USA > Washington > Walla Walla County > An illustrated history of Walla Walla County, state of Washington > Part 45
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).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71
In his religious proclivities Mr. Offner ad- hieres to the faith of the Cumberland Presby- terian church, of which he is a consistent mem- ber, while fraternally he is identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Ancient Order of United Workmen.
Mr. and Mrs. Offner became the parents of five children : Chester R .; Myrtle, deceased ; Lelah : Winnie, and the baby, as yet unnamed.
HON. HENRY PERRY ISAACS .- Every age and section has its beacon lights, men who rise above the general level of their kind as the mountain peak exceeds in loftiness the ex- tensive plateau at its base. The forms in which this transcendent ability manifests itself are
many and various, but in a new country great and unusual native power generally finds its field of activity in material lines, enabling its possessor to project and promote enterprises of broad design and far-reaching import. In the qualities which characterize these geniuses of action, these giants of industrial achieve- ment, few men can stand beside the Hon. H. P. Isaacs, whose activity and success in pro- moting the material development of the section in which he had chosen his home was such as to justify the statement that "to some extent the history of Henry Perry Isaacs is the history of southeastern Washington and northeastern Oregon." He certainly stands pre-eminent among the men who have made the states of Washington, Oregon and Idaho what they are to-day.
Our subject was born in Philadelphia March 17, 1822. In his veins mingled together in equal proportions were the blood of the hard- headed English race and of the sturdy and indomitable Scot. . After receiving a common- school education he entered the employ of a large mercantile house in Philadelphia. there securing an insight into business methods which proved of inestimable value in later years. When twenty-one years old he removed to In- diana with the double end in view of seeing something of the outside country and of trying his hand in a general merchandise business of his own, thus testing his qualifications for in- dependent enterprise in the commercial world. What the outcome of this first venture was we are not informed, but of this we are certain that the trip to Indiana and a later journey to New Orleans enabled him to realize the real magnitude of the west and south and perhaps had an important influence on his later career.
We find him a few years later en route to the Pacific coast, the immediate lure which in-
HENRY PERRY ISAACS.
313
HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.
duced him westward being the California gold excitement. He was not especially successful ir his mining ventures, but he saw a land of promise and his broad, clear vision enabled him to perceive clearly the true situation.
In 1858 Mr. Isaacs gave substantial testi- mony to his faith in the agricultural possibil- ities of the country by erecting at Fort Col- ville, Washington, his first flouring mill. He demonstrated to the farmers that wheat could be produced profitably on the hills and uplands which in those early days had been given over to stock-raising, the supposition being that bunch grass was all that would grow in any abundance on them.
In 1862 he built the North Pacific mills at Walla Walla, Washington ; in 1864 he erected the War Eagle mills at Boise City, Idaho; in 1865 the Middleton mills at Middleton, Idaho; in 1883 the North Pacific mills "B" at Pres- cott, Washington, and in 1898 the North Pa- cific mills "C" at Wasco, Oregon. His large experience in milling made him the foremost miller on the Pacific coast; his knowledge of the manufacture and handling of flour became proverbial and he was recognized as an author- ity on all matters pertaining thereto. The enormous output of his splendid milling system found a market in the Orient, much of it going to China. Mr. Isaacs was the first miller on the Pacific coast to adopt the roller system, the modern process of milling, his first rolls (of porcelain ) being imported from Switzer- land in 1877.
"Outside of milling circles, however, Mr. Isaacs was best known for his public spirit. After demonstrating the possibilities of wheat raising he proceeded to blaze the way for the fruit-grower by setting out one of the first or- chards in the vicinity of Walla Walla, in 1864,
and later a vineyard. From this beginning he proceeded to successful experiments with al- most every variety of fruit and vegetable grown in the north temperate zone. Ile was an espe- cial devotee to progress in agriculture and horti- culture, and gave liberally of his time and money to this cause."
Neither did Mr. Isaacs neglect to take a place of leadership in political matters. He represented Walla Walla county in the terri- torial council of 1885-6, at which session he introduced the bill establishing the state peni- tentiary at Walla Walla.
"Mr. Isaacs was the first to attempt to in- chutce G. W. Ilunt to try the construction of the Washington & Columbia river line from Dayton to Wallula, and thence to Pendleton, and the line was successfully built and op- erated. He was the president of the Commer- cial Club at the time, and used every effort to secure the early construction of the road. He lived to see it in a prosperous condition, op- erating with good stock and making money for the stockholders, as well as serving the farmers of a large stretch of country."
"But few other men in all Washington have become so thoroughly conversant with the state, with all its varied interests. or were so much enthused with the success of its enter- prises as Mr. Isaacs; and but few men have been permitted to take so active a part in the development of the section of country in which he had chosen his home."
In the passing of Mr. Isaacs, which oc- curred July 14, 1900, the state of Wash- ington, and in fact the entire Pacific north- west, lost a citizen of inestimable value, a true and sincere friend of progress and a man whose cherished aspirations were to promote their highest and best welfare.
314
HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.
JAY H. II.ALL, deceased, a pioneer of 1886, was born in Smith county, Virginia, on September 5. 1832. He received his education in a public school of that state, then worked on his father's farm until nineteen years of age, when he went to Tennessee and engaged in farming on his own account. When the war broke out he removed to Irving, Kentucky. and he was engaged in running a ferry across the river at that point as long as hostilities lasted. He did an excellent business notwith- standing the fact that he conveyed many sol- diers across the river, from whom he received no recompense.
After the war Mr. Hall went back to Clay- burn county, Tennessee, where he had a farm. He remained there until 1884. then removed to Brown county, Texas, where for some time he was engaged in raising oats, cotton and corn. Subsequently, however, he removed to Port- land, Oregon, whence, the next spring, he came to the Walla Walla valley. After prospecting for land for almost the entire summer, he finally purchased three hundred acres of land on the Touchet river, two miles north of Touchet station, and he was engaged in farm- ing this until his death, which occurred June 10, 1 899.
Mr. Hall was one of the good, substantial citizens of the county, and while he never seemed to care for any office and displayed no ambition to be a leader among his fellow men, he was universally respected as a man of integrity and worth. He was married in Clay- burn county, Tennessee, on November 15, 1847, to Miss Eliza Nunn, a native of that county and state, and to their union were born thirteen children, eight of whom are living, namely : Thomas and John, with their mother ; William, on a farm on the Touchet river: J. Il .. Jr., a cotton planter in Arkansas : Amanda
B., wife of Albert Burns: Lucinda, now Mrs. Herbert Hanson ; Mollie, wife of Allen Burns. of Echo, Oregon; and Sally, wife of William Rand, of Wallula, Washington.
ELLSWORTH E. SHAW, M. D .- Num- bered among the representative and success- ful physicians of Walla Walla is Dr. Shaw, who has been a resident of this city since 1888. Dr. Shaw is a native of the old Pine Tree state, having been born in Palmyra, Maine, in the year 1859. His initial educa- tional discipline was secured in the public schools, after which he matriculated in Bow- doin College and subsequently in Dartmouth, where he completed a course in the medical department, graduating with the degree of Doctor of Medicine, in the year 1884. He has still farther reinforced his professional train- ing by a post-graduate course in the Bellevue Hospital Medical College, in New York city.
Dr. Shaw began the practice of his profes- sion in Fort Fairfield, Maine, where he con- tinued to reside for a period of five years, when he determined to avail himself of the superior opportunities afforded in the west. Accordingly, in 1888, he came to Walla Walla, as has been before mentioned. The Doctor is a member of the State Medical Society, the Inland Empire Medical Society and the Ore- gon Medical Society, while in his fraternal re- lations he is identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. He has maintained a constant interest in the public affairs of a local nature and is at the present time a di- rector of the public library, being chairman of the board.
The marriage of the Doctor was solem-
315
HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.
mized in Lawrence, Massachusetts, in 1885, when he was united to Miss Mary Felker. Their home is at 222 Jones street.
IION. JAMES MCAULIFF, a pioneer of 1859, was born on the island of Malta, May 25, 1828. In 1842 he came with his parents to the United States, locating with them in Youngstown, New York. When Mr. McAuliff became seventeen, he enlisted in the United States army, as a musician, and before long he found himself in active service in the Mexi- can war. He participated in the battles of Vera Cruz, Cerro Gordo, Contreras, Churubusco, and in numerous skirmishes, and was active at the storming of Chepultepec and the taking of the City of Mexico, serving in the Second United States Infantry. At the close of hostilities he was sent to Fort Hamilton, New York harbor, whence, shortly afterward, his regiment was ordered to Benicia, California, but he with others was transferred and sent to Governor's Island, for assignment. He was assigned to Company K. Fourth Infantry, and sent to Fort Gratiot, Michigan, remaining there from that time until 1852, when his regiment was or- ciered to the Pacific coast. He remained in Van- couver Barracks for a time, eventually going thence to The Dalles, Oregon, where in 1855 Mr. McAuliff was honorably discharged, with the rank of first duty sergeant. During the Mexican war he was twice wounded. The first was a saber cut on the left shoulder received in a hand to hand contest with four Mexicans. while he was carrying dispatches, and the sec- ond was a gun-shot wound received in a street fight at the taking of the City of Mexico.
After retiring from the army our subject opened a general merchandise store in The
Dalles, which was maintained until 1861. In 1859 he opened a branch store in Walla Walla, near which city he had some time before par- ticipated in the famous four-days' fight at Whitman Station, in which three hundred and fifty volunteers under Lieutenant-Colonel James K. Kelly were surrounded by thousands of Indians. They suffered great hardships during this memorable campaign, at one time being compelled to live on horse-flesh alone for three weeks.
Mr. McAuliff maintained the store in Walla Walla until 1862, though twice burned out prior to that time without insurance. The next year he opened a general merchandise store ir Idaho City, but this also was burned out in 1865, proving a total loss. Misfortunes of one kind and another followed him for years after. In 1883 he opened a lumber yard in Walla Walla which was supplied by a large mill owned by him in the Blue mountains, twen- ty-three miles south of town. The mill was burned and four hundred and fifty thousand feet of lumber, the loss being about six thou- sand five hundred dollars, none of which was covered by insurance. He sent a pack train to the Kootenai mines in 1875, loaded with five thousand dollars worth of merchandise, all of which, except a case of gum boots, was lost in the Snake river by the overturning of a ferry. His great energy and business ability were, however, such as to enable him to, in large measure, defy misfortune, and he has done well financially in spite of disaster.
For years Mr. Mc. Auliff has been a very prominent man in political affairs of city, coun- ty and state. From 1862 to 1867 he held the office of county treasurer, and on retiring from that position was at once called upon to fill an unexpired term as sheriff. He held this office by appointment and election for four years.
316
HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.
During the session of 1864-5, he represented the county in the territorial legislature, hav- ing been elected to do so on the Democratic ticket. He was a member of Walla Walla's first city council, and for ten years he sat in the seat of its chief executive, so that he has seen his share of public service.
Our subject is a charter member of Walla W'alla Lodge No. 7. F. & A. M., of Washing- ton Lodge, No. 2, I. O. O. F., and of the K. of P., and he also affiliates with the Eagles. He was married in Port Huron, Michigan, May 24, 1850, to Miss Isabella Kincaid, who died in Walla Walla November 19, 1889, leav- ing four children : Annie P., wife of Dr. W. B. Clowe; Thomas, a resident of Spokane; William, a farmer in Toppenish, Washington ; and Frank, a farmer in the same locality.
JOHN JACOB KAUFFMAN .- Though a young man yet, the date of his birth being May 25, 1869, the man whose name forms the caption of this article has for several years been regarded as one of the leading spirits of Walla Walla. He has proved himself a man of ability, good judgment and faithfulness in the various positions of trust which he has held, and his broad-minded public spirit and unselfish inter- est in the welfare of the city have been mani- fested by his long and faithful service as a member of the volunteer fire department.
Ile is a native of Wayland, Henry county, Iowa, and there he took his first steps in the ac- quisition of knowledge, but in January, 1883, he accompanied the remainder of the family to Walla Walla. He attended the local public schools here for some time, then entered the Empire Business College in which he took a complete course, though forced to do all his
studying and reciting at nights, his time during the day being devoted to clerking.
His first employers were the firm of M. C. Wheelan & Company, for whom he worked six' months. He then entered the service of John Alheit, remaining with him for one year. In 1886, he accepted a position with W. G. Cullen, the hardware merchant, who profited by his efficient service for many years. At the same time Mr. Kauffman was devoting his leisure moments to the volunteer fire department, with which he became identified first in 1887, when he joined Tiger Engine Company, No. I. His enthusiam and devotion to duty soon be- gan to be recognized and he was asked to accept several different offices, among them that of as- sistant foreman, a position which he held for several terms. In 1892. he was transferred to Rescue Engine company, No. 2: in 1895, he was elected chief engineer of the entire depart- ment, and so efficient was his service that in 1896 he was re-elected. In September of the same year, he was appointed by the city council to fill the unexpired term of MI. Ames, chief of police, and in 1897 he was chosen by a majority of the electors for the same responsible office. In his discharge of the duties of this post he has displayed unusual ability, and it may be doubted whether any city in the state can boast of a more efficient police officer than he lias proven. As a direct result of his labors during the years of his incumbency of the position (for the citizens, recognizing his efficiency, have three times re-elected him) eighty-one law breakers guilty of penitentiary offenses have been apprehended and compelled to un- dergo the penalty of the law. Space forbids specific notice of all his noteworthy arrests, but they include that of J. E. Stephens, who many times committed the crime of arson in Walla Walla, and that of Hamilton and Ken-
317
HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.
nedy, notorious burglars, the interception of whom was compassed in May, 1897.
Mr. Kauffman's well developed social tem- perament inclines him to take great interest in fraternal organizations and he belongs to the Masons, the Elks, the Knights of Pythias, the Forresters, the Maennerchor and the Eagles.
Our subject's marriage was solemnized in Walla Walla on October 21, 1891, when he became the husband of Miss Stella M. Butler, a native of the valley, and a daughter of an old pioneer of the Coast, "a forty-niner," and a respected contractor of Walla Walla.
DION KEEFE, contractor and farmer, a pioneer of 1872, was born in New York state, in 1838. He passed the first twelve years of his life there, attending the public schools, then went to Ontario, Canada, where he attended school for four years more. When twenty-one, he removed to Chicago. He lived in that city for the ensuing thirteen years, serving either as foreman or superintendent in the construction of various bridges, both for general traffic and for the railroads. He subsequently built bridges in Wisconsin, Michigan, Iowa, Mis- souri, Kansas, Alabama and Florida. He was in the last-named state at Pensacola when the war broke out, but he then came home at once, and entered the employ of the Fox & Howard Company. Later he went to work on govern- ment contracts, mostly in Missouri, for Chapin & Wells.
Subsequently Mr. Keefe moved to Sioux City, Iowa. to accept a position from John I. Blair & Company, as bridge constructor on their railway. When that was completed he, with a Mr. Wattles, took a contract to build the bridges on the railroad between Sioux City and
Fort Dodge. That completed, our subject worked for some time in grading and bridging on the Sioux and Yankton Railroad, and on the Elk Horn and Missouri Valley road, but in 1872 he came out to Walla Walla, bought a farm three miles south of town, and engaged in agricultural pursuits. Six years later, how- ever, he sold this and moved into the town. Since that time he has owned several farms, and has done much contracting, getting out timber for the Great Northern Railroad Com- pany, putting in the electric light plant, etc. He has also done some mining and has been in- terested in the flour mill business both here and in Grande Ronde valley, Oregon.
Mr. Keefe is a remarkably versatile man, possessing the ability to do a great many things, and to carry on a great variety of businesses successfully. In spite of the many calls upon his time he has found leisure to perform his duties as a citizen, always taking a lively inter- est in local politics, and at one time serving as county commissioner. He was married in Sioux City, Iowa, in 1870, to Elizabeth Kinzie, a native of Michigan, who accompanied him to Walla Walla in 1872. They became parents of one child. Ida A. Mrs. Keefe died at Walla Walla in November, 1898.
CARL SCHUMACHER, deceased, a pio- neer of 1865, was born in Germany in 1831. He resided in his fatherland until nineteen years of age, receiving such education as is customarily given to German youth, and after- wards learning the trade of a gunsmith. He then emigrated to San Francisco, where for a number of years he followed his handicraft. In 1860, he was married in flumboklt Bay to Mathilde Kruger, who, in 1865, accompanie 1
318
HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.
him to Walla Walla. Here he opened a gun shop and store. For many years afterwards he continued in business as a gunsmith, meeting with great prosperity, and accumulating much valuable property. He built the Hotel State, which still belongs to the family, and he also left them several houses and much real estate. Mr. Schumacher was a thoroughly reliable. conscientious man, commanding universal es- teen1. lle always endeavored to do his part part for the advancement of the common weal, and contributed his full share toward the growth and prosperity of the city. For a num- ber of years he served as a member of the volunteer fire department. He died September 10. 1898, leaving one son. Walter, who now resides in Portand, Oregon, but intends soon to return to Walla Walla and make his permanent home here in order to be more conveniently lo- cated as manager of his own and his mother's interests.
FRANCIS M. LOWDEN, JR., a farmer and stock raiser, member of the Lowden Com- pany, was born in Walla Walla county, on January 21. 1876. He acquired his education in the public schools of the neighborhood and in Pullman College, in which institution he took a three-years' course in civil engineering. After leaving school he returned to the farm, and when the present firm was formed he was given charge of the stock raising department. He has been discharging his duties as such ever since 1898, and is still doing so. Mr. Lowden is a young man of ability and good judgment, thoroughly conversant with the business in which he is engaged, and destined, as it would seem, to bear an important part in the future material and industrial development of the county.
MARSILALL J. LOWDEN. president and business manager of the Lowden Co., was born in this county on February 25, 1870. He received his education in the public schools and in Whitman College, also took a course in the Empire Business College. He then returned to his father's farm and was engaged with him in the business of raising thoroughbred Clyde horses and Shorthorn cattle, until the Lowden Co. was formed. He then became president and business manager of the firm, a position which he still retains and the duties of which he has discharged successfully from the first. He is a young man of energy, good judgment and unusual business ability, qualified by nature and educational training for the arduous and difficult tasks imposed upon him by his present situation. The firm have three thousand, eight hundred acres and while their principal busi- ness is raising cattle and horses, they also keep about two thousand sheep and raise wheat and barley for feed and for sale. They are owners of "Bonhard," a fine Clyde stallion, imported from Scotland into Canada, and brought thence to the United States. His weight is one thou- sand, six hundred pounds. Mr. Lowden was married in Walla Walla on March 3. 1898. to Miss Emma Thompson, a native of this city. whose father, Robert Thompson, was an early pioneer of Washington. Ilis life history is briefly recorded in another part of this volume.
JOHN DOOLEY, hay and grain farmer on the Walla Walla river, one-half mile east of Touchet Station, was born in county Cork, Ireland, in 1850. He acquired his education there, but when only twenty years old emi- grated to Boston, Massachusetts, where he worked for wages a while, his first job being to
319
HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.
help clear away the debris after the big fire. For five years he made his home in that city, but he then removed to San Francisco, via the Panama route, and for the two years follow- ing his arrival he was engaged in the meat business. He then worked in various parts of the state, mostly as a farm hand, for a number of years, but at length came to The Dalles, Oregon, where he entered the employ of the Oregon Railway & Navigation Company. He helped to build the Wallula branch through Walla Walla to the Snake river, also partici- pated in the construction of the road to Hunt- ington.
Mr. Dooley then entered the employ of the Northern Pacific Railroad Company, and worked for them at the Cascade tunnel for a year and nine months, at the end of which time he came back to Walla Walla. He worked here for wages a while, but afterwards took a home- stead near Touchet Station, where he has re- sided for about sixteen years, engaged in farm- ing. He is a thrifty, industrious man and a successful agriculturist. In this county, in 1884, our subject married Miss Kate Martin, who was born in Ireland but reared and edu- cated in Glasgow, Scotland. They have three children, Mary C., John T. and Annie, all stu- dents in the Catholic School in Walla Walla. The entire family are of the Catholic persua- sion.
LOUIS SCHOLL, architect at Walla Walla, was born in Germany in 1829, and there the first seventeen years of his life were passed. He received his education in the Lyceum Poly- technic school, and in other institutions, study- ing engineering and architecture. In 1848, he emigrated to the United States. He kept store two years in New York, then tried farm-
ing in St. Charles, Missouri, for a like period. In 1852 he crossed the plains to California, and the following spring he set out alone over the Sierra Nevada mountains to purchase cat- tle from immigrants. He followed that plan for two summers, meeting with some exciting adventures, and at one time being robbed of his pack animals.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.