USA > Washington > Walla Walla County > An illustrated history of Walla Walla County, state of Washington > Part 56
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 1858, however. Mr. Mckinney again came to this state, and after spending one year in the service of the government as a packer, located in Walla Walla county. He was en- gaged in stock raising, packing and mining for about two years, then took a homestead, and gave his whole attention to farming and cattle. A thrifty, industrious man, he has prospered from the start, and has continued to increase his real estate holdings, until he is
now the owner of five hundred and fifty-three acres, with all buildings, implements, and stock necessary for farming it in a first-class manner.
On December 14, 1865, Mr. Mckinney married Miss Sarah Poulson, a native of Illi- nois, and a pioneer of the west of 1864. They have four children, Frank, a bookkeeper ; Will- iam E., a farmer; Thomas V., a clerk; and Emma, a dressmaker.
CLINTON STETSON, deceased, a pio- neer of Walla Walla valley of a very early date, was born in the vicinity of Racine, Wisconsin, ir 1828. He received his education in the public schools of his native state and in Racine College, then taught school for several years. Finally, he came via the isthmus of Panama to California, but after a brief residence there, re- moved to the Walla Walla valley, homesteaded one hundred and sixty acres on the Tumalum river, and engaged in farming. He had been a leading man in Wisconsin, and the same qualities which gained him prominence there soon began to be realized in his new home. He was one of the representative men of the Republican party, and in 1868 was its candi- date for the legislature, but was defeated by a very narrow majority, though the county was at that time strongly Democratic. He served as school director and clerk in his district for several terms, and always did everything in his power to advance the cause of education in which he was a thorough believer.
Mr. Stetson was married on January 10, 1863. to Mary A. Dutton, a native of Fulton county. Illinois, who came to the valley in 1862. They became parents of four children, AAmy O., wife of Henry Sexton. of Enterprise, Oregon : Augusta II., wife of Harve Ilodgen,
394
HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.
of Adams county, Washington ; Susan M., wife of .A. Frank Keys, sheriff of Walla Walla county ; and Orlando C., now working his mother's place. . At the time of the Cayuse war. Mr. Stetson furnished horses for the use of the state government. He died March 26, 1873. and his remains are at rest in Ford cemetery. The family are members of the Methodist Episcopal church.
ROBERT H. OSBORN. proprietor of the Bazaar at 223 W. Main street. Walla Walla, was born in Illinois in 1837. He resided there until. in 1852, the family started across the plains to Oregon, then he, of course, came with them. After six months of continuous travel they finally came to a halt in the beautiful Yamhill county, Oregon. Mr. Osborn com- pleted his education in Salem Academy, where he studied for two years, then engaged in farming. Later he turned his attention to stock raising. For many years that was his business. and he followed it successfully both in Yamhill and in Wasco counties, Oregon ; indeed, for the first two years after coming to Walla Walla county, Washington, he devoted his energies to the same industry. But in 1891 he embarked in the mercantile business, start- ing with a stock of candy and afterwards add- ing notions. He is a good business man, and carries a large stock of merchandise.
Being a very old pioneer of the west Mr. Osborn has seen his share of Indian warfare. In 1864 he enlisted in Company B. First Ore- gon Volunteer Infantry, for service in Idaho against the Snake river Indians and their al- lies. He participated in several severe engage- ments, but the principal duty assigned to his company was to guard the passes for the pur-
pose of preventing the Cayuses from entering the Willamette valley.
Mr. Osborn has always been a progressive, enterprising man, and has contributed not a little to the material and industrial develop- ment of the coast, in the nearly half a century of his residence in Oregon and Washington. He was married in Yamhill county, Oregon, in 1858, to Miss Martha Lady, who died in 1870. By this wife he had four children : Frank, now a farmer; Ada, now Mrs. Griffith, a resident of California ; Emrel, deceased; and Lincoln, an undertaker in San Francisco. In 1870 Mr. Osborn was again married, the lady being Mrs. Orton, and in 1887 she also died.
PETER STRAHM .- Among those prom- inently identified with the agricultural develop- ment of the section of the country contiguous to Dixie, Mr. Strahm is deserving of especial mention. He was born on the 7th of July, 1836, in the vicinity of that Ohio town, which has since become so well known as the home of William McKinley. As soon as his public school education was completed he began work with his father, a millwright of ability, con- tinuing in the employ of the latter until the in- tricacies of that difficult handicraft were thor- oughly mastered.
In 1864 Mr. Strahm came out to Oregon, working his way on the railroad as far as that extended and making the remainder of the journey overland. During the three years subsequent to the date of his arrival he fol- lowed his trade in Salem, Oregon, but he thereupon removed to Walla Walla county, took up land, and engaged in farming. Pros- perity attended his efforts from the very be- ginning ; he soon became a leader among the
395
HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.
agriculturists of his section, and he has con- tinned to occupy a position of prominence among them ever since. At the present time he is the owner of six hundred acres of land, situated about two miles northeast of Dixie. The air of thrift which everywhere pervades his premises bears eloquent testimony to his industry and good management, and confirms his title to a rank among the eminently suc- cessful in his particular branch of industry. As a man and citizen his standing in the com- munity is of the highest.
Mr. Stralım was married in Walla Walla county on the 7th of April, 1873, to Miss Sarah Arthion, a native of Iowa, and a mem- ber of an old and respected pioneer family. They have six children, namely: Lydia A., now Mrs. John Bane; Charles E., a farmer; Ella, wife of Augustus Augustavo, of Walla Walla; William, Emma and Jennie. Mrs. Strahm's father died in the valley some years ago, but her mother still resides on the Touchet.
JOHN D. McCOY, son of Thomas K. and Margaret A., was born in Umatilla county, Oregon, on October 9, 1860, on his father's homestead on the Tumalum river. He grew to man's estate in the valley, receiving the advantage of a thorough education in Mrs. Chamberlain's private school and in Whitman Seminary. After leaving school he engaged in stock raising in Wasco county, Oregon, near The Dalles, and he followed that indus- try there for six or eight years, afterwards moving his stock to the Snake river, where opportunity was afforded for taking homestead land, and where there was abundance of range for cattle.
Mr. McCoy took a quarter-section of gov-
ernment land, and remained on it continuously until May 24, 1900, when he sold his place and stock and moved permanently to his present residence on the Telephone road, where is the. portion of his father's estate that fell to him. He also has one hundred and sixty acres of land on the Tumalum river, a part of the pa- ternal homestead, and upon these two places he is raising hay principally. It is his intention to work into the dairy business, and he already has quite a herd of milch cows, all fine Jersey stock.
Mr. McCoy is uniformly esteemed and re- spected wherever known, his standing in this community being an enviable one. For three years he has been school director of his dis- trict. In Umatilla county, on July 18, 1882, he married Miss Rose D. Olmstead, a native of Oregon, and they have four children living, namely : Rowena A., G. Pauline, J. Leon and Marcus R., all at home. Mrs. McCoy's par- ents were early settlers on the Tamalum river, and were well known and respected in Walla Walla, where her mother still lives and owns property, though her father died on the old home place in March, 1877.
WILLIAM A. NOBLE, 112 W. Main street, Walla Walla, was born in Illinois in 1865, and in that state he was reared and edu- cated. For several years after leaving school he was engaged in farming with his father, but in 1887 he came out to Walla Walla. For the four years following the date of his arrival here, he spent most of his time in warehouse work, but when not engaged in that line he busied himself in other directions. In 1890, however, he opened a place of business in the city, and he has been in commercial pursuits
396
HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.
ever since, only once changing locations in that time. In fraternal affiliations Mr. Noble is identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and the Eagles. He was married in Walla Walla in 1889 to Miss Sarah J. Rags- clill, a native of Tennessee, and to their union have been born five children, namely: Grace, Orva. Ethel, William .A., Jr., and Charles Ed- ward.
JOEL WOODS, one of the enterprising farmers and extensive real estate owners of Walla Walla county, is a native of New York. born August 3. 1844. While in early infancy he was taken by his parents to Michigan. The family, however, soon returned to New York. and in 1850 they made quite an extensive tour via Canada to Detroit, thience by steamer to Chicago, from that city direct to Janesville. Wisconsin, and back to New York. They farmed in the last mentioned state four years, then went to Michigan and were engaged in the dual occupation of farming and lumbering for three years more. Their next move was to lowa, but after spending a few months there and a few in Michigan they again returned to New York; only on a business trip, how- ever. When the object of the trip had been accomplished they came back to Michigan and again engaged in farming and teaming.
After a continuous residence of four years in that state Mr. Woods rejoined his father, who had gone to Indiana two years before, and after another two years had passed father and son bothi went to Wisconsin, the father to lo- cate a homestead, the son to assist in clearing and improving it.
In 1868 the young Mr. Woods moved to Minnesota and made use of his own homestead right. He farmed there until 1877. then set
out across the plains to Grande Ronde val- ley, where for two and a half years he followed farming and stockraising. He next came to the vicinity of Waitsburg, bought land, and continued his former occupation in his new home. A thrifty, industrious man, he took advantage of every opportunity offered by the newness of the country, and the natural fertil- ity of the soil, with the result that he is now one of the leading farmers in Walla Walla county, his farm consisting of four thousand acres of excellent wheat land.
Mr. Woods was married in Wisconsin, in March, 1871, to Miss Viola M. Hull, a native of that state, and of their marriage eleven chil- dren have been born: Morris A., Walter J., Harriet E., Mary M., Ethel V., Chester J., Charles A., Elmer L., Ruth S., Emerson E. and Harry L.
EDWARD D. MILLS, a farmer at Waits- burg, is a native of Iowa, born January 29, 1842. When two years old, he was taken by his parents to Kentucky, and there the next decade of his life was passed. He then spent five years on a farm in Missouri, after which he crossed the plains to Shasta county, Cali- fornia, arriving in 1859. He was engaged in mining and teaming there until 1865. then came to the vicinity of Dixie, Washington. took a homestead and engaged in farming and stock raising. Ile lived in that locality several years. but finally sold his farm, bought an- other near Waitsburg, and resumed his accus- tomed occupation. He has a fine farm, join- ing the city on the west, and valuable not only for its natural productiveness, but es- pecially so on account of its favorable location.
Mr. Mills is one of the solid and substantial citizens of that section, and enjoys the confi-
397
HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.
dence and good will of his neighbors generally. He was married in this county, November 30, 1870, to Miss Mary M. Dickinson, a native of Indiana, who crossed the plains with her par- ents in 1863. The family located four miles south of Waitsburg, and in the district school of that neighborhood she completed her educa- tion. She is an active member of the Women of Woodcraft, Circle No. 157, of Waitsburg.
Mr. and Mrs. Mills are parents of six chil- dren, living, Abbie B., Frank P., Charlie A., Florence L., Harlan F., and Harvey D.
:
HENRY W. HASTINGS, deccased .- Though the man whose name initiates this re- view was not permitted to live to a great age, he assisted in the early development of two western states, stamping upon the communities in which he lived the impress of his vigorous personality. He was born in Arkansas in 1842, and in that state the first nineteen years of his life were passed and his education was ac- quired. In 1861, however, he crossed the plains with ox-teams to Benton county, Ore- gon, bringing with him the courageous young woman who had recently become his bride.
The couple arrived in due season and be- gan tilling the soil of the new country, Mr. Hastings also giving some attention to the more exciting occupation of mining. They met with excellent success in their initial ef- forts to secure a competency, but thought they could do better in the rich Walla Walla val- ley, so in 1865 moved over to this section. Se- curing land three miles east of Dixie, they be- gan to develop a home for themselves, and there they lived and toiled together until, in 1884, (leath overtook the head of the family. Mrs. Hastings lived on the original home for sev-
eral years longer, but at present she is a resi- dent of Whitman county.
Recapitulating briefly the history of this respected family we may say that the marriage of our subject and Miss Sarah E. Hubbard, to whom we have hitherto referred as Mrs. Hastings, was solemnized in 1861, in Arkan- sas, the birthplace of both the contracting parties, and that the issue of their union was nine children, namely : William T., a farmer ; Minnie, wife of Frank McGhee, of Walla Walla; Thomas J., a farmer in Whitman coun- ty; Alice M., wife of George McCrosky, of Whitman county; Ethel, wife of Frank Van Winkle, of Walla Walla; also Henry C., Al- bert L., Richard W. and Elmer F., residents of Whitman county.
William T., who now has charge of the parental farm, was born in Oregon on the 6th of January, 1863. He was, however, reared and educated in this valley, his parents hay- ing, as before intimated, brought him here in 1865. He early engaged in farming and stock raising, and to these industries his ener- gies have been devoted continuously since. He is a successful farmer, a good citizen and au esteemed and respected member of society. He was married in Walla Walla county, De- cember 18, 1885, to Martha J. Smith, a native of the valley, who died July 26, 1897, leaving five children, namely : Thomas O., Joseph E., William H., Albert W. and Frank A.
WILLIAM A. STRUTHERS, a farmer near Eureka Junction, was born and reared in the state of Minnesota. He received a public school education. When the time came for him to start in life for himself, he naturally turned to farming. having been brought up
398
HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.
from boyhood in that occupation, and he has clung closely to that calling ever since. In 1889 he came to Walla Walla county and pur- chased three hundred and twenty acres half a mile south of Eureka Junction. This he has been farming ever since continuously, but his energy and ambition are too great to be con- fined even in the generous limits of a half-sec- tion, so he rents and farms nine hundred acres more. Ile is a man of integrity, and enjoys an enviable standing in the community in which he lives. Mr. Struthers was married in Walla Walla county, on August 27, 1893. to Miss Maggie McDonald, a native of Nevada, who died May 8, 1900, leaving one daughter, Hazel MI., born September 6, 1894. and now living with her grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. T. J. McDonald.
JOHN W. BREWER, a mail carrier in Walla Walla, was born in Wasco county, Ore- gon, in 1873. When very young he was taken by his parents to the Willamette valley, whence two years later he was brought to Walla Walla county. He lived on the farm with his parents until ten years old, attending school during terin time, then moved with the remainder of the family into Walla Walla, where he finished the grammar grade.
In 1889 the entire family moved to Seattle, and here Mr. Brewer took a high-school course, graduating in 1895. While pursuing his studies he organized the High School Cadets, a company which under his captaincy became the banner cadet company of the state. After graduation he took a course in bookkeeping in. Wilson's Modern Business College, then taught in the same institution for a year. Re- turning to Walla Walla in 1897 he purchased the Empire Business College, which was owned
and controlled by him until the close of the term in 1889, when he sold out and accepted a position as carrier in the postal service. He is also bookkeeper for U. G. Bean, a furniture dealer.
In April, 1898, responding to the call of patriotism, Mr. Brewer enlisted in Company I, Washington Volunteers, for service in the IPhilippines. He went as far as San Francisco, but while awaiting orders to proceed he was called home by the illness of his father, leav- ing at first on a furlough, but eventually being discharged.
Mr. Brewer is a young man of unusual ability, and possesses a degree of energy and force of character which enables him to make good use of his other natural endowments. Prophetic vision is not necessary to enable one to discern before him a career of success and usefulness. He is quite a prominent member of the I. O. G. T., of which he is at present grand treasurer for this state. On March 29, 1899, he was married, in Walla Walla, to Miss Jen- nie M. Markham, a resident of this city, and they are the parents of one child, John W., Jr.
EDWARD LOGAN, a carpenter and builder, was born in Guernsey county, Ohio, July 4. 1847. Ile grew to manhood in his native state, receiving a good education, and subsequently learning the trade of a carpenter. Hle worked at his handicraft there for a num- her of years, but in 1879 removed to Colorado, located at Loveland, and again engaged in car- penter work. After a residence of a year there he came to Walla Walla county and home- steaded one hundred and sixty acres of land in the vicinity of Eureka Junction, pre-empting another one hundred and sixty acres adjoining.
399
HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.
This he farmed for about seven years contin- lines of activity in Missouri and Iowa for a uously, raising wheat.
Preferring to work at his trade, however, hic has rented his land most of the time since 1887, and given his attention to building. He has devoted the assiduous efforts of many years to acquiring a mastery of the intricate handicraft which he chose for his own, and has, as might be expected, a high degree of skill, so that his services are constantly in de- mand.
While living in his old home in Ohio Mr. Logan was a member of the Presbyterian church established in his neighborhood, but since coming west he has never connected him- self with any church society.
JUSTUS MICHEL, deceased .- A very early pioneer and an industrious, thrifty agri- culturist, the man whose name gives caption to this article is well deserving of representation in a volume of this character for the liberal contribution which he made to the industrial development of the county, while his life and relations with his fellow men were always so ordered as to procure for him the esteem and regard of those with whom he was associated.
Like many other respected citizens of the west, he was born in Germany, the date of his advent onto the stage of action being Decem- ber 9, 1833. He received the customary public- school education, and complied with the re- quirements of his fatherland with regard to service in the German army, but when this duty was discharged he at once set sail for the new world.
Locating in Baltimore, Maryland, he worked as a cooper, also learned the trade of a cigar-maker. He afterward followed these
number of years. In 1865 he crossed the plains in the customary fashion of those days to Walla Walla county, homesteaded a place four miles southeast of Dixie, bought a quarter-sec- tion of railroad land adjoining and directed his energies to agricultural pursuits and stock raising. In these industries he was successful from the beginning, soon becoming one of the leading ranchmen of the section. He continued in the business of farming and stock raising uninterruptedly until his death, the date of which is September 7, 1894.
Mr. Michel was married in Missouri, Oc- tober 24, 1858, to Miss Martha Dodge, a na- tive of Illinois, and to them were born seven children, namely : A. Anna, wife of John W. Burkhart; Ella J., wife of Orville France, of Whitman county ; Justus I., residing at Sunset ; Charles H., Alice M. and Otto B., living; and Thomas, deceased.
Mrs. Michel's father, Thomas E. Dodge, was an early pioneer of Illinois, being the sec- ond white man to settle in St. Charles, that state. Her mother was a member of the old and respected Upton family, the founders of which in America came to the new world in the sixteenth century.
MRS. ELIZABETH J. BLANCHARD, a hotel keeper and farmer, residing at Eureka Junction, was born in Arkansas July 7, 1844. She crossed the plains with the remainder of her family in 1859, and since that date her life has been linked with the destinies of Walla Walla valley. There were only eight white women in the valley at this time, and not a school or a church closer than The Dalles, Oregon.
400
HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.
Her father bought a squatter's right and engaged in farming and stock raising, and she lived with him until June 27, 1861, when she married Mr. A. A. Blanchard. The latter also bought a claim and engaged in farming, stock raising and teaming. while Mrs. Blan- chard, wishing to contribute her share toward the establishment of a home, attended to the butter making. They lived on the original homestead for thirteen years, then moved to the town of Walla Walla, continuing. however, in their former occupation, that of stock rais- ing. Fourteen years were passed in this lo- cality, and during that time they witnessed the gradual growth and development of the town. there being only one store in the place when they first moved into the valley.
About 1888 they sold their interests in the vicinity of Walla Walla. moved to Eureka Junction, bought more land and engaged in the dual occupation of farming and hotel keep- ing. In 1898 Mr. Blanchard died, but his widow, having learned self-reliance in the hard school of a pioneer country, has carried on both the farming and the hotel keeping suc- cessfully alone. personally managing her wheat farm of six hundred and forty acres, the same being the land upon which Eureka Junction is located.
Mrs. Blanchard is an active member of the Free Baptist church. She is deeply interested in the establishment of a first-class institution of learning in the Junction, under the auspices of that denomination, and has shown her in- terest in a very substantial way, donating ten acres of her land for the use of the school. She is a thoroughly sincere, good woman, de- voted heart and soul to the advancement of the cause of Christ and the uplifting of hu- manity.
Mr. and Mrs. Blanchard had no children of
their own, but have reared and educated four, taking them in childhood and training them to become respected members of society. The first was the infant child of an esteemed friend. She is now Mrs. Fredelle Sharp, wife of a farmer on the Touchet river; the second, a daughter of Mrs. Blanchard's brother, is now the wife of William Mann, of Eureka; the re- maining two are Clara and Dora McElhaney, who still reside with Mrs. Blanchard.
ANDREW C. MASTERSON, deceased, a pioneer of 1866, was a native of Kentucky, born December 14, 1840. He was, however, reared in Illinois and Iowa. In 1864 he crossed the plains with mule teams to Oregon and located in the vicinity of Albany, Linn county, where for a couple of years he was engaged in farm- ing. He then removed to this county, located a homestead on Cottonwood creek, six miles south of Walla Walla, and again embarked in farming and stock raising. An industrious thrifty man. he was very successful in this industry, and soon took rank among the lead- ing farmers of Walla Walla county. In 1880 Mr. Masterson retired from the farm, moved into the city of Walla Walla, and directed his attention to the loan business, in which he was afterwards engaged until May 6. 1883. when he died. In fraternal affiliations he was a Ma- son and a United Workman. On February 23. 1860. he married. in Davis county, Iowa. Miss Sinah Workman, a native of that state. and to them were born eight children: Emma J., wife of A. J. McManis : Sarah I., widow of Wallace Smith : Andrew C. and John, living : and Willie, Ilattie, May and Joseph, deceased. Mrs. Masterson crossed the plains with her husband in 1864, exemplifying the self-reliance
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.