History of the Yakima Valley, Washington; comprising Yakima, Kittitas, and Benton Counties, Vol. II, Part 5

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 5
USA > Washington > Kittitas County > History of the Yakima Valley, Washington; comprising Yakima, Kittitas, and Benton Counties, Vol. II > Part 5
USA > Washington > Yakima County > History of the Yakima Valley, Washington; comprising Yakima, Kittitas, and Benton Counties, Vol. II > Part 5

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WILLIAM ALFRED STEWART.

William Alfred Stewart, a progressive agriculturist of Yakima county, has a highly productive farm on the Cowiche which is largely devoted to the raising of hay, grain and potatoes, while he also conducts a dairy. For many years his family has been connected with the development and upbuilding of the west. Mr. Stewart came to Yakima county at the age of eighteen years and has since resided here con- tinuously.

Mr. Stewart is a native of Oregon, his birth having occurred in Marion county, August 29, 1860. His parents were J. T. and Charlotte Loretta (Barter) Stewart. The father was a native of Carlisle, England, born in 1829, and was only six months old when he was brought by his parents to Canada. Later the family removed to New York and in 1885 crossed the plains to California from Iowa, in which state they had been located for some time, making the trip by ox team, and there the father engaged in mining. Late in the '50s another removal took them to Oregon, where J. T. Stewart engaged in farming and stock raising, also starting the first woolen mill in the state at Jefferson. In 1878 he came to Yakima county, taking up land on the Ahtanum and later acquiring a homestead on Nob Hill. To the cultiva- tion of this land he gave his close attention for twenty-four years, retiring at the end of that period with a gratifying income to Yakima, where he passed away in October, 1912. In 1854 he had married Charlotte L. Barter, who crossed the plains with him to California and made the removal to Oregon. She died in 1864. She had two children by a former marriage and four by Mr. Stewart. In 1865 Mr. Stewart married Deborah Coker, by whom he had eleven children. She died in September, 1908, being survived by her husband for four years.

William A. Stewart spent his boyhood days in Oregon, where in the acquirement of his education he attended the public schools. He was eighteen years of age when the family removed to the Yakima valley and here he began his independent carcer by taking employment at farm work, being thus engaged for several years. For six years he then was engaged in the candy business in Seattle but in 1889 bought eighty acres on the Cowiche, which then was covered with sagebrush. He built a home there but in 1890 sold out and removed to Whatcom county, Washington, where lie successfully cultivated land for about six years. At the end of that period he located in Woodland, Washington, where for three years he successfully operated a dairy, but in 1900 he returned to Yakima county and bought fifty acres of land on the Cowiche but of this he sold thirty acres in 1911. He raises hay, grain, beets and potatoes and also conducts a successful dairy, thus deriving gratifying returns from his enterprises. He has always followed progressive methods and has made many improvements upon the place, also instituting up-to-date equipment and thus making his farm very valuable. For his dairy he keeps high grade full blooded Hol- steins.

HISTORY OF YAKIMA VALLEY

On October 17, 1888, Mr. Stewart was united in marriage to Miss Alice Smith, who was born in Albion, Edwards county, Illinois, August 4, 1865. Her parents, W. G. and Caroline (Davis) Smith, were natives of Herefordshire, England, the latter born April 27, 1825. They were married in England and in 1865, the same year in which their daughter was born, came to the United States, locating in Illinois. In 1870 they removed to Wilson county, Kansas, and eleven years later, in1881, came overland to Washington, going first to Issaquah, whence they made their way to Seattle and thence to Bellingham, Whatcom county, in the fall of 1882. There the father homesteaded and for twelve years gave his attention to his land but in 1894 the family removed to Woodland, Washington, where Mrs. Smith passed away. Mr. Smith now lives retired in the enjoyment of a comfortable competence, at the age of eighty-six years. Mr. and Mrs. Stewart have seven children: Grace, who married Clarence Hobbs, a rancher in the Cowiche district, by whom she has two sons; Edgar Mayo, also a rancher in that locality, who has a wife and three chil- dren; Chester Earl, a rancher in the same district, who is married and has one child; Cecile May, the wife of E. G. Hart, who follows ranching in the Cowiche district; Charles Alfred, who is serving his country in the United States army; Alvin Leroy, at home; and William Clarence, aged fifteen, who is also at home.

Mr. and Mrs. Stewart have many friends in Cowiche and vicinity, all of whom speak of them in the highest terms. Both are valued members of their community, in the moral and material upbuilding of which they take a laudable interest. Mrs. Stewart is a member of the Baptist church, to the work of which she is sincerely devoted. Politically Mr. Stewart is independent, giving his support to the candi- dates and measures that he considers of the greatest value to the majority. Frater- nally he is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America, and, being deeply inter- ested in educational matters, he has served for several years as clerk of the local school board, exerting his efforts in every way to promote school facilities and raise the standard of education in his district. A pioneer agriculturist of the state and a son of one of the early settlers, his career is closely connected with the upbuilding of this commonwealth and by promoting his own interests he has contributed toward general prosperity. His memory reaches back to the days when the Yakima valley was still a wilderness and he has therefore witnessed all of the wonderful changes that have transformed this section into one of the richest agricultural districts in the country.

FRANK BARTHOLET.

Throughout his entire life Frank Bartholet has been connected with the banking business and is now the cashier of the Yakima National Bank. He has contributed through .close application, indefatigable energy and progressive methods to the suc- cess of the institution in no small degree and he is thoroughly familiar with every phase of the banking business at the present time. He was born in Shakopee, Minne- sota, on the 17th of March, 1868, and is a son of Joseph and Anna M. (Mechtel) Bartholet, who in 1875 left Minnesota and removed westward with their family to Salem, Oregon, where they resided until 1879. In that year they came to Yakima and the father owned and conducted the second hotel of the city, remaining at its head to the time of his retirement from active business life. Both he and his wife have now passed away.

Frank Bartholet was but seven years of age when the family left Minnesota and came to the Pacific northwest, so that his education was acquired in the public schools in this section of the country, his studies being completed in Yakima. When his text- books were put aside he made his initial step in the business world by securing em- ployment in the First National Bank at Yakima, of which he became head bookkeeper. Upon the organization of the Yakima National Bank he accepted a position as head bookkeeper in that institution and was elected its cashier in 1908. He has so since served and the record which he has made as a bank official is a most creditable one, showing the conscientiousness with which he meets every obligation devolving upon

HISTORY OF YAKIMA VALLEY

him and the care and thoroughness with which he safeguards the interests entrusted to him.

In 1892 Mr. Bartholet married Miss Flora Haas, of Spakone, Washington, who died in 1901, leaving a son, Urban C., serving in the Spruce division of the United States army. On the 5th of August, 1903, Mr. Bartholet was united in marriage to Miss Edith McDonnell, of Tacoma, and their children are: Donnell, Juliana, Catherine and Mary Elizabeth. The religious faith of the family is that of the Catholic church and Mr. Bartholet holds membership with the Knights of Columbus and also with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. In politics he maintains an independent course. voting according to the dictates of his judgment. He stands for progressiveness in public affairs of the community and gives his aid and influence to all measures and projects which he believes of public worth.

WILLIAM PERRY SAWYER.

William Perry Sawyer is the owner of Elmwood I'arm, an attractive ranch that occupies historic ground near Sawyer Station, in the center of the Parker bottoms district. He has an attractive residence, built of stone to the second story and then of wood. It stands on a hill overlooking the road, commanding a splendid view of the surrounding country, with the snowy caps of Mount Adams and Mount Rainier dominating the landscape.

Mr. Sawyer comes to the west from Boston, Massachusetts, where his birth occurred September 19, 1851. He is a son of Humphrey and Barbara (Perry) Sawyer, natives of New Hampshire and of Boston, Massachusetts, respectively. His ancestors were of the same family as Commodore Perry and both the Sawyer and Perry families have been represented in America from early colonial times. The father, Humphrey Sawyer, on leaving Massachusetts, settled in Alden, Wisconsin, about 1856. There he engaged in farming but later conducted a hardware business at Stillwater, Minnesota, where he located in 1870.

In his boyhood days William Perry Sawyer obtained a public school education. After the removal of the family to Stillwater, Minnesota, he entered the hardware busi- ness, in which he continued for many years, or until 1889. Eventually he came to Yakima and purchased the business of the A. B. Weed Hardware Company, conducting his store as senior partner of the firm of Sawyer & Pennington until 1892. He then withdrew from commercial connections and purchased two hundred and twenty acres of land on Parker bottoms. At that time he raised some hops but now has seventy-five acres in fruit trees, mostly apples and pears. He has his own warehouse and packing house and all of the equipment necessary for the care of the trees and of the fruit. He built upon the place one of the finest homes in Yakima county, completed in 1911. Near-by stands a little log cabin built in 1864 by J. P. Mattoon, who homesteaded the land upon which Mr. Sawyer now resides. Just back of the house was an old Catholic mission, which was used for three or four years until the new one was built on the Ahtanum, and thus from the days of early settlement in this section of the state the ranch has been used for the purposes of civilization

On the 9th of October. 1883, Mr. Sawyer was married to Miss Alice M. Brown, who was born in lowa in 1858, a daughter of John and Maria (Grant) Brown, who were natives of England and became residents of Iowa in 1854. The father was a very prominent farmer of Iowa, devoting his attention to the raising of grain and stock. In 1873 he and his family returned to England, where they spent two years, but the lure of the new world was upon them and they again became residents of Iowa, where both passed away. Mr. and Mrs. Sawyer became the parents of six children, but the first-born, Linley, died in infancy. Beulah, the second of the family, became the wife of Herman Holmquist, a rancher on Parker Heights. John Edwin, of the United States Marines, enlisted on the second day after war was declared and went to France in February, 1918. He has been through all the active fighting, was badly gassed and was in a hospital for several weeks but is now again on active duty with the army of occupation, his record being one of which his parents have every

WILLIAM P. SAWYER

HISTORY OF YAKIMA VALLEY

reason to be proud. Harriet Marie, the next of the family, is the wife of Earl Cheney, of Shosone, Idaho, and they have three children. Horace died in infancy. Shirley Emma, who completes the family, is in school.

Mr. Sawyer is a member of Yakima Lodge, No. 24, A. F. & A. M., and served on the board that built the Masonic Temple of Yakima, being the one who planned the building and supervised its erection. With the exception of the United States gov- ernment building in the city of Yakima, it is today the best building in the Yakima valley. In fact it is the finest Masonic Temple on the Pacific coast, being a reproduc- tion of the inner chamber of King Solomon's Temple and the only one extant. The keystone in the arch over the entrance to the elevator lobby was taken from the ancient quarries of Jerusalem, from which the stone for King Solomon's Temple is also supposed to have been secured. This building cost two hundred thousand dollars. Mr. Sawyer also was one of the trustees who built the Yakima Street Rail- way and no doubt did more than any other man toward giving Yakima its present street car system. His religious faith is that of the Universalist church, while his wife has membership in the Episcopal church. In politics he is a republican and is now serving for the third term as a member of the state legislature, his reelection being indicative of his personal popularity and the confidence reposed in him by his fellow townsmen as well as of the excellent record which he has made in legislative service. He is one of the most prominent men of the valley, an active champion of the good roads movement, of educational interests and of all things affecting the public welfare. He has maintained in his life an even balance between private busi- ness interests and matters of public concern, his ready support of every public interest constituting an element in the county's progress and upbuilding.

JUDGE JOHN B. DAVIDSON.

Judge John B. Davidson, serving for the second term as judge of the superior court at Ellensburg and since 1883 a valued and representative member of the Wash- ington bar, was born near Rochester, Indiana, March 14, 1860, a son of Stephen and Catharine B. (Brown) Davidson, the former a native of Ohio, while the latter was born in Abbeville, South Carolina. The Davidson family is of Scotch ancestry. The father was a son of Andrew Davidson, whose father came to America from Scotland prior to the Revolutionary war, crossing the Atlantic about 1760, when sixteen years of age, at which time he took up his abode in Pennsylvania. Later representatives of the name became pioneer settlers of Ohio and thus aided in advancing the trend of western civilization. The father of Judge Davidson was a farmer by occupation and removed to Indiana, where he passed away in 1877. His wife, coming to the west, died at the home of her son, Judge Davidson, in Ellensburg in 1897.

An academic training followed Judge Davidson's completion of a public school course and later he entered the Michigan State University at Ann Arbor. He was also for a time a student in the Valparaiso University at Valparaiso, Indiana, and he began reading law in Rochester, Indiana, with M. L. Essick, a leading member of the bar at that place. Subsequently he became a law student in Indianapolis, In- diana, and in 1883 was graduated from the Albany Law School of New York. His training was thus thorough and comprehensive and well qualified him for the active duties of the profession.

In the same year Judge Davidson removed to the northwest, attracted by the bet- ter opportunities which he believed he could secure in this great and growing section of the country. He made his way to Yakima county, was admitted to the bar the same year and then located in Ellensburg, Washington, where he has since followed his profession. At different times he has been called upon for public service. He filled the position of city treasurer, was also city attorney and in 1889 was elected mayor of Ellensburg, in which connection he gave to the city a business-like and progressive administration, characterized by various needed reforms and improve- ments. In 1896 he was called upon for judicial service, having been elected judge of the superior court, after which he served upon the bench for four years. He then retired and resumed the private practice of law, but in 1916 was recalled to that office

HISTORY OF YAKIMA VALLEY

and is the present incumbent. His rulings are strictly fair and impartial, based upon the law and the equity in the case, and his work upon the bench is characterized by a masterful grasp of every problem presented for solution. In addition to his work as lawyer and judge he has conducted a fine ranch which he owns.

On the 31st of March, 1886, Judge Davidson was married to Miss Jean C. Schnebly, a daughter of D. J. and Margaret A. (Painter) Schnebly. Her father was at one time editor of the Oregon Spectator and he afterward established the Ellens- burg Localizer in 1883 and conducted the paper successfully until his death in 1901. To Judge and Mrs. Davidson have been born three children: Philip A. was educated at the University of Washington and is now a resident of Seattle; Mary V. was edu- cated at Sweet Brier, Virginia, and also pursued a two years' course in art at Berke- ley, California, and one year in general interior decorating and designing in New York city; she is now the wife of F. A. Kern, an attorney of Ellensburg: Margaret A., a teacher in the State Normal School at Ellensburg, was graduated from the University of Washington and also from the Emerson College of Oratory at Boston, Massachusetts.

Fraternally Judge Davidson is connected with the Elks Lodge No. 1102, of which he is a past exalted ruler. His political allegiance has always been given to the democratic party and it has been the recognition of his public-spirited devotion to the general good that has occasioned his being called to office at various times. His recall to the bench is positive proof of the confidence which the public has in his judicial fairness.

FRED A. HALL.

Fred A. Hall, who dates his residence in the Yakima valley from 1899, is now the owner of an excellent fruit ranch pleasantly and conveniently situated two and a half miles west of the city of Yakima. He was born in Lasalle county, Illinois, April 26, 1867, a son of S. A. and Harriett A. (Beardsley) Hall. The father was a farmer by occupation and at one time served as postmaster of Tonica, Illinois. In the year 1902 he came to the northwest, settling in Yakima county, where he again gave his time and attention to farming, being thus busily occupied until, having acquired a handsome competence, he retired from business life. He is now enjoy- ing a well earned rest, being surrounded by the comforts of life. In 1916 he was called upon to mourn the death of his wife, who passed away on the 6th of July of that year.

Liberal educational opportunities were accorded Fred A. Hall, who in 1892 was graduated from the University of Illinois with the Bachelor of Science degree. He then entered the drug business at Tonica, Illinois, and remained one of the mer- chants of that place until 1899, when he sought the opportunities of the northwest. Coming to Yakima, he entered the Richey & Gilbert Company, assisting in the conduct of their various interests. For three years he lived at Toppenish but in 1904 purchased his present fruit ranch two and a half miles west of Yakima and built thereon an attractive residence, substantial barns and all the necessary outbuildings needed for the care of his fruit and his stock. He has an orchard of forty-two acres, mostly planted to apples, and his place is regarded as one of the good fruit ranches of the valley.

On the 17th of October, 1894, Mr. Hall was married to Miss Luella S. Richey, a daughter of James and Anne (Hamilton) Richey, of Tonica, Illinois, who came to Yakima county in 1900, her father having been a member of the Richey & Gilbert Company which he organized. Mrs. Hall passed away September 28, 1907, leaving three children: Thorland, who was born July 30, 1896, and who at the age of twenty- two years was serving as a member of the United States army being in camp when the armistice was signed; Isabelle, who was born May 29, 1900; and Burton Augustus, May 31, 1902. On the 26th of June, 1909, Mr. Hall was again married, his second union being with Frances Gray Chace, of Chicago.

Mr. Hall is a member of the Sons of Veterans, his father having been a soldier of the Civil war, a member of Company I, Eleventh Illinois Infantry, with which

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he served until discharged on account of sickness. Fred A. Hall is also identified with the Modern Woodmen of America, the Mystic Workers and with the Grange. He and his family are members of the Congregational church and they occupy an enviable social position. In politics he is a republican but not an office seeker. He belongs to the Yakima County Horticultural Union and by reason of his progres- siveness and enterprise has gained a place among the prosperous fruit raisers of this section of the state.

FLOYD C. DAY.

A valuable fruit farm of twenty-five acres, located on the upper Naches, bespeaks the progressive methods which have resulted in the prosperity that is now enjoyed by Floyd C. Day, who is numbered among the well known and successful orchardists of his neighborhood. A native of llion, New York, he was born January 10, 1874, a son of George and Margaret (Chappelle) Day, both natives of the Empire state. For many years the father did contract work for the Remington Arms Company but is now deceased, as is his wife, who was born at Schuyler Lake, New York.

Floyd C. Day was reared under the parental roof and in the acquirement of his education attended public school until old enough to start out in life for himself. In 1893, at the age of nineteen years, he began to learn the jewelry business, becoming very proficient along that line. It was in 1906 that he came to the west, locating at first in the fast growing city of Seattle, where he filled a position with the well-known firm of L. L. Moore & Company for some time. He later had a repair business in Seattle, until 1914 when another removal brought him to Yakima county. Perceiv- ing the great opportunities here presented along fruit raising lines, he acquired twenty-five acres on the upper Naches and now has eleven acres of this tract in apples and pears, while the balance is in pasture and plow land. He has closely studied modern methods in regard to scientific fruit cultivation and has made a num- ber of valuable improvements and installed the necessary equipment, thus deriving a gratifying income from his efforts. His barns and outbuildings are up-to-date in every respect and a modern residence has been erected as the outward evidence of his prosperity.

On July 23, 1902, Mr. Day was united in marriage to Miss Evanelle Ely, who like her husband is a native of llion, New York, and is a daughter of Arthur and Ida (Rhodes) Ely. To Mr. and Mrs. Day has been born a daughter, Margaret, aged fifteen, and a son, Rhodes, who is six years old. Mr. and Mrs. Day are popular and valued members of the younger social set in their neighborhood and have many friends in Naches.

Politically Mr. Day is a republican but not strictly bound by party ties, often voting independently as the occasion demands or candidates appeal to him because of their ability or qualities. Along his line of occupation he is a member of the Yakima County Horticultural Union and in this connection gives and often receives valuable information. Through his efforts along horticultural lines Mr. Day has not only attained to a substantial position individually but has greatly assisted in forwarding movements in that line of industry in his valley. There is great credit due him for what he has achieved, as in the best sense of the word he is a self-made man.

EDWIN PORTER DITEMAN.

Edwin Porter Diteman, whose ranch property is situated near Outlook, was born in Aroostook county, Maine, September 3, 1865, a son of Wallace and Eliza (Linton) Diteman, both of whom were natives of Nova Scotia. Subsequent to their marriage they crossed the border into Maine, establishing their home in Aroostook county, where the father engaged in farming and where both he and his wife passed away.

HISTORY OF YAKIMA VALLEY

To the public school system of his native state Edwin P. Diteman is indebted for the educational opportunities which he enjoyed. During vacation periods and after his school days were over he farmed with his father until he reached the age of twenty-two years and then went to Minnesota. In the fall of 1888 he arrived in Yakima and was employed on a dairy ranch with his brother through the first winter. He worked for wages for a few years and then returned to Maine, where he continued for a year and a half. On the expiration of that period he once more came to Yakima county, where he lived for two years and then again spent a year and a half in the Pine Tree state. The lure of the west, however, was upon him and he returned to Yakima county, where he worked for wages. He devoted seven years to the logging contract business for the Cascade Lumber Company and for a few years was connected with the sheep industry as a partner of his brother. In May, 1917, he bought seventy-six and a half acres of land pleasantly and conveniently situated two and three-quarters of a mile northwest of Sunnyside. Upon this place he has a good house and substantial barns and raises large crops of hay and corn. He also raises cattle and hogs, and in the cultivation of his fields and in the raising of his stock he is meeting with success.

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History of the Yakima Valley, Washington; comprising Yakima, Kittitas, and Benton Counties, Vol. II, Part 5

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