USA > Washington > Asotin County > Lyman's history of old Walla Walla County, embracing Walla Walla, Columbia, Garfield and Asotin counties, Volume II > Part 18
USA > Washington > Columbia County > Lyman's history of old Walla Walla County, embracing Walla Walla, Columbia, Garfield and Asotin counties, Volume II > Part 18
USA > Washington > Garfield County > Lyman's history of old Walla Walla County, embracing Walla Walla, Columbia, Garfield and Asotin counties, Volume II > Part 18
USA > Washington > Walla Walla County > Lyman's history of old Walla Walla County, embracing Walla Walla, Columbia, Garfield and Asotin counties, Volume II > Part 18
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Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59
In politics Mr. Pettijohn has always followed an independent course but has never taken an active part in public affairs. He has always preferred to con- centrate his time, efforts and attention upon his private business interests and by reason of his diligence and determination, his perseverance and his honesty he has won a very substantial measure of success. He is justly numbered among the honored pioneers of the northwest, having for fifty-seven years lived in this section of the country. Born in Oregon, reared in Washington and a resident for a time of Idaho, there is no feature of the development of the northwest with which he is not familiar and he has lived to witness a remarkable transfor-
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mation, for the country has grown so rapidly that the story of its development seems almost magical. The result, however, is due to the earnest labors, the persistency of purpose and the indefatigable energy of such men as Mr. Petti- john, who, unafraid of the hardships and privations of pioneer life, has utilized the natural resources of the country and has thus placed the wealth upon a par with the older east.
COLONEL WILLIAM HAVENS MILLER.
Colonel William Havens Miller, whose life was spent in the military service of his country, was under all circumstances an officer and a gentleman. He was born at Tuscaloosa, Alabama, January 31, 1849, and on the 14th of June, 1872, was graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point and was assigned to duty with the First Cavalry. While with that regiment he par- ticipated in all the Indian wars in the Rocky mountains and on the Pacific coast and won frequent promotion in recognition of his efficiency and gallantry. Among the important campaigns in which he took part were: the Modoc war, which lasted from November, 1872, until June, 1873; the Nez Perce war, from June to October, 1877; the Bannock campaign, from June to September, 1878; and a minor engagement at Meacham's, in the Blue mountains of Oregon, in August, 1878. He was promoted to first lieutenant in the First Cavalry, March 4, 1879. From May, 1877, to March, 1887, he served as quartermaster in the field and in garrison and during the greater part of that time, or from August 15, 1878, to March 31, 1887, he was regimental quartermaster. On the 28th of February, 1890, he was brevetted first lieutenant for "gallant services in action against Indians at the Lava Beds, California, April 17, 1873, and gallant and meritorious conduct during the Modoc war." In 1896-7 he was employed in the designing and building of Fort George Wright, a military post at Spokane, Wash- ington, being in charge of the work until December, 1898, at which time the post was ready for one battalion of infantry. During the greater part of 1899 and 1900 he was in Cuba and built the four company military post at Paso Caballos at the mouth of the harbor of Cienfuegos, Cuba, and finished the cavalry post, Hamilton barracks, at Matanzas, Cuba. Colonel Miller was in campaigns and garrisons in the northwest until September, 1890, being stationed a part of the time in northern California, Oregon, Washington, Nevada and Montana, and was then appointed captain and assistant quartermaster in the United States Army and was on duty as follows: Quartermaster at United States Military Academy, West Point, New York, from October, 1890, to November, 1894: quartermaster at Fort Riley, Kansas, from November, 1894, until July, 1896; constructing quartermaster at Spokane, Washington, from July, 1896, to Decem- ber, 1898; appointed major and chief quartermaster in United States Volun- teers. August 15, 1898; division chief quartermaster at Southern Camp, An- niston, Alabama, from. December, 1898, to March, 1899; chief quartermaster. Departments of Santa Clara and Matanzas at Cienfuegos and Matanzas, Cuba. from March, 1899, to July, 1900; depot quartermaster, Boston, Massachusetts, from October, 1900, to August, 1901 ; depot and chief quartermaster, Depart-
COLONEL WILLIAM H. MILLER
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ment of the Lakes, Chicago, Illinois, from August, 1901, to August, 1905; in charge of the general depot of the quartermaster's department, New York city, from November 20, 1905, to May, 1907; chief quartermaster, Philippine Division, Manila, from September 2, 1907, to June 14, 1909; quartermaster at Seattle, Washington, and in charge of the United States transport service on Puget Sound from July, 1909, until retired at the age of sixty-four years, Janu- ary 31, 1913. He was promoted to major and quartermaster, United States Army, August 12, 1900; to lieutenant colonel and deputy quartermaster general, August 15, 1903; and colonel and assistant quartermaster general, October 31, 1909. The title was changed to colonel, Quartermaster Corps, United States Army, by act of congress approved August 24, 1912. On the 5th of July, 1906, he was especially commended to the secretary of war by the inspector general of the army for efficiency. All work that was given to him to do was well done, for, holding himself to the strictest standards, he refused to accept any- thing less than the best work from those under him, but at the same time he was scrupulously just and held the respect of his men. He upheld the high tradi- tions of the American army, was a constant student of military science and kept in close touch with the change in methods necessitated by new conditions of warfare. To him the army was a profession that demands all a man has to give but that makes abundant recompense in the knowledge of worthy service rendered the nation. He had the capacity for deep friendship characteristic of men of unusual strength of character and the. place which he held in the esteem and affection of those who knew him intimately is indicated in the following tribute to his memory by his friend, G. P. Monell; .
"'He was my friend, faithful and just to me' This Shakespearean saying of Marcus Antonius over the body of dead Caesar, best describes the dominant characteristic of Colonel Miller's life. Faithful and just, tender and true, might well be inscribed upon the stone that marks the spot where he sleeps till the final reveille. These qualities, covering all that is knightly, all that is noble, went to make up the daily routine of the life he lived for the glory and honor of his country. No promise that he ever made, however lightly, was too small to be faithfully remembered and religiously fulfilled. No fault that he observed was too great or too trivial to meet with less or more than exact justice. Of- ficially he had no friends; those who gave best service were best rewarded, re- gardless of his personal predilections. Looking back over the past four years of close and intimate friendship, they seem to reflect back his past and sound out his whole life as embodied living truth ; even in his lightest moods he scorned exaggeration as beneath the dignity of his manhood. Deeply learned in all the intricate business of army life and regulations, quick to see the right and wrong of any question, recognizing no middle course, his decisions were instant and final and his reasons unassailable. Officially he was a dignified, gallant and knightly soldier. In private life he represented the highest type of American gentleman. Hospitable, kindly, witty, he made those who visited his home feel that they belonged 'right there' and his friends were part of himself. His character, always straightforward and intensely honest, presented so many sides and all so simple and unassuming that those who knew him best loved him most."
Colonel Miller was married in Walla Walla, November 20, 1879, to Miss
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Anna Abbott, a daughter of John F. Abbott, who was a well known resident of Walla Walla, and a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this work. Colonel Miller passed away at the General Memorial Hospital in New York, April 13, 1913. To him and his wife were born three children, of whom the eldest died in infancy. Harlan Abbott, born at Fort Walla Walla, is now a rancher in Umatilla county, Oregon. Margaret Isabelle is the wife of Julian Foster Humphrey, chief officer of the Transport Crook, U. S. N.
HON. DENNIS COOLEY GUERNSEY.
Hon. Dennis Cooley Guernsey, whose history is closely interwoven with the records of Columbia county, is now extensively engaged in the real estate, insurance and loan business in Starbuck. He has at different periods figured prominently as a bank official, as the incumbent in public office in the county and as representative of his district in the territorial legislature of 1879, and with many business interests he has been closely associated, so that his labors have contributed in marked measure to the material development and to the upbuilding of the state. He was born in Janesville, Wisconsin. on the 13th of April, 1845, a son of Orrin and Sarah (Cooley) Guernsey, who were natives of Connecticut. They removed to New Hampshire in childhood days with their respective parents and were there reared and married. In 1843 they migrated westward, establishing their home in Janesville, Wisconsin, where they spent their remaining days. In early life the father was engaged in merchandising and in later years became identified with the insurance business.
Dennis C. Guernsey, whose name introduces this review, was educated in the Janesville schools, completing a high school course. He was a youth of but sixteen years when the Civil war broke out and in the fall of 1863, when but eighteen years of age, he enlisted for service and was assigned to duty with Company E of the Twenty-second Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, which became a part of the Second Brigade, Third Division, of the Twentieth Army Corps, commanded by Colonel Joe Hooker. He was with Sherman on the celebrated march to the sea and after returning to Washington, following the close of hostilities, the members of Sherman's command were recruited and formed the temporary division of the Fourteenth Army Corps, which was sent under Jeff C. Davis to Louisville, Kentucky, Van Dorn of the Southwestern Department having not yet surrendered. They were mustered out at Louisville, Kentucky, on the 18th of July, 1865, and later Mr. Guernsey returned to Janesville, Wis- consin, where he engaged in the insurance business. Three years afterward, or in 1868, he went to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he became a dealer in wood and coal, continuing in that business until 1870. In January, 1871, he was appointed an officer of the reform school at Waukesha, Wisconsin. In the meantime, however, following his return to Janesville, he had done other mili- tary service. Major General Starkweather, who had gone out with the First Wisconsin as colonel and who rose to the rank of major general of volunteers, took command of the Milwaukee Light Guards, of which he had been captain at the outbreak of the war. Mr. Guernsey joined the Light Guards and was with
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that command at the inauguration of Governor Fairchilds at Madison in January, 1869. After spending a few months as an officer in the reform school in Waukesha, Wisconsin, he again went to Janesville, where he accepted a position with a hardware firm as bookkeeper. The lure of the west, however, was upon him and on the 14th of October, 1871, he turned his face toward the setting sun and on the 9th of November reached Walla Walla, having traveled by rail as far as Keton, Utah, and thence through Boise, Baker, LaGrande to Walla Walla by stage. After spending ten days in that city he proceeded to Dayton, the town having been platted only a few days before, and on Mr. Guernsey's arrival there were but two buildings in the town, one being the residence of J. N. Day, while the other was known as the "red store," the property of Kimball & Day. On the Ist of December Mr. Guernsey succeeded Ralph Kimball in the store and was employed by the firm until the fall of 1874, when he became a partner in the business under the firm style of Day, Guernsey & Company. In the fall of 1875 he withdrew from that organization and formed a new company, entering into partnership with F. G. Frary, superintendent of the Dayton Woolen Mills, and A. H. Reynolds, of Walla Walla, who was the only banker this side of The Dalles. The new firm was organized under the style of D. C. Guernsey & Com- pany. In 1876 Mr. Frary and Mr. Reynolds withdrew and Mr. Guernsey was joined by H. H. Wolfe under the firm name of Guernsey & Wolfe. He thus continued active in merchandising in Dayton until 1880, when he sold out. From the beginning of his residence there he took active part in the upbuilding and progress of the new town.
In 1876 Mr. Guernsey was instructed by the commissioners of the new county of Columbia-F. G. Frary, G. T. Pollard of Huntsville and E. Oliver of Pomeroy -to call a special election for the purpose of choosing county officers. Mr. Guernsey was elected county treasurer for one year and at the first biennial election was chosen for a full term at a salary of three hundred dollars per year, the officers being required to serve at a "moderate salary" inasmuch as this was an infant county. In 1878 he was chosen to represent his district in the terri- torial legislature and on the 31st of July, 1880, he succeeded L. F. A. Shaw in the office of deputy collector of internal revenue under Major James R. Hayden. He occupied that position for three years and then surrendered the office to H. W. Fairweather. On the 4th of May, 1884, Mr. Guernsey entered the Columbia National Bank of Dayton as cashier and had complete charge of the bank's affairs through the following sixteen years, at which time his brother, F. W. Guernsey, became cashier, while D. C. Guernsey was made vice president and manager of the institution. He successfully carried the bank through the panic of 1893, although he closed one Saturday night with but five hundred and fifty dollars in the bank. Ilowever, he most carefully safeguarded the interests of the institution and managed to weather the financial storm which swept over the entire country in that year. He remained in his official capacity with the bank until 1900, when he retired, the institution at that time having deposits of three hundred and seventy-four thousand dollars. He then turned his attention to the real estate, insurance and loan business in Dayton and in 1904 he took charge of a mining camp on the Omnaha in Willowa county, Oregon, for the Eureka Mining Company, his position being that of managing director. While there he built the wagon road down Deer creek from Dobbins Cabin to Snake
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river. He occupied the position of director of the mining camp for two years, after which he returned to Dayton and through the succeeding two years gave his attention to the real estate and insurance business. In 1908 he removed to Starbuck to assist in straightening out the affairs of the Bank of Starbuck, of which institution he was made cashier, occupying that position for a period of two and a half years. He then resigned and established his present business, with which he has since been prominently identified, being today one of the foremost real estate, loan and insurance agents in this part of the state. One of the local papers said: "D. C. Guernsey has been a most important factor in the development of Columbia county and the moulding of civilized life in the great state of Washington. During the early history of Columbia county, hardly a business transaction was carried through or a public enterprise launched that was not inspired by the brain or fostered by the public-spiritedness of Mr. Guernsey." He helped to organize and was the first president of the Dayton Electric Light Company and built many of the buildings in that city in the block in which the Columbia National Bank is located. He organized the Dayton Hotel Company, which built the hotel, and was its president for several years.
Mr. Guernsey has also left the impress of his individuality in marked manner upon the political history of the state. In politics he has always been a stanch republican and was a leader in the party from the time when there were but twelve republicans who went from Walla Walla to Lewiston. In 1879, when he became a member of the territorial legislature, he became a member of what was known as the bunch grass delegation, which became the controlling factor in the general assembly. He was made chairman of the ways and means com- mittee and did important work in that connection. In 1890 he was appointed a member of the state harbor line commission by Governor Ferry, the first state governor, and was active in the work of the commission, which located all the harbor lines in the state and submitted the plans to the United States war department. Mr. Guernsey also became identified with the military interests of the northwest. He assisted in organizing the Dayton Grays, which merged into Company F of the First Washington Regiment for service in the Philip- pines. He was also paymaster and battalion adjutant of the Second Washington Regiment under Colonel Pike.
On the 23d of September, 1873, Mr. Guernsey was married to Miss Harriet E. Day, a daughter of Dr. W. W. Day, who was the first physician in Dayton, where his son and grandson are now practicing, so that the name of Dr. Day has always been associated with that city. To Mr. and Mrs. Guernsey have been born five children, four of whom are yet living: William Day, a journalist connected with a newspaper of Schenectady, New York; Frank Day, a mining man of Jerome, Arizona; Minerva G., the wife of George F. Price, of Dayton ; and Helen G., the wife of Frank E. Girton, of Covello, Washington.
In fraternal relations Mr. Guernsey has occupied a very prominent position. He was made a Mason in Independence Lodge, No. So, F. & A. M., of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in November, 1869, and was made a Royal Arch Mason in Walla Walla Chapter, No. 1, in 1880. He became a charter member and is a past master of Columbia Lodge, No. 26, F. & A. M., of Dayton, and on the formation of Dayton Chapter, No. 5, R. A. M., he also became a charter member of that organization and is a past high priest. He is likewise a member and past emi-
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nent commander of Washington Commandery, No. I, K. T., is a member of the Lodge of Perfection and the Chapter of Rose Croix in Walla Walla and of the Knights of Kodosh and of Spokane Consistory, A. A. S. R. He likewise has membership with the Knights Commander Court of Honor. He was the first chancellor commander in Organization Lodge, No. 3, K. P., and is the oldest chancellor commander in the state. He also has connection with various other fraternal organizations and has been very prominent in that connection for many years. His has been a guiding hand in shaping the history of southeastern Washington in its material, social and political progress and at all times he has been actuated by high ideals, looking ever to the benefit and upbuilding of his section of the state. Great indeed have been the changes which have occurred since his arrival in Columbia county. The seeds of civilization had scarcely been planted when he reached Dayton and from that time forward he has cooperated in all movements which have been instituted for public benefit, and without invidious distinction he may be termed the foremost resident of Starbuck.
DICK HARPER.
Dick Harper, who is filling the position of county auditor in Columbia county. Washington, and makes his home in Dayton, was born August 12, 1863, in Washburn, Woodford county, Illinois. His father, James D. Harper, was a native of Sullivan county, Indiana, born in 1838, and when quite young removed to central Illinois, where his boyhood and youth were passed. He was a grad- uate of Eureka College, Eureka, Illinois, and devoted his entire life to educa- tional work. He married Marion A. Jenkins when twenty-five years of age and passed away in Dayton, Washington, in February, 1901. His wife is a rep- resentative of a pioneer family of New York and is now living in Dayton at the age of eighty years and is splendidly preserved. She lived for a few months in the same house with Abraham Lincoln during the famous Lincoln-Douglas cam- paign. She has a brother living at the age of ninety years, who was an officer in the Civil war, holding the rank of first lieutenant.
Dick Harper acquired a common school education in Missouri and also at- tended the State Normal School at Warrensburg, Missouri. In 1885, when a young man of twenty-two years, he took charge of a drug store for his brother- in-law at Rich Hill, Missouri, and successfully managed the business for a period of seven years, after which he came to the Pacific coast, arriving in Port- land, Oregon, in the spring of 1892. In the fall of that year he came to Day- ton, where he was identified with farming and with the grain trade until the spring of 1903, when he established a furniture store in Dayton and soon won for himself a place among the active and representative merchants of the city. In 1906 he purchased the Day drug store at Dayton, which he conducted suc- cessfully for seven years.
On the 27th of October, 1886, in Butler, Bates county. Missouri, Mr. Har- per was united in marriage to Miss Laura A. Floyd, a daughter of John II. and Sarah A. Floyd. They have a daughter, Florence Marion, who is the wife
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of Lloyd R. Terwilliger, who is living in Walla Walla and is employed in the First National Bank of that city.
Mr. Harper has long been an active and helpful member of the Christian church and he has membership with the Odd Fellows, the Knights of Pythias and the Masons. For a number of years he served as secretary of Dayton Chap- ter, R. A. M., and in his life has always exemplified the beneficent spirit of the craft. He belongs to the Dayton Commercial Club and is a member of its governing board. In politics he is a democrat. In 1898 he was made county auditor of Columbia county by popular vote and in 1910 and 1911 served as councilman at large. He was chairman of the street and public property com- mittee and also of the light and water committee. In 1912 he was elected mayor of the city and in 1916 was appointed police judge. He has thus long continued in public office and those who read between the lines will recognize the important part which he has played in public affairs in Dayton, winning for himself a most creditable position in commercial and political circles. In a word, he has exer- cised much influence over public thought and opinion and has done much to advance public progress in his adopted city.
CALDER H. WHITEMAN.
No class of Walla Walla's citizens is more highly esteemed than the many retired farmers who here make their home and among them is numbered Calder H. Whiteman, who was born in Keokuk county, Iowa, April 29, 1851. His par- ents, John B. and Eliza G. (Colville) Whiteman, were natives of West Vir- ginia and Kentucky respectively but were married in Indiana. In 1850 they became settlers of Iowa but later returned to Indiana, where the mother died. The father was subsequently married twice. In 1874 he made the long journey to Oregon and four years later took up his residence in Umatilla county, that state. He died in Milton October 5, 1910.
Calder H. Whiteman, who is an only child by the first marriage, remained with his father until he attained his majority and received his education in the common schools. On beginning his independent career he rented a farm near Salem, Oregon, having decided to devote his life to the occupation to which he had been reared. After farming that place for three years he removed to Umatilla county and took up a homestead, the operation of which occupied his time and attention until his removal to Walla Walla in 1901. In the inter- vening years he brought the place to a high state of cultivation and made many improvements thereon, making it one of the most up-to-date and valuable farms in that locality. In 1911 he sold the Umatilla county property and bought a farm in Whitman county, Washington, near Lacrosse, which he still retains. He and his son now own fourteen hundred and forty acres, all fine wheat land, well improved, and their holdings place them among the large landowners of eastern Washington. Mr. Whiteman of this review makes his home in Walla Walla and his residence here is commodious, pleasing in design and thoroughly modern in its appointments.
Mr. Whiteman was married in 1874 to Miss Ella M. Dorman and they became
:
MR. AND MRS. CALDER H. WHITEMAN
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the parents of four children, of whom three survive: Jessie L., the wife of F. E. Allison of Lind, Washington; Clarence C., a resident of Pendleton, Oregon ; and Calder Otis, who is his father's partner in his farming interests. The wife and mother passed away in 1896 and in 1897 Mr. Whiteman was married to Mrs. Mary M. (Jackson) Morton, a native of Canada. By her first marriage she had two children, both of whom have passed away.
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