History of the Yakima Valley, Washington; comprising Yakima, Kittitas, and Benton Counties, Vol. II, Part 21

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 21
USA > Washington > Kittitas County > History of the Yakima Valley, Washington; comprising Yakima, Kittitas, and Benton Counties, Vol. II > Part 21
USA > Washington > Yakima County > History of the Yakima Valley, Washington; comprising Yakima, Kittitas, and Benton Counties, Vol. II > Part 21

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CLARENCE S. PALMER.

Clarence S. Palmer has been identified with the livery business in Ellensburg for a third of a century and throughout the entire period has enjoyed a large patron- age which was a profitable one until the automobile cut in on the business. He was born near Norwich, Connecticut, March 26, 1856, a son of Stephen R. and Emeline (Vanote) Palmer. The parents, removing westward in 1857, settled in Illinois, where they lived for a decade, and in 1867 removed to Menomonie, Wisconsin. There the father followed the occupation of farming throughout his remaining days, both he and his wife passing away in that state. At the time of the Civil war, he put aside all business and personal considerations and responded to the country's call for troops, valiantly aiding the Union cause on various southern battlefields.

On the 16th of April, 1877, Clarence S. Palmer, then a young man of twenty-one years, left home and started for the Black Hills, where he spent four months. He afterward went to Cheyenne, Wyoming, and was engaged in railway construction work in that locality for a few months. He then devoted two years to freighting between Colorado Springs and Leadville, driving an eight-mule team. The year 1879 witnessed his arrival in New Mexico, where he was employed on construction work on the Sante Fe Railroad. He subsequently returned to Colorado Springs and rode the range as a cowboy for one summer. On the expiration of that period he returned to Leadville, where he engaged in hauling ores through the winter, and then again made his way to New Mexico, where he remained for a year, devoting his attention to railway work. He afterward spent a winter in the vicinity of Den- ver and subsequently made his way to Pocatello, Idaho, where he arrived about 1881. He was again engaged in railway construction work in that locality until he went to Pendleton, Oregon, where he lived for a short time. Making his way northward, he settled at Ainsworth, Washington, where he was employed on the construction of the Northern Pacific Railroad, taking contract work in connection with the building of the road through the Yakima valley. In February, 1886, he established his home in Ellensburg, where he embarked in the livery business, in which he has since been engaged. In April, 1890, he built a fine big barn, which

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he is still conducting. This is the joint property of himself and his brother, Arthur V. They have been continuously associated in business since the spring of 1880 and is all of their travels, the closest connection existing between them in all of their interests.

On the 20th of March, 1888, Mr. Palmer was married to Miss Lulu H. Simon, who was born in Menomonie, Wisconsin, a daughter of Andrew Simon, who removed with his family to Seattle in 1884. Mrs. Palmer became a resident of Yakima City in that year and became a teacher in the public schools in 1885, being employed as one of the first teachers of the city. In 1886 she taught school in Kittitas county, making the journey hither by stage. She became the wife of Mr. Palmer in Seattle and to them have been born three children. George S., a draftsman living in Seattle, is married and has one child. Emeline is the wife of H. R. Bartlett, who is a lieuten- and in the United States navy, doing geodetic survey work. Mrs. Bartlett resides in New York. Clarice L., also a resident of New York, married Fred Zeusler, who is a senior lieutenant in the United States navy, and they have a baby girl.

Mr. Palmer is a democrat in his political views, and fraternally is connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Elks lodge No. 1102 of Ellensburg. He attends the Unitarian church and is interested in all those forces which make for the material, intellectual, social, political and moral welfare of his community. As the years have passed on and he has prospered in his undertakings he has ac- cumulated considerable property, which places him now in comfortable financial circumstances. He is a well known pioneer settler, thirty-three years having been added to the cycle of the centuries since he took up his abode in Ellensburg, while for a much longer period he has been connected with the northwest. He has wit- nessed much of its growth and progress as the years have passed and at all times has co-operated heartily in plans and measures to promote the public good.

GEORGE I. CLITHERO.

George I. Clithero acquired a public school education and subsequently attended was born in Cloud county, Kansas, May 8, 1873, a son of James and Nancy (Mc- Eckron) . Clithero, the former a native of England, while the latter was born in New York. The year 1869 witnessed their arrival in Kansas, where the father took up the occupation of farming. Later in life, however, he turned his attention to merchandising, but both he and his wife have now passed away.

George 1. Clithero, a well known representative of hotel interests in Yakima, Campbell University at Holton, Kansas. In early manhood he took up the pro- fession of teaching, which he followed in the Sunflower state with marked success for seven years, but believing that broader opportunities were furnished in other lines of business, he then left the schoolroom to enter the mercantile field and carried on commercial pursuits in Kansas until March, 1908, when he removed to Yakima. Here he purchased the Cadwell Hotel, now known as the Merit Hotel, and con- ducted it for seven years. In 1911 he opened the Warfield Hotel of twenty-four rooms and also the Butler Hotel, containing twenty-eight rooms, but in 1917 he sold the Warfield. In January, 1914, he purchased the Rinker Hotel of twenty-six rooms, and of this is still proprietor. In January, 1917, he purchased the Lessard Hotel, of twenty-six rooms, in July, 1917, the Empire Hotel of eighty-five rooms, and on October 1, 1918, the Pacific Hotel of sixty rooms, which latter is now connected with the Empire Hotel by a ten-foot bridge. They are all outside rooms and the two hotels are thoroughly modern in construction, equipment and appointments. Formerly Mr. Clithero was proprietor of six hotels and is now conducting five, which, together, contain two hundred and twenty rooms. He is well known as a progressive hotel man, actuated by a spirit of enterprise in all that he undertakes.

On the 26th of May, 1898, Mr. Clithero was united in marriage to Miss Myrtle Linville, a native of Missouri and a daughter of Augustus J. Linville, who was in turn a descendant of Beniamin Linville, one of the pioneers of Pennsylvania. To Mr. and Mrs. Clithero have been born eleven children. Russell L. Clithero, eighteen years of

GEORGE I. CLITHERO

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age, was first with Company B of the Thirtieth Engineers of the United States army, and is now in France. At the time of signing the armistice he had been a member for two months of Company B, First Regiment, Gas Infantry, and he was at the front ior a period of ten months. He is a graduate of the high school, and, although so young, is actuated by a spirit of loyalty so sincere that it prompted him to join the colors. Raymond is now a high school student. Margaret, Laura, Dorothy, Ruth, Irving, Lois, Florence, James and Albert are all at home. Irving and Lois are twins.

Mr. Clithero and his wife are members of the First Presbyterian church and he holds membership also with the Knights and Ladies of Security and with the Com- mercial Club. In politics he is a republican and he is a very active temperance man. No bars have been conducted in connection with his hotels and he holds to the high- est standards as to the patronage which he accepts and the service which he renders in connection with hotel management. His home is a fine modern residence of eleven rooms on North Third street and its hospitality is enjoyed by many friends of the family, for the Clitheros are well known and highly respected in Yakima.

Mrs. Clithero's father was one of the pioneers of the northwest, having crossed the plains in 1852, at which time he took up a homestead where Olympia, Washington, now stands. He was a personal friend of Isaac I. Stevens, the first territorial governor of Washington. Mr. Linville returned to Ohio in 1857 and there resided for some years but again made his way to Washington and settled in Yakima, where he passed away in 1911. His widow is still living in Yakima at the age of eighty years.

Mr. Clithero came to Yakima without capital. In fact he borrowed the money with which he embarked in the hotel business and since that time he has won success. He has reason to be proud of the fact that he has ever conducted clean, moral hotels and Yakima is to be congratulated that such a man has cast in his lot with hers and is seeking thus to elevate the interests of the city. His prosperity has been honorably won and his record proves that enterprise and progressiveness are yet dominant elements in the attainment of success.

SAMUEL D. LINSE.

Many have been the contributions which Samuel D. Linse has made toward agricultural development in the Tieton district of Yakima county through the de- velopment of an agricultural property comprising forty-four acres, which is largely devoted to fruit raising. He has introduced efficient horticultural methods and thereby has not only attained prosperity for himself but has given to many an example that may be profitably followed. A native of Minnesota, he was born in McLeod county on the 25th of July, 1870, and is a son of Fred and Anna (Berg) Linse, Minnesota pioneers. In that state the father engaged in agricultural pursuits until the family removed to Day county, South Dakota, in 1881 and there he con- tinued along the same line until 1899. After spending three years in North Dakota he brought his family to Yakima county, where he now owns ten acres on Nob Hill, making this place his home. His wife has passed away.

Samuel D. Linse was but eleven years of age when the family made their way to South Dakota and received his education in the schools of Minnesota and the Dakotas. He early became thoroughly acquainted with agricultural methods under the able guidance of his father and accompanied the family on their removal to Yakima county, where he bought twenty acres of land on Nob Hill, ten of which he devoted to orchard. When he acquired the property five acres were already planted to orchard. He paid one hundred and fifty dollars per acre for this property and sold the same for one thousand dollars per acre. In 1908 Mr. Linse bought a third interest in six hundred and twelve acres on the Tieton but he has now sold all of his land except forty-four acres. He bestowed great care upon his land, built suitable barns and erected a fine residence, thus in every way enhancing its value. Twenty-four acres of his tract is devoted to apples and he derives a most gratify- ing annual income from this. His is considered one of the finest ranches on the

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Tieton. The remainder of the land, comprising twenty acres, is under the plow or in hay.

In 1896 Mr. Linse was united in marriage to Miss Emma Altman, a native of Wisconsin and a daughter of J. and Louise Altman. Her father is now a success- ful agriculturist of North Dakota, but her mother has passed away. To Mr. and Mrs. Linse were born six children: Edward, residing in Seattle; George and Esther, at home; and Gertrude, Charles and Clarence, all of whom are deceased.

The parents take an active and helpful part in the growth and development of their section of the county along material as well as moral lines and both are devoted members of the Evangelical Association, the services of which they regularly attend. In politics Mr. Linse is a republican, steadfastly supporting the principles of that party. There is great credit due him for what he has achieved and he is honored for the qualities which have made that achievement possible, for he is an industrious, progressive, reliable agriculturist and business man who has been especially successful as an orchardist. He is very fond of hunting and when the season draws near goes deer shooting, deriving from this healthful and noble sport recreation and diversion which permit him to take up with renewed vigor his duties and labors along his chosen occupation. He is a true sportsman, being a sincere lover of nature and all things that live in the open. All movements undertaken on behalf of the general public find in him a warm champion and he has made many friends in Yakima county, being ever ready to extend a helping hand to those whom he may aid by advice, encouragement or through more substantial succor.

WILLIAM S. CLARK.

Many are the successful ranchers and cattle raisers of the Pacific west who have come to this prosperous section from the state of Missouri, where William S. Clark was born in Livingston county, June 16, 1858, a son of John H. and Mary Jane (Moore) Clark. The father, a native of Ohio, removed to Missouri in 1844, when the seeds of civilization had hardly been planted in that then new "western" state. A loyal son of his country, he served in the Mexican war, turning his attention to agricultural pursuits after the conflict was ended. Mrs. Clark was born in Ten- nessee and it was in Missouri that she was married to John H. Clark. In 1859 the family removed to Kansas and for seventeen years that state remained their home. In 1876 the spirit of western enterprise prompted them to seek the far-off lands of the state of Washington and they made the overland trip to Walla Walla. Four years later, or in 1880, Yakima county became their residence and here John H. Clark bought a, relinquishment on eighty acres of land on the upper Naches, to the cultivation of which he devoted his remaining days, passing away in 1894. His widow survived him but a year, her demise occurring in 1895. Both were numbered among the honored pioneers of this state.

William S. Clark was but a year old when the family removed to Kansas and in that state he received a public school education. Upon removing with the family to Walla Walla he there continued to assist his father and in 1880 came with the family to Yakima county. He took up a homestead adjoining his father's property and has since added eighty acres to his holdings, so that he now owns two hundred and forty acres of valuable land, giving considerable attention to cattle raising, having an excellent herd of two hundred head of shorthorns and Herefords upon his place. He also raises hay and produce and as the years have passed has be- come one of the leading agriculturists of his district. He has erected a modern and most comfortable home upon his place and there Mr. and Mrs. Clark often entertain their many friends.

On November 7, 1882, Mr. Clark was united in marriage to Elizabeth Kincaid, a native of Oregon and a daughter of J. M. and Martha Ann Kincaid, who came to Washington in 1878, taking up their abode in Yakima county, where the father was successful as an agriculturist but has now passed away. To Mr. and Mrs. Clark were born seven children. Charles, who is successfully engaged in the sheep busi-

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ness in Yakima county, is married and has five children. Clarence is married and assists his father in the management of his large stock interests. Winfield also resides upon the home place and assists in looking after his father's cattle busi- ness. Jessie married Charles Rennie, a sheep raiser of Yakima county, and they have two children. Clara is the wife of Jackson Rader, who served with the Amer- ican Expeditionary Forces in France, was severely wounded, supposedly at Chateau Thierry, and she and her three children are now residing with her father. John has also joined the United States army; and Marion, the youngest member of the family, is at home with her parents.

Mr. and Mrs. Clark are among the honored pioneer couples of their district and on many occasions the respect and esteem in which they are held is expressed. They have richly earned the high regard in which they are held, as both are possessed of fine qualities of character. Deeply interested in his business affairs, Mr. Clark has not only become individually one of the most prosperous stock raisers of his neighborhood but has contributed toward the growth and upbuild- ing of the cattle industry in the Yakima valley. Along political lines he is not active although he is well informed on the issues of the day and votes independently, taking into consideration only the qualifications of a candidate for the office to which he aspires. Fraternally he is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America, having many friends in the organization.

MRS. LOWA M. CRAWFORD.

The educational affairs of Benton county and its school system are in the able hands of Mrs. Lowa M. Crawford, county school superintendent. She was born in Missouri and is a daughter of Dr. L. W. and Mary R. (Gill) Miller. The father, who had quite a reputation as a physician in his neighborhood, has now passed away but is survived by his widow, who makes her home in Creston, Iowa.

Mr. and Mrs. Crawford spent the first half of their married life in Missouri, but in 1905 decided to move westward and came to Prosser, Washington, where he is now engaged in the music business, having built up a profitable establish- ment, from which he derives a gratifying income. He is a musician whose knowledge of things musical makes him an authority in that line, so that he is not only well fitted to sell and handle musical instruments but is able to advise his customers and to select for them and guide them in their purchases. Mrs. Crawford was a school teacher in the Prosser schools for about six years and for two years taught in the county schools. She was elected to the office of superintendent in September. 1917, and has served ever since. She possesses talent for organizing and has brought about a co-operation among the teachers that has resulted greatly to the benefit of the pupils. Moreover, she has introduced a number of new systems in regard to the improvement of the schools and their equipment and has in many other ways pro- moted the cause of education in Benton county. Mr. and Mrs. Crawford have a daughter, Lucille, who is now six years of age. Both are highly esteemed members of the social set of their city, in the intellectual gatherings of which they play an important part.

ALEXANDER MILLER.

Alexander Miller, who has contributed much to the development of industrial activity and in later years to the development of real estate interests in Yakima and occupies a prominent position in commercial and financial circles, was born in Sweden in 1856 and his life illustrates the possibilities for the attainment of success when one must start out empty-handed. He pursued his education in his native land and was a young man of twenty-five years when he crossed the Atlantic and became a resident of Minnesota. He was a practical miller, having learned the trade in Sweden, and after reaching his destination he entered the milling business. He continued

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his residence in Minnesota until 1882, when he made his way to the northwest with Oregon as his destination. There he took up work in the line of his trade and re- built flour mills for W. L. Ladd, of Portland, and also operated along the same line in Washington. Watchful of opportunities that would enable him to take a forward step in his business career, he came to Yakima and in 1887 purchased an interest in the North Yakima Milling Company, of which he is now a director and the president. During his connection therewith they were three times obliged to enlarge their capacity to meet the growing demands of trade. The increased facili- ties made it possible for the company to manufacture four hundred barrels of flour daily. That mill, however, was destroyed by fire in 1914. It was the first roller mill in the Yakima valley. Since the destruction of the mill the company continues to conduct a very extensive grain business and their interests constitute a splendid market for the grain raisers of this section. Mr. Miller also invested largely in land and is now engaged in the development of several tracts in the valley. His operations include the erection of the Miller building in 1907 and an addition in 1911. This is a six-story office building, one hundred by one hundred and ten feet. It was the first large, modern office building in the city and in its construc- tion Mr. Miller displayed the spirit of enterprise and progress which has actuated him at every step in his career. In addition to his other activities he has become the vice president and one of the directors of the First National Bank of Yakima. Mr. Miller was one of seven who organized and constructed the first three miles of the present Yakima Valley Transportation Company electric city and suburban system, and of which he was a member of the board of directors. In fact his labors have been a most important element in advancing the material, social and moral progress of the community.

In 1883 Mr. Miller was united in marriage to Miss Esther Andrews, of Pennsyl- vania, who died in the year 1903. In 1907 he was married again, his second union being with Mrs. Anna (Philips) Adams, a daughter of M. W. Philips, of Yakima. She passed away in 1913.

Fraternally Mr. Miller is connected with the Masons, taking the degrees of lodge and chapter, and is also a member of the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. He is likewise identified with the Commercial Club and with the Country Club, with the Young Men's Christian Association, with the Episcopal church and with the republi- can party-associations that indicate much of the nature of his interests and the rules that govern his conduct. He has served for two years as a member of the city council of Yakima and also as a private citizen has contributed in marked measure to public improvement and to the upbuilding and further development of city and district. His plans have always been well defined and promptly executed and his energy has carried him into most important relations.

SERGEANT FRANK ALVIN WOODIN.

On the roll of those who have been engaged in active military duty in France in the great world war is Sergeant Frank Alvin Woodin, who on the 5th of July, 1918, enlisted as a member of Company K, Battery 4, Twenty-second Engineers. As the year 1918 closes he is still in France, although the world is once more enjoying peace. Washington may proudly claim him as a native son. He was born in Seattle, January 14, 1878, a son of Ira R. and Susan (Campbell) Woodin. The father was born in New York and was a son of Daniel Woodin, also a native of the Empire state, who came to Washington in 1854, crossing the plains with team and wagon. He had the first tannery on the coast and he homesteaded where the city of Seattle now stands, there residing to the time of his demise. His son, Ira R. Woodin, was but a hoy when the family home was established in Seattle. He served in the Indian wars of 1855 and 1856 and in young manhood he, too, engaged in the tanning busi- ness. He afterward took up a homestead on what is now a part of Seattle and subsequently he removed to Woodinville, ten miles from Seattle, a place that was named in honor of the family. There he engaged in farming to the time ot his death, which occurred November 27, 1908. In politics he was an active republican

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and fraternally he was connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. His wife was born in Marion county, Oregon, a daughter of James Campbell, who crossed the plains in 1846. On that trip the wife of James Campbell and a daughter died while the family were en route and were buried on the plains. On reaching his destination Mr. Campbell located in the Waldo Hills near Salem. He after- ward married again in Oregon and following the death of his second wife he re- turned to the east and wedded Nancy Taylor. He then again crossed the plains in 1852 and in 1859 removed from Oregon to Washington, where he remained until 1864. He then returned to Salem, Oregon, where he passed away.

Frank Alvin Woodin acquired a public school education in Woodinville and afterward went with his father to Alaska, where he remained for eighteen months. He then engaged in the logging business on the Sound until 1915, when he removed to Yakima county and purchased eighty acres on the Cowiche. He also has an interest in a stock ranch in Pleasant Valley, whereon they engage in the raising of hay and wheat. He also devoted considerable time to stock raising, having a fine full-blooded herd of Holstein cattle until 1918, when he sold his stock.

On the 13th of February, 1901, Mr. Woodin was married to Miss Anna J. Peter- son, a daughter of M. I. and Anna Mary (Bartleson) Peterson, both of whom are natives of Denmark. They came to the United States as children, however, and were married in San Francisco. The father afterward took up a homestead at Bothell, Washington, and is now engaged in the lumber business on the Sound, with office at Seattle. Mr. and Mrs. Woodin have become the parents of four children: Clara, Lillie, Helen and Ira.

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History of the Yakima Valley, Washington; comprising Yakima, Kittitas, and Benton Counties, Vol. II, Part 21

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