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 62
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 62
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 62
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 62
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To Mr. and Mrs. Wolfrum have been born three children, John G., William G., and Han- nah.
Mr. and Mrs. Wolfrum are devoted mem- bers of the Lutheran church, and are people of the highest moral and financial standing in their community.
BENJAMIN F. DOWNING, son of Har- rison and Betsey E. ( Briggs) Downing. is a farmer residing six miles northwest of Egypt. Washington. Mr. Downing was born in Yates county, New York, May 6, 1847. His father was born in the same county, as was also the subject's grandfather and great-grandfather. His great-great-grandfather was one of the first settlers in New York, coming from Eng- land; and the subject's grandfather was a sol- cier in the War of 1812. Harrison Downing was a wagon master in the Civil war. He en- listed in 1861 in a company under General Mc- Clellan, and with that general was in several prominent battles, among which was Bull Run. He had two sons who served in the same com- pany with him. Hamilton and Edwin. Edwin is now dead. and Hamilton lives in Iowa. Bet- sy ( Briggs) Downing was born in New York and her father also was a soklier in the War of 1812. Both parents of our subject died in Iowa, the father aged sixty-five, and the mother eighty-six.
The boyhood of Benjamin Downing was spent on a farm with his parents, and in the
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fall of 1864 he enlisted in Company E, One Hundred and Forty-fourth New York Infantry, with which command he remained for one year, all of which time he was stationed in New York state. After this he went to a lumber camp north of Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he worked at lumbering.
On January 1, 1868, Benjamin Downing was married in Newaygo county, Michigan, to Josephine Heath, a native of Ashtabula county, Ohio, and the daughter of Albert and Lucy (Cook) Heath. Albert Heath was born in Massachusetts, where he learned the trade of millwright, and was an early pioneer in Ashta- bula county. He made that county his contin- uous home from the time of his settling there until his death, with the exception of seven years spent in Michigan. He died in Ashta- bula county, in 1899, aged ninety years, two months and nine days. The Heath family emanated from England, Sir Robert Heath, the founder of the American family of Heaths, coming to America as early as 1616. At a grand re-union of Heaths at Ross Park, New York, in 1903, there were three hundred and fifty present. Some of the family were soldiers in the Revolution, among whom was General William Heath.
Lucy (Cook) Heath was a native of New Hampshire, spent her life in that state, New York, Vermont, and Ohio, and died in Ashta- bula county in 1896, in her ninetieth year. The brothers and sisters of Mrs. Downing were, Mrs. Clara French, deceased, Mrs. Betsy But- ler. Herman L., Adoniram J., a veteran of the Civil War under, Sherman; William H. and Chauncy A. All of those living are in the state of Ohio, except the last named, who is in Grass Valley, Oregon. Mrs. Downing is a direct de- scendant of the noted Governor Winslow, one of the colonial governors of Massachusetts.
Benjamin F. Downing was a pioneer settler in Clay county, Nebraska, where he took a homestead in 1872. In the spring of 1883 he came to Sherman county, Oregon, and engaged in the stock business. In the fall of 1889 he came with his family to Lincoln county, bring- ing with him a drove of cattle and some horses. This stock Mr. Downing endeavored to winter on Hawk creek, but owing to the exceptional severity of the winter, the greater portion of them died, thus badly crippling the owner finan- cially. However, he went to work again, and
has gradually gained in wealth until now he is one of the well-to-do residents of Lincoln coun- ty. He owns six hundred and forty acres of land, four hundred of which are under culti- vation, where he resides, a large herd of cattle, some horses and smaller domestic animals. He has a handsome home, a productive orchard and everything about his farm betokens thrift and prosperity. All that he has, he has made since coming to Lincoln county.
WILLIAM M. FRANS is a native of Fort Davis, Texas, born November 10, 1866. He now lives on a farm two and one half miles north of Egypt, Washington, where he came in 1880 from the vicinity of Colfax. He first came to this state with his parents in a wagon drawn by oxen, in 1879, and settled at Walla Walla, removing thence to near Colfax. On March 18, 1887, Mr. Frans was married to Corrie Duncan, who died January 13, 1900, leaving a family of three children, Charles L .. Myrtle I. and Ora E. Mr. Frans was married for the second time April 2, 1902, to Laura A. Vonschriltz, a native of Pike county, Ohio.
Immediately after his first marriage Mr. Frans removed to Rathdrum, Idaho, and, re- turning, located near Mondovi, Washington. In 1895 he went to the mines near Bossburg, Stevens county, where he worked for a time in a sawmill, then later returned to his present lo- cation. He bought the home where he now resides in 1899, and owns two hundred and forty acres, one half of which is good grain land, and the balance is timber. His land is in a high state of cultivation, and he has good buildings, and sufficient implements, stock, and so forth, to successfully carry on his business. He makes a specialty of raising grain and hogs. He is now in easy circumstances, although poor when coming here.
Mr. Frans was the son of John S. and Mary Frans, the former a native of Germany, and the latter of Scotch parentage. His present wife's father and mother were Miles A. and Emma Vonschriltz, both natives of Ohio. She has four brothers, George, and William, of Douglas county, James, and Floyd.
Mrs. Frans came west with her parents in 1892 and settled in Lincoln county, Washi- ington.
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Mr. Frans is a highly respected and hon- orable citizen of his locality, and takes an act- ive interest in all movements set on foot for the betterment and development of his surround- ings.
JACOB REINBOLD, a farmer living one mile north of Egypt, was born March 28, 1861, in Baden, Germany, the son of Mathias and Christina Reinbold. He is a brother of Simon Reinbold, a sketch of whose life is given else- where in this volume.
Mr. Reinbold attended school in his native country, where he was reared on a farm, and received a good common school education. In October of the year 1880 he set sail from Havre, France, aboard a French steamer bound for the United States, and arrived in New York City, whence he came to Aurora, Illinois. His next move was to Minneapolis, where during the winter after his arrival at that city he followed lumbering. In April, 1882, he came to Miles City, Montana, where he joined his brothers Andrew Simon and George, with whom he be- came employed on the Northern Pacific rail- road. After a brief time, in company with his brothers, Andrew and George, he started on foot to liis present locality, which they finally reached after a walk totaling eight hundred miles. During this tiresome journey the broth- ers underwent great hardships, at different times they having to tramp over the hot prairie hungry and thirsty, although they had money with which to buy food if only it could be had. One brother settled here, married, and died in 1893, leaving a widow and two sons. Our sub- ject arrived here and ate his first meal on the farm he now owns in 1882. The place was then the property of another from whom Mr. Rein- bold has since purchased it. Ile settled on a homestead two miles west of his present farm, and began working at various occupations to obtain money with which to improve his land. Being a man of superior judgment and thrift he has continued from the day of his settling here to better his financial condition until now he is one of the well-to-do farmers of Lincoln county.
Jacob Reinbold was married June 16, 1888. to Louisa Buck, a native of Elsass, Germany. Her father was David Buck, who died in Ger- many, and her mother is Barbara (Glas) Buck,
now living in that country. Mrs. Reinbold has two brothers, Michael and Charles Buck, living near Davenport, to which city Mrs. Reinbold came with her brother's wife in 1886.
Mr. Reinbold purchased his present farm in 1897, and brought his family to live here the following year. He owns eight hundred acres, five hundred acres of which are excellent agri- cultural land. He has a fine, modern, dwelling house, large barns and outbuildings, and his farm well improved and in a high state of cul- tivation. There is also a good school house on his land. His house, a two story structure, is situated on the Davenport-Fort Spokane road, and in one of the choicest locations in the vi- cinity. Both he and Mrs. Reinbold are mem- bers of the Lutheran church.
Mr. and Mrs. Reinbold have eight children, Jacob P., Frederick W., Elizabeth C., Louisa C., Simon M., Freda M. and Charles G.
LEMUEL COMBS, a prosperous farmer residing three and one half miles north of La- rene, was born May 4, 1859, in Floyd county, Kentucky, the son of James and Malinda (Hayes) Combs, both now living in Cowley county, Kansas. Both parents were born in Floyd county, and the father was a soldier in the Civil War. He is now sixty-eight years of age, while the age of Mrs. Combs is sixty-tive.
The brothers and sisters of Lemuel Combs are : Joseph, a merchant in Cameron, Missouri ; Saul, a mechanical engineer; May, a book- keeper at Cambridge, Kansas; and Nora, at Nickerson, Kansas.
.As a boy, Lemuel Combs was taken by his parents to Kansas where he was reared on a grain and stock farm and given a good common school education. In 1882 he came through New Mexico, Arizona, and California, and ar- rived in Lincoln county, Washington, in 1884. Here he located on a piece of railroad land, which he at once began to improve. He also followed government contracting, and supplied Fort Spokane with grain and produce. He has now three hundred and sixty acres of good land, a first class orchard, good, commodious and modern farm house and ont buildings, good improvements and sufficient cattle. horses and hogs to make the business of farming pay.
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Although Mr. Combs has never been the head of a family, he has always taken a fore- most part in all school affairs, and in fact, in all enterprises having a tendency to develop and better the conditions of the country. When he came here he settled on raw land, and had little means, but he is now a man in comfort- able circumstances, and has a wide circle of friends.
He is a member of the Davenport Lodge, No. 64, I. O. O. F.
CHARLES BUCK, JR., resides on a farm six and one-half miles north of Davenport. He was born in Alsace, Germany, February 29, 1860, the son of David and Barbara (Glass) Buck. The father, also a native of Alsace, was a well-to-do farmer, and died in his native country, January 18, 1903, in his sixty-fifth year. The mother was born in Alsace, and is still living in the house in which she was born, sixty-seven years ago.
The brothers and sisters of Mr. Buck are, Mrs. Barbara Wohlmuth, Michael, Frederick, Mrs. Louisa Reinbold, David, and Mary Aun- toz.
Mr. Buck grew up on a farm in his native country, received a good common school edu- cation, and served in the German army between the years 1880-83. The year after his leaving the army he sailed from Havre, France, for America. Arriving at New York he proceeded at once to San Francisco, and thence to Petal- uma, California. In the spring of 1887 he came to Lincoln and settled on his present homestead, and commenced at once to build up and improve his claim. He now owns two hundred and forty acres, for the most part good grain land, and makes a specialty of grain farming, though he has a first class orchard, and raises some stock.
Mr. Buck was married to Caroline Straub, a native of Alsace, on August 12, 1889. She was born May 9, 1867. Mrs. Buck is the daughter of John and Elizabeth ( Roth) Straub, both, likewise, natives of Alsace. Her father was a soldier in the Franco-Prussian war, being in the French army. After leaving this army lie was for twenty-eight years in the employ of the German government, and is now living in Strasburg. Germany, at the age of seventy-five
years. Mrs. Buck's mother is still living and is seventy years old. Her brothers and sisters are John, Charles, Jacob, Mrs. Alice Chirly, Mrs. Emily Miller, Mrs. Louisa Wolf and Mrs. Sophia Miller. The last named is now dead.
Mr. and Mrs. Buck have no children of their. own, but have one adopted son, Frank C. Buck, born December 5, 1894.
Both Mr. and Mrs. Buck are members of the Lutheran church. With their son they took a trip back to Germany recently, which journey consumed four months. Mr. Buck returned more firm in the conviction than ever that this is the most desirable country in which to live on the face of the globe, and he intends remain- ing here during the rest of his life.
CHARLES F. WILKE is a native of Shelby county, Illinois, born September 4, 1866. He is now a prominent and prosperous farmer residing four miles north of Davenport. Mr. Wilke's father was August Wilke, a native of Germany, in which country he was a tailor by trade, and for a number of years a member of the standing army. He came to the United States in 1865 and settled in Shelby county, Illi- nois. Later he went to Chicago, where he was at the time of the great fire. From Chicago he returned to Shelby county, where he fol- lowed farming, and in 1891 came to Lincoln county. Washington, where he is still living on a large tract of land which he has since ac- quired.
The brothers and sisters of Mr. Wilke are, Herman A., Gustave W., both of whom are living with their father; and Bertha, wife of Charles A. Level.
At the age of eighteen Charles Wilke started out to work for wages among different farmers of his native county, and came to this county with his father in 1891. He worked on salary for a few years until he got sufficient start in life to enable him to enter the business of farm- ing on his own account, which he has since con- tinued to do. He now has six hundred and forty acres of land, all under cultivation, and five hundred and fifty acres of timber and pas- ture land, with plenty of stock, implements, and so forth, to successfully carry on his opera- tions.
Charles F. Wilke was married to Mary B.
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Swank, a native of Douglas county, Oregon, September 28, 1903. Her father, G. W. Swank, was a pioneer to the coast from the state of In- diana. He is now living in Skagit county, Washington. Her mother is Alice ( Miller ) Swank, a native of Missouri, and is still living. Mr. and Mrs. Swank have nine children, all of whom are living in this state.
Mr. Wilke is a member of the M. W. A. of Davenport.
He came to the country a poor man, has done well here, and is so thoroughly satisfied with the surroundings and conditions here that he freely expresses it as his intention to make the state of Washington and the county of Lin- coln his permanent home.
SIMON REINBOLD, vice president of and a heavy stockholder in the Lincoln County State Bank, is a farmer residing four and one half miles northwest of Egypt. Born March 20, 1860, in Baden, Germany, he was the son of Mathias and Christina Reinbold, both of whom are now dead.
Mr. Reinbold is a member of a family originally comprising fourteen children. The names of those besides himself, who came to America were: Andrew, deceased, Methias, George, Daniel, deceased, Jacob, William. Katharine, deceased, and Mrs. Eva Johnson.
In June, 1880, Mr. Reinbold came to the United States in company with his brother An- drew. Landing at New York they proceeded to Chicago, near which city they were employed for a time on a farm, whence they came to Minneapolis. In the spring of 1883 they came to Missoula, Montana. In company with his wife and sister, Mr. Reinbold came to his pres- ent farm from Missoula, in July. 1883. Here lie located a homestead and began at once to make improvements. He was in close financial circumstances upon coming here, and was com- pelled to haul freight to Sprague and Spokane in order to get a start. He now owns about eight hundred and ten acres of land, one half of which is good grain land, and the balance timber and pasture land. All of his ground is uncler fence, in an advanced stage of improve- ment and well stocked with horses, cattle and the smaller domestic animals.
December 21. 1882, Simon Reinbold was
married to Katharine E. Ilass, a native of Ba- clen, Germany. She was the daughter of Chris- tian and Susan Hass, both of whom died in Ger- many. Mrs. Reinbold came to the United States with Mr. Reinbold's brothers, George and Daniel, and his sister, Katharine.
Mr. Reinbold, although coming to the coun- try a poor man, is now one of the prosperous farmers of the county, and is a man of exten- sive popularity wherever he is known. Both he and Mrs. Reinbold are members of the Luth- eran church.
JOHN STEPHEN FRANS came to his present homestead, four and a half miles north- west of Egypt, in the year 1880, being among the first settlers in this vicinity, while his fam- ily was the first one to permanently locate here. They have one hundred and sixty acres, all of which is suitable for cultivation, well im- proved and abundantly stocked with all neces- sary domestic animals with which to success- fully carry on the business of farming.
John S. Frans was born in St. Charles county, Missouri, May 9. 1844. He was the son of James M. and Frances ( Farmer ) Frans, natives of Virginia. The mother is dead, and the father, who is eighty-nine years of age, is living in Throckmorton county. Texas. Mr. Frans is the eldest of a family of six children, the other members of which are: Mrs. Eliza- beth Thorp, in Throckmorton county, Texas ; Mrs. Susan V. Anderson, of Oklahoma ; Will- iam, in Oklahoma; MIrs. Nancy Barber, of Texas; and James B. The last named was a soldier in the Philippine War.
At an early age our subject accompanied his parents to Grayson county. Texas. subse- quently lived in different parts of the Lone Star State, and finally settled in Throckmorton coun- ty. He was brought up on a farm, and in the fall of 1861 joined the Texas Rangers, with which company he spent the period during the Civil War on the frontier fighting Indians. During this time he was in many hand to hand battles and innumerable skirmishes, and at one time while at home on a brief furlough with- stood single-handed a band of thirteen of the warlike savages which had attacked his home with the intent to massacre the family.
In 1874 he went to the country tributary to the river Brazos, where he hunted buffalo, bear,
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deer and other wild animals. Five years later he started with his family to drive to Walla Walla, and finally arrived after much difficulty, principally caused by the Indians. The journey consumed six months, and it was in the early autumn when the family arrived at its destina- tion. They spent the winter of 1879 near Waitsburg, and came to their present home the following summer.
Mr. Frans was married February 1I, 1866, to Mary Sutherlin, a native of Clay county, Illi- nois, and daughter of William and Mary (Young) Sutherlin, born in North Carolina and Indiana, respectively. The former was a millwright, and died in Texas. The mother came to this country with her son, with whom this sketch has to deal, and died in 1886, in her seventy-fourth year. She and her husband were parents of a family of eleven.
Mrs. Frans has one brother and two sisters, James D. Sutherlin, Mrs. Minerva Duncan, and Mrs. M. M. Sofland. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Frans are; William, married to Laura Von Schriltz, in Egypt; Stephen A., a rail- roader with the Oregon Railroad and Naviga- tion Company, and married to Winnie Foster ; Cordelia J., wife of William Sillman, of Spo- kane; James D. and Webster, deceased ; Frances A., wife of W. T. Duncan, at Milan, Washing- ton; Carroll Howden, who is living at home ; Cora L., wife of Henry Mints at Larene, Wash- ington ; and Oscar, deceased.
Both Mr. and Mrs. Frans are devoted mem- bers of the Methodist Episcopal church, and the family is one of the most highly respected in the community.
DONALD McINNIS, who resides three and a half miles north of Larene, Washington, was born December 20, 1855, in Ontario, Can- ada. His parents were Donald and Margaret (McDonald) McInnis, both natives of Scot- land. The father died at the age of seventy- years, in 1900; and the mother, who is now sixty-five years old, is living in Ontario. Mr. McInnis has five brothers and one sister, and one sister who is dead ; Malcolm, in Davenport ; Hugh, at Detroit, Michigan; Jack, of Harring- ton, Washington ; Alexander, of the same place ; John N., in Ontario; Mrs. Sarah A. Beaten, in Ontario; and Mrs. Catharine McClure, de- ceased.
Donald McInnis came to the United States in 1880, and went direct to San Francisco. In the following spring he settled on his present homestead, at a time when few settlers had ar- rived in this vicinity. Being in very string- ent financial circumstances 'he was compelled to seek work by the day for money with which to improve his home. He worked for a time in a saw mill near Spokane, then went to a mill on the line of the Northern Pacific railroad in Idaho, where he drove oxen. His early strug- gles were made especially hard by the high price he had to pay for all his implements, and so forth. For instance, the ordinary plow cost at that time fifty dollars, other implements in proportion. However, by dint of hard labor and careful management, he gained rapidly, until now he is one of the well-to-do farmers of his county. He owns six hundred and forty acres, nearly all choice grain land, well im- proved and in a high state of cultivation. He has an especially large house, good barn and outbuildings, telephone connections with the outside world, and, in fact, all the modern con- veniences. In addition to these possessions he owns three hundred and twenty acres of farm- ing land near Almira.
February 18, 1889, Donald McInnis was married to Christy McDonald, a native of On- tario, whom he knew, and with whom he at- tended school in his childhood days. She is the daughter of John and Anna McDonald, both of whom are still living in their old home in Ontario. Mrs. McInnis' brothers and sis- ters are : William, of North Dakota ; Murdock, in Duluth; John, in Ontario; Mrs. Sarah Mc- Sween; Mary McDonald; and Mrs. Anna Mc- Innis. One brother, Daniel is dead.
One child has been born to Mr. and Mrs. McInnis, William D., on July 3, 1892.
Mr. McInnis is known as one of the most thrifty and enterprising farmers in Lincoln county, being thoroughly progressive and up-to- date in all his methods.
He is a member in high standing of the Woodmen of the World.
NAPOLEON PROULX, who is now mak- ing his home at the beautiful residence owned by him at 501 East Boone avenue, is one of the builders of the Big Bend country and de- serves mention in any volume that purports to
MR. AND MRS. NAPOLEON PROULX
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give recital of the leading men of central Washington. His energy, keen foresight, ex- cellent wisdom and probity, which have always been in evidence during his career of activity in Washington, have won for him the success deserved, both in financial matters and social life. Our readers will be pleased to note the appended account of his life more in detail.
Napoleon Proulx was born in Canada, on February 19, 1853, the son of William and Dinis (Brunet ) Proulx. The father was a prominent and wealthy farmer and stock fancier, and died when sixty-five. The mother died aged seventy. Our subject has inherited his father's love for fine stock and is a real connoisseur of thoroughbreds. The Catholic parochial schools of Montreal furnished the educational training of Napoleon Proulx and soon after those brief days were ended, he embarked in merchandising at Rockston seventy miles out from Montreal. It was 1885 when he came to Spokane, and after some engagement with Peter Morrison, a dealer in fine horses and a breeder of fine stock, Mr. Proulx began a tour of adventure and explor- ation of the country. He traveled over the Big Bend country and other sections, and finally located a homestead north of Almira, in Lincoln county in 1890.
He had started in business in Medical Lake before that and there operated a bakery about two years. Later he removed to Spokane and has lived in various sections of eastern and central Washington. In 1900, he removed his family to Spokane and they now dwell on Boone avenue, as mentioned above. Mr. Proulx has purchased land in the Big Bend country in addition to his former holdings, some being in Douglas county, until he now has a section or more of choice wheat land, all well improved. His sons handle the estate and are progressive young men of the county. They also have a half section of their own.
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