Chapter D: B. Stimmel was the eldest in a family of ten children, nine sons (1)

and one daughter. The duty and the burden of assisting in rearing the family and providing for their support fell upon his shoulders and as a consequence his education was limited. He could attend school only at such times as his services were not required upon the farm. He remained at home until he reached his twenty-fourth year, when in 1880 he filed on a homestead in Reno county, Kansas, and began farming on his own account. There he resided for nine years, when he determined to try his fortune in the northwest, having heard favorable reports concerning this section of the country. In the spring of 1889, therefore, he made his way to Walla Walla county, Washington, arriving in Waitsburg about the middle of May with a wife and six children and a cash capital of but fifteen dollars. Here he began working for wages, being thus employed through the harvest season, and in the fall of that year he rented a farm and began its cultivation. He was not familiar, however, with the farming conditions of this section of the country and the poor crops and the widespread financial panic of 1893 made his first few years a struggle for existence. In the winter of 1895-6 he left the farm which he had rented with an indebtedness of three thousand dollars. The following spring he went up into the Nez Percé country and engaged in hauling posts and doing other work for the Indians, in which circumstances he was reminded of the scriptural passage that "the first shall be last and the last first." He may not have liked this domination of an inferior race, but he was willing to accept any occupation or employment that would yield him an honest living. The following fall he located on a place of one hundred and sixty acres belonging to his brother-in-law and afterward purchased two hundred and forty acres adjoining that farm, assuming a mortgage of twelve hundred dollars and back taxes and interest. He paid one hundred dollars cash upon the property, which according to the terms of agreement would cost him nine dollars and sixty-five cents per acre. A year later it had more than doubled in value and recently would have sold for one hundred dollars per acre. From the time of his purchase of this property Mr. Stimmel's prosperity began. The tide seemed to have turned for him and the years brought him a substantial measure of success as a reward for his labors. At different times he continued adding to his property, acquiring two other quarter sections of land, so that his ranch came to be one of five hundred and sixty acres. A quarter section of this he afterward deeded to his two older sons upon his retirement from active business, but he still retains ownership of four hundred acres, which he rents to his sons. In 1906 he removed to Waitsburg and later erected his present handsome city residence.

In 1879, in Reno county, Kansas, Mr. Stimmel was united in marriage to Miss Hattie E. Kirby, by whom he had ten children, eight of whom are yet living: Minnie, who is the wife of Lorenzo Bly, of Alberta, Canada; Earl and Ernest, twins, who follow farming in Walla Walla county; John T., also an agriculturist of Walla Walla county; William, who operates his father's farm; Viola, who gave her hand in marriage to Ralph Lukenbihl, of Waitsburg; Millie, who makes her home with her sister Minnie in Alberta, Canada; and Albert, also a resident of Alberta, Canada. The wife and mother passed away in December, 1908, and in 1909 Mr. Stimmel was again married, this union being with Mrs. Mary J. Lynch née Lewis, of Ontario, Canada.

Mr. Stimmel gives his political allegiance to the republican party. Fraternally he is connected with Waitsburg Lodge, No. 16, F. & A. M.; Waitsburg Lodge, No. 5, I. O. O. F.; and with the Woodmen of the World. He and his wife are members of the Methodist church and are people of genuine personal worth, enjoying the warm regard and goodwill of all with whom they have been brought in contact. Difficulties and obstacles have at times beset the path of Mr. Stimmel but with persistency of purpose he has continued his labors and as the years have gone on has earned a most satisfactory reward. When determination, perseverance and talent are arrayed against drawbacks, poverty and trials, the result is almost absolutely certain. The former are invincible--they know no defeat. The habits of industry and close application which he early developed have constituted the foundation of his present success.

MRS. MARY A. KIMMERLY.

For almost half a century Mrs. Mary A. Kimmerly has been a resident of Walla Walla and has therefore witnessed almost the entire development of this region. She was born in Portage, Genesee county, New York, and bore the maiden name of Miss Mary A. Nesdel. In early life she went to Minnesota, where she married Frank Kimmerly, also a native of New York, his birth having occurred in Watertown. By trade he was a millwright and erected the first flour mill in Rochester, Minnesota, which was one of the first mills built in the state. In 1869 he brought his family to Washington and here readily found work at his trade, erecting a mill at Lapwai, another at Weston and several others. He also branched out into general contracting and built many of the best residences in Walla Walla during the '70s. He erected the Stine House, where now the Dacres Hotel stands, and several other important business structures.

Mr. Kimmerly was not only prominent in industrial circles but also took an active part in public affairs, serving as deputy sheriff of Walla Walla county and also as city treasurer. He was a thirty-second degree Mason and was the first master of Rose Croix Lodge of Perfection at Walla Walla. He was generally recognized as one of the most prominent residents of the city and his death, which occurred on the 28th of July, 1878, was considered a great loss to the community. Mrs. Kimmerly still survives her husband and continues to live at the old Kimmerly residence with her two sons, E. S. and W. W., at No. 526 South Second street.

HON. CHARLES BESSERER.

Hon. Charles Besserer was the builder of the third house in Walla Walla and was prominently identified with the city for many years, especially in connection with newspaper publication. He became recognized as one of the foremost journalists on the Pacific coast and his editorials, original and trenchant, were widely read. He was born near Heidelberg, Germany, October 10, 1838, and at seventeen years of age he enlisted for service in the English army. While still a member of the army he was sent to the state of Washington, at which time Walla Walla was but a log cabin village. When his term of enlistment was over he decided to make the United States his home and he proved his loyalty to his adopted land by valiant service in the Union army during the Civil war. He ever took an active interest in government affairs and did not a little to shape public thought and action in regard to community interests. He early turned his attention to newspaper work. After having honorably served throughout the period of hostilities between the north and the south he returned to Walla Walla, where he erected the third house of the city. A few years later he went to Montana, where he resided for a brief period, but in 1873 he returned to Walla Walla, where he embarked in the grocery business. In 1875, however, he became actively connected with newspaper publication in the purchase of the Spirit of the West, a weekly paper published in Walla Walla, the name of which he changed to the Watchman. In 1885 he established the Milton Eagle and a year later he sold the Watchman. A few years afterward he purchased the Journal and the Watchman, both of Walla Walla, and for several years managed these papers successfully, but again he sold out and paid a visit to his native country. Upon his return to America he purchased the Union, the Journal and the Watchman and combined the three papers into a new publication known as the Morning Union. This he continued to own and edit until 1898, when he removed to Oakland, California. He was quite successful financially and it was his love of editorial work that caused him to continue his labors on the San Francisco and other papers subsequent to the establishment of his home in California. He was widely known because of his interesting and comprehensive editorials, which were eagerly read throughout the west. His paper was ever maintained as an independent sheet in regard to politics. He also wrote many articles of a worldwide scope for Harper's Weekly.

Hon. Charles Besserer was united in marriage to Miss Ida Sanderson, who still survives him, his death having occurred on the 2d of February, 1912, being occasioned by heart trouble. The part which he took in the early development and subsequent progress of Walla Walla well entitles him to representation in its history.

LIEUTENANT BERNARD OVIATT WILLS.

Among the native sons of Walla Walla who are rendering excellent service in the armed forces of the nation is Lieutenant Bernard Oviatt Wills, U. S. N., who is now assigned to special duty in New York city. He was born in Walla Walla, August 22, 1887, and is a son of W. H. and Clara (Oviatt) Wills, an account of whom appears in the sketch of their son, Fred Gaylord Wills.

Bernard O. Wills attended the public schools of Walla Walla and continued his study in the high school, graduating with the class of 1905. The following year he entered the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis and in 1910 completed the required course there and received the title of ensign. He has remained continuously in the navy and has won promotion, so that although he is still a young man he now has the rank of senior lieutenant. He is now serving by assignment on the special board of patrol, with office at No. 11 Broadway, New York city, and his highly efficient work in that connection is of importance in the great task that confronts the navy in placing the defenses and the naval forces of the United States on a war footing. He is a representative young naval officer, proud of the history and traditions of the navy, thoroughly equipped by highly specialized training for the work in hand, high-spirited and yet recognizing that the high order of ability and daring found in the personnel of the navy can only be made available to the nation's service by discipline.

On the 3d of July, 1917, Lieutenant Wills was united in marriage to Miss Lucy Lee Hanscom. Although he has been stationed in the east for some time, his many friends in Walla Walla have not lost sight of him and have followed his career with great interest and pride.

MISS MARY J. THOMAS.

In the educational circles of Walla Walla Miss Mary J. Thomas is widely and favorably known. She has done much to further the interests of the public schools and is now the principal of the Sharpstein school. She is a native daughter of Walla Walla and the spirit of western enterprise has found expression in her work. Her father, George Franklin Thomas, was born in Norfolk, Virginia, in the year 1815 and when very young left home, going to the state of New York. In 1840 he removed from the Empire state to the south and for many years engaged in staging in Georgia and in Alabama. In 1850 he became one of the Argonauts who sought gold on the western front, making his way to California. After reaching that state he resumed his staging business, which he successfully conducted, and he may well be termed the pioneer stage man of the Pacific coast. He became the president of the Oregon & California Stage Company, which conducted a fine line of stages from Sacramento to Portland. After the war between the north and the south he removed to Salem, Oregon, and on the discovery of gold in the Salmon River mountains he placed a line of stages on the road between The Dalles and Celilo. When the Oregon Steam & Navigation Company built a railroad there he moved onward and started a stage line between Wallula and Walla Walla. In 1863 he built the Thomas & Ruckle Road across the Blue mountains and was identified for many years with the principal mail route in this section of the country. In 1865 he was elected mayor of the city and for many years in rotation was elected councilman. In 1874 he was the candidate on the democratic ticket for the office of sheriff of the county and was elected over three competitors. At the next election in 1876 he was reelected and from 1878 until the time of his death was associated with this office. He passed away January 12, 1884, survived by a wife and six children, two sons and four daughters, but since then the mother and two sons have passed away. The daughters are Mrs. Thomas Durry, Mrs. Thomas Page and Miss Mary J. Thomas, of Walla Walla; and Mrs. George M. Cosgrove, of Spokane, Washington. The mother, who bore the maiden name of Bridget Rodgers, was born in Ireland, June 24, 1832, and came to America in 1844, first settling in New Orleans and later removing to California. Her death occurred in Walla Walla, November 26, 1905.

Miss Mary J. Thomas, reared in Walla Walla, was educated in St. Vincent's Academy and became a grade teacher in the Baker school of Walla Walla. She has since devoted her life to that profession and became principal of the Baker school, while later she was transferred to the Sharpstein school, of which she is now the principal. She holds to high ideals in her work, is constantly studying out new methods to improve her efficiency and her own zeal and interest in the work have inspired and encouraged both teachers and pupils under her.

JAMES F. CROPP, M. D.

For almost forty years Dr. James F. Cropp has successfully engaged in the practice of medicine and surgery in Walla Walla, where he was also the promoter and founder of the Walla Walla Hospital, an institution of which the city has every reason to be proud. He has ever occupied a prominent position in professional circles and has been instrumental in maintaining the highest standards of activity in his chosen field, recognizing fully the duties and obligations which devolve upon the physician. He was born in Virginia, April 16, 1854. His father, Silas F. Cropp, was also a native of the Old Dominion, where he followed the occupation of farming. He married Maria Katherine Martin, born in the same state, and both have passed away. They had a family of four children, of whom two have departed this life.

Dr. Cropp pursued his early education in a little log cabin school in the state of Washington, which at one time was headquarters of the army that went to rescue General Steptoe on Steptoe Butte. The family had come to Washington in 1872. They made their way westward to American Falls, Idaho, driving a team of oxen across the country. They then proceeded by stage to Portland and on to Albany and from that point walked to Walla Walla across the Cascade mountains. From this city they proceeded to a point near the Farmington country and there plowed the ground upon which Farmington is built. From that point they proceeded to Dry creek, near Walla Walla, and Dr. Cropp of this review secured employment in the hay fields, working for Sergeant Smith during the summer. He obtained a dugout near there and gathered a few common school books, and in company with E. H. Nixon, now of Walla Walla, prepared himself as best he could for educational work, after the hours of harvesting were over. He at length secured a school, of which Sergeant Smith was a director, and taught through the winter months. This was a large school and he proved capable in its management and conduct. Later he taught in various other schools through the valley, being thus engaged until 1876, when he walked the greater part of the distance to Portland and there secured passage on the old steamer Ajax, on which he worked his way to San Francisco. This step was actuated by his laudable ambition to prepare for the practice of medicine, which he had determined to make his life work. He there entered the medical department of the University of California, which at that time was only a summer school. At the close of the session, in company with Charles E. Levitt Sajous, now a famous medical practitioner and author of Philadelphia, he started for the east. They worked their way on freight trains and walked part of the way until they reached Philadelphia, where they matriculated in the Jefferson Medical College, from which institution they were both graduated in March, 1878. The determination with which he pursued his education, making his way in spite of seemingly almost insurmountable difficulties, is characteristic of Dr. Cropp. He has never faltered in the performance of a task to which he has set himself and throughout his entire life he has ever carried his well defined plans forward to successful completion. Following his graduation he returned to Walla Walla and in the intervening years has continuously and successfully practiced medicine and surgery. During this period he has also served in various official capacities of a professional nature for the city, county and the state. He has been physician and surgeon to the state penitentiary for six years and since the building of the Odd Fellows Home he has been physician to that institution. In 1890 he built the Walla Walla Hospital, which has since been successfully conducted and from which numerous nurses of very high standing have been graduated, doing important duty in their professional capacity through the city, county and surrounding states, many of them occupying most important positions in other hospitals. While many years have elapsed since Dr. Cropp was graduated, he has by broad reading and thorough study kept in touch with the trend of modern scientific thought and investigation and with the progress that is being continuously made by the profession. His ability is pronounced and he stands not only as the dean of the medical profession in Walla Walla but as one of its most distinguished representatives in the northwest.

In 1879 Dr. Cropp was united in marriage to Miss Ida Hungate, a daughter of H. H. and Mary (Duncan) Hungate and a native of California. They have become parents of a daughter, Hallie H., who is at home. She is connected with the Daughters of the American Revolution, for the ancestors of Dr. Cropp served in the struggle for independence. Dr. Cropp is thoroughly familiar with the history of pioneer development in the northwest. On the trip across the plains, when the family were making their way to the Pacific coast, they encountered considerable trouble with the Indians. He has seen this entire section of the country reclaimed for the purposes of civilization, while the work of development and improvement has been carried steadily forward. His aid and influence have ever been on the side of progress and improvement and his work has had far reaching and beneficial results. His political allegiance is given to the democratic party and fraternally he is connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He belongs to the Commercial Club and cooperates heartily in all of its well defined plans and measures for the welfare and upbuilding of the city. Along strictly professional lines he has connection with the Walla Walla County Medical Society and the Washington State Medical Society. He is interested in their proceedings and contributes in no small measure to the success of some of the meetings, for his judgment is accepted as an authority upon many questions of vital importance to the profession. He has ever held to the highest professional standards and anything that tends to solve the intricate problem which we call life is of interest to him.

EDWARD WILSON CLARK.

Edward Wilson Clark, one of the leading attorneys of Columbia county, practicing at Dayton, was born in Morrow county, near Heppner, Oregon, on the 15th of November, 1865, his parents being Oscar F. and Mary A. (Allen) Clark, the former a native of the state of New York and the latter of Ohio. They were married, however, in Oregon, Mr. Clark having crossed the plains as a young man of twenty-one or twenty-two years in 1846. The mother's parents died when she was but a little child and she made the long trip to the west with her brother, Charles Allen, who arrived in Oregon about 1850. She continued to reside with her brother in this section of the country until her marriage. Oscar F. Clark took part in the Cayuse Indian war and in 1848 made his way northward and settled on what is now the city of Walla Walla in Walla Walla county, Washington. The previous year the Whitman massacre occurred. He became familiar with every phase of pioneer life and bravely met all of its hardships and privations. He was married about 1850 and for some years lived in Corvallis, Oregon. He had been engaged in teaching in the east and was identified with educational work for several years after his removal to Oregon. In later years he was elected county superintendent of schools of Benton county, Oregon, and he was also appointed the first probate judge of that county. In 1866 he became a member of the board of county commissioners of Umatilla county, Oregon, and he was one of those who were most earnest and effective in securing the establishment of the county seat at Pendleton. Indeed he was recognized as a very prominent and influential citizen of Oregon, where he remained until 1877, when he removed to Columbia county, Washington. Taking up his abode in Dayton, he was soon thereafter elected justice of the peace and served in that office for many years. His decisions were strictly fair and impartial, being based upon the law and the equity in the case, and that he enjoyed the full confidence of the public is indicated by his long retention on the justice bench. Death called him in 1898 and his widow, surviving for about a decade, passed away in 1908.

Edward W. Clark was reared under the parental roof and completed his education in the Dayton high school. In 1886 he took up the study of law, reading under the preceptorship of Judge M. M. Godman, of Dayton, and in 1888 he was admitted to the bar, after which he opened a law office in Dayton, his ability placing him, through the intervening years, in the front ranks of the profession. He served for ten years as prosecuting attorney of Columbia county and for five years was city attorney of Dayton. He was also for one year city clerk and at the present writing is a member of the board of education, in which position he has continuously served since 1893. The public school system indeed finds in him a stalwart champion and one whose efforts in its behalf have been characterized by marked progress.

On the 28th of February, 1892, Mr. Clark was united in marriage to Miss Nellie B. Gritman, of Dayton, a daughter of Delos W. and Mary (Davis) Gritman. Her father, who was one of the successful agriculturists and prominent citizens of Columbia county, served for a number of years as a member of the board of county commissioners and was widely recognized as a man of sterling character and genuine worth. Mr. and Mrs. Clark have a son, Roscoe L., who was graduated from Whitman College with the class of 1915 and is now a student in the medical department of the University of Pennsylvania at Philadelphia.

Fraternally Mr. Clark is connected with Dayton Camp, No. 95, W. O. W.; with Dayton Circle, No. 238, Women of Woodcraft; and with Dayton Lodge, No. 3, K. P. He ranks with the leading and representative residents of Dayton because of his loyalty in citizenship, because of his genuine personal worth and also by reason of his professional ability. He is a man of well balanced intellect, thoroughly familiar with the law, possessed also of comprehensive general information and of an analytical mind. He is recognized as a formidable adversary in legal combat but one who at all times holds to the highest standards of the profession, his record reflecting credit upon the history of the bench and bar of Washington.

BERT THOMAS, M. D.

Dr. Bert Thomas, occupying a leading position among the most capable and successful medical practitioners of Walla Walla, is well qualified in all those particulars which make for advancement in his chosen profession. His liberal preparatory training well qualified him at the outset of his professional career and in the intervening period he has studied closely and read broadly, thus keeping in touch with the trend of modern professional progress. He was born in Walla Walla county, March 4, 1874. His father, Alfred Thomas, a native of Kentucky, was born in 1828 and in the spring of 1870 made his way to the northwest, becoming identified with agricultural interests in this county. Here he spent his remaining days, covering a period of more than a quarter of a century, his death occurring in 1896. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Eleanor Lewis, was born in Iowa and has also passed away.

Dr. Thomas of this review was one of a family of twelve children, six of whom are yet living and all are residents of Walla Walla county. He acquired a common school education and afterward entered the Whitman College, from which in due time he was graduated. He next became a student in the University of Michigan, matriculating in the medical department, from which he was graduated with the class of 1904. He then put his theoretical knowledge to the practical test in a year's service in a hospital in Jackson, Michigan, and gained the broad and valuable knowledge and experience which can never be as quickly acquired in any other way as in hospital work. On the expiration of that period he returned to Walla Walla, where he has since practiced medicine and surgery, and throughout the intervening years he has maintained a place in the front ranks of the profession. He is very careful in the diagnosis of his cases and seldom, if ever, at fault in matters of professional judgment. He belongs to the Walla Walla Valley Medical Society, the Washington State Medical Association and the American Medical Association and thus keeps abreast with modern thought, investigation and research.

Dr. Thomas married Miss Orville Green, who was born in Walla Walla, a daughter of W. O. and Mary F. (Young) Green, who were pioneers of this county, having crossed the plains in 1852. Dr. Thomas belongs to the Masonic fraternity and is a faithful exemplar of the teachings of the craft. His entire life measures up to high standards and those whom he has met in social relations entertain for him the warmest friendship and regard, for his salient qualities are those which make for personal popularity.

PATRICK O'CONNOR.

Patrick O'Connor, deceased, was an enterprising and successful farmer and stock raiser of Columbia county and his name deserves a place upon the pages of its history. He was born in County Tipperary, Ireland, March 16, 1850, and was reared in the land of his birth. On reaching the age of sixteen, however, he determined to try his fortune in the new world, for he had heard favorable reports concerning its opportunities and advantages. On reaching American shores he at once crossed the continent to the Pacific coast and located in San Francisco, California, where he remained for nine years. He was there employed in a boiler factory and at street car work. After spending over five years in that city he came northward to Walla Walla in 1880 with the intention of returning to San Francisco but found Walla Walla to his liking and took up his abode there. He was made section foreman for the Union Pacific Railway and for a considerable period was active in that connection. In subsequent years he made several removals, living for a short time in Dayton and a short time on the present home ranch near Starbuck. In 1896 he took up his abode on his Columbia county farm, first purchasing forty-six acres of land. To this, however, he added from time to time as his financial resources permitted until at his death he was the owner of an excellent tract of land of two hundred and sixty-seven acres, upon which he engaged extensively in stock raising and in the growing of alfalfa. In business affairs he was energetic and determined. He allowed no obstacles nor difficulties to bar his path if they could be overcome by persistent and earnest effort. He worked diligently and as the years passed on gained a place among the substantial farmers of his adopted county, his attention being given to general agricultural pursuits and stock raising until his death, which occurred May 7, 1910.

On the 30th of December, 1889, Mr. O'Connor was joined in wedlock to Miss Mary McGreevy, who was born in Iowa and came to Washington in 1887, locating on the present site of Jackson's Siding in Columbia county, where lived her uncle, Daniel McGreevy. Mr. and Mrs. O'Connor had one son, Daniel A., who is now operating the home farm.

In politics Mr. O'Connor was a stalwart democrat, giving unfaltering allegiance to the principles of his party. He served for some years as road supervisor and made an excellent official in that connection. In fact he was a progressive and public-spirited citizen, giving helpful aid to all movements for the advancement of the community. He belonged to the Catholic church, of which his widow and son are also communicants. The family has long been well known in Columbia county and, like her husband, Mrs. O'Connor enjoys the respect and goodwill of those with whom she has been brought in contact.

ALBERT M. JENSEN.

Albert M. Jensen, head of the A. M. Jensen Company of Walla Walla, was born in Denmark in 1868 and at the age of fourteen years began work in a general store. His life has been one of continuous business activity since that time. Coming to the new world in 1890, he settled in Minnesota and was employed by one of the largest department stores in St. Paul for eighteen years. He began work there as general utility boy, was advanced to the position of salesman and later became a buyer and department manager, and while thus engaged he made various trips to New York and abroad for his firm.

In 1910 Mr. Jensen came to Walla Walla and organized the A. M. Jensen Company, which then bought out the Skiles Dry Goods Company, which had been established in 1905 on a very small scale. The floor space now in use for the display and sale of women's merchandise is approximately fifteen thousand square feet.

In 1897 Mr. Jensen was united in marriage to Miss Effie Byland, who was born in Shelbyville, Indiana, and they have three children: Leon, Everett and Gladys. Mr. Jensen is a member of the First Presbyterian church, is a Scottish Rite Mason and member of the Mystic Shrine and also of the Odd Fellows lodge. In politics he is an independent republican but has never sought or held office. His military record covers six months' service in the Danish navy before coming to the United States. He has taken considerable interest in civic affairs and for several years was a member of the board of trustees of the Walla Walla Commercial Club and served for one year as its president. He is always anxious and willing to help wherever necessary for the good of the city, state or country and acted as chairman and member of several important Liberty Loan and Food Conservation sub-committees.

JOHN H. EDWARDS.

One of the well improved farm properties of Walla Walla county is that owned by John H. Edwards, an enterprising, alert and energetic agriculturist, whose home is on section 30, township 9 north, range 34 east. He is there extensively engaged in wheat growing and also in stock raising.

Mr. Edwards was born in Texas, March 8, 1859, a son of John C. and Sarah (Hillard) Edwards, the former a native of Tennessee, while the latter was born in Alabama. They removed to Texas in 1858 and while residing in that state the mother was called to her final rest. The father passed away in Tennessee, having returned to his native state. In their family were seven children, but only three of the number are now living.

John H. Edwards was largely reared and educated in Tennessee, having the usual opportunities and experiences of the farmbred boy. He was a young man of twenty-three years when he determined to try his fortune in the northwest and made his way to Walla Walla county, settling upon the farm on which he now resides in the fall of 1883. It has since been his home, and adding to his holdings from time to time as his financial resources have permitted, he has become the owner of thirty-four hundred acres of valuable wheat and pasture land. He has great broad fields, devoted to the raising of wheat, and rich pastures, in which are found large herds of cattle. He makes a specialty of raising Durham cattle and he is also engaged in raising Percheron horses and high grade hogs. He has improved his ranch with modern buildings. There is a commodious and attractive residence, in the rear of which stand good barns and outbuildings for the shelter of grain and stock, and these in turn are surrounded by broad fields, highly cultivated.

Mr. Edwards was united in marriage to Mrs. Margaret Woods and to them have been born two sons. Earl J., who is a graduate of the high school, was married in 1915 and has a son, Edwin. Eldon H., the younger son, is also a high school graduate.

Mr. Edwards is deeply interested in the cause of education, has served as school director, and has put forth every effort in his power to give his sons good opportunities, thus qualifying them for life's practical and responsible duties. He votes with the republican party but has never been an office seeker. He and his wife hold membership in the Christian church and are loyal to its teachings, while to its support they make generous contribution. The conditions which he found in the northwest gave him the opportunities which he sought and in their utilization he has worked his way steadily upward. His handclasp, however, is as warm for his friend in a threadbare coat as for the prosperous business friend of his later years. He appreciates what it means to overcome difficulties, having had his own hard times and his own life is organized along lines that have called for a full dole of labor with every turn of the wheel. In social intercourse he is genial, kindly and humanly sympathetic, while his business affairs are characterized by the most rigid integrity.

WILLIAM W. WALTER.

William W. Walter, an honored pioneer of Washington, was born in Wayne county, Indiana, September 7, 1827. He was a descendant through his mother, Rachel Doddridge, of the Doddridge family of England. The name of Phillip Doddridge is common in the Walter family and every branch of the family has one child bearing the name of Doddridge. The father, William Walter, Sr., was a Virginian who lived for a time in Maryland and afterwards became a resident of Ohio and still later of Indiana, where his son, William W. Walter, was born. When the latter was eight years of age the family removed to Iowa, which was then a wild, unclaimed country. In 1845 the spirit of emigration swept over the east and Mr. Walter, then a youth of seventeen years, was among those who desired to see the great country beyond the Rocky mountains. His father, being of a roving turn of mind, decided to emigrate. That spring all was made ready and soon they had started on that long and perilous journey. Several families of the relatives, with many others, formed a company of about sixty-five wagons and elected Sol Tetheroe, a man experienced in that line of work, as their captain. They moved in order, stood guard every night to avoid surprise, and parties of hunters were organized to furnish game for the camp. The first part of the journey was very pleasant. Dancing on the green at night and hunting big game by day was very pleasing to the youngsters at least. Buffaloes were so plentiful there was often trouble keeping them out of camp. As they traveled along immense herds would come bearing down on the train, when riders would be sent out and guns fired to turn them from their course and save the train from being run down and trampled by the huge beasts. On the eastern slope the company experienced the first Indian scare. They were in the Crow country and Indians had been in sight all day, skirting around in small parties. Late in the day several hundred Indians confronted them, yelling and beating drums and dashing wildly toward them. The emigrants thought an attack was imminent and corralled the wagons, thus making a fortification. They placed the women and children in the circle and the men made ready to fight. Then a Rocky Mountain man named Greenwood, who was acting as guide, rode out to meet the Indians and called a council. After a talk the Indians dispersed although they had intended an attack. Only the influence of Greenwood, whose wife was a Crow Indian, saved them from serious trouble. The greatest excitement on the trip was caused by a stampede of the teams. One never experiencing a stampede cannot form any idea of the terror and danger. There seems to be a sort of animal telepathy among cattle, so that at a signal from one, a thousand head will go wild in an instant. Then imagine if you can a train of sixty-five wagons with from five to ten yoke of oxen to a wagon tearing along the prairie at full speed, teams doubling, passing each other, tearing off wheels, amid the screams of children scattered along the way. Some teams ran two miles before stopping, yet with it all no one was killed, although one woman had a leg broken and several wagons were demolished. It took some time to get in moving order again and mothers were looking for their children and the babies crying for their mothers. The excitement was intense and it was an experience never to be forgotten. At length, however, the party moved on again. At Fort Hall they met Steve Meek, a brother of Joe Meek, who agreed to show them a new route to Oregon bearing more to the south, crossing the Cascade mountains near the head waters of the Willamette, thus avoiding the Blue mountains. He made the proposed route appear so feasible that they followed him, leaving the old trail near Boise, Idaho. They followed the Mathew river to the south and west and soon found themselves in a trackless desert of sagebrush, rock and sand but with little feed for the stock, and to add to their troubles they could no longer find water. They traveled on and on, sending men ahead to search for water. These men returned and reported water forty miles ahead, so that the party traveled all night to reach it. While encamped there resting, a man herding the cattle picked up a large nugget of gold and from that find originated the famous blue nugget gold find, but the spot has never been located again, at least no mine has been discovered. People starving would not remember places very well as they were more anxious about something to eat. The party forced the guide to pilot them to The Dalles, which he did. When at last they reached the Deschuttes river they were in a pitiable condition, many being sick from lack of food. There they lashed wagon boxes together for a raft and ferried over their effects, swimming the cattle. Finally they arrived at The Dalles, where they cut trees in the forest, made rafts of the logs, loaded wagons and families on them and proceeded to float down the Columbia, while the boys and younger men drove the cattle down the trails. The rafts were tied up at night and camp made on shore. It now began to rain and food was almost an unknown article. They had had no bread for weeks. Those are the hardships which try men's souls and show what stuff they are made of. When they reached the Cascades they made the portage with the teams over the muddiest roads ever seen, it requiring three days to travel six miles. Their only food until they reached Vancouver was a salmon now and then purchased of the Indians. Dr. McLoughlin came to their relief most nobly when they reached Vancouver. They afterwards moved out to the Tualitin plains, in Washington county, Oregon, and settled on as fine land as ever lay out of doors. The principal food supply that winter was boiled wheat and potatoes, with plenty of deer meat. The following year was a prosperous one and the hardships were forgotten and life in the main was a happy existence. In the fall of 1847 the news of the Whitman massacre reached that country. The people were wild with excitement and a company of volunteers was organized. All were eager to join it. Mr. Walter joined and served through the war.

In 1849 the discovery of gold in California caused great excitement and all the young men and many older ones rushed to the gold mines. Mr. Walter went in 1850. They traveled by land through the Rogue river country, where the treacherous Indian lurked at every turn. Mr. Walter had some thrilling adventures with the Indians. At one time he and a companion rode all one day and night with their guns ready for use. They saw many Indians in ambush watching them and their only theory concerning the failure of the red men to attack was the belief that there was a large party coming behind the two lone riders. The two young men lived in the open and their amusements were hunting bears, panthers and Indians. They mined on the American river, having fair luck, and afterwards remaining in California for a year returned to Oregon.

In 1856 William Walter married Miss Charity A. Marsh, a student in the Forest Grove Academy. She was a native of Michigan and crossed the plains in 1852. Following their marriage they removed to Douglas county, Oregon, where they remained a few years, and in March, 1860, arrived in Walla Walla county, Washington. After reaching Walla Walla county Mr. Walter engaged in cattle growing, in which he prospered. By 1861 he had a fine herd and was for those times a wealthy man, but an unusually severe winter came on, causing most of his herd to die. Broken in resources and in spirit, he gathered the remainder of his herd, numbering about thirty head of cattle and these he sold. He then bought a pack train of his own and became one of the earliest packers in this region and developed a business of extensive proportions in that connection. He hauled supplies to nearly all the mines in the surrounding states. Many strenuous and trying experiences came to him, for robbers were numerous and these road agents were always alert for the returning pack train to haul in the returns of the pack sales through their robbery, attaining their end, if necessary, by murder. Mr. Walter was a man of fine physique and great strength and his physical prowess often served to protect him. While the husband and father was away on his pack train trips, which often lasted for six or more months, the pioneer mother, left alone with her small children, with many hostile Indians about, had to bear heavy burdens in order to care for and protect the interests of her frontier home.

Four of their children are still living on or near the old homestead on the Touchet. The eldest, Mrs. O. M. Fine, was born in Douglas county, Oregon, July 12, 1857. Mrs. Kate W. Pettijohn was born in Douglas county, Oregon, December 18, 1858. Mrs. Fanny Dunlap was born in Walla Walla county, October 31, 1866, and John Doddridge Walter is also a native of Walla Walla county, born December 8, 1869.

W. W. Walter and his family were among the earliest settlers in the valley. At that time Walla Walla was but a little garrison town and the many flourishing towns of the present were unknown. On the Touchet, near a big spring, Mr. Walter built his first cabin of logs with a thatched roof covered with dirt. The earth served for a floor. They were very comfortable during the summer but when the fall rains set in there was trouble, for the roof would leak for several days after all was fair outside. Moreover, the snakes deemed the roof no bad place for a home and one morning while the family were enjoying their breakfast one of the reptiles caused a commotion, especially among the feminine portion of the family, by wriggling through the roof and dropping on the table. This necessitated a new roof and a trip to the Blue mountains for shakes. An Indian trail ran in front of the cabin door and on Sunday droves of Indians would pass by on their way to the home of Rev. H. H. Spalding, a half mile below, to hear him preach. The settlers also attended the services, for the sermons were spoken in English, an interpreter repeating them to the Indians. The singing of these Indians, led by Mrs. Spalding and her daughter, Amelia, will ever be a sweet memory, for their voices were soft and low. Visiting in those days meant more than a ceremonious call. A carriage was unknown in these parts and people usually traveled on horseback, even children learning to manage a horse at a very early age. People came from afar to visit and stayed for days and surprise parties and dances were frequent occurrences. In 1862, the neighborhood having become quite thickly settled, the number of children of school age demanded a school, so several of the leading citizens called a meeting to devise ways and means. They had no organized district and no public money. They went into the woods, cut cottonwood logs, drew them to a designated place and erected a schoolhouse in the dooryard of Mr. Walter. The roof was of shakes made in the Blue mountains and hauled down. The heating plant was a huge fireplace in the east end of the building, built of sod and the chimney was of sticks and mud. A log was cut out in the north wall and a row of eight by ten inch window panes fitted in and this furnished the only light except the open door. The seats were of puncheon. A subscription was taken up to pay the teacher, who was a Virginian with a very pronounced southern accent. The old elementary spelling book was the principal textbook. There are still many persons living who received their first lessons in this little log schoolhouse. Later a district was organized and a schoolhouse built a mile or so up the valley near the center of the neighborhood. The Walter family experienced the usual incidents and hardships of pioneer life. The nearest physician was at the garrison of Fort Walla Walla and a rider was sent there for aid on more than one occasion, yet altogether those were happy days. The whole wide country lay before them and everyone for miles around was friend and neighbor. Where today are seen immense wheat fields in those days there were seas of waving bunch grass. The hills were dotted with sleek cattle and horses and the ever present cayuse, or Indian pony. In those days cattle was king and times were good, although opportunities for an education were limited. Only public schools were available and very few studies were taught. The daughters in the Walter household had two winters in the Waitsburg public schools, which ended their attempt to acquire an education, although later they studied at home, especially history, rhetoric and the languages, although they had no teacher to assist them.

In 1861 the Civil war broke out, Washington's citizens had come from every state in the Union and their opinions were accordingly diversified. The patriotic contingent decided that they should have a flag, so the material was purchased and a sewing bee was held at the home of S. H. Erwin, where they made a flag, every stitch by hand. The thirty-four stars were whipstitched on the blue field and with patience and perseverance the stripes were set together. The old flag is still in existence though largely in tatters today. It has played a prominent part on the Fourth of July celebrations and is a valued pioneer memento. At the second election of President Lincoln the news was brought across the continent by pony express. Some one caught the word at Walla Walla and rode to the Touchet, stopping at each door with a shout and waving of the hat, telling the glad news and then passing on. The neighbors bore the flag to the schoolhouse, hoisted and unfurled it there, took off their hats and saluted with cheers, while the children marched around Old Glory, singing "Rally Round the Flag Boys." While the west was rejoicing over peace having been established once more the direful news was flashed over the country that Lincoln had been assassinated. Again the news was long on the way and again a rider brought in the word from Walla Walla, but there was no shout of joy or waving of flags as on the former occasion. A number of men, however, came to the schoolhouse and raised the old flag until it hung at half mast. The sturdy pioneers stood with bowed heads and solemn countenances, while the children were awed and half afraid, not knowing what it all meant.

Some time in the middle '60s the settlers conceived the idea of celebrating the Fourth of July, so the neighbors gathered at the home of Mr. Walter and proceeded to clear out a grove near the Big Spring, where they fitted up seats and a platform. People gathered from all parts of the valley, stage loads coming from Walla Walla, and Judge J. H. Lasater was the speaker of the day with "Uncle Billy" Smith, of Waitsburg, as master of ceremonies, while J. M. Hedrick read the Declaration of Independence and Jonathan Pettijohn and William Smith were also among those who spoke. A public dinner was served, all being invited to take part at one long table, and in the evening a dance was enjoyed by all. To that celebration the families came in wagons and the young people on horseback and they were among the happiest and most care-free people in the world. The people in this country went through the reconstruction period in a different way from the east and lawlessness reigned for a time. The chief offences were murder and horse stealing and as gold was discovered in Idaho and Walla Walla became an outfitting place for miners the town became infested with thieves, gamblers and gunmen. Then the Vigilantes came into existence as a protection to life and property and were very effective in ridding the country of its undesirable element. In the late '60s their work was done and the country took on a normal tone. Business enterprises were started, farms opened up where stock had previously ranged and wheat raising was begun with success. Today wheat is king and, like all of the west, stock raising has become largely a thing of the past in Walla Walla county, as have the cowboy and the Indian.

William Walter never left the home he had made for himself and family. His wife passed away December 23, 1897, and he continued to live on the old place with his youngest daughter until September 23, 1906, when he passed on. He was a man of sterling worth, a steadfast friend, doing his part in all affairs of public interest, was most hospitable in his home and he and his wife took the greatest pleasure in entertaining their friends. Their home was the gathering place for all the young people of the countryside.