USA > Washington > Asotin County > Lyman's history of old Walla Walla County, embracing Walla Walla, Columbia, Garfield and Asotin counties, Volume II > Part 32
USA > Washington > Columbia County > Lyman's history of old Walla Walla County, embracing Walla Walla, Columbia, Garfield and Asotin counties, Volume II > Part 32
USA > Washington > Garfield County > Lyman's history of old Walla Walla County, embracing Walla Walla, Columbia, Garfield and Asotin counties, Volume II > Part 32
USA > Washington > Walla Walla County > Lyman's history of old Walla Walla County, embracing Walla Walla, Columbia, Garfield and Asotin counties, Volume II > Part 32
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In 1903 Mr. Watrous married Miss Sadie Williams, a native of Missouri,
THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY
ASTAR ISVOOR TILD: '
H S. Nations
MIRE HELIFE WATERUS
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and although they have no children of their own they have an adopted daughter, Bonnie. Mr. Watrous is a member of the Odd Fellows Lodge, No. 10, of Day- ton, and is a republican in politics. He has efficiently served as a member of the school board but has never had the time nor inclination for office, his business affairs claiming his undivided attention. Although he has met with hardships and difficulties in his career he has overcome these by persistent effort and is today one of the substantial citizens of his community, his success being the just reward of his industry and good management, for he is a man of excellent busi- ness ability and sound judgment.
E. F. DUNLAP.
E. F. Dunlap holds the responsible position of manager of the Dayton plant of the Portland Flouring Mills Company and throughout his entire career has been connected with this corporation, entering its service in the humble capacity of office boy. From that point he has steadily worked his way upward and his orderly progression has brought him to the position which he now occupies and for which he is well qualified, for as the years have gone on he has gained comprehensive and extensive knowledge of the business in all of its phases. He is numbered among the native sons of Oregon, his birth having occurred in Wallowa county, on the 5th of October, 1887, his parents being Robert C. and Mary E. (Pool) Dunlap, both of whom are natives of the Willa- mette valley of Oregon, their respective parents having been among the earliest settlers of that section of the country. Following their marriage they estab- lished their home in Wallowa county, where the father engaged in the live stock business, there remaining until 1898, when he removed to Walla Walla county, Washington. He took up his abode upon a ranch near Prescott and is here engaged in operating a hay and dairy farm, being numbered among the repre- sentative agriculturists of this section of the state.
E. F. Dunlap, spending his boyhood days under the parental roof, acquired his education in the graded schools and in 1902, when a youth of fifteen, started upon his business career, securing a position as office boy in the plant of the Port- land Flouring Mills Company at Prescott, Washington. His fidelity, ability and trustworthiness led to promotion and he was afterward made assistant book- keeper. In 1908 he was transferred to the Dayton mills as bookkeeper and in 1913 he was returned to Prescott as local manager of the plant. On the Ist of May, 1917, he was again sent to Dayton as manager of the mills, in which capacity he is now serving and as the controlling factor in the operation of the plant here he is doing splendid work for the company. The latest processes of flour manu- facture are utilized here and the plant is splendidly equipped, while the standard of excellence is ever fully maintained.
In 1913 Mr. Dunlap was united in marriage to Miss Susan Weatherford, a daughter of F. M. Weatherford, of whom extended mention is made elsewhere in this work. In his political views Mr. Dunlap maintains an independent atti- tude with republican tendencies. He belongs to Alki Lodge, No. 136, I. O. O. F., and also to Whetstone Lodge, No. 157, K. P., of Prescott. He is one of Day- Vol. 11-16
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ton's representative and progressive men. Almost his entire life has been passed in Washington and the spirit of western enterprise finds exemplification in his career and has gained for him a substantial measure of success.
W. H. STONECIPHER.
W. H. Stonecipher, who follows farming on section 10, township 8 north, range 37 east, in Walla Walla county, is a representative business man whose wise use of time and opportunities has gained for him a place among the pros- perous agriculturists of this part of the state. He had no assistance at the out- set of his career and whatever he has achieved and enjoyed is the direct result of his own labors. He came to the Pacific coast country from the middle west, his birth having occurred in Washington county, Illinois, December 29, 1869, his parents being James A. and Margaret (Breeze) Stonecipher. The father was a native of Indiana but removed to Jefferson county, Illinois, with his parents when but two years of age and it was in the latter county that the mother was born and reared. They were there married and the father subse- quently purchased a farm just over the county line in Washington county, where he lived until his seventieth year, when he returned to Jefferson county, taking up his abode in the town of Cravat, where he lived retired in the enjoy- ment of well earned rest up to the time of his demise.
W. H. Stonecipher acquired a limited education in the district schools near his father's farm and through the period of his boyhood and youth aided in the work of the fields, early becoming familiar with all of the arduous tasks incident to the development and cultivation of the crops. After reaching his twenty- first year, or in the spring of 1891, he came to the west with Washington as his destination. He arrived in Waitsburg on the 13th of March and during the following summer worked for wages as a farm hand. In 1892 he went into the Palouse country and there prospected for a desirable location. Not finding anything to suit him, however, he returned to Walla Walla county and through the succeeding five years was again employed by others. In 1896 he made his first purchase of land, becoming the owner of a forty-acre tract. Not long afterward he acquired eighty acres additional and two years later he bought one hundred and twenty acres making his farm one of two hundred and forty acres. For some years he not only cultivated this land but also worked for wages for others in order to help pay for his own place. He made use of every spare hour and as a consequence he has prospered. In 1909 he purchased the Electric Farm of five hundred and fifty acres. Prior to this, or in 1907, he had purchased the Boley Robbins farm of four hundred and eighty acres, which he traded in on the Electric Farm in 1909. In 1913 he traded the latter property for seven hundred and thirteen acres adjoining his home place, which thus was extended, becoming a tract of nine hundred and fifty-three acres. It is located in the heart of the Spring valley district, the richest wheat growing belt of Walla Walla county. Mr. Stonecipher not only successfully cultivates this land but for the past fourteen years he has also rented and farmed the T. P. Ingalls place of seven hundred and four acres.
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This property he purchased in December, 1917, and he therefore now owns one thousand six hundred and fifty-seven acres, his interests being most exten- sive, so that he is ranked with the leading agriculturists of Walla Walla county. He has closely studied soil and climatic conditions, so that he is thoroughly acquainted with what can be done in the way of crop production here. His methods are most progressive, his business affairs are systematically handled and in all things he displays sound judgment as well as unfaltering enterprise.
In 1895 Mr. Stonecipher was united in marriage to Miss Alta Winifred Gerking, a daughter of D. B. Gerking, who was one of the pioneer settlers of Walla Walla county and now resides in Rose Lake, Idaho. Mr. and Mrs. Stone- cipher have become the parents of six children, three sons and three daughters, as follows : Lola M., the wife of O. Glen Conover, who is in the service of his father-in-law; Grace H., who attended the Washington State College for two years and is now pursuing her studies in the State Normal School at Ellens- burg; James D., who is in his senior year in the Waitsburg high school; M. Blanche, a public school pupil; Harvey V .; and Chester B. On December 23, 1917, a baby daughter was born to Mr. and Mrs. Glen Conover, the first grand- daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Stonecipher.
Mr. Stonecipher gives his political endorsement to the republican party. He has served as a member of the school board for twenty years and his wife is now a member of that board. Fraternally he is connected with Waitsburg Lodge, No. 5, I. O. O. F., and with the Woodmen of the World and is true and loyal to the teachings of these organizations, which recognize man's obligations to his fellowmen. At different points in his career difficulties and obstacles have barred his path and he has had many hardships to overcome, but persistent energy has enabled him to work his way upward and his life proves the eternal prin- ciple that industry wins. His course may well be followed by others who desire to attain honorable success, and although he started out in life empty-handed, he is now the possessor of a very handsome competence and has worthily won the proud American title of a "self-made man."
WILLIAM P. FISHER.
William P. Fisher is an enterprising farmer of Walla Walla county, resid- ing on section 27, Small township, where he owns and cultivates a valuable tract of land embracing eighty acres. His birth occurred in Ohio on the 6th of October, 1860, his parents being Joseph and Lydia E. (Dyke) Fisher, the former a native of Virginia and the latter of Ohio. They were married in the Buckeye state and a number of years later removed to Kansas, where the father passed away and where the mother still makes her home. They became the parents of five children, all of whom are living.
William P. Fisher was a lad of twelve years when the family home was established in Kansas and it was in that state that he acquired his education. In 1900, seeking the broader opportunities of the west, he made his way to the Yakima country and there remained for twelve years. The year 1915 wit- nessed his arrival in Walla Walla county, Washington, where he has since
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resided. He purchased eighty acres of land on section 27, Small township, and has improved the property until it is now a valuable and productive tract, annually yielding golden harvests in return for the care and labor which he bestows upon it. He also owns a well improved farm of one hundred and sixty-five acres on the Snake river and has won a place among the substantial and progressive agriculturists of the community.
In 1881 Mr. Fisher was united in marriage to Miss Marthia L. Twidwell, born near Peoria, Illinois, and a daughter of A. K. and Mary Ann ( Myers) Twidwell, who were also natives of Illinois. Both passed away in Kansas, in which state they had established their home in the early '70s. To Mr. and Mrs. Fisher have been born seven children, as follows: Charles L., who is a farmer of Washington; George L., living at Mabton, this state; Myrtle V., the wife of L. B. Heffron, of Walla Walla; R. B., who is a resident of Grandview, Wash- ington; Nina B., who is the wife of H. P. Mears, of Touchet, Washington; D. O., who is engaged in farming; and W. F., who operates his father's farm. Mr. Fisher gives his political allegiance to the republican party and has ably served as a member of the school board. Both he and his wife are devoted members of the Christian church, taking an active and helpful part in its work. They have an extensive circle of friends throughout the locality and are widely recognized as people of genuine personal worth.
JAMES L. DUM.A.S.
Among the horticulturists of southeastern Washington who have won promi- nence in their chosen calling is James L. Dumas, one of the pioneer orchardists of the northwest. Ile is proprietor of the famous Pomona Fruit Ranch, five miles west of Dayton, Washington, which contains an orchard of one hundred and twenty acres of commercial apples. His home is one of the most beautiful country residences in Columbia county and the place is provided with all city conveniences.
Mr. Dumas was born in Clark county, Missouri, on the Ist of December, 1862, and is a son of Louis P. and Nancy W. (Waggener) Dumas, the former a native of Kentucky and the latter of Virginia. Both parents died in Missouri, where they made their home for some years, and of the five sons born to them only two are now living.
James L. Dumas grew to manhood in his native state and on leaving there in 1882 came to Washington, where he attended Whitman College for three years. Several years were then devoted to teaching and he subsequently pursued a course in a normal school in New York state, from which he was graduated in 1891. The following year he was sent to the Hawaiian islands to conduct a teachers training school and he remained in that beautiful country for five years.
It was while en route to the Hawaiian islands that Mr. Dumas made a trip through the fruit districts of California and this undoubtedly influenced him to take up horticulture on coming to Washington. Thus originated the Commercial apple industry in the Touchet valley. On his return to this state in 1897 Mr. Dumas purchased his present farm of two hundred and forty acres in Columbia county and he now has about half of that amount in apples, from which he has
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raised on an average of thirty-four thousand one hundred boxes of apples in the last ten years. In the fall of 1917 he harvested over forty thousand boxes of apples.
In 1888 Mr. Dumas married Miss Fannie J. Storie, a native of New York, in which state her parents, Kennedy and Isabel Storie, both died. Mr. and Mrs. Dumas have four children, namely: Loren F., who is a graduate of the Wash- ington State College; Mabel, a student at the Bellingham Normal School ; Alura, who is attending high school; and Edwin, now seven years of age.
Mr. and Mrs. Dumas are members of the Congregational church of Dayton and he is one of its trustees. In politics he is an ardent republican and has served as a delegate to the state conventions of that party. Fraternally he is identified with the Masons and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows but his chief interest is in the apple industry and he has taken a very active and prominent part in the work of those organizations designed to promote horticulture. He has served as president of the Washington State Horticultural Society and as such did much to improve the orchards of the northwest. The society never had a more active head or one who took the same impartial interest in all fruit growing districts of this section. He has made two trips to the nation's capital in the interest of the northwestern growers. A lover of the great outdoors, it was but natural that he should be among the first to join the "back-to-the-farm" move- ment in this country and as a representative of the Washington State Country Life Commission he has addressed thousands of interested people in the north- west. Mr. Dumas is vice president of the Broughton National Bank. He has served on the state board of education and is a member of the American Pomologi- cal Society ; the Society for the Promotion of Horticultural Science ; the National Educational Association ; and the American Genetic Society. He has been super- intendent of the Dayton schools and the public schools of Pullman and was the honored president of the Washington State Educational Association. In 1915 he was elected one of the five members of the executive board of the American Pomological Society. It will thus be seen that he has been prominently identified with a number of organizations whose object has been to promote the welfare of this region along many lines and he well deserves mention among its most public-spirited and progressive citizens.
R. W. LOUNDAGIN, D. V. M.
Dr. R. W. Loundagin, who is engaged in the practice of veterinary surgery in Waitsburg, was born in Benton, Arkansas, December 28, 1859, a son of George W. and Rhoda J. (Stewart) Loundagin. The father was a native of Tennessee and the mother's birth occurred in Indiana. They removed to Arkansas with their respective parents and were married later in that state. In April, 1861, they left Little Rock, Arkansas, for the Pacific coast country, cross- ing the plains with ox teams. They were en route for six months and at length arrived in Walla Walla, Washington, about the Ist of October. They camped in the shadow of the fort for three or four weeks, after which Mr. Loundagin rented a small place of forty acres from an old man of the name of Massey.
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Upon that traet Mr. Loundagin spent the winter and followed farming. In the following summer he purchased a quit claim deed from W. P. Bruce on a quarter section about a mile and a half south of Waitsburg. This was in the Coppei valley. He paid Mr. Bruce two thousand dollars to move off the claim and Mr. Loundagin filed on the property as a homestead. In the years following he purchased land adjoining and continued to add to his possessions until his holdings comprised one thousand acres, constituting one of the most valuable wheat farms in Walla Walla county. He also owned other lands throughout the county, his holdings amounting together between four and five thousand acres. He was one of the first men to demonstrate that wheat could be suc- cessfully grown on the hills and uplands, and in proving this fact he contributed much to the development and prosperity of the county, as many followed his example and now the Walla Walla wheat belt is famous throughout the country. Mr. Loundagin continued to reside upon the old home farm up to within seven years of his death, when he removed to Waitsburg, turning over the operations of his farm to a son. He passed away about 1910, having for five years sur- vived his wife. In their deaths the county lost two of its representative and valued pioneer people.
R. W. Loundagin was only about two years of age when brought by his family to the northwest. He acquired a district school education and through the period of his boyhood and youth worked with his father, to whom he con- tinued to render active assistance until 1883. He then embarked in business on his own account, purchasing a livery stable in Waitsburg. The following year, however, he sold that property and again resumed active connection with agri- cultural interests, purchasing four hundred and eighty acres of railroad land two and a half miles north of Bolles Junction, for which he paid five dollars per acre. He lived upon that farm and kept bachelor's hall for eighteen years, after which he sold the property at ten dollars per acre, which was all that he could get at that time. Recently, however, the farm sold for seventy dollars per acre. While residing upon that tract of land Mr. Loundagin purchased one hundred and sixty acres in Columbia county, in the Hog Eye valley, four and a half miles east of Waitsburg. Most of that land is devoted to alfalfa and is very valuable. Mr. Loundagin still owns that farm property and from it derives a gratifying annual income.
From his youth Dr. Loundagin was deeply interested in horses, and by reason of the successful manner in which he treated his own horses when they needed medical attention, he was called upon to treat his neighbors' horses. As these calls became more frequent he began to read and study recognized works on veterinary surgery, including such authorities as Professor Fleming, A. H. Baker, Professor James A. Lawe, A. C. Copeland and others. His practice in time became a very large one and today he is classed among the ablest veterinary surgeons in southeastern Washington. In 1909 he built a modern veterinary hospital, which was the first private institution of this kind built in the state. It proved a financal success and his practice has continuously and successfully increased to the present time.
In 1902 Dr. Loundagin was married to Miss Albertina Smith, of Hanford, California. He votes with the democratic party and keeps well informed on the questions and issues of the day. He has never been an office seeker. Both he
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and his wife hold membership in the Christian church and are loyal to its teach- ings and its principles. His life has been an active and useful one and he has made steady progress in the field of his chosen profession and his other fields of endeavor, and his ability, industry and thoroughness have brought him a substantial measure of success.
OSCAR E. KING.
Farming interests in Columbia county find a worthy representative in Oscar E. King, a well known agriculturist who owns and cultivates a valuable property on section 9, township 11 north, range 40 east. He was born on the farm where he now resides, February 15, 1871, his parents being William B. and Elizabeth (Cantonwine) King, the former a native of Indiana, while the latter was born in Iowa. The father crossed the plains to the Pacific coast as a young man, mak- ing his way to California in 1852. There he was employed for a time in survey work and subsequently he conducted the Woodville House, a well known hostelry situated on the Rabbit Creek road, about forty miles from Marysville, California. In 1855 he returned to the east by way of the Isthmus route, but the lure of the west was upon him and again by way of the Isthmus route he made his way to the Pacific coast. In those days hay was worth eighty dollars per ton and Mr. King brought with him six hundred pounds of Hungarian grass seed, expecting to make a small fortune in the growing of hay. The following season, how- ever was one of drought and, failing to raise a crop, his funds were exhausted in the venture and his season's work amounted to naught. In 1862 he came to Walla Walla county, arriving in the city of Walla Walla on the 4th of July. He then went up into the Idaho mines, but not meeting with success, he re- tracted his steps and spent the winter in Oregon. In the spring of 1863 he again came to Walla Walla and the following spring took a sub-contract under Captain Mullen to carry the mail from Walla Walla to Colville. He took the mail on horseback and remained as mail carrier for two years and nine months. His employer, Captain Mullen, becoming involved in financial difficulties, Mr. King was unable to collect a cent for his services for the entire period. Later he secured the mail contract direct from the government and operated a stage line from Walla Walla to Lewiston for four years. In 1867 he turned his attention to agricultural pursuits, purchasing his farm on the Tucanon river in Columbia county, and in 1868 he settled upon his land, while at the same time he continued to operate his stage line with hired help. He was thus closely and prominently associated with the work of early development and improvement in this section of the northwest. His wife had crossed the plains with her parents in 1863, the family having as their outfit both ox and mule teams. Mrs. King was then a young girl in her teens and drove the mule team throughout the entire journey across the plains. The Cantonwine family spent the winter of 1863-4 in the Willamette valley of Oregon and in the spring of the latter year came to Washington, where they took up a homestead near the present site of Dixie, and later Mr. Cantonwine built the first hotel in Waits- burg, his daughter, Mrs. King, acting as cook for the few boarders who
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patronized the house in that early period. After locating on his farm William B. King took up a homestead of one hundred and sixty acres adjoining his original place and in subsequent years he and his sons in partnership bought other farm lands until their holdings approximated two thousand acres. Nr. King was thus actively, prominently and successfully identified with the agri- cultural development of the county until his death, which occurred April 12. 1911. His widow survived him for but a brief period, passing away on the 11th of March, 1912. In their family were four sons and three daughters wlio are yet living, as follows: Harry and Edwin S., well known farmers of Columbia county, Washington ; Oscar E., of this review; Silas L., a resident of Pomeroy, Washington ; Zorah I., who is the widow of R. A. Jackson and resides in Dayton; Alice, who gave her hand in marriage to Henry Delaney, a farmer of Columbia county ; and Frankie G., the wife of A. P. Cahill, who is a banker of Dayton, Washington.
Oscar E. King pursued his early education in the country schools and sup- plemented it by a business course in the Portland Business College. After reaching adult age he joined his brothers and his father in their extensive farming operations, and following the father's death the sons continued to cooperate in their farming enterprises until 1915, when the partnership was dissolved and a division of their holdings was made. Oscar E. King now owns five hundred and fifty-six acres of valuable land and is one of the substantial farmers of the Tucanon valley. His business affairs have been carefully managed and directed and his unfaltering enterprise and unremitting diligence have brought to him a substantial measure of success. In his political views he is an earnest republican but has never been an office seeker, and he is widely known as one of the influential citizens of Columbia county.
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