USA > Washington > Douglas County > An illustrated history of the Big Bend country, embracing Lincoln, Douglas, Adams, and Franklin counties, state of Washington, pt 2 > Part 37
USA > Washington > Adams County > An illustrated history of the Big Bend country, embracing Lincoln, Douglas, Adams, and Franklin counties, state of Washington, pt 2 > Part 37
USA > Washington > Franklin County > An illustrated history of the Big Bend country, embracing Lincoln, Douglas, Adams, and Franklin counties, state of Washington, pt 2 > Part 37
USA > Washington > Lincoln County > An illustrated history of the Big Bend country, embracing Lincoln, Douglas, Adams, and Franklin counties, state of Washington, pt 2 > Part 37
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In Waterville, Washington, on February 14, 1899, occurred the marriage of Mr. Farn- ham and Miss Clarissa, daughter of Hiram and Nancy (Martin) McCollum, natives of Ohio and Canada, respectively. Mrs. Farnham has three sisters, Sophronia McCollum, La- vina B. McCollum and Mrs. Carolina Powers. Mrs. Farnham was born in Wabasha county, Minnesota, in 1864, taught school in Pierce county, Wisconsin, for four years and as a mis- sionary in Utah one and a half years, also taught school in Douglas county, Washington, for one year, investing her money in land in Douglas county, which has doubled in value.
Mr. Farnham is a member of the I. O. O. F., while he and his wife belong to the Re- bekahs. They are also both members of the Methodist church, being firm in the faith and liberal supporters of church institutions.
WILLIAM STODDARD knows by ex- perience what it is to land in a new country without property or means and to make his way single handed against all kinds of odds; until fortune smiles on him. In the place of his former struggles he can now view a goodly competence, the result of the toil and wisdom displayed during the years of scanty allowances. Mr. Stoddard came to Douglas county in 1886 having a family of wife and two children to support and his property was summed up in the list of two horses and one wagon. He lo- cated on a homestead about four miles north- east from Waterville and went to work and since that time he has continued to work with the result that now he has a valuable farm of seven hundred and twenty acres, fine residence, large barn, other improvements and stored in the dry are thirty-five hundred sacks of wheat
ready for the market. Mr. Stoddard raises Jersey stock and fine Poland-China hogs and has some fine specimens on the farm.
William Stoddard was born in Oswego county, New York, on December 25, 1856, the son of John and Mary (Shaey) Stoddard, na- tives of Ireland. The father was of English stock, but the mother descended from the strong Irish blood that has made itself felt and known around the globe. The father came to the United States in early days and the mother. was twelve when her feet first pressed the soil in the land of the free. William Stoddard was born in Oswego, went to Canada when a child, remaining until fourteen then came to Niagara county, New York. When twenty-three he went west to Kansas, settling in Marshall coun- ty. He railroaded and farmed in that state until 1886, when he crossed the plains to Doug- las county and landed here as stated above. This has been his home since that time and he is now one of the leading men in the county and surely deserves great credit for the success he has carved out by his efforts. Mr. Stoddard has the following brothers and sisters, Peter, John, Hugh, Mrs. Elizabeth Henderson, Mrs. Maggie Kester, Mrs. Annie Welch, and Mrs. Mae Mahoney.
In Marshall county, Kansas, on April 8, 1883, Mr. Stoddard married Miss Mary J., daughter of Joseph and Maria (Sutton) Scriber, natives of Pennsylvania and Illinois, and of Dutch and English stock, respectively. Mrs. Stoddard was born in Galena, Illinois, on February 22, 1857, and has the following named brothers and sisters, George H., Matthew, Daniel. A. Lincoln, Mrs. Esther Gillispie, and Mrs. Jennie Campbell. To Mr. and Mrs. Stoddard the following named chil- dren have been born; Edward, in Marshall county, Kansas, on January 18, 1884; Jennie, in the same county, on November 6, 1885; Annie, in Douglas county, on June 30, 1888. Mr. and Mrs. Stoddard were raised under the influence of the Episcopalian and Catholic churches and are upright and well liked people.
JOHN W. STEPHENS is one of the oldest citizens in Douglas county and has so wrought here during the years of his long resi- dence that he is highly esteemed by all who know him. He has done much for the im-
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HISTORY OF THE BIG BEND COUNTRY.
provement of the county in both a private and a public capacity and is counted by all a real benefactor.
John W. Stephens was born in Wood county, in what is now West Virginia, on Jan- uary 22, 1842, the son of George and Louisa (Lee) Stephens, natives of Virginia, and of English and Scotch extraction, respectively. The public schools of his native county con- tributed the educational training of our subject and when he was nineteen he enlisted in Com- pany F, Seventeenth Virginia Cavalry, under Captain J. H. Crawford. This was in 1862, and Mr. Stephens served throughout the entire war. He participated in the battles of Win- chester, Gettysburg, and many others, until he was captured in Lura Valley and sent to Point Lookout as a prisoner of war, remaining until the war closed. In 1866 Mr. Stephens went to Missouri, whence he journeyed to Montana and there operated in the wood business for two years. From there he went to Virginia and in 1871 came west to Humboldt county, Califor- nia, and there farmed for seven years. In the spring of 1877 he made his way to Spokane Falls, and on Moran Prairie, eight miles south- east from that now flourishing city, he located and proved up on a homestead. In 1883 he operated in the shingle business at Clarkfork, Idaho, and the same year brought a sawmill to Douglas county, locating the same on Badger Mountain, some four miles south of where Waterville stands today. In 1889 he brought in a second mill, establishing it near the first one, and continued to operate the two until one was destroyed by fire. In 1893 Mr. Stephens leased his mill and moved to one of his farms, of which he owns several in Douglas county. In 1897 he went to Seattle and was there con- nected with the hotel business for four years. In 1903 he returned to Waterville, where he now resides.
In 1885 Mr. Stephens was chosen by the people as county commissioner and served as chairman of the board in Douglas county. His ability and excellent service were rewarded by a re-election in 1887. His administration in this important office with his colleagues was accompanied by much good to the county, ow- ing to his keen foresight and wisdom, which were always accompanied by the integrity which characterize the man.
Mr. Stephens has the following named
brothers and sisters: Abednego, Jared, Betty Ann, Frances, Minerva Victory. He belongs to the A. F. and A. M., having been one of the organizers and charter members of the first lodge in Spokane and also in Waterville. Mr. Stephens is a man of reliability and excellent standing wherever he is known and numbers his friends from every quarter.
CHARLES M. SPRAGUE, one of the leading and well known stock men of Douglas county, has his headquarters about seven miles south from Coulee City. He was born in Sagadahoc county, Maine, on January 16, 1858. His father, William Sprague, was also a na- tive of Maine and descended from an old New England family of renown. The mother, Jane (Morrison) Sprague, was born in Maine. Charles M. studied in the common schools of the lumber state and his early life was spent on the farm. At the age of seventeen he shipped on a merchant steamer that was doing a coast trade and for two years he sailed before the mast. After that, he went into the butcher business at Bath and one year later, disposed of his interests and turned his attention to ship building. He learned the ship joiner's trade in the employ of William Rogers and for five years wrought there. Then he desired to see the west and so disposing of his interests in the east, journeyed toward the setting sun until he arrived in Washington. He at once selected his present place and took it by government right. Then he entered the employ of George Urquhart and two years later began raising stock for himself. He progressed very nicely until the winter of 1889-90 when the severe storms and wind swept his entire band of cattle and almost all his horses away. He purchased other stock and began once more the business of raising cattle and horses. He has now a fine band of well bred horses and cattle and is one of the prosperous stockmen of the entire country. In 1894, Mr. Sprague was elected commissioner on the Republican ticket and did excellent service for two years, being instru- mental in having the indebtedness on the county wiped out by bonds. Mr. Sprague has the fol- lowing brothers and sisters: George A., who came to this country with our subject and is
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HISTORY OF THE BIG BEND COUNTRY.
now a joint owner with him in the stock busi- ness ; Franklin P., a lawyer in Bath, Maine, who represented Sagadahoc county in the state legislature when twenty-two; William L., a mechanic at Bath ; Bradford, living on the old homestead in Maine; Mrs. Martha L. Percey, living in Portland, Maine; Mrs. Alonzo Kit- ridge. living in Bath, Maine; and Mrs. Clara Bowker in Boston, Massachusetts.
Mr. Sprague is a member of the A. O. U. W. and a genial and capable man.
GEORGE W. HENDRICKS, who is con- ducting a large real estate, loan, and insurance business in Waterville, is one of the best known men in the county of Douglas, and one of the men who have unhesitatingly moved forward the car of progress in central Washington, never abating in personal effort to enhance the interests of the country in every way possible. In fact it is said that Mr. Hendricks has been the means of bringing into Douglas county more settlers than any other person or corpora- tion and it is true that his name appears oftener on the records than that of any other person.
George W. Hendricks was born in Max- well, Parry county, Ohio, on May 1, 1861, the son of John and Nancy (Hufford) Hendricks, natives of Pennsylvania and Ohio, respectively. The father served to repel Mor- gan in his raids into Ohio. Hon. George W. Hendricks, state senator for many years from Parry county, Ohio, is a paternal uncle of oun subject. John Hufford, brother of our sub- ject's mother, was a lieutenant in the Ohio volunteer forces. After a preparation in the common schools in Tama county, Iowa. George W. studied in the high schols in Toledo, Iowa, and finally finished his investigations in the state normal at Cedar Falls, Iowa. Follow- ing this, he taught in Iowa and later in Ten- nessee, filling the position of an educator for a number of years in Iowa, Tennessee and Louis- iana. Then he came to Ritzville, Washington, whence he walked over one hundred miles to Douglas, and soon was en- gaged in teaching. He opened in the real estate and loan business in Water- ville in the spring of 1889, and although it was hard starting, he soon became recognized as one of the leaders in this line and he has done
a remarkably large business. In 1894 he bought the county bonds of twenty thousand dollars at six per cent. thus saving the county much in interest. In 1897, Mr. Hendricks combined the grain buying business with his former enterprises and continued successfully in it until 1902, when he was forced by the increase in his business to drop that portion. He bought land in the county until he had about eight thousand acres, operating in connection with Charles G. Reeder of Spokane. Later he sold to the Washington Land Company of Iowa, taking a large share of stock in the com- pany. Afterward he sold his interest in the company and has since devoted himself entirely to his private business of real estate, insurance and loans.
. Mr. Hendricks has two brothers and three sisters : Daniel B., dwelling at Elgin, Oregon, where he has won great success in the lumber business ; John P., a heavy promoter and secre- tary of the Tri-Bullion Smelting and Develop- ment Company, of Chicago; Mrs. R. M. Tin- dall, of Toledo, Iowa; Mrs. Etta Farris, and Mrs. Matilda McElhinney. Mr. Hendricks is a member of the I. O. O. F. and was raised under the influence of the Dunkard church.
ALVA C. WHITEHALL has achieved success in Douglas county as a result of his. own industry and the wise bestowment of his labors, having shown himself master of the re- sources granted by a generous nature to the dwellers in this favored section. He is re- siding in Waterville at the present time, where he has tasty residence and is engaged in farm- ing. He has a good farm seventeen miles east from Waterville, from which he derives an- nually a good revenue.
Alva C . Whitehall was born in Henderson county, Illinois, on April 23, 1862, the son of James and Elizabeth (Clark) Whitehall, na- tives of Indiana. The father was a farmer and a minister of the gospel. Our, subject was educated in Greene county, Iowa, and there remained until he arrived at manhood's estate. He settled to farming in the Hawkeye State and succeeded well until 1896, when he sold out and came to this county. After due search, he settled on a homestead, seventeen miles east from Waterville and there bestowed his labors
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HISTORY OF THE BIG BEND COUNTRY.
until recently he removed to town to dwell. Mr. Whitehall has the following brothers and sister, Barclay W., Henry T., Nicholas C., Charles A., and Mrs. Carrie M. Badger.
In Greene county, Iowa, on December 26, 1883, Mr. Whitehall married Miss Arra B. Kuder and to them have been born the follow- ing children; Legran, on November 13, 1884; George, on January 1, 1888; Minnie, on De- cember 17, 1889; Bethal, on March 23, 1892; Leah, on October 4, 1895 ; Joseph, on Novem- ber 3, 1898; A. Curtis, on March 24, 1901. All were born in Greene county, Iowa, but the last two who own Douglas county as their na- tive place. Mrs. Whitehall's parents are George W. and Isabel (Brock) Kuder, natives of Pennsylvania and Indiana, respectively. The former died on June 9, 1903, and the latter passed away on June 17, 1903. Mrs. White- hall has two brothers and two sisters, Madison M., George F., Mrs. Jennie G. Whitehall, and Mrs. Malissa Harsh. Mr. and Mrs. White- hall are both members of the Church of God and are devout supporters of it and its institu- tions. Mr. Whitehall is well posted in the doctrines of this denomination and labors as- siduously for the spread of the faith.
FRANK W. BROMILEY has one of the most valuable places in the vicinity of Southside and it is known as Point View Farm. He owns three quarter sections about one mile south from the postoffice, one quarter being gained by homestead right and the other half section by purchase from the railroad com- pany. Mr. Bromiley has one of the finest resi- dences in this part of the country, it being a large eight room house of modern construction and located on the edge of Beaver Creek can- yon. The farm is well supplied with all neces- sary buildings for stock and grain raising. Mr. Bromiley has constructed a fine system of water works, operated by a gas engine, which pumps the water to the hill where the house and barn stand. The farm is well improved and handled with skill, being made to produce abundance of small grain. In addition to this, Mr. Brom- iley handles fine shorthorn and Polled-Angus cattle, Clyde horses, and has a large poultry plant. A productive and beautiful farm now exists where a few years before the virgin soil lay unbroken.
Frank W. was born in Philadelphia on January 13, 1864. His parents were both na- tives of Turton, near Bolton, Lancashire, Eng- land and came to the United States in 1859. The father, William B. Bromiley enlisted in the Civil war in Colonel Baker's California Regi- ment, Company D, under Captain Ritman. He participated in the battle of Ball's Bluff be- sides others, and after one year of service was discharged in Philadelphia. The mother's maiden name was Mary Welsh. Our subject was educated in the schools of Philadelphia, where he remained until grown to manhood. In 1885 he was the subject of a very severe attack of western fever, for the cure of which he turned his face toward the setting sun and journeyed to Wallula Junction, Washington, where he was employed by the O. R. & N. Railway. Later, he went to The Dalles, where he remained for a time. In 1888, our subject selected the railroad land, where his home now is and later took a homestead. Mr. Bromiley has two brothers and one sister : James W., whose farm adjoins Southside : Louis, and Mrs. Samuel Eagelson, who re- sides in Philadelphia. Our subject returned to Philadelphia to claim his bride, Miss A. Sylvia Campbell, and there their wedding . oc- curred on February 15, 1899. Mrs. Bromiley was born July 4, 1871; to James and Arabella (Clark) Campbell, natives of Londonderry, Ireland. She has two brothers and one sister, William; Archibald and Mrs. W. Wise. To our subject and his wife, three children have been born, Frank W., on December 5, 1899; Arabella S., on November 6, 1901 ; and Robert C., on October II, 1903.
Mr. Bromiley is a Republican in politics, while in religious matters, he was reared a Methodist and his wife a United Presbyterian.
ORVILLE H. KIMBALL has certainly passed a very active career as will be seen by the following. He was born in Chittenden county, Vermont, on February 3, 1842, the son of Charles and Caroline (Stevens) Kimball, natives of New Hampshire and Vermont. re- spectively. The father was a cloth dresser. The mother descended from an old English stock and the family can be traced back for over three centuries. Our subject was educated
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HISTORY OF THE BIG BEND COUNTRY.
in the public schools of Chittenden county and remained there until 1869. He began railroad life in 1860, by working on the construction of the Vermont and Canada, and Montreal & Vt. Junctions as paymaster, from which position he was promoted to that of passenger conductor. Later, he did construction work on the Ver- mont Central, after which he was on the Leb- anon Spring Railroad as paymaster. After 1869, he came west to Portland, Oregon and worked on the California and Oregon road and remained with this company until the spring of 1872, during which time he served in vari- ous capacities as conductor, ticket and freight agent and so forth. Next we see him in the construction department of the Northern Pa- cific, on the Pacific division between Kalama and Tacoma. In the spring of 1873 he re- turned to the Oregon and California, where he remained in the operating department between Portland and Roseburg until the spring of 1875, when he opened the Clarenden Hotel in Portland. He sold this in 1876 and returned to the Northern Pacific as assistant superin- tendent of the construction and paymaster of the branch in the Wilkinson gold fields. In 1877, he was agent at Kalama and two years later, was paymaster on the Pend Oreille branch. He next went to the O. R. & N. com- pany and worked as general superintendent of track in the construction until 1882. After this, he was general road master on the North- ern Pacific, until the spring of 1883, when he came to Douglas county and settled upon a pre-emption about three miles south of Water- ville. For twelve years, he remained there, dwelling on the farm, and also at various times was out on the railroad. In 1900, he moved to his present place about ten miles southwest from Waterville, which estate he has carved out from the wilderness. He has about eight hundred acres of fine land and over one hundred head of graded stock, good orchard, comfortable res- idence, barns and so forth. Mr. Kimball is one of the pioneers who remained in Doug- las county and has achieved success equal to any of the most prosperous men who have lived here. During the latter part of his railroad career, Mr. Kimball was closely associated with A. M. Cannon, well known over the northwest and was a warm friend of that gentleman. Mr. Kimball has two brothers and two sisters, Charles, Andrew S., Mrs. Sarah F. Joslyn, and
Mrs. Jane A. Jackson, all living at Westford, Vermont.
Mr. Kimball has displayed great executive ability in his life and has manifested a self reliance and spirit which combined with keen wisdom and conservatism, have brought him the abundant success which he enjoys to-day.
ADAM OPPEL is a son of the fatherland, whence came so many of the most thrifty and substantial citizens of the United States. He was born in Bavaria on January 17, 1855, the son of George and Mary (Degen) Oppel, na- tives of Germany. The public schools of Ger- many contributed the educational training that our subject received and he was a faithful and an obedient son under the parental roof, until twenty-one years of age, at which time he en- listed in the regular army and served for three years. It was 1882, that he left the environ- ments of his home land and came to the United States, seeking for better fields of activity. For about four years, he resided in Minnesota and in 1887, came to Ellensburg, Washington, where he was engaged in a brewery for one year. It was in 1888, that he finally came to Douglas county and selected a homestead two miles north from Southside, where we find him at the present time. He has bought another quarter section and devotes the whole estate to the production of small grains of which he raises abundant crops. The place is supplied with an abundance of pure spring water, good residence, barns, outbuildings, orchard and so forth and is one of the comfortable and valu- able rural abodes of the county. Mr. Oppel has the following brothers and sisters, John, Mordz, Mary, Koony, Margaret and Katherine, all living in Germany.
On January 15. 1889, Mr. Oppel married Miss Elsie Roberts. Her parents, Matthew and Suzie (Hilgen) Roberts, were natives of Luxumburg, Germany. Mrs. Oppel was born in Luxumburg on September 12, 1860 and has five brothers, Matthew, Nicholas, Michael, Burnhardt, and Martin. On April 4. 1899 at the family home in Douglas county, Mrs. Oppel was called to pass to the realities of another world. She left the following named children : George, born on October 29, 1889; Michael S., born on October 19, 1897, and Adam S., born
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HISTORY OF THE BIG BEND COUNTRY.
on March II, 1899 and died in August, 1900. All natives of this county.
Mr. Oppel is a good reliable man and loyal citizen and one of the industrious makers of the section. He is entitled to receive the ap- proval and esteem of all who know him.
ISAIAH BROWN. This estimable gentle- man is a veteran, not only of life's battles, but also in the battles of his country and in both capacities has shown himself a man of sterling worth and industry, on account of which it is with pleasure that we grant him representation in this capacity Now he is spending the golden years of his days in well earned retirement from the more arduous duties of life. enjoying the competence that his sagacity and thrift have provided.
Isaiah Brown was born in Ohio, in Cuya- hoga county, on May 14, 1832, the son of Asaph and Hepsibeth (Perry) Brown. The father was a native of New York and fought in the war of 1812. He participated in many engagements and was wounded at the battle of Black Rock, New York. His death occurred in Lorain county, Ohio, in 1845, having come thither as one of the early pioneers in an ox cart. It was preserved for many years by the family as a relic of importance. He was a cousin of Commodore Perry of Lake Erie fame.
The youthful days of our subject were spent amid the frontier environments of Ohio and his education was gained from the old Webster speller and the English reader together with Ray's arithmetic. When fourteen years of age, he hired out as a farm hand at five dollars per month, continuing in that capacity for two years. After this he learned the carpenter's trade, which he followed for several years in Ohio. Then he went on the Wisconsin river and engaged in lumbering, which business oc- cupied him for twenty-nine years. In 1879, he moved to Miles City, Montana, and was en- gaged in the stock and grain business with dis- astrous results, loosing five thousand dollars. In 1880. he landed in Spokane and after look- ing over the country, he located his present place about five miles northwest from Water- ville, which he took as a homestead, and ad- joining which, two of his children took quarter sections. Since that time they have all been
engaged in producing general crops and fruit. In 1864, Mr. Brown enlisted in the Forty- ninth Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry as private under Captain J. Dinsmoore and Colonel Fel- lows. His service was mostly in Arkansas and Louisiana and his discharge occurred in 1865, in St. Louis. He was selected as the best soldier to participate in the grand review at Washington, D. C.
Mr. Brown has one brother and two sisters, Libeus, deceased, Nancy Taft and Cuziah Standon. On February 5, 1857, in Marietta, Wisconsin, Mr. Brown married Miss Mary F., daughter of Andrew and Margaret Byers, na- tives of Pennsylvania and Germany, respective- ly. Mrs. Brown was born in Pennsylvania, in 1838. and has the following named brothers and sisters, Elizabeth Hartley, Adeline Ross and Jackson. To Mr. and Mrs. Brown five children were born; Eva E., wife of Horace Wilcox, living in Waterville; Elsie, wife of Harmon Wilcox, also living in Waterville; George B., Cora F., and Frank W., at home. Politically, Mr. Brown has always been a good strong Republican and has held various re- sponsible offices where he has lived. He was assessor in Crawford county, Wisconsin, and also commissioner and treasurer in this county, being appointed to the latter by the county com- missioners. He has been a member of the A. F. and A. M. since 1859 and also belongs to the G. A. R. Mr. Brown was raised in the Presbyterian church but at present belongs to no denomination. He is a good man and esteemed citizen in the community.
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