USA > Washington > History of Washington the evergreen state : from early dawn to daylight with portraits and biographies Vol. II > Part 50
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TAFT, JOHN ABISHA, of Aberdeen, Wash., was born July 8th, 1845, in Barre, Vt., and in 1872 removed to Michigan, where he lived until 1883, when he went to Minnesota. He resided there until 1888, and in that year came to the Pacific Coast. He first located at Tacoma, Waslı., but in April, 1889, settled permanently in Aberdeen, where lie is principally engaged in the real-estate business. Mr. Taft is Vice-President of the First National Bank of Aberdeen-the first bank to issue national currency in Chehalis County. He is the leading spirit in all public enterprises in Aberdeen and fills many important positions of trust in that town. He is a man of acute business judgment, progressive in his ideas, and of commendable publie spirit. He has great faith and confidence in the growth and development of Washington, and is willing to extend a helping hand to further any enterprise to promote the general good. His success has been honestly won by persistent, well-directed effort.
TAYLOR, CHARLES E., attorney-at-law, of Buckley, Pierce County, Washı., born in England in 1868, was the youngest of a family of three children born to Edward and Elizabeth Taylor, both natives of England. He left the parental roof in 1885 to follow the sea, which he did for two years, He came to San Fran- cisco in 1887, and went from thence to the then Territory of Washington. He settled at Riverside, now known as Buckley ; visited Tacoma, remained two years, and devoted himself to the study of law ; was admitted to the Bar, and returned to Buckley to locate permanently. His business qualifications soon gained for him the confidence of the community, and he is now serving his second term as City Clerk. He is a partner in the firm of Taylor & Joynt, real-estate and insur- ance brokers, doing a very successful business. Mr. Taylor was married in 1890 to Mary, daughter of Alexander Nickersham, of Buckley. They have one child. He is a member of the Unitarian Church and Royal Society of Good Fellows, a Republican in politics, and a thoroughgoing business man.
TAYLOR, H. G., mill-owner, of Farmington, Wash., was born in Iowa in 1857. His father, William Taylor, was a native of Canada, a builder and contractor by occupation ; his mother, Susan (Morse) Taylor, being a native of Illinois. Third in a family of eight children born to his parents, young Taylor was educated in the public schools of Iowa, where he lived for a time after completing his studies, and then removed to California. There he engaged for eight years in flour-mill-
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ing. In 1887 he came to Washington and located at Farmington, where he estab- lished himself with his brother in his former business. Their mill is the largest of its kind in Farmington, having a capacity of sixty barrels a day. The capital invested is about $15,000, and the result financially has been very satisfactory to its owners. Mr. Taylor was married in 1888 to Miss Hettie Williamson, a native of Iowa. They have two children. He is a Republican and a wide-awake, thoroughgoing business man, with every prospect of future success as a bread- winner ; for he who leans upon " the staff of life" has a pretty sure foundation to depend upon.
TAYLOR, SIMON, farmer, of Waitsburg, Walla Walla County, Wash., was born in West Virginia in 1825, his parents being also natives of the same State. Re- ceiving his early education in the subscription schools of Virginia, he began the business of life by farming in Missouri, where he raised corn and wheat until 1880. He then removed to Washington Territory and bought three hundred and twenty acres of land, which he finds highly productive and remunerative, his fruit trees being specially successful. He was married in Missouri in 1850 to Miss Martha Austin, who died of consumption after a lingering illness. His sec- ond marriage was to Miss Harriet Burreso, the daughter of a large farmer. They have six children, most of whom follow the parental example and are tillers of the soil.
THAYER, S. W., farmer, near Waverly, Spokane County, Wash, was born in Lebanon, Madison County, N. Y. He received the benefits of a limited amount of district school education, but is for the most part self-taught. His occupation after leaving school and up to the age of twenty-three years was farming. Then he entered the ministry and preached for fifteen years in different places in Ohio. He was married in New York in 1846 to Miss Sarah Rounde, of that section. They have had seven children. Mr. Thayer was married again in 1863, in Minne- sota, to Miss Hannah Butler, of New York. She has borne him one child. Mr. Thayer is a member of the United Brethren of Christ and also a pastor of that Church. A Prohibitionist in his political faith, lie is strongly in accord with the principles of that party. He is the owner of a pretty cottage home, green with lawn and bright with the bloom of many flowers. His special work in the de- nomination which he represents is that of a local elder.
THIELSON, H. W., the Cashier of the Ellensburg National Bank, is identified with the remarkable success of that institution, and has established a most honor- able reputation as an able and sagacious financier. He was born in Burlington, Ia., some thirty-three years ago, and received his early education in the public schools of his native State and those of Oregon, where he removed with his par- ents in 1870. He was a member of the first class which graduated from the Port- land Commercial High School. His active business life was begun with the Ore- gon Trust and Improvement Company, in whose employ he remained for three years. In 1880 he took service with the Oregon Navigation Company, holding the position of Paymaster until 1887, when he resigned to become a book-keeper and teller in the Oregon National Bank. In 1890 he removed to Ellensburg and
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took the Cashiership of the First National, of that city, which he still holds. He is also one of the board of directors of the Washington Trust Company, a leading institution of its kind. Mr. Thielson was married in 1880 at Portland, Ore., to Miss Emma S. Moreland, a native of that State and one of the first white children born there. He owns a fine home in the city of Ellensburg, in whose future he takes a warm interest.
THOMAS, ISAAC, farmer and dairyman, of Ellensburg, Kittitas Valley, Wash., was born in 1819 in Idaho. His parents were natives of North Carolina, his father having been a farmer in that section. They were Quakers, and in the days of war with the Indians moved out into the wilderness, yet were never molested by the savages. It is to be regretted that this strange immunity of religious faith, an amnesty bequeathed to his people by William Penn, seems in these degenerate days to have lost its virtue, or the hostiles have ceased to discriminate. The elder Thomas died in 1878, leaving fifteen children, of whom the subject of this sketch was the fourth. Young Thomas, possibly in the absence of schools, never enjoyed the advantages of any formal teaching. In 1855 he settled in Iowa and armed there for twenty years, then removed to Seattle in 1875, where he gar- dened for four years .. He then came to the Kittitas Valley in 1879 and took up a homestead claim. He now owns and cultivates one hundred and sixty acres. He was married in Indiana in 1841 to Miss Jane Moore, who was born in that State in 1825, her parents being from North Carolina, where her father was a farmer. They have four children.
THOMAS, JAMES W., farmer and stockman, of Ellensburg, Wash., was born in Indiana in 1842. His parents were natives of that State, his father having been a farmer. He came to Washington and first located at Seattle in 1875. James, who was the oldest son born to his parents, received his early education in Iowa, and came to Puget Sound in 1870. Here he followed the business of a builder and contractor until 1888, when he removed to Kittitas Valley and purchased three hundred and twenty acres of land about six miles northeast of Ellensburg. He was married to Miss Mary Crane, of Iowa, who has borne him eight children. Fraternally he is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Ellensburg Lodge No. 20, and of the Farmers' Industrial Union. His wife is a member of the Daughters of Rebecca. Mr. Thomas belongs to that class of men who are most influential in building up a new country-the hard-handed, patient tillers of the soil ; men whose patient, persistent efforts lay the real foundations of national progress and local prosperity. It is such as these who have made the State of Washington what it is to-day.
THOMPSON, A. G., Postmaster and pioneer settler of Ballard, Wash., was born in Farsand, Norway, August 7th, 1864 ; received his early education in his native town and at the age of fourteen took to a seafaring life, sailing in Norwegian and United States vessels up to the age of seventeen, when he relinquished it to de- vote himself to business. Emigrating to Iowa, he remained in the grocery trade for eight years, meeting with considerable success. In March, 1889, he removed to Ballard, where he established the first grocery store in the place, then only a
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wilderness, but to-day an incorporated manufacturing city. He was appointed Postmaster August 22d, 1889, and still fills that office. He was married to Miss Lena Watney, July 5th, 1885, at Sioux Rapids, Ia., of which place his bride was a native. Three children grace their union, a boy and two girls. Mr. Thompson is in every way a representative citizen, being, as before mentioned, one of the pioneer business men of Ballard and one of its most respected citizens. He pos- sesses a host of friends and is held in universal esteem. It is a pleasant feature to chronicle in the social history of Washington that nowhere is the primitive settler more regarded and looked up to than in the Evergreen State.
THOMPSON, WILLIAM H., attorney-at-law, of Seattle, Wash., was born in Cal- houn, Ga., March 10th, 1848 ; received his early education in his native town, and at the age of fifteen enlisted in the Confederate Army as a private under General J. B. Gordon, seeing service in many of the most desperate battles of the war. He removed to Indiana in 1868 and engaged in railroad-building as an assistant engineer until 1873, meanwhile devoting all of his leisure hours to the study of the law. He was admitted to the Bar, and began the active practice of his pro- fession at Crawfordsville, Ind., where for fifteen years he was a neighbor and friend of General Lew Wallace, the celebrated author of " Ben Hur." In 1889 he came to Seattle and became the senior member of the law firm of Thompson, Edsen & Humphries. Mr. Thompson is an occasional contributor to the Century Magazine and other periodicals, and is the author of the famous poem " The High Tide at Gettysburg." He is an ardent Democrat, and takes a warm interest in politics, but is not an aspirant for office, his time being entirely occupied with his large and growing practice. He was married at Crawfordsville, Ind., June 11th, 1874, to Miss Ida Lee, daughter of Hon. John Lee, of Indiana. Three sons and one daughter grace their union. Their residence is a lovely home on the heights overlooking the placid waters of Lake Washington. Like Nimrod of old, he is a mighty hunter ; and among other trophies of the chase has mounted in his office a large and perfect head of an elk, which he killed in the Olympian range in 1892. His professional reputation is of the highest order, and he enjoys the esteem of all.
THORP, LEONARD LUTHER, farmer and old pioneer of Yakima County, was born in Oregon in 1845. His father, F. M. Thorp, was a Missouri farmer, his mother, Margaret (Bounds) Thorp, being a native of Tennessee. Mr. Thorp came to the then Territory of Washington February 5th, 1861, located at Moxee, and engaged in stock-raising, which he followed for twenty years, but discontinued to try farming, his present occupation. He was married in 1869 to Miss Philina Herman, a native of Missouri. They have four children. Mr. Thorp has a hand- some residence near the city and about ten acres of valuable fruit land. He is also the owner of other property in the county and State. He is a stockholder in the Yakima National Bank, was Sheriff of the county of Yakima in its early days, held the office of Auditor about the time of its organization, and other local positions, in all of which he proved himself a capable and efficient public servant. He is a Populist in his political faith and a firm believer in the princi- ples and future success of this new party. He is an old pioneer of Yakima
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County, thoroughly acquainted with its history, and exceedingly interesting in his reminiscences of those early days, so full of danger, self-sacrifice, and trial. He is identified with its growth and progress, and is held in high esteem by all who know him.
THORP, WILLIS, a citizen and old pioneer of North Yakima, was born in Polk County, Ore., in April, 1847. His father, F. M. Thorp, was an early settler of that State, born in Missouri, crossed the plains in 1844. - Willis was educated in the Territory of Washington in a private school. His first occupation was that of a stockman and speculator in cattle-his business to-day. He has also valuable interests in Alaska, furnishing all of the meat consumed in that Territory. It was a large enterprise to undertake, but under the excellent management of Mr. Thorp lias proved a great success. He was married in 1868 to Miss Sarah Linds- ley, of Kentucky. They have seven children. Fraternally he is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows ; personally he is a pushing, clear-headed, wide-awake business man. He is, moreover, one of the original settlers in the county of Yakima, and thoroughly posted in its history, regarding whose stirring events and early struggles he is a fluent and interesting narrator, having a fund of information and varied experience which might well supply the material for a published sketch.
TIBBALS, H. L., JR., capitalist, of Port Townsend, Wash., is a native son, having been born in that city March 8th, 1859. He received his early education in Port Townsend, and attended Victoria Central College one term ; but the busi- ness spirit was too strong in him to be controlled, so we find him at seventeen driving a stage and teaming on his own account ; at nineteen a clerk, which posi- tion he held two years on the Union Dock ; and finally, in 1885, the owner of the wharf. In 1889 he incorporated a stock company, with $100,000 capital, to build wharfs and warehouses, of which he was the President and Manager, as well as the controlling stockholder. In October, 1889, at the first general State -election, he ran for member of the Legislature on the Democratic ticket, was tied, and a new election was ordered, when the illness of his wife and the pecula- tions of his cashier obliged him to withdraw from the contest. July 13th, 1890, he was elected Mayor of Port Townsend, and was re-elected in 1891, serving two terms. He is the Port Townsend agent of the following corporations : Pacific Coast Steamship Company, to which he was appointed at the age of twenty-one, and the Union Pacific Railroad Company, then known as the Oregon Railroad and Navigation Company. In 1892 he was elected Chairman of the Jefferson County Central Democratic Committee, the county going Democratic under his manage- ment for the first time in its history. He was married at Portland, Ore., March 8th, 1880, to Miss Nannette M. Sutherland, of that city, the marriage ceremony being performed by Bishop Morris, of Oregon. They have five children. Mr. Tibbals built and owned the Port Townsend Water-Works, which he sold to the Mount Olympus Water Company and bonded the town site of Anacortes for the Oregon Improvement Company, besides receiving donations in land for the Seat- tle and Northern Railroad Company. During his term of office as Mayor he caused the new City Hall to be built, improved the Fire Department generally,
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introducing electric alarms and many other valuable innovations. It is a short step sometimes in favored America from teamster to capitalist. Energy and business talent are strong motors.
TOZIER, E. L., of Latah, Wash., was born in Iowa in 1852. His father, Waldo M., was a native of Maine and a millwright ; his mother, Eunice M. Clark, was also a daughter of the Sunrise State. Educated in a public school of Ore- gon, young Tozier began the battle of life as a farmer in Benton County, of that State, where rain is seldom denied to the agriculturist. An experiment of three years in the Webfoot State only enhanced the superior charms of Washington, to which he moved in 1877, locating on a homestead near what is the present site of Latah City. Here he cultivated his acres for eleven years, and then engaged -in mercantile pursuits till 1890. In 1892 he accepted a position with a firm in Latah, in whose employ he still continues. Mr. Tozier was married in 1875 to Miss Rosana Belknap, a native of Oregon. Six children are the result of this union, all of whom are students at the Academy. He has filled various offices with credit to himself and advantage to his fellow-citizens, his ability being gen- erally recognized. He is one of the largest real-estate holders in the growing city where he dwells, has a beautiful home, is a member, with his family, of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and active in all good works. A gentleman of most affable disposition, no man is more thoroughly respected than Mr. Tozier by the community. It may be truly said that their welfare lies near to his heart, and his public-spirited mind is constantly planning for their upbuilding and ad- ·vancement.
TRUAX, RICHARD A., farmer, of Farmington, Wash., was born in the Empire State in 1838. His father, Caleb Truax, was a lake captain and a native of that State ; his mother, Elizabeth Kendrick, was born in Ireland. Eighth in a family of ten, young Truax was educated in the public schools of Minnesota. After the completion of his studies he remained for four years in his native State, until the breaking out of the war, when he enlisted in Company F, of Hatches' Indepen- dent Cavalry, Minnesota Volunteers. He remained on the frontier, engaged in Indian fighting, for some years, was discharged in 1866, and removed to Idaho. In 1870 he located near what is now known as Farmington, Wash., and engaged in farming. He is the owner of one hundred and sixty acres of wheat land which gives an average yield of forty bushels to the acre, and is also the possessor of a pleasant city home and other valuable property in Farmington, Seattle, and other parts of the State. He was married in 1866 to Miss Sarah A. Whitford, of Michi- gan. She comes of a family distinguished for its eminent physicians. They have two children. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity and of the Grand Army of the Republic. In 1878 he was Sheriff of Whitman County, holding that office for two years. In politics he is a Republican. A self-made man, Mr. Truax is an excellent example of what shrewd common sense united with courage and general business ability can accomplish, assuring success where a weaker man would have failed.
TUCKER, HENRY L., livery, North Yakima, Wash., was born in Indiana in 1847. His father, M. Tucker, was a Tennessee farmer and mechanic ; his mother,
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Nancy Brown, being a native of Ohio. Educated in the public schools of his native State, he began life as a soldier, enlisting in 1862 in the Forty-seventh Indiana Volunteers. He joined the Army of the West, was attached to the Thir- teenth Army Corps, and saw service in numerous battles and engagements, doing his duty gallantly in all. Among others he was present at the battles of Vicks- burg and Champion Hills. He was honorably discharged October 23d, 1865, at Baton Rouge, La., and returned to Indiana, where he occupied himself in various pursuits until 1867, when he went to Iowa and became a stage-driver for a year. Another year was passed in Nebraska, from which point he journeyed to the Pacific Coast and located in Washington Territory. Here he followed railroading . for a living, having charge of all the horses of the Northern Pacific Railroad . Company. Five years were thus employed. He then engaged in saw-milling in Tacoma for a year, and finally settled at North Yakima in 1876, where he worked at teaming, and then established himself in the livery business, which he still carries on and which he has made a success. He was married in 1884, at Yakima City, to Miss Jennie Leach, a native of California and a daughter of John A. and Martha E. Leach. They have two children. He has a pleasant home and owns valuable business property both in the city and elsewhere. He is one of the city fathers, and takes a warm interest in all that conduces to its prosperity. He be- longs to the orders of Masons, Knights of Pythias, Ancient Order of United Workmen, and Grand Army of the Republic.
TURNER, GENERAL C. W., attorney-at-law, of Seattle, Wash., was born in Frederick County, Va., June 8th, 1846, and received his early education in his native State. In 1867-68 he travelled extensively, finally settling in Montana, where he remained until 1889, when he came to Seattle. A student in the Vir- ginia Military Institute, he not unnaturally entered the Confederate Army, was commissioned Lieutenant, and served with that rank on the losing side until the close of the war. He then took up the study of the law, and was admitted to the Bar at Virginia City in 1870 ; but the fervor of the gold fever then raging proved superior to the charms of practice, so we find him engaging in mining until washed out by the destruction of his flume, the flood sweeping away the earnings of two years' constant labor. Turning again to the law he began practice, though still interested in mines, being the attorney for, as well as a stockholder in, the Heckla Consolidated Mining Company. In 1886 he sold out his mining interests and removed to Helena, Mont., where he spent three years previous to his re- moval to Seattle. At the latter place he opened a law office and stepped at once into a lucrative business. He was married in Montana in September, 1879, to Miss Emma Armstrong, of that Territory, a daughter of the manager of the Heckla Consolidated Mining Company. They have two sons. Fraternally he is a member of the Knights Templar, being ex-Eminent Commander of the Helena Commandery. He takes his military title from having held the position for sev- eral years of Adjutant-General of the Territory of Montana, during which time he organized the Territorial Militia. The firm of Turner & Mccutcheon holds a distinguished place among those learned in the law in the State of Washington.
TUSTIN, JUDGE FRED PAGE, attorney-at-law, of Seattle, Wash., was born in Oxford, England, November 17th, 1848, and attended school up to the age of
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fourteen, when he entered the office of Edward Wier Nicoli, of Shipston-on- Stom, Worcestershire, who was then Register of the County Court of that dis- trict, with whom he served his articles, and in 1869 was admitted to the English Bar. In the spring of 1870 he came to Oregon, and at once interested himself actively in the progress of that State. He participated in the Modoc Indian War of 1872, was admitted to the Bar of the Supreme Court of Oregon in 1876, re- moved to Pendleton, Ore., and was appointed in 1878 Brigadier-General of the State Militia, serving through the Banock Snake Indian War. For eight years he was United States Commissioner at Pendleton under Judge Deady, of Port- land. He was twice elected Police Judge of Pendleton, and served three terms as Deputy District Attorney for the Sixth Judicial District of Oregon. He re- moved to Seattle February 16th, 1890, became a property-owner there, and re- sumed the practice of the law as senior partner of the firm of Tustin, Crews & Gearin, having associated with himself Messrs. W. E. Crews and John M. Gearin. Judge Tustin is married and has one son. Fraternally he is a Knight of Pythias, having joined Damon Lodge in Oregon while that State and Washington were under one jurisdiction. He is now a member and representative to the Grand Lodge, of Queen City Lodge No. 10, of Seattle. He is also Past Master of the Ancient Order of United Workmen.
TYLER, W. B., attorney-at-law, of Seattle, Wash., was born in California in 1857, attended the common schools of his native State, entered Harvard in 1879, and graduated in 1882 with the degree of LL.B. He was admitted to the Bar and began practice in San Francisco, continuing there until the spring of 1891, when he removed to Seattle. Among others, Mr. Tyler was an attorney for the prosecution in the famous case of Sharon os. Sharon, which figured prominently in the courts for seven years, one trial alone lasting for seven months. The voluminous character of its testimony and pleadings is best attested by the fact that twenty-three bound volumes devoted to this extended and bitterly contested litigation are in Mr. Tyler's library. He was married in 1876 to Miss Currier, of San Francisco. Two sons grace their union. Since his arrival in Seattle, Mr. Tyler's professional services have been called into requisition in various cases of importance, especially those known all over the State as the murder case of the people vs. Fredericks, and Ballinger vs. Caswell, in both of which he took a prominent part.
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