USA > Washington > Asotin County > Lyman's history of old Walla Walla County, embracing Walla Walla, Columbia, Garfield and Asotin counties, Volume II > Part 9
USA > Washington > Columbia County > Lyman's history of old Walla Walla County, embracing Walla Walla, Columbia, Garfield and Asotin counties, Volume II > Part 9
USA > Washington > Garfield County > Lyman's history of old Walla Walla County, embracing Walla Walla, Columbia, Garfield and Asotin counties, Volume II > Part 9
USA > Washington > Walla Walla County > Lyman's history of old Walla Walla County, embracing Walla Walla, Columbia, Garfield and Asotin counties, Volume II > Part 9
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
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
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the Jefferson, the Green Park and the Sharpstein schools, the city library and practically all the important business and office buildings in the city, together with many of the finer residences. All these stand as monuments to the enter- prise, the skill and the professional ability of Mr. Osterman, whose thorough preparatory training and subsequent study and experience have placed him in the front ranks among the architects of the northwest.
In 1902 Mr. Osterman was united in marriage to Miss Geneva Cooney, of Coon Rapids, Iowa, and to this marriage have been born five children, Bernard- ina, Henrietta, Hugo, Ruth and Betty.
Mr. Osterman gives his political endorsement to the republican party. Frater- nally he is connected with Blue Mountain Lodge, No. 13, F. & A. M .; Walla Walla Chapter, No. I, R. A. M .; Washington Commandery, No. I, K. T .; the Consistory of Spokane; and El Katif Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S., also of Spo- kane, while both he and his wife are connected with the Order of the Eastern Star. He is also identified with Trinity Lodge, I. O. O. F., and both he and his wife are consistent members of the Congregational church, guiding their lives according to its teachings. Mr. Osterman has never had occasion to regret his determination to come to the new world, for here he has found the business opportunities which he sought and in their utilization has made steady progress. Not only does he rank with the leading architects of Washington, but is also a prominent figure in financial and commercial circles. He was one of the organ- izers of the Third National Bank, of which he is, now a director, and he is also one of the organizers and a member of the board of directors of the Gardner Company, which owns and controls Walla Walla's largest mercantile establish- ment. His identification with these interests is the expression of his well di- rected energy and thrift, his close application and his persistency of purpose, ever guided by a laudable ambition. Step by step he has worked his way up- ward and his course should serve to inspire others who must start out in life empty-handed. The wise use which he has made of his time, his talents and his opportunities has placed him in the creditable position which he fills today in business and professional circles of Walla Walla.
ALMOS H. REYNOLDS. LETTICE J. REYNOLDS.
Alınos H. Reynolds was for many years one of the prominent financiers of the northwest, becoming a factor in the establishment of the first banking busi- ness in Walla Walla and figuring for many years as one of the principal stock- holders of the First National Bank. He was born in Madrid, St. Lawrence county, New York, October 21, 1808, and in early life learned the millwright's trade. In 1838, when a man of thirty years, he removed westward to Illinois and subsequently became a resident of Iowa, where he remained until 1850. He then crossed the plains to California, attracted by the gold discoveries on the Pacific coast, and in May, 1859, he came to Walla Walla, where he resided until his demise, which occurred thirty years later, or on the 21st of April, 1889. He
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ALMOS H. REYNOLDS
MRS. LETTICE J. REYNOLDS
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was prominently identified with milling interests in this section, erecting many mills throughout the territory of Washington, two of them being in the imme- diate vicinity of Walla Walla. He also built and for several years owned a woolen mill at Dayton. He was associated with Dr. J. H. Day in establishing the first banking business in Walla Walla, opening a private banking institution, which they carried on under the firm style of Reynolds & Day. He was alert and energetic, constantly watchful of opportunities pointing to success. Even- tually be became one of the principal stockholders in the First National Bank and was largely instrumental in its organization. Mr. Reynolds was a man of keen insight which enabled him to readily recognize a favorable business situation and his laudable ambition prompted its immediate use. Whatever he undertook he carried forward to successful completion and the integrity of his business methods was above question.
On the 23d of May, 1861, Mr. Reynolds was united in marriage to Mrs. Lettice J. (Millican) Clark, the widow of Ransom Clark, who first crossed the plains to Oregon with Dr. Whitman in 1843. She was born in Canehill, Arkansas, October 3, 1830, and received her education in her native town. In 1843 the family joined the Whitman train and after a journey of weary months reached Oregon. The following year the Millican family settled near the town of Lafayette, Yamhill county, and there in 1845 Lettice J. Millican became the wife of Ransom Clark. Following the death of her husband in 1859, she made the journey to Walla Walla in order to make arrangements for subsequently taking up her home upon the farm which Mr. Clark had taken up and which was known for many years as the Ransom Clark donation claim. She was given a place in the government wagon from Wallula to Walla Walla and her first night in the latter place was spent in the fort. The following morning she was driven out to her claim and remained there for two weeks. She then returned to Portland and, after the birth of her daughter the following summer, she took up her per- manent home on the claim in Walla Walla county. Soon after doing so she received a letter from her Portland lawyer advising her to sell her claim for two hundred and seventy-five dollars and abandon the idea of developing it. However, she disregarded this advice and continued to reside upon the farm with her children. On the 23d of May, 1861, she married Almos H. Reynolds. She was the earliest pioneer woman residing in Walla Walla county and the fact that she had been privileged to witness more of the growth of the northwest than others seemed to give her an added interest in everything pertaining to the public welfare. She contributed much to the upbuilding of the various institu- tions of the city and by reason of her force of character and her many liberal and well advised benefactions she was recognized as a most prominent citizen of Walla Walla. The erection of the Young Men's Christian Association build- ing was made possible by a twenty thousand dollar donation from her and after its completion she was one of the chief contributors toward its upkeep. At the rally and jubilee held when the association had raised the forty-five thousand dollars necessary to pay off its debt, the speech that she made expressing her great joy in the knowledge that the association was free of all debt will long be remembered by all who heard her. She was also a loyal friend and patron of Whitman College, contributing generously at various times to the support of the institution and paying off a debt of six thousand dollars on the girls' dor- Vol. II-5
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mitory, which is named in her honor Reynolds Hall. She was a woman of the highest ideals and also had the keenness of intellect and strength of character to realize her ideals, and the memory of Lettice J. Reynolds will long be held in honor in Walla Walla.
To the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Almos H. Reynolds were born two sons : Harry A., who was born October 14, 1863; and Allen H., who was born January 24. 1869.
JOHN R. GOSE, M. D.
It is believed that few men possess the ability to attain success along both professional and agricultural lines, but Dr. John R. Gose, living on section 33. township 8 north, range 37 east, in Walla Walla county, has made a creditable name in both connections. He was born in Missouri, November 16, 1861, and is a son of John M. and Hannah J. ( McQuown) Gose, the former a native of Ken- tucky, while the latter was born in Virginia. In 1864 they removed westward. settling at Boise, Idaho, where they spent the winter, and in the following spring they arrived in Walla Walla county, Washington, taking up their abode upon a ranch, where they are still living. They are one of the most venerable couples of the county, the father having attained the age of ninety-one years, while his wife is eighty-five years of age. In their family were seven children, of whom three are living.
Dr. Gose was not yet four years of age when his parents crossed the plains. so that he was reared upon the western frontier. He pursued his education in the schools of Walla Walla county and after having completed his preliminary course he determined to enter upon the practice of medicine and with that end in view returned to the east. matriculating in Jefferson Medical College of Phila- delphia, from which in due course of time he was graduated. He then returned to Washington to engage in the practive of his profession, which he followed in Pomeroy, Garfield county, for fourteen years and also in the city of Walla Walla for three years. He then withdrew from the active practice of his pro- fession, in which he had won substantial success and made for himself a most creditable name. Removing to a ranch near Dixie, he has since devoted his time and energies to general agricultural pursuits and has proved most capable in the management and conduct of his farming interests.
In 1889 Dr. Gose was united in marriage to Miss Minnie S. Aldrich, a repre- sentative of one of the old pioneer families of this section of the state. She was born upon the farm where she now resides and is a daughter of Newton and Anna M. (Shoemaker) Aldrich. Her father was a native of the state of New York, while her mother was born in Iowa. Mr. Aldrich came to Washington in 1861 and was here married to Miss Shoemaker, who had crossed the plains in 1864. They took up their abode upon the farin which is now occupied by Dr. and Mrs. Gose and upon that place they spent their remaining days. At the time of his death Mr. Aldrich owned seven hundred and twenty acres of land, of which Mrs. Gose inherited three hundred and sixty acres. He had gained a most substantial place among the agriculturists of this section of the state and his genuine per-
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sonal worth had endeared him to all with whom he came in contact. To him and his wife were born three children: Mrs. Gose; Ida, who has departed this life; and Clara E., who is the wife of G. L. Bailey.
To Dr. and Mrs. Gose have been born five children: Roberta L., who is a college graduate; Kenneth A., who is living upon the home ranch; Carl, who has passed away ; Anna M., who is a high school graduate; and John Newton, who is now attending high school. Dr. Gose belongs to the Modern Woodmen camp in Dixie. His political allegiance is given to the republican party and while he was a resident of Pomeroy he served for two terms as mayor of that city. Mrs. Gose belongs to the Congregational church, in the work of which she takes an active and helpful part. They are very prominent people in this section of the state and the hospitality of the best homes is freely accorded them. They have a circle of friends almost coextensive with the circle of their acquaintance and they are both representatives of worthy pioneer families of the northwest, having re- sided in this section of the country for more than half a century. They have therefore witnessed the greater part of the growth and development of Walla Walla county, have seen tiny hamlets grow into prosperous cities, wild land con- verted into productive farms and all the natural resources of the country utilized for the benefit of man. Their aid and influence are always given on the side of progress and improvement and they advocate as well all those high standards which work for civic betterment.
CHARLES E. NYE.
Charles E. Nye, who is engaged in the harness and saddlery business in Walla Walla, winning for himself a creditable position in commercial circles, was born in Germany on the 3d of June, 1848, his parents being John N. and Elizabeth (Baker) Nye. They came to the United States in 1853, when he was a little lad of but five years, the family home being established in Marietta, Ohio, where the parents resided until they were called to their final rest, the father following the occupation of farming as a life work.
Charles E. Nye was reared to manhood on the old homestead farm and early became familiar with the work of the fields, to which he directed his attention dur- ing the summer months, while in the winter seasons he attended the common schools of the neighborhood. When his textbooks were put aside he found employment in a harness and saddlery shop at Marietta, Ohio, where he served a regular apprenticeship, and at the age of twenty-one years he started for the west, following the advice of Horace Greeley. He worked as a journeyman at his trade in Kansas, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, California and Oregon, thus working his way westward by successive stages until he reached the Pacific coast. In Oregon he was for a time engaged in business on his own account, conducting a harness and saddlery establishment at The Dalles. In 1878 he was in Walla Walla but did not locate permanently until 1883, at which time he engaged in business independently here and for the past thirty-five years he has been a dom- inant factor in the trade circles of the city. In all of his commercial relations
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he has been actuated by a progressive spirit and the excellence of the goods which he handles and the work he turns out has insured him a liberal patronage.
In 1890 Mr. Nye was married to Miss Tennie Brown, of Walla Walla. Mr. Nye is well known and popular in fraternal circles, holding membership in Blue Mountain Lodge, No. 13, F. & A. M .; Walla Walla Lodge, No. 287, B. P. O. E .; and Columbia Lodge, No. 90, K. P. He is also a member of the Walla Walla Commercial Club and cooperates in all of its plans and measures for the upbuild- ing of the city and the extension of its trade relations. His political allegiance is given the republican party, which he has supported since reaching adult age. His long residence in Walla Walla has made him largely familiar with its history and with its commercial development he has been closely and prominently asso- ciated. Those who know him, and he has a wide acquaintance, speak of him in terms of high regard, for he has been found thoroughly reliable. in business ; loyal and patriotic in citizenship and faithful in friendship. His life work has been intelligently directed and he has always continued in the line in which he embarked as a young tradesman, never dissipating his energies over a broad field but so concentrating his efforts and attention that substantial results have accrued.
W. D. LYMAN.
WV. D. Lyman, author of this history, is a "native son of the Golden West," having been born at Portland, Oregon, on December 1, 1852. His father and mother, Horace Lyman and Mary Denison Lyman, came to California around Cape Horn, in a sailing ship from New York, in 1848-9. After a few months in California in the midst of the excitements of the gold discoveries they re- moved to Portland, then a straggling village on the edge of the dense forest which bordered the Willamette river. It is recalled by the children of the family that their mother told them about how in those early days she had heard the cries of the wolves and cougars in about the location of the present Portland Hotel and other stately structures of the present city.
As a boy Professor Lyman went with his parents to Dallas in Polk county, Oregon, and then to Forest Grove, Oregon, where his father was for a number of years a professor of mathematics, and later of history and rhetoric, in Pacific University, a pioneer college of those early days. Brought up in those pioneer surroundings, in the midst of the unconventional life and the sublime scenery of his native state, he received a permanent impress which has led him through- out his life to find his greatest interest in travel, mountain-climbing, investigation of the native and pioneer life of Old Oregon, and in writing and lecturing upon themes drawn from those early experiences. The old Oregon of Professor Lyman's boyhood was typically American-free, unconventional and sincere, and the wilderness about and the stimulus to adventure and enterprise implanted in the minds and spirits of the boys and girls of that pioncer region, as it has throughout the great west, is a certain union of the romantic and imaginative with the practical which has resulted in placing the Pacific states in the forefront of American communities.
Having completed a short college course at Pacific University in 1873, the
M.D. Lyman, A.M., Lit. D.
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young man, after a few months spent in teaching, went east and in 1877 gradu- ated at Williams College, Massachusetts. While there he was known for his interest in debating, oratory and literature, as well as for his informal and inde- pendent western way of considering political, social and religious topics. Upon returning to Oregon in the fall of 1877, he entered upon what proved to be his life work, that of a college teacher, writer and public speaker. He became pro- fessor of history, oratory, and English literature at Pacific University, where he continued until 1886. During that period he laid the foundations of his subse- quent literary career by spending his summer vacations in mountain journeys and explorations of the rivers and wildernesses of the northwest and in embody- ing the results of his adventures in articles which appeared in various news- papers and magazines, east and west. During this time he became a skillful amateur photographer and has acquired a large collection of views, many of which were the first to be taken of some of the wild scenes which he might be considered the first to make known to the world.
During that period of his life the very important event of marriage occurred. In 1882 Professor Lyman was united in marriage to Miss Mattie Clark of Van- couver, Washington. Mrs. Lyman has become known in Walla Walla and throughout the region about as one of the leaders in social, intellectual and philanthropic life. Four children have been born to Professor and Mrs. Lyman, two sons and two daughters. The oldest, Hubert, born in-1883, is now engaged in business in the Philippine islands. The second, Marjorie; born in 1885, is the wife of Ridgway Gillis, a state highway engineer in charge of an important sec- tion of the Pacific highway, with present residence at Kalama, Washington. The third, Willena, born in 1889, is living with her parents ..
The fourth, Harold, is now engaged with the Walla Walla Bulletin ....
Professor Lyman severed his connection with Pacific University in 1886, and for nearly three years was engaged mainly in literary work. During that period he spent some time at Fresno, California, endeavoring to start a raisin ranch. He was for a time at Santa Fe, New Mexico. In 1889 he became head of the department of history at Whitman College, Walla Walla. He has been thus engaged continuously to the present, with the exception of the year 1891, when he was in Spokane. During these twenty-nine years he has seen Whitman Col- lege grow from a struggling frontier institution, largely of a preparatory grade, to a well equipped college supported by a good endowment and by a loyal body of enthusiastic alumni, among whom may be reckoned some of the foremost men and women of the northwest.
During his long residence in Walla Walla, Professor Lyman has been in frequent demand as a speaker and lecturer on many pulpits and platforms throughout the three northwest states, and has thus come to have a very exten- sive acquaintance. He has been active in political life and has been a candidate, though an unsuccessful one, as a democrat, for the national congress. Brought up as a republican during the Civil war and reconstruction periods, he became a liberal in political views and finally a democrat. As an ardent supporter of Woodrow Wilson for both of his terms, he labored with voice and pen for the election of that statesman whom he regards as in the same class with Washing- ton, Jefferson and Lincoln.
During all his active life a member of the Congregational church, Professor
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Lyman has become known among his students and friends as very liberal in religious views and has associates among all faiths. Ile has been active in all forms of municipal betterment, in the prohibition and woman suffrage causes, and since the opening of the great war has made many addresses and written articles of a patriotic character. He firmly believes that it is the God-given mission of the United States to "make the world safe for democracy."
While living in Walla Walla, Professor Lyman has continued his practice of mountaineering. He has been a member of both the Mazama and Mountaineers' Clubs, and in the course of his life has made nine ascensions of the great snow- capped volcanoes of the Cascade range and four of the Olympics, besides many lesser peaks. He has traveled almost the entire length of the Columbia river and many miles of the Snake and other tributaries. The results of these journeys he embodied in what he regards as the most highly literary and artistic of his various books, The Columbia River, published in 1909 by G. P. Putnam's Sons and now entering upon its third edition.
Professor Lyman has become something of a specialist in local history. He was one of the principal writers of The History of the Pacific Northwest in 1889. In 1901 his history of Walla Walla county appeared. In 1906 he wrote the narrative part of a history of Skagit and Snohomish counties. Having witnessed with his own eyes most of the remarkable development of this section and hav- ing partaken of the social, industrial and political life of the section in which he lives, he has been able to write sympathetically of the struggles and the triumphs of the pioneers. As a side issue in his life, Professor Lyman has been much interested in waterway transportation. He has been for many years director of the Rivers and Harbors Congress for the state of Washington and has seen many improvements in waterways as a result of the labors of that or- ganization. Opposed on principle to monopoly and special privilege, he has deemed waterways and water power as among the great agencies for preserving the freedom of the people.
HOWARD E. BARR.
That Howard E. Barr enjoys in unusual measure the confidence and respect of his fellow townsmen is indicated in the fact that he is now serving as mayor of Dayton, a position to which he was called by popular vote and in which he is discharging his duties with marked capability and fidelity. He was born in Tennessee, March 18, 1876, a son of Hugh and Emeline (Parker) Barr, who were also natives of Tennessee, in which state the death of the mother occurred. The father afterward removed to Texas, where he is still living. In their family were four children. all of whom survive.
Howard E. Barr was but seven years of age at the time of the removal of the family to the Lone Star state and there he was reared and educated, supplementing his public school training by a course in a college. He was a man of thirty-one years when in 1907 he arrived in Dayton, Washington, where he has since made his home, covering a period of a decade. He here established a barber shop and is still engaged in the business. In community affairs he has taken a helpful inter- est and on the citizens' ticket he was elected in 1916 to the office of mayor of
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Dayton, in which capacity he is now serving. He has closely studied the needs of the city, its opportunities and the possibilities for improvement and is giving to the city a businesslike and progressive administration.
In 1909 Mr. Barr was united in marriage to Miss Maud Babb, a native of Texas, and to them has been born a daughter, Geneva R., whose birth occurred July 4, 1912. The family occupies an attractive home in Dayton, where Mr. Barr owns two residences. Mrs. Barr is a member of the Christian church and in his fraternal relations Mr. Barr is an Odd Fellow and a Knight of Pythias, in both of which lodges he has filled all the chairs, showing his high standing among his brethren of the two fraternities. He is a man of genuine worth, alert, energetic and progressive not only in his business connections but also as a public official. He stands for whatever he believes to be best for the com- munity and Dayton has benefited by his administration of her affairs.
ARTHUR H. HALLE.
Arthur H. Halle is prominently connected with hotel ownership and man- agement in the northwest. He is well known as a progressive business man of Walla Walla and before coming to this city was closely associated with hotel interests in various sections of the country. He is, however, a native of Ger- many, his birth having occurred in Leipzig on the 19th of April, 1877. His father, Paul Halle, lived and died in that country, where he was engaged during his active business career as a traveling salesman. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Laura Muenzner, still resides in Germany.
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