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 196

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 196
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 196

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

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lied on to advance any public enterprise which promises to be of benefit to the community.

CHARLES D. HILLIS. Among the young men of Snohomish county who are carrying for- ward the work so well begun by the pioneers of agencies of a continuous development, forces in ush- ering in the day of larger things for a very large country, Charles D. Hillis is deserving of a place in the front rank. Still in the early 'thirties, he has already massed a competency and with the means already acquired is pushing forward to the accom- plishment of greater things, the winning of worthier victories. He belongs to the class who form the real strength and boast of any country, the vigorous, thrifty and fearless workers in the direction of progress.

Mr. Hillis was born in Elk County. Kansas, Sep- tember 14, 1843, the son of James F. Hillis, a native of Indiana, who in later life became a farmer in Kansas and continued to farm there until his death in 1891. With him our subject lived until sixteen years of age, then he came to Walla Walla, arriving in 1888. After a short stay in southeastern Wash- ington he moved to Oregon where his home was un- til 1890, then he came to Snohomish county. Short- ly after his arrival he took a timber claim near Oso, which continued to be his property for four years. In 1897 he purchased the place at Cicero which is now his home, and to its cultivation and improvement he gave himself with zeal and energy until last spring when he bought a half interest in a shingle mill at Trafton and since that he has been successfully operating the same in conjunction with D. E. Servis. The mill has a capacity of fifty thou- sand daily. Mr. Hillis' property interest include his fine farm of one hundred and sixty acres, forty of which have been cleared, and improved by the erec - tion of a neat little house and other buildings, a half interest in the mill just mentioned, a half in- terest in two hundred and forty acres of excellent timber land, a house and two lots and some other property in Everett, certainly not a bad showing for a man who began life without anything a compara- tively few years ago.

The industrial success of Mr. Hillis has been achieved without sacrifice of any of the principles of right living and fair dealing which form the basis of an honorable standing among his fellow citi- zens, and his position in social circles and as a man among men is no less enviable than that occupied by him in business. In political faith he is aligned with the Democratic party ; in fraternal affiliation he is a Yeoman, an Elk and a Modern Woodman. He has three brothers and one sister, namely James, John. Royal and Marion, also two half

brothers, Benjamin and Roy, and one step-sister, Lillian Hostetter.

STEPHEN CICERO, storekeeper, post-master, farmer and poultryman at the place which bears his name, is one of the pioneers of this section of Sno- homish county. Mr. and Mrs. Cicero first came up the river in 1889, bringing family, stove, furniture and provisions in a canoe and occupying two days in making the trip. For a time Mr. Cicero had a hard time getting a start in his new place, but he persevered. A suggestion of the inaccessibility of the place may be gathered from the fact that the first road to Cicero was built so late as 1897. Mr. Cicero was born in Genesee County, Michigan, De- cember 28, 1856, the son of Joseph and Ellen L. (Smith) Cicero, the former a native of Canada who came to Michigan and engaged in lumbering for a period of years, ultimately embarking in the hotel business. Mrs. Cicero was born in Genesee County, New York, in 1833, and died in 1871. Stephen Cic- ero lived at home until his mother's death and dur- ing that time secured what formal education he has been able to obtain. He passed his years until 1889 in Michigan, then came to Snohomish county, after having stopped for a time in Seattle. He took up a pre-emption of one hundred and sixty acres, which he held until seven years ago, when he sold out and bought his present place of twenty acres and his store.

In 1885 Mr. Cicero married Miss Martha Gor- don, daughter of Jesse and Matilda (Ellis) Gordon. Mr. Gordon was a native of Scotland who came to the United States when a child, and when the Civil War broke out enlisted and served four years in the Union army. Mrs. Gordon is a native of Ohio, born in 1849, and was educated in the common schools of Ohio. She was married at the age of fifteen. The couple are living in King county at present. Mrs. Cicero's natal year was 1866. She received her edu- cation in the schools of Michigan and lived with her parents until her marriage. Two children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Cicero: Mrs. Olive Ryan and Stephen, the latter of whom is dead. They have an adopted son, Harry. In politics Mr. Cicero is a Democrat, but has sought or held no office, lo- cal or state, except membership on the school board. In fraternal circles he is a Yeoman. When Mr. and Mrs. Cicero first came to this section of the country the post-office was at Trafton, that at Cic- ero not being established until six years ago. In 1891 the first wagon and team of horses appeared, driven by Frank Kent, who occupied three days on the trip from Kent's prairie. Birds from outside did not come until a year later, but now, strangely enough, the meadow lark and robin are quite com-

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mon. Mr. and Mrs. Cicero are well satisfied with their venture and feel that Snohomish county has been good to them in every way, the hard times of the early days simply preparing for the later times of greater ease and affluence.

RALPH COLLINGWOOD (deceased) was one of the pioneers of the upper Stillaguamish river, and his life from 1884 to the time of his death was intimately connected with the development and set- tlement of this part of Snohomish county. Mrs. Collingwood was the first white woman in this sec- tion and she retains vivid memories of experiences of those early days of the reclamation of the forests for human kind. Mr. Collingwood was born in Plessey, England, December 18, 1843, the only son of Roger and Isabelle (Thompson) Collingwood. The elder Collingwood, a descendant of the admiral of the same name who is famous in the annals of the British navy, came to the United States in 1850 and settled in Michigan, dying at Big Rapids in 1876. Ifis three daughters were Annie, deceased ; Elizabeth and Jennie. Ralph Collingwood at the age of seventeen enlisted in the Union army and served his adopted country faithfully for three years. Returning from the war, he passed a num- ber of years in Michigan, then went to Kansas and later to Arkansas. After three years in the latter state he came to Washington in 1882 and went to work in Port Blakely. Coming to Snohomish coun- ty two years later, he located on a timber claim near Trafton, but after a few months he removed to a homestead three miles above Trafton which has since borne his name and where Mrs. Collingwood lived after her husband's death until quite recently. Of this period Mr. Collingwood wrote in a sketch of the early days on the upper river: "On the first day of March, 1884, Mr. and Mrs. Collingwood. Ed. Fisher and a Mr. Parks pitched their tents at the MeEwan place, three miles up the north fork, and took possession of an abandoned bachelor cab- in. They had been taken up the river in a canoe by Siwash John Friday and his klootchman, and had reached the place the third day after leaving Stan- wood. That night a heavy snow fell and the next day the men began to cut a trail to Mr. Colling- wood's homestead claim three miles to the west- ward, which required eleven days. Then a cabin was built. the supplies packed in, and Mrs. Colling- wood, the first white woman on the north fork, took her canine bodyguard, 'Shep,' and moved into her first forest home. Mr. Parks located on the D. S. Baker place, and during the summer James Mc- Cullough took up the claim that is now occupied by the river a mile west of Cooper's shingle mill, and George Moore located the present Brazelton

place and relinquished it to that family a year later."

In 1865, at Bay City, Michigan, Mr. Colling- wood married Miss Jennie Patterson, a daughter of James and Lorne ( Morden) Patterson. The father was a native of New York who in early life was a sea captain but later became a Michigan farmer. Mrs. Patterson, a native of Canada, died when Mrs. Collingwood was but a girl, the youngest of five children of whom only herself and sister Mary sur- vive : the latter is also a resident of this county. Aft- er her mother's death, Mrs. Collingwood lived with an uncle until her marriage. In politics Mr. Colling- wood was a Republican, while in fraternal circles he was a member of the Masonic order. He was a prosperous man, as is evidenced by the fact that he owned at the time of his death, which occurred at the Everett Hospital, February 5, 1892, the home- stead of one hundred and sixty acres, free from in- cumbrance, a dairy herd. twenty-five neat cattle, and the implements and other paraphernalia of a well kept, modern farm. Mrs. Collingwood has re- cently sold the old homestead to Mr. Cavanaugh. She is one of the highly respected women of Sno- homish county, esteemed by all who know her, one who has experienced the vicissitudes of pioneer days and has done her share toward replacing the wilderness with farms and homes.

JACOB T. LOHR. Among the expert lumber- men who have been drawn hither by the excellent timber of the Puget sound country and who are forces to-day in the utilization and manufacture of that great, transcendent resource, the man with whose life history this article is concerned is desery- ing of a prominent place. He is thoroughly appre- ciative of the timber wealth of the country, knows something about its undeveloped minerals, believes in its future and has an abundance of that kind of faith which impels men to go ahead and accomplish something. He hails from a lumber state, having been born in Wayne County, Michigan, February 18, 1855, and is one of the four children of Frederick and Augusta M. (Adams) Lohr, both natives of Germany. The father came to the United States when fifteen years old, settled in Michigan and passed the remainder of his life there, dying in 1875. The mother came to this country at the early age of eight, her parents having died, and lived with friends in Buffalo, New York, for five years, later going to Michigan, where she was married. Her husband having passed away as heretofore stated, she later remarried, and in 1883 came to Lyman. Skagit county, where she continued to reside until her demise four years later.

Mr. Lohr of this article acquired a common edu-

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cation in the public schools of Michigan, and at eighteen went to Detroit to engage in railroad office work, but he soon left it to embark in lumbering at Manistee, Michigan, where for nine consecutive years he followed log scaling and kindred occupa- tions. During the summers of 18:2-3-4. however, he was employed on a vessel on Lake Michigan and at one time barely escaped drowning, his vessel having been wrecked. After becoming an expert in the lumber business he took up the work of esti- mating and selling timber on a commission, which line he followed until 1882, when he came to Wash- ington. For the first three years after his arrival he followed the same pursuit here, his central point of operations being Seattle, but in 1885 he built the steamer l'earl and began running it on the waters of the sound and Samish river. A twelvemonth was thus spent, then lie took a homestead on the Skagit river near Lyman, but the attractions of the lumber business were too great for him and soon he had built a saw-mill at Sterling and was again busy in the manufacture of lumber. Fire terminated this enterprise a year later ; then Mr. Lohr turned his attention to prospecting, becoming one of the first locators in the Silverton district. He gave special attention to the Perry creek section, staking out seven claims there, and during the nine years be- tween 1891 and 1900 devoting practically all his energies to explorations and the development of properties already acquired. As a result he now owns a controlling interest in all the Perry creek mines. whose values consist of gold and silver, with twen- ty-five per cent copper. In 1900 he became inter- ested once more in the lumber business. He re- turned to Seattle and to the business of buying and selling timber, and the following year erected a mill of his own at Ehrlich, which he soon sold, coming then to Cicero. There he has since lived. engaged in a general milling business, he being owner of a third interest in the Heath-Morley Company, which has a saw and shingle mill and forty million feet of timber, half of it cedar.

February 4, 1900, Mr. Lohr married Miss Marie T. Zibbell, a daughter of August Zibbell, and a na- tive of Minnesota, born July 13, 18:9. She came to Colfax, Washington. in 1898, and to Seattle ? year later. She and Mr. Lohr are parents of two children, Ralph Major and Sidney. In politics Mr. Lohr is a Republican, active, influential and awake to all matters of general concern, but not ambitious personally for political preferment, though in 1896 hie consented to become liis party's candidate for the office of county surveyor. Ile is one of the repre- sentative business men of the county and one of the progressive forces in its development, possessed of an active. lively faith in its future and especially in the future of the Perry creek mines.

CLAUDE C. GRANT, engaged in general farming a half mile northwest of Cicero, is one of the successful agriculturists of this part of Snoho- mish county and during a comparatively few years has built up an excellent farm out of the forest lands. Mr. Grant was born in Iowa January 20, 1868, the son of John and Angie ( Baxter) Grant. The elder Grant was a native of Ohio and farmed in that state until 1866, when he went to Iowa. In 18:0 he moved to Kansas and in 18SS came to Snohomish county, settling on the Stillaguamish and residing there until his death at Arlington in 1899. Mrs. Grant is still living, a resident of Ar- lington. Besides Claude, she has two other chil- dren. James and Nellie. Claude C. Grant made his home with his parents until thirty years of age, working in logging camps for a number of years after his arrival in Snohomish county. For the past eight years he has been operating his present farm, doing a successful business and building up an excellent property.

In April. 1900, Mr. Grant married Miss Eliza- beth Schiller, daughter of Robert and Minnie (Eicholze) Schiller, natives of Germany, and now residents of Arlington. Mrs. Grant is a native of Germany, born on Christmas day. 1881. She re- ceived her education principally in the schools of Arlington, coming to the United States with her parents when she was eight years of age. Mr. and Mrs. Grant have two children, Hazel and Audree. In politics Mr. Grant is aligned with the Republi- cans. He has 180 acres of excellent land, thirty of which are at present cleared and under cultiva- tion. He keeps seven milch cows, also has eleven head of stock cattle and half a dozen horses. He is improving his farm as the years go by and the place now presents a sharp contrast to what it was when he first took hold of the land. Mr. Grant is energetic, thrifty, intelligent in his work, a good manager and one of the popular and influential men of the community.

HUGH C. RUTHRUFF. a general farmer living two and a half miles west of Oso, has been in Sno- homish county since 1888 and has been very suc- cessful since coming here. Mr. Ruthruff was born in Kansas on Christmas Day, 1866, the son of Chester and Urina (Sprague) Ruthruff, who are still living in the Sunflower state. The elder Ruth- ruff was born in Michigan in 1839 and became a carpenter. He went to Kansas when a young man and, with the exception of the years 1889-92, when he was in this state, has passed his entire time since attaining manhood there. Mrs. Ruthruff is a na- i tive of Ohio, still lives in her Kansas home, the mother of seven children besides the subject of this

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biography, namely: Mrs. Nellie L. Conover, Mrs. Nettie M. Lambert, Mrs. Belle D. Farrier, Claude D. Ruthruff, Mrs. Gertrude Walker, Miss Lulu Ruthruff and Clement Ruthruff. Until he was twenty-two years of age Hugh C. Ruthruff lived with his parents, obtaining his education in the lo- cal common school. Coming to Snohomish county in 1888, he located on a place near his present farm, which he afterwards sold to advantage, then took a timber claim on which he proved up in 1891. During this period of his life he worked a great (leal in Whatcom county. After disposing of his timber claim in 1899, Mr. Ruthruff engaged in log- ging and other lines of endeavor for two years. He bought his present place of 100 acres in the fall of 1901, moved onto it in the following spring and has since lived there.

October 2, 1892, Mr. Ruthruff married Miss Mildred E. Richards at Whatcom, daughter of Ephraim and Frances ( Childs ) Richards, both of whom are still living and residents of Snohomish county. Mr. Richards, a native of Maine, and by occupation a farmer, removed to California in early life and in 1886 came to Snohomish county. Mrs. Ruthruff has a brother and two sisters, Willie E. Richards, Mrs. Mand Mckinnon and Miss Effie Richards. Mrs. Ruthruff was born in 1873 and lived with her parents until her marriage. To Mr. and Mrs. Ruthruff have been born six children : Earl B .. Vern MI., Dwight C., Harold C .. Neil and Beryl N. In politics Mr. Ruthruff is a Republi- can, while in fraternal connection he is a member of the Brotherhood of American Yeomen. Of the one lumdred acres comprising his home farm sixty have been slashed and are in pasture. while thirty are completely under cultivation. His dairy herd consists of eight milch cows, and he has ten head of stock cattle. as well as other live stock. Mr. Ruthruff is well satisfied with the opportunities held out by Snohomish county and feels that he has prospered since coming here : further, expects that all conditions in the county will improve with the flight of time. Ile is highly respected as a man of estimable character, intelligent, well informed and thoroughly in touch with events in the world at large.

FELIX CHARTRAND. Among the thrifty and industrious farmers of Oso is the man whose name gives caption to this biography. He was born at Saint Lawrence, Ontario, December 25. 1861, the son of John and Florence ( Regrau) Chartrand. The father, a farmer, died in Ontario in 1818, at the age of forty-eight, but the mother. at the age of seventy-seven. is still living at Ottawa. She is the mother of seventeen children. Like

many other successful men, Felix Chartrand was obliged by circumstances to assume the active duties of life at an early age, working on a farm when only thirteen years old. A few years later he began work in the woods on the Gatineau river, and he was thus employed for two years, after which he immigrated to the United States. He first located at Jordan Falls, New York, but went the follow- ing fall to Michigan, where he spent the next five years in the woods. Still journeying westward, he stopped in Butte. Montana, for a time, whence he came to Seattle in the spring of 1858. He was en- graged in teaming there the first summer, and in the fall came on to Stanwood, went twenty-five miles up the Stillaguamish river, and pre-empted 160 acres. There was at that time only a blazed trail reaching to Stanwood, so supplies had to be brought in in canoes by the Indians at a cost per load of from twenty to thirty dollars. Seven years later, having lost the pre-emption. Mr. Chartrand returned to the woods to find employment. During the past five years he has taken but one vacation. this being when he went to Idaho. In February. 1904. he took up his residence on his farm located one and one-half miles west of Oso, of which he he- came owner six years ago, and he has since de- voted his attention to clearing the land and getting it in condition to cultivate. He has ten acres in crops and pasture and since acquiring the land has erected comfortable buildings besides earning $400 in wages. These improvements are a substantial proof of his tireless energy.

Mr. Chartrand was married in 1903 to Mrs. Mary VanCore, a native of Wisconsin, born at Eau Claire. Her parents are both living in her na- tive state. She has two children by her former husband, Alfay and Cecil, and one child. Walter. has been born to Mr. and Mrs. Chartrand. Mr. Chartrand is identified with no political party, al- ways preferring to vote for the man. nor has he ever cared to take an active part in political mat- ters. Although not one of the earliest pioneers. Mr. Chartrand has been identified with the various interests of this locality for a number of year- now, and he is numbered among the well and fa . vorably known citizens.

CHARLES SANDBERG, who is operating with marked success a dairy farm situated one mile north of Oso, is one of the pioneers of this part of Snohomish county who has created for himself a pleasant home and a valuable farm out of the forest of the upper Stillaguamich. He was born in Sweden in the summer of 1887, the son of Erick and Caroline (Bostrom) Johnson, who lived and died in the old country, leaving five children besides

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Charles. The others are Carrie, Erick and Angust Sandberg, Mrs. Sophia Nordene and Mrs. Emma Sandstrom. There is also an adopted son, John Nelson. Charles Sandberg lived with his parents until the death of the father in 18:1. then at the age of fourteen, worked for farmers in the vicin- ity of his home in northern Sweden. After three years at farm work young Sandberg engaged to work in lumber yards in his native country and re- inained in that occupation until he came to the United States in 1881. After his arrival in the new world, he first settled at Cadillac, Michigan, where he remained until lie came to Snohomish county, whither a brother had preceded him to the Stillaguamish valley. The brother was drowned in the river within a few weeks of the arrival of Charles, and the latter took charge of the brother's place and has since operated it, with the exception of two years, 1898-99, which he passed in Alaska. When Mr. Sandberg first came up the river there were no railroads in the country and few trails and provisions had to be brought by canoe. Mr. Sand- berg was fortunate in having sufficient funds to support him until his farm could be put into con- dition to produce crops. That was in 1891.

In 1887 at Seattle Mr. Sandberg married Miss Catherine Larson, a native of Sweden, and the daughter of Lars and Mary (Olson) Johnson. Mrs. Johnson never left hier native land, but Mr. Johnson came to the United States in 1892 and died in Oso six years later. Mrs. Sandberg, who was born December 5, 1865, came to the United

States when twenty-one years of age, and worked in Michigan until coming to Seattle a short time prior to her marriage. To her and Mr. Sandberg have been born six children: Nellie A., Mabel L., Carl A. (deceased), Esther M., Fred A. and Lil- lian M. In politics Mr. Sandberg is a Republican and in church membership a Lutheran. Forty acres of his 160-acre tract have been cleared and are tin- der cultivation, much of the remainder being pas- ture land, where he grazes his twelve milch cows and his stock cattle. The house is a fine large one of nine rooms, supplied with all modern conven- iences. Mr. Sandberg is well satisfied with the business opportunities of Snohomish county, where his thrift and industry have placed him in an inde- pendent position. He is a sterling man, well liked in the community, with much public spirit and in- terest in all that pertains to the state and nation.

JOHN ILES. Prominent among the progres- sive and successful men of Snohomish county, and deserving of the highest credit as a man of force- ful character, executive ability and good business judgment is John Iles, a prosperous farmer living

at Oso. Having come to Snohomish county nine- teen years ago with only funds sufficient to support his family until lie could get a few acres of a timbered homestead cleared, he has by industry, thrift and good management, accumulated sufficient property so that should liis earning capacity be sud- denly destoyed by some accident, he could still live on the income from his holdings. Mr. Iles was born in London, Ontario, Canada, December 10, 1856, the son of John and Eliza ( Menery) Iles, na- tives respectively of Ireland and Canada. The father was engaged in farming in Michigan for many years, and died in that state in 1895, re- spected and honored by all as a devout and worthy man. His wife, the mother of our subject, passed away in Michigan a few months prior to the time of his death. The other children of this estimable couple who are still living are Christina, William, Sarah, Samuel, Levi L., Maggie and David, and they have two half-brothers and a half-sister, name- ly, Frank, Thomas and Abigail.

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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 196

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