Chapter C: R. Rogg, who is engaged in the furniture and undertaking business in (4)
William D. Paul was successful as a farmer and his personal qualities were such that he made and retained friends readily. He was recognized as a man of worth and there was much sincere regret when he passed away at his home in Walla Walla. His birth occurred in Walla Walla county, October 21, 1864, and his parents were Thomas and Susan F. (Ellis) Paul, both of whom were born in Iowa. In 1861 they crossed the plains with ox team to Washington, and the father took up a claim in Walla Walla county, on which they resided until called by death.
William D. Paul was reared under the parental roof and in the acquirement of his education attended the pioneer schools. His entire life was devoted to farming and he became in time the owner of three hundred and twenty acres of fertile land, from which he received a gratifying income. He made many improvements upon his place and was careful and systematic in the conduct of the farm work. He also held title to valuable city property and for a number of years resided in Walla Walla.
In 1895 Mr. Paul was married to Miss Kate Loney, a native of Canada and a daughter of Charles and Charlotte (Cole) Loney, who were born in Ireland but emigrated to Canada in young manhood and womanhood. In 1880 they came to Walla Walla, Washington, and here they passed their remaining days. To Mr. and Mrs. Paul were born four children: Thomas N., who is farming in Walla Walla county; Winifred and Ruth, both high school students; and Geneva.
Mr. Paul endorsed the principles of the republican party, and gave his loyal support to its candidates at the polls. His religious faith was the determining principle in his life and he gave freely of his time and means in furthering work of the Baptist church, in which he held the office of deacon and also that of treasurer. He passed away August 24, 1916, and was laid to rest in the Mountain View cemetery. His unswerving integrity and his consistent regard for the rights and feelings of others gave him a place in the warm regard of many, and those who were privileged to know him intimately still cherish his memory. Mrs. Paul owns the family residence in Walla Walla and there makes her home. She rents the farm and personally attends to the management of her affairs and displays in that connection unusual business qualities. She, too, is a faithful and active member of the Baptist church and is a woman of many admirable qualities.
WILLIAM S. CLARK.
William S. Clark, who is living retired in Walla Walla save for the management of his extensive farming interests, has passed his entire life in the northwest and is a son of pioneers who came to "Old Oregon" in 1843, when this region was wild and uninhabited save by Indians and fur traders and when it was still a mooted question whether it was British or American territory. The birth of William S. Clark occurred in Portland, Oregon, April 9, 1857, and his parents were Ransom and Lettice Jane (Millican) Clark. The father was born near St. Johnsbury, Vermont, July 22, 1810, and was descended from a long line of Puritan ancestors. The first one of the family to emigrate to America was Lieutenant William Clark, who became one of the first settlers of Dorchester and Northampton, Massachusetts. Smith College at Northampton is situated upon land that was a part of his homestead.
Ransom Clark received his education in Vermont and remained there for a considerable period after reaching mature years. At length, however, he manifested the pioneer spirit that had characterized his ancestors and removed to the west, where he believed there were better opportunities. He first located in Wisconsin and then went to St. Louis and later to New Orleans. He was in St. Louis in 1843 at the time Lieutenant Fremont was fitting out his company for his trip to the Pacific coast and although the greater part of his men were French and Canadian frontiersmen, Mr. Clark and about a half dozen other Americans enlisted for the expedition. Mr. Clark remained with the Fremont party until The Dalles were reached and then, with two other Americans, left the command and joined the American emigrants just coming into the country. In the spring of 1844 he took up his residence upon a farm near Lafayette and was successful in adapting himself to the conditions of that frontier locality, growing good crops and also engaging in stock raising. The Oregon Spectator of July 4, 1846, contained the following advertisement: "Ransom Clark, at his home on Yamhill river, offers for sale wheat, oats, corn, white beans, peas and potatoes, also bacon, salt pork, hogs and breeding sows." At the time of the discovery of gold he went to the mines in California, where he spent two years, after which he conducted a hotel in Linn, Oregon, and still later became one of the proprietors of the Columbian Hotel in Portland. In 1855 he went to the Colville country, in which gold had been discovered, and returning by way of Walla Walla, took up a donation claim of six hundred and forty acres just south of the present site of Walla Walla. However, the country had not yet been formally opened for settlement and he was compelled to leave by Nathan Olney, Indian agent. In 1888, however, he learned that the country would soon be opened up and in that spring went to his claim with a full outfit of farming implements, fruit trees, nursery stock, etc. He took with him John Haley to fence and care for his place and, leaving him there, soon returned to Oregon. The following spring he again came to this region, and this time was accompanied by his son, Charles W., whom he left on the place. In May he returned to Portland to make final arrangements for removing to his land, but while there became ill and died on the 24th of May, 1859, at the early age of forty-nine years. He was a member of the famous Lyceum and Debating Society of Oregon City and, as he wrote to a friend, "always advocated those principles which are best calculated to promote the cause of education, to promote the greatest good to the greatest number." He was quite prominent in civic affairs, served as a member of one of the early legislatures and in 1844 was one of three commissioners to view out and survey a road from the Willamette falls to the falls of the Yamhill river. He realized that a great future was in store for this section and was among the men who laid broad and deep the foundation for its future development.
Ransom Clark was married in 1845 to Miss Lettice Jane, the eldest daughter of Elijah and Lucinda (Crisp) Millican. She was born in Canehill, Arkansas, October 3, 1830. In 1843 the family joined the Whitman train and after a journey of weary months reached Oregon. The following year the Millican family settled near the town of Lafayette, Yamhill county, and there in 1845 Lattice J. Millican became the wife of Ransom Clark. Following the death of her husband in 1859, she made the journey to Walla Walla in order to make arrangements for subsequently locating upon the farm which Mr. Clark had taken up and which was known for many years as the Ransom Clark donation claim. She was given a place in the government ambulance from Wallula to Walla Walla and her first night in the latter place was spent in the fort. The following morning she was driven out to her claim and remained there for two weeks. She then returned to Portland, where the birth of her daughter occurred the following summer. In October, 1859, she again came to Walla Walla in company with her family. They were passengers on the first stage from The Dalles to Walla Walla, with John F. Abbott as driver. Later she received a letter from Judge E. D. Shattuck of Portland advising her to sell her claim for two hundred and seventy-five dollars and abandon the idea of developing it. However, she disregarded this advice and continued to reside upon the farm with her children. On the 23d of May, 1861, she married Almos H. Reynolds, a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this work. She was one of the earliest pioneer women at the head of a ranch in Walla Walla county and the fact that she had been privileged to witness more of the growth of the northwest than others seemed to give her an added interest in everything pertaining to public welfare. She contributed much to the upbuilding of the various institutions of the city and by reason of her force of character and her many liberal and well advised benefactions she was recognized as a most prominent citizen of Walla Walla. The erection of the Young Men's Christian Association building was made possible by a twenty thousand dollar donation from her and after its completion she was one of the chief contributors toward its upkeep. At the rally and jubilee held when the association had raised the forty-five thousand dollars necessary to pay off its debt the speech that she made expressing her great joy in the knowledge that the association was free of all debt will long be remembered by all who heard her. She was also a loyal friend and patron of Whitman College, contributing generously at various times to the support of the institution and paying off a debt of six thousand dollars on the girls' dormitory, which is named in her honor Reynolds Hall. She was a woman of the highest ideals and also had the keenness of intellect and strength of character to realize her ideals and the memory of Lettice J. Reynolds will long be held in honor in Walla Walla.
William S. Clark received his education in the public schools and Whitman Academy, his parents realizing the value of liberal training and giving their children the best advantages possible. After leaving school he went to work in the drug store of Dr. J. H. Day of Walla Walla, and there studied pharmacy. Later he was for two years clerk in a drug store in Portland and then returned to Walla Walla and continued to engage in the drug business here until 1877. He was then employed for some time on the railroad from Walla Walla to Wallula, owned by Dr. Baker. The latter recognized that with the settling up of the country land would rapidly increase in value and advised Mr. Clark to invest his savings in land. Accordingly he began buying farm lands, to the operation of which he gave close personal supervision for many years. He now, however, leaves all the actual work of cultivation to others, confining his attention to the business management of his properties.
On the 6th of June, 1900, Mr. Clark was united in marriage to Miss Ella H. Seelye, a teacher for seventeen years in the Walla Walla public schools. She was born in Minnesota and is a daughter of Stuart Seelye, who had the distinction of building the first lumber, shingle and flour mills in Little Falls, Minnesota. The Seelye family have been prominent in educational circles in the east, Julius Seelye being president of Amherst College and Clark Seelye president of Smith College. To Mr. and Mrs. Clark has been born a daughter, Evelyn.
Mr. and Mrs. Clark are members of the Congregational church and its work profits greatly by their material and moral support. Mr. Clark is a republican in politics and has taken quite a prominent part in public affairs. He was assistant secretary of the constitutional convention of Washington territory which met in 1878 and has never ceased to be an earnest student of the questions and issues of the day. For two years he was president of the Farmers Union of Walla Walla and in 1873 he was a member of the party under the leadership of Major Truax which surveyed the land around Colfax. He also saw military service, serving in the Nez Percé Indian war in 1877 and in the Bannock war in 1878. His record proves that he is in all respects worthy of his ancestors. among whom were numbered soldiers of the Revolutionary war, and he has taken advantage of the privilege which his descent affords of joining the Sons of the American Revolution. The first member of the family in America, Lieutenant William Clark, who came to this country in 1630, also participated in Indian fighting, taking part in a war which occurred in the year of his arrival. Mr. Clark is a member of the different Masonic orders. He feels the greatest loyalty toward his city and state and nothing gives him more pleasure than to cooperate with movements for the public benefit.
JOHN SINGLETON.
John Singleton was one of the earliest of Walla Walla's pioneers, arriving here in 1857, and to the time of his death he was prominently, actively and helpfully associated with the work of development and progress in this section of the state. He was born in County Cork, Ireland, in 1824, and was educated under private tutors. On the 22d of April, 1847, he was married in Queens county, Ireland, to Miss Frances Jane Gowan and two years later they crossed the Atlantic to the United States, settling in New York, where he at once enlisted for service in the army. He was sent to Texas as quartermaster's clerk under Major Bilger and the command was stationed in the Alamo at San Antonio, Texas, his office being in the very room where Colonel Davy Crockett was killed. He remained in Texas in the service of the government for six years and was then honorably discharged, after which he returned to Washington, D. C. Subsequently he occupied a clerical position for six months in the old arsenal. He then went to Baltimore, Maryland. In 1856 Mr. Singleton again enlisted in the army for service on the Pacific coast, believing that the change of climate would benefit his failing health. He made his way westward by way of the Isthmus of Panama and thence northward to Vancouver, Washington, where he was stationed for ten months. His company afterward took part in the war with the Yakima Indians, having several sharp engagements with them in the Cascade mountains. His command was led by Captain Winder and the Indians by Chief Camiachan. After subduing the red men Captain Winder's command built a fort and remained in the Cascades for about a year, but later was transferred to The Dalles, Oregon, and in the spring of 1857 arrived at Fort Walla Walla, where Mr. Singleton remained in the service until 1861, when he was honorably discharged, his term having expired. While he was still engaged in military duty here the Indians from several tribes joined in hostilities to prevent Captain Mullen opening a military road across the Rocky and Coeur d'Alene mountains to the Columbia river. Mr. Singleton was in Colonel Steptoe's command, which met the allied tribes in the memorable engagement of Steptoe Butte, which was of several days' duration. The whites, being greatly outnumbered, suffered a disastrous defeat and were driven back to the Snake river in great disorder. In this engagement Mr. Singleton had a very narrow escape from death. He became separated from his comrades in the retreat and after wandering around nearly all night came upon a band of friendly Nez Percé Indians, who conducted him to the Clearwater river, ferried him across and directed him to the camp of his company, who had reported to his wife that he had died. Colonel Wright soon came up from The Dalles with a thousand men, and being thus reenforced, the troops began an active campaign against the Indians. In a short time the American army had scattered, captured or killed the entire tribe. Some were hanged in the mountains but the most noted leaders were brought to Walla Walla, where seven of them were hanged in the public square in the rear of the garrison. During his service in Fort Walla Walla, Mr. Singleton did most of the work of keeping the records of the post, in the performance of which duty he was compelled to use an old-fashioned quill pen.
Mrs. Singleton had purchased a squatter's right from Captain Pierce, and on Mr. Singleton's discharge he retired to the homestead, which has been the place of residence of the family continuously since. It is said that the money which Captain Pierce obtained for his squatter's right enabled him to open the Orofino mining district, of which he was the first prospector.
Mr. Singleton died at the old home on December 28, 1893, and there his widow and two daughters still reside. Mrs. Singleton is now in her ninetieth year but for some time past has been an invalid. To Mr. and Mrs. Singleton were born six children: Catherine, who is the widow of Thomas Tierney and resides in San Francisco; Frank E.; William H., who is deceased; Elizabeth and Eudora M., who are at home; and Esther Belle, who gave her hand in marriage to J. W. Brooks, a prominent attorney of Walla Walla.
Not only as one of the Indian fighters of the northwest but also as one of the progressive farmers of Walla Walla county did John Singleton leave the impress of his individuality upon the history of southeastern Washington. His worth as a man and as a citizen was widely acknowledged by all who knew him. There was no phase of pioneer life in this section of the country with which he was not familiar and he rejoiced in all that was accomplished in the way of introducing the evidences of modern civilization. His labors wrought good results and his name should be inscribed high upon the roll of those who have reclaimed this great region, making it a habitable and safe place in which civilization may be still further advanced.
GARRIT ROMAINE.
Garrit Romaine was for many years engaged in farming on a tract of three hundred and twenty acres of excellent land six miles north of Dayton, in Columbia county, and it was recognized that the county had lost a valued citizen when he was called to the home beyond. He was born in New York city, March 7, 1829, a son of Benjamin and Charity (Hopper) Romaine, also natives of the eastern metropolis. Subsequently the family removed to New Jersey, and thence to Fond du Lac county, Wisconsin, where both parents passed away. All their eight children are also now deceased.
Garrit Romaine was reared at home and obtained his education in the public schools of New York city. When twenty years old he went west to Wisconsin, where he remained for many years, or until 1877, when he removed to California. After remaining there for a short time he took up his residence in Harrisburg, Oregon, but in 1881 removed to Old Walla Walla county, Washington, locating in what is now Columbia county, on a farm six miles from Dayton. He at once began the improvement and development of his place, which he continued to operate until called by death. It comprises three hundred and twenty acres of good wheat land, and his industry and good management were rewarded by large crops, from the sale of which he derived a good income.
Mr. Romaine was married in Wisconsin in 1852, to Miss Martha L. Harbaugh, by whom he had seven children: William B., deceased; John H., a farmer; Jerome W., now a resident of Bellingham, Washington; Franz Sigel, a farmer; Charity, who is the wife of Newton James, and has three children, Louis Homer, on the old farm, Lois, now Mrs. H. L. Gritman of Columbia county, and Frida Ellen, now the wife of A. W. Munford of Ironwood, Michigan; Freeman C., deceased; and Rachel, the wife of Henry James, of Dayton.
Mr. Romaine gave his political allegiance to the republican party, and while not an office seeker was always keenly interested in everything affecting the general welfare. No project looking toward the advancement of his community failed to receive his heartiest support and cooperation, and he was particularly interested in the upbuilding of the local schools. Fraternally he was connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and took an active part in the work of the lodge. He passed away October 23, 1900, and was laid to rest in the Dayton cemetery, leaving to mourn his loss, besides his family, many warm friends. Mrs. Romaine resides with her daughter, Mrs. Newton James, and holds title to the homestead. She belongs to the Christian church and has exemplified its teachings in her daily life.
CHARLES F. KIBLER.
Charles F. Kibler, one of the prominent farmers and stockmen of Walla Walla township, is with his brothers operating forty-four hundred acres of fine land. He is a native son of Walla Walla county and has resided here throughout his entire life. He was born September 24, 1874, of the marriage of Jacob and Louise (Buroker) Kibler, natives respectively of Virginia and Iowa. The father removed to Missouri when a young man and in the early '50s made the long journey overland to California, where he resided for five years. In 1858 he came to Walla Walla, Washington, and for some time worked as a farm hand. He then took up land on Mill creek but for several years gave the greater part of his time and attention to freighting by ox team. Subsequently, when the country became more thickly settled and there was not so much need for freighting supplies from a distant market town, he began the cultivation of his land. His farming operations yielded him a good profit and he acquired additional land, being at the time of his death the owner of fifteen hundred acres. He made excellent improvements upon his place and was one of the substantial men of the county. He passed away in 1908 and is survived by his wife, who has reached the age of sixty-six years. Five of the six children born to their union survive.
Charles F. Kibler passed the days of his boyhood and youth in his native county and attended the district schools in the acquirement of his education. Through working for his father he received thorough training in the best methods of farming and stock raising and on attaining his majority he began farming on his own account. He and his brothers have added to their holdings from time to time and now own forty-four hundred acres of good land finely improved. They have systematized their work and conduct their ranch in the same careful manner that a business man manages his interests. Their progressiveness and good judgment are manifested in the excellent return which they receive from their land and they have never had occasion to regret their choice of an occupation.
Charles F. Kibler was married in 1898 to Miss Marie Clodius, a native of Illinois and a daughter of H. F. and Catherine Clodius, who removed to Walla Walla county in 1881 and are now residents of Waitsburg. Mr. and Mrs. Kibler have a son, Albert F., who was born October 21, 1900, and is still at home.
Mr. Kibler casts his ballot in support of the men and measures of the democratic party but has never sought office as a reward for his loyalty. He is thoroughly imbued with the characteristic western spirit of enterprise and optimism, and any project for the benefit of his county or state receives his heartiest approval and most energetic support.
ALLEN H. REYNOLDS.
Allen H. Reynolds occupies an enviable position in professional and financial circles as a leading lawyer of Walla Walla and as the president of the Farmers Savings Bank. He was born January 24, 1869, in the city where he still makes his home, his parents being Almos H. and Lettice J. (Clark) Reynolds, who are mentioned at length on another page of this work. He has spent his entire life in Walla Walla, acquiring his early education in a private school conducted by the Rev. P. B. Chamberlain. He afterward matriculated in Whitman College and thus laid broad and deep the foundation upon which to build the superstructure of professional learning. When his collegiate course was completed he decided upon the practice of law as a life work and then entered the law department of the Boston University, from which he was graduated with the class of 1893. Soon afterward he returned to his native city, where he opened an office and entered upon the practice of law, becoming associated with W. H. Kirkman. Some time later that partnership was dissolved and he joined his brother under the firm style of Reynolds Brothers, but in the spring of 1900 he entered into partnership with Andrew J. Gillis in a relationship that continued for some time. He is now a partner of Grant S. Bond, with offices at No. 6½ Main street. His success in a professional way affords the best evidence of his capabilities in this line. He is a strong advocate with the jury and concise in his appeals before the court. Much of the success which has attended him in his professional career is undoubtedly due to the fact that he prepares his cases with great thoroughness and must be convinced of the absolute justice of his client's cause. Aside from his activities in the profession of law, Mr. Reynolds is well known in banking circles, having served as vice president of the First National Bank of Walla Walla until November, 1913. At the present time he is president of the Farmers Savings Bank, having succeeded the late W. P. Winans, who had been president for twenty-eight years.
On the 7th of November, 1894, Mr. Reynolds was married to Miss Fanny Kirkman, a daughter of William H. and Isabella Kirkman, well known residents of this city, where Mrs. Reynolds was born. They have become parents of three children: William Allen, born November 19, 1895; Almos, born May 19, 1898; and Ruth Sarah, born February 3, 1901.
Mr. Reynolds is treasurer and one of the trustees of Whitman College and has been the president of the Young Men's Christian Association since its organization. There is no plan or movement for the benefit and upbuilding of the city in which he is not helpfully concerned, standing at all times for progress and improvement in municipal as well as in private affairs.
HENRY OSTERMAN.
Henry Osterman, a member of the firm of Osterman & Siebert, leading architects of Walla Walla, and one whose efforts along professional lines have found expression in the erection of some of the finest buildings not only in this city but elsewhere in the state, was born in Germany, about three miles from Essen, on the 20th of January, 1862, a son of William and Mary (Wusthoff) Osterman, both of whom spent their entire lives in Germany, where the father followed the occupations of farming and milling.
Their son, Henry Osterman, was reared under the parental roof and acquired a college education in Essen, Germany. He served three years in the German army and after reaching his majority took up the study of architecture in Dusseldorf, Germany. In May, 1889, he decided to try his fortune in the new world, hoping here to find excellent professional opportunities. He accordingly came to the United States and on the 15th of June of that year he arrived in Walla Walla, Washington, where he has since made his home and practiced his profession. Having little knowledge of the English language and of building conditions in this country, which he found somewhat different from those in his native land, he did not immediately apply himself to architectural work but became associated with building operations and for a time worked as a carpenter. Shortly afterward, however, he took up contracting and building on his own account and was prominently identified with building operations for eight years. In 1899 he began the practice of his profession, opening an architect's office in the old Baker-Boyer building. He associated with him in this undertaking Victor E. Siebert, who was a former employe of Mr. Osterman and had later gone to the east, where he was graduated from the Boston School of Technology in 1912. The following year he was admitted to a partnership, forming the present firm of Osterman & Siebert. Among the many buildings for which Mr. Osterman has drawn the plans and also superintended the erection are the courthouse, the city hall, the Young Men's Christian Association building, the high school building, the Jefferson, the Green Park and the Sharpstein schools, the city library and practically all the important business and office buildings in the city, together with many of the finer residences. All these stand as monuments to the enterprise, the skill and the professional ability of Mr. Osterman, whose thorough preparatory training and subsequent study and experience have placed him in the front ranks among the architects of the northwest.
In 1902 Mr. Osterman was united in marriage to Miss Geneva Cooney, of Coon Rapids, Iowa, and to this marriage have been born five children, Bernardina, Henrietta, Hugo, Ruth and Betty.
Mr. Osterman gives his political endorsement to the republican party. Fraternally he is connected with Blue Mountain Lodge, No. 13, F. & A. M.; Walla Walla Chapter, No. 1, R. A. M.; Washington Commandery, No. 1, K. T.; the Consistory of Spokane; and El Katif Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S., also of Spokane, while both he and his wife are connected with the Order of the Eastern Star. He is also identified with Trinity Lodge, I. O. O. F., and both he and his wife are consistent members of the Congregational church, guiding their lives according to its teachings. Mr. Osterman has never had occasion to regret his determination to come to the new world, for here he has found the business opportunities which he sought and in their utilization has made steady progress. Not only does he rank with the leading architects of Washington, but is also a prominent figure in financial and commercial circles. He was one of the organizers of the Third National Bank, of which he is now a director, and he is also one of the organizers and a member of the board of directors of the Gardner Company, which owns and controls Walla Walla's largest mercantile establishment. His identification with these interests is the expression of his well directed energy and thrift, his close application and his persistency of purpose, ever guided by a laudable ambition. Step by step he has worked his way upward and his course should serve to inspire others who must start out in life empty-handed. The wise use which he has made of his time, his talents and his opportunities has placed him in the creditable position which he fills today in business and professional circles of Walla Walla.
ALMOS H. REYNOLDS.
LETTICE J. REYNOLDS.
Almos H. Reynolds was for many years one of the prominent financiers of the northwest, becoming a factor in the establishment of the first banking business in Walla Walla and figuring for many years as one of the principal stockholders of the First National Bank. He was born in Madrid, St. Lawrence county, New York, October 21, 1808, and in early life learned the millwright's trade. In 1838, when a man of thirty years, he removed westward to Illinois and subsequently became a resident of Iowa, where he remained until 1850. He then crossed the plains to California, attracted by the gold discoveries on the Pacific coast, and in May, 1859, he came to Walla Walla, where he resided until his demise, which occurred thirty years later, or on the 21st of April, 1889. He was prominently identified with milling interests in this section, erecting many mills throughout the territory of Washington, two of them being in the immediate vicinity of Walla Walla. He also built and for several years owned a woolen mill at Dayton. He was associated with Dr. J. H. Day in establishing the first banking business in Walla Walla, opening a private banking institution, which they carried on under the firm style of Reynolds & Day. He was alert and energetic, constantly watchful of opportunities pointing to success. Eventually he became one of the principal stockholders in the First National Bank and was largely instrumental in its organization. Mr. Reynolds was a man of keen insight which enabled him to readily recognize a favorable business situation and his laudable ambition prompted its immediate use. Whatever he undertook he carried forward to successful completion and the integrity of his business methods was above question.
On the 23d of May, 1861, Mr. Reynolds was united in marriage to Mrs. Lettice J. (Millican) Clark, the widow of Ransom Clark, who first crossed the plains to Oregon with Dr. Whitman in 1843. She was born in Canehill, Arkansas, October 3, 1830, and received her education in her native town. In 1843 the family joined the Whitman train and after a journey of weary months reached Oregon. The following year the Millican family settled near the town of Lafayette, Yamhill county, and there in 1845 Lettice J. Millican became the wife of Ransom Clark. Following the death of her husband in 1859, she made the journey to Walla Walla in order to make arrangements for subsequently taking up her home upon the farm which Mr. Clark had taken up and which was known for many years as the Ransom Clark donation claim. She was given a place in the government wagon from Wallula to Walla Walla and her first night in the latter place was spent in the fort. The following morning she was driven out to her claim and remained there for two weeks. She then returned to Portland and, after the birth of her daughter the following summer, she took up her permanent home on the claim in Walla Walla county. Soon after doing so she received a letter from her Portland lawyer advising her to sell her claim for two hundred and seventy-five dollars and abandon the idea of developing it. However, she disregarded this advice and continued to reside upon the farm with her children. On the 23d of May, 1861, she married Almos H. Reynolds. She was the earliest pioneer woman residing in Walla Walla county and the fact that she had been privileged to witness more of the growth of the northwest than others seemed to give her an added interest in everything pertaining to the public welfare. She contributed much to the upbuilding of the various institutions of the city and by reason of her force of character and her many liberal and well advised benefactions she was recognized as a most prominent citizen of Walla Walla. The erection of the Young Men's Christian Association building was made possible by a twenty thousand dollar donation from her and after its completion she was one of the chief contributors toward its upkeep. At the rally and jubilee held when the association had raised the forty-five thousand dollars necessary to pay off its debt, the speech that she made expressing her great joy in the knowledge that the association was free of all debt will long be remembered by all who heard her. She was also a loyal friend and patron of Whitman College, contributing generously at various times to the support of the institution and paying off a debt of six thousand dollars on the girls' dormitory, which is named in her honor Reynolds Hall. She was a woman of the highest ideals and also had the keenness of intellect and strength of character to realize her ideals, and the memory of Lettice J. Reynolds will long be held in honor in Walla Walla.
To the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Almos H. Reynolds were born two sons: Harry A., who was born October 14, 1863; and Allen H., who was born January 24, 1869.
JOHN R. GOSE, M. D.
It is believed that few men possess the ability to attain success along both professional and agricultural lines, but Dr. John R. Gose, living on section 33, township 8 north, range 37 east, in Walla Walla county, has made a creditable name in both connections. He was born in Missouri, November 16, 1861, and is a son of John M. and Hannah J. (McQuown) Gose, the former a native of Kentucky, while the latter was born in Virginia. In 1864 they removed westward, settling at Boise, Idaho, where they spent the winter, and in the following spring they arrived in Walla Walla county, Washington, taking up their abode upon a ranch, where they are still living. They are one of the most venerable couples of the county, the father having attained the age of ninety-one years, while his wife is eighty-five years of age. In their family were seven children, of whom three are living.
Dr. Gose was not yet four years of age when his parents crossed the plains, so that he was reared upon the western frontier. He pursued his education in the schools of Walla Walla county and after having completed his preliminary course he determined to enter upon the practice of medicine and with that end in view returned to the east, matriculating in Jefferson Medical College of Philadelphia, from which in due course of time he was graduated. He then returned to Washington to engage in the practice of his profession, which he followed in Pomeroy, Garfield county, for fourteen years and also in the city of Walla Walla for three years. He then withdrew from the active practice of his profession, in which he had won substantial success and made for himself a most creditable name. Removing to a ranch near Dixie, he has since devoted his time and energies to general agricultural pursuits and has proved most capable in the management and conduct of his farming interests.
In 1889 Dr. Gose was united in marriage to Miss Minnie S. Aldrich, a representative of one of the old pioneer families of this section of the state. She was born upon the farm where she now resides and is a daughter of Newton and Anna M. (Shoemaker) Aldrich. Her father was a native of the state of New York, while her mother was born in Iowa. Mr. Aldrich came to Washington in 1861 and was here married to Miss Shoemaker, who had crossed the plains in 1864. They took up their abode upon the farm which is now occupied by Dr. and Mrs. Gose and upon that place they spent their remaining days. At the time of his death Mr. Aldrich owned seven hundred and twenty acres of land, of which Mrs. Gose inherited three hundred and sixty acres. He had gained a most substantial place among the agriculturists of this section of the state and his genuine personal worth had endeared him to all with whom he came in contact. To him and his wife were born three children: Mrs. Gose; Ida, who has departed this life; and Clara E., who is the wife of G. L. Bailey.
To Dr. and Mrs. Case have been born five children: Roberta L., who is a college graduate; Kenneth A., who is living upon the home ranch; Carl, who has passed away; Anna M., who is a high school graduate; and John Newton, who is now attending high school. Dr. Gose belongs to the Modern Woodmen camp in Dixie. His political allegiance is given to the republican party and while he was a resident of Pomeroy he served for two terms as mayor of that city. Mrs. Gose belongs to the Congregational church, in the work of which she takes an active and helpful part. They are very prominent people in this section of the state and the hospitality of the best homes is freely accorded them. They have a circle of friends almost coextensive with the circle of their acquaintance and they are both representatives of worthy pioneer families of the northwest, having resided in this section of the country for more than half a century. They have therefore witnessed the greater part of the growth and development of Walla Walla county, have seen tiny hamlets grow into prosperous cities, wild land converted into productive farms and all the natural resources of the country utilized for the benefit of man. Their aid and influence are always given on the side of progress and improvement and they advocate as well all those high standards which work for civic betterment.
CHARLES E. NYE.
Charles E. Nye, who is engaged in the harness and saddlery business in Walla Walla, winning for himself a creditable position in commercial circles, was born in Germany on the 3d of June, 1848, his parents being John N. and Elizabeth (Baker) Nye. They came to the United States in 1853, when he was a little lad of but five years, the family home being established in Marietta, Ohio, where the parents resided until they were called to their final rest, the father following the occupation of farming as a life work.
Charles E. Nye was reared to manhood on the old homestead farm and early became familiar with the work of the fields, to which he directed his attention during the summer months, while in the winter seasons he attended the common schools of the neighborhood. When his textbooks were put aside he found employment in a harness and saddlery shop at Marietta, Ohio, where he served a regular apprenticeship, and at the age of twenty-one years he started for the west, following the advice of Horace Greeley. He worked as a journeyman at his trade in Kansas, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, California and Oregon, thus working his way westward by successive stages until he reached the Pacific coast. In Oregon he was for a time engaged in business on his own account, conducting a harness and saddlery establishment at The Dalles. In 1878 he was in Walla Walla but did not locate permanently until 1883, at which time he engaged in business independently here and for the past thirty-five years he has been a dominant factor in the trade circles of the city. In all of his commercial relations he has been actuated by a progressive spirit and the excellence of the goods which he handles and the work he turns out has insured him a liberal patronage.
In 1890 Mr. Nye was married to Miss Tennie Brown, of Walla Walla. Mr. Nye is well known and popular in fraternal circles, holding membership in Blue Mountain Lodge, No. 13, F. & A. M.; Walla Walla Lodge, No. 287, B. P. O. E.; and Columbia Lodge, No. 90, K. P. He is also a member of the Walla Walla Commercial Club and cooperates in all of its plans and measures for the upbuilding of the city and the extension of its trade relations. His political allegiance is given the republican party, which he has supported since reaching adult age. His long residence in Walla Walla has made him largely familiar with its history and with its commercial development he has been closely and prominently associated. Those who know him, and he has a wide acquaintance, speak of him in terms of high regard, for he has been found thoroughly reliable in business; loyal and patriotic in citizenship and faithful in friendship. His life work has been intelligently directed and he has always continued in the line in which he embarked as a young tradesman, never dissipating his energies over a broad field but so concentrating his efforts and attention that substantial results have accrued.
W. D. LYMAN.
W. D. Lyman, author of this history, is a "native son of the Golden West," having been born at Portland, Oregon, on December 1, 1812. His father and mother, Horace Lyman and Mary Denison Lyman, came to California around Cape Horn, in a sailing ship from New York, in 1848-9. After a few months in California in the midst of the excitements of the gold discoveries they removed to Portland, then a straggling village on the edge of the dense forest which bordered the Willamette river. It is recalled by the children of the family that their mother told them about how in those early days she had heard the cries of the wolves and cougars in about the location of the present Portland Hotel and other stately structures of the present city.
As a boy Professor Lyman went with his parents to Dallas in Polk county, Oregon, and then to Forest Grove, Oregon, where his father was for a number of years a professor of mathematics, and later of history and rhetoric, in Pacific University, a pioneer college of those early days. Brought up in those pioneer surroundings, in the midst of the unconventional life and the sublime scenery of his native state, he received a permanent impress which has led him throughout his life to find his greatest interest in travel, mountain-climbing, investigation of the native and pioneer life of Old Oregon, and in writing and lecturing upon themes drawn from those early experiences. The old Oregon of Professor Lyman's boyhood was typically American--free, unconventional and sincere, and the wilderness about and the stimulus to adventure and enterprise implanted in the minds and spirits of the boys and girls of that pioneer region, as it has throughout the great west, is a certain union of the romantic and imaginative with the practical which has resulted in placing the Pacific states in the forefront of American communities.
Having completed a short college course at Pacific University in 1873, the young man, after a few months spent in teaching, went east and in 1877 graduated at Williams College, Massachusetts. While there he was known for his interest in debating, oratory and literature, as well as for his informal and independent western way of considering political, social and religious topics. Upon returning to Oregon in the fall of 1877, he entered upon what proved to be his life work, that of a college teacher, writer and public speaker. He became professor of history, oratory, and English literature at Pacific University, where he continued until 1886. During that period he laid the foundations of his subsequent literary career by spending his summer vacations in mountain journeys and explorations of the rivers and wildernesses of the northwest and in embodying the results of his adventures in articles which appeared in various newspapers and magazines, east and west. During this time he became a skillful amateur photographer and has acquired a large collection of views, many of which were the first to be taken of some of the wild scenes which he might be considered the first to make known to the world.
During that period of his life the very important event of marriage occurred. In 1882 Professor Lyman was united in marriage to Miss Mattie Clark of Vancouver, Washington. Mrs. Lyman has become known in Walla Walla and throughout the region about as one of the leaders in social, intellectual and philanthropic life. Four children have been born to Professor and Mrs. Lyman, two sons and two daughters. The oldest, Hubert, born in 1883, is now engaged in business in the Philippine islands. The second, Marjorie, born in 1885, is the wife of Ridgway Gillis, a state highway engineer in charge of an important section of the Pacific highway, with present residence at Kalama, Washington. The third, Willena, born in 1889, is living with her parents.
The fourth, Harold, is now engaged with the Walla Walla Bulletin.
Professor Lyman severed his connection with Pacific University in 1886, and for nearly three years was engaged mainly in literary work. During that period he spent some time at Fresno, California, endeavoring to start a raisin ranch. He was for a time at Santa Fe, New Mexico. In 1889 he became head of the department of history at Whitman College, Walla Walla. He has been thus engaged continuously to the present, with the exception of the year 1891, when he was in Spokane. During these twenty-nine years he has seen Whitman College grow from a struggling frontier institution, largely of a preparatory grade, to a well equipped college supported by a good endowment and by a loyal body of enthusiastic alumni, among whom may be reckoned some of the foremost men and women of the northwest.
During his long residence in Walla Walla, Professor Lyman has been in frequent demand as a speaker and lecturer on many pulpits and platforms throughout the three northwest states, and has thus come to have a very extensive acquaintance. He has been active in political life and has been a candidate, though an unsuccessful one, as a democrat, for the national congress. Brought up as a republican during the Civil war and reconstruction periods, he became a liberal in political views and finally a democrat. As an ardent supporter of Woodrow Wilson for both of his terms, he labored with voice and pen for the election of that statesman whom he regards as in the same class with Washington, Jefferson and Lincoln.
During all his active life a member of the Congregational church, Professor Lyman has become known among his students and friends as very liberal in religious views and has associates among all faiths. He has been active in all forms of municipal betterment, in the prohibition and woman suffrage causes, and since the opening of the great war has made many addresses and written articles of a patriotic character. He firmly believes that it is the God-given mission of the United States to "make the world safe for democracy."
While living in Walla Walla, Professor Lyman has continued his practice of mountaineering. He has been a member of both the Mazama and Mountaineers' Clubs, and in the course of his life has made nine ascensions of the great snow-capped volcanoes of the Cascade range and four of the Olympics, besides many lesser peaks. He has traveled almost the entire length of the Columbia river and many miles of the Snake and other tributaries. The results of these journeys he embodied in what he regards as the most highly literary and artistic of his various books, The Columbia River, published in 1909 by G. P. Putnam's Sons and now entering upon its third edition.
Professor Lyman has become something of a specialist in local history. He was one of the principal writers of The History of the Pacific Northwest in 1889. In 1901 his history of Walla Walla county appeared. In 1906 he wrote the narrative part of a history of Skagit and Snohomish counties. Having witnessed with his own eyes most of the remarkable development of this section and having partaken of the social, industrial and political life of the section in which he lives, he has been able to write sympathetically of the struggles and the triumphs of the pioneers. As a side issue in his life, Professor Lyman has been much interested in waterway transportation. He has been for many years director of the Rivers and Harbors Congress for the state of Washington and has seen many improvements in waterways as a result of the labors of that organization. Opposed on principle to monopoly and special privilege, he has deemed waterways and water power as among the great agencies for preserving the freedom of the people.
HOWARD E. BARR.
That Howard E. Barr enjoys in unusual measure the confidence and respect of his fellow townsmen is indicated in the fact that he is now serving as mayor of Dayton, a position to which he was called by popular vote and in which he is discharging his duties with marked capability and fidelity. He was born in Tennessee, March 18, 1876, a son of Hugh and Emeline (Parker) Barr, who were also natives of Tennessee, in which state the death of the mother occurred. The father afterward removed to Texas, where he is still living. In their family were four children, all of whom survive.
Howard E. Barr was but seven years of age at the time of the removal of the family to the Lone Star state and there he was reared and educated, supplementing his public school training by a course in a college. He was a man of thirty-one years when in 1907 he arrived in Dayton, Washington, where he has since made his home, covering a period of a decade. He here established a barber shop and is still engaged in the business. In community affairs he has taken a helpful interest and on the citizens' ticket he was elected in 1916 to the office of mayor of Dayton, in which capacity he is now serving. He has closely studied the needs of the city, its opportunities and the possibilities for improvement and is giving to the city a businesslike and progressive administration.
Comments
Log in to leave a comment.
Lyman's History of old Walla Walla County, Vol. 2Chapter C: R. Rogg, who is engaged in the furniture and undertaking business in (4)
0%37 min left in chapter