm he is also interested in city property to quite an extent. He justly deserves the title of a self-made man. as his present financial standing is due entirely to his own untiring energy and careful management, which qualities combined with an upright character, have made him one of the respected citizens of Arlington.

JACOB PETERSON, engaged in general farm- ing and dairying a mile west of Arlington, has been a resident of this section of the state for the past sixteen years, during which he has attained de- served success. Born in Norway July 12. 1820, he is the son of Peter and Guri ( Branstad ) Volden. both of whom were natives of that far northern country also. The father was a farmer. He passed away in 1898 in Norway at the age of seventy-five. The mother died in 1900 at an advanced age also. Of the four children constituting the family the sub- ject of this sketch is the second, two being boys and two girls. He attended school and worked on @the farm with his father and with neighbors until twenty years of age. From time to time he heard wonderful stories of the opportunities offered young men by the United States, and in 1890 crossed the sva to investigate personally. After a long, arduous, though interesting, journey of thousands of miles through a strange country, the young emigrant reached Fir, Skagit county, in August, 1890, where family friends resided, among them being Ole Bor- seth and 1 .. Engen, who had preceded him a year. He immediately went to work for Mr. Engen, on whose farm he remained a year and a half. He then took a contract for ditching and draining a large slough nearby, after the completion of which he cruised timber on the Pilchuck river for a time. then engaged in fishing thirteen months at the mouth of the Skagit river. At this time he removed to the Stillaguamish valley, settling at Silvana and there assisting in opening the county road between the depot and Elverum's store. Later the young man

worked a time for Mr. Engen and spent several months in school perfecting his education before re- turning to Silvana to enter the employ of S. Knut- son. One summer he cut bolts at Bryant. He bought his present farm of thirty-nine acres De- cember 22, 1899, after having leased a year near Silvana. Mr. Peterson's place shows unmistakable signs of thrift and skill in the occupation he is fol- lowing and is one of the substantial small farms of the valley.

The marriage of Miss Gyda Husby, daughter of Ole K. and Nettie Husby, to Mr. Peterson was solemnized May 10, 1902. The parents of the bride are natives of Norway, who came to the United States when young people. settling in Minnesota. They came to Snohomish county in 1888 and, after spending a time near Port Susan, came up the Still- aguamish to a point near Arlington and engaged in farming. Both are still living and reside near the little city at the forks of the river. Mrs. l'eterson was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, March 21, 1883, and received her education in the schools of Snohomish county. One child has blessed the union of Mr. and Mrs. Peterson, Ole Johan, born August 20. 1903. The family are communicants of the Lutheran church. Politically Mr. Peterson is af- filiated with the Republican party, and is one of its conservative members.

THOMAS JENSEN, whose home lies about two and a half miles southeast of Silvana, is one of the enterprising farmers of this part of Snohomish county, a man of sterling character and of active public spirit. He was born in Germany in 1849, the fourth of the nine children of Lawrence and Christina Jensen, farmer people of the old country. The father died on the home farm, where he first saw the light. Thomas Jensen at- tended the schools of his native place until at the age of sixteen years he was ap- prenticed to the trade of carpenter. He served three years, then passed one year as journeyman in the vicinity of his home, but in 1869 he came to the United States, settling in Burlington, Iowa, and for several years he alternated between lowa and Louisiana, working at the bench. He also put in eighteen months at his trade in California. In 1811 he was back again in Burlington, whence he made a trip to his old home in Germany. On his return he took ship at New York for San Francisco, via the isthmus of Panama. and he remained in the Golden Gate city until 1828, when he made a trip to Seattle. Being highly pleased with the Puget sound country, in a short time he returned and lo- cated on one hundred and sixty acres in Snohomish county, up the Stillaguamish river. He remained here for two years, putting the place into shape for agriculture in so far as was possible in that time, but passed the winter of 1880 in San Francisco, work-

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BIOGRAPHICAL

ing at his trade for money with which to develop his Snohomish county place. This policy he pursued for five years, and at the present time he has about ninety acres cleared and under cultivation, one acre being in orchard and small fruits.

In 1886, at San Francisco, Mr. Jensen married Miss Johanna Jens, daughter of Joachim E. and Meta C. (Detlefsen ) Jens, the former of whom was a dyer in Germany, in which country he passed away when Mrs. Jensen was twelve years of age. Mrs. Jens, though a native of Germany, went to Italy in later years and died there. Mrs. Jensen was born in Germany in September, 1854, and re- ceived her education there. Two daughters have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Jensen: Dora, in 1887. who has passed through the county schools and also the school at Arlington, and Martha, in 1888, who also received her education in the Snohomish coun- ty schools. Both the daughters of Mr. Jensen were in the first class to graduate from Island school. No. 22. In politics Mr. Jensen is a Socialist. Being deeply interested in the cause of popular education, he has served as a member of the school board. He owns 200 acres of land, very nearly half of which is under cultivation, also fifty head of cattle, the principal part of which are dairy stock. Mr. Jensen is well known for his public spirit, and is a man of energy and acomplishment, successful in his under- takings.

SEVERT ENGESETHI, farmer, three miles southeast of Silvana, affords in his career in this state an illustration of what may be done by a man who is willing to work in any line of endeavor and advance himself to the position of an independent agriculturist. The career also illustrates how the timber and logging industry of Snohomish county has been the means of affording a start toward ownership of property. Mr. Engeseth was born in Norway May 6, 1866, the son of Andrew and Annie ( llansen ) Engeseth, natives of Norway. The elder Engeseth came to Washington in 1890 and re- mained here for eight years, then returned to the old country, where he is still living. Mrs. Engeseth has remained in this country and is making her home at Silvana. Severt Engeseth remained at home and attended school until he was twelve years of age. when he engaged in the fisheries as a winter occupation. working on his father's farm during summer. In 1883, when seventeen years oldl, he came to Washington, traveling from Norway alone. to rejoin an uncle at Silvana. He remained with the uncle for three years, then, from the year 1886 to the year 1889. carried the mail between Silvana and Stanwood, working at farming between trips In the spring of 1890 Mr. Engeseth turned to the logging camps and for seven years lived in the woods and followed the life of a logger and timber- man. In 1892 he went to the Klondike, where, in

the fourteen months of his stay, he accumulated a handsome sum. On coming out from Alaska Mr. Engeseth returned to Stanwood, whence he soon after made a trip to his oldl home in Norway, re- maining there about eight months. Returning in May, 1900, he purchased twenty-two acres of land which forms part of his present farm and consists of as fertile soil as is to be found. Since that time he has made his home on the place and has added forty acres of timber land to his holdings.

October 20, 1898, while visiting his old home across the Atlantic Mr. Engeseth married Miss Sine Hloidal, daughter of Martin and Petrene ( llan- sen ) Hoidal, who are still living in the old country, the father being a seafaring man. Mrs. Engeseth was born in the old country June 22, 1868, and re- ceived her education there. Mr. and Alrs. Engeseth have three children: Martin, born February 11. 1900: Albert. March 22, 1901; Petrene, born June 11, 1902, deceased ; Anskar, October 1, 1903, and Severt. June 29, 1905. In fraternal circles Mr. En- geseth is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America . in church affiliations he is a Lutheran, and in politics a Republican. He has served as road commissioner of his district, but has never been an office-seeker, and never aspired to any of the higher positions of trust in county or state. Twenty-five acres of his land is under cultivation and producing excellent crops. In live stock, aside from horses for operating the farm, Mr. Engeseth has twenty-one head of cattle of the dairy type. His farming busi- ness is prosperous ; his home is one of the pleasant- est places in the Silvana district, and his enjoyment of material blessings is heightened by the possession of a reputation for honesty and integrity.

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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 188

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