An illustrated history of the Big Bend country, embracing Lincoln, Douglas, Adams, and Franklin counties, state of Washington, pt 1, Part 78

Author: Steele, Richard F; Rose, Arthur P
Publication date: 1904
Publisher: [Spokane, Wash.] Western Historical Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 652


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 78
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 78
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 78
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 78


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gan teaching at Sprague, Lincoln county, where she remained two years, going thence to Wil- bur, where she taught three years, and in 1895 she was elected superintendent of public in- struction for Lincoln county, on the Popu- list ticket, which had been endorsed by the Democratic party. She served one term most efficiently, and was renominated by the Demo- crats, but was defeated by a slim majority, and she then taught in the Davenport high school two years. In 1902 Miss Neal was re-elected.


Fraternally our subject is a member of Henrietta Chapter, O. E. S., of Sprague, Wash- ington ; Excelsior Lodge, No. 108, Rebekah Degree, Davenport, of which she is past noble grand: Ladies of the Maccabees, Spokane Hive No. 13, Spokane, Washington : Rhodendron Circle Women of Woodcraft, Davenport, and F. A. of A., Davenport. Miss Neal is a mem- ber of the Methodist Episcopal church, and is highly esteemed by a large circle of friends,


JOHN McINNIS conducts a livery busi- ness in Harrington. He was born in Ontario, Canada, March 17, 1871. He was educated in the public schools of Canada, and came to Lincoln county in the fall of 1895. He went to Davenport, where he worked for his brother for three years, then purchased a livery stable in Reardan, which he managed for one year then sold it to engage in a similar, business in Harrington. His brother, Alexander, has al- ways been a partner with him in business. Af- ter coming to this city in 1900 the brothers rented a livery barn for a time and started in business on a small scale, but later they pur- chased a lot and erected their own building, seventy by ninety-five feet in dimensions, in which they now carry on the leading livery business of the town. They keep a complete line of vehicles, are well supplied with horses, and also run a feed and sale business. They carry the mail to Earl postoffice, and are proprietors of the Harrington-Davenport stage. Their firm style is McInnis Brothers. Our subject owns a good home and some choice property in town and is in a generally prosperous condition.


The parents of Mr. Melnnis were Donald and Margaret (McDonald) McInnis, the ‘ former having died in 1902, in his seventieth year, and the latter of whom is still living in


Canada, aged sixty-five years. Both were born in Ontario. The brothers of Mr. McInnis are : Donald, Mack, Hugh, Neil and Alexander. One sister, Catherine, is dead.


On December 14, 1899, occurred the mar- riage of Mr. McInnis and Catherine Goddard, who was born in Iowa and who came to Lin- coln county with her parents twelve years since. Her father is Benjamin and her mother Anna Goddard, both now living in Davenport.


Mr. and Mrs. Mclnnis have one child, Mar- garette G. McInnis.


WILLIAM GOHLMAN. To no class of people more than the farmers is due the pres- ent prosperous conditions of Lincoln county. Among those who have wrought wisely and well is the gentleman whose name stands at the head of this sketch. He resides about a mile southwest of Harrington and was born on January 29, 1864, in Clinton county, Iowa. His father, Henry Gohlman, was born in Ger- many and came to the United States at the age of twenty. He made settlement in Clin- ton county, lowa, and there served as county recorder for four years. He was well educated in both the German and the English. He is now residing in the city of Clinton, Iowa, aged seventy-one. He married Henrictta Brincker, also a native of Germany. She is still living in Clinton, aged seventy-five. They raised the following named children, Henry, Martin, Ru- dolph, William, who is our subject, and Mrs. Mary Buck.


William was educated in Clinton and in 1884 started to work for himself, beginning operations in constructing railroads in western Iowa and followed the same in Nebraska, Min- nesota, Dakota and Montana for four years, then came the determination to secure a home for himself and accordingly he turned toward the territory of Washington and in the spring of 1888, he landed in Lincoln county and he- gan working for wages. He soon located a homestead and began improvements. He also (lid considerable breaking of the prairie for other parties and prospered well in his farm labors. In 1898, he bought his present home place, which is a farm of four hundred and eighty acres, two-thirds of which is devoted to wheat raising. The place is supplied with good


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HISTORY OF THE BIG BEND COUNTRY.


improvements, as house, barn, well, wind mill, orchard and so forth. Mr. Gohlman has a stock of horses and cattle and is one of the well-to-do citizens of this portion of the county.


On November 11, 1898, Mr. Gohlman mar- ried Miss Loretta Brown who was born in California, the daughter of James and Jennie (Glascock) Brown. The father is deceased and the mother is living in Harrington. Mrs. Gohlman has two brothers and one sister, Frank, Lela and Harry.


Mr. Gohlman is a member of the W. W. and one of the progressive men of the com- munity. Two children have been born to the family, Wayne and Ylean.


Mr. Gohlman landed in this country with- out any means and all that he owns now is the result of his industry and thrift.


WILBUR HINSHAW was born in Walla Walla county, Washington, on December 9, 1860, the son of Luke and Isabel ( Mckinney) Hinshaw, both now deceased. At the age of three years he was taken by his parents to Washington county, Oregon, where he later attended the common schools as he grew to manhood on a farm. In the spring of 1879 he came to Walla Walla, and the following year he, with his father and mother, his broth- er, John D. and sister, Endora, came to Lin- coln county, where his father took a homestead in the vicinity of the present site of the town of Mohler. Here they engaged in the stock business, having an abundance of open graz- ing land,-in fact their nearest neighbor lived distant ten miles. In 1891 Wilbur Hinshaw took a homestead, which he still owns. He has added to his original claim until he now owns three hundred and twenty acres, about one half of which is cultivated farm land, and the remainder used for pasturage of live stock, the raising of which is one of the leading branches of his agricultural business. In this business he is in partnership with his brother.


Mr. Hinshaw was married to May Lacey, a native of Indiana and daughter of John B. and Martha Lacey, both now living in Stevens county, Washington. This union has been blessed with four children: Edna M., Floyd K., Martha and Vera.


Mr. Hinshaw is a prosperous and promi-


nent farmer, and it is the general supposition that he was the first male white child to be born in Walla Walla county.


GEORGE E. BUTLER is a farmer and stock raiser residing three miles northeast from Griffith and ten miles north from Ritz- ville, and his farm lies in Lincoln county near the county boundary line.


Mr. Butler was born on August 29, 1836, in Jefferson county, Missouri, the son of Joel and Margaret (Morrison) Butler, natives of Jefferson and Crawford counties, Missouri, respectively. The father was a veteran of the Black Hawk war and a pioneer of California of 1849. He died in that state during the year of his advent there. The subject's grandfather, Edward Butler, was of Irish descent, born in Kentucky, came to Jefferson county, Missouri, when a boy and purchased a Spanish land grant where now stands the city of De Soto, where he lived the remainder of his life. The mother of George E. Butler died in her native state.


The brothers and sisters of Mr. Butler are : William C., Mrs. Elizabeth Pratt, living, and John M., Sarah A., Mrs. Ella Wilkinson and Mrs. Josephine Butt, deceased.


The school education of our subject was limited to a few months spent in a primitive log school house. He crossed the plains in the spring of 1853 with a train of seventeen immigrant wagons drawn by oxen. The party arrived at Marysville, California, after a long and perilous journey, having had a serious fight with the Indians on the Truckee river in which two of the immigrants were killed. In Cali- fornia Mr. Butler engaged in mining, which business he followed until enlisting in the army in 1855 during the conflict with the Indians known as the Rogue River war. His elder brother, was also a soldier during this war. On November 3, 1861, at Jacksonville, Ore- gon, Mr. Butler enlisted in Company A, First Oregon Cavalry, and was made a sergeant of his company. He did service in Eastern Ore- gon and along the emigrant roads farther east against the Indians for three years, when he was given an honorable discharge from service having been engaged in many desperate skir- mishes with the savages and on every occasion


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HISTORY OF THE BIG BEND COUNTRY.


acquitting himself with credit both to himself and his company. He is now receiving a pen- sion for his services. In 1863, during the month of April, he went to San Francisco by boat, and ten days later he started by ship for. New York city, arriving at his destination twenty-three days later. From New York he went to his old home and was there married, during April, 1867, to Meka Garrett, a na- tive of Jefferson county, Missouri, and daugh- ter of William and Eliza A. Garrett. In the fall of 1886 Mr. Butler brought his family to the Big Bend and took a homestead near his pres- ent farm and engaged in the stock business. He has lived on his present farm twelve years, and now owns eleven hundred and twenty acres of good land. His farm is one of the best in the county.


Mrs. Butler died on November 29, 1900, leaving a family of eleven children : Belle, wife of Charles Herschberger, Ritzville; Georgia, wife of William Johnson, Ritzville; Victor, married to Jessie Leonard, Farmington, Wash- ington ; Edward, married to Pearl Sage, Ritz- ville; Margaret, wife of Putnam Farrington, Farmington ; Grace, married to Lewis Lacey, Chewelah, Washington; Gertrude, wife of Hacom Lemman, Ritzville; Estella, wife of John Lacey, Chewelah ; Glene E., William R. and Mary Ellen. Besides these Mr. Butler has lost four children, who died in infancy.


Mr. Butlen is a member of the G. A. R., at Ritzville, and with most of his children, be- longs to the Christian church, to which church his wife also belonged when alive.


LUKE HINSHAW was a native of Ross county, Ohio, born September 9, 1819. During his early childhood he was taken by his parents to Indiana and at the age of fifteen he went to Henry county, Iowa. In the spring of 1845 he started across the plains with a yoke of oxen. being a member of a party of sixty wagons bound for the Willamette valley, and arrived at his destination in the month of November. Mr. Hinshaw lived at various places in the Willamette valley, and for a time conducted a ferry across the river at Oregon city.


He was married on November 23. 1851. in Washington county, Oregon, to Isabella Mckinney, a native of Tippecanoe county,


Indiana, born March 31, 1831. Mrs. Hinshaw was the daughter of William and Anna (Walter) Mckinney, natives, respectively, of Ross county, Ohio, and Washington county, Pennsylvania. The paternal ancestors of Mrs. Hinshaw were of Irish stock, some of whom served in the Revolutionary war in America. The father was a pioneer of Oregon of 1845, and at the age of eighty-seven, died in Wash- ington county of that state in the year 1886. The mother was closely related to Reverend Phillip Dodgridge, a celebrated minister, and died in Portland, Oregon, in 1898, aged ninety- two years. Mrs. Hinshaw's family removed to Henry county, Iowa, from the state of her, birth, and in 1844 started across the plains to Oregon, butt owing to misfortunes the family was compelled to remain on the Platte river until the following spring, when they joined the party of which Mr. Hinshaw was a mem- ber, and with it came on to Oregon. Mrs. Hinshaw's parents made their home in Wash- ington county until their. death.


After the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Hin- shaw they removed to Linn county. Oregon, near Albany, where Mr. Hinshaw had a dona- tion claim of land. In the autumn of 1859 they came to Walla Walla, Washington, and soon afterward started a merchandise store near the present location of the city of Waitsburg, on the Walla Walla-Lewiston trails. Theirs was the first store between these two points. After remaining in that business a few years, Mr. and Mrs. Hinshaw sold out. returned to Oregon and for a short space of time con- dueted a store at Centerville. Later they sold this business, came to the Big Bend and filed on a homestead in 1880. Thein claim lay one-half mile south of the present site of Mohler. They were the first settlers in that vicinity and their nearest neighbor lived ten miles' distant. The health of Mr. Hinshaw soon began to give way. and. returning to Ore- gon with the hope of being benefited, he died in that state in 1883. However, he never dis- posed of his Big Bend homestead.


Mrs. Hinshaw has three brothers and one sister : James M., William, Jasper N. and Mrs. Rachel Cornelius, the first two residents of Washington and the others of Oregon. She makes her home a portion of the time with her children and the remainder of the time with her sister, whose home is in Portland.


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HISTORY OF THE BIG BEND COUNTRY.


Both Mr. and Mrs. Hinshaw have been life-long members of the Presbyterian church.


They reared a family of five children, whose names and present addresses follow : Dora, married to F. W. Morgan, Mohler : Walter E. and Rachel, now deceased; John D. married to Bertha Lacey, Mohler, and Wilbur M., also of Mohler. John D. Hinshaw is a prominent farmer, owning three hundred and twenty acres of land. He has two children, Herbert B. and Cecil.


All of the children were born in Linn coun- ty, Oregon, with the exception of the last named, who is a native of Washington.


JOHN KERR is one of the later comers to Lincoln county, yet is not one whit behind the old pioneers in his devotion to this section, in his enthusiasm and energy in building up the country and making for himself a choice home. He landed here with very little means but has been very prosperous in his labors and is now possessed of a comfortable home be- sides other property.


John Kerr was born in the county of Down, Ireland. July 22, 1839, the son of John and Mary Kerr, natives of Ireland, where they also died. The mother's death occurred when she was aged ninety-three. They were the parents of nine children, three of whom are living, Margaret, who remained with her mother until her death and is now living with our subject ; Thomas, residing near Harrington. John grew up to manhood on the old home place in Ireland and received his education from the public schools. When arrived at manhood's estate, he sailed from Londonderry, Ireland, landing in New York, then he came to Pitts- burg in 1870 and worked for the Pittsburg transfer company. He was in the noted Pitts- burg riots and escaped uninjured. In 1878, he journeyed west to Sac county, Iowa, and bought a small farm, which, however he sold later and returned to Pittsburg. In 1895. he went thence to Wheeling, West Virginia, and engaged in the wholesale grocery business but owing to reverses, lost his entire fortune. Re- turning to Pittsburg, he engaged as watchman in the Farmers National Bank and served two years at watch at fifty dollars per month. He thus accumulated a little start and in March,


1898, came to Harrington. For two years, he remained with his brother and then purchased a quarter section of land just north from Har- rington. It is one of the finest pieces of wheat land to be found in the country and every foot is under cultivation. He has gained steadily in wordly goods since coming here and is now in very comfortable circumstances. He has a good house, outbuildings and so forth, while the farm is well supplied with plenty of pure water. Mr. Kerr is a member of the Lloyd Orange Society Number Twenty of Pittsburg and was also in the Order in Ireland. He be- longs to the Presbyterian church.


On February 13, 1879, in Pittsburg, Mr. Kerr married Miss Lizzie Clark, a native of Lawrence county, Pennsylvania. In 1886, he was called to mourn her death. She left one child, Mary A., who is now the wife of John T. Ruth. She is handling a dressmaking par- lor in Allegheny while her husband is instruc- tor in music. She and her husband are both members of the Presbyterian church and he is an elder in that denomination. Mr. Kerr has traveled over the United States considerable and gives as his testimony that no section that he has ever visited is equal to the Big Bend country for honest working men. He is one of the highly esteemed citizens of this section and has conducted himself so that he is worthy of the confidence of his fellows.


JOHN T. JORDAN is well known throughout the Big Bend country as one of the pioneers and his labors have been such that he has won the esteem of all those who have the pleasure of his acquaintance. He is well acquainted with pioneer life in its various phases and has ever done the part of a good citizen and upright man. He was born in Adams county, Illinois, on February 6, 1851, the son of William J. and Matilda E. (Burke) Jordan. The father was born in Jefferson county. Illinois, on September 20, 1820, and followed farming most of his life. He was a pioneer of Adams county, Illinois, and when the Mexican war broke out, he enlisted and served throughout the struggle. In 1855 he went via New York and Panama to California where he sought the precious metal for one year. Then he returned to Adams county and


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HISTORY OF THE BIG BEND COUNTRY.


there remained until his death, March 26, 1876. He was a member of the I. O. O. F. The mother was born in Kentucky in 1828 and died in the fall of 1853. She was a devout member of the Christian church. Our subject was reared on the farm and grew rugged from its invig- orating exercise. In the adjacent schools he laid the foundations of a good education and until 1872 was at the parental home. At the date last mentioned he went to western Kan- sas and spent some time hunting buffalo. In the next spring he returned to Illinois and re- mained with his father until the death of the latter. Then he learned the painter's trade and in 1878 entered the Gem City Business College at Quincy, Illinois, where he finished his education. In the spring of 1879 we find young Jordan in Hutchinson, Kansas, painting and in the fall of the same year he went via San Francisco and Portland to Walla Walla. Next he located in Lewiston, Idaho, and in January, 1880, he made his way to Medical Lake, Washington. He was also in Cheney and Spokane, and in 1881 he located in Sprague. For several years he diligently fol- lowed his trade, and in 1883 engaged as sales- man in one of the large stores of that city. When the Coeur d' Alene excitement was on, Mr. Jordan spent some time in prospecting. then returned to the store where he continued uninterruptedly until the big fire of 1895. The next spring he went to Spokane and took up the real estate business which occupied him until 1901, when he accepted a position with the Western Historical Publishing Company as biographical historian, where he has continued uninterruptedly since. Mr. Jordan has oper- ated in this line over a large field and has per- formed much of the Lincoln county biographi- cal work. He is well and favorably known to all the old timers in Lincoln county and stands exceptionally well.


On October 19, 1884, Mr. Jordan married Miss Annie Schultz, a native of Adams county, Illinois, where they went to school together. Mrs. Jordan's parents are Henry and Per- melia Schultz. Both were born in Kentucky and in early day pioneered to Adams county, Illinois, where they remained until their death. To Mr. and Mrs. Jordan two children have been born, Charles E., now in business in Spo- kane, and Ethel Marie. Mr. Jordan was made a member of the I. O. O. F. in Hlinois in 1874.


He has passed the chairs of the lodge and now holds his membership in the Imperial lodge in Spokane. Mr. and Mrs. Jordan are both mem- bers of the Christian church and are faithful followers of the teachings of that denomina- tion. Theirs is the faith that makes faithful and they are both exemplary and highly respected people.


SOLOMON H. MILLER. The beautiful and substantial residence of Mr. Miller is about three miles northeast from Harrington and is one of the choice places of the county. The broad acres of a large farm surround and the entire estate is one of great value and produc- tive of large returns annually. Mr. Miller has about one section producing wheat and the ex- cellent buildings, orchards, and other improve- ments combine to make all attractive and com- fortable. The residence is of eight rooms ex- clusive of bath and closets and is provided with hot and cold water and all other modern con- veniences. A first class water system supplies the life giving fluid to all parts of the grounds needed and the entire premises speak forth the thrift and taste of the owner.


Solomon H. Miller was born in Marion county, Ohio, on January 6, 1859, the son of Jacob and Matilda Miller. The father was born in Pennsylvania, where his ancestors were early pioneers, and they also fought in the Revolution. The mother was also born in the Keystone state and she traces her ancestry to Germany as well as does her husband. Our subject was trained in the schools of Fayette county, Illinois, and in 1880, went to Iowa and later to Dakota. In the fall of 1882, he made his way on out west, and in due time located in Cheney. For a few months he worked for wages and had opportunity to look over the country. Being impressed with the fertility and advantages of the Big Bend, Mr. Miller in the fall of 1882 chose a pre-emption where he now lives. Later he filed a homestead right on it and then commenced the hard pull to open up a farm in this will country. For years he labored along, scarcely seeing any progress in- til 1897, when he was prospered excellently and soon accumulated his present fine hokling. In November, 1893, Mr. Miller married Miss Susan, the daughter of Jacob and Anna Pfrender, and a native of Switzerland. The


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HISTORY OF THE BIG BEND COUNTRY.


parents are now both deceased. Mrs. Miller came to the United States when she was young. In 1890, she went to Pennsylvania and in 1893, she landed in Lincoln county. To this mar- riage two children have been born, Wesley W. and Hulda F. Mr. and Mrs. Miller are both members of the Evangelical church and have always taken an active interest in church work. At the present time, Mr. Miller is superintend- ent of the Sunday school and is an active pro- moter of all movements that are for the wel- fare of the community. Mr. and Mrs. Miller la- bored very hard for the first twelve years of their stay in this county and many hardships and much self-denial were theirs to endure. However, they surmounted it all and now are reaping the due reward of their industry.


ORLANDER ANDERSON has resided in the Big Bend country for over twenty years. During this time he has always been found la- boring industriously in the care of his private business enterprises and for the upbuilding of the country. Without doubt he is to be classed as one of the makers and builders of this pros- perous county and deserves much credit for what he has done. At present, he resides about eight miles southwest from Davenport where he has a fine estate of over one section, five hundred acres of which are in a high state of cultivation and produce a most gratifying in- come annually. Owing to the wisdom and thrift of Mr. Anderson his farm is a model one in almost every respect and he deserves great credit not only for the skill displayed but for the way in which he has stimulated others in the industry.


Orlander Anderson was born in Sweden on January 3. 1856, the son of Andrew and Anna Anderson, natives of Sweden. They live there at the present time. He has two brothers, Olaf and Aaron. Our subject received his educa- tion before he was sixteen and at that time came via Liverpool and New York to Pennsyl- vania. In 1878, he journeyed thence to Sierra county, California, and worked for a salary until 1883. In the fall of that year he came to the Big Bend country and located his present place as a homestead. Ever since that time he has given painstaking and careful attention to the cultivation of the land and has made a


brilliant success in his labors. When he set- tled here, the bunch grass prairies were almost unbroken by settlers and he has seen the de- velopment of this rich section. He has endured many hardships, had great difficulty to get started but he has shown the determination and grit that have won the day.


On December 27, 1903, Mr. Anderson mar- ried Miss Elizabeth Johns, a native of Pennsyl- vania. Her father, Jenkin Johns, was a native of Wales and came to Pennsylvania when a young man. He was among the first pioneers to Lincoln county and resides there at the pres- ent time. The mother of Mrs. Anderson is Anna Johns, also a native of Wales and now living in Lincoln county. Mrs. Anderson has one brother, William and four sisters, Mary, Minnie, Maggie and Edith.




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