USA > Washington > Walla Walla County > An illustrated history of Walla Walla County, state of Washington > Part 58
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JOIIN R. IIOOD. deceased .- No country of Europe has sent to our shores a larger num- ber of men who have distinguished themselves for their sterling integrity and sublime force of character than has "the land o' a Burns and the land o' a Watt." and no part of that coun- try has been more prolific of men who have won distinction under our flag than that which is known to the muses as "Caledonia." In one of the most favored towns of this "fair and wild" section the subject of this brief memoir was born, the date of his advent into this world being June 27. 1833. and the location of the parental hearthstone being Inverness, that his- toric city around which cluster events of past ages which have become familiar to all who have dipped even superficially into Scottish his- tory and Scottish lore.
Not less chivalrous than the heroes of his- tory and romance, Mr. Hood early conceived a passionate longing for adventure in distant lands, and this propensity grew with approach- ing manhood until at seventeen it forced him from the city which witnessed his birth and in which his education and early training had been received. He passed a year and a half
Professor Bratton is a young man of un- usual ability, scholarly in every respect, and endowed with an excellent faculty of impart- ing information. His zeal for the progress of the institution in which he is employed is mani- fested not alone by the faithfulness with which . in Glasgow as an academic professor, then, true he discharges his own particular duties, but to his ruling passion, took service aboard a sailing vessel bound for the East Indies. Two years later he was second officer on an East India merchant ship, and rising by dint of apti- ti:de and faithfulness to the position of first of- by the willingness he shows to be of service in other ways. For two years he was librarian of the college, making during that time the first card catalogue of its library. He next served
JOHN. R. HOOD.
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ficer he continued to follow the high seas for ten years. experiencing adventures which would. if recorded, fill a large volume.
Retiring from the sea in 1860, our subject settled at Vancouver, British Columbia, where he met and married Miss Catherine Moar, the date of their wedding being September 20 of that year. In April. 1861, the couple moved to the Walla Walla valley, where the home of the family has ever since been. The same fear- less daring which had characterized Mr. Hood while plowing the seas with his East India merchantman made him a typical pioneer, and ar efficient force in the work of bringing order out of primeval chaos and civilization out of barbarism. He became the owner of a fine farm of three hundred and twenty acres, all of which has been enclosed and brought to a high state of cultivation. This tract of land was the scene of his activities until January 14. 1892, when he succumbed to the foe which no man can conquer. On October 26, 1893. his wife followed him to the tomb.
Mr. Hood's life had been so ordered in all respects as to win for him the esteem and con- fidence of those whose good fortune it was to know him. and his memory is cherished by all who were neighbors to him in the early days of Walla Walla valley. In religion he was a consistent and active member of the Methodist Episcopal church.
Mr. and Mrs. Hood became the parents of two sons. John A. and Charles Edward. both of whom are represented more particularly in this work.
MARION KOGER. agent for the Pacific Coast Elevator Company at Dixie, a pioneer of 1877, was born in Polk county, Iowa. Feb- ruary 12. 1853. Before he was a year old he
was brought by his parents across the plains to Linn county, Oregon. He lived there until 1864. then went to Union county, where he grew to manhood. He acquired his educa- tion in the Columbia Commercial College, of Portland, Oregon, then engaged in farming, a business which he followed uninterruptedly until 1877, when he came to Walla Walla. Lo- cating subsequently at Waitsburg, this county, he again became a tiller of the soil. and that continued to be his business until 1884, in which year he moved to Dixie to engage in merchandising. Shortly afterwards he retired from that branch of trade and turned his at- tention to the business of buying. selling and storing wheat as the agent of the Pacific Coast Elevator Company, by which he is still em- ployed. Mr. Koger is an energetic, industrious business man, a good citizen, and an esteemed member of society. He is prominent in Odd Fellowship, having passed through all the chairs in Welcome Lodge, No. 117, and once served as representative to the grand lodge of the state. He is also financial secretary of the K. O. T. Mi .. of Dixie, and record keeper of Sunshine Lodge. No. 56. He was married. in Walla Walla. December 8. 1884, to Miss Sarah E. Eurgess, a native of Indiana, and a pioneer of 1873. They have four living children, John W .. Cassie MI .. Ernest and Uva Irena : also one, Marvin. deceased. Mrs. Koger is a member of the Baptist church of Dixie.
JONATHAN T. WISEMAN. a farmer residing in Walla Walla, a pioneer of 1853, was born in Warren county, Tennessee. Sep- tember 5. 1833. He was reared and educated in Arkansas, whither his father had taken him when he was five years oldl. His mother had died in 1836, and his father, one of the earliest
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settlers of Arkansas, also passed away in 1848.
When Mr. Wiseman reached the age of twenty years he started in life for himself, and knowing that the opportunities for a young man were better in the west, he at once started for California, making the trip with ox-teams. When the party reached Fort Bridger. just east of Salt Lake. Utah, they decided to come to Oregon. so directed their journey northward a little. Mr. Wiseman stopped three months at Whitman station, then proceeded to Port- land, where he remained until April. 1855. en- gaged as steward on the "Belle" and the "Lot Whitcomb." steamboats plying on the Colum- bia and Willamette rivers. After leaving their service he went to California to engage in placer mining in the Yreka district. In this he was fairly successful, but in June, 1857. he started on a return trip overland to Arkansas, the state in which his early youth had been passed, where he farmed for two years, there- after coming overland again, his objective point being Walla Walla. This was the third time he had crossed the plains.
Upon arriving here Mr. Wiseman took a homestead on Dry creek and engaged in the business of stock raising, an industry which he followed successfully for fifteen consecutive years. He then resided in Walla Walla for five years, thereafter purchasing a six-hundred- and-forty-acre farm on Eureka flat. which he still owns and farms, and on which he lived un- ti! 1808, when he moved back to the city. Our subject is the owner of an elegant home and six lots on Second street, and is passing the evening of his life in peace and abundance. He has long been a leader in the industrial develop- ment of the county, and has manifested an active interest in the public institutions of his vicinity and in the cause of education. Ile
served as school director in his district for twelve years.
Mr. Wiseman married, on March 20. 1859. Miss Nancy E. Estes, a native of Arkansas. and their union has been blest by the advent of eleven children : William N. : Jeff Davis : Jo- sephine. now Mrs. Harry Abbott. of Walla Walla: Irene F., wife of Thomas Cope, of Clyde. Washington: Mary E., wife of Joseph Harvey, of this city: Charles H., deceased ; Dollie E .. B. Ethel. Martha E., Thomas Arthur, Elmer E .. all at home with their par- ents. The family are members of the First Christian church of Walla Walla.
Mrs. Wiseman's father. Mr. Thomas Estes. was born in North Carolina in March, 1799. He came to this valley in 1861. and died here in August. 1886. His good wife followed him to the tomb on November 19. 1889. and the two lie buried together in the cemetery on Eureka flat. Mr. Estes was a strong southern Democrat, but was always an opponent of slavery and never owned a slave. Both he and Mrs. Estes were highly esteemed by all, and possessed the sincere affection of not a few.
FRANCIS I. SIMPSON, farmer and blacksmith, is a son of the west, having been born in the state of Oregon on June 6. 1864. He received such education as the public schools afforded. then engaged in the stock business. an industry which he followed until 1893. 11e then came to Spokane and engaged in farm work for a couple of years, but in 1895 he moved to the vicinity of Clyde, purchased land and engaged in farming. He now owns and cultivates three hundred and eighty acres of land in that neighborhood, on which he raises wheat principally. He is one of the good. sub-
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stantial citizens of the county, public-spirited, liberal and progressive, and highly esteemed and respected by those who know him best. In fraternal affiliations he is connected with the A. O. U. W. at Prescott. He was married in Oregon, December 24, 1886, to Miss Nellie Perry, a native of California, and they have become the parents of two children : Lela E., born June 29, 1887, and Oval, born December 22, 1889.
RUFUS CLAPP. a farmer at Prescott, was born in North Carolina April 19, 1846. When six years old he accompanied his par- ents to Tennessee, where for five years his fa- ther was engaged in the grist mill industry. In 1857 they came north to Jowa and turned their attention to farming, and this was Mr. Clapp's business until 1864, when he enlisted in the Union army. He served during the final year of the war, then returned home for a visit, but shortly afterwards started with ox- teams across the country to Central City, Col- orado, where he was engaged in mining until 1882. In that year he came to Washington, via San Francisco and Portland, finally lo- cating in what is known as Manion Hollow, five and a half miles east of Clyde. He home- steaded a quarter-section of land and engaged in stock raising and general farming.
Being an ambitious, enterprising man, Mr. Clapp has steadily extended his real estate hold- ings until he is now the owner of about one thousand acres, all good farm land. He is one of the most extensive and prosperous tillers of the soil in Walla Walla county. Mr. Clapp ULYSSES H. BERNEY is a native of Switzerland, born in 1862. He spent the first eighteen years of his life in his fatherland, ac- quiring a thorough public-school education was married first in June, 1872, and his wife died July 5, 1882, leaving three children, Francis M., Leroy D. and Dora M. For more than sixteen years after his first wife's de- there. In 1881 he came to St. Paul, Minne-
cease he remained a widower, but on April 2, 1899, he married Miss Gertrude E. Fuller, a native of Wisconsin.
JOHN H. KERSHAW, a farmer and stock raiser at Dixie, a pioneer of 1861, was born in England on December 29, 1838. In 1841 his mother, who was a widow, brought him and his two brothers and sister to Amer- ica. They lived in New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Massachusetts for varying periods of time until 1856, the boys working in factories and wherever they could find employ- ment to support themselves and help their mother. In 1856 they removed to Illinois, where for over four years they were engaged in farming. In 1861 the mother and her three sons (the sister had been accidentally drowned in New York) came across the plains in the primitive fashion in vogue in those days to Walla Walla valley. They located at Dixie, took up land and began farming and raising stock. The mother died in 1875, and was the first person buried in Dixie cemetery. One of the brothers. Willam J. Kershaw, was accident- ally killed in 1891, and the two surviving mem- bers of the family are still farming and rais- ing cattle in the locality in which they first settled. They are among the oldest and best known residents of their neighborhood, hav- ing lived there before the town of Dixie came into existence.
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sota, where for six months he worked in a store during the day and attended school at night. He then moved to California and after spending a year on a fruit farm came to Walla Walla, whence, soon afterwards. he removed to Klickitat county. He was in the stock rais- ing industry there for six years, then sold out and returned to Walla Walla. Here he im- mediately engaged in fruit raising, and a few years later started the shipping-house in part- nership with his brother-in-law. John Thonney. The house has acquired an enviable reputa- tion and their goods are in demand all over the northwest, also in many eastern cities and some of their fruit even goes to Europe. Thus their industry, progressiveness, business abil- ity and alertness to know what the demands of the times are and to provide for them have enabled them to build up a large and profitable business.
Mr. Berney was married, in 1887. to Miss Anna Rochat. of St. Paul, Minnesota, and he and Mrs. Berney are now the parents of eight children. The entire family left their home in the fall to see the Paris Exposition and visit Mr. Berney's relatives in French Switzerland.
DR. WALTER E. RUSSELL, physician and surgeon, 25 E. Main street, was born in Milledgeville, Illinois, in 1858. He was reared in the town of his birth and educated in the incal public school. During the time inter- vening between his twentieth and twenty-fifth year he was engaged in the dual occupation of farming and school teaching, but he then en- tered the Hahnemann Medical College, of Chi- cago, from which institution he received the degree of Doctor of Medicine in 1889. He has since spent two years in post-graduate work,
being ambitious to become very proficient in his chosen profession. Immediately after grad- uating he came out to Walla Walla county and located at Waitsburg, but in January of the ensuing year he removed to Walla Walla, where he has maintained offices for the prac- tice of medicine ever since.
Dr. Russell is a thorough and diligent student of his profession. devoting his entire time to it alone, and he has long been recog- nized as one of the leading practitioners of his system in the state. At present he is dis- charging the duties of city health officer of Walla Walla. The Doctor is a very active man in the Masonic order, being identified with all of its branches from the blue lodge to the com- mandery, also district lecturer of the fraternity and one of the five custodians of the work. He is. moreover, quite prominent in the A. O. U. W., being grand foreman for the state. Dr. Russell was married. in this city, in 1898, to Mrs. N. S. Garrahan, a native of California, and a member of a pioneer family of that state.
ELRON EDGERLEY, a farmer residing on the upper Milton road. three miles south of Walla Walla, was born in Princeton, Wash- ington county, Maine, and in that town he grew to manhood and was educated. He re- mained at home with his father on the farm until 1883. when he came to California. For eight years after his arrival in the Golden state he followed logging as an occupation, but in 1891 he came to Walla Walla, settled on the farm on which we now find him and engaged in raising wheat, hay and stock. He is a thrifty, industrious man, successful in his business and highly estecmed as a man and a citizen. He manifests a lively and intelligent interest in
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all local affairs, but is not ambitious for po- litical preferment, and has never held any of- fice except that of road supervisor.
In fraternal affiliations Mr. Edgerley is identified with the Woodmen of the World. He was married, in Walla Walla, on January 26, 1890, to Miss Alice M. Lasater, a native of the valley, whose parents, J. H. and Emily Lasater, were early pioneers of the county. Her father died in 1896, and her mother in 1875. Mr. Edgerley's father is still living at Princeton, Maine, and is enjoying good health, though seventy-eight years old, but his mother passed away in January, 1871. Both were early pioneers of their section and highly re- spected by all with whom they came in contact.
Mr. and Mrs. Edgerley have a family of three children, Emily E., Elron E. and Harry L., all at home with their parents. The family liave real estate interests near Princeton, Maine, in Oregon and in the town of Eureka, Hum- boldt county, California.
JOHN H. FULLER, a farmer four miles north of Dixie, a pioneer of 1883, was born in Arkansas March 17, 1871. He passed the first twelve years of his life in that state, and be- gan his education there, but his father and mother then came overland to Walla Walla county and of course he accompanied them. He completed his education here, then pro- cured a tract of land 'and engaged in farming, an occupation which he has followed contin- uously since. He is a young man of push and energy and is rapidly coming to the front as one of the well-to-do and comfortable farmers of his neighborhood. He was married in Dixie, in April, 1896, to Miss Mary Kershaw, a na- tive of that town, and they have one son, Em- erson H.
Mr. Fuller's father, John W., was a native of Missouri, born in 1844. He was reared on a farm and followed that business all his life except during the Civil war, when, true to his convictions of what patriotism and duty re- quired, he took up arms in defense of the Union and served four full years. Coming to Walla Walla in 1883, he engaged in farm- ing in the vicinity of this city, following the same until his death, which occurred February 25, 1887. He was married, in Arkansas, to Miss Elizabeth Underwood, a native of that state, and to their union seven children were born, two of whom are still living: John H .; and Anna, wife of Garland Taylor, of Waits- burg. Mrs. Fuller followed her husband to the tomb December 31, 1900.
JOHN REHORN, a carpenter residing at 416 W. Alder street, a pioneer of 1871, was born at Niederkleen, near Wetzlar, Germany, March 1, 1846. He resided there until twenty years old, receiving the customary public-school education, and learning the carpenter trade. In 1866 he came with his mother and sisters to the United States, landing in New York, whence, after remaining only ten days, they came via Panama to Canyon City, Oregon, where Mr. Rehorn worked in the placer mines until 1869, washing out the gold on his own account. Returning then to San Francisco he followed his trade in that city as a journey- man for two years, after which he came direct to Walla Walla, where he has worked at his handicraft continuously since, except between the years 1886 and 1892, when he was operat- ing a brewery owned by him at Pomeroy, Washington.
Mr. Rehorn learned his trade thoroughly
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in the first place, as all must who serve an ap- prenticeship in Germany, and he has followed the same line assiduously and almost uninter- ruptedly for more than thirty years. so that. as would naturally be expected. he has at- tained a skill and thoroughness in his craft seldom found in carpenters on the coast. As a man and a citizen, also, his standing is of the highest. He has given substantial evidence of his interest in Walla Walla by serving for nine full years as a member of Tiger Volunteer Fire Department. He is prominently identi- fied with Enterprise Lodge, No. 2. I. O. O. ยท F .. of which he is a past noble grand.
In Walla Walla, on September 25. 1877. our subject married Amalia Anchutz. a native of Waco. Texas, and to their union seven chil- dren have been born: John H .. a farmer : Frederich C .. a clerk: Walter R., a graduate of the high school, at present learning the trade of a machinist : Frank. a lumber handler : and Henry, Louisa and Christina, in school. Mrs. Rehorn's father was killed in Texas during the Civil war on account of his Union prin- ciples.
ROBERT McCOOL, a farmer and stock raiser, a pioneer of 1850. was born in county Donegal. Ireland. in 1818. He remained in his fatherland until 1858, receiving a public school education, and then engaging in farm- ing. When he arrived in New York, he found to his dismay that he had to return to Liver- pool. his money having been retained there by mistake, and the complications being such that the matter could not be adjusted without his presence.
Mr. MeCool came right back to America. however, and started via the Panama route for Walla Walla, where he arrived. April 20. 1859.
He has ever since been engaged in farming and stock raising, his home being not far from the fort. He now has four hundred acres on Stone creek which is still owned by the family and farmed by his sons. Mr. McCool is a thrif- ty. industrious man, and an esteemed member of society. He was married in Bar Head. Scotland. in 1847. to Miss Maggie O'Donnell. a native of his home county in Ireland, whose death occurred in Walla Walla. December 1 I. 1896. To their union were born six children. Hugh, a miner and mine owner, at present engaged in buying horses for the United States government : James, a farmer at the head of Birch creek, in Oregon: Mary Ann, who died in Ireland : Margaret. later Mrs. James Monna- ghan. of Spokane, now deceased: Ellen, who was the wife of Edward O'Shea. of Spokane. deceased : and one that died in infancy. The family are members of Rev. Father Flohr's church in Walla Walla.
SAMUEL B. SWEENEY. a grain buyer. residence 444 Crescent street, Walla Walla. was born in Marion county. Oregon, in 1858. He passed the first six years of his life there. then three years in Lewiston. Idaho, then a short time in California, whence he removed with his parents to Albany. Oregon. He had been a pupil in the public schools of all these places. also enjoyed the advantages of a college in California, and the Albany Collegiate Insti- tute.
Coming to Walla Walla county, at an early date he, with L. K. Grim, took charge of Whitman Academy. now in connection with Whitman College, and he was thus employed for two years. He afterwards entered the em- pley of the Oregon Railway & Navigation
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Company, taking, in Mr. Hill's place, charge of the transfer at Wallula. Three years later, he moved the transfer to Umatilla, and assumed charge of it in that town, his duties being to oversee the removal of freight from the trains to the steamboats and vice versa. Later, he was given similar duties to perform at The Dalles, and he distinguished himself there, as lie had done in other places, by accomplishing more with the same number of men than could be accomplished by the other overseers who were given a trial. A year afterwards, he was moved by the company to Sand Point, and promoted to the assistant superintendency, and after a year's service there he went to Port- land to settle the construction report for the Northern Pacific Railroad Company. That task required three and a half months, and when it had been carried to a successful termi- nation he came back to the city of Walla Walla. For a number of years, he has been oc- cupied as a grain buyer and shipper here, hand- ling immense quantities of wheat and other cereals every year. He recently returned from a trip to Cape Nome, where he has some good mining property.
Mr. Sweeney is one of the best and most successful business men of this section, being possessed of the foresight and good judg- ment requisite for success in the difficult branch of commerce in which he is engaged. He was married in Walla Walla, March 1, 1891, to Miss Adna Fudge, a member of a pioneer family. They have two children, Philips Brooks, and Elynore Frances.
JOSEPH J. MANGAN, excavating and street grading contractor, residing at 435 S. Seventh street, was born in Fond du Lac, Wis-
consin, November 1, 1858. He remained there until twenty-two years old, acquiring a good public school education, and afterwards work- ing on his mother's farm. In the fall of 1880, the family started for Walla Walla, ar- riving in November, and Mr. Mangan turned his attention to teaming, an occupation which he followed for two years. Removing then to Garfield county, he purchased a homestead right, and on the land thus secured he lived and farmed continuously until 1896, when he sold out, moved into Walla Walla, and engaged in the business in which we now find him. While on the farm, he also had charge for three years of the warehouse and tramway, near Wawawai ferry, and he is still a stockholder in the com- pany.
Mr. Mangan has been and is a very success- ful man in whatever he has undertaken. He is one of the reliable men and esteemed citi- zens of the city in which he lives, enjoying the confidence and respect of those who know him. He is quite active in fraternal circles, being identified with the Modern Woodmen of America, guide of the A. O. U. W., and a men- ber of the Fraternal Order of Eagles. He was married in Walla Walla, January 10, 1884, to Miss Mary Whooley, a native of Wisconsin, and they have had eight children : Cornelius D .; Mary E. and Joseph L., twins; M. Louisa. M. Agnes, and George M. Dewey, all at home and attending De La Salle and St. Vincent's Academy; also Daniel and John T. E., both deceased.
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