USA > Washington > Walla Walla County > An illustrated history of Walla Walla County, state of Washington > Part 71
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In the spring of 1849. Mr. Johnson came to Grand Island on the Platte river as a drover with the cattle of Colonel Loring, who was then on his way to The Dalles, Oregon, with the Ninth Infantry. Returning to his home in Missouri, he then began projecting plans for coming west. and the next summer he set out across the plains with ox-teams toward the occident. arriving at The Dalles. Oregon. about October 15. 1850. Going thence to Portland, Oregon, he wintered there. busying himself in making shingles for Colonel Lons- dale. From Portland he went to Yreka. Cali- fornia. but after spending one season in min- ing he returned to Oregon, located at Salem. and engaged in farming a donation land claim of half a section. In 1855. he came north with the intention of going into the Colville min- ing region, but when he reached the junction
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of the Palouse and Snake rivers, he met so many returning prospectors who pronounced the country no good that he decided to return to the Willamette valley.
When the Cayuse war of 1855-6 broke out he took service with the Oregon volun- teers as wagon master, and he continued to act as such until the close of hostilities, thereupon entering the employ of the general government as assistant wagon master in the Indian de- partment. He was present at the signing of the treaty between Governor Stevens on the one hand and Chiefs Joseph and Kamiackan on the other, the scene of this noteworthy event being a point on Mill creek seven miles above Walla Walla. Upon retiring from the service, he returned to the Willamette valley and worked as a laborer until the fall of 1858. when he came to Walla Walla. He did not permanently remain this time, however, for in the spring of 1859 we find him again en route for The Dalles. Entering the service of Humison & Company he was employed as wagon master at their portage until 1861, when he came again to Walla Walla.
In 1862 our subject accompanied Dan Drumheller to British Columbia with a drove of cattle. For three years after his return he gave his attention to freighting from Walla Walla to the old Boise mines, using for the purpose a train of pack mules, but about 1865 hie settled on a farm on Dry creek, just over the Oregon line, where he followed farming and cattle and sheep raising continuously un- til 1897, in which year hie removed into Walla Walla, which had been his home town all these years.
On June 9, 1870, Mr. Johnson married Mrs. Catherine Wright, a native of Tennessee and a pioneer of this section of 1859. and they became parents of two children : Ella J., wife
of J. H. Raymer, a farmer on Dry creek, in Oregon ; and Viola E., at home with her par- cnts. Mrs. Johnson also has three children by her first marriage, Robert, William E. and Josephine, the last-named being now wife of Guy Fruit, of Loomis, Okanogan county. Mrs. Johnson is an invalid, and has been unable to walk for the past eight years. The fam- ily live in a pleasant home of their own at the corner of Whitman and Palouse streets.
C. J. BOWERS, a farmer residing six miles northwest of Walla Walla, was born in Maryland in 1867. Ile remained in his na- tive state until eight years old, then accom- panied his parents to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, where he spent a year. He then resided for two years in Peoria, Illinois, attending the public schools, after which he passed a year and a half in the schools of Topeka, Kansas. From that city, in 1882, he came to Waits- burg, this county, where he completed his pub- lic school training, though he afterwards spent three years as a student in Huntsville Seminary. When he started in life he chose farming as his occupation, but he purchased a threshing machine and also operated it dur- ing the harvest seasons.
At first Mr. Bowers was compelled to rent land, having none of his own, but he is now the owner of a fine tract of sixteen hundred acres, all good farming land. He is one of the most extensive wheat raisers in the county, and one of its most industrious and successful farmers. His energy and force of character are evident from the fact that, starting prac- tically without means, he has worked his way to a position of prominence among the ex- tensive wheat producers of a county noted for
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its mammoth farms. Ile has also taken a is now one of the most extensive wheat pro- lively and intelligent interest in the political ducers in this section of the county. He also raises a great many head of cattle every year. welfare of the county, and has long been a leader in the counsels of the Democratic party. In 1900. he was a candidate of that organiza- tion for the office of county commissioner.
Mr. Bowers was married in Morrow coun- ty. Oregon, in 1888. to Laura V. Coplen. a member of an old pioneer family, and of their marriage have been born three children, Harry C., Violet B. and George W.
PHILIP YENNEY, a retired farmer. is a native of Germany, born in 1834. He lived in his fatherland until fifteen years old, and received a part of his education over there. After arriving in America he traveled quite ex- tensively, but finally settled in Virginia, where he resided for four years. He moved thence to Iowa, which was his home state until 1860. in which year he crossed the plains with ox- teams to this state. The winter of 1861-62. being the second he passed in the new country. was a very trying one for him as he lost all of his stock. The family lived for the most part on wheat ground by hand in a coffee mill. but with the spring came brighter days.
For several years Mr. Yenney was engaged in the freighting industry. For the three years subsequent to 1865 he was in a trading post at California ranch. Spokane county, and while there he built. in 1864 and '65. what afterwards became known as Cowley's bridge. He had a store near the place, and was part-owner in the bridge before it was purchased by Mr. Cowley. Subsequently, however. Mr. Yenney bought land in Walla Walla county, and settled down to the life of a farmer. In course of time he became the owner of a large tract of land, and
In fact the phenomenal energy and ambi- tion of our subject have led him into all lines of industry, and made him a powerful force in the industrial development of the county. When his boys became old enough to know the value of school privileges he moved into town for their benefit, and he has been a resi- dent of Walla Walla ever since. He married. in Iowa, in 1837. Miss Rachael Winnett, and they became parents of eight children : John F .: Sarah, deceased: Thomas, deceased : Ruth. deceased : Robert : William H. : Louis O .: and Margaret.
RICHARD J. BERRYMAN, a farmer residing at Berryman postoffice during sum- mer and in Walla Walla during winter. is a son of Wisconsin, born in 1864. He only passed a few months in his native state, as his parents early moved to Montana, where he resided until seven years old. In 1871 he came to Walla Walla county, and his home has been here ever since. He acquired a pub- lic school education. then, though still under age, started in life for himself. He bought land near what is now known as Berryman postoffice. also obtained more from the gov- ernment by the use of his homestead privi- leges. He now owns four hundred and eighty acres. all of which he farms, together with from one to two hundred acres of rented land. He is engaged almost exclusively in the production of wheat and barley.
Mr. Berryman is one of the representative men in his section of the country, and takes a leading part in the promotion of the cause of education and in the movement for better
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roads. He is at present school director and road supervisor. Fraternally he is affiliated with the United Workmen. He was mar- ried in Lewiston, Idaho, September 25, 1883. to Miss Gertrude Hilbourne, a native of England, who came to the United States with her mother in 1879. They have two children, Chiselete and Gwendoline. The family are members of the Episcopal church of Walla Walla.
MARTIN F. KELLY .- Those who be- lieve that concentration is the secret of suc- cess may find confirmation in the life and ex- perience of the man whose career is here briefly outlined. Mr. Kelly has been con- nected with hotels in one capacity or another ever since he withdrew from the parental roof, and his success in this line of enterprise lias seldom been equaled or surpassed. He is at present proprietor of the Hotel State in Walla Walla, which institution, under his shrewd and careful management, has, in the four years during which it has been under his charge, become one of the finest hotels in the city, if indeed it does not surpass all others in point of equipment and the excell- ence of the accommodations offered to guests. Though born in Rhode Island, the date being 1856, Mr. Kelly may almost be counted as a son of the west, his parents having brought him via the isthmus route to Roseburg, Ore- gon, when he was but four years old. His education was acquired in the public schools of that town and there the greater portion of his minority was passed. Since becoming of age he has. as before intimated, devoted his time and energies almost exclusively to the hotel business, rendering himself master of its every detail. He was connected with one
of the finest hotels in Astoria for four years. then with another institution of the same kind in The Dalles two years, after which he was in the Hotel Spokane for a brief period.
For some time after coming to Walla Wal- la, which was the next town in which he tried his fortunes, he continued in the same line. but he subsequently became proprietor of a res- taurant, maintaining the same for a period of three years. Since that time he has been pro- prietor of the Hotel State as above recorded. Mr. Kelly is also, like most of the enterprising men of the west, interested in the mining in- dustry. In fraternal affiliations he is identi- fied with the United Artisans, the Woodmen of the World, the Knights of Pythias, and the Fraternal Order of Eagles. He was married in Walla Walla in August, 1891, to Miss Ocy Fitzsimmons, a native of Kansas, and they are parents of two children, Hattie Beatrice and Martina.
MARK A. EVANS, a farmer six miles north of Walla Walla, on Dry creek, is a na- tive of Cecil county, Maryland, born in 1826. He acquired a public school education, then en- gaged in farming, which occupation he fol- lowed uninterruptedly until 1850, but in that year he moved, via the isthmus, to California, and changed his occupation to that of a miner. For the next twelve years he lived in the mining regions of the Golden state. In 1862, how- ever, he came to Florence. Idaho, whence, a short time afterward, lie removed to his pres- ent place of abode and again engaged in farm- ing. He has one hundred and eighty acres of fine land, on which he raises from fifty to sixty bushels of barley per acre. He is also a stock raiser, and in former times has kept as high as four hundred head of horses.
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Mr. Evans has always taken a deep inter- est in politics, local and national, and enjoys the honor of having been at the national con- vention which nominated James K. Polk. His fraternal connections were formerly with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
JOHN A. HOOD .- Among the sons of Walla Walla who have grown up to reflect credit upon the city of their birth and who, by their industry and thrift, have assisted largely in the industrial development of this section of the Inland Empire. the subject of this brief biographical outline has earned an honored place. He was born on the 10th of March. 1862. and grew to man's estate on the parental home on Cottonwood creek, whither his par- ents moved when he was about a year old. He was educated in the public schools of the county, then gave his time and energies to assisting with the work on his father's exten- sive farm. He continued to busy himself thus until the death of his father, whereupon he assumed charge of his share of the inheritance. which amounted to about three hundred and fifteen acres.
Mr. Hood was, however, too ambitious to confine his energies within such to him nar- row limits so he soon procured one hundred and seventy-four acres more adjoining togeth- er with four hundred and eighty acres of moun- tain land. For years he was engaged in wheat raising principally, though he also kept from fifty to four hundred head of cattle, but at present he is renting his farm and giving his attention to other matters. He is interested in the Farmers' warehouse in Walla Walla, and has considerable other property in the city and county.
Mr. Hood has always so lived as to com- mand the esteem and respect of his fellowmen. though he has never manifested any particular ambition to become a leader among them and has never sought political preferment of any kind. He is a good citizen and an honored and useful member of society.
He was married in Sherman county. Ore- gon, on March 16. 1884. the lady of his choice being Miss Fannie Medler. They have two children. J. Frederick and Ida MI.
CHARLES EDWARD HOOD .- Among the most respected and successful farmers and stock raisers of Walla Walla county is the man whose name initiates this brief biographical review. He is one of the sons of the valley. having been born on the parental homestead on Cottonwood creek, the date being June 16. 1868. He received his education in the local public schools and in the Empire Busi- ness College, and upon completing the same engaged in farming with his father, continu- ing in that industry until the latter's death. He then took charge of the portion of the in- heritance which fell to him, some three hun- dred and seventeen acres, and began farming on his own account. He afterward purchased another hundred acres close by and a half sec- tion of mountain land. all of which he utilizes in the production of wheat and in the rearing of cattle.
Mr. Hood is especially interested in stock raising, and brings a great deal of intelligence and skill to bear in improving his cattle. His success in this direction is very marked and his herds would delight the eye of a connoisseur in these matters. He is a man of energy. pro- gressiveness and force of character. highly es-
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teemed and respected in the community in which he lives, and in every regard a worthy son of his native valley.
He was married in Walla Walla, January 8, 1895, to Miss Jessie Cameron, daughter of the Hon. Alex Cameron, a respected pioneer of the county, whose career is outlined in an- other part of this volume. Their union has been blessed by the advent of one son, Edward Ross.
JAMES B. THOMPSON .- Prominent for many years in the politics and govern- ment of Walla Walla county, the subject of this memoir deserves the recognition and credit always due to those who are faithful in the discharge of public duties, rendering signal ser- vice to those who have entrusted them with power. Mr. Thompson was indeed true to every trust reposed in him and his memory is cherished reverently and with esteem by all who knew him in life.
Our subject was born in Centre county, Pennsylvania, in 1838. He began his educa- tion there but completed his intellectual dis- cipline in Dubuque, Iowa, whither he went with his parents in 1846, first, however, spend- ing a winter at another point in Iowa. He con- tinued to reside in Dubuque until 1864, in which year he removed to Walla Walla, mak- ing the journey overland in the fashion of the times. For a while after his arrival he was engaged in farming with his brother, but he eventually moved into the city of Walla Walla to accept a position as deputy under Sher- iff James McAuliff. He served in that capacity under Mr. McAuliff for two terms, and during the terms commencing in Novem- ber, 1874, and November, 1876, he served in a like capacity under Sheriff George Thomas.
On November 2, 1880, he was himself elected to the office of sheriff, and the satisfactory character of his service is attested by the fact that the electors kept him in office for three or four terms. When he finally retired from office his health was so poor that he was in- capacitated for further participation in any business or industry. He never completely re- covered and on August 29, 1892, he passed out of this life.
The marriage of our subject to Miss Agnes Walker was solemnized in Walla Walla coun- ty, May 22, 1878, and to their union two children were born, Annie E., now Mrs. Frank Hesser; and Edward James.
HON. ANDERSON COX .- One of the brightest stars in the galaxy of the eminent men of early days is he whose name initiates this article. As a business man, as a legislator and as one of the most active and potential forces in the ushering in of civilization into the Pacific northwest, he has left upon this section the impress of his vigorous personality, and his life record forms part of the history of the north Pacific states. Many are the public enterprises which his mind planned, but it is as the founder of Whitman county that he is best known locally.
Mr. Cox was born in the vicinity of Day- ton, Ohio, on March 22, 1812. His parents, John and Johanna (Swallow) Cox were Quakers and in his veins the blood of the impul- sive Irish and the sturdy Scotch were mingled together. He grew to manhood in Ohio, re- ceiving only limited educational advantages. In 1845 he removed from New London, Iowa, to the west, where destiny had great things in store for him. He served several terms in
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the legislatures of both Oregon and Washing- ton territories, and was prominent in the affairs of Walla Walla county, of which he became a resident in 1862, also in the founding and or- ganization of Whitman county and the city of Colfax. He was the first receiver of the land office at Walla Walla, helped to survey the ter- ritorial road from Walla Walla to Colfax, se- cured the location of another territorial road from Walla Walla to Colville and in many other ways contributed inestimably to the prog- ress of the Inland Empire. At the time of his death, which occurred suddenly on the road between Colfax and Waitsburg, he was taking the initial steps towards the construction of a sawmill in the then youthful town of Colfax.
Mr. Cox was married in Indiana, on Aug- 1st 9. 1836, to Miss Julia A., daughter of Will- iam and Sarah Walter, and they became par- ents of ten children : Lewis, Johanna and Mrs. S. Cannon, now residents of Waitsburg : Philip W., a resident of Whitman county ; Jane, after- wards Mrs. John B. Looney, deceased : Matil- da, now Mrs. William G. Preston, of Waits- burg: Malissa, the first white girl born in Lynn county, Oregon, now deceased; Mary. afterwards Mrs. C. B. King, deceased : Mida,
wife of Thomas J. Smith, of Whitman county; Butlar II .: Ira, deceased.
Lewis Cox, the oldest, was born on the Wa- bash, near Attica, Indiana, on May 9. 1837. He crossed the plains to Salem, Oregon, with his parents in 1845. came to Walla Walla in 1861, bought in with his father in his sawmill on the Coppei, near Waitsburg, and also took a homestead near that city. He made the lumber and erected the first sawmill ever built in that vicinity. On August 29, 1858, he mar- ried Caroline Bond, and they became the par- ents of fourteen children : Albert, deceased : Looney S., living with his uncle Philip : Birdie E., now wife of Dr. Gritman, of Moscow. Idaho; Grant U., in British Columbia : Annie. now Mrs. J. L. Harper, of Waitsburg: Frank L., deceased : Frederick, in the dairy business at Waitsburg: Anderson B. and Nathan D., twins, in the hardware business in Ontario, Oregon : Lula, now Mrs. Samuel Ezra, resid- ing in Seattle : Jennie and Tina, twins, the for- mer deputy postmistress at Waitsburg, the lat- ter at home: Elmer Elworth, in the stock busi- ness in Montana: and Grace, wife of Elmer Connick, of Walla Walla county. Mr. Cox still owns an elegant home in Waitsburg.
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