Chapter D: C. Eaton acquired his education in the public schools of Iowa and in (1)
1877, when a young man of twenty-two years, he left the parental roof to make his own way in the world. Journeying westward to the coast, he spent a year or more in the vicinity of Portland, Oregon, and in the spring of 1878 came to Walla Walla county, Washington. Here he was engaged in the stock business for seven or eight years and about 1886 he turned his attention to farming, which has claimed his time and energies continuously since. Success has crowned his efforts in the intervening years, he now being numbered among the extensive wheat growers of Walla Walla county.
On July 15, 1886, Mr. Eaton was united in marriage to Miss Melvina Sickler, of Waitsburg, who is a native daughter of Walla Walla county, her father, Daniel Sickler, having crossed the plains in an early day. They have become the parents of six children, five of whom survive, namely: Clarence, who is a graduate of the State Agricultural College at Pullman of the class of 1910 and who now operates one of his father's ranches; and May, Marcia, Gladys and Ruth, all of whom are attending the State Agriculture College at Pullman.
Politically Mr. Eaton is a stanch republican and in 1898 he was elected to the board of county commissioners, in which connection he made an excellent record and to which office he was again chosen in the November election of 1916, so that he is again serving at the present time. Fraternally he is identified with the Masons, belonging to Waitsburg Lodge, No. 16, A. F. & A. M.; Dayton Chapter, No. 5, R. A. M.; Walla Walla Commandery, K. T.; and El Katif Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S., of Spokane. His is a highly creditable record and he well deserves mention in this volume as one of the foremost farmers and representative citizens of the county.
FRED GAYLORD WILLS.
Fred Gaylord Wills was born August 24, 1884, in Arlington, Oregon, a son of W. H. and Clara (Oviatt) Wills. The father was born in Plymouth, England, and when twenty-one years of age came to the states, settling in Cleveland, Ohio. In 1879 he made his way to the Palouse country to buy sheep and after spending the winter at Endicott came to Walla Walla. He considered this locality as the most desirable that he had seen and accordingly decided to make it his permanent home. He was married at Walla Walla to Miss Clara Oviatt, who was born in Akron, Summit county, Ohio, and resided there until the early '80s, when she came to Walla Walla and made her home with a sister until her marriage. Mr. and Mrs. Wills have watched with great interest the development of what was a mere hamlet to a prosperous and up-to-date city of over twenty-five thousand inhabitants and they have at all times done their full share in contributing to its upbuilding.
Fred Gaylord Wills attended the public schools of Walla Walla, Whitman Academy at Walla Walla, the Rindge Manual Training School at Cambridge, Massachusetts, and the University of Washington at Seattle, which in 1908 conferred upon him the degree of LL. B. It had been his intention to devote his life to the legal profession but being offered a position in July, 1908, a short time after his graduation, he entered the employ of the First National Bank of Walla Walla as messenger. In 1910 he was appointed deputy clerk of the superior court of Walla Walla county and while holding that office in addition to discharging his duties in that capacity he was employed in the First National Bank, working there after the hour of closing at the clerk's office. In 1912 he went to Seattle and for a short time engaged in the real estate business there, after which he went to Tacoma, where he turned his attention to accounting, which profession he has since followed. In 1916 he returned to Walla Walla and he has met with gratifying success here. His acquaintance among the business men of the city and his excellent business and official record were important factors in his obtaining the appointment of city clerk. He understands thoroughly the principles of finance and accounting, and his work gives uniform satisfaction.
Mr. Wills was appointed city clerk on the 20th of January, 1917, and his prompt and capable performance of his duties has won for him the commendation of the citizens. He has always given careful study to the questions and issues of the day and has been a stanch supporter of plans and projects calculated to promote the civic interests of his city and county. The greater part of his life has been passed in Walla Walla, and his genuine personal worth is indicated by the fact that those who have been intimately associated with him since boyhood are his stanchest friends.
On the 16th of June, 1917, Mr. Wills was married in Walla Walla to Miss Dorothy Frances Drum, who was graduated from the University of Washington with the A. B. degree and who from 1914 to 1917 was assistant librarian of the public library at Walla Walla. Her father, Henry Drum, was appointed warden of the state penitentiary by Governor Lister in 1912 and still holds that office.
WILLIAM LAMBIE.
William Lambie, prominent as a horse breeder and farmer of Garfield county, living on section 31, township 14 north, range 43 east, was born near Glasgow, Scotland, March 13, 1846, a son of John and Margaret (Bryson) Lambie, both of whom were born in the neighborhood of Glasgow, where they spent their entire lives, the father devoting his time and attention to the occupation of farming in order to provide for his family. His son, William Lambie, was reared under the parental roof and acquired a public school education. On attaining his twenty-first year he bade adieu to the land of hills and heather and made his way to New Zealand, where he spent four years. He then came to the United States, making his way to the Hawaiian Islands and thence to San Francisco. He spent a short time in the Sacramento valley of California, after which he removed from San Francisco to Portland, making the trip by steamer. He spent one month in the harvest fields of the Willamette valley and then came by steamer up the Columbia river to Wallula and thence by wagon to Walla Walla, Washington. This was in the summer of 1871. When he saw the Blue mountains and the Walla Walla valley he said to himself that he would travel no farther. During that fall and the succeeding winter he was employed by James Foster, located at the foot of the mountain and the following spring he started out to find land for himself. He assisted a party with cattle upon the Palouse river below Colfax and slept on the floor in his own blanket in the only house in sight in Colfax at that time. He then journeyed northward in search of land near the much-talked-of route of the Northern Pacific Railroad, which at that time, however, had not been surveyed. He pushed on to the neighborhood of Medical Lake, where he located on a beautiful prairie sloping toward the south. He then returned to Walla Walla for a team and wagon, and when he again traveled over the route he brought back with him some garden seed and grain and planted ten acres of his land that first season. In the summer he worked for a stock man upon the present site of the town of Sprague, putting up hay. In August he returned to his own place to look after his crop, but found that his potatoes had been frosted and he, therefore, abandoned his claim. That fall he started down the creek with his team and located in a big meadow on Cow creek, where he cut and sold hay, the purchaser being Thomas Durry, a sheep man. In this business he engaged for four years and afterward sold the ranch to Mr. Durry for eight hundred dollars. He then went to Lower Crab creek and bought mares with his money and began the breeding of horses. In the fall of 1877 he took up his abode upon what has since been his home farm and in the fall of that year he did the first plowing done on the bench land in the north half of Garfield county. He first preempted one hundred and sixty acres and at the same time took up a timber claim, while three years later he purchased one hundred and sixty acres of railroad land. This constituted the nucleus of his present extensive possessions and gave him his start toward his later success. From time to time he has bought adjoining land until his present holdings comprise something more than twenty-one hundred acres and he operates under lease four hundred and eighty acres in addition, which he has cultivated for more than a quarter of a century. He has been one of the foremost breeders of thoroughbred draft horses in southeastern Washington and for the first fifteen years he specialized in the breeding of Clydesdales, for which breed he has gained a wide reputation. For the last ten or twelve years he has given his attention largely to the breeding of black Percheron horses and has gained an enviable reputation in this respect throughout the entire northwest. He is regarded as one of the foremost breeders and one of the most reliable judges of good horses in Washington. In connection with his extensive operations as a breeder Mr. Lambie farms eight hundred acres to wheat and has one hundred and ten acres planted to alfalfa and annually he produces splendid crops because his methods are practical and progressive.
In 1880 Mr. Lambie was united in marriage to Miss Emma Clark, of Fresno, California, by whom he had two children, one of whom survives, John Hazen, who is a resident of Longbeach, California. Mrs. Lambie has a home at Longbeach, California, where she spends much of her time, and Mr. Lambie there passes the winter months, while in the summer seasons he remains in Washington to superintend his business interests.
He is a member of the Farmers Union and he does everything in his power to promote the interests of the agriculturist and develop the farming possibilities of the state. He holds membership in the Unitarian church and is a man of genuine personal worth, progressive and reliable in business, patriotic in citizenship and at all times guiding his life by high and honorable principles. He has never had occasion to regret his determination to leave the land of his fathers and seek a home in the new world, for here he has found good opportunities and in their utilization has worked his way steadily upward until he is now numbered among the prosperous residents of Garfield county.
H. A. TRIPPEER, M. D. V.
Dr. H. A. Trippeer is one of the leading veterinarians of southern Washington and was one of the organizers of the Veterinary Hospital Company, which erected the fine City Veterinary Hospital of Walla Walla. His birth occurred in Peru, Indiana, July 6, 1881, and he is a son of Joseph E. and Alice (Alexander) Trippeer, the former also a native of Peru, Indiana, and the latter of Linneus, Missouri. Their marriage occurred in the latter town, to which the father had removed with his parents. Not long after he was married, however he returned to Indiana, and there engaged in breeding thoroughbred race horses and Devon cattle. In 1888 he took to Wasco county, Oregon, a number of horses and the first Devon cattle ever seen in the Pacific coast country. Among the horses was Mattie Mullen, who for a considerable period was the fastest short distance horse on the entire coast. He was prominently identified with live stock interests in the northwest for a number of years but is now living retired in Cove, Oregon.
H. A. Trippeer early began assisting his father in the care of his fine stock and the experience thus gained has been of great benefit to him in his professional career as a veterinarian. In 1904 he entered the Washington State College at Pullman and after two years' work in the veterinary department of that school he went to Chicago and continued his course in the famous McKillip Veterinary College, from which he was graduated with the class of 1907. He then came to Walla Walla and took the United States examination for veterinarian at Fort Walla Walla. While awaiting the action of the government on his application he entered into private practice at Walla Walla in partnership with Dr. J. W. Woods and as he met with marked success in that connection he decided to continue in private practice. Two years later he, Dr. Woods and Dr. Baddely, organized the Veterinary Hospital Company, which later built the city Veterinary Hospital, an institution which is one of the best of its kind in the northwest. Later Dr. Baddely withdrew from the company, selling his interest therein to Dr. Woods and Dr. Trippeer. The partners have gained an enviable reputation for thorough scientific knowledge and skill in practice, and their patronage is large and steadily increasing.
Dr. Trippeer married Miss Pearl G. Griffith, of Sioux City, Iowa, and they have become the parents of a daughter, Denise. The doctor belongs to Cove Lodge, No. 91, A. F. & A. M., of Cove, Oregon; to Walla Walla Lodge, No. 287, B. P. O. E., and to the Walla Walla Commercial Club, in which connection he is associated with other enterprising business men in projects for the upbuilding of the city. He and his wife attend the services of the Episcopal church and are liberal in their support of its work. Since becoming a resident of Walla Walla the Doctor has gained a wide circle of friends and is held in the highest esteem both professionally and personally.
ORLEY HULL.
Attracted by gold discoveries in California, Orley Hull came to the Pacific coast and throughout the intervening period until his death was a resident of this section of the country. He was born in Iowa in 1825 and there the period of his boyhood and youth was passed amid the conditions of frontier life, for at that time the state of Iowa was yet a part of the great western territory that lay uninhabited and undeveloped west of the Mississippi. He continued in that state until he reached the age of twenty-four years, when the news reached him concerning the discovery of gold in California and he determined to try his fortune upon the Pacific coast. Accordingly he made the necessary arrangements for the trip, securing a covered wagon and an ox team, with which he started across the plains in 1849. The journey was a long and arduous one over the hot stretches of sand and across the mountains, but he pushed on day after day and ultimately reached his destination. After spending some time in California he determined to make his way northward and came to Walla Walla county, Washington. Here he took up the occupation of farming and stock raising, to which he devoted a number of years, becoming one of the representative agriculturists of the county. Eventually he established his home in Walla Walla, where his last days were passed.
It was in Walla Walla that Mr. Hull was united in marriage to Mrs. Hannah M. Laird, a native of Rochester, New York, and a daughter of Dr. Hiram Preston, of that city. After reaching womanhood she married Leonard Laird and they subsequently removed to Minnesota, where he engaged in farming for a time. He possessed considerable musical talent and took an active interest in religious work. On leaving Minnesota he removed to Hillsboro, Oregon, where he conducted a hotel for two years, but about 1877 brought his family to Washington, and located on a farm seven miles from Walla Walla, where he spent his remaining days, dying there in 1879. To Mr. and Mrs. Laird were born six children, of whom four are still living, namely: Miss Florence, a resident of Walla Walla; George D., of Portland, Oregon; Jennie, the widow of Millard Roff, of Walla Walla; and Nellie A., who is the widow of James A. Delaney and is living with her mother in Walla Walla. During the Spanish-American war Mr. Delaney entered the service and died of Manila fever. He left one child, Adrian L., now a guard at the Washington penitentiary in Walla Walla.
Mr. Hull was a stalwart and loyal member of the Masonic fraternity, in the work of which he was actively and helpfully interested, being ever ready to extend a helping hand to a brother of the order. He also took an active part in the upbuilding of the city of Walla Walla and his aid and cooperation could be counted upon to further any measure or movement for the public good. Those who knew him esteemed him as a man of high purpose and of honorable life and when he passed away in April, 1892, his death was the occasion of deep and widespread regret in the southeastern section of the state, where he had long made his home and his funeral was widely attended. He was a man of marked integrity and his word was always as good as his bond.
YANCEY C. BLALOCK, M. D.
With the lasting example of his honored father before him, Dr. Yancey C. Blalock has followed in his professional footsteps and has won a place among the eminent physicians and surgeons of Walla Walla. He was born in Mitchell county, North Carolina, August 3, 1859, a son of Dr. Nelson G. and Panthea A. (Durham) Blalock, of whom extended mention is made elsewhere in this work. During his infancy his parents removed with the family to Macon county, Illinois, and he was a youth of fourteen when they started across the plains to Walla Walla, making the long and arduous journey according to the primitive methods of the time. Dr. Blalock has a very vivid recollection of many of the events of the trip as they passed on over the long stretches of hot sand and through the mountain passes that eventually brought them to the Pacific Coast. His education was largely acquired in the public schools of Walla Walla and in the Whitman Seminary. At length he determined to make the practice of medicine his life work and accordingly in 1881 entered the Jefferson Medical College at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from which his father had graduated many years before. He completed his course in that institution as a member of the class of 1884, after which he returned at once to Walla Walla and for a time was associated with his father in the active practice of medicine and surgery. Later, however, he established himself independently in practice, and in 1902 he accepted the appointment to the position of receiver of the United States land office at Walla Walla, serving in that capacity for two years, at the end of which time he resigned to resume the private practice of his profession. He has since given his undivided thought and attention to his professional interests and is ranked today among the leading practitioners of the county. He is most conscientious in the performance of his professional duties, recognizing how grave are the responsibilities which confront the physician.
In April, 1883, Dr. Blalock was united in marriage to Miss Julia Sanderson, a native daughter of Walla Walla, and to them was born a son, Jesse N. Mrs. Blalock passed away on the 6th of January, 1885, and in 1890 Dr. Blalock was again married, this union being with Miss Lillian Ballou, a native of Illinois and a daughter of Orlando and Elizabeth (Boyd) Ballou. To this marriage has been born a daughter, Phoebe I.
For many years Dr. Blalock has been prominent in fraternal circles. He has membership in Blue Mountain Lodge, No. 13, F. & A. M., of which he is a past master, and he also belongs to Walla Walla Chapter, No. 1, R. A. M., of which he is past high priest. He has taken the Knights Templar degree in Washington Commandery, of which he is a past eminent commander, and he belongs to Oriental Consistory, A. & A. S. R., of Spokane. He has also crossed the sands of the desert with El Katif Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S., of Spokane, and he and his wife are members of Alki Chapter, No. 25, O. E. S., of which Dr. Blalock is past patron, while his wife is a past matron. In Masonic circles the doctor occupies a very prominent position and is a past grand master of the grand lodge of the state and a past eminent commander of the grand commandery of the state. He likewise served as grand secretary of the grand chapter of the Royal Arch Masons for a number of years and was grand recorder of the grand commandery, Knights Templar. On March 6, 1914, he received the honorary thirty-third degree.
Dr. Blalock has occupied various civic offices and for three terms was county coroner. He served in the volunteer fire department of Walla Walla for twenty-two years, six of which he was chief. He is always loyal in positions of public trust and in all of his service in behalf of the community has been actuated by a singleness of purpose that has brought good results for the community. His political allegiance is given the republican party and he is an active and earnest worker in its ranks. He has served as chairman of the republican county central committee and puts forth every legitimate effort to further the success of the principles in which he so firmly believes. His prominence, professional and otherwise, is the outcome of his ability, his fidelity to duty and his high standards. His sterling characteristics commend him to the confidence and goodwill of all and throughout Walla Walla county, where almost his entire life has been passed, he has a circle of friends almost equal to the circle of his acquaintance.
THOMAS GILKERSON.
Thomas Gilkerson, who is residing on the family homestead in Walla Walla township, Walla Walla county, was born in England, October 19, 1837. His parents, George and Sarah (Rayson) Gilkerson, were also born in that country and in 1843 came with their family to America. They took up their residence in New York state, living there during their remaining days. To them were born seven children, of whom five survive, namely: Mrs. Mary Wallace, of Spokane; Thomas, of this review; James and William, who are living in New York; and Frances, who is now the wife of Thomas Curry, of Homer, New York.
Thomas Gilkerson grew to manhood in New York and there received his education. In 1860, when a young man, he and his brother James came west to Walla Walla county, Washington, and he of this review took up a homestead in Walla Walla township, where he has since remained. He proved successful in his farming operations and later from time to time added to his holdings, becoming the owner of a large and valuable tract. He now leaves the active work of the farm to others but still gives supervision to the management of his interests. He has gained a competence and the period of leisure which he is now enjoying is well deserved.
In 1862 Mr. Gilkerson was united in marriage to Mrs. Eliza (Sickles) McWhirk and they have had five children, of whom three are living, namely: Harry, Thomas J. and Dewitt A.
Mr. Gilkerson has supported the democratic party since gaining the right of franchise and has taken the interest of a good citizen in public affairs although never an aspirant for office. He has been identified with Walla Walla township for more than a half century and during that time has always proven a loyal citizen and a man of sterling worth.
CLINTON D. DAVIS.
Clinton D. Davis, who has lived in Garfield county continuously since 1878, covering a period of four decades, now owns three hundred and thirty-three acres of land on section 6, township 13 north, range 43 east, and is well known as one of the substantial farmers of the Mayview district. His birth occurred in Marion county, Oregon, on the 12th of December, 1854, his parents being Leander and Mary (Cox) Davis, the former a native of Ohio and the latter of Indiana. Leander Davis crossed the plains as a young man in 1846 or 1847, and at the same time Mary Cox, yet a young girl, accompanied her parents to Oregon, her father taking up a donation claim in Marion county. Mr. Davis also took up a donation claim in the same county and it was there that he was later married and spent the remainder of his life, passing away in 1875 at the age of forty-eight years. He served as a member of the Oregon legislature in 1866 and made a most excellent record in that connection. His widow continued her residence on the donation claim in Marion county, Oregon, until the time of her death, which occurred in the seventieth year of her age.
Clinton D. Davis attended the public schools at Silverton in the acquirement of an education and was about seventeen years of age when he began providing for his own support. During the following five years he worked for wages and was then married. He had saved enough money to feel justified in starting out independently as an agriculturist and in 1878 he brought his bride to Washington and took up a homestead in Garfield county which is a part of his present home farm, on which he has resided continuously to this time. As his financial resources have increased, owing to his untiring industry and capable management, he has extended the boundaries of his place by purchase until it now embraces three hundred and thirty-three acres. The property yields him a gratifying annual income and he has long been numbered among the representative agriculturists and substantial citizens of the county.
In 1877 Mr. Davis was united in marriage to Miss Elmira Hubbard, of Marion county, Oregon, a daughter of Joseph Hubbard, who crossed the plains from Illinois to Oregon in 1855 and took up a donation claim in Marion county, where he spent the remainder of his life. Mr. and Mrs. Davis became the parents of three children, namely: Edith, who is deceased; Alvin, at home; and Ella, who holds a clerical position in Spokane.
In politics Mr. Davis is is stanch republican, having supported the men and measures of that party since age conferred upon him the right of franchise. He has witnessed the development of this section of the state from pioneer times to modern and has borne his share in the work of progress and improvement, while in the conduct of his private business interests he has also manifested the sterling traits of character which have won him the high regard and esteem of his fellow citizens.
DANIEL HAYES.
Daniel Hayes is one of the well known and honored pioneer settlers of Walla Walla county. Six decades have come and gone since he arrived in the state of Washington, and there is not a feature of its development with which he is not familiar. He has had many interesting and varied experiences incident to the life of a pioneer, and his memory forms a connecting link between the primitive past and the progressive present.
Daniel Hayes was born in County Tipperary, Ireland, in the year 1840. His parents died while he was yet a boy, and at the age of twelve years he came to America, where a brother and sister had emigrated some years before. When in America but a short time he went to work as an errand boy for James A. Hamilton, a son of Alexander Hamilton, patriot and statesman, at his beautiful home on the Hudson river. He was affectionately known to the Hamilton family as "little Danny," and the only schooling he ever received was from Mr. Hamilton's daughter Angelica, who became interested in him and taught him evenings. Mr. Hayes has never forgotten his benefactress, and his youngest daughter bears her name. When seventeen years of age he left this good home and the opportunities he was promised, and came west. He made the trip by the way of the Isthmus of Panama and landed in San Francisco in April, 1857. Shortly after arriving in San Francisco, he entered the employ of the government in the quartermaster's department. He served for eleven months at Benicia, California, and then went to The Dalles, Oregon, with Captain Jordan. In 1858, when on the way to Fort Simcoe with a government train of forty wagons, news was received of Colonel Steptoe's defeat in a battle with the Indians near the present site of Rosalia. They then returned to The Dalles, where Colonel Wright fitted out troops, and moved to the mouth of the Tucanon river where Fort Taylor was built. Mr. Hayes was the driver of an ammunition wagon and brought supplies to Fort Taylor, where Major Wise was stationed. When Fort Taylor was abandoned he joined Captain Mullan's command and assisted in building the military road from Fort Walla Walla to Fort Benton, Montana. In 1861 he left the employ of the government and went to the mines at Orofino, Idaho. There he took up a claim and engaged in mining during the summer of that year. He later bought a pack train and engaged in the business of freighting until 1873, when he settled on the farm where he still resides.
At the outbreak of the Spanish-American war in 1898, Mr. Hayes offered his services to the government and was appointed by Quartermaster Cameron at Fort Walla Walla, to take charge of a pack train in Cuba. He served in Cuba during the period of the war, carrying food and ammunition to the American soldiers at the front.
Mr. Hayes was twice married. In 1873 he was married to Miss Elizabeth O'Donnell, who died in 1876. The two children born to them died in early childhood. In 1879 he married Miss Mary Carrol, who like her husband was a native of Ireland and who still survives. Nine children were born to them, eight of whom are still living, one having died in infancy. The daughters are: Catherine (Mrs. W. C. Anderson), Nellie (Mrs. B. G. Wiley), Margaret (Mrs. William Upton), and Angela; the sons are Parnell, Tom, John and Leo. There are three grandchildren, Elinor and John Edward Wiley and William Upton.
Mr. Hayes and his family are all members of the Roman Catholic church, and give their political allegiance to the democratic party. His youngest son came of age just in time to cast the tenth vote in the family for the reelection of Woodrow Wilson. The story of his life proves that Daniel Hayes was a sturdy pioneer whose life has been closely identified with the early history of the state of Washington, and who was a man always willing to accept his share of hardships and always eager to serve his country. When war was declared on Germany he had reached an age when he could no longer be of service, but was proud in the knowledge that his children would take up the duties for which he was no longer fitted. Shortly after declaration of war his son John enlisted in the United States Marine Corps, and his daughter Angela joined the Army Nurse Corps. The former is at present stationed at Galveston, Texas, and the latter at Honolulu.
Mr. Hayes has lived to see the pioneer cabins replaced by the more commodious and beautiful homes on the farms as well as in the cities. He has seen his family grow to manhood and womanhood, and though not possessed of wealth, he is spending his late years in comfort on his productive farm in the foothills. He takes great pleasure in discussing his many interesting experiences, and when in a reminiscent mood can relate most thrilling tales of the days when the Indians were constantly on the warpath, and when he and his comrades traveled many miles over unbroken roads, swam their horses across swollen streams, and often subsisted for days on scanty rations. He has now passed the seventy-seventh milestone in life's journey, but is still hale and hearty and boasts an endurance equal to that of his sons.
MARCUS ZÜGER.
Few men control farming interests of such extent in Walla Walla county as does Marcus Züger, who is the owner of forty-two hundred acres of land. Moreover, he figures in financial circles as the president of the Exchange Bank of Waitsburg. Alert and enterprising in business, he has carefully watched his opportunities, which he has wisely improved, and his energy and determination have carried him forward into important relations in business circles. A native of Switzerland, he was born June 18, 1852, a son of Carl and Elizabeth (Horner) Züger, who were also natives of the land of the Alps, where they spent their entire lives and reared their family of twelve children, eight of whom are now living.
Marcus Züger was reared and educated in Switzerland and in 1871, when a young man of nineteen years, bade adieu to friends and native country in order to try his fortune in the new world. Crossing the Atlantic, he spent five years in Boston, Massachusetts, but in 1877 heard and heeded the call of the west. It was in that year that he arrived in Walla Walla county, Washington, and took up a homestead claim on which he built a box house. In true pioneer style he began life on the western frontier, but with the passing years he has been able to secure all of the comforts and conveniences known to the older east, for his labors have brought substantial success and his sound judgment has enabled him to wisely invest his earnings in real estate. Adding to his property from time to time, his landed possessions now aggregate forty-two hundred acres in the great wheat belt of southeastern Washington. He is now extensively engaged in the raising of wheat and also pays some attention to stock raising, he and his sons farming all of his land. His cooperation has also been sought in connection with banking and he is now the president of the Exchange Bank of Waitsburg.
In June, 1872, in Boston, Massachusetts, Mr. Züger was united in marriage to Miss Magdalena Jacober, a native of Switzerland, and they became the parents of five sons: Fred, who has passed away; Marcus, a farmer; Carl, who died while serving in the Spanish-American war; and Henry and Frank, who are associated with their father and their brother Marcus in farming operations. The wife and mother passed away in February, 1909, and was laid to rest in the Catholic cemetery in Walla Walla. Her death was the occasion of deep regret not only to her family but to many friends, for she had gained the warm regard and friendship of many with whom she had been brought in contact.
Fraternally Mr. Züger is connected with the Ancient Order of United Workmen. He has always voted the republican ticket since becoming a naturalized American citizen and he has done active service for the community as a member of the school board. He has never regretted his determination to come to America, for here he found the business opportunities which he sought and has steadily worked his way upward, winning the proud title of a self-made man. He arrayed determination, perseverance and capability against drawbacks, poverty and trials and the result was absolutely certain, for the former three are invincible--they know no defeat. He today therefore ranks among the most prosperous residents of Walla Walla county and his activities are of a character that have contributed much to the agricultural development of this section of the state. Making his home in Waitsburg, he is now able to enjoy all of the comforts and some of the luxuries of life and the most envious cannot grudge him his success, so worthily has it been won.
JOHN W. WOODS, D. V. S.
Dr. John W. Woods, one of the incorporators of the Veterinary Hospital Company, builders of the City Veterinary Hospital of Walla Walla, was born in Contra Costa county, California, on the 20th of May, 1868. His parents, Daniel and Sarah (Golden) Woods, crossed the plains to California about the time of the gold excitement in that state, locating in Contra Costa county, where the father engaged in mining and subsequently turned his attention to merchandising. Both he and his wife remained residents of Contra Costa county, California, until called to their final rest.
In the acquirement of an education John W. Woods attended the public and night schools of Stockton and Fresno. Having determined upon the practice of veterinary surgery as a life work, he took up the study of that profession in early manhood and in 1898 he entered the veterinary department of the Washington State College, being graduated from that institution in 1902. For a year following his graduation he served as house surgeon at the college and on the expiration of that period he located for practice in Dayton, Washington, there remaining for two years. The year 1906 witnessed his arrival in Walla Walla and for a short period he practiced independently here but in 1907 became associated with Dr. Herman A. Trippeer, with offices on Main street. Dr. Woods, Dr. Trippeer and Dr. J. C. Baddely organized the Veterinary Hospital Company and built the City Veterinary Hospital. In 1915 the two first named acquired Dr. Baddely's interests and have since conducted the business with marked success, having built up an extensive veterinary practice in Walla Walla and surrounding counties. Their hospital is equipped with all modern needs and is recognized as a model of its kind.
In 1902 Dr. Woods was united in marriage to Miss Ida M. Bruce, of Dayton, Washington, by whom he has three children, two daughters and a son, namely: Vyvien B., Sylvan M. and Edwinna M. Dr. Woods gives his political allegiance to the republican party and fraternally is identified with Blue Mountain Lodge, No. 13, A. F. & A. M. His wife is a consistent and devoted member of the Christian church. Both Dr. and Mrs. Woods are widely and favorably known in social circles of Walla Walla and the former enjoys an enviable reputation as a most successful representative of his profession.
JOHN SMITH.
A man of well balanced capacities and powers is always a strong character and one who inspires confidence in others; he may not have genius or any phenomenal characteristics, yet he is capable of mature judgment of his own capacities and of the people and circumstances that make up his life's contacts and experiences. He is eminently a man of business sense and easily avoids the mistakes and disasters that come to those who, though possessing remarkable faculties in some respects, are liable to erratic movements that result in unwarranted risk and failure. A man of well balanced mind, even temper and conservative habits is not necessarily lacking in enterprise of the kind that leads to great accomplishments. What a man does and what he attains depend largely upon his opportunities, but the well balanced man mentally and physically is possessed of sufficient courage to venture where favoring opportunity is presented and his judgment and even-paced energy generally carry him forward to the goal of success. Such has been the record of John Smith, a hardware and implement dealer, whose activities not only center in Walla Walla but also extend to Waitsburg, Washington, and formerly to Milton, Oregon. In a word he is one of the foremost merchants and business men of the northwest, constantly alert to opportunities which he uses wisely and well.
Mr. Smith was born in Casco, Wisconsin, on the 16th of June, 1863, a son of John M. and Kate (Larkin) Smith, both of whom were natives of Ireland. The father came to the United States with a brother when he was but a child, settling in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In his youth he learned the stone mason's trade, to which he devoted many years of his life. He passed away at the age of seventy years, while his wife died at the age of sixty-seven years. She also came to the new world in childhood with her parents and in Wisconsin became the wife of John M. Smith.
John Smith, whose name introduces this review, was reared upon the old homestead farm in Wisconsin, his father being an agriculturist as well as a stone mason. He therefore early became familiar with all duties and labors that fall to the lot of the agriculturist. He received but a limited education in the country schools of his district and at the age of fourteen years he went into the lumber woods of Wisconsin, since which time he has been dependent upon his own resources. Although young, he was rugged of constitution and he spent several months at the heavy work in the logging camps, after which he entered upon an apprenticeship to the blacksmith's trade and when still in his teens had become a skilled workman in iron. In 1884 he entered into partnership with John Huntamar and opened a blacksmith and horseshoeing shop. A year and a half later his partner withdrew from the firm and Mr. Smith was joined by others in the organization of the firm of Tierney, Smith & Company. This new company embarked in a wider field, taking over the manufacture of wagons and carriages as well as blacksmithing and horseshoeing. Two years later Mr. Smith sold his interest in the business, desiring to try his fortune in the west.
It was in 1888 that he crossed the continent to become a resident of Walla Walla and here he entered the employ of E. F. Michael, of Laporte, Indiana, as a salesman of agricultural implements in Utah, Montana, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon and California. He sold goods for the Laporte house throughout these six states and remained in that position until 1893, when he resigned and embarked in business on his own account, entering into partnership with H. V. Fuller. They opened an agricultural implement warehouse in Walla Walla under the style of Fuller & Smith. This undertaking proved profitable from the beginning and after a year Mr. Smith purchased the interest of his partner in the business, which he conducted alone for a year. He then opened a branch store in Waitsburg, Washington, and in 1900 he bought out the firm of McComber & McCann, hardware dealers of Waitsburg. The hardware store was then consolidated with his implement business and the new venture was incorporated under the firm name of the John Smith Hardware Company, with Mr. Smith as the president. In order to accommodate the enlarged business he erected a brick block, seventy by one hundred and twenty feet, the finest business block in Waitsburg. In 1901 the John Smith Company of Walla Walla was incorporated, with Mr. Smith as the president, and in 1903 the Smith-Allen Hardware Company of Milton, Oregon, was organized and incorporated, Mr. Smith also becoming the president of the last named company. His interests and activities in connection with the hardware and implement business are thus extensive and important, his ramifying trade interests covering a broad territory. He carefully and wisely selects his stock, is reasonable in his prices, straightforward in his dealings and has ever recognized the fact that satisfied patrons are the best advertisement. He also has extensive land holdings in southeastern Washington and he is a heavy stockholder in the Tariff Silver Mine of British Columbia. He likewise has other property holdings. He was one of the organizers of the Interstate Building & Loan Association, the name of which was changed in 1916 to the Walla Walla Savings & Loan Association. Since its organization he has served on the loaning committee and also as one of its directors and has filled the office of vice president. During the fifteen years of its existence the company has made but two foreclosures. Efficiency has ever been his slogan and has constituted the foundation upon which he has built his success. He possesses an aggressive nature and his vocabulary knows no such word as fail. By keen attention to business, by careful management and by ready discrimination he has built up interests of large and profitable proportions which are the merited reward of his labors and which have placed him in the ranks of the foremost business men of the Inland Empire.
In 1887 Mr. Smith was united in marriage to Miss Eliza Darrow, of Madison, South Dakota, who died the following year. On the 12th of October, 1897, Mr. Smith was married to Miss Mary E. Vaile, a daughter of Rufus and Minerva Vaile, who were among the early settlers of Walla Walla. To this marriage there have been born seven children, five of whom survive, namely; Frank M., Mary Catherine, Edward Ralph, Helen B. and Bernice Elizabeth. Mr. Smith has three times been the victim of fires, each of which started on adjoining property and once almost a block away. These conflagrations swept away about forty thousand dollars worth of his property. The most disastrous of these occurred in 1902, when his barn burned and two of his children, John, four years of age, and Zera, less than three years old, were playing there and were burned to death.
It is a recognized fact in this day and age of the world that it is almost as essential to play well as to work well. In other words there must be recreation to act as a balance wheel to intense business activity lest commercialism should result in an undue development out of all proportion to other things. Fraternities provide the outlet for many men and Mr. Smith is among the active members of the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and the Ancient Order of Foresters. For almost thirty years he has also been a director and once served as president of the Pacific Northwest Hardware & Implement Association and has the unusual distinction of having never missed a meeting of the board of directors. He votes with the republican party, to which he has always given his support since age conferred upon him the right of franchise. He takes an active interest in all public affairs but has never been an aspirant for office, and if asked the reason would probably answer that he has never had the time. Mrs. Smith has been a prominent member of the Walla Walla Shakespeare Club for ten years and has filled all of the offices in that organization, serving as its secretary for three terms. She is also a member of a committee of the Red Cross and is very active in its work. In early life she engaged in teaching for about eight years, having taught nine months of school when she celebrated the seventeenth anniversary of her birth. She taught for some time in the mountains of Oregon, near the Washington state line, and has also taught in this state. In church affiliation Mr. and Mrs. Smith are Catholics, loyal to the teachings of their denomination. He has justly won the proud American title of a self-made man, for he started out in life empty-handed when a youth of fourteen and his boyhood was a period of earnest and unremitting labor. In fact he has led a most strenuous life and activity and diligence have been the crowning points in his career, winning for him the prosperity which he now enjoys.
BERTON DELANY.
Among the native sons of the Pacific northwest who have elected to continue their residence in this section after reaching man's estate is Berton Delany, a well known farmer of Columbia county, whose birth occurred in Walla Walla county, April 12, 1884. His parents, George and Olive (Day) Delany, were born respectively in Tennessee and West Virginia. In 1843 the father crossed the plains with his parents when but twelve years of age and the family located in Marion county, Oregon. There he remained until 1858, when he came to the Walla Walla valley. He participated in the Rogue River Indian war. In 1864 he engaged in stock raising on an extensive scale in the Grande Ronde valley but in 1870 removed to the Crab creek country of Washington, where he devoted his attention to cattle raising until his return to the Walla Walla valley in 1880. Here he began raising grain. He was one of the earliest pioneers of this section, and here he spent his last days.
Berton Delany, who is one of six living children in a family of eight, was reared under the parental roof and attended the common and high schools in the acquirement of his education. He has concentrated his energies upon raising stock and grain, and since beginning his independent career has gained a place among the leaders in the agricultural development of Columbia county. He now owns two thousand acres, most of which is planted to wheat, and the management of his farm leaves him little time for participation in public affairs.
Mr. Delany was married in 1906 to Miss Mamie Henten, and they have two daughters, Dorothy O., and Sarah M. Mr. Delany belongs to Starbuck Lodge, No. 106, A. F. & A. M., at Starbuck, in which he has filled part of the chairs, and also to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows of that place. His wife is identified with the Order of the Eastern Star.
PINCKNEY N. HARRIS.
Pinckney N. Harris, a prominent real estate dealer who has negotiated some of the most important realty transactions in the history of Walla Walla, was born in North Carolina, June 18, 1877, a son of Sidney Butler and Mary Ann (Cooper) Harris, both natives of North Carolina, where they lived and died. To them were born nine children, of whom our subject is the eighth in order of birth and of whom only four now survive. The father served throughout the entire period of the Civil war and was so fortunate as to come out without a scratch. He was mustered out of the military service at Chattanooga, after which he returned to North Carolina, where he engaged in farming until he passed away in 1898. His widow survived for sixteen years, her death occurring in 1914.
Pinckney N. Harris grew to manhood under the parental roof and in the acquirement of his education attended the district schools. As a young man he held the position of foreman in a large tannery for two years but at the time of the Spanish-American war put aside all personal interests and enlisted in Company B, First Tennessee Volunteer Infantry, with which he was connected until 1900, when he received his discharge in Nebraska. He then located in Walla Walla county, Washington, and for three years followed agricultural pursuits, with which he had become familiar in his boyhood. Later he was for one and a half years engaged in mercantile business at Prescott, after which he disposed of his interests there and removed to Walla Walla, where he has since been active in the real estate field. He has carried through some of the largest sales of real estate that had ever been made in the county and is generally recognized as an authority upon conditions and prices in his line of work. He owns personally a number of valuable pieces of property in Walla Walla and has great faith in the future of the city, believing that realty here will show a steady increase in value.
In 1904 Mr. Harris was united in marriage to Miss Edith Ogden, who is a native of Oklahoma and is a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Ogden. Her parents now reside in Waitsburg, Washington, but were born respectively in Illinois and Kentucky. To Mr. and Mrs. Harris have been born three children, Arline, Edgar and Arthur T.
Mr. Harris is a member of the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks at Walla Walla and he also belongs to the Commercial Club, which numbers within its ranks practically all of the public-spirited and up-to-date business men of the city. He has won prominence in real estate circles and his success is doubly creditable in that it is due entirely to his own efforts.
CHARLES THOMAS MAXWELL.
Charles Thomas Maxwell is one of the pioneer photographers of western Washington, conducting a gallery at Walla Walla. He arrived in this state in April, 1883, and through all the intervening period, covering more than a third of a century, he has been closely associated with the photographic art and has maintained the highest standards in his work. He has been identified with the business in several of the leading cities of the state but has long maintained a studio in Walla Walla, where he makes his home.
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Lyman's History of old Walla Walla County, Vol. 2Chapter D: C. Eaton acquired his education in the public schools of Iowa and in (1)
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