History of the Yakima Valley, Washington; comprising Yakima, Kittitas, and Benton Counties, Vol. II, Part 25

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 25
USA > Washington > Kittitas County > History of the Yakima Valley, Washington; comprising Yakima, Kittitas, and Benton Counties, Vol. II > Part 25
USA > Washington > Yakima County > History of the Yakima Valley, Washington; comprising Yakima, Kittitas, and Benton Counties, Vol. II > Part 25

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Mrs. Jackson has taken over the business affairs since the death of her husband and has proven eminently successful in the management of the property. She is giving great care to the rearing of her family in order to make them useful members

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of society and yet she finds time to do a man's work in looking after the interests of the place. She raises largely alfalfa and potatoes and has continued to improve the property, which is now one of the most valuable in the neighborhood and is widely known as the Fairview Ranch. The prominence of the family is indicated in the fact that she is mentioned in the famous Who's Who in America, a place in that volume being conceded to her on account of the many distinguished members of her family. She is an ex-president of the Riverside Woman's Club and has ever been socially active. She gives her allegiance to the Christian church, of which she is a faithful member.

Mr. Jackson was also a devoted and helpful member of the Christian church, which he regularly attended and in which faith he passed away. He belonged to the Knights of Pythias and also to the Grange, of which he was a charter member, and was always concerned in all public improvements, many of which he brought about through his active help and cooperation. His political support was given to the democratic party but he was never an office seeker although he was thoroughly in- formed on the questions and issues of the day not only regarding local affairs but also in regard to state and national problems. In fact he was one of the best in- formed men in his district, whose advice was often sought and whose opinions carried weight. His memory lives as a benediction to all who knew aught of him and his name will ever stand in the history of the district as one of the sturdy pioneers who here assisted in laying deep the seeds of civilization.

FRED PARKER.

Fred Parker is an attorney-at-law devoting the major part of his attention to his profession, and yet there have been few important business projects of the Yakima valley with which he has not been more or less closely associated and his efforts and activities have therefore contributed in substantial measure to the growth and upbuilding of the district. He has played so important a part in the history of this section of the state that his life record can not fail to prove of interest to many of the readers of this volume.

Mr. Parker is a native of Kentucky, his birth having occurred in London, that state, on the 8th of December, 1861, his parents being Felix and Eliza (Lincks) Parker. The father was a farmer by occupation and spent his entire life in Ken- tucky, which was also the native state of the mother. His ancestry was traced back to the old Parker family that was founded in America by one of the passengers on the Mayflower.

Fred Parker, whose name introduces this review, acquired a public school educa- tion in Kentucky, where he spent the period of his minority, and in 1883, when about twenty-two years of age. he sought the opportunities of the northwest, making Yakima his destination. In fact he aided in laying out the town and from that time to the present has been closely associated wth ts growth and improvement. In 1885 he began reading law with Judge Edward Whitson, now deceased, and after thorough preliminary training was admitted to the bar in 1888. That he had proven his worth during his student days is indicated by the fact that Judge Whitson then admitted him to partnership and the association was maintaned for a quarter of a century or until the judge was elevated to the federal bench, and the closest friendship was theirs until Judge Whitson was called from this life on the 15th of October, 1915. The zeal with which Mr. Parker has devoted his energies to the profession, the care- ful regard evinced for the interests of his clients and an assiduous and unrelaxing at- tention to all the details of his cases, have brought him a large business and made him very successful in its conduct. His arguments have elicited warm commendation not only from his associates at the bar but also from the bench. He is a very able writer: his briefs always show wide research, careful thought and the best and strongest reasons which can be urged for his contention, presented in cogent and logical form and illustrated by a style unusually lucid and clear. His clientage has long been a very extensive one and his devotion thereto has become proverbial. Moreover, Mr. Parker is a farsighted, sagacious and enterprising business man who has been identified with most of the important projects of the valley.

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On the 10th of March, 1891, Mr. Parker was married to Miss Louise Irene Leaming, of Kansas, who came to Washington in her girlhood days with her father, Edmond R. Leaming, a pioneer settler of Yakima, who established the first nursery in the Yakima valley. Mr. and Mrs. Parker have become the parents of two sons and a daughter: William Edward, who was graduated from the Washington State Uni- versity and entered upon the practice of law in connection with his father, but is now a member of the United States army; and Clarence L. and Harriett P., both at home.

Mr. Parker is an exemplary representative of the Masonic fraternity, having taken the degrees of lodge and chapter, and is a life member of the Benevolent Pro- tctive Order of Elks. He gives his political allegiance to the republican party but has never become an active party worker, preferring to concentrate his undivided attention upon his profession and his business interests, and today he is a director in several corporations, ranking him with the most valued citizens of this section of the state.

SAMUEL R. McCAW.

Samuel R. McCaw, a well known representative of the banking fraternity in the Yakima valley, was the organizer and is now cashier of the American Commer- cial Bank of Wapato. He was born in Steilacoom, Washington, August 2, 1868, a son of Samuel and Mary McCaw. The father was of Scotch-Irish descent and in 1849 crossed the continent to California and later made his way up the Fraser river, while subsequently he established his home at Steilacoom, where he engaged in busi- ness as a stock trader. He died in May, 1882, while his wife, surviving him for about sixteen years, passed away in 1898.

Samuel R. McCaw attended the Indian school at Forest Grove, Oregon, now known as the Chemawa Indian School and was a member of the first class to gradu- ate from that institution. For three years he was a student in the Earlham College of Indiana and started out in the business world as an employe of the Crane Com- pany of Chicago, for whom he served as discount clerk. In 1894 he accepted a posi- tion in the United States government service at Fort Simcoe and was afterward at Colville, Washington, as chief clerk of the Indian agency there. In the meantime, however, he had gone to Yakima in 1893 and was for a year connected with the Yakima National Bank. It was in 1894 that he entered the government service. In 1895 he returned to the Yakima National Bank, where he was employed for twenty- two years, becoming general teller of that institution. He then decided to engage in the banking business on his own account and became the organizer of the American Commercial Bank, which was established on the 2d of January, 1918. This was the first bank in the United States to be owned entirely by Indians. It is a state bank. capitalized for twenty-five thousand dollars, and now has a surplus of twenty-five hundred dollars, while its deposits already amount to one hundred thousand dollars. The bank has entered upon a very prosperous career under capable and efficient man- agement, for progressive business men stand at its head. The first officers were: P. A. Olney, a stock raiser, who became the president; S. R. McCaw, vice-president and cashier; and Nealy N. Olney, assistant cashier, while the other directors were C. C. Olney, a sheep and cattle raiser and farmer, and George W. Olney, also prom- inent as a stock raiser and farmer. Mr. McCaw has been the active head of the bank from the beginning. The company purchased and remodeled the building which they occupy, a modern fireproof and burglar proof structure, equipped with a splendid vault, safe and other devices found in every modern banking institution. Mr. McCaw was well qualified by previous training and experience for the duties which he assumed and which he is now most capably discharging. The success of the bank seems assured and his business career, judged by what he has accomplished in the past, will be well worth watching.

On the 6th of June, 1903, Mr. McCaw was married to Miss Alice K. Wallace, of Lucasville, Ohio, and they have one son, Samuel Robert, Jr., while by a former mar- riage Mr. McCaw had two children, Winona and Myrtle Ramona.

Mr. McCaw owns some fine farm land on the reservation and is meeting with (10)

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substantial success in his undertakings. He is the president of the Yakima Indian Commercial Club, of which he became a charter member, and his efforts are proving an important element in promoting business conditions among the Indian residents of this section of the state. His political allegiance is given to the repub- lican party and he stands for progress and improvement along all lines.

MISS MAUD GILMOUR.

Miss Maud Gilmour, who is filling the office of county treasurer of Kittitas county, is a native of Lebanon, Oregon, and a daughter of John L. and Virginia (Linbarger) Gilmour. Her father was born in Illinois and in early life crossed the plains to Oregon, making the hard trip across the sands and over the mountain passes at a day when there were no railroads to shorten time and distance. It was after his arrival in that state that he was married to Miss Virginia Linbarger, who was born in Oregon, her parents having been pioneer settlers of that state. Mr. Gilmour was a blacksmith by trade and followed that pursuit in Oregon until 1881, when he romoved to Ellensburg, where he took up his abode on the 13th of October. He had one of the first blacksmith shops of this section of the state. He was one of the early settlers of Ellensburg, taking up his abode there when the town con- tained only a very sparse population. With its industrial interests he was closely identified to the time of his death, which occurred in January, 1904. His widow sur- vived him for more than a decade, passing away in 1914. In the meantime the father, as he prospered in his undertakings, made judicious investments in property and became the owner of several ranches. To him and his wife were born eleven chil- dren, six of whom are still living.

Miss Gilmour, whose name introduces this review, pursued a public school edu- cation in Ellensburg and afterward continued her studies in the State Normal School of this place. Later she engaged in office work and in 1911 was appointed to the po- sition of deputy county treasurer, in which capacity she served for four years, or until 1915. She was then elected county treasurer and her previous experience was of great value to her in assuming the duties of the office. She served her second term in that position and is now chief deputy under W. G. Damerow, the present county treasurer. Her record is one which has gained for her high credit and admiration, for she is most systematic, thorough and accurate in all that she does. She was elected to the office on the democratic ticket and she has been a stalwart supporter of the party. Her religious faith is that of the Presbyterian church. She represents two of the old pioneer families of the northwest. Both her grandfathers on the paternal and maternal sides were pioneer Indian fighters and from that early day her people have taken an active part in the development and progress of the northwest and in the utiliation of its resources for the purposes of civilization. Miss Gilmour is widely known in Washington, where she has many friends, her attractive social qualities making for her popularity wherever she is known.

GEORGE F. HEYDUCK.

George F. Heyduck ranks with the leading fruit growers in the vicinity of Yakima and his life is.illustrative of the fact that opportunity is open to all in the new world. Starting out in life empty-handed, he has steadily advanced and each forward step has brought him a broader outlook and wider opportunities. He is today con- ducting important fruit raising interests upon an excellent property of thirty-nine acres in the vicinity of Yakima. He was born in Centralia, Illinois, March 23, 1866, a son of John G. and Caroline (Cretzmeyer) Heyduck. The mother passed away in 1887, but the father long survived and died in Illinois, July 24, 1918, at the age of seventy-seven years. He was a farmer by occupation, following that pursuit through- out the greater part of his active life, but in his later years he enjoyed a well-earned rest.

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When his school days were over, George F. Heyduck started out in the business world. In 1892 he became a railroad employe and working his way steadily upward in that connection, became an engineer on the Illnois Central Railroad in 1897. He occupied that position until October, 1913, when he came to the Yakima valley. He had previously visited this section of the state, in 1908. and had invested in twenty acres of land, one-half of which was planted to fruit. He now has thirty-nine acres, of which twenty-seven acres is in fruit, while twelve acres is plow land and pasture land. He directs his interests wisely and systematically and has won a place among the foremost fruit growers of this section of the state. His orchards when in blossom are a scene of rare beauty that is only equalled when the fruit turns to gold and red upon the trees. He is thoroughly familiar with the most modern scientific methods of caring for and spraying the trees and study has made him also familiar with the kinds of fruit that can best be raised in this locality. In addition to his horticul- tural interests he keeps a number of fine cows and is also successfully engaged in raising corn, having eight acres planted to that crop.

On the 24th of February, 1892, Mr. Heyduck was married to Miss Cordelia Crawford, of Centralia, Illinois. They had been schoolmates in the district school in childhood days and the acquaintance then formed ripened into love, which was consummated in marriage. They are now rearing an adopted daughter, Pearl. Fra- ternally Mr. Heyduck is connected with the Masons as a member of the lodge and chapter. He took an active part in the work of railway orders while engaged in that line of business. In politics he maintains an independent course, voting for men and measures rather than party. His religious faith is that of the Methodist church and to its principles he loyally adheres, while high principles guide him in every rela- tion of life. He is a member of the Yakima County Horticultural Union and his course at all times commends him to the confidence and goodwill of his associates and acquaintances throughout the valley.

JOHN L. WILLETT.

John L. Willett has the reputation of being a successful educator and an equally successful hortoculturist. The qualities which make for advancement in both lines are his and, actuated by a laudable ambition, he has steadily progressed. A native of Appanoose county. Iowa, he was born near Centerville on the 7th of September, 1877, a son of James M. and Mary A. (Roundy) Willett. The father, a native of Vir- ginia, was a son of William Willett, who became a pioneer settler of Iowa. The mother of John L. Willett was born in Illinois, being a daughter of John Roundy, who took up his abode in that state when it was upon the western frontier and after- ward removed to Iowa when it was still a pioneer district. The parents of John L. Willett were married in Iowa and the mother is living at Moulton, that state, but the father has passed away.

In the year 1902 John L. Willett came to Washington. He had previously taught school for two years in Iowa and after reaching this state he attended a normal school and subsequently taught for five years. He was at one time principal of the Summit View school of Yakima and did splendid work in the educational field. For a few years thereafter he gave his attention to ranching and subsequently was called to the position of deputy sheriff, in which capacity he served for two years. He then returned to the ranch and is today the owner of twenty acres located three miles west of Yakima. Of this five acres is in orchard, producing as fine apples as can be raised in this section of the country. He has fifteen acres of his land in corn and alfalfa. He took the first prize in corn sweepstakes at the county fair in 1917, also the third prize and won honorable mention. His efforts along horticul- tural lines have been further extended in that he rents ten acres of orchard land devoted to pears and apples. Thoroughly familiar with all that has to do with the propagation of fruit in this locality, his labors have produced excellent results and he is now conducting a profitable business.

On the 21st of June, 1905, Mr. Willett was married to Miss Carrie E. Morgan, a daughter of Robert S. Morgan, and they have one child, James Hamilton, who

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was born July 27, 1915. In his political views Mr. Willett is a democrat. He and his wife are members of the Methodist church and take an active interest in its work and in all that pertains to. the upbuilding and progress of the community in which they make their home. They have gained many warm friends during the period of their residence in the northwest and Mr. Willett has won a most creditable position in the regard of his fellow townsmen by reason of the ability he has dis- played in educational lines and as an agriculturist and horticulturist.

JOHN B. FREDRICKSON.

John B. Fredrickson, proprietor of a well appointed drug store in Toppenish, was born in Madison, Wisconsin, March 9, 1886, a son of O. C. and Anna Frederickson, who in the year 1889 came to Washington, settling first at Tacoma, where the father engaged in shipbuilding. He is now residing in Seattle, where he continues in the same line of business.

John B. Fredrickson pursued a public school education at Auburn, Washington, and after his textbooks were put aside entered upon an apprenticeship to the drug business at Puyallup, Washington, being employed by the Truedson Drug Company. He remained with that house for three and a half years and then went to Tacoma, where he resided until 1908. He then removed to Roslyn, Washington, where he lived for two years, and for one year was located at Sunnyside. All through these periods he continued in the drug trade and in the fall of 1911 he came to Toppenish, where he entered the Peterson drug store as an employe, there remaining for two and a half years. Mr. Fredrickson then joined R. R. Dasher in the purchase of the Clark Pharmacy, which has since been conducted under the firm style of Fredrick- son & Dasher. They occupy a building twenty-five by one hundred and ten feet, hav- ing one of the best drug stores of the town.

In June, 1908, Mr. Fredrickson was married to Miss Hettie Glascock, a native of Texas but at the time of her marriage a resident of Puyallup, Washington. The children of this marriage are: Verna Estelle, six years of age; and Audrey Lucille, who is in her first year.

Mr. Fredrickson belongs to the Woodmen of the World and also to the Im- proved Order of Foresters and he has membership in the Toppenish Commercial Club. He is interested in all that has to do with the welfare and progress of his adopted city and his cooperation can always be counted upon to further plans and measures for the general good. In business he has never dissipated his efforts over a wide field but has concentrated his attention upon a single line, in which he has developed ability of a high order.

DANIEL W. BRUNSON.

Daniel W. Brunson, who has been actively and successfully identified with ranching interests in the Kittitas valley during the past twenty-two years, now owns and cultivates an excellent farm of one hundred and eighty-three acres situated three and a half miles northwest of Ellensburg. As an auctioneer he has also had charge of about all the public sales in Kittitas county in the past fourteen years. His birth occurred in Ralls county, Missouri, on the 1st of May, 1872, his parents being Carden Porter and Drucilla (Hunt) Brunson, who were natives of Ohio and Illinois respec- tively and became early settlers of Missouri. The father devoted his attention to general agricultural pursuits throughout his active business career, but both he and his wife have now passed away.

Daniel W. Brunson attended the public schools in the acquirement of an educa- tion and on attaining his majority undertook the cultivation of rented land in Mis- souri. He was thus engaged in that state for three years or until 1896, when he made his way westward to the Kittitas valley and here took up a homestead claim. He also worked as a farm hand by the month for three years and he continued the opera-

MR. AND MRS. DANIEL W. BRUNSON

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tion of his place until disposing of the property in 1910. In that year he purchased a tract of eighty acres near Thorp and thereon carried on his agricultural interests until 1915, when he sold the place and bought his present farm of one hundred and eighty- three acres three and a half miles northwest of Ellensburg. He has erected thereon a substantial barn and other buildings and has brought his fields under a high state of cultivation, annually raising excellent crops of hay and grain. He likewise devotes considerable attention to sheep raising, which branch of his business adds materially to his income.

On the 23d of December, 1903, Mr. Brunson was joined in wedlock to Miss Mary B. Hawthorn, a native of Tennessee and a daughter of J. S. and Josephine (Min- nick) Hawthorn. The father still resides in Tennessee, but the mother has passed away. Mr. and Mrs. Brunson have become the parents of three children: Roy Car- den, Annie Irene and Daniel Hawthorn. Mr. Brunson gives his political allegiance to the republican party, exercising his right of franchise in support of its men and measures. The prosperity which he now enjoys is all the more creditable by reason of the fact that it has been entirely self-acquired and through his own efforts and industry he has won a place among the substantial and representative farmers of Kittitas county.

GEORGE W. ROCKETT.

George W. Rockett, who is engaged in ranching on the Cowiche in Yakima county, is a representative of one of the old pioneer families of Washington. His birth occurred in Clarke county, this state, on the 28th of November, 1868, his parents being R. P. and Hannah M. (Lewis) Rockett, the former a native of Glasgow, Scot- land, while the latter was born in Indiana. The father left the land of hills and heather when a boy and became a sailor. He made the trip by way of Cape Horn to the western coast in the '50s and settled at Vancouver, Washington. He was drowned about 1871 and his widow afterward became the wife of John W. Stevenson. She was a daughter of Henry Lewis, who died in Indiana, and she came to Wash- ington with her brothers, Jack and Ben Lewis. It was at Vancouver that Mr. and Mrs. R. P. Rockett were married and it was after the death of her first husband that Mrs. Rockett removed to Yakima county in 1872 and was here married again.

George W. Rockett acquired a public school education and has devoted his en- tire life to ranching in this part of the state. He obtaned forty acres of the old homestead and has bought forty acres additional, so that he has a good ranch of eighty acres, which he is carefully, systematically and successfully cultivating, de- voting his land to the raising of grain and hay.

Mr. Rockett is a republican in his political views but does not seek nor desire office. He keeps well informed on the questions and issues of the day and is never remiss in the duties of citizenship but cooperates heartily in all plans and measures for the general good. He has always lived in the northwest and has been a most interested witness of the remarkable changes that have been wrought in a compara- tively short time, reclaiming this great region, which only about a half century ago was wild and undeveloped, for the purposes of civilization.

WILLIAM P. MURPHY.

William P. Murphy, serving as sheriff of Yakima county, was born in Washing- ton county, Illinois, on the 28th of March, 1877, a son of John F. and Martha (Gilbert) Murphy, who after residing for many years in the middle west came to Washington about 1908 and are now living on the home farm near Fairview.

William P. Murphy obtained his education in the public schools of his native state and through the period of his boyhood and youth assisted in the work of the home farm, early becoming familiar with the best methods of tilling the soil and caring for the crops. He made his way to the Puget Sound country in 1901 and the

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History of the Yakima Valley, Washington; comprising Yakima, Kittitas, and Benton Counties, Vol. II, Part 25

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