History of the Yakima Valley, Washington; comprising Yakima, Kittitas, and Benton Counties, Vol. II, Part 130

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 130
USA > Washington > Kittitas County > History of the Yakima Valley, Washington; comprising Yakima, Kittitas, and Benton Counties, Vol. II > Part 130
USA > Washington > Yakima County > History of the Yakima Valley, Washington; comprising Yakima, Kittitas, and Benton Counties, Vol. II > Part 130

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Mr. Taylor was born in Lucas county, Iowa, October 3, 1868, a son of Isaac and Rebecca Taylor, who were numbered among the carly pioneer farmers of Iowa. In 1883 the family came to Yakima county and therefore they are to be numbered among the pioneers of this district also. By railroad they went to Ainsworth, Washington,

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where they were met by an uncle, George Taylor, one of the pioneers of this county, who took them to his ranch on the Wenas, where he was then living. Subsequently the father took up a homestead claim on the Wenas and there both Isaac and Re- becca Taylor passed away, the former's death occurring on January 8, 1911, while the latter died in 1905. In their family were nine children of whom Jacob E. of this review was the fourth in order of birth. In connection with the sketches of George Taylor and E. W. R. Taylor, appearing on other pages of this work, more extended reference is made to the family history.

Jacob E. Taylor was reared amid farm conditions and in the acquirement of his education attended school in Iowa and also near Sunnyside for one term, receiving his instruction here from Fred Parker. He then decided to take up agricultural pursuits as a life work and ranched with his father, working for wages. About 1891 he bought a forty-acre ranch on the Wenas, devoting this land to the raising of hay and also conducting a dairy. In 1900, however, he sold that place and acquired title to forty acres southwest of Sunnyside, which was then all covered with sagebrush. This he greatly improved and thereon built a house but in 1911 sold out and ac- quired forty-three acres four miles southwest of Sunnyside, having for the past eight years given his whole attention to the improvement of this property. He has a fine home with a cement road leading to the door, his barns are substantial and every kind of modern farm equipment and machinery is found upon the place. He raises hay, beets and potatoes and also gives some attention to hogs, deriving from his diversified farming a very gratifying annual income.

In 1889 Mr. Taylor was married to Hannah Moore, who died January 24, 1896, leaving three children: Virgil, a rancher of Yakima county, who has a wife and two children; Ellis T., who has placed his services at the disposal of his country, serv- ing at present with the Signal Corps in France; and Pearl, the wife of Frank Greer, a rancher of Benton county, by whom she has two children.

On July 2, 1898, Mr. Taylor married Anna Moore, a native of San Francisco, California, and a daughter of Theodore and Anna (Fellows) Moore, both deceased. To this union were born five children: Lco, who died at the age of two years; Glenn, who was horn July 2, 1901; Stanley, January 7, 1903; Emerson, July 14, 1904; and Lena M., born April 10, 1908.

Mr. and Mrs. Taylor occupy an enviable position in the social set of their neigh- borhood, being very popular among their acquaintances and having made inany friends, who appreciate their many fine qualities of character. Fraternally he is a member of the Odd Fellows Lodge of Sunnyside and also belongs to the Yeomen. He is independent in politics, preferring to follow his judgment instead of party dictation, and has served as a member of the school board, being ever interested in the cause of education, fully realizing the value of good school training and facil- ities. He is trustee of the Sunnyside Water Users Association and has served in that important position for the past seven years, fully deserving the confidence which the public has placed in him in calling him to this important office. There is much that is commendable in his career, as his success has come to him entirely through his own labors, and he is in the best sense of the word a truly self-made man.

CHARLES S. MEAD, JR.

Charles S. Mead, Jr., is one of the representative young ranchers of Yakima county, controlling extensive and important interests. His is one of the well de- veloped ranch properties of the district in which he lives and comprises two hundred acres of valuable land. He was born in Butler county, Iowa, September 4, 1890, a son of Charles S. and Mary Mead, the former a native of Vermont, while the latter was born in New York. The paternal grandfather was Peter Mead, also a native of the Green Mountain state, whence he removed westward to Illinois and later became a resident of Iowa, where his death occurred. His son, Charles S. Mead, accompanied his father to the Mississippi valley and became a successful farmer of Iowa, where he resided until 1894, when he removed to the Pacific coast country, becoming a resi- dent of Yakima county, Washington. As the years passed he acquired large landed

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interests in the county and bought and sold thousands of acres of land. He is now living on a ranch of one hundred and twenty acres in the Naches valley and is re- garded as one of the prominent and honored representatives of agricultural life in Yakima county. Aside from his farming interests he is the vice president of the Valley Bank of Yakima and he owns both city and ranch property throughout the valley, in fact his position is that of one of its most prominent, influential and worthy citizens. What he has undertaken he has accomplished. In his vocabulay there is no such word as fail, for he early recognized that when one avenue of opportunity seemed closed he could carve out other paths whereby he could reach the desired goal. His investments have always been judiciously made, his industry is unfalter- ing, and his enterprise is one of his salient characteristics. Men who know him, and he has a wide acquaintance, speak of him in terms of high regard; recognizing the worth of his character and his ability as displayed in his business success, which is indeed enviable.

His son, Charles S. Mead, Jr., acquired a public school education in this county, having been but four years of age when brought by his parents to the northwest. He afterward attended the Washington State College at Pullman, where he re- mained a student for five years, and he also spent two years in Vashon College. Through the periods of vacation and after his textbooks were put aside he assisted his father in the ranch work and when twenty years of age became actively asso- ciated with his father in the management and operation of the ranch. In 1913 his father gave him two hundred acres of land adjoining Buena and thereon he has since engaged in raising hay, grain and fruit. He also makes a specialty of handling beef cattle, hogs and horses and he has a fine ranch, to which he has added all modern equipment and accessories. He uses the latest improved machinery to facilitate the work of the fields and there is no improvement of the model farm of the twentieth century that is not found upon his place. He has erected a substantial and attractive residence, also large barns and three silos, which have a capacity of five hundred tons.

Mr. Mead is a member of the Elks Lodge, No. 318, of Yakima. His political en- dorsement is given to the republican party but he is not an office seeker, finding full employment for his time in his business affairs, which are wisely, carefully, sys- tematically and successfully conducted. The progress that he has already made indi- cates that his future career will be well worth the watching.

CHARLES DILLON.

Charles Dillon, an orchardist of Yakima county whose fruit raising interests are proving to him a most gratifying source of revenue, was born in Northampton, Massachusetts, April 8, 1854, a son of James and Ellen (Going) Dillon .. The parents removed westward to Wisconsin in 1847 and became residents of Minnesota in 1866. There the father purchased land and began the development of a farm. In 1872 he went to Kansas, settling in Smith county, where he took up government land upon which not a furrow had been turned nor an improvement made. With characteristic energy he began the development of that property, whereon he continued to reside until called to his final rest. His wife died at the home of her son in Yakima county in 1908.

Mr. Dillon of this review acquired a public school education and in early life went to Kansas, where he lived for two years. Later he made his way to the mines of Nevada, where he was employed from 1875 until 1877. He became a resident of Oregon in 1879, making his way to the Willamette valley, where he resided until 1884. In that year he took up his abode in Klickitat county, Washington, but in 1885 came to Yakima county and for six years was employed continuously on railroad work. In 1891 hie purchased five acres of land two miles south of the depot in Yakima and later added to it a tract of fifteen acres. He now has ten acres planted to apples and pears. He has built a good residence and barn upon his place and has trans- formed the once wild tract that was covered with sagebrush into a productive or- chard. His labors have wrought a marked change in the appearance of the district

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and he is numbered among the old time pioneer settlers whose work has been of great benefit to the state.

On the 21st of May, 1882, Mr. Dillon was united in marriage to Miss Hattie A. Palmer, who was born in Minnesota, a daughter of George S. and Eliza (Canfield) Palmer. The father removed with his family from Minnesota to Kansas and after- ward to Nevada and subsequently came to the northwest, settling in Oregon. This trip was made at the same time that Mr. Dillon came to the northwest and together they removed to Washington. Mr. and Mrs. Dillon were married in Oregon. Her father has always been a rancher and is well known in that connection in the Yakima valley. To Mr. and Mrs. Dillon have been born six children: Oscar, who is now successfully engaged in sheep raising in Yakima county; Ella, the wife of William Gorsett, a rancher of Yakima county; Lena, the wife of Frank Dillon, who is engaged in ranching on the Moxee; Dick, who is a member of the United States army; Min- nie, the wife of Ellis Doherty, a resident farmer of Yakima county; and Dawson, at home.

Mr. Dillon is a member of the Grange and is interested in all the efforts put forth by that organization to disseminate knowledge of value in the development of agricultural and horticultural interests. He votes with the republican party but has never been a politician in the sense of office seeking. His wife is a member of the Christian church, and both are highly esteemed as people of genuine per- sonal worth.

JOHN S. KLOEBER, M. D.

For twenty-eight years Dr. John S. Kloeber has been identified with the north- west. For about two decades he was an active factor as a representative of the medi- cal profession but at the present time is one of the most prominent agriculturists and horticulturists of the Yakima valley, conducting interests of this kind on a most ex- tensive scale and actnated in all that he does by a spirit of progress that has placed him in the front rank of those whose investments and labors have won for them notable success. Endowed by nature with keen intellectual force, Dr. Kloeber has readily discriminated between the essential and the non-essential in all business affairs and his keen sagacity, combined with the utilization of his opportunities, has made for leadership along all those lines toward which he has directed his energies.

Dr. Kloeber is a native of Baltimore, Maryland. He was born March 1, 1865, a son of C. E. and M. E. (Smith) Kloeber. The father was a descendant of Frederick Kloeber, who about 1820 went from Alsace to Virginia. Dr. C. E. Kloeber was a son of Charles Kloeber and he in turn a son of Frederick Kloeber. Both the grand- father and the great-grandfather of Dr. Kloeber of this review were identified with mercantile interests in Richmond, Virginia. His father, Dr. C. E. Kloeber, became a dentist and practiced his profession successfully for many years but has now passed away. His wife is a resident of Washington, D. C. She bore the maiden name of Mary Elizabeth Smith and is a daughter of George S. and Sophronia (Mayo) Smith. On both the paternal and maternal sides she is descended from old colonial families that were represented in the Revolutionary war, and with other events that have figured prominently upon the pages of colonial and later American history the names of her ancestors have been associated.

Dr. John S. Kloeber, after completing a public school education at Lynchburg, Virginia, became a student in the University of Virginia and ultimately entered the University of Maryland, from which he was graduated in 1888 on the completion of a course in medicine. In 1889 he took post graduate work in the Johns Hopkins Medical University and thus with broad scientific training to serve as the founda- tion of professional success he came to the northwest in 1890, settling in Seattle, where he opened an office and continuously engaged in practice until 1900. His marked ability won him a notable patronage and his contemporaries and colleagues in the profession accorded him high rank as a practitioner of both medicine and surgery. In 1900 he built the Green River Hot Springs Sanitarium, which he con- ducted for ten years, or until 1911, when he sold that institution and removed to (45)

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Yakima county. Through the intervening period he has been identified with the agricultural and horticultural development of the valley. He first purchased one hundred and seventy acres of land on Selah Heights, calling his place Selah Vista. He planted one hundred and ten acres of this to apples and pears and since then he has sold seventy acres of that tract. He now has seventy-five acres of the remain- ing hundred acre tract planted to apples and pears, while the rest of his land is given over to the production of hay and various cereals. In 1915 he bought two hundred acres of land near Harrah, on the Yakima Indian reservation, and has used it for general farming purposes. The entire tract is under cultivation and is producing large crops of alfalfa, potatoes and other things. He had one hundred and twenty acres planted to potatoes in the year 1918. He uses only double certified govern- ment seed for potatoes, paying as high as one hundred and twenty dollars per ton for his seed. He employs the most modern machinery in the development and cul- tivation of his land, which he plows with tractors, while harvesting his crops with the latest devices for the care of the produce. In the year 1918 he gathered potatoes from an eighty acre tract to the value of fifty thousand dollars, or over six hundred dollars to the acre. He rents much of his land to the Japanese and has a Japanese tenant who started with him at a salary of two dollars per day about eight years ago and who is today worth one hundred thousand dollars. The orchard upon his home place is one of the finest in the Yakima valley. At one time it was the second largest in the valley but is now scarcely surpassed in extent owing to the fact that others have subdivided their holdings. Mr. Kloeber has erected a very fine residence upon his home place, owns a packing house and has every modern facility to further his business. He is actuated by a most progressive spirit and resolute purpose. He is constantly studying the nature of the soil and its needs and the possibilities for crop production. He knows just what can be produced in this section and the best methods of irrigating the land and-enhancing its fertility. There is no phase of agri- cultural or horticultural life in the northwest with which he is not familiar, as he has taken up this line of work with the same thoroughness that he manifested in his professional career.

On the 25th of August, 1908, Dr. Kloeber was married to Miss Anna Rubish, a native of Wisconsin and a daughter of John and Anna Rubish. Fraternally he is connected with Yakima Lodge, No. 318, B. P. O. E., also with the Masonic fraternity at Kenosha, Wisconsin. In politics he is a republican and he is now serving as chair- man of the medical advisory board for district No. 22, accepting this position as a war measure. He was the president of the State Fair Commission from 1908 until 1913 and was a member thereof in 1907. He stands for every phase of substantial development in the community, for progress and improvement along all lines hav- ing to do with the welfare of community, commonwealth or country. His life work has been of marked value to his fellowmen, both as a representative of the medical profession and as a representative of the horticultural and agricultural development of the northwest.

WILLIAM TETHEROW.

Ranching interests in Yakima county near Tieton claim the attention of Wil- liam Tetherow, who is a native of the west, his birth having occurred near Portland, Oregon, April 9, 1848. His parents, David and Ruth (Southwood) Tetherow, were both natives of Missouri. As early as 1845 they crossed the plains and located in Oregon, where David Tetherow passed away April 20, 1848, only eleven days after the birth of his son William. The mother was left with her seven children to face the hardships of pioneer conditions. She subsequently married John Gay Wilson, a successful agriculturist, and both died in Oregon.

In the acquirement of his education William Tetherow attended the public schools and on laying aside his textbooks took up ranching in Oregon. There he continued with more or less success for several years. Coming to Yakima county in 1883, he worked for wages until 1895, carefully saving his earnings so that he would be en- abled some day to start out independently. In the latter year he took up a home-

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stead on what is now the Tieton project, securing a tract of one hundred and sixty acres. When the Tieton canal was put in eighty-two acres of his land were covered by it and he now has seventy-one acres under irrigation, having sold the remainder. He has erected a fine farm residence, has put up suitable barns and installed modern machinery and other equipment in accordance with twentieth century ideas of farm- ing. Three and a half acres of his land are in orchard, the remainder being devoted to hay and grain. Having closely studied soil and climatic conditions, Mr. Tetherow has become quite successful and is now numbered among the prosperous agricul- turists of his district.

On March 28, 1901. Fannie Bartch, a native of Tennessee, became the wife of Mr. Tetherow and to them has been born a daughter, Fannie Ethel, who is yet at home. The family enjoys the highest reputation in the neighborhood, both Mr. and Mrs. Tetherow having many friends here. He has ever been interested in the up- building of his locality and has not been sparing in his efforts to assist in worthy movements to advance the general welfare. In politics he is independent, giving his vote to the candidate whom he considers best fitted for the office to which he as- pires. He is a pioneer farmer and honored as such. Many are the experiences which he can recount, having been connected with the western country from his birth. He is now seventy-one years of age but still is hale and hearty and actively admin- isters his interests, displaying in all of his transactions business ability, foresight and circumspection. By industry and energy he has become a substantial citizen and there is great credit dne him for what he has achieved in life.

STANLEY BALLARD.

Stanley Ballard, orchardist and ranchman of Yakima county, who brings to his work in the former connection throughout scientific training received at Pullman, while sound judgment in all business affairs makes his efforts in any direction of practical worth, is a native son of the northwest, his birth having occurred in Seattle, Washington, July 13, 1889. His father, W. R. Ballard, was born in Ohio and was the son of a physician, who became a resident of Roseburg, Oregon, in 1864. The fol- lowing year he removed to Slaughters, Washington, now called Auburn, and there took up government land. He also practiced medicine as a pioneer physician of the state and resided at that point to the time of his death. His son, W. R. Ballard, lived in Auburn, Washington, until about 1880, when he removed to Seattle and operated a steamboat line there. About 1888 he established the town of Ballard, after which he engaged in the real estate and banking business in Seattle. Associated with Judge Burke and John Leary he built the street car line from Seattle to Ballard and in various ways contributed to the upbuilding and development of that section. He served for one year as president of the Puget Sound National Bank and he is still engaged in the real estate and investment business in Seattle, ranking as one of the prominent financiers of that section. In 1873 and 1874 he surveyed the Yakima Indian reservation, this being the first survey made. All through his life he has been more or less closely associated with surveying and has contributed in large measure to the pioneer development and upbuilding of the state. He has ever stood in the vanguard in connection with the progress of Washington as frontier condi- tions have given way before an advancing civilization, and that the opportunities and advantages of the west and its business conditions are on a par with those of the older east is attributable in no small measure to his efforts. Fraternally he is connected with the Masons and in his life exemplifies the spirit of the craft. He married Estelle Thorndyke, whose father went to sea when eighteen years of age and hecame captain of a vessel. He made a trip around the world nine times with his own boats, visiting almost every known port of the civilized world. He maintained his home in Rockland, Maine, and there passed away, after which his family came west to the Pacific coast, settling first at San Francisco but in the early '80s remov- ing to Seattle, where the marriage of his daughter. Estelle Thorndyke. to W. R. Ballard was celebrated.

Born in Seattle, Stanley Ballard completed a high school education in New Jer-

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sey and was also for a time a student in the Culver Military Academy at Lake Maxin- kuckee, Indiana. Subsequently he spent three years at Lawrenceville, and for a year pursued a special course in horticulture in the Washington State College at Pullman. In 1909 his father purchased forty acres of land on Naches Heights and in 1911 Stanley Ballard took charge of this property and began its development. At a later date he purchased the land from his father and he now has thirty-two acres in bearing orchards, thirty acres being planted to apples and two acres to pears. Mr. Ballard has also purchased more land from time to time as his financial resources have increased and now has seventy acres in all, planting the balance in alfalfa. He also has a well appointed dairy and is likewise engaged in raising cattle and hogs. The various branches of his business are wisely conducted and are proving profitable, so that he occupies a position among the leading business men of his section.

On the 15th of October, 1913, Mr. Ballard was married to Miss Ruth Gilmore, of Seattle, a daugliter of David and Agnes (Potts) Gilmore, who were early settlers of Seattle, the father being a captain on boats sailing from that port. Mr. and Mrs. Ballard are members of the First Presbyterian church of Yakima and he belongs to the Yakima Country Club and the Seattle Golf Club. He also has membership in the Yakima Commercial Club. His political allegiance is given to the republican party and he does not lightly regard the duties of citizenship but at all times keeps well informed on the vital questions and issues of the day and supports every meas- ure and movement which he believes will prove of general benefit. He has never sought or desired office, however, but prefers to give his undivided attention to his business affairs and the wise direction of his interests has gained him place among the leading farmers and orchardists of Yakima county.

AVERILL BEAVERS.

Among the popular government officers is Averill Beavers, who is filling the posi- tion of postmaster of Kennewick. In the discharge of his duties he has ever been prompt and efficient and is popular with the public. He was born in Exeter, Scott county, Illinois, August 1, 1866, of the marriage of William A. and Mary E. (Smith) Beavers, the former of whom followed agricultural pursuits throughout his life. He has now passed away but is survived by his widow, who resides at Pittsfield, Illinois.

Averill Beavers received his early education in the public schools of his native state, subsequently graduating from a business college at Jacksonville, Illinois. He then read law and was admitted to the bar of the state in 1889, when but twenty-three years of age. He practiced in Pittsfield, Illinois, for about three years and in 1892 he was elected to the position of state's attorney, serving in that capacity for four years. In the spring of 1898 he went to Alaska, where he remained for two years. Upon his return he located in Seattle, where he practiced law until 1912, when he came to Kenne- wick. Here he turned his attention to grape growing and developed a large vine- yard of thirty-two acres. He owns his water plant and has invested over thirty-five thousand dollars in this property. On December 20, 1916, he was appointed postmaster of Kennewick and was inducted into the office February 14, 1917, Ever since he has had full charge of the federal building and has proven himself a most capable official who readily understands the wants of the public. He has instituted new systems into mail delivery which have proven of benefit to the public. Personally he has many friends, as he comes in contact with practically all of the residents of his town and neighbor- hood.

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History of the Yakima Valley, Washington; comprising Yakima, Kittitas, and Benton Counties, Vol. II, Part 130

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