History of the Yakima Valley, Washington; comprising Yakima, Kittitas, and Benton Counties, Vol. II, Part 24

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 24
USA > Washington > Kittitas County > History of the Yakima Valley, Washington; comprising Yakima, Kittitas, and Benton Counties, Vol. II > Part 24
USA > Washington > Yakima County > History of the Yakima Valley, Washington; comprising Yakima, Kittitas, and Benton Counties, Vol. II > Part 24

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).

Their son, John Wellard Stevenson, acquired a public school education and through vacation periods and after his school days were over engaged in ranch- ing with his father, who afterward gave him a part of the ranch on the Cowiche. He now has sixty acres in all and devotes his place to the raising of hay and to the conduct of a dairy business.

On the 3d of October, 1912, Mr. Stevenson was married to Miss Cora L. Wixom, a native of Arkansas, and to them have been born two children, John Wellard and Ethel Eliazbeth.

In politics Mr. Stevenson maintains an independent course nor does he seek for nor desire public office. He prefers to concentrate his energies and attention upon his ranching interests and is meeting with good success in his undertakings. He is

200

HISTORY OF YAKIMA VALLEY

one of the oldest settlers of Yakima county and the first native son on the Cowiche and throughout all the intervening period he has been closely identified with the development and progress of the region in which he lives. He has indeed witnessed many notable changes as the work of improvement has been carried forward and at all times he has borne his part in the general advancement which has brought about modern-day prosperity.

W. S. DORAN.

The name of W. S. Doran is closely associated with financial interests in Top- penish and on the Yakima reservation. He was born in Sidney, Cheyenne county, Nebraska, on the 28th of October, 1879, his parents being Edmund and Catherine (Behan) Doran, who were pioneer settlers of Nebraska, having removed to that state from northern New York. The father afterward returned to the Empire state, where his death occurred but the mother is still living. Mr. Doran had given his time and attention to ranching while in the west.

W. S. Doran, after acquiring a high school education, made his initial start in the business world. He was employed in various ways, including railroad work, and also served as deputy county treasurer of Cheyenne county, Nebraska. In April, 1906, he arrived in Toppenish and accepted a clerkship in the First National Bank. He bent every energy to the mastery of the business and afterward was made cashier of the Traders Bank upon its organization. The Traders Bank was opened on the 15th of September, 1908, with J. D. Cornett as president, William M. McGowan as vice president, and W. S. Doran, cashier. The bank was capitalized for twenty-five thousand dollars and its deposits have exceeded four hundred and fifty thousand dollars. There is now a surplus of ten thousand dollars. The bank owns a site upon which it expects to erect a new building when the World war is over. The business of the bank has grown steadily under the guidance of efficient officers and not a little of the success of the institution may be attributed to Mr. Doran, the efficient, courteous and obliging cashier.

In 1914 Mr. Doran was married to Miss Etha M. Hills, a native of Michigan, and they reside upon a fine ranch of eighty acres four miles from Toppenish which is owned by them. It is a valuable property, highly improved, and every comfort and convenience is there found. Mr. Doran gives his political endorsement to the republican party and is a recognized leader in its ranks. In 1913 he was elected on that ticket to the office of mayor, after having just served for three years in the posi- tion of city treasurer. He belongs to the Elks Lodge No. 318, of Yakima, and also to the Brotherhood of Railway Trainmen of North Platte, Nebraska. In Toppenish he has membership in the Commercial Club and he is interested in everything that has to do with the welfare and progress of the city and in office and out of it has labored effectively and earnestly to advance the best interests of the community.

L. A. DASH.

L. A. Dash, a well known figure in real estate circles in Yakima, conducting im- portant business interests of that character as a partner of E. G. Tennant, was born in Merrimack, Wisconsin, in 1877, and acquired a public school education in Baraboo, Wisconsin. He afterward took up the study of telegraphy and became an operator on the Chicago & Northwestern Railway, in which connection he continued for sev- eral years.

It was the year 1906 that witnessed the arrival of Mr. Dash in the northwest. He made Yakima his destination and became manager of an abstract office, while later he turned his attention to the insurance and collection business. At a subse- quent date he became secretary of the Business Men's Association of Yakima and occupied that position for three years. He then turned his attention to the real estate business, in which he also engaged for about three years, and in June, 1915,

201

HISTORY OF YAKIMA VALLEY

he entered into partnership with E. G. Tennant, an association that still maintains. Prior to that date he had put several subdivisions upon the market, including Grand- view and the Victoria additions. The firm of Tennant & Dash is now largely en- gaged in the development and sale of acre tracts and is doing a very extensive busi- ness.

On the 22d of June, 1898, Mr. Dash was united in marriage to Miss Ruby A. Peck, of Baraboo, Wisconsin, a daughter of F. N. Peck, who became one of the pioneer settlers of that state. Mr. and Mrs. Dash now have two children, Mary Jeanette and Lawrence Peck.

Mr. Dash is connected with the Knights of Pythias and is a past chancellor in the order. He also has membership with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and in the Commercial Club, and is in hearty sympathy with the plans and purposes of that organization to upbuild the city, to extend its trade relations and uphold those interests which are a matter of civic virtue and civic pride. He votes with the republican party but has never been an aspirant for office, preferring to concentrate his efforts and attention upon his private interests, and today he is a well known and successful business man of Yakima, having made for himself a most creditable position in real estate circles.

MRS. ANNA R. NICHOLS.

Mrs. Anna R. Nichols, who is filling the position of county superintendent of schools of Yakima county, is a native of Michigan and was educated in the Michigan State Normal College of Ypsilanti, after which she took up the profession of teach- ing, which she followed in her native state for five years.

In young womanhood she became the wife of John D. Nichols, of Michigan, and in 1902 they sought the opportunities of the west, removing to Yakima county, Wash- ington. Following their arrival they purchased an orchard in the Parker Bottom and afterward sold that property but later again invested in land in the same locality. Mr. Nichols concentrates his efforts and atention upon the development of the farm, which has been brought under a high state of cultivation.

To Mr. and Mrs. Nichols have been born three children, a son and two daughters: Jack, Catherine and Margaret. After removing to the west, Mrs. Nichols resumed teaching, which she followed for five years in the country schools, and in 1917 her capability won recognition in election to the office of county superintendent of schools for a two years' term. She has done excellent work in this connection and has again been made the candidate of the republican party for the position. Her work has largely received public endorsement and the schools have been greatly ben- efitted by her service.

JOSEPH E. McGRATH.

Joseph E. McGrath, the efficient cashier of the Moxee State Bank, which was opened on the 13th of June, 1914, was born in Tama, Iowa, August 5, 1886, a son of Hugh J. and Martha (Bingham) McGrath, the former a native of New York, while the latter was born in Vermont. They removed westward to Iowa in the '50s, settling in Clinton county, while subsequently they established their home in Tama county. There they resided until 1908, when they made their way to the Pacific northwest, settling at Waterville, Washington, where the father died and where the mother still makes her home.

Joseph E. McGrath supplemented his public school training by a course in a business college and was thus well qualified for active work along the line in which he is now engaged. He started out in the business world as a clerk in a store in Waterville, Washington, and afterward accepted a position in the Farmers Bank at Krupp, where he remained for five years. He was later connected with the Ruff State Bank at Ruff, Washington, in the position of cashier for three years and on

202

HISTORY OF YAKIMA VALLEY

the expiration of that period became one of the organizers of the Moxee State Bank, of which he has continuously served as cashier. His associates in this undertaking are L. H. Desmarais, who is the president, and G. E. McGrath, the vice president. The bank is capitalized for ten thousand dollars and the company owns a bank build- ing of brick with oak fixtures, which was built in 1914. The deposits amounted to more than ninety thousand dollars in November, 1917, with a surplus of fifteen hun- dred dollars and eight hundred dollars in undivided profits. The bank paid ten per cent on its stock in 1917 and is doing an excellent business under the careful guid- ance and management of Mr. McGrath.

On the 20th of January, 1915, Mr. McGrath was married to Miss Grace E. Kelly, of Addy, Washington, a daughter of James Kelly. They are now parents of two children, Evaline and Maxine. Mrs. McGrath is a member of the Congregational church and a lady of many attractive social qualities. In politics Mr. McGrath is a republican, and fraternally he is identified with Yakima Lodge No. 318, B. P. O. E. Wideawake and alert, he loses no opportunity to take a forward step in the busi- ness world and has made for himself a creditable position in the financial circles of Moxee.

STEPHEN J. HARRISON.

Stephen J. Harrison has pursued so many different lines of activity that he may be considered one of the best known men within the state. He is not only one of the foremost citizens of the Yakima valley, to which he was instrumental in bring- ing many people, but has been one of the prime factors in the development of Sun- nyside and still owns a part of the townsite. Moreover, he has been noted as a preacher, founding the largest congregation of Brethren in the state, and has also been one of the bankers of his section.

A native of Pennsylvania, Mr. Harrison was born near Johnstown, September 24, 1855, a son of Thomas and Sarah (Waters) Harrison, who located in Sunnyside in March, 1900, the father taking up a homestead claim, to which he devoted his time and labors until his death in 1905, his widow surviving until 1917. The family removed from their Pennsylvania home to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, in 1868, when Stephen J. Harrison was thirteen years of age, so that his public school education was largely received in his native state. He attended school in Iowa after the removal of the family there and later was a student in Cornell College of that state. He rounded ont his education by attending the National Normal School at Lebanon, Ohio, and then taught in the Coe Collegiate Institute at Cedar Rapids, Iowa, for one year. In 1876 Mr. Harrison and W. E. Lockhard founded the Cedar Rapids Business Col- lege, an institution which has been of untold value to that city, but our subject sold his interest in that institution shortly after its organization. He then became con- nected with a publishing company of the Brethren church at Lanark, Illinois, being joint owner and also acting as editor. In January, 1881, he entered the employ of the Exchange Bank at that place, remaining in that connection for two years, and then devoted his attention to the development of a farm property which his wife had inherited, continuing in agricultural pursuits from 1882 until 1892. The farm was largely devoted to dairy purposes and he there had a large creamery and conducted a wholesale butter and egg business. Mr. Harrison had been an active member of the old Dunkard church but later became connected with the Brethren and was pastor of the church of that denomination at Waterloo, Iowa, for two years. In 1895 he became editor of the Brethren Evangelist, the church organ, which he re- moved to Ashland, Ohio.

About this time his son Homer was afflicted with a tumor of the abdomen and the anxious father took him to Chicago, where, despite the best care and attention, the son died. While in that city Mr. Harrison became interested in Alexander Dowie, whose acquaintance he soon made, and, each finding an interest in the other, he became connected with the great prophet and healer. It was he and Mr. Dowie who founded the paper, Leaves of Healing, of which Mr. Harrison became the manager. During this period he converted Mr. Dowie to the Dunkard mode of baptism and

203

HISTORY OF YAKIMA VALLEY

Mr. Harrison himself baptized Mr. Dowie according to this mode in Lake Michigan. Later Mr. Harrison went to California in search of a location for a colony, but in- stead of realizing his purpose acted as pastor of several Brethren churches in that state, remaining about one year, after which he returned to Lanark, Illinois. He there engaged in the stock, grain and implement business for two years but in 1898 made his eventful entry into the state of Washington to look for a location for a colony. At that time he secured the sale of the land along the Sunnyside canal, a tract comprising sixty-four thousand acres, under W. H. Phipps, land commissioner of the Northern Pacific Railroad. From March, 1898, to March, 1899, Mr. Harrison was pastor of the church at Falls City, Nebraska, but in the latter year he and Harvey M. Lichty, of Carleton, Nebraska, removed to Sunnyside, Mr. Harrison taking charge of the land development. In 1902 he organized the Sunnyside Bank and served as president of the institution for seven years, or until 1909. In 1900 he bought the unsold portion of the townsite. Through his efforts many people have taken up their homes in the Yakima valley.

Mr. Harrison never lost sight of church work and during 1901 he combined six Protestant churches in Sunnyside into the Federated church, which had an existence of six years. At one time it had a Sunday school enrollment of six hundred and twenty-five. To this Federated church belonged the following organizations: Baptist, Brethren, Christian, Congregational, Methodist and Presbyterion, all holding their services under one roof and being known as the Federated church. Later, however, each denomination withdrew and holds its own exclusive service. His paramount interest in the valley has ever been evident, for Mr. Harrison was one of four to assume the responsibility of getting the right of way for the Northern Pacific Rail- road through Sunnyside. He has also served as the first president of the Sunny- side Water Users Association, which took over the Sunnyside canal. In 1905 he organized the Mabton Bank and for seven years served as president of that institu- tion.

In 1880 Mr. Harrison was united in marriage to Miss Loretta Rowland, of Lanark, Illinois, a daughter of Isaac and Mary (Stitzel) Rowland, both of whom have passed away. To this union were born two children: Homer, deceased; and Frank, whose sketch follows this.

Mr. Harrison is liberal in his views regarding religious denominations and is a member of the Brethren church. In his fraternal affiliations he is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and belongs to the Elks Lodge No. 92 of Seattle. He is also a member of the Royal Arcanum and the Arctic Club of Seattle. In his political views he is a republican and in 1917 was a candidate for the nomina- tion to congress but failed of success. He now gives his time to the management of his properties. His achievements in Sunnyside stand as monuments to his vision and high purpose in life.

FRANK HARRISON.

Frank Harrison, who on the 24th of March, 1919, was assigned for duty as assistant personnel adjutant for Camp Zachariah Taylor, Kentucky, and whose con- nection with the army covers the entire period since America's entrance into the great World's war, was born at Lanark, Carroll county, Illinois, January 27, 1895, a son of Stephen J. and Loretta (Rowland) Harrison. In March, 1899, his parents removed to Sunnyside, Washington, which place was his home until 1910, when he removed to Seattle, Washington. He had previously been a pupil in the public schools of Sunnyside and afterward continued his education at Seattle until gradu- ated from the Lincoln high school of that city with the class of 1911. In the mean- time he had been a member of two interscholastic debating teams and one of six to contest for high school oratorical championship of the city. In the summer of 1907 he attended the Acme Business College of Seattle, studying stenography and typewriting. In 1911 he entered the University of Washington and pursued the lib- eral arts course, being graduated cum laude in 1915, winning the Bachelor of Arts' degree. While in the university he was a member of the intercollegiate debating

204

HISTORY OF YAKIMA VALLEY

team, the winner of the Philo Sherman Bennett Essay contest and was president of the Badger Debating Club. He was also made a member of the Delta Upsilon fra- ternity and of the Phi Beta Kappa, the Phi Delta Kappa, the Phi Alpha Delta and the Tau Kappa Alpha honor societies. His early military training was also there received, for in 1915 he became major of cadets. He was a member of the Young Men's Christian Association cabinet in 1913 and 1914.

Frank Harrison studied law at the University of Washington and was graduate assistant instructor in political science in 1916 and 1917. In June, 1916, he became associated with his father and L. L. Todd in the development of a farm at Benton City, giving considerable attention to that project until August, 1917. During the legislative session of 1917 he acted as clerk of the roads and bridges committee in the house of representatives at Washington. He was an enlisted man of the Wash- ington National Guard, Coast Artillery Corps, from May, 1916, until April, 1917. On the 13th of August, 1917, he enlisted in the Washington Field Artillery, National Guard, and in September was commissioned lieutenant with rank from August 5th. He served with the One Hundred and Forty-sixth Field Artillery, of which the Wash- ington National Guard was a part, from October 9, 1917, until July 29, 1918, being executive officer of Battery E during the advance at Chateau-Thierry. He was detached from the One Hundred and Forty-sixth Field Artillery from May 21 to June 30, 1918, as instructor in artillery for the Fifty-sixth Artillery, C. A. C. On the 29th of July he was ordered to the United States to be artillery instructor; was pro- moted to first lieutenant August 11, 1918; was assigned to the Fifty-first Field Ar- tillery at Camp Bowie, Texas, as instructor and in addition from October 25, 1918, to February 8, 1919, commanded Headquarters Company and from December 13, 1918, to February 8, 1919, was acting regimental adjutant. On the 8th of February, 1919, he was assigned as student to the Field Artillery Officers School, Camp Zach- ariah Taylor, Kentucky, and on the 24th of March, 1919, was assigned as assistant personnel adjutant for Camp Zachariah Taylor.

Mr. Harrison had a short experience during various summer vacation periods of high school and college years as bank clerk with the Mabton Bank at Mabton, Washington; as mechanics' helper with the Ford Motor Company of Seattle; as office clerk with the Essenkay Sales Company of Seattle; as district circulation manager of the Seattle Sun; and was in charge of hearings of the United States commissions and industrial relations at Seattle, Washington, in August, 1914. His record as a stu- dent, in business circles and in military circles has been marked by steady progress. It must ever be a matter of gratification to him and a source of pride to his parents that he participated in the battle of Chateau-Thierry, which proved the turning point in the great World's war, the entrance of the Americans at that time checking the advance of the Germans, lending courage and hope to the French and, moreover, proving the worth of the American arms and the American spirit.

MARTIN V. JACKSON.

In the lamentable and tragic death of Martin V. Jackson, Yakima county lost not only a foremost agriculturist and the community a loyal and public-spirited citi- zen, but there were also many who mourned him as a steadfast friend, while to his immediate family he was ever deeply devoted. While he attained individual pros- perity and occupied a substantial position among the people of his neighborhood, he also made valuable contributions to the general good and the sum total of his whole career must be counted of the greatest value to the state. Whatever he undertook he prosecuted with steadfast purpose and his energy and industry won for him the day. He had the intelligence of original thought and the audacity of new action and thus he hecame a leader in his particular vocation, setting a good example for present and future generations.

Mr. Jackson came of most distinguished ancestry. He was born in Hinchin- brooke, Ontaria, Canada, May 12. 1864, a son of John Cogswell Jackson, who was born in New York and was a son of Jethro Jackson, the latter a nephew of Presi- dent Andrew Jackson. Mrs. Jackson, the mother of our subject, before her marriage .

MARTIN V. JACKSON

207

HISTORY OF YAKIMA VALLEY

was Elizabeth Jane Cronk, a native of New York and a daughter of John Cronk, Jr., of New York, and a niece of John Cronk, Sr., who voluntarily served in the War of 1812. He was the last survivor of that conflict and in 1905 died at Albany, New York, at the age of one hundred and five years. On account of his distinguished con- nection with the War of 1812 and being the last survivor he was given a public funeral. John C. Jackson, father of our subject, was a farmer by occupation, and as a pioneer made his way overland to Clear Lake, lowa. Later he was located at Tarkio, Missouri, where he passed away. The family had returned from Canada when our subject was but a child.

Martin V. Jackson, having removed with the family to Iowa, received his public school education in that state and after laying aside his textbooks at the age of seventeen left home and became connected with a surveying gang of the Great Northern Railroad. He was among the early residents of Washington, arriving in Kittitas county in the early '80s, and shortly thereafter he came to Yakima county, where he took up a timber claim on the Wenas. Later, in 1891, he took up a home- stead of one hundred and sixty acres, upon which he proved up in 1896, and the certificate from the government with the signature of Grover Cleveland is still in the possession of his widow. The ranch is located five and a half miles southwest of Sunnyside. In October, 1904, Mr. Jackson brought his wife here. Their first home was a two-room cabin but the family residence is now one of the finest in the neigh- borhood. Mr. Jackson began work by clearing away the sagebrush and as the years passed gradually brought his acres under cultivation. In 1903 he sold eighty acres of the homestead, retaining the remaining eighty acres, and this he cultivated until death claimed him. In 1911 he erected a handsome residence and in the course of time also built substantial barns. Modern machinery, in which he was ever inter- ested, facilitated the work of the fields, and thus he became a leader in the develop- ment and upbuilding of his region.

On the 17th of February, 1904, Mr, Jackson was united in marriage to Miss Cora May Brussman, a native of Covington, Kentucky, and a daughter of Augustus F. and Eliza Ann (Linville) Brussman, who were born in Kentucky and Ohio respec- tively. The father was a son of Augustus F. and Margaret (Seidel) Brussman, both of whom were members of the Austrian aristocracy. They were given permission by the government to leave the country on account of the political troubles of 1849 and after arriving in this country Augustus F. Brussman, Sr., located in Cincinnati, Ohio. Later removal was made to Covington, Kentucky, where he passed away. His son, the father of Mrs. Jackson now resides near Leasburg, Missouri, being a retired cigar manufacturer. Mrs. Brussman was a daughter of Kingston and Zer- elda (Steers) Linville, the former born in Linville, Virginia, of an old southern family. Colonel Lewis, of Revolutionary War fame, was a great uncle of Mrs. Zerelda Linville, while Mrs. Jackson is also descended from General Van Wyck, aid-de-camp of General George Washington. To Mr. and Mrs. Jackson were born five children: Nettie Rosalind, Elizabeth Jane, Martin Henry, Stella May and John Cogswell.

Mr. Jackson died August 19, 1911, being killed by falling from the roof of his house while he was engaged in shingling. The news of his death spread far and wide throughout the neighborhood and was received everywhere with the most sincere expressions of grief and sorrow. Many were the friends who mourned in him an honorable and upright man, while to his family his loss appeared irreparable. He was ever devoted to their care and welfare, being a most loving husband and father. In his home centered his greatest interest and all of his thoughts were given to making that home more pleasant for his loved ones. In fact, he was an ideal family man and yet he found time to make friends outside the home circle. These friends he retained because of his high character, heing ever ready to extend a cheering word of sound advice or a helpful action to those whose pathways were beset by difficul- ties and ohstacles.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

History of the Yakima Valley, Washington; comprising Yakima, Kittitas, and Benton Counties, Vol. II, Part 24

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