USA > Washington > History of Washington the evergreen state : from early dawn to daylight with portraits and biographies Vol. I > Part 43
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DAY, HENRY B., an early pioneer of Washington, was born in West Virginia in 1830. He with the family emigrated to Wisconsin in 1848, and engaged in farming and lead-mining with two older brothers, Nicholas T. and Jesse N. Day,
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until the spring of 1850. He crossed the plains to Oregon, and in 1851 engaged in gold-mining in Northern California, and in 1853 located a donation claim in Douglas County, Ore., and engaged in farming and stock-raising. In 1859 he went east of the mountains in what was then termed the Walla Walla country, and continued in the stock-raising business until the discovery of gold in the Clear- water or Bitter Root Mountains. He followed mining, prospecting, packing, and various occupations in Washington, Idaho, and Montana till 1871 ; then engaged in sheep-raising in Garfield and Columbia counties with excellent results. He was married in 1873 to Miss Anna M. Alley, of Dayton. Mr. Day was elected to the first Washington State Legislature on the Republican ticket. He has served two years as member of City Council, and was elected for a second term. He is now spending the evening of his life at a pleasant home in the city of Dayton, in the interest of the education of his family of five children, three girls and two boys.
DAY, JOSEPH H., druggist, of Dayton, Wash., a son of the founder and original owner of the city site, from whom it takes its name, was born in Leavenworth, Kan., in 1857. His early educational training was received in the public schools of Dayton, and he was for a time a student in Whitman College, taking the ordinary course ; but in point of fact he is for the most part a self-educated man. The drug business in which he is engaged, and of which he is the manager, was established in 1873. He took charge in 1877. It is the largest house of the kind in the city, and its business is constantly increasing with the growth of the place. Mr. Day was married in 1879 to Miss Emily B. Vanderbilt, by whom he has one child. His residence is one of the handsomest in the city. He is a member of the City Council, and Chairman of the Board of Water Works. In politics he is a Republican. Personally he is a man of fine business talents, with a keen eye to his own interests, yet ever ready to forward the best interests of his fellow- citizens.
DELANY, DAVID, farmer, of Farmington, Wash., was born in Tennessee in 1828. His father, Daniel Delany, was an East Tennessee farmer, his mother, Elizabeth (McGee) Delany, being from the same locality. Fourth in a family of six children, young Delany received his early education in the district schools of his native State. In 1838 he went with his parents to Missouri, where he re- mained until 1845 engaged in farming. He then removed to Oregon, to which State his parents had preceded him in 1843, thereby becoming pioneers of that State. Here he located a few miles distant from Salem, and once more engaged in agricultural pursuits. In 1883 he migrated to Washington Territory and settled at Farmington. He is the largest property-holder in the city, and is also a holder of outside realty. He has been twice married ; first in 1855 to Miss Jane Edgar, of Virginia, who bore him eleven children and died in 1885. In 1888 he was married to Mrs. Fultz, of Missouri. He has held various local offices, is connected with the Farmington Trading Company and the Odd Fellows Building Association. He is a Republican in politics and an earnestly progressive man in all that concerns the interests of the city which he has made his home.
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DEMARIS, ORLANDO, farmer, of Dixie, Walla Walla County, was born in Iowa in 1857, his father being a native of Ohio, born in 1824, and his mother in 1832 in Kentucky. Coming to Washington Territory in 1863 with his parents, young Demaris received such early education as fell to the lot of the rising generation in those early days of the Evergreen State, but the time of his arrival was unfor- tunate, for it was just after "the hard winter," and a condition of privation naturally followed. His first occupation was his present one-farming. He bought a railroad tract located some two miles south of Dixie, where he owns some five hundred acres, which abundantly rewards the labor he bestows upon it. He was married in Walla Walla County to Miss Mary Lewis, in 1876. Six children grace their union. He is a worthy brother of the local Odd Fellows Lodge, numbering some fifty members.
DENNEY, NATHANIEL B., farmer, of Waitsburg, Walla Walla County, Wash., was born in Delaware in 1840. His father, also a native of that State, dates back to 1812. Receiving his early teaching in his native State, young Denney pushed out into the world, and after many years of drifting to and fro upon the sea of life, finally found harbor in Washington in 1859, making his way across the plains with a company of which Captain Mocre was the leader. In 1865 he re- turned to Iowa, but a stay of two years convinced him of the superior charms of the Evergreen State, so he went back to the territory in 1867, having twice made his weary way across the dusty plains, on the second occasion losing one man, killed by the Indians, and purchased a farm on Whiskey Creek (a stream evidently not christened by a Prohibitionist). He went to California in 1875 with a herd of cattle, purchased land and lived one year ; thence to Iowa for two years, re- turning to Washington in 1878, where he bought one hundred and sixty acres half a mile east of Waitsburg, sold out at a large advance, and in 1891 bought four hundred acres six miles south of the same city .. Mr. Denney was married in Iowa in 1866 to Miss Priscilla Hawkes. They have seven children, all of whom fill creditable places in life, or bid fair to do so. One of them, Miss Addie, is a graduate of the Normal College of California, and at present a teacher in the public schools of Waitsburg.
DENNY, ARTHUR ARMSTRONG .- Among men now living there are none around whom clusters so much of the history of the Sound country as the one whose name heads this sketch -- the pioneer and one of the founders of Seattle. As one of the earlier pioneers of Washington he found a new arena for his powers, and here for more than forty years he has exerted an influence upon political and business forces eminently beneficial, while his whole career has been singularly free from personal or selfish motives. The progenitors of the Denny family in America were David and Margaret Denny, natives of Ireland, who settled in Berks County, Pa., before the Revolution. Their son, Robert, was born in 1753, and early in life removed to Frederick County, Va. In 1778 he married Rachel Thomas, and about 1790 moved to Mercer County, Ky. Here his son John, the father of our subject, was born May 4th, 1793, and on August 25th, 1814, was married to Sarah Wilson. He removed in 1816 to Washington County, Ind., where our subject was born. June 20th, 1822. The next year the family removed
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to Putnam County, six miles east of Greencastle, where they remained twelve years, and then settled in Knox County, Ill. The early educational advantages of young Denny were limited, but he made the most of his opportunities, and acquired not only a good common-school education, but a thorough knowledge of surveying, which profession he practised in his early manhood. He was mar- ried, November 23d, 1843, to Mary Ann Boren, who has ever since been a faithful helpmate, and to whom he ascribes a great portion of his success. For eight years after his marriage he was County Surveyor of Knox County, Ill., resigning that position in 1851 to come to the Pacific Coast. Starting April 10th, 1851, he made a long and tedious journey across the plains, reaching The Dalles August 11th, and arriving at Portland August 22d. On November 5th he sailed for Puget Sound on the schooner Exact, and landed on Elliott Bay, November 13th. With his hardy associates he began to lay the foundations of the future metropolis of Washington. The early days of the little colony were days of hardship and privations, and they were constantly exposed to the treachery of the numerous tribes of Indians who surrounded them on all sides ; but their courage never failed.
The year 1852 was marked by the arrival of many new settlers in the Sound country. In November, 1852, a convention was held at Monticello, Cowlitz County, to discuss the question of a division of the territory. Mr. Denny was an influential delegate to this convention, which framed a memorial to Congress praying that portion of Oregon north of the Columbia be set off as a separate territory. The Oregon Legislature subsequently adopted a similar memorial, and the division was finally secured by act of Congress approved by President Fillmore, March 2d, 1853. Mr. Denny was elected a member of the first House of Representatives of Washington Territory, and was re-elected for eight succeed- ing terms, serving as Speaker during his third term. During his legislative career he was one of the most active and useful officials in the service of the terri- tory. The interests of his constituents were carefully and conscientiously pro- tected, and his entire record met with the heartiest approval of the most intelli- gent, liberal-minded element of the entire community.
Many important acts were introduced by him, and he did much toward moulding the early policy of the territory. He was serving in the Legislature when the attack was made on Seattle during the Indian War of 1855-56, and on his return to the town enrolled himself in a volunteer company, and served for six montlis as First Lieutenant of Company A, Second Regiment. He served as Commissioner of Thurston County, Ore., when that county included all the territory north of Lewis County, and was appointed Commissioner of King County when it was erected. In 1853 he became the first Postmaster of Seattle, and received the first United States mail, August 27th, 1853. In 1861 he was appointed by President Lincoln as Registrar of the United States Land Office at Olympia, and in all the important work of that position he displayed a remarkable executive ability and an earnest zeal worthy of the highest praise. In 1865 he was elected by the Republicans of the territory delegate to the Thirty-ninth Congress. In this position he served the young territory with his accustomed efficiency and ability.
Mr. Denny began his business career in Seattle with the very earliest period of the city's history. Vessels coming to the Sound for piles and timber brought
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cargoes of general merchandise to sell. On leaving the captains would turn over the remainder of their merchandise to Mr. Denny to be sold on commission. He continued this business until 1854, when he engaged in the general merchan- dise business with Dexter Horton and David Phillips, under the firm style of A. A. Denny & Co. This firm was dissolved during the Indian War, and for several years thereafter Mr. Denny was engaged in the public service, as has al- ready been stated. On the expiration of his term in Congress he returned to Seattle and again engaged in private business. In 1870 his old partners founded the banking house of Phillips, Horton & Co., and on the death of Mr. Phillips in 1872, Mr. Horton adopted the firm style of Dexter Horton & Co. At this time Mr. Denny entered the bank as executor of the Phillips estate, and afterward purchased a half interest in the bank, with which he has ever since been connected, and of which he is now Vice-President. Mr. Denny is one of those strong, able men whose lives have been wrought into the history of Seattle from the beginning of the little settlement to the present day. His strong hand has been felt in every movement to advance the general prosperity of the city, and no one from the beginning has had more confidence in the city's destiny as a great centre of trade, commerce, and mechanical industry. He has amassed a large. fortune which was honestly won., and which he worthily enjoys. He has always been a free and liberal contributor to every deserving public enterprise, while to benevolent and charitable efforts he has been equally generous.
DENTON, JOHN F., farmer, of Ellensburg, Wash., was born in Arkansas in 1856, his parents being natives of Tennessee. After receiving such limited edu- cation as the public schools of Arkansas could in those early days afford, young Denton devoted himself to what was destined to become his life work -farm- ing-an occupation in which he continued until his removal to Washington in 1881. Here he located himself two miles southeast of Ellensburg on a railroad claim, where he now owns and cultivates one hundred and sixty acres of rich soil, yielding an average of thirty bushels of grain to the acre. He has a fine orchard and all that is needful to carry on his farm. He was married in Arkansas in 1878 to Miss M. S. Johnson. Four children have been born to this union, all of whom bid fair to be a credit to their parents. Mr. Denton is another evidence of that slow but sure success which seldom fails to reward wisely applied and persistent labor.
DESMOND, PAT, farmer and stockman, of Ellensburg, in Kittitas Valley, was born in New Brunswick in 1858, his parents being natives of that province. The father was a farmer and lumber-handler. He died in 1867 and the mother in 1891, leaving six children, of whom Pat was the second. He received his early education in his native province, and at the age of sixteen left home and went to Michigan, where he followed lumbering. In 1879 we find him pursuing the same avocation at Victoria. In August, 1889, he removed to Kittitas and took up land, but afterward purchased a farm two miles west of Ellensburg. He is the owner of five hundred acres of fine fertile land returning an average of forty bushels to the acre. He is greatly interested in the breeding of fine stock, espe- cially Hamiltonian horses. He also raises the short-horn thoroughbred Durham
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cattle from Topeka, Kan. He is still unmarried. He is a stockholder in the Ellensburg Irrigating Ditch. He is a Democrat in politics, a hard-working, worthy man, who has won his way and deserves the substantial rewards that have crowned his efforts.
DEVIN, H. L., postmaster, at Scdro, Wash., was born in Ottumwa, Ia., June 16th, 1861, his father and grandfather being among the earliest pioneers and merchants in Iowa. He received a common-school education in his native town and entered Ann Arbor University, where he remained two years and then left it for the larger school-the business of life. Four years were spent in farming. In 1882 he opened a wood-working establishment at Oberlin, O., under the firm name of J. C. Gilchrist & Co., which continued until 1888, when he removed to Seattle. A year later he came to Sedro, where he settled permanently. He is interested in Washington timber lands, is Postmaster and City Clerk (now serv- ing his second term), and also School Director. He was married at Des Moines, Ia., June 17th, 1885, to Miss Lenore Mosier, of that city, her father being one of its oldest pioneers. Two children, both daughters, grace their union.
DICKINSON, ABRAHAM C., of Waitsburg, Wash., was born in Bartholomew County, Ind., in 1832. His father, Henry Dickinson, was a New York farmer, his mother, Mary (Finley) Dickinson, being from Kentucky. Educated in the public schools of his native State, young Dickinson removed with his parents to Missouri, and on the breaking out of the Civil War enlisted in the Ninth Missouri Militia, serving until the regiment was disbanded. He was actively engaged, especially with the command which captured the guerilla Poindexter. He was married in 1854 to Miss Abbie C. Carter, of Indiana, a daughter of Elijalı S. Carter. They have had eleven children, of whom seven are still living. Mr. Dickinson crossed the plains with his family in 1865 and located at Waitsburg, where he still resides, and is well known as an extensive and successful farmer. He is the owner of a handsome home, a fine library, and very valuable farm property. Fraternally he is a Mason and Knight Templar ; politically he was originally a conservative Republican until two years ago, when his deep interest in the temperance cause converted him to the views of the Prohibition Party, of which he is now a radical supporter. He was nominated for Congress on that ticket, but failed of election, to the great grief of his numerous supporters. He is a member of the Christian Church, and bears the reputation of a generally esteemed and deservedly popular citizen.
DICKS, JAMES W., of Avon, Skagit County, Wash., was born in Wayne County, Mich., December 29th, 1852. He was reared on a farm, and attended the district schools of his native county. At the age of sixteen years he left home and went to the Saginaw Valley, Mich., where he worked in the logging camps during the winters and at harvesting during the autumn months, following these occupations for thirteen seasons. During this time he had charge of the logging camps of Merrill & Benjamin, lumber dealers, of Saginaw. In August, 1882, he removed to Duluth, Minn., and engaged with Cutler, Gilbert & Pearson, lumber merchants, as foreman and cruiser, estimating timber lands and looking after
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their property generally. He continued with them until April, 1884, when he came to the Sound country and took up a ranch of one hundred and sixty acres four miles from Avon. The next five years were spent in the cultivation and im- provement of this farm, after which he sold it out and built a residence in Avon. In the fall of 1890 he removed to Anacortes and engaged in the livery business, but one year later sold out and returned to Avon. Mr. Dicks takes an active in- terest in public matters and deservedly holds an honorable position in the com- munity. In November, 1892, he was elected County Commissioner, and he is now serving his first term in that office. He was married, January 1st, 1890, to Miss Elizabeth Frances Pitts, of Nova Scotia, and they have two children, both daughters.
DIETRICH, WALTER N., music dealer, of Tacoma, the son of Isaac H. and Clara E. Dietrich, was born in Philadelphia, March 14th, 1865. He received his early education in the grammar and Central High Schools of his native city until the age of eighteen. During his school days he improved his natural taste in that direction by obtaining instruction in music under the most able and distin- guished professors in the Quaker City. Arriving in Tacoma in September, 1889, he immediately engaged in his present avocation, dealing in all kinds of musical instruments, being the only importer of every kind of instrument on the Puget Sound, having special facilities through European correspondents. He has built up a flourishing business during his residence in the City of Destiny, being vir- tually the leader in his line on Puget Sound. He is also a pianist of considerable ability. He is a member of the Commercial Club of Tacoma, and is counted as a popular and energetic business man among his many friends on the Pacific Coast.
DILL, W. H., lumberman, of Ballard, Wash., was born in Denton, Caro- line County, Md. He received his early education in his native town, and at the age of eighteen learned the carpenter's trade. At twenty-one we find him in business for himself as a carpenter and builder. With this he combined saw-milling, cutting and shipping timber to the Philadelphia Navy Yard. He continued to conduct this business till the fall of 1854, when he re- moved to Winona, Minn., and established himself as a lumber dealer, being one of the earliest pioneers of that place, which on his arrival was but an incon- siderable village of few inhabitants, but which he saw grow to a city of three thousand souls. Mr. Dill was one of its first aldermen. In 1859 he engaged in contracting and railroad-building. In 1868 he was clected City Marshal of Winona, serving for three consecutive years, at the same time acting as Street Commissioner and Health Officer. In 1873 he was again elected Marshal, and still later Sheriff of Winona County, and was re-elected for three consecutive terms, serving eight years, during which he pursued the " James boys" and the " Younger brothers," bank and train robbers, thereby causing them to be finally captured. He was elected City Assessor in 1883, the population of Winona hav- ing then increased to twenty-five thousand, and was re-elected in 1885. In May, 1890, he came to Washington and engaged in logging at McMurray and Green Lake, a pursuit which he still continues. He was married in Greensburg, Md., to Miss Rebecca M. Allen. Twelve children were born to this union,
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of whom eight survive. He has seven of his own children, fifteen grandchildren, and one great-grandchild residing in King County, Wash., and one daughter and four grandchildren living in Dallas, Tex. Well done, old pioneer ! What wonder that the wilds of Washington blossom like the rose when families like this are the outcome of a single roof-tree ! .
DISGRANGER, REV. P., once a miner, but now a thriving farmer and pastor of the Evangelical Church in the town of Rockford, Wash., was born in Germany in 1826, He enjoyed the advantages of a good school education in his native land, but none in the country of his adoption, whose language he has learned to speak with a fluency which is almost surprising. After his arrival in the United States he became a coal-miner in New York, where he remained for several years. Wearying of this, he left the delving beneath to cultivate the soil above, and farmed it for thirteen years in the Empire State. Selling out his belongings, he removed to Premier County, Ia., where he purchased a farm and labored for fifteen years. Once more disposing of his property, he made a longer flight, settling in Spokane County, Wash., where he has homesteaded one hundred and sixty acres. Rev. Disgranger was married in Germany in 1851 to Miss Sofa Duschen, the daughter of an iron-worker in one of the great iron mills of that country. She has pre- sented him with several children, all of whom survive, and, moreover, are all married and have their homes within a radius of six miles from the parental abode, which is in the town of Rockford, where the pastor owns a fine residence. He is also the possessor of a small farm of one hundred and sixty acres, seventy of which are cultivated. An ardent Republican, a devout Christian, and a man of affairs, the subject of our theme is to be congratulated on his exceptionally pleasant situation, with its many blessings.
DISGRANGER, H. W., of Rockford, Wash., is the able editor and sole proprie- tor of the Rockford Enterprise, the leading Republican paper of that flourishing town. Mr. Disgranger was born in Waverly, Ia., in 1870, and was the youngest son of eight. Educated in the common schools of Iowa till the age of ten, he accompanied his parents in their migration from that State to his present loca- tion in Rockford. At the age of fifteen he entered the office of the Enterprise, beginning, as the best inen always do, at the lowest round of the ladder. A year had hardly elapsed, and our young scribe had not yet reached the age of sixteen, when he found himself in charge of the office, the youngest editor in the Terri- tory of Washington. The death of the proprietor left Mr. Disgranger still manager, till he became its owner in 1887. In February of 1887 its hymeneal notices were adorned by the names of H. W. Disgranger and Miss Ada Hensley, his bride, a native of Washington, and daughter of one of the pioneers of Day- ton. The foregoing record renders it superfluous to say that the subject of this brief biography is all that a newspaper man ought to be-large brained, clear headed, active, and energetic-a mind well fitted to mould public opinion and keep up with the times.
DIX, JOHN A., physician and surgeon, of Garfield, Wash., was born in Ohio in 1843. His father, Clark Dix, was a Pennsylvania farmer, his mother being also a
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native of the Keystone State. Fourth in a family of eight children, John received his rudimentary educatien in the public schools of Ohio, and then took a high school course. His professional education was obtained at the Eclectic Medical Institute at Cincinnati, where he received his degree of M.D. in 1871. Locating at Troy Mills, Ia., he at once began practice. In 1878 he removed to Nebraska, where he remained three years. and in 1881 returned to Troy Mills. In 1886 he came to Washington and settled at Garfield, where he has a large general prac- tice, which his popularity and skill are constantly increasing. He was married in 1869 to Miss Cynthia Dresser, born in Ohio but educated in the State of Iowa. She bore him three children, and died in 1875. In 1882 he was married again to Miss Ida M. Fay, of Iowa, who has borne him four children. The doctor is a mem - ber of the Masonic and Knights of Pythias orders, also of the Grand Army of the Republic, having enlisted in 1862 in the Ninety-fifth Ohio. He went to the front ; was not captured with his regiment at Richmond, Ky. ; did gallant ser- vice ; was taken prisoner during the Sturgis raid ; confined at Andersonville ; exchanged and honorably discharged in 1865. He is half owner of a business block in the heart of the city. He is a Republican in politics, and is generally esteemed as a faithful physician and a kind-hearted, scholarly gentleman.
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