USA > Washington > Benton County > History of the Yakima Valley, Washington; comprising Yakima, Kittitas, and Benton Counties, Vol. II > Part 56
USA > Washington > Kittitas County > History of the Yakima Valley, Washington; comprising Yakima, Kittitas, and Benton Counties, Vol. II > Part 56
USA > Washington > Yakima County > History of the Yakima Valley, Washington; comprising Yakima, Kittitas, and Benton Counties, Vol. II > Part 56
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On the 20th of June, 1908, E. H. Mahan was united in marriage to Miss Grace Crook, of Benton county, and both he and his wife are prominent socially in their community. He is a republican in politics but not committed to the party as far as local affairs are concerned, preferring to follow his own judgment in regard to measures and candidates. Four fraternal organizations claim Mr. Mahan as mem- ber-the blue lodge of Masons, the Knights of Pythias, the Brotherhood of American Yeomen and the Woodmen.
WV. B. Mahan was born in Bozeman, Montana, in 1881, and has been connected with his brother in business and public life throughout his whole career. His father having died while sheriff of Benton county, the public honored him and it-
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self by asking him to fill out the unexpired term and this he did to such good pur- pose that at the expiration of the term he was reelected for the full term as sheriff of Benton county, serving the public with unflagging zeal. In fact the days when he was sheriff are still remembered by many in Benton county, all of whom have for him the greatest respect. Many of the worst characters were driven out of the county during his incumbency and many a gang of bad men was laid fast by his alert- ness, zeal and cleverness in apprehending them, ably assisted by his brother. In De- cember, 1914, the Mahan brothers established the fine garage which they now own, although it needed rebuilding in 1918, its capacity having already proved too small. It is made of cement blocks and the floors are also of cement. There is a floor space of fourteen hundred square feet, with a storage capacity for sixty cars. The garage is in every way modernly equipped and a complete repair department is maintained. Mahan Brothers have the agency for the Ford cars, tractors and trucks and the Federal trucks and also sell the Studebaker autos. Their district covers upper Benton county and they have an extensive trade in this section of the state. The enormous growth of their business must be largely ascribed to the ability and foresight which both brothers possess. Moreover, there is no doubt that a great deal of their prosperity is due to their close cooperation. In fact, their partnership is an ideal one. They have many friends in Prosser and Benton county and all who know them speak of them in terms of the highest regard. They take part in all movements for the public good and always stand for progress, ever ready to give of their means to worthy measures undertaken for the benefit of the community. While ably building up an enterprise of this magnitude they have not only served themselves but have largely contributed toward making Prosser the center of enter- prise which it is today in the Yakima valley.
GEORGE M. McKAY.
George M. McKay, a successful agriculturist, owning a valuable property near Mabton, has been particularly interested in social betterment and development of his community. He has likewise been active politically and has served in public positions, discharging his duties to the great satisfaction of all concerned. He has well merited the confidence of the public and has made many friends since coming to this section of Yakima county.
A native of Ontario, Canada, Mr. McKay was born in Oxford county, February 17, 1857, his parents being George and Isabella (McDonald) Mckay, both natives of Scotland. The father was born in 1818 and was a son of John McKay, also a native of Scotland, who took his wife and ten children to Canada in 1822. George Mckay died at the ripe old age of eighty-nine years, in 1907, having survived his wife about a decade, the death of the latter occurring in 1898. Both passed away in Canada on the old family homestead. The father followed agricultural pursuits throughout his life.
George M. McKay was reared under the parental roof and in the acquirement of an education attended the public schools of the Dominion. In 1879, at the age of about twenty-two, he removed to Manitoba, taking up a homestead claim near Crystal City, where he devoted his efforts to the cultivation of his land for about ten years. In 1889 he removed to North Dakota, where he took up a homestead. For fourteen years, or until 1903, he resided in that state, becoming quite success- ful as a farmer. In the latter year, however, he sold out, and having thoroughly studied local conditions and opportunities, bought forty acres five miles west of Grandview, where he now owns a fine home and has also erected good barns. He has ever followed the most progressive methods and now has his land under a high state of cultivation, raising beans, corn, potatoes and hay. He likewise gives some attention to live stock, preparing hogs for the market, and also runs a small dairy. He has been successful in all of his activities and his farm is today considered one of the most valuable properties of the neighborhood.
The marriage of George M. McKay and Eleanor Gosmell took place May 16, 1883. Mrs. McKay is a native of Highgate, Ontario, Canada, and a daughter of
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James and Katie (Barker) Gosmell. By her marriage she has become the mother of the following named: William, a rancher near Grandview, who is married and has three children: Edward, who is married and resides in Seattle; Katherine, the wife of Ross P. Haney, a hardware merchant of Sunnyside; Eva, who is not only a graduate physician and surgeon but has also studied osteopathy and is practicing in Mabton, where she has acquired a high reputation and a large practice; and Lois, who is attending high school.
The family, who are highly respected and esteemed by all who know them, are prominent members of the Presbyterian church, to which denomination they are most devotedly attached. Mr. Mckay has served as elder for the past sixteen years and through his valuable efforts and timely aid has largely contributed toward the success of the local church. In his political affiliations he is a democrat, and, in- terested in the cause of education, has served as school director. For two and a half years he has also been road overseer. While a resident of North Dakota he served for three years as county commissioner; was township supervisor for four years; and served on the county central committee. There is great credit due him for what he has achieved as he has attained the prosperity that he now enjoys entirely through his own efforts. He has never regretted the step he took when he crossed the border into the United States and in the rich valley of the Yakima he has found the opportunities which he sought, through the utilization of which he has become one of the substantial citizens of his neighborhood. Many are the friends he has made here and all are agreed as to his high qualities of heart and mind.
FRED A. MORGAN.
Fred A. Morgan is a prominent and successful seed merchant of Yakima, con- ducting business as a member of the Morgan-McKaig Company. He was born in New Hampshire, August 13, 1859, his natal town being Tuftonboro. His parents were Henry B. and Martha A. (Jones) Morgan and his ancestors were among the old colonial families of New England. His paternal grandmother belonged to the Avery family, long prominent in that section of the country. Henry B. Morgan was in the express business and spent his last days in honorable retirement at Sacramento, California.
Fred A. Morgan acquired a public school education in the Old Granite state and then entered the employ of Henry B. Scuddy in the capacity of errand boy. He worked along various lines and ultimately took up clerking in the store. When twenty-one years of age he made his way westward to Sacramento, California, where he was employed in clerkships for six years. On the expiration of that period he and his brother, Frank Morgan, opened a produce store in Sacramento, where later they engaged in the ice business for three years. They afterward established an ice trade in Seattle and in Tacoma, but eventually Mr. Morgan of this review sold his interest and in 1903 came to Yakima, where he established the business in which he is now engaged and which was organized under the style of the Morgan-McKaig Company in 1910. It was founded as F. A. Morgan & Company in 1903 and in 1905 he entered into a partnership arrangement that led to the adoption of the firm style of Morgan & McKaig. In January, 1910, articles of incorporation were taken out for the Morgan-McKaig Company, with D. F. McKaig as the president, F. A. Mor- gan, vice president and treasurer, and J. H. De Young as secretary, J. H. Hysom also being a stockholder. On the 11th of January, 1911, Mr. De Young sold his interest to O. D. Thygeson and in June, 1917. Mr. Morgan purchased the interest of Mr. Thygeson. He also purchased a part of the stock owned by Mr. Hysom. In July, 1917, he was elected to the presidency of the company, while Elizabeth H. Morgan became one of the directors and C. W. Marlin was made secretary but is not a stockholder. The business was located on the corner of First avenue, South, and Yakima avenue, West, and later a removal was made to No. 304 West Yakima avenue in 1910. In 1914 new quarters were secured at No. 15 North First street, where the company has one floor and basement in a building twenty-five by one hundred and forty feet. They handle seeds, spray materials, Hardie sprayers, hand pumps and
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all fruit growers' supplies. This is the oldest firm in their line in the valley and they conduct an extensive business, their patrons coming from all points in the valley. They also sell to the wholesale trade. They are general agents for the In- secticide manufactured by the General Chemical Company and they also handle the Black-Leaf Forty. Their business has steadily and constantly grown, meeting the needs as the orcharding of the district developed, and today the Morgan-McKaig Company ranks with the leading commercial enterprises of this section.
In 1888 Mr. Morgan was united in marriage with Miss Elizabeth H. Hanscom, of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and they have two children: Ray, who was born in 1890 and is now in the United States Signal Corps, having enlisted for active service in March, 1917; being on duty at the present time at Nulato, Alaska; and Ruth, who is pursuing a training course as a nurse.
Mr. Morgan is prominently known in Masonic circles, belonging to Yakima Lodge, No. 24, F. & A. M., of which he served as worshipful master in 1913. He also belongs to Yakima Chapter, No. 21, R. A. M., to Yakima Commandery, No. 13, K. T., and to Afifi Temple of the Mystic Shrine. He is an active supporter of the republican party and a firm believer in its principles. He belongs to the Commercial Club and co-operates heartily in its well defined plans and purposes for the upbuilding of the city, the extension of its business relations and the development of its civic affairs. Aside from his interests as a seed merchant Mr. Morgan has developed a fine fruit ranch of twenty acres on the Tieton and he is able to speak with authority upon the best methods of fruit culture and the protection of the trees.
ALFRED S. HILLYER.
The Sunnyside Sun, of which Alfred S. Hillyer is editor and manager and also part owner, is one of the best, biggest and most popular newspapers of this section of the state. In the success of the publication Mr. Hillyer has had a leading part and has thereby readily demonstrated his ability as a newspaper man and publisher. He was born in Portsmouth, England, January 15, 1884, a son of Alfred S. and Marie (Pettit) Hillyer, both of whom are deceased. The father held a prominent position under the British government as an engineer for many years, his work being in connection with the construction of dock-yards, torpedoes, submarines, etc.
Alfred S. Hillyer received his education in his native land, where he attended the public schools to the age of thirteen and a half years, when he began to learn the printer's trade and served until the age of twenty-one. He was employed by Wyman & Sons, the well known railroad and government printers and the largest firm of its kind in England, and remained with them until 1907. In that year he crossed the At- lantic in order to join his brother, Jones G. Hillyer, in Toppenish, Washington, where the former had located in 1897 and had become a well known fruit buyer of the Yakima valley. Mr. Hillyer of this review remained in the fruit. business for a year and then returned to his trade, joining the force of the Toppenish Review, with which he remained for eighteen months. At the end of that time, on July 1, 1910, he established the Zillah Free Press, a weekly, of which he was editor and proprietor. This proved quite a suc- cess under the able managment of its owner and received a well merited patronage, Mr. Hillyer continuing to conduct it until March, 1918, when he sold out and acquired an interest in the Sunnyside Sun, of which he is now editor and manager. This paper was established in 1901 by William Hitchcock and is the foremost weckly of the valley. lt comprises eight pages of home print and its equipment is the biggest, most modern and best selected in the valley. They also give considerable attention to general print- ing and the latest machinery is to be found in their establishment in order to facilitate the work, even folding machines being used in their binding department. The news- paper is ably conducted by Mr. Hillyer, who by his editorials, which are trenchant and to the point, has greatly contributed toward the development of this section, while his criticisms have been equally important in eradicating evil or spurring on measures of value. The local news is always written in an interesting style and is eagerly read by the subscribers, who comprise the greater part of the population of the locality. It is therefore but natural that the circulation is considerable and that the Sunnyside Sun
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has become a valuable advertising medium as well, patronized by all farseeing merchants and business men of the section. In fact it is conceded by all that the Sun has the largest paid-in-advance circulation of any weekly in Yakima county, its subscribers exceeding one thousand, which means that the paper goes to the homes of one thous- and of the best families in the valley. Mr. Hillyer has not only demonstrated his ability as a newspaper man and as a practical printer but also as able business manager. Only a high class of printing is done and the excellent equipment of the shop permits him to turn out all kinds of printed matter.
On the 29th of November, 1912, Mr. Hillyer was united in marriage to Miss Olive Frakes, who was born in Joseph, Oregon, and is a daughter of J. G. and Helen Frakes well known and honored pioneers of that state and also of Washington. To this union have been born two children: Charles Edwin, now five years of age; and Virgil Alfred. two years old. Mr. and Mrs. Hillyer are numbered among the popular young people of the valley and their entrance into the best homes is assured. They are met in circles where intellectual and pleasant intercourse are the passports to good society and the friends they have made in Sunnyside are many.
In 1914 Mr. Hillyer assisted in organizing the Yakima and Benton Counties Press Association, which consists of fifteen weekly newspapers, and for the past two years he has served as president of this organization. He also served as police judge at Zillah and in that office always discharged his duties fairly and impartially, receiving the commendation of the public. Fraternally he is connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Woodmen and also is a member of the Ancient Order of Druids. His religious faith is that of the Episcopal church and in his political affil- iations he is a republican, steadfastly supporting its principles and candidates. He is a member of the Sunnyside Commercial Club, with whose aims and purposes he is in hearty accord, and ably sustains the organization through the columns of his paper. Mr. Hillyer does not in the least regret the step he took in crossing the ocean to seek a home in the western part of America and in Sunnyside has found a field which not only brings to him a gratifying income but which has gained for him the esteem and respect of his fellow citizens.
EDWIN DRAKE.
The development of Yakima county into a rich agricultural and horticultural dis- trict is due to the efforts of such men as Edwin Drake, who for some years has been a prominent factor in farming interests in this state. He was born in Polk county, Iowa, August 12, 1883, a son of Whitfield and Minnetta (Elliott) Drake. The father was born in New Jersey and the mother in Indiana. She removed westward to Iowa in 1853 in company with her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Abraham Elliott, who cast in their lot among the pioneer settlers of that state. It was in 1866 that Whitfield Drake es- tablished his home in Iowa and there he formed the acquaintance of Minnetta Elliott, whose hand he sought and won in marriage. They were married in the Hawkeye state, where Mr. Drake passed away, since which time his widow has come to Yakima, where she is now living.
Edwin Drake acquired a public school education in Iowa, his youthful days being spent in the usual manner of the farm-bred boy. He early became familiar with the work of the fields and continued active along that line in Iowa until 1908, when at- tracted by the opportunities of the growing northwest, he made his way to this section of the country and purchased land in Yakima county, taking up his abode in the Selah valley. He afterward sold that property and next bought land in connection with W. R. Duffield in the year 1909. This is situated on the Moxee and together they hegan the development of the place. Mr. Drake took up his abode upon the farm in 1909 and Mr. Duffield joined him the next year. However, he lived in Yakima in 1908 and also a part of 1909.
On the 5th of March, 1907, Mr. Drake was married to Miss Millicent Duffield, a sister of W. R. Duffield. She came to the United States in 1902 and they were mar- ried in Iowa. To Mr. and Mrs. Drake was born but one child, who died in infancy.
Fraternally Mr. Drake is connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows
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and also with the Grange. His political endorsement is given to the republican party where national questions are involved and at local elections he votes independently. He has served as overseer but is not ambitious to hold office, preferring to concentrate his efforts and attention upon his business affairs, which are wisely directed. He has been continuously associated with Mr. Duffield and they are in partnership in the owner- ship and conduct of an excellent farm property of fifty acres. Their interests are wisely and carefully directed and the results achieved have placed them among the leading farmers of their part of the state.
GEORGE CHALMERS GOWDY.
Ceorge Chalmers Gowdy is a well known representative of the farming interests of Yakima county. He was born in Enfield, Illinois, July 2, 1861, a son of William M. and Adeline (Hunsinger) Gowdy. The father has now departed this life but the mother survives and is living in Illinois at the advanced age of eighty-five years. William M. Gowdy devoted his time and energies to merchandising at Enfield and was one of the respected residents of that locality.
George C. Gowdy acquired a public school education and after his textbooks were put aside entered the jewelry business in connection with his brother at En- field, their commercial association there covering three years. In 1888 George C. Gowdy made his way to the northwest with Tacoma as his destination and in that locality engaged in ranching until 1893. He next entered railway work, in which he engaged until 1904, when he came to Yakima county and purchased forty acres of hay land in the lower valley and ten acres in the Tieton district, which he devotes to general farming. Recently Mr. Gowdy purchased one hundred additional acres of valuable land located north of Outlook. He also cultivates a tract of thirteen acres in Fruitvale, which belongs to his brother-in-law, United States Senator Jones. His farming interests are wisely and carefully conducted and the results achieved are very satisfactory, for he displays sound judgment and unfaltering enterprise in all that he undertakes.
In March, 1889, Mr. Gowdy was united in marriage to Miss Milda Nelson, of Enfield, Illinois, a twin sister of the wife of Senator Jones. They have but one son, Felix, who is a member of the United States army, located at Hoboken, New Jersey.
In politics Mr. Gowdy is independent, voting for the man rather than for party, and at all times he is loyal to the best interests of his community, standing for those plans and projects which he believes are of the greatest public benefit.
EDWARD J. BRYANT.
Edward J. Bryant, active in the real estate field in Yakima, where he has con- ducted business since 1906, was born in Newton, Iowa, December 17, 1879, a son of David and Ann (Edwards) Bryant. The family removed to Roslyn, Washington, and later, in 1890, the father took up a homestead at Grandview, this state. In 1905 he established his home at Ellensburg, where he remained until 1912, living with his daughter, Mrs. E. J. Mathews, and after that date he resided upon a farm at Grand- view with the same daughter to the time of his death, which occurred October 27, 1916. He had long survived his wife, who died in 1895. They were the parents of a large family of twelve children, six of whom are yet living.
Edward J. Bryant is the youngest of his family. He was but a young lad when his parents came to Washington and his education was acquired in the public schools of Roslyn and of Ellensburg. He afterward took up the profession of teaching, which he followed for two years, after which he became accountant for the Northwest Im- provement Company of Roslyn. In 1906 he removed to Yakima, where he entered the real estate business on his own account and has since been active in this field, gaining a large clientage as the years have passed. He has negotiated many im- portant property transfers and his sales have been satisfactory to his clients and at
GEORGE C. GOWDY
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the same time have brought to him a substantial reward for his labors. He handles all kinds of property, including city real estate and ranch lands, and there is no one more thoroughly familiar with realty values in this section.
Mr. Bryant was married in 1901 to Miss Leona Latimer, of Ellensburg, and to. them has been born a son, Richard Milton, who was five years of age on the 21st of August, 1918. Mr. Bryant belongs to Roslyn Lodge, No. 52, F. & A. M., and also to the Elks lodge of Yakima. In politics he is a republican and a warm admirer and supporter of Roosevelt. His position upon any vital question is never an equiv- ocal one. He stands loyally for what he believes to be for the best interests of the individual and the community at large and he has cooperated with many movements which have been of the greatest value to the district in which he now makes his home.
GEORGE M. CHASE.
George M. Chase was born in Seneca county, New York, April 10, 1862, and comes of ancestry that has been distinctively American in both lineal and collateral lines through many generations, while the more remote ancestry is of English origin. His parents were George and Eliza (Robinson) Chase. The father was born in Seneca county, New York, in 1832 and passed away in 1864. He was a son of Isaac Chase, a native of England, who in young manhood crossed the Atlantic to New York, where he followed the occupation of farming. His son, George Chase, Sr., was reared and educated in the Empire state and after arriving at years of maturity wedded Eliza Robinson, also a native of New York and a daughter of Morgan Lewis and Amanda Malvina (Daball) Robinson. In the maternal line the ancestry is traced back to a very remote period. Morgan L. Robinson was a son of Giles Robinson and a grandson of Elisha, and Sarah (Sanford) Robinson, who were descendants of the Rev. John Robinson, who was born in 1576 and lived in Norwich, England. He was a Puritan pastor in Nottingham county in 1606 and in 1607 he went to Amsterdam. In 1610 he removed to Leyden, where he passed away March 1, 1625. In 1629 his widow and two sons, Isaac and John Robinson, made their way across the Atlantic and joined the Plymouth colony. Isaac located at Scituate, Massachusetts, while John Robinson took up his abode near Cape Ann and their descendants remained residents of New England for many years. The Daballs can also be traced back through many generations. Amanda Malvina Daball Robinson, the grandmother of George M. Chase, was born in Groton, Connecticut, April 13, 1806, and was the only daughter of John Miner and Patty (Miner) Daball, who were married June 2, 1801. The latter was born December 7, 1781, and passed away on the 10th of November, 1852. In the Miner line the ancestry is traced back to Thomas Miner, who was the second son of Clement Miner and was born in Charta Magna, Somerset county, England, April 2, 1608. He came to America in 1630 on the good ship Arabella with his relative, Governor John Winthrop, and was married April 20, 1633, to Grace Palmer. Their seventh child was Menaseth Miner, who was born in New London, Connecticut, in 1647 and on the 26th of September, 1670, was married to Lydia Moore. They were parents of Elnathan Miner, who on the 21st of March, 1694, married Re- becca Baldwin, and the line of descent is traced on down to their son, Samuel Miner, who was born December 21, 1694, and on the 3d of December, 1719, married Eliza Brown. They were the parents of Elnathan Miner, who was born July 16, 1721, and was married March 7, 1751, to Sarah Smith. Their son, Richard Miner, was married January 11, 1776, to Catherine Holman. He was born September 10, 1753, and died March 19, 1847. His daughter, Patty Miner, was born December 7, 1781. and died on the 10th of November, 1852. It was on the 2d of June, 1801, that she became the wife of John Miner Daball and they had one daughter, Amanda Malvina Daball, who was born in Groton, Connecticut, April 13, 1806, and passed away August 24, 1883. In Auburn, New York, on the 13th of August, 1826, she became the wife of Morgan Lewis Robinson and they were parents of five sons and two daughters. This number included Eliza Jane Robinson, who became the wife of George Chase and the mother of George M. Chase of this review. George Chase made farming
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