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 65
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 65
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 65
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 65
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MR. AND MRS. WILLIAM R. WILLIAMS
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HISTORY OF THE BIG BEND COUNTRY.
ject, are, Mrs. Christina Krehbiel, F. R., Mrs. Anna Linville, Dora and Minnie. Besides these they have buried five.
August C: Jansen received a good common school education, a part of which he gained in Pottawattamie county, Iowa, and a part in Lind, and at the age of twenty-two he started in life for himself. He worked at various occupa- tions, among which might be mentioned two years spent as lineman in the employ of the Northern Pacific railroad, and took a home- stead in 1898. He at the same time purchased a half-section of land and succeeded in placing the whole under fence and cultivation, when he sold out and purchased eleven hundred and twenty acres where he now lives. His improve- ments are elaborate and of the most modern type, making his farm, as we stated in the be- ginning, the most beautiful in the vicinity. He also keeps a large herd of cattle and horses. He has an especially fine orchard covering eleven acres of ground. He also owns a residence and four choice lots in the town of Lind.
Mr. Jansen was married in 1899 to Ger- trude Bogk, daughter of August and Wilhel- mina Bogk, natives of Berlin and Ossowo, Kreis Friedland, Germany, respectively. The father died in 1889, at Berlin.
Mrs. Jansen has one brother, George, who is living with the mother in Lind, where he is operator for the Northern Pacific. Mr. and Mrs. Jansen have one child, Rudolph G.
Mr. Jansen is a liberal in politics, and has for four years held the office of constable. He is a member of the I. O. O. F. and of the M. WV. A. of Lind, and Mrs. Jansen is a member of the R. N. of A. of Lind. Mrs. Jansen is also an adherent of the Lutheran church.
EMIL HAMANN was born in Saxony, Germany, July 18, 1863, attended the common schools of his native country until reaching the age of fourteen years, then learned the shoe- maker's trade. He served three years' ap- prenticeship, after which he started in business for himself. However, he took considerable time in which to thoroughly tour the continent upon which he was born, and at twenty he en- tered the army, where he served three years. He then came to the United States and located at Columbus, Ohio, in 1886. Here he worked
in a shoemaker's shop for a time, then was one and a half years in the employ of the Govern- ment, after which time he came to Ritzville, where he entered a shop in which he worked at his trade. After a brief length of time he married and settled on a farm,-a homestead of one hundred and sixty acres. The year of 1889 he spent working at the bench in a Spo- kane shoe-shop, after which he returned and continued the improvement of his farm. His wife dying at this time, he left his homestead and spent two years on Puget Sound, then re- turned to Adams county and purchased a half- section of land, to which he added another half-section in 1902. Later he sold one-half of his land, and is still farming the remain- ing tract, which lies three and one-half miles east of Lind. He has his farm well improved and all under cultivation. His buildings are of the latest and most elaborate type found on the farm, and he has an excellent orchard. He also deals heavily in stock-mules, horses and cattle.
Mr. Hamann's parents were Carl and Amelia (Dagald) Hamann, natives of Ger- many, in which country they are still living. They are parents of four children, not including the son of whom we are writing : Otto, Robert, Hugo and Max. The father, like our subject, is a shoemaker by trade.
Mr. Hamann's first wife was Dora Spooner, to whom he was married in 1888, and who died one year after marriage.
In 1891 our subject was married to Kat- terma Binsmail, a native of Germany. To this union has been blessed with five children, whose names are: Mary, Mollie, Fritz, Jacob and William, all of whom live with their par- ents.
In political opinion Emil Hamann is a Re- publican, and is an active member of his party. In fraternity circles he is identified with the I. O. O. F. and the K. of P.
GEORGE SCHAFER is a prosperous farmer residing nine miles south of Ritzville, where he owns nine hundred and sixty acres of well improved and cultivated land. He has his entire farm fenced, two wells which supply an abundance of water, and a first-class orchard. He came to the
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HISTORY OF THE BIG BEND COUNTRY.
place in 1891 and filed on eighty acres since which time he has purchased land from time to time until the tract has grown to the extent noted above. He came to the county a poor man, and for the first few years he found it necessary to hire himself out on wages in order to make a living. He now rates as one of the well-to-do farmers of Adams county.
Mr. Schafer was born in Northern Russia September 23, 1853, the son of Conrad and Margaret ( Haddow) Schafer, natives of Rus- sia, in which country they lived until coming to America in 1877. They located in Nebraska, and eight years later came to Walla Walla, where the father is now living. Our subject is a member of a family originally numbering six children, who, besides himself, were: Con- rad, Jacob, Margaret, Katie and one who died in infancy
Mr. Schafer began his education in a church school in his native country. He came to America, Nebraska and to Walla Walla with his parents, and after receiving a fair common school education started in life for himself. His first work was on a railroad, and from that occupation he entered the business of farming in Klickitat county. He came to his Adams county homestead in 1891.
In 1874 occurred the marriage of George Schafer to Margaret Weiderman, daughter of Conrad and Margaret Weiderman, and to this union five children were born. Mrs. Schafer died in 1884, and four years later our subject was married to Katie Leignar, daughter of John and Christina ( Reinhart) Leignar, natives of Russia, in which country the father died, and the mother still lives at the age of seventy- seven years.
This union has been blessed with one child, Samuel, who lives with his parents.
Mr. Schafer is an active Republican, and with his wife, is an ardent member of the Methodist Episcopal church.
JOHN N. OLSON is one of the substantial and representative farmers of Adams county and resides two and one-half miles northeast from Ritzville, where he owns a very fine estate. A portion of this was taken up as a timber cul- ture claim in 1884 and since that he has added by purchase until he owns seven hundred and
fifty acres. The farm is well improved in every respect and shows evidence of thrift and indus- try. His orchard is one of the best in the vicin- ity while his residence and barns are classed with the finest in Adams county. Every detail of this fine establishment as well as its general management shows care and sagacity and Mr. Olson is to be classed among Adams county's best farmers.
John N. Olson was born near Filipstad, Sweden, March 30, 1847, the son of a miller, who also did mechanical work. The public schools of his native country furnished the education of our subject until sixteen, when he went to Lesjofors and wrought there in the flour mill for four and one-half years. He was taken with a severe attack of the American fever and finally as the only cure embarked for New York, landing in Castle Garden, on May 26, 1868. He soon came west to College Springs, Iowa, and worked for the first summer on the farm. Then he attended school at Lucas Station during the winter. In the summer of 1869, Mr. Olson wrought as a bridge carpenter and the following winter attended school in College Springs, Iowa. The next spring found him in St. Joseph, Missouri and there he did carpentering until the spring of 1874. Then he returned to College Springs and opened a cabinet shop and furniture store which occupied him until the spring of 1884. Owing to his failing health on account of the close confine- ment, he sold out and came west, landing in Ritzville on May 16, 1884. He resided in town and improved his farm besides working at car- pentering between times until December 9, 1886, when he removed to the farm, which has been the family home since that time.
At College Springs, Iowa, on November 30, 1876, occurred the marriage of Mr. Olson and Sarah Nelson, daughter of Nels Nelson, also a native of Sweden, who came to this country in 1868 and now lives near Ritzville. Mrs. Olson has three sisters and one brother, Mrs. Charley Olson, Mrs. C. D. Olson and Mrs. C. H. B. Carlson, all residing in the vicinity of
Ritzville, and Andrew F. Nelson, residing at Yorktown, Iowa. Mr. Olson has two sisters and four brothers, namely, Charles, Olaf, Peter J., Johan, Mrs. Katherine Stark, and Annie, deceased. Mrs. Stark is living in the old coun- try. Peter J. died on March 15, 1902 and was one of the oldest pioneers in Adams county.
1
MR. AND MRS. JOHN N. OLSON
HOME OF MR. AND MRS. JOHN N. OLSON TWO AND ONE-HALF MILES NORTHEAST OF RITZVILLE
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HISTORY OF THE BIG BEND COUNTRY.
To Mr. and Mrs. Olson four children have been born, Carl M., Abner A., Jolin E. L., and Alfred, who died when an infant. Mr. Olson has always taken a deep interest in educational matters and has been school director for six years. He has also been county commissioner and is widely known as a man of sagacity and substantial qualities. He is not only classed as a pioneer of this section of Adams county but a man who has added materially to the prosperity and development of the community. In politics, he favors much in the Populist platform but is extremely liberal, voting for men of principle regardless of party affiliations. Mr. and Mrs. Olson are now enjoying the emoluments that thrift, honesty and industry have placed at their door.
HENRY F. SCHROEDER, of the firm of Schroeder & Albeck, contractors and builders of Lind, Washington; was born in Hamburg, Germany, December 22, 1873, the son of John and Mary (Stauss) Schroeder, also natives of Germany. The parents came to America in 1883, and located in Kankakee county, Illinois, where they still live. The father is a contrac- tor and builder, and still works at his trade.
Mr. Schroeder has two sisters, Mrs. Louisa Schilling, Kankakee, Illinois, and Hermania, living with her parents, and a brother in Ger- many. His grandfather served in the Franco- Russian war. At the age of ten years our sub- ject came to America with his parents, attended school in Kankakee county, and when sixteen he began learning tlie carpenter's trade, which he followed continuously until the outbreak of the Spanish-American war. As a member of Company L, Third Illinois Volunteer Infan- try, having enlisted at Springfield, he went to Chattanooga, where he drilled until going with his company to Porto Rico. Under the command of General Brooks he participated in the capture of Aroyo, Guayama, and other sta- tions, and on October 23, 1898, he was wound- ed and sent to the hospital. Here he contracted a severe case of typhoid fever and was placed aboard a hospital ship and brought to Port Comfort and placed in Josialı hospital. After six weeks he was sufficiently recovered as to be able to return home, where he recuperated a year then came west. He came to Spokane
first, and later toured Eastern Washington and Oregon, finally settling, in 1899, at Lind. He also took a homestead of one hundred and sixty acres of land nine miles from Lind, which he has in cultivation and well improved. He has a fine home in town, and is in a prosperous con- dition. His firm does practically all the con- tracting there is done in the town.
Politically he is a Republican, and takes an active interest in the affairs of his party. He is a member of the German Baptist church.
AUGUST WEISE is a farmer and stock raiser residing two miles east of Lind. Born in Bergfield, Germany, April 14, 1841, he was the son of Michael and Minnie ( Kuntz) Weise, bothi also natives of Germany, in which country they passed their lives and died. Upon their death they were survived by five children : August, Louise, Frederick, Pauline and Amelia.
Mr. Weise attended the common schools of Germany until arriving at the age of twenty years, when he then left school and commenced working on a farm. In1865 he came to Amer- ica, locating in Marinette county, Wisconsin, where he worked in a sawmill for four years. He then purchased a piece of land, four acres of which he cleared, then sold out, removed to Green Lake county, and again took up the busi- ness of farming. He sold this farm in 1886 and removed to New Salem, Dakota, where he remained five years, and then came to Pendle- ton, Oregon. Later he removed in turn to Ar- lington and Portland, and in 1891 he came to Lind, where he has lived ever since. He took a homestead upon coming here, and later bought a quarter section of land, making him the owner of three hundred and twenty acres, all of which is well improved and under culti- vation. He had a difficult time in making a living after coming here, but is now well-to-do, having a fine farm and a large herd of cattle.
Mr. Weise was married in 1872 to Amelia Powell, who died in 1882, leaving one child, Pauline.
In 1882 our subject was married a second time, his bride being Bertha Schmidt, daugh- ter of Fred and Schmidt, to which union eight children have been born, four of whom are living: William, Mrs. Bertha Clary, August and Charles.
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HISTORY OF THE BIG BEND COUNTRY.
August Weise is a Democrat, and takes a leading interest in the affairs of his party. His church home is with the Lutheran denomina- tion. While in Wisconsin, Mr. Weise was a member of his school board, and at another time was the assessor of the town of Blue Grass. He has always been an active and prominent man in all enterprises whose object was the upbuilding and development of his country, and is regarded as being one of the foremost citizens of his locality.
S. L. THOMAS resides eight and one-half miles east from Hatton, where he is engaged in farming, his principal crop being wheat. He was born in Kent county, Michigan, August 28, 1859, the son of Johnathan and Caroline (Thomas) Thomas.
His early education was gained in the com- mon schools of his native state. In 1873, when fifteen years of age, he started across the plains and succeeded in reaching the state of Califor- nia, where he worked on a farm fifteen years. He then came to Washington and filed on a homestead where he now lives. He has con- tinued to add to his holdings in real estate until he now owns in all five thousand acres of agri- cultural land, upon which he has one of the finest water systems to be found in Adams county. This water system consists of four good wells and two gasoline engines with which to elevate the water into tanks, whence it is piped in every direction over the farm. He has a splendid fourteen-room residence, completely modern in every particular, even to the tele- phone, and he also has two immense horse barns, holding fifty head of horses. His gran- ary is known far and wide from the fact that, not only it is an unusually large one, but that in its cupola is contained a large four-faced clock, visible for more than a quarter of a mile. His farm improvements also include a black- smith and harness shop, three chicken houses, two large implement houses, and all necessary out buildings for the estate, making it, all things considered, perhaps the best improved farm in Adams county.
Every mechanical appliance that could be utilized on a first-class Washington wheat farm, is found on Mr. Thomas' place. Among the equipment may be mentioned two combined
harvesters, one operated by thirty-two horses and the other by a fifty horse power engine. Each machine is capable of harvesting and de- livering in the sack seventy-five acres of wheat daily. The latest gang disc plows are used in stirring the soil and the large traction engine mentioned is utilized during the plowing season and this outfit can turn over sixty acres in one day. These splendid machines may be seen in cuts in other portions of this work. Also . there is a cut of Mr. Thomas' home with some of the other buildings, but the place is so mam- moth that a cut cannot do justice to the mag- nificent improvements on this domain.
GARRETT W. LAVENDER 3
is a prosperous farmer and stock raiser resid- ing one mile east of Griffith postoffice, Adams county, Washington. Born in Animas, Colorado, November 5, 1873. Mr. Lavender is the son of Jesse and Susan (Rhoades) Lavender, natives of Missouri. The elder Lavender lived in the state of his birth until fifteen years of age when he re- moved with his parents to Texas, and in 1870 he removed to LaPlata county, Colorado, hav- ing previously married, and in 1884 he came to Tillamook county, Oregon. The family lived there only two years, then came to Adams county, Washington, where Mr. Lavender took a stock ranch and engaged in the business of cattle raising, while his wife and children lived in Ritzville. After five years he took his fam- ily to a home on Crab creek where he contin- ued in the stock business. Here they lived un- til 1901, when Mr. Lavender sold his land to his son, removed to Spokane, and there died, November 10, 1903. His wife still survives, and makes her home in Spokane. She has two and one-half sections of land, as well as a num- ber of cattle and a large drove of horses. Mr. and Mrs. Lavender were parents of eleven children, seven of whom now live, whose names besides that of our subject, are: Stonewall J., Joseph A., Jesse H., Andrew L., Clay M. and Norah A.
Garrett W. Lavender, early in life, attended school in his native city, and continued his edlu- cation until graduating from the Ritzville schools in 1893. He started in business inde- pendently at the age of twenty. At that age
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HISTORY OF THE BIG BEND COUNTRY.
he entered the business of raising stock as his father had done, in which he has been more or - less heavily engaged ever since. In 1898 he purchased eight hundred acres of land eight miles north of Ritzville, which he immediate- ly proceeded to cultivate in connection with his stock business. He later acquired a half sec- tion of agricultural land south of Ritzville which he rents to tenants, and he also has a section of railroad land which he rents as pasture.
· On January 9, 1900, occurred the marriage of Garrett W. Lavender to Ada M. Baird, daughter of J. G. and Nellie (Adams) Baird, natives of Illinois, and parents of five children. The brothers and sisters of Mrs. Lavender are : John W., Grace, May and Maud.
Garrett W. Lavender is one of the enthus- iastic and stalwart Democrats of his county, and devotes considerable attention to the af- fairs of his party.
OTTO PFANNEKUCHEN was born in- Brunswick, Germany, November 7, 1838, the son of German parents, and one of a family of three children. The other two members of the family are Ernest and Willia.
Mr. Pfannekuchen was educated in his na- tive country and also learned the flour milling trade, which he followed in Germany before coming to America when twenty-seven years of age. He located in Madison, Wisconsin, in the vicinity of which city he worked at farm labor twenty-six years. He then worked at his trade three years, but returned to farm work which he followed until 1889, when he came to Adams county. He settled on a homestead near Ritzville, and for a number of years, owing to the squirrel pest and other impediments to his progress, he experienced many hardships and difficulties in gaining a start. In 1896 he pur- chased railroad land until he owned four hun- dred acres, all of which is under cultivation, and all under fence. The estate contains eight acres of fine orchard, and the best of farm buildings.
In 1868 Otto Pfannekuchen was married to Caroline Kerner, daughter of August and Johannah (Veldah) Kerner, natives of Ger- many, in which country the father died. The mother came to America in 1864 and located
near Madison, Wisconsin, where she died, leaving two children, Caroline Johannah, and Mrs. Pfannekuchen.
Otto Pfannekuchen died in Ritzville, Jan- uary 22, 1898. By his death Adams county lost one of its foremost citizens and most suc- cessful farmers. He was the father of six children, John, William, Henry, Fred, Minnie, married to Claus Clodius, and Emma, married to Jacob Shoot.
The deceased was a devoted member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and was sustained in the final hour by his faith.
LOUIS NISSEN is a prosperous and well- to-do farmer whose home is eleven miles south- east of Ritzville. He was born near Leck, Ger- many, June 1I, 1860, son of Detleff and Catlı- arine (Christianson) Nissen, natives of Den- mark. The father served in the rebellion of 1848. Our subject was a member of a fam- ily comprising eleven children. He, early in life, received a common school education which was supplemented later by a course in an insti- tute at Lubeck. At the age of eighteen lie started life for himself, beginning by clerking in a store, which vocation he followed six years. He then farmed two years, after which he came to America and was for a time lo- cated in Vermont. He then removed to Iowa and four years later to Nebraska, in both of which states he followed railroading. He left Nebraska and came to Washington in 1889, and worked for a brief time in Spokane at the carpenter's trade, and from that city he went to Latah, remained a few months. then came to his present location, where he filed on a homestead. After making final proof on his claim he went to Rock Creek valley and pur- chased an interest in a half section of land, where he lived four years. He then sold out and returned to his homestead where he has since made him home. From time to time since coming here Mr. Nissen has added to his real estate holdings until he now has a section and a fourth of agricultural land, the major portion of which is under cultivation and well improved with good buildings, orchard, and so forth.
In 1889 Mr. Nissen was married to Ernest- ine Brasch, daughter of John and Henrietta
58
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HISTORY OF THE BIG BEND COUNTRY.
(Tech) Brasch, native Germans who came to America prior to the Rebellion, in which the fa- ther was a soldier. They were one of the pio- neer families of Wisconsin, and numbered seven children, four of whom are living.
To Mr. and Mrs. Nissen have been born seven children : August, Ernest, Louise, Clara, Martha, Elsa and Harvey.
In politics Mr. Nissen is a Democrat, and takes an active interest in the affairs of his party. He has been a school officer for the past seven years, and is a devout member of the Methodist Episcopal church.
GEORGE INGRAM is a native of Aber- deen, Scotland, born September 22. 1857, and is now a farmer residing eight and one-half miles east of Ritzville. His parents were John and Isabella (Harper) Ingram. They were parents of five children : James, William, George, Elizabeth and Barbara.
At the age of eleven years George Ingram was thrown upon his own resources for his livelihood. His first work was herding cows, and as he grew older. he worked on a farm un- til 1884, when he came to Canada. He re- mained in Canada two years, during which time he drove a truck for a living ; then came to Seattle, Washington, where he spent seven years in the various saw mills near the city. Leaving Seattle he came to Adams county, and in 1891 he worked for "Cash-up" Davis, near Colfax. The following year he farmed a rented farm, then two years later went to the Nez Perce reservation where he took a home- stead. He later sold his claim and returned to Adams county and took a claim of eighty acres and purchased three hundred acres of railroad land where he now resides. Recently he took a five-months' visit to his old home in Scotland, returning more satisfied and contented than ever with the Big Bend.
Politically Mr. Ingram is a Republican, and he takes an active working interest in the af- fairs of his party.
GEORGE SINCLAIR, TR., was born in Edinborough, Scotland. March 12, 1859, came to the United States with his parents when be- tween six and seven years of age, and was edu- cated in the district schools while residing on
the farm with his parents. George Sinclair in early manhood filed on his present farm as a homestead, forty acres of which now lies within the incorporate limits of Ritzville.
The parents of Mr. Sinclair are George and Mary (White) Sinclair, and both were born in Scotland, the father in Caithnesshire, and the mother sixty miles from Edinborough. The family came to the United States in 1865, set- tled first in Winona county, Minnesota, and four years later removed to Lincoln county, South Dakota They remained here until coming to Adams county, in 1880, where the elder Sinclair filed on a timber culture five miles east of Ritzville, but when home resides with his son, who is our subject.
George Sinclair has three brothers and one sister : Andrew, a Lincoln county farmer ; Charles, also farming in Lincoln county ; Mark, now in Scotland with his father, and Margaret, wife of Henry Horn, a Ritzville business man. Mr. Sinclair has never been married.
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