USA > Washington > Lincoln County > An illustrated history of the Big Bend country, embracing Lincoln, Douglas, Adams, and Franklin counties, state of Washington, pt 1 > Part 40
USA > Washington > Adams County > An illustrated history of the Big Bend country, embracing Lincoln, Douglas, Adams, and Franklin counties, state of Washington, pt 1 > Part 40
USA > Washington > Douglas County > An illustrated history of the Big Bend country, embracing Lincoln, Douglas, Adams, and Franklin counties, state of Washington, pt 1 > Part 40
USA > Washington > Franklin County > An illustrated history of the Big Bend country, embracing Lincoln, Douglas, Adams, and Franklin counties, state of Washington, pt 1 > Part 40
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At Sioux Falls, South Dakota, on May 28, 1899, Mr. Fahlen married Miss Bertha Becker, the daughter of a prosperous farmer. Her parents, Frederick and Christina B., are still at Sioux Falls, South Dakota. To Mr. and Mrs. Fahlen three children have been born, Elouise, Hellena and Oscar G.
Mr. Fahlen belongs to the I. O. O. F., the F. A. and the Sons of Herman. He is a thor- ough and energetic business man and stands at the head of a very prosperous business. He has one of the finest breweries in the state and superintends it himself, turning out the finest product to be found in this part of the country.
J. FRANK BRISLAWN resides about six miles north from Sprague on an estate of four hundred acres which he purchased in 1897. The place is provided with a tasty two story, five room residence, barns and other buildings, plenty of farm machinery and stock, and he is one of the leading farmers in this portion of the country. Mr. Brislawn gives his entire atten- tion to farming and has made an excellent suc-
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cess of it. He was born in Linn county, Iowa, on September 3. 1874. His parents, Mathew and Mary E. (Caranaugh) Brislawn, were born in Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, on October 20, 1850, and in Pittsburg, Pennsyl- vania, respectively. They are now living in Lincoln county. Our subject was four years of age when he came with his parents to Day- ton, Washington, and the next year the family moved to Lincoln county. He received a good common school education and labored with his father until twenty-three, then bought a farm, where he now resides, and started for himself. Thus far in life he has made a commendable success, while the wisdom and energy he has shown in the past bespeak excellent things for him in the future.
At Sprague, on November 25, 1897, Mr. Brislawn married Miss Elizabeth, the daugh- ter of John and Mary (Clark) McGough. The father was born in Ireland and died in Lincoln county, in 1899. The mother was also born in the Emerald Isle and now lives in Sprague. Mr. Brislawn has the following brothers and sisters; John H., Michael T., Joseph W., Mar- garet E., Matthew P., Mary A., Lewis A., Anastasia A., Ellen, Mark G. Mrs. Brislawn has five brothers and sisters, namely, Peter E., Rosa A., Mary J., John, and Mrs. Almira Mc- Glade. To Mr. and Mrs. Brislawn four chil- dren have been born, Francis G., Paul G., Guy M., and Maurice J.
Mr. Brislawn belongs to the Catholic Knights of America, while he and his wife are members of the Roman Catholic church.
A. ROBERT FRANSEEN, like many of our best citizens, came to us from Sweden. He now resides about nine miles north from Sprague, where he owns something over a half section of land, and devotes his energies to farming. He has accumulated his property almost entirely since coming to this country in 1893 and the fact that he is owner of a half section of good land, well improved with plenty of stock and implements, indicates his indus- try and thrift.
A. Robert Franseen was born in Smalland Province, Sweden, on April 1, 1865, being the son of Frank and Johanna (Josephson) Fran- seen, natives of Sweden and now living in Smalland. Our subject worked on his father's
farm in Sweden until twenty-two, having gained his education in the meantime. Then he sailed from Malmo, Sweden direct to Phil- adelphia. From that metropolis, he journeyed to Minneapolis, where he worked on the rail- road construction and in the woods of Wiscon- sin for over two years. Then he journeyed to Great Falls, Montana, whence he came to Spo- kane. In 1893, he came to this country and three years later rented land. In 1899, he pur- chased his present place. Since he had no cap- ital whatever to start with, upon arriving here, he was forced to undergo the hardships inci- cent to a settler in a new country and has done so well in his endeavors, that he ranks with the substantial men of the community.
At Smalland, Sweden, on December 18, 1886, Mr. Franseen married Miss Adrina Johnson, and one child has been born to them, Ernest, who has spent most of his life in Swe- den, and is now attending school in this coun- try.
Mr. Franseen is a member of the I. O. O. F. and M. W. A. He and his wife belong to the Swedish Lutheran church. Mr. Franseen has six brothers and sisters, John, Carl. Anna, Edward, Mrs. Olevia Swenson, and Esther.
ANDREW W. HARRISON resides about four miles southwest from Edwall. in Lincoln county. He has spent over twenty-five years of his life in this county and is well entitled to be classed with the earliest pioneers. He has given his attention largely to farming since he has been doing for himself, has made a success in his labors, and owns one hundred and sixty acres all cultivated. He has a nice two- story residence, large barn, plenty of build- ings, and other improvements. His farm equipments, stock and so forth are first class and he is one of the most progressive and broad minded men of the section.
Andrew W. Harrison was born in Mont- gomery county, Iowa, on September 9. 1871. and his father, Hon. Andrew Harrison was born in Ohio and later moved to Indiana. thence to Iowa, and from there to California in 1875. Four years later, he came to the territory now embraced in Lincoln county, bringing his tam- ily in wagons. He took the place where our subject now resides as a homestead and cn- gaged in farming and stock raising, but now re-
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sides near Cheney. In 1898, he was elected to represent the fifth legislative district of Wash- ington, his name appearing on the Republican ticket. He received a very handsome majority and did excellent service for his constituents. Our subject's mother, Mary ( Babb) Harri- son, was born in Iowa and now dwells with her husband in Spokane county. Our subject came to this section with his father in 1879 and ow- ing to the scarcity of schools, received a very limited education, which, however, he has sup- plemented by careful reading until he is a well informed man. He engaged in handling stock on the range for some time and when twenty, went into the sawmill business. This con- tinued for a short time, then he turned to farming.
On September 13, 1893, Mr. Harrison married Miss Stella, daughter of Leroy and Christine (Ault) Ableman. The father was born in Wisconsin and came to Lincoln county in 1890 and still resides near the home of our subject. The mother died in 1894. He has the following brothers and sisters; Mrs. Anna Tucker, Mrs. Nelson, Ethel, Mrs. Estella Wal- lace, Mrs. Belle Vaughn. Mr. and Mrs. Har- rison both belong to the Modern Brotherhood of America and also to the Evangelical church. They have six children, Eva, Prudence, Har- vey, Orville, Pearl, and Florence. Mr. Harri- son is a thorough westerner, having spent most of his days on the Pacific coast and the suc- cess that he has achieved is such that he may well take pride in it. He stands well in the community, is a very progressive man and very alert to forward those measures which are for the benefit of all.
ELMORE A. McKENNA, who is now holding the position of agent for the Northern Pacific, at Sprague, is a man of varied and extensive experience and well known ability. He was born in Kingston, Nova Scotia, on May 20, 1863, the son of Joseph L. and Eunice S. (Felch) McKenna, natives of Nova Scotia, the father of Kingston, and the mother of Tor- brook. The father is of Scotch-Irish ancestry and is a highly respected man in his commun- ity. He is deacon of the Baptist church and has shown himself a man of real principle and worth. At present he is eighty-four years
of age and the mother, two years younger, died October 30, 1904. The father is still hale and hearty for his age. The mother was of English ancestry and her grandfather, Ma- jor Parker, was in the king's army at the time of the Revolution. She is also a relative of Marcus Whitman, of fame in the northwest. Our subject was favored with a good educa- tion, partly gained before he left home and finished by his own efforts after commencing teaching, which he did when sixteen. When eighteen he learned the art of telegraphy and was at Halifax in the Western Union office. In 1884, he landed in Boston, and two years later was in St. Paul. Thence he was sent by the Northern Pacific to Mandan, Dakota, and in September, 1886, he came to Sprague, still in the employ of that company. He con- tinned with the company until 1893, holding various stations throughout southeastern Washington and in Idaho. Then he resigned his position and entered into business with the well known financier, John P. Vollmer, ac- cepting the position of bank cashier at Genesee, Idaho. During this time he was lieutenant colonel of the Idaho National Guards. First Regiment. Upon the breaking out of the Span- ish war, he enlisted as a private in Company B. First Idaho Volunteers and at San Fran- cisco was appointed captain in the First United States Volunteer Signal Corps. June 16, 1898, they sailed from San Francisco and from the time he landed in the Philippines. he was in the most active and arduous service. He was the senior signal officer in the field. They built many lines of telegraph and laid many cables, and much of it was in the fiercest weather and under galling fire. Mr. Mc- Kenna was in sixteen engagements with the natives and also participated in taking Manila from the Spaniards. He was under Generals Anderson and Lawton and was especially as- sociated with the unfortunate Lawton in his brave career. In June, 1889, Mr. McKenna came home and the second day of the follow- ing September he was honorably discharged. He then went to work for the Northern Pacific again and after a time at Lind, he was sta- tioned at Sprague, where he is at the present time rendering first class service to his com- pany.
At Genesee, Idaho, on June 19, 1899, Mr. McKenna married Miss Isabelle, the daughter
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of John and Thalia L. (Krum) Owen. The father was born in England, served in the Civil War, and is now postmaster at Genesee. The mother was born in Ohio and her father was one of the pioneers of Ashtabula county in that state, and also of the state of Ne- braska. For a time he was a sheriff in Illi- nois. To Mr. and Mrs. McKenna three chil- dren have been born, Beatrice E., Raymond O., and Douglas E., all at home. Mr. McKenna belongs to the K. P., the A. F. & A. M., and the W. W. At the present time he is wor- shipful master of the masonic lodge in Sprague. In 1896, Mr. McKenna was candidate for state auditor in Idaho on the Republican ticket, but owing to the silver issue, he went down with the balance of the ticket.
The home place in Sprague is a tasty cot- tage on Third street, where Mrs. McKenna presides with gracious dignity and makes it the center of refined hospitality. Mr. Mc- Kenna owns a quarter section of land north from Sprague, another quarter south of town and a half interest in four hundred and eighty acres near the town. The farms are well improved and produce annually bountiful crops of wheat.
JAMES POWELL is one of the earliest settlers in Lincoln county and is now one of its substantial citizens. He resides about one mile east from Sherman on land which he se- cured by government right nearly twenty-two years ago. During those lone years, Mr. Powell has labored steadily and faithfully in the one line of industry and has succeeded well.
James Powell was born in England, on July 30, 1857. His parents, John and Eliza ( Hobbs) Powell, were both natives of Eng- land. The father was a skilled gardner and followed that vocation all his life. The public schools of his native land gave our subject his educational training and at the early age of seventeen, he bade farewell to England and friends and came to the United States. Later, he went to Canada and for a number of years thereafter, he was engaged in railroading in various portions of that country and the United States. In 1880, Mr. Powell came to Cali- fornia and in May, 1881, he embarked at San Francisco, on the steamship, Republic, for
Portland. At the mouth of the Columbia, while a terrific storm was raging, the ship parted, and he lost all his effects. One boat with thirteen in was lost. Much heroism was displayed by the officers of the ill-fated ship, but nothing was more striking than the bravery of the stewardess. She calmly assisted the officers, and refused to leave the wreck until the last minute. Mr. Powell went to Lewis county, Washington, and in 1882 came to the Big Bend country with a surveying party in charge of Major Truax and Mr. Snow, chief engineer of government survey. lle was so taken with the fertility and beauty of this country that he immediately secured land where he now lives. Shortly thereafter he went to Walla Walla and engaged on a farm for some months then returned to his preemp- tion where he has resided since.
EDWARD F. STANG resides about four miles northwest from Moscow and is engaged in farming. He owns one quarter section of fine wheat land and cultivates one entire sec- tion. He came to this country about five years since, with very limited means, and is now the owner of the land above mentioned, a good many improvements, a band of cattle, and sixteen horses. He also has plenty of equipments for his farm work, besides other property. All this has been gained in the Big Bend country through his labors and wise management.
E. F. Stang was born at Lemon, Wyoming county, Pennsylvania, on September 11. 1867, the son of William and Catherine ( Leipham) Stang, natives of Germany. They came to the United States when young and the father fol- lowed cabinet making and carpentering until his death, on the farm in Wyoming county, Pennsylvania. The mother still resides there. Our subject was reared in his native county and there received a good education. His first work in life was on a farm and later he oper- ated as teamster. In the spring of 1899. he came on west from Pennsylvania to Lincoln county, Washington and the same summer purchased the land that he now owns. He has given himself entirely to farming and stock raising since coming here and has labored with energy which has brought about excellent re-
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1 sults. He expects soon to erect a tasty resi- dence upon his land and otherwise improve it. Mr. Stang has the following brothers and sis- ters, William H., Richard J., Mrs. Pena Thompson, George P., Mrs. Lena Brown, Mrs. Mary Bush, Louis P., and Mrs. Jennie Amey.
At Skinner's Eddy, in Wyoming county, Pennsylvania, on March 3, 1897, Mr. Stang married Miss Eva Carney. Her parents are Daniel and Sabina (Leipham) Carney. The father was born on June 20, 1824 at Carney Flats, Pennsylvania, where his ancestors had resided for over one hundred years. He died on December 1, 1896. The mother was born in Wyoming county, Pennsylvania, and is now residing at Davenport, in Lincoln county. She has one brother, J. E. Carney, who lives in Davenport .. Mr. Stang has shown himself a first class citizen, progressive and public minded and is always interested in the welfare and improvement of the country.
DANIEL L. PORTCH dwells about one mile north from Sherman where he has a good estate and devotes his attention largely to farm- ing. He has also followed other vocations as will be noticed by the following.
Daniel L. Portch was born in Chicago, Illi- nois, on August 25, 1850, being the son of Ed- ward M. and Hannah Lally, natives of Eng- land and Ireland, respectively. They both came to Chicago when children and there were married. The father was a ship owner and trafficked on the great lakes. The common schools of Chicago furnished the education of our subject and at the age of sixteen, he en- tered the employ of the Western Union Tele- graph Company, continuing in the same until nineteen, and became a thorough master of telegraphy. He was holding a responsible posi- tion at the time he resigned. In 1872, Mr. Portch moved to a farm some sixty miles northwest from Chicago where he operated in company with his father for five years. In 1878, he entered the service of the Chicago Telephone Company, where he remained until 1883. During those years Mr. Portch was foreman of their construction department, traveling in various sections of the south. In this capacity, he was brought into a very re- sponsible position and met face to face some
of the hardest problems in handling electricity. He became very proficient in this art and is today a thorough and practical electrician. In 1884, Mr. Portch came to Sherman and took land, whence four years later, he went to Spo- kane and engaged in the employ of the Spokane district telegraph company. He was in charge of their entire construction department and did commendable work in building and rebuilding their system after the fire. . After that, Mr. Portch was engaged in handling electric wires for a street car system in Helena, Montana. In 1890, he returned to Spokane and entered into partnership with his brothers, John H. and William A., in farming, preferring that to the life of an electrician. Mr. Portch has two other brothers, Giles M. and Edward A., and also the following sisters, Mrs. Frances N. Rogers, Mrs. Annie Crosby, and Mrs. Julia W. Byrne. Mr. Portch has gained distinction not only as a substantial business man but also by his attainments as an electrician, having been counted one of the most skillful and best posted men in this line in this part of the country.
HARRY B. FLETCHER, a well known Lincoln county farmer, is equally prominent both as a school and church worker. He has a choice three hundred and twenty acre farm near Sherman, all under cultivation and well improved, where he makes his home during the summer months, but during the school year he lives in Wilbur in order to afford his family better educational advantages than can be had in the country.
Mr. Fletcher was born August 23, 1856, in Muscatine county, Iowa, and is one of three children. He has a sister, Mrs. Mary E. Gristey, of Miami, Indian Territory ; and one brother, William Henry, of Prescott. Wash- ington. His father, Samuel D., was born and reared in Wheeling, West Virginia, and was one of the pioneer settlers of Muscatine county, Iowa, where he lived forty years, going thence to Kansas in 1872. In 1877 he came to Walla WValla. and at the time of the Indian outbreak was at Camas Prairie. He then returned to his Kansas home. In 1884 he again came west on a visit to his son, the subject of this sketch, and while here died, being at the time in his sixty-third year. Mr. Fletcher's mother,
HARRY B. FLETCHER
MRS. HARRY B. FLETCHER
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HISTORY OF THE BIG BEND COUNTRY.
Susan (Overman) Fletcher, a native of High- land county, Ohio, also is dead.
Mr. Fletcher is a man of educational at- tainments, having received his training in the grammar schools and Mohaska College, at Os- kaloosa, Iowa. He went with his father to Springhill, Johnson county, Kansas, and in 1880 he went to Leadville, Colorado, and engaged in mining. On October 21, 1881, he was mar- ried to Miss Carrie Allen, whose birthplace was in Waverly, Iowa. MIrs. Fletcher's grand- father, Samuel Fisher, went to California in 1849 and after a short stay returned home. Later he went from Wisconsin again to the gold fields of California and there remained till his death which resulted from disease of the lungs. He had married Miss Annie Marie Wodard, a native of Batavia, New York. She died at Homer, Iowa, where she was an early settler. She had been a devoted Christian all her life and did much for the poor and sick. At her death, loving and grateful friends erected a monument to her memory. Mrs. Fletcher's father, Thomas C. Allen, was born November 5. 1829, and died November 24, 1862, at Benton Barracks, St. Louis. He was a marble cutter and married Harriett M. Allen, who was born March 23, 1839, near Laporte, Indiana, and died at Wilbur, October 28, 1903. Their marriage occurred November 8, 1855, and to them three children were born, Henry A., Mrs. Fletcher, and Francis M.
In the spring of 1882 Mr. Fletcher removed to Waitsburg, Washington, and engaged in the hotel business, and the following year he bought his present farm near Sherman. He has besides this property a handsome home in Wilbur, two choice lots in Spokane, and a half interest in a paying mine, known as the LeRoi, near Keller, Washington.
To Mr. and Mrs. Fletcher have been born eight children,-Clarence, Blanche D., Samuel D. Byron, Zella, Josie, Clifton, and Florence.
Mr. Fletcher is a member of the W. of W. fraternity, and elder in the Presbyterian church, of which his wife is also a member. L'pon coming to Sherman, the Fletchers found neither church nor school there, so they opened their own house to both. They organized a Sunday school, of which Mrs. Fletcher was superin- tendent, and later they were instrumental in the erection of a twelve hundred dollar church, built in 1897, with a present membership of
seventy-five. The church was organized by Rev. Arthur B. Coart, with an original mem- bership of ten. The church now has a Y. P. S. C. E. with a membership of seventy-five.
Mr. Fletcher is one of the useful and sub- stantial citizens of his county.
GEORGE W. SHERMAN who at the present time is a leading merchant of Sherman, is a man of substantial qualities and wealth as is evidenced by a review of his career which is appended herewith.
George W. Sherman was born in Jackson county, West Virginia on the banks of the Ohio river. His parents were Isaac B. and Samaria (McClenathan ) Sherman, natives of Massachusetts. The mother was born on No- vember 1. 1805, in Palmer, of the Old Bay State. The father went to Virginia with his family and bought land for twelve and one- half cents per acre and became very wealthy. He followed farming all his life. The mother was a school teacher when sixteen years of age, being engaged thus in Ohio. Our subject went with the balance of the family to Ohio when eight years of age and there received his edu- cation in the common schools. He came to Kansas in 1870 and for five years was occupied in tilling the soil. In 1875, we find him in Seattle and later he went to Walla Walla where he again gave his attention to farming for a time. As early as September. 1881, Mr. Sher- man came to Lincoln county and after due search, settled where Sherman now stands. He established the postoffice and was the first in- cumbent of the office. His attention was largely given to farming for a time and later he launched into the commercial world. For fourteen years, he was the obliging and popu- lar postmaster and in addition to these duties continued to improve his farm and handle his merchandise. He is now one of the wealthy men and has the confidence and good will of all.
Mr. Sherman has one sister, Amanda M. and two half sisters, Sallie and Elizabeth. He also has two half brothers, Lyman Stedman and Henry C. Sherman. Mr. Sherman has al- ways taken an active interest in building up Lincoln county and in political matters is found allied with those principles which are for the
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HISTORY OF THE BIG BEND COUNTRY.
development and protection of all. He has never embarked on the matrimonial sea, being content with the quiter joys of the celibatarian.
THEODORE BODEAU is a very pros- perous hardware merchant of Govan, Wash- ington. He has a most excellent trade on ac- count of his industry and uprightness and has the respect of every citizen in the community.
Theodore Bodeau was born in the Grand Dukedom of Luremburg. on April 10, 1854, the son of Charles and Mary Bodeau, natives of Luxemburg. The father was an agricul- turist there and a man of excellent standing. The schools of Luxemburg furnished the edu- cational training for Theodore and when of the proper age he was apprenticed to learn the carpenter trade which he followed after that for a number of years. In 1872, he came to Minnesota, where he engaged in farming. In 1881, he settled in what is now Lincoln coun- ty, being one of the very first pioneers of that section. He took a preemption and later added by purchase until he now owns nine hundred acres of excellent wheat land. This large prop- erty makes a handsome income annually. Mr. Bodeau is one of the wealthy and influential citizens of the county. In 1891, he retired from the farm, rented the same, and moved to Govan where he established a large hardware store. He has a large and well assorted stock and does a thriving business.
In 1889, Mr. Bodeau married Miss Kath- erine Ney, a native of Luxemburg, whose pa- rents dwell now on the farm. To this union four children have been born, Alfred, Ernest, Blanche, and Orlando. Although Mr. Bodeau has never attended an English school, he is very well posted in English literature and is a master of the language.
THOMAS CONNERY resides in the north suburbs of Wilbur, where he has the valuable estate of three-fourths of a section. He is considered as one of the most substantial men of the vicinity and has certainly merited the approval and commendation of his fellows, both on account of the ability shown in achieving success in financial ventures as well as in manifestation of uprightness and un- swerving integrity, a characteristic of his walk.
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