USA > Washington > History of Washington the evergreen state : from early dawn to daylight with portraits and biographies Vol. II > Part 39
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EASTERBROOK, CAPTAIN GEORGE TROOP, a well-known and highly esteemed pioneer of the Pacific Coast, was born in Bristol, R. I., on September 17th, 1815. At the age of sixteen years he shipped as cabin boy on board the whaler Bow- ditchi, Captain Gardner. His first voyage lasted about forty months, and on his return to Rhode Island he shipped as a sailor on board of the ship Byron, Captain Ackeman, bound for Liverpool, England. On the return voyage, while off the banks of Newfoundland, in a dense fog, the vessel came in collision with an immense iceberg, and had it not been for the fact that the action of the sea had washed away the ice below the water's surface, the ship's bow would have been stove in, and nothing could have saved her or any of the souls on board. After this exciting incident the vessel proceeded on her way and reached New York in safety after a run of sixty-four days.
In July, 1842, Mr. Easterbrook became Captain of the whaling ship Corin- thian, of Bristol, R. I. He made several trips around the Horn, and after seven- teen years of almost constant service as a sailor, he abandoned seafaring life at San Francisco in 1849. After spending about a year in mining and trading in the mountains at Bidwell's Bar, he went to Oregon in the fall of 1850 and settled in Clackamas County, above Oregon City, remaining there until 1853. In the spring of the latter year he came to Washington Territory and settled where he is now living, at Ocean Side, in Pacific County, about twenty-five miles distant from Astoria, Ore. Here he has since been engaged principally in farming and sheep-raising. His estate, comprising six hundred and forty acres, has greatly enhanced in value and is one of the finest properties in Pacific County. Captain Easterbrook was married in August, 1842, at Bristol, R. I., to Miss Hannah Law- ton Coit. Mrs. Easterbrook, who is only two years her husband's junior, is still vigorous and hearty, and is highly esteemed for her many excellent qualities. Their only son, George W., is engaged in the drug business at Ilwaco. Captain Easterbrook has filled many positions of local trust, and is deeply interested in the public welfare. He is at the present time one of the Commissioners of Pacific County. He is one of the substantial and progressive men of his times, and pos- sesses to an enviable degree the respect and esteem of all who know him. He is an interesting conversationalist, and relates many thrilling tales of his early ex- perience both on sea and land. Although age has not left him without its im- press, it sits lightly on his shoulders, and at the age of seventy-eight he is still full of vigor and his mental powers are unimpaired.
TRUAX, DANIEL W., Postmaster of Tekoa, Wash., and an early Western pioneer who has filled various offices with credit to himself and advantage to the community, was born in Montreal, Canada, December 23d, 1830. Educated at St. Lawrence County, N. Y., he went in 1849 to Minnesota, where he engaged in agricultural pursuits at Point Douglass until 1853. During this period he was also a member of the Minnesota Territorial Legislature in 1851. Becoming inter- ested in lumbering, he was connected with various mill enterprises, and at length removed to Dakota, where he purchased, with a Mr. Knowlton, what is now known as the Libby Mill, but disposed of his share to enter the grocery business. Coming to Washington in 1883 he located at Tekoa, returned to lumbering and erected a mill, which he controlled for about three years. Being appointed Post-
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master he sold his milling interests and formed a partnership for general merchan- dising with Mr. Brown, which still exists. Mr. Truax has not only served his own financial interests, but has added much to the prosperity of the town by building the substantial brick structure in Tekoa, one of the finest in the place, where the bank is located and also the extensive stores of the firm of which he is a member. Mr. Truax still retains the postmastership and has filled other local offices, being at present a Justice of the Peace and Deputy United States Com- missioner. He is a large property-owner, both in and about the city, the bank building alone costing some $20,000. He has, moreover, a beautiful home, replete with all that comfort and elegance which makes life enjoyable. An active and enterprising business man, he is popular and generally esteemed. He was married in 1853 to Miss Mary A. Truax, of St. Lawrence County, N. Y. Of the children born to this marriage three survive, all of whom are married and have families. Mr. Truax is a member of the Masonic fraternity, being the Master of Tekoa Lodge. He is a Republican in politics, and firmly believes in the principles of that party. He is one of those pioneers of Western civilization who still retain that progressive spirit which has done so much to build up and reclaim the frontier.
HUSON, H. S., Mayor of Tacoma, was born in Montello, Wis., May 29th, 1852. At the age of three years he went with his parents to La Crosse Valley in the same State, where he resided until he was sixteen years old, attending the com- mon schools. His parents removed to Kidder, Mo., in 1868, and young Huson attended the Thayer Academy in that place for six years, after which he entered the classical department of Grinnell (Iowa) College, graduating in 1877. He was Superintendent of the public schools of Breckenridge, Mo., for one year, after which he went to St. Louis and entered the office of the Central Law Journal, remaining there eight months and devoting his leisure hours to the study of law. In the fall of 1879 he went to Kansas, intending to settle in some town in that State for the practice of his profession, but finding no suitable location he accepted a position in the offices of the Kansas Pacific Railroad as Civil Engineer. In 1880 he was employed by the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad Company at Denver, Col., and six months later was transferred to Salt Lake City, where he acted as Assistant Chief Engineer of the Rio Grande Western Railroad until January, 1882. He then filled the position of Locating Engineer for the Canadian Pacific Railroad for one year, and in February, 1883, he came to Washington as Assistant Engineer of the Cascade Division of the Northern Pacific Railroad. He was soon promoted to Principal Assistant Engineer of the same road, with an office at Tacoma, having charge of construction for the Northern Pacific west of Helena, until April, 1891, when he resigned on account of ill health. In April, 1892, he was elected Mayor of the city of Tacoma, and is now serving his first term in that position. He is Vice-President of the Citizens' National Bank of Tacoma and President of the Yakima Irrigating and Improvement Company, besides being interested in coal-mining and various other enterprises throughout the Northwest. He was married, January 3d, 1882, to Miss Lide Bothwell, of Breckenridge, Mo. She died April 3d, 1889, and he married for his second wife Miss Lavinia Whal- ley, of Portland, Ore. Mr. Huson holds an enviable position in social and busi-
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ness circles. His ripe culture, varied experience, versatility of talent, tried in- tegrity, and sterling character unite to make him eminently serviceable to society and constitute the grounds for a safe prophecy of a still more honored and useful career.
SMITH, EUGENE D .- The life of this man presents another notable instance of the enterprising Eastern boy, wlio, leaving the older civilization of his native State, came to this then comparatively unknown region, and became early identified with and soon a recognized leader and important factor in the development of the great, rich territory of the Pacific Northwest. He was the founder of Lowell, Wash., and has been the leader in every movement to advance and promote her . material welfare. It has been his influence which has made Lowell the thriving village of to-day, and which has given her at the right time in her career an impetus onward that will be felt for many years to come.
Mr. Smith is a native of Maine, having been born at Columbia in the year 1837, and was left an orphan at the early age of eight years. He found a home with relatives until his thirteenth year, when he began a seafaring life which continued for eight years. He was enterprising and ambitious, and on attaining his majority he determined to seek what he looked upon as a more promising field for the acquisition of a fortune in the great Northwest. On August 1st, 1858, he sailed from New York via the Isthmus of Panama direct to Puget Sound, arriving in November of the same year. He found work in a logging camp for three years, and in the spring of 1862 went to the Caribou mines in British Columbia, and located a claim on Lowhee Creek. While developing this claim he was seized by a severe attack of mountain fever, and with much difficulty succeeded in reaching Victoria, B. C. Recovering sufficiently to travel he re- turned to Puget Sound and opened the first logging camp in Snohomish County, near the site of the present town of Edmonds. In the fall of 1863 he removed his camp to the present site of Lowell on the Snohomish River.
In 1865 he went on a prospecting tour to the Boise Basin, Ida., but not being satisfied with results he returned to the Sound in August of the same year. The next four years were spent in logging at Port Gardner, and after a visit to his native State he returned to Lowell in 1870, and has since been continuously en- gaged in the lumber business in this vicinity. As his means increased he grad- ually extended his operations, until he now has three large logging camps, a saw- mill with a daily capacity of fifty thousand feet, a large farm in a fine state of cultivation, a hotel, a general store, and five thousand acres of valuable land in and around Lowell. The management of these large and varied property interests have taxed his time and energies to the utmost, but that he has been fully equal to the demand is an assured fact ; and notwithstanding these exacting duties, he has managed to find time to serve the public in various capacities. He has been Postmaster of Lowell for over twenty years, has served four years as County Commissioner, and four years as Justice of the Peace for Lowell Precinct. Mr. Smith began life with few advantages, and in early youth was thrown upon his own resources, yet by industry, perseverance, and natural force of character, he has accumulated a handsome fortune, has earned an honorable position in the community, and is held in high esteem as a citizen.
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Mr. Smith was married in 1869 to Miss Margaret Getchell, of Machias, Me. They have two sons and one daughter.
KELLING, HENRY, of Walla Walla, was born in Camanche Camp, Calaveras County, Cal., September 3d, 1861 ; came to Walla Walla with his parents in the spring of 1863, and was educated in the common schools of the town. In 1876 he entered a printing-office, following that occupation until 1879, when he took a position in a book and stationery house, where he remained until 1886, when he was elected City Clerk of Walla Walla, a position he now holds and to which position he has been six times re-elected, four times without opposition. In 1889 he was strongly urged to accept the nomination for Mayor of Walla Walla, hav- ing the support of all the leading business men and of the three newspapers of the city, but declined.
He has been a member of the several Democratic county conventions held since 1884 ; has served as Chairman of the County Committee for three terms, and is now Walla Walla's representative in the State Committee. He was the unsuccessful Democratic candidate for County Auditor in 1888. He was a mem- ber and one of the secretaries of the Territorial Convention at Walla Walla in 1884 ; a member and secretary of the first State Convention at Ellensburg in 1889, and a member of the Seattle Convention of 1890, acting as secretary of the tem- porary organization, and Chairman of the Walla Walla delegation at the State Convention held at Olympia in 1892. He is also a member of the Executive Committee of the Democratic Society of Washington, and was elected as a dele- gate to the New York Convention of the National Association of Democratic Clubs in 1892.
He is numbered as a leader among the younger members of the party, and is counted as one of Walla Walla's progressive citizens. He is prominently con- nected with the commercial, social, and fraternal organizations of that town, being Secretary of the Board of Trade, the Walla Walla Club, the Agricultural Society, the Walla Walla Pioneer Association, and the Whitman Historical Society.
When Eugene Semple entered upon his duties as Governor of Washington Mr. Kelling was appointed on his staff, with the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel.
Mr. Kelling has been an active member of the volunteer fire department of Walla Walla, having served in every position from torch-boy to chief. He is also a member of the American Historical Association, the American Academy of Political and Social Science, the American Statistical Association, and the State Historical Society. He is familiar with the early history of Walla Walla, and has written many historical articles for the press of the State.
CHAMBERS, W. M .- One of the leading citizens of Pullman, Wash., and fore- most among the representative business men of that growing city is W. M. Cham- bers, President of the McConnell-Chambers Company. He was born at King's Valley, Benton County, Ore., and received his education at the Philomath Col- lege. At the age of twenty he was employed as clerk on the Siletz Indian Reser- vation, Oregon, which position he held for about six years. Removing to San Francisco, he operated in stocks for about a year, and then went to Cascade
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Locks, Ore., where he obtained a position as clerk in the office of public works. He 'worked six months for the original contractors, Platt, Chambers, McBean & Co., and was Chief Clerk and Paymaster after the Government took charge of the work. During his stay at Cascade Locks he paid out about a million and a half dollars. Removing to The Dalles, Ore., he was clerk in the store of McCon- nell & Griffin, general merchants, for one year, after which he went to Moscow, Ida., where he took charge of the mercantile business of W. J. McConnell & Co. He had charge of this large establishment for six years, at the expiration of which time he came to Pullman, Wash., and established the general merchandise and grain business of McConnell, Chambers & Co. April 1st, 1892, the concern was reorganized and incorporated as the McConnell-Chanibers Company. June 1st, 1892, Mr. Chambers was appointed Secretary, Treasurer, and Manager of the McConnell-Maguire Company, of Moscow, Ida. The career of this practical, progressive business man has been one of incessant activity, and his success in business is not the result of chance, but of hard work and long work and a spirit that is not easily discouraged. He was married June 15th, 1874, to Miss Minnie Fairchild, of New York. He is a member of the Odd Fellows and of the Knights of Pythias and Elks.
WINDUS, WALTER V., was born of English parents, December 3d, 1859, in Scio, Allegany County, N. Y. His mother died when he was an infant, and he was adopted by his uncle and aunt, Samuel and Annie Raby, and with them he went to England. In Torquay, on the south coast of Devonshire, the subject of our sketch received his early education, in a private school. In 1876 he came to the United States, and after spending a year in various places returned to Eng- land, and for the next four years was engaged in brick manufacturing in Surrey, with his uncle, Mr. Raby. At the expiration of this time the business was sold out and Mr. Windus returned to Torquay, where he embarked in the newspaper business as Manager of the Torquay Times, a weekly paper, and the Western Evening News, a daily, and was so employed for the next two years. He then determined to return to the United States, and in 1883 came to Washington Territory, finally settling in Whitman County, where he took up a half section of land. Visiting the Palouse country in the interests of some English friends, he made some investments, and being attracted to that section as a favorable ship- ping point, he located in Pullman, then a small settlement. Here he embarked in the real estate and insurance business. continuing until 1886, when he was elected County Surveyor, and disposed of his private business. He resigned the office of County Surveyor to accept the position of Cashier of the Bank of Pull- man, since reorganized as the First National Bank of Pullman. In April, 1890, Mr. Windus was elected first Mayor of the town of Pullman, and was re-elected in December, 1891. January 1st, 1891, he resigned his position as Cashier of the bank and purchased an interest in the mercantile business of McConnell, Cham- bers & Co., with which concern he is still associated. He was married March 4th, 1887, to Miss Rowena Smith, of New York. In both public and private affairs Mr. Windus has ever proved himself faithful in the discharge of every duty and worthy of the respect and confidence which he enjoys. His administration as Mayor of Pullman was a credit not only to himself, but to his constituents who
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placed him in that important position. He has watched the growth of Pullman from a weak settlement to its present condition of prosperity and importance, and is earnestly interested in every movement for the public welfare. Some of the most important institutions in the State are located at Pullman, including the State Agricultural College and Experiment Station, and State School of Science, endowed with one hundred and ninety thousand acres of land, and receiving an appropriation from the Federal Government of $40,000 yearly for expenses.
TRUE, MARK C., was born near South Bend, Ind., June 6th, 1847, and re- moved at the age of six years to Napa County, Cal., where his parents still reside. His education was acquired at the common schools and at the Military Academy, Oakland, Cal. After leaving school he engaged in the hotel business and farm- ing in Napa and Solano counties until 1880, after which he ran a hotel for two years in Moscow, Ida. From the latter place he came to Pullman, Wash., which at that time contained but twenty inhabitants. Here he has ever since been engaged in the hotel and livery business, his being the first hotel erected in Pull- man. Mr. True is a popular and successful host, and has accumulated consider- able property.
He was married, June 10th, 1874, to Miss Joanna McGregor, of Prince Edwards Island, Canada. They have three children living, all sons : Edwin Ernest, Harry Elmer, and Fred Calvin. Mr. True has served as a member of the City Council of Pullman. He has not sought political preferment, his private business affairs absorbing all of his attention. He is a member of Pullman Lodge No. 29, Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows, and of Evening Star Lodge No. 59, Knights of Pythias.
CALLOW, A. L., was born in Milwaukee, Wis., May 10th, 1869, and in the summer of 1872 removed with his parents to Washington Territory, the family settling on one of the backwoods ranches of Mason County. Here our subject attended the district school a few months in each year, being obliged to walk a distance of more than three miles over a rough and muddy road to reach the school. At the age of fifteen he went to work in a logging camp, the rough training-place of early Washington youth. Desiring the benefits of a more liberal education he removed to Olympia in the fall of 1886 and entered the Olympia Collegiate Institute. He attended the Institute during the winters, working in logging camps in the summer months, and in the spring of 1889 graduated from the commercial department. He worked at clerking and book-keeping during the following summer, and in September again became a student in the Collegiate Institute, this time in the normal department, from which he was graduated in June, 1890, being valedictorian of his class. He again engaged in book-keeping until December 20th, 1890, when he was elected City Clerk of Olympia, to which office he was re- elected in January, 1892. The ability he has shown in this responsible office is attested by the following extract from the Olympia Tribune :
" His fitness and perfect understanding for the position has been amply shown since he has held it, and he enjoys the distinction of being the youngest clerk in the State, if not in the country."
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Mr. Callow is an active member of the Lodges of Knights of Pythias and Odd Fellows in Olympia City. He is a young man of exemplary habits and un- doubted ability. His natural talent, steady application to duty, and strict re- liability of character have already inspired the confidence of his fellow-citizens, and he' bids fair to play an important part in the future history of his State.
COWLEY, HENRY T., was born in the year 1837, at Seneca Falls, N. Y. His father ran a cooper shop and farm, and the lad divided his time till the age of sixteen in the shop, on the farm, and at the district school. In his seventeenth year he went to Cleveland, O., and engaged variously in tool-making, scale- making, and sailing on Lake Erie. At the age of twenty he spent two years in various printing-offices, and in the year 1860 he entered the preparatory depart- ment of Oberlin College. In 1865 he entered the Senior Class of that institution, but being offered the associate principalship of a commercial college in Ripley, O., he spent one year in teaching mathematics and commercial branches. In 1866 he was married to Miss L. Abbie Peet, daughter of Rev. Rufus Peet, of Castile, N. Y., who was also a student, to the fourth year, of the ladies' course in Oberlin Col- lege. The same year he was engaged as teacher of book-keeping, penmanship, and mathematics in Antioch College, Yellow Springs, O., where he graduated in 1867. He entered Auburn Theological Seminary in 1868, and graduated in 1871. He was commissioned the same year as Government Teacher on the Nez Percé Reservation in Idaho. In 1874 he answered a call of the Spokane Indians to teach civilization among them, and removed with his family to Spokane Falls. Subsequently he was appointed Government Teacher and Sub-Agent. In 1883 he purchased the Spokane Chronicle, which he continued as editor and publisher until 1887, since which time he has been engaged in miscellaneous literary work.
FENTON, JAMES EDWARD, Prosecuting Attorney for Spokane County, Wash., was born in Clarke County, Mo., April 6th, 1857. In 1865 he crossed the plains with his parents in a train consisting of forty wagons, the trip taking over six months. Arriving safely in Oregon they settled on a farm in the Willamette Valley, in Yamhill County. After attending the common schools, young Fenton entered Christian College, at Monmouth, Ore., took a classical course and was graduated in 1877. In the following year he was elected Professor of Mathe- matics in Christian College by the Board of Regents, and filled that position for two years. During the next two years he taught in various academies in Oregon. In the mean time, determined to adopt the profession of the law, he began a sys- tematic course of study under the direction of Judge W. M. Ramsey, of Salem, Ore. He was admitted to the Bar in 1882, and began the active pursuit of his profession at Eugene, Ore. In February, 1890, he removed to Spokane and formed a partnership with his brother, Charles R. Fenton, under the firmn style of Fenton & Fenton. In 1891 Mr. Daniel W. Henley was admitted, and the firm name became Fenton, Henley & Fenton.
Possessed of a strong taste for politics, Mr. Fenton was early led to take an active part in public affairs. He has always been a Democrat, and his unflinching adherence to and able defence of party principles have endeared him to party as- sociates, while his keen, practical sense, honesty and integrity, and strong per-
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sonality naturally make him a leader. In 1880 he was a candidate on the Demo- cratic ticket of Polk County, Orc., for member of the Legislature, but his party being in the minority, he failed of election. In 1888 he was nominated for Pro- bate Judge of Lane County, Ore., and although the county gave an average majority of three hundred for the Republican ticket, he was defeated by only two votes. In the fall of 1892 the Democrats of Spokane County placed Mr. Fenton on their ticket as the party's nominee for Prosecuting Attorney for Spo- kane County, competing with W. M. Ridpath on the Republican ticket ; and so great was the respect of the voters of the county, regardless of party, that in a county that gave a sweeping Republican majority of one thousand, Mr. Fenton was elected by the handsome majority of twelve hundred and fifty-seven. In January of the present year he assumed the office to which he was elected and immediately brought to bear upon the arduous duties of the position a rich store of legal knowledge and ripe experience. His calm judicial gravity and equable nature rendered him especially fitted for his position. His scholarly attainments, his personal industry, his perfect integrity and deep knowledge of law have gained for him the confidence and respect of the Bencli, Bar, and public.
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