History of the Yakima Valley, Washington; comprising Yakima, Kittitas, and Benton Counties, Vol. II, Part 13

Author: Lyman, William Denison, 1852-1920
Publication date: 1919
Publisher: [Chicago] S.J. Clarke
Number of Pages: 1138

USA > Washington > Benton County > History of the Yakima Valley, Washington; comprising Yakima, Kittitas, and Benton Counties, Vol. II > Part 13
USA > Washington > Kittitas County > History of the Yakima Valley, Washington; comprising Yakima, Kittitas, and Benton Counties, Vol. II > Part 13
USA > Washington > Yakima County > History of the Yakima Valley, Washington; comprising Yakima, Kittitas, and Benton Counties, Vol. II > Part 13

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

L. H. KUHN.

L. H. Kuhn, cashier of the First National Bank of Zillah, was born in Shelby, Iowa, January 1, 1883. His parents, Robert E. and Emma V. (Williams) Kuhn, removed to Emerson in 1883 and there the father organized the Emerson State Bank and also laid out the town. He continued to reside at that place until 1900, when he established his home at Lincoln, Nebraska, where his remaining days were passed and where his widow still resides.

L. H. Kuhn completed his education at the Western Reserve Academy at Hud- son, Ohio, and for a few years was a resident of Lincoln, Nebraska. In 1905 he came to Tacoma and entered into active association with the National Bank of Com- merce, in which he spent two years in a clerical capacity. Subsequently he was with the Northwest Trust & Savings Bank of Seattle for a year and a half and in 1909

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he came to Zillah, where he has since been identified with the First National Bank, which was established in December, 1909, with J. D. Cornett as president, R. D. Herod as vice-president, J. H. Bartley, cashier, and L. H. Kuhn, assistant cashier. The last named succeeded to the cashiership on the 9th of January, 1910, and has since acted in that capacity, while H. H. Green has been vice president since 1911. The bank is capitalized for twenty-five thousand dollars. It has had a successful exist- ence, the business steadily growing. The building occupied was built especially for the purpose used, the bank occupying the first floor, with office rooms above.

In October, 1913, Mr. Kuhn was married to Miss Eva Munson, of Tacoma, and they have one child, Robert Munson. In his fraternal relations Mr. Kuhn is a Mason and an Elk. He belongs to Yakima Lodge No. 318, B. P. O. E., to Meridian Lodge No. 196, A. F. & A. M., of Zillah, of which he is a past master, and that he has at- tained high rank in the order is indicated in the fact that he is one of the Nobles of Afifi Temple of the Mystic Shrine at Tacoma. His political endorsement is given to the republican party and his religious faith is indicated by his membership in the Presbyterian church. He is actuated in all that he does by high principles and his many sterling traits of character have gained him the warm regard of all with whom he has been associated. Prompted by a progressive spirit, he gives earnest aid and support to all measures for the general good and his work for the city has been efficiently resultant.

LORENZO D. ALLEN.

Lorenzo D. Allen not only has valuable farming interests near Granger which require his constant attention but he has also served as supervisor of drainage dis- trict No. 27 since it was organized. A native of Marion county, lowa, he was born July 19, 1871, and is a son of L. D. and Eliza (Mills) Allen, the former a native of Wales and the latter of Williams county, Ohio. When quite a young man the father arrived in New York but did not long remain in the eastern metropolis, removing to Iowa, of which state he became a pioneer farmer. There he devoted his efforts to agricultural pursuits until death claimed him. His wife passed away in Minnesota.

Lorenzo D. Allen was reared in Marion county, Iowa, early becoming acquainted with agricultural labors and methods, and in the acquirement of his education he attended the schools near his father's farm. He remained at home until he was twenty-seven years of age, largely operating the farm, but at that time started out for himself as his mother had died. His enterprising spirit is evident from the fact that from the early age of seventeen he had been buying land, but he always made his home with his mother, his father having died when he was only twelve years of age. In the meantime the family had removed to Morrison county, Minne- sota, where Mr. Allen of this review became a successful farmer. Having heard many favorable reports in regard to the advantages which awaited one in the Yakima valley, he in 1902 decided to make the change and came to Yakima county, where he at first rented land for five years. He then was enabled to acquire title to forty acres of raw land, which was covered with sagebrush and located a mile north of Granger. From this wild tract he has developed a fine ranch which now yields him a comfort- able annual income. In 1906 he built a fine brick residence, the first in his part of the county, which has since remained the family home. He has ever used progressive methods and new ideas in raising his produce, which largely consists of hay and corn, and he also operates a dairy and thus augments his income. He has specialized in corn for the last sixteen years, developing "Allen's Pride," which is in great demand throughout the valley, and he has sold nine tons for seed.

On the 17th of June, 1898, Mr. Allen was united in marriage to Mary Backosky, a native of Wisconsin, and a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Vensel Backosky, who re- moved to Minnesota in the '90s. To this union were born five children: George, Eva, Hazel, Mary and Henry.

Mr. and Mrs. Allen are highly respected in their neighborhood and they have many friends in and near Granger. In his political affiliation Mr. Allen is a repub- lican and the confidence and trust reposed in him by the public have found expres-

MR. AND MRS. LORENZO D. ALLEN

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sion in his election to the position of supervisor of drainage district No. 27, in which official position he has served since the district was organized. There is great credit due him for what he has achieved in life, as he began his business career empty-handed and is now numbered among the prosperous agriculturists of Yakima county.

EMIL MEESKE.

Emil Meeske is a well known and prosperous orchardist of the Yakima valley, residing two and one-half miles west of the city of Yakima, where he owns a valu- able tract of land comprising ten acres. His birth occurred in Germany on the 30th of August, 1865, his parents being Louis and Lottie Meeske, who emigrated to the United States in 1880 and took up their abode in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where they remained for three years. On the expiration of that period they removed to Sauk Rapids, Minnesota, where the father passed away. The mother accompanied her son Emil on his removal to the northwest in 1901 and continued a resident of Yakima until called to her final rest.

Emil Meeske spent the first fifteen years of his life in his native country and de- voted his youthful days to the acquirement of an education. In 1880 he came with his parents to America and preparatory to entering the business world he learned the carpenter's trade, which for many years he successfully followed in Minnesota. It was in 1901 that he decided to come to Washington, arriving in Yakima on the 20th of June of that year, while in 1902 he purchased ten acres of land on Summit View which he planted to apples, pears and peaches. He conducted the orchard most successfully until disposing of it in 1912, and two years later he bought his present place of ten acres sitnated two and one-half miles west of Yakima, nine acres thereof being now planted to apples, pears, peaches and plums. Prosperity has attended his undertakings as a horticulturist and the value of his property is considerably en- hanced by a handsome new residence which he erected thereon.

In 1897 Mr. Meeske was united in marriage to Miss Clara Wischnefski, of Minne- sota, by whom he has four children, namely: Marie, Louis, Lillie and Carl. All are still under the parental roof. Mr. Meeske gives his political allegiance to the demo- cratic party, while his religious faith is indicated by his membership in the Lutheran church. His life has at all times been governed by high and honorable principles and his many friends recognize in him a man of genuine personal worth and many excellent traits of heart and mind.

SIMON W. SHAFER.

Simon W. Shafer, who since the fall of 1917 has cultivated forty acres of land four miles northwest of Sunnyside, was born in McLean county, Illinois, June 22, 1893, a son of W. I. and Betty (Thomas) Shafer. The maternal grandfather of Mr. Shafer was Samuel Thomas, a veteran of the Civil war. The father is a native of Eureka, Illinois, and a son of Simon Shafer, who was born in Pennsylvania and re- moved to Illinois during the pioneer epoch in its history. In 1905 he came to the northwest, settling in Yakima county, after which he lived retired in Sunnyside until his demise. His son, W. I. Shafer, became a farmer in Illinois and there followed agricultural pursuits until the spring of 1908, when he brought his family to Yakima county and purchased forty acres of land three and a half miles northwest of Sunny- side, whereon he resided until 1916. He then sold that property and bought forty acres under the Outlook pumping plant. It was then a tract of wild land but he has brought it all under a high state of cultivation, has built a good home thereon and added many other modern improvements, together with all the equipment of the model farm of the twentieth century. His wife was born in Indiana and they are numbered among the highly esteemed residents of the community in which they make their home.

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Their son, Simon W. Shafer, acquired a public school education and farmed with his father until he reached the age of twenty years, when he started out upon his business career by renting land, which he continued to cultivate for two years. Dur- ing that period he carefully saved his earnings until his industry and economy had brought him sufficient capital to enable him to purchase forty acres four miles north- west of Sunnyside, of which he became the owner in the fall of 1917. During the intervening period of two years he has engaged in the raising of hay, corn, potatoes and wheat upon his place and also conducts a dairy business.

On the 10th of Jannary, 1917, Mr. Shafer was married to Miss Joyce Clapsaddle, who was born in LaSalle county, Illinois, a danghter of Frank J. and Etta (Car- . penter) Clapsaddle, the former a native of Dekalb county, Illinois, while the latter was born in LaSalle county. Her father was a son of Andrew Clapsaddle, a native of Herkimer county, New York, who became a resident of Illinois when it was a frontier state, there taking up government land upon which not a furrow had been turned nor an improvement made. He at once began to develop the property and thus con- tributed to the progress of the section of the state in which he lived. The maternal grandfather of Mrs. Shafer was Ethan Carpenter, who was born in Westchester county, New York, and also became a resident of Illinois in pioneer times. The parents of Mrs. Shafer came to Yakima county in 1910 and purchased sixty acres of land four and a half miles northwest of Sunnyside. There the father carried on farming until the spring of 1918 but now makes his home in the city. He made a specialty of raising fine seed corn in addition to carrying on the work of general farming. Mr. and Mrs. Shafer have become parents of a daughter, Barbara Delle, born December 2, 1917. Both are members of the Christian church and are highly esteemed in the community where they make their home. They are young people of sterling worth and well merit the high regard which is uniformly accorded them.

HENRY HUNTINGTON LOMBARD.

Henry Huntington Lombard is a well known real estate dealer and capitalist of Yakima. Real estate activty in the west has not only included the purchase and sale of property and the promotion of realty transfers for others but has included as well the development of large tracts of land, adding greatly to the prosperity of various regions. Henry Huntington Lombard is the senior partner in the firm of Lombard & Horsley, a firm that was established in 1889 and which has developed its interests until it has won a place among the foremost real estate dealers of the Yakima valley. The width of the continent separates Mr. Lombard from his birth- place, for he is a native of New Bedford, Massachusetts. He was born February 2, 1865, a son of Henry H. and Ennice K. Lombard. The ancestral line is traced back to Thomas Lombard, who arrived at Cape Cod, Massachusetts, in 1623. At the time of the Revolutionary war |Colonel Richard Lombard responded to the cause of the colonists and aided in winning American independence. Rev. Solomon Lombard, a Congregational minister, removed to Gorham, Maine, and became the first repre- sentative of the ministry in that state. He was the founder of the branch of the family from which Henry Huntington Lombard is descended. Solomon Lombard became a prominent judge in the colony. For generations the family was repre- sented in New England, but in 1869 Henry H. and Eunice K. Lombard removed to Iowa and it was in the public schools of that state their son, Henry H., acquired his education. He was a lad of but four years at the time of the removal to the west and his boyhood and youth were therefore largely passed in Iowa. In 1887, when twenty-two years of age, he went to Topeka, Kansas, and for two years was em- ployed by the Santa Fe Railroad Company. In March, 1889, he arrived in Yakima and it was in the same year that he entered into partnership with 'Frank Horsley, organizing the firm of Lombard & Horsley. They engaged in the furniture business, buying out the establishment of A. H. Reynolds & Company, and were active in that line until 1909, when they sold out. In 1904 they became actively interested in de- velopment work in the construction of the Union Gap ditch and organized the Union Gap Irrigation Company, which purchased the Fowler ditch and developed the

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Parker Heights district, which they sold in 1909 after expending two hundred and fifty thousand dollars on improvements. They developed over five hundred acres of fruit land and still farm more than four hundred acres of this. They have since sold and developed large tracts of land throughout the district and now have the Beulah tract. They are conducting a general investment and developing business and the interests of Mr. Lombard have reached extensive and gratifying proportions. He has seen the possibility for work along this line and has put forth every effort in his power to promote the growth and settlement of the state through the utiliza- tion of its natural resources. Energetic and far-sighted in business, he has carried forward his interests to successful completion and though he started out in life empty-handed, he has made for himself a place among the capitalists of the Yakima valley.

On the 26th of June, 1906, Mr. Lombard was married to Miss Aimee Porter, of Roseland, Washington, and their children are George Porter, Henry H., Creede Wilson, Eunice, Janet and Richard.

Fraternally Mr. Lombard is connected with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and he has membership in the Commercial Club. In politics he is a repub- lican and in 1908 he served as mayor of Yakima, giving to the city a businesslike and progressive administration, and at all times he has stood for progress, development and improvement in this section of the state and has contributed much to it's growth.

E. W. AND H. C. CRANDALL.

E. W. and H. C. Crandall are owners of twenty acres on Naches Heights which they are carefully cultivating and bringing to a high state of fertility. The brothers are representatives of old New England families. E. W. Crandall was born in Dane county, Wisconsin, November 28, 1863, a son of Silas H. and Harriett N. (Stillman) Crandall. The father's birth occurred in Montville, Connecticut, while the mother was born in Allegany county, New York. The former was a son of H. B. Crandall, who was born at Waterford, Connecticut, in 1798, and in 1838 removed to Rock county, Wisconsin. There he took up government land where Milton Junction now stands and continued to reside thereon to the time of his death. The house which stood upon the old homestead is still owned by his daughter. The maternal grand- father of the Crandall brothers was John C. Stillman, of New York, who went to Rock county, Wisconsin, in the fall of 1839 and he, too, cast in his lot with the ear- liest settlers, aiding in reclaiming a wild and undeveloped region for the purposes of civilization. The parents of E. W. and H. C. Crandall were married in Wisconsin and began their domestic life upon a farm in that state, where they continued to reside until called to their final rest, occupying the old homestead property throughout the entire period. They were among the highly respected residents of that community, closely associated with its agricultural development.

E. W. Crandall, spending his youthful days under the parental roof, acquired a public school education and was early trained to the work of the fields, becoming familiar with the best methods of tilling the soil and caring for the crops. He pur- chased land in North Dakota but never removed to that state and continued in active identification with the farming interests of Wisconsin until 1908, when he came to Yakima county, where he rented land for seven years. Subsequently he spent one year on the Parker Bottoms and for six years was in the employ of L. O. Meigs. In the fall of 1917 he purchased twenty acres of land on Naches Heights and now has nine acres in apples, while the balance is plow land. He has built a house upon this place and is rapidly transforming it into one of the most valuable and highly produc- tive ranch properties of the district.

H. C. Crandall, the younger brother, was born in Rock county, Wisconsin, May 20, 1868. The brothers have always been associated in their farming interests and have won a very creditable position among the representative agriculturists ot the region in which they live. They have never married and they always looked after their mother, who for twenty years was an invalid. Their sister Minnie acts as their housekeeper, managing household affairs while the brothers concentrate their efforts

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and attention upon the development of the farm. In their political views they are republicans and their aid and influence is given to all plans and measures for the general good. They have reached a very creditable position as ranchmen of the dis- trict and what they have undertaken they have accomplished. They follow progres- sive methods in their farm work and their energy and enterprise are producing re- sults greatly to be desired.

WILLIAM J. TAYLOR.

No history of the Kittitas valley would be complete without extended reference to William J. Taylor, who has lived in this section from pioneer times and whose name is connected with many of the early events which have shaped the annals of this region. Mr. Taylor was born in Marion county, Oregon, September 28, 1852, a son of Melville and Cyrena (McDonald) Taylor, both of whom were natives of Mis- souri. The father was a son of John Taylor, a consin of Zachary Taylor, at one time president of the United States. The grandfather was born in Kentucky and became a pioneer settler of Indiana, whence he afterward removed to Missouri. In 1847 he crossed the plains, making his way to Marion county, Oregon. He traveled with wagon and ox team, following the old-time trail and meeting with many hardships and difficult experiences while en route. His son William had crossed the plains in 1845 with Dan Waldo and they took up government land side by side in Marion county. The grandfather secured a donation claim and at once began the develop- ment and improvement of the place, which he continued to successfully farm to the time of his death. He had a family of six sons and one daughter, all of whom be- came residents of Oregon.

Melville Taylor, father of William J. Taylor, was a charter member of the Marion county lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He, too, was asso- ciated with the early pioneer development and progress of Marion county and in later life he removed to Lane county, Oregon, where he continued to devote his at- tention to general agricultural pursuits until he passed away in August, 1914, when he had reached the venerable age of eighty-six years. His wife started across the plains from Missouri with her parents, who were accompanied by their seven chil- dren, and all died while en route save two of the daughters and one son, being vic- tims of the cholera. This was in the year 1849. Mrs. Taylor and the other two chil- dren continued on their way to Oregon, where the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Taylor was afterward celebrated. Mrs. Taylor passed away on the 8th of November, 1894, at the age of sixty-one years, ten months and twenty-five days. To Mr. and Mrs. Melville Taylor were born seven children, of whom William J. is the eldest. The others are: James Sylvester, who is engaged in ranching on the Hood river in Ore- gon; Cordelia, the widow of James Gore and a resident of Vancouver, B. C .; Joseph, a dentist who practices his profession in Vancouver, Washington: Clarence, who is ranching in Lane county, Oregon; Frank, who owns and operates a ranch near Corvallis, Oregon; and Elvin, who is living on the old homestead.

William J. Taylor acquired a public school education in one of the little pioneer temples of learning on the western frontier. The building was constructed of logs and was furnished after the primitive manner of the times. He had to walk three miles to this school. He was fourteen years of age when he started out in the busi- ness world on his own account, going to Seattle, Washington, which at that time contained only two stores. In the fall of 1870 he made his way to Yakima county, traveling on horseback from Seattle and bringing with him the first negro that was ever seen in Yakima county. He bore the name of Johnson and he took up a ranch near where Ellensburg now stands.

At the time of his arrival here William J. Taylor had a cash capital of but twenty dollars. With all of the early events which have left their impress upon the history of Ellensburg and the Kittitas valley he was closely associated, either as a witness or as an active participant therein. He assisted in building the second store in El- lensburg in the spring of 1872. He also aided in building the first house in the Kitti- tas valley constructed of lumber, it standing on the old Smith ranch. He assisted in

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whipsawing the lumber for the first lumber floor in the valley. It was rough lumber and they had a dance upon it and danced it smooth. After coming to this district Mr. Taylor worked for three years on the Bull ranch and for three years on the Smith ranch. He then succeeded in getting some horses and cattle of his own and through all the intervening period has been connected with the live stock business. He purchased his first ranch in 1877 but afterward traded the property for a horse and saddle. About the same time he bought the right to another tract of one hun- dred and sixty acres four and a half miles northeast of Ellensburg, which he owned until the '90s and then sold.

On the 16th of January, 1877, Mr. Taylor was united in marriage to Mary Grewell, a native of Chariton, Iowa, and a daughter of Thomas and Melinda (Dixon) Grewell, the former a native of Ohio, while the latter was born in Illinois. They became pio- neer settlers of Iowa and after living there for some time removed to the northwest in 1863, making the journey with ox teams across the country to Vancouver, Wash- ington. The father, however, died while en route. The mother afterward married again and in 1873 accompanied her second husband to Ellensburg, where they en- gaged in ranching southeast of the city. To Mr. and Mrs. Taylor have been born three children: Archie, who died at the age of three years; Minnie, the wife of Pete Mitchell, residing in Ellensburg; and Frank, who is filling the office of deputy sheriff of Kittitas county. He married Emma Abraham and has three children. Mrs. Taylor taught the first school in Denmark, then Yakima, now Kittitas county, in 1876-77.

In his political views Mr. Taylor has always been a stalwart democrat but not an office seeker. He has done much active work in behalf of the welfare and pro- gress of the county, however, as a private citizen and has contributed in substantial micasure to the upbuilding of the section in which he lives. He took the first bunch of horses across the Cascades to Seattle for sale and from early days to the present time has been a prominent figure in connection with the stock raising interests of the Kittitas valley. His business affairs have been wisely and carefully conducted and his sound judgment is manifest in the success which has come to him. He has indeed witnessed many changes during the period of his residence here. The district was wild and undeveloped at the time of his arrival. The trees stood in their primeval strength and the open lands were covered with the native grasses and brush. There was little to indicate that a wonderful transformation would soon be wrought. Mr. Taylor and other pioneer settlers, however, recognized the advantages of the region and, acting upon the dictates of their faith and judgment, they settled here and have lived to see this district take its place with the most populous and prosperous dis- tricts of the state. They certainly deserve much credit for what they have accom- plished in the way of general improvement and development and the names of Mr. and Mrs. William J. Taylor are written high on the list of honored pioneers.

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History of the Yakima Valley, Washington; comprising Yakima, Kittitas, and Benton Counties, Vol. II, Part 13

Author: Lyman, William Denison, 1852-1920 Publication date: 1919 Publisher: [Chicago] S.J. Clarke Number of Pages: 1138

Author: Lyman, William Denison, 1852-1920
Publication date: 1919
Publisher: [Chicago] S.J. Clarke
Number of Pages: 1138