LYMAN'S HISTORY
_of_
Old Walla Walla County
_Embracing_
Walla Walla, Columbia, Garfield
and Asotin Counties
ILLUSTRATED
VOLUME II
CHICAGO
THE S. J. CLARKE PUBLISHING COMPANY
1918
[Illustration: NELSON G. BLALOCK]
BIOGRAPHICAL
N. G. BLALOCK, M. D.
No history of Walla Walla and of this section of the northwest would
be complete without extended reference to Dr. N. G. Blalock, who not
only figured as a most successful and progressive physician but, also
recognizing the possibilities for the material development of the
northwest through its natural resources, contributed in marked measure
to the upbuilding of this section of the country and the promotion
of its business activities. His labors were of a character that
contributed to public progress as well as to individual success and in
fact they were of the most farreaching extent and importance.
Dr. Blalock was a native of North Carolina, his birth having occurred
in Mitchell county, that state, in 1836. He spent his youth amid rural
surroundings in his native state, his time largely being devoted
to agricultural pursuits, while later he took up the profession
of teaching but regarded this merely as an initial step to other
professional labor. It became his earnest desire to enter the medical
profession and with that end in view he matriculated in the Jefferson
Medical College of Philadelphia, from which he was graduated in 1861.
He first located for practice in Mount Zion, Illinois, and when the
Civil war was in progress he put aside all business, professional and
personal considerations and joined the army as surgeon of an Illinois
regiment, doing active duty at the front in this connection. When
hostilities had ceased he resumed the practice of medicine in Illinois,
where he remained until 1872. He then heard and heeded the call of the
west. He first came in 1872 to spy out the land. Crossing the continent
part of the way with a team, actuated by the purpose of selecting a new
home in the Pacific northwest, he decided upon Walla Walla and then
returned to Illinois for his family. In May, 1873, they left their home
in Macon county, that state, and on the 11th of October reached Walla
Walla, having spent about six months upon the road, as they traveled
by team. There were twenty-seven members in the little immigrant party
and their total financial resources on reaching their destination did
not exceed twenty dollars. Dr. Blalock at once sought employment in
order to replenish his depleted exchequer. He began hauling wheat from
Walla Walla to Wallula and upon the return trip brought groceries and
other merchandise, which had to be laid in before navigation on the
Columbia river closed for the winter. He was thus engaged for a little
over a month, after which he opened his office and began practicing
medicine. His career in that professional field was a most notable
one. His ability was pronounced. He most carefully diagnosed his cases
and his judgment was seldom, if ever, at fault. He did most important
work in the frontier community, his professional career covering a
period of fifty-three years, during which he kept a complete record of
his obstetrical cases, including the names, ages and birthplaces of
parents and the names and sexes of children. He officiated at almost
six thousand obstetrical cases. He was the loved family physician in
many a household. He was most sympathetic by nature, kindly in spirit
and these qualities, added to his professional skill and ability, made
him most efficient in medical practice.
Dr. Blalock also deserves special mention for his contribution to
the development of Walla Walla and the northwest. He organized the
firm of Blalock, Son & Company for the purpose of building a mill
and flume to engage in the manufacture and shipment of lumber, wood,
etc., from what is known as the Blalock Mountain. This undertaking
did not prove profitable, however, and the company failed for two
hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars, with assets of only fifty
thousand dollars. The nature of Dr. Blalock at once was manifest, for
he immediately assumed the liabilities of the company and in less
than eight years paid off every cent, with interest at from fifteen
to twenty-four per cent per annum, acting in this matter contrary to
the advice of his attorneys. No other course was possible to a man of
his straightforward and honorable nature, however. He felt that every
cent of his indebtedness should be met and he resolutely set to work
to achieve this end, which in an incredibly short space of time he
accomplished.
It was Dr. Blalock who installed the first telephone used in the state.
He rented six instruments at twelve dollars per month each and built
and kept up his own line from the mill to the end of the flume. He was
the promoter of what is known as the Blalock Orchards, two miles west
of Walla Walla. In 1876 he purchased for two dollars and a half per
acre four hundred acres of desert land, which he leveled, irrigated and
then planted with fruit trees, including apples, pears and cherries,
and also set out many small fruits. He shipped the first two car loads
of pears from the state of Washington east of the Rocky Mountains and
made large exhibit of his fruit at the World's Columbian Exposition
in Chicago in 1893. Since that time the Blalock Orchards have been
enlarged to sixteen hundred acres and have constituted a most important
feature of the horticultural development of the northwest. Upon the
land are now eight artesian wells, all strong and affording a supply
of water ample to irrigate the entire area with a system of pipe lines
over twenty miles in length, touching every acre of this vast tract.
The lands are being sold in five-acre tracts at from one thousand to
fifteen hundred dollars per acre. Dr. Blalock also made arrangements
for the purchase of three thousand six hundred acres of dry land six
miles south of Walla Walla, for which he was to pay ten bushels of
wheat per acre, an amount equal to five dollars per acre. The first
crop paid for the land and all expenses of raising and harvesting
and left him about three thousand dollars. This was followed by the
purchase of seven thousand acres of wheat land in Gilliam county,
Oregon, and he planted and promoted an orchard at the town of Blalock.
He was the promoter of the Blalock Islands enterprise, covering four
thousand acres in the Columbia river in Benton county, Washington.
He was associated with others in the development of three thousand
acres of desert land under the Carey act in Morrow county, Oregon. No
one labored more untiringly for the opening of the Columbia river for
navigation than Dr. Blalock, who for years devoted many hours to the
work. In appreciation of his efforts in that behalf the Columbia and
Snake River Waterways Association, meeting in Lewiston in its third
annual convention, passed the following resolution: "In these days
of the passing of the pioneer the people of the great northwest are
called upon from time to time to recognize the lifelong service of
noble men and women and to honor their names. Occasionally we take
unto ourselves the rare privilege of brightening the closing years
of one of these servants of mankind by a slight expression of our
affection and appreciation of their efforts in things worth while.
Such an occasion greets us today as we meet to honor one of God's
emblems. In recognition of the large part Dr. N. G. Blalock has had in
effecting an organized movement to secure an open river; in grateful
acknowledgment that through his indefatigable and successful labor,
associated with Joseph N. Teal, W. J. Mariner and J. F. Smith, almost
insuperable obstacles were overcome and the Oregon Portage Railroad
was built at The Dalles; and with hearty thanks to him for the lavish
expenditure of time and money in representing his state at meetings
of the Natural Rivers and Harbor Congress and attending innumerable
other gatherings in the interest of our rivers, where he has materially
helped in securing definite results. Therefore, be it resolved, that
we, the delegates to the Columbia and Snake River Waterways Association
here assembled, express to Dr. N. G. Blalock our deep affection and our
grateful appreciation for his long life of loving service."
A splendid characterization of Dr. Blalock is found in the memorial
address which was delivered by the Hon. Ben F. Hill before a joint
session of the state senate and the house of representatives, on which
occasion Mr. Hill said:
"Mr. President, Gentlemen of the senate and house:
"It is with a sense of profound sorrow that we pay a tribute to
the memory of Dr. Nelson G. Blalock, the distinguished member from
Walla Walla, of the constitutional convention. Dr. Blalock was born
in Mitchell county, North Carolina, in 1836. He was a graduate of
Jefferson Medical College, served as a surgeon in the One Hundred
and Fifteenth Illinois Regiment in the Civil war and came in 1873
to Walla Walla, the then metropolis of the northwest. The brilliant
young surgeon was in demand throughout the whole of the Inland
Empire. He became acquainted in his travels with the religious and
geographical work of the great Marcus Whitman and his chief ambition
appeared to be to develop the economic resources of that part of
Washington territory. For this reason the names of Marcus Whitman and
Nelson G. Blalock will be indelibly linked together in the building
and construction of our great state. One of Nelson G. Blalock's
earliest exploits was, when roads were impossible, the building of a
large flume from the Blue mountains to Walla Walla, for the purpose
of transporting logs, fuel and lumber to that growing community. He
made a success of and was the pioneer of arid land wheat farming. As
early as 1881 he produced the unprecedented yield of fifty thousand
bushels of wheat on one thousand acres of arid land. After proving
that wheat could be successfully produced he turned to irrigation
projects, some of which now are honored in retaining the Blalock
name. He drilled for and found artesian water, utilized the water of
the various streams, and every one of the districts he founded is
now a prosperous and conservative community. I could go on and tell
you of his work to complete the Celilo locks and canal and of his
intense desire to see an open Columbia river, but those and local
problems are developing as he anticipated they would. In fact before
Dr. Blalock passed away he had the final pleasure of knowing that all
these great economic benefits to the Inland Empire would be finished.
In the 1913 session we were honored by having Dr. Nelson G. Blalock,
during one of our sessions, invited to take his place with our
speaker and then a few days later during the session we were shocked
to hear of his death. You do not wonder then that Dr. Blalock was
elected to represent the Walla Walla district at the constitutional
convention and we revere and honor that man, soldier, physician,
statesman who in the economic development of the Inland Empire was
the greatest man the northwest has yet produced, Dr. Nelson G.
Blalock."
On the 13th of March, 1914, Dr. Blalock was stricken with apoplexy
while at work in his office and was taken to a hospital, where he died
the following day.
DORSEY S. BAKER, M. D.
No history of Walla Walla and the Inland Empire would be complete
without extended reference to Dr. Dorsey S. Baker, now deceased, who
for many years figured most prominently in the professional, commercial
and financial circles of the northwest. He stood in the front rank
of the columns that have advanced the civilization of Washington,
leading to its substantial development, progress and upbuilding. He was
particularly active in the growth of Walla Walla, where he continued
to make his home for many years. He recognized and utilized the
resources of the country and by establishing many business enterprises
contributed in marked measure to its development and progress. Widely
known, his life history cannot fail to prove of interest to the many
friends that he left behind and who still honor and cherish his memory.
Dr. Baker was born in Wabash county, Illinois, October 18, 1823,
and while still a boy in his teens became the active assistant of
his father, who was engaged in milling and merchandising. Thus he
received a thorough training that constituted the broad foundation
upon which much of the success of his later years was built. After a
time, however, he determined to enter upon a professional career and
with that end in view matriculated in the Jefferson Medical College of
Philadelphia, from which he was graduated in 1845 on the completion of
the full course. He located for the practice of medicine in Des Moines,
Iowa, but after remaining there for a brief period determined to follow
the advice of Horace Greeley, who said: "Go west, young man, go west."
Accordingly in 1848 he started for Oregon, where he arrived in the
fall of the same year, having no money and no acquaintances in this
section of the country. He immediately opened an office and began the
practice of his chosen profession in Portland, which was then a small
town containing but one or two streets along the river front. Gold
was discovered in California the following year and Dr. Baker joined
the rush for the famous Eldorado. He remained in that state until
the spring of 1850 and then returned to Portland, where he entered
into partnership with L. B. Hastings in the conduct of a mercantile
enterprise. The following spring he again went to the mines, this time
his objective point being Yreka, which was then a newly developed
mining camp. In May of the same year, however, he once more returned
to Oregon and established his home in the Umpqua valley, where for
several years he devoted his attention to stock raising, to milling and
to general merchandising. He erected the first flour mill in southern
Oregon at the old town of Oakland in Douglas county, and in 1858 he was
conducting business in Portland as a hardware merchant.
[Illustration: D. S. BAKER]
Dr. Baker's connection with Walla Walla dated from October, 1859,
when he established a store in this city, placing William Stephens
in charge. The following year, however, he personally assumed the
management of the business and in 1862 he entered into partnership
with his brother-in-law, John F. Boyer, in establishing the firm of
Baker & Boyer, which was so long widely and favorably known in eastern
Washington. It was in that year that he also became associated with
Captain Ankeny, H. W. Corbett and Captain Baughman in the organization
of a steamboat company to operate a line of boats on the Columbia and
Snake rivers. This company built the steamer Spray for the upper river
and the E. D. Baker for the lower Columbia trade, thus instituting what
constituted a most important element in the development and upbuilding
of the northwest. These steamship lines were sold the following year
to the Oregon Steam Navigation Company. Dr. Baker's recognition of the
possibilities and opportunities of the northwest constituted a most
important factor in the development of the Inland Empire. After nine
years he took up the construction of a railroad from Walla Walla to the
Columbia River, building the line entirely from his own resources. This
not only enhanced the fortune of the promoter but brought prosperity
and wealth to the entire Walla Walla valley and adjacent country.
It was a matter of pride to Dr. Baker that during his ownership and
management of the railroad it was never encumbered with a mortgage and
never had a floating debt. He finally sold the road in 1878 to the
Henry Villard syndicate and it became a part of the Oregon Railway and
Navigation System.
Throughout the remainder of his life Dr. Baker devoted his energies
to banking and to the inauguration of various business enterprises
in and about Walla Walla that continued as factors in the progress
and improvement of the city and of the state. The Baker-Boyer Bank,
which was organized in 1869, is the oldest institution of the kind in
Washington and remains one of the strongest moneyed concerns of the
state. Later it was reorganized as the Baker-Boyer National Bank.
Dr. Baker was married in Portland, Oregon, in June, 1850, to Miss
Caroline Tibbetts, a native of Indiana, by whom he had seven children,
three of whom died in infancy. The others were Edwin Franklin, now
living in California; Mary E., the deceased wife of Ex-Governor Miles
C. Moore, now president of the Baker-Boyer National Bank; Henry C.; and
W. W., who is the vice president of the Baker-Boyer National Bank. For
his second wife Dr. Baker chose Miss Mary Legier, of Tuscola, Illinois,
who passed away soon afterward, and in August, 1867, he wedded
Elizabeth H. McCullough, by whom he had eight daughters, four of whom
died while young. Mrs. Baker passed away May 7, 1917, having for many
years survived her husband, whose death occurred in Walla Walla, July
5, 1888.
Dr. Baker not only lived to witness a remarkable transformation in
this section of the country but was an active participant in all the
changes that brought about modern-day civilization. His greatest
effort in pioneer days was the building of the Walla Walla & Columbia
River Railroad, which was the foundation of the early settlement and
building up of the great Inland Empire, of which Walla Walla became the
distributing point for eastern Washington, Montana and Idaho. He gave
the original site for Whitman Seminary, donating land which became the
nucleus of the present property of what is now Whitman College. Almost
seventy years have passed since Dr. Baker came to the northwest to cast
in his lot with its pioneers. People of the present period can scarcely
realize the struggles and dangers which attended the early settlers,
the heroism and self-sacrifice of lives passed upon the borders of
civilization, the hardships endured, the difficulties overcome. These
tales of the early days read almost like a romance to those who have
known only the modern prosperity and conveniences. To the pioneer of
the early days, far removed from the privileges and conveniences of
city and town, the struggle for existence was a stern and hard one, and
these men and women must have possessed indomitable energy and sterling
worth of character as well as marked physical courage when they thus
voluntarily selected such a life and successfully fought its battles
under such circumstances as prevailed in the northwest. The efforts of
Dr. Baker were indeed an important feature in the development of this
section of the country. He saw and utilized opportunities which have
brought about modern-day progress and improvement and not only kept
pace with the trend of the times but was a leader in the onward march
of progress in Walla Walla and this section of the state.
C. R. ROGG.
C. R. Rogg, who is engaged in the furniture and undertaking business in
Dayton, has in his business career ever followed the admonition of the
old Greek philosopher, Epicharmus, who said: "Earn thy reward; the gods
give nought to sloth." In other words he has ever been diligent and
determined and his close application and his energy have brought him
the measure of success which he now enjoys. He was born in Bridgeport,
Connecticut, May 17, 1876, and is a son of Raymond and Katie (Toy)
Rogg. The father was a native of Germany but came to America when a
young lad and settled in Connecticut, where he was reared and married.
In 1877 he removed with his family to Kansas, where he established his
home upon a farm and in that state both he and his wife passed away. In
their family were seven children, six of whom are now living.
Although born in New England, C. R. Rogg was only about a year old when
the family home was established in the Sunflower state and there he was
reared and educated, pursuing his studies in the public schools. He was
a young man of about twenty-seven years when he determined to leave the
middle west and try his fortune upon the Pacific coast. He arrived in
Walla Walla county, Washington, in 1903 and there remained for a year,
after which he removed to Dayton, where he established a furniture and
undertaking business, in which he has now been engaged for thirteen
years, building up a trade of large and gratifying proportions. He
has a well appointed furniture store, carrying a large and carefully
selected stock, and his reasonable prices, progressive business methods
and earnest desire to please his customers have brought to him a very
gratifying patronage.
In May, 1906, Mr. Rogg was united in marriage to Miss Ollie Landon, who
was born in Kansas, a daughter of R. E. Landon, who is still living in
that state. To Mr. and Mrs. Rogg have been born three children: John
Vern, whose birth occurred October 23, 1907; Erma B., who was born
January 29, 1910; and Caroline Bernice. Mrs. Rogg is a member of the
Christian church. Mr. Rogg has membership with the Independent Order of
Odd Fellows and has filled all of the chairs in the local lodge. He is
also connected with Dayton Lodge, No. 3, K. P. His political support
is given to the democratic party and he has been elected a member of
the city council by the vote of his fellow townsmen, who recognized his
worth and ability and felt that public interests would be safe in his
hands. The years of his residence in Dayton have brought him a wide
acquaintance and his sterling worth has gained for him the high regard
of those with whom he has been associated.
FRANK C. ROBINSON, M. D., F. A. C. S.
Prepared by comprehensive study at home and abroad, Dr. Frank C.
Robinson has won for himself a distinguished position in the ranks
of the medical profession in Walla Walla and the northwest. He has
wisely utilized his native talents and as the years have gone on
his reading and research have kept him in touch with the trend of
scientific attainment. He was born in Blandinsville, Illinois, May
24, 1874, a son of Campbell and Elizabeth (Hungate) Robinson, both
of whom were natives of McDonough county, Illinois, where they were
reared and married. There they resided until 1875, when they removed
to Taylor county, Iowa, and in 1892 they became residents of Walla
Walla county, Washington. The father purchased land at Bolles Junction,
where he engaged in farming for ten years, and in 1902 he retired from
active life, taking up his abode in the city of Walla Walla, where
his remaining days were passed, his death occurring in 1913, while
his widow survived until 1916. He was for a long period one of the
most extensive and successful agriculturists of his locality, owning
and cultivating two thousand acres of land at Bolles Junction. In his
family were six children, namely: Frank C., of this review; Charles
D., connected with the Lincoln Trust Company, of Spokane, Washington;
Samuel E., a farmer of Imperial, California; Lillian M., who is
teaching in the high school of Hilliard, near Spokane, Washington;
Harry H., a physician now on duty as a captain in the Medical Reserve
Corps at Waco, Texas; and Myrtle V., the wife of William R. Howard, a
teacher in the high school of Spokane.
Dr. Frank C. Robinson was very young when the family went to Iowa and
was a youth of about eighteen years when the removal was made to the
northwest. He has since taken a most active interest in the development
of the Inland Empire and has contributed in substantial measure to the
work of progress and improvement along various lines. He was educated
in the public schools and in the Waitsburg Academy, being graduated
from the latter institution with the class of 1897. The following year
he began preparation for the practice of medicine and surgery, entering
Rush Medical College of Chicago in the fall of 1898. He was graduated
from that institution on the completion of the four years' course as
valedictorian of the class of 1902 and immediately afterward served
an interneship of a year and a half in the Presbyterian Hospital of
Chicago, thus gaining broad and valuable practical experience along
professional lines. He was afterward appointed superintendent of the
Monroe Street Hospital in Chicago, in which capacity he served for
a year. Desirous of further advancing in his profession, he went
abroad in August, 1905, for post-graduate work in Europe, pursuing his
studies and his research work in Vienna, Austria, where he remained
until May, 1906, coming under the instruction of some of the most
eminent physicians and surgeons of the old world. He then returned
to his native land and opened an office in Walla Walla, where in the
intervening period of eleven years he has won a place in the front
ranks of medical practitioners. His ability is pronounced and he
has gained a most creditable name and place in a profession where
advancement depends entirely upon individual merit.
In 1905 Dr. Robinson was married to Miss Jessie Addle Morgan, a
daughter of J. W. Morgan, a pioneer druggist and the foremost citizen
of Waitsburg, Washington. Mrs. Robinson is a graduate of the Washington
State Normal School at Ellensburg and later was graduated from the
University of Washington with the class of 1903. She is a lady of
culture and refinement.
Dr. Robinson is well known in fraternal circles, belonging to Walla
Walla Lodge, No. 7, F. & A. M.; also to Oriental Consistory, No. 2, A.
& A. S. R., of Spokane. He has likewise crossed the sands of the desert
with the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, having membership in El Katif
Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S., of Spokane. He belongs to Columbia Lodge,
No. 8, K. P. Dr. Robinson belongs to the Walla Walla County Medical
Society, the Washington State Medical Society and the American Medical
Association. At the annual convocation of the American College of
Surgeons in Chicago in October, 1917, fellowship was conferred upon Dr.
Robinson. He makes his practice his chief interest, allowing nothing
to interfere with the faithful and conscientious performance of his
professional duties, and his comprehensive knowledge of the science of
medicine, accurately applied, has gained him place with the eminent
representatives of the profession in this state. In July, 1917, he
entered the United States service and was commissioned captain in the
Medical Officers Reserve Corps and is now awaiting summons to the front.
CHARLES A. KAUSCHE.
Charles A. Kausche, a well known farmer of Garfield county with
residence on section 21, township 12 north, range 41 east, was born
in this county, May 27, 1881, a son of Henry and Paulina (Lowenberg)
Kausche, the former a native of Germany and the latter of Ohio. When
only sixteen years of age the father came to the United States and in
1876 removed to Oregon. Four years later he came with his family to
Garfield county, Washington, and took up a claim. As soon as possible
he erected a rude home of the type known as a box house and in order
to fence his land he hauled poles from the mountains twenty-five miles
distant. In time he brought his place to a high state of development
and erected excellent buildings thereon, being actively engaged in
farming until 1902, when he retired and removed to Pomeroy. In 1903 he
passed away there but his wife survives.
Charles A. Kausche, who is one of the five living children of a family
of eight, was reared at home and at the usual age became a pupil in the
public schools, which he attended in the acquirement of an education.
In 1904 he rented the old homestead and subsequently he bought the
place, which comprises eight hundred and seventy acres. He has erected
excellent modern buildings upon the place and has otherwise added
to its value and it now ranks among the best developed farms of the
locality. He uses up-to-date methods and implements in carrying on his
work and also gives careful thought to the problem of marketing to
advantage.
Mr. Kausche was married in 1904 to Miss Odessa Trosper, who was born
in Old Walla Walla county, a daughter of Joseph G. and Ena (Bonney)
Trosper, the former a native of Missouri. Two children have been born
to Mr. and Mrs. Kausche, Floyd B. and Merle K.
Mr. Kausche belongs to the Knights of Pythias and in politics supports
the republican party. For some time he was clerk of the school board
and he is strongly in favor of the best possible public schools. His
extensive farming interests do not leave him much time for outside
activities but it is generally known that he supports all movements
seeking the material, civic or moral advancement of his community.
CHRISTIAN MILLER.
Christian Miller, who is devoting his time and energies to the
operation of a good farm on section 26, Russell Creek township, Walla
Walla county, was born in Denmark, January 27, 1854, a son of Soren S.
and Sarah M. Miller, who in 1862 came with their family to the United
States. After residing for six years in Utah, where the father engaged
in farming, they came to Walla Walla county, Washington, in 1868 with
a colony composed of Mormons who had seceded from the church and also
others who were never associated with that organization. The father
belonged to the former class and he remained with the colony until it
broke up in 1880 or 1881. He then acquired title to a small farm on
Mill creek, where he continued to make his home until his death, which
occurred March 26, 1897.
Christian Miller had very little opportunity to attend school, as
his boyhood was passed in a frontier community, but he has learned
many valuable lessons in the school of experience. He accompanied his
parents on their removal to Walla Walla county and remained with the
colony until it was disbanded, after which he worked as a farm hand for
a time. In 1889 he purchased his first farm, comprising one hundred and
sixty acres on section 26, Russell Creek township, and has since added
to his holdings from time to time until he now owns about four hundred
acres of excellent land. He is engaged in diversified farming and has
been very successful in his work.
On the 8th of November, 1882, Mr. Miller was united in marriage to Miss
Grace E. Davies, who was born in Kansas, June 18, 1855. Her father, W.
W. Davies, was a native of Wales, born August 8, 1833, and was at the
head of the colony of settlers who came to this county. Before leaving
Wales he was married August 24, 1854, to Miss Ann Jones, and they
became the parents of twelve children. It was in 1855 that they came to
America and for a time made their home in Utah and later in Montana,
but in 1867 came to Walla Walla county, Washington. Mrs. Davies, who
was born in Wales, March 29, 1836, died May 19, 1879, and Mr. Davies
passed away November 25, 1906. Three children were born to Mr. and
Mrs. Miller, of whom two survive, namely: Sarah M., the wife of Elmer
Meiner, a farmer of Russell Creek township; and Esther M., at home.
Mr. Miller is a republican in politics and has served for a number of
years on the school board, in which connection he has done valuable
work for the schools. He belongs to the Modern Woodmen of America and
has many friends within and without that organization. Through his own
efforts he has gained financial independence, his success being based
upon enterprise, hard work and good management.
HON. LEVI ANKENY.
With the history of development in the northwest Hon. Levi Ankeny, of
Walla Walla, is largely familiar. He has been a witness of the various
phases of life during the progress from pioneer times to the days
of present prosperity and he has ever borne his part in the work of
general upbuilding and improvement, while at the same time he has so
conducted his private business interests that substantial results have
accrued. He has been active in connection with mining and with the
copper industry and for many years he has occupied a most prominent
position in banking circles. His business interests alone would entitle
him to representation in this volume and yet there are other phases
of his life which also render him a most prominent and representative
citizen of the northwest, for he has been United States senator and has
done much to further the interests of this section of the country in
the halls of national legislation.
Mr. Ankeny was born near St. Joseph, Missouri, on the 1st of August,
1844, a son of John and Charity (Geer) Ankeny, the former a native of
Pennsylvania and the latter of the state of New York. Both were members
of old families whose ancestry can be traced back to Revolutionary war
times and who were represented by valiant soldiers in the struggle for
independence. The father was a newspaper man in Milford, Pennsylvania,
for a number of years and died while on a trip across the plains to
Oregon in 1850. His widow continued the trip and spent her last years
in Portland, Oregon.
Levi Ankeny of this review was a little lad of but six summers when
his parents started with the family on the long trip over the hot
stretches of sand and through the mountain passes to the northwest, yet
he remembers many incidents of that journey, which was made after the
primitive manner of the times. He was reared on the Pacific coast and
largely acquired his education in Kingsley Academy in Portland. After
reaching adult age he was for several years engaged in merchandising
in Orofino and in Florence, Idaho, selling goods from pack trains all
through the mining regions and also through the Fraser river country
of British Columbia. He was also for several years with the Wells
Fargo Express Company. During these years he became identified with
the cattle industry and his herds roamed the plains of both Idaho and
Washington. He was in Walla Walla in his cattle operations, grazing his
herds throughout this section of the country in the early days before
settlement had laid claim to the land.
[Illustration: HON. LEVI ANKENY]
Mr. Ankeny's identification with financial interests in the northwest
began on the 1st of January, 1878, when he organized the First
National Bank of Walla Walla. He thus entered actively into a field of
business in which he has made substantial progress and in which his
efforts have contributed much to the upbuilding and development of
this section as well. In 1882 he organized the First National Bank of
Pendleton, Oregon, and a year later organized the First National Bank
of Baker City, Oregon. The same year he founded the First National
Bank of Waitsburg, Washington, and subsequently became the founder
of the Columbia National Bank of Dayton, Washington. He settled the
affairs of the Vancouver National Bank of Vancouver, British Columbia.
He has since disposed of the bank at Baker City, Oregon, and also
of the one in Vancouver hut is still president of the other four
banking institutions, the combined deposits of which at the present
time amount to over seven million dollars. There is no phase of the
banking business with which he is not familiar and he is thoroughly
acquainted with all of the grave problems of finance which confront the
country. He has served as president of the State Bankers' Association.
He is actuated in all that he does by a most progressive spirit and,
readily discriminating between the essential and the non-essential in
all business affairs, he has so directed his efforts that success in
notable measure has attended his endeavors and reputation names him as
the wealthiest resident of his county. Moreover, the policy that he has
pursued is one which will bear the closest investigation and scrutiny
and may well constitute an example that others may profitably follow.
In 1867 Mr. Ankeny was united in marriage to Miss Jennie Nesmith, a
daughter of James Nesmith, who was United States senator from Oregon.
By this marriage have been born five children, four of whom are
living: Nesmith, who is assistant cashier of the First National Bank
at Pendleton, Oregon; John who is vice president of the First National
Bank at Walla Walla; Robert, who operated a farm in the Willamette
valley of Oregon but has volunteered and is now serving as a machinist
in the Navy; and Harriett, who is the wife of Colonel Francis Pope, of
the United States army, formerly stationed at San Antonio, Texas, but
now in France.
Mr. Ankeny has not only done much to develop the material interests
and resources of this section of the country but has also contributed
in large measure to shaping its political history. He has always been
a stalwart champion of the republican party and upon its ticket was
elected in 1903 to represent Washington in the United States senate,
serving in that august body for six years, during which period he most
carefully considered the vital questions which came up for settlement
and threw the weight of his aid and influence on the side of progress,
reform and improvement. He is a thirty-second degree Mason, being
identified with all the Masonic bodies of both the York and Scottish
Rites. He has served as grand master. He belongs to Walla Walla
Commandery, No. 2, K. T., and is a member of El Kader Temple, A. A.
O. N. M. S. He also has membership with the Independent Order of Odd
Fellows and the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. His religious
faith is evidenced in his membership in the Episcopal church and that
he is appreciative of the social amenities of life is indicated in his
identification with the Country Club. Mr. Ankeny is recognized as one
of the strong men of the northwest, strong in his honor and his good
name, strong in his ability to plan and perform. What he has undertaken
he has accomplished and, moreover, he has not only promoted his
individual interests but his activities have ever been of a character
which have advanced the public prosperity as well.
CARY MELVIN RADER.
Cary Melvin Rader, a leading member of the bar of Walla Walla, engaged
in general practice, was born in Carroll county, Indiana, July 27,
1868. His father, Solomon Rader, was also a native of the Hoosier
state, born October 8, 1827. He devoted his life to farming in early
manhood and afterward took up merchandising. He was a veteran of
the Indian wars of the northwest and crossed the plains in 1852. He
participated in the Modoc and Rogue River wars of 1853 and 1857.
Later he returned to Indiana and became actively identified with its
agricultural and commercial interests. But longing for the west he came
to Walla Walla, Washington, in 1901, there remaining until his death,
which occurred December 2, 1912. His wife, who bore the maiden name of
Martha Ann Stewart, was born in Indiana, May 30, 1827, and is still
living at the notable old age of ninety years, her home being in Walla
Walla.
Cary M. Rader was the only child of that marriage. He obtained a common
school education in his native state and afterward attended the Central
Normal College at Danville, Indiana, where he pursued a law course.
He was there graduated on the 28th of July, 1891, and was admitted to
the bar, but in May, 1892, came to Walla Walla and has since been an
active representative of the legal profession of this city. He entered
into partnership with Senator Poindexter, with whom he was associated
for about four years, after which he practiced alone for a few years,
and then became a partner of Frank B. Sharpstein. Their connection
continued for four years and Mr. Rader was then alone in practice for
a brief period. He afterward entered into partnership with W. R. King,
who later became a supreme judge of Oregon, and upon the dissolution
of that partnership he became connected with E. F. Barker, forming
the present firm of Rader & Barker. This association has since been
maintained and the firm occupies a very prominent position at the Walla
Walla bar. Along with those qualities indispensable to the lawyer Mr.
Rader brought to the starting point of his legal career certain rare
gifts, including forcefulness of expression and a strong personality.
He possesses a keen, rapid, logical mind, plus the business sense, and
a ready capacity for hard work. He has, too, an excellent presence,
an earnest, dignified manner and marked strength of character,
which, combined with a thorough grasp of the law and the ability to
accurately apply its principles, has made him a most effective advocate
and a wise counselor. While continuing in general law practice, he
has specialized in corporation law and is thoroughly well informed
concerning that department of jurisprudence. He served for one term as
city attorney in 1896. In addition to his professional interests he is
a director of the Peoples State Bank, to which office he was elected on
the organization of the bank, and he has considerable farming interests.
On the 13th of September, 1893, Mr. Rader was united in marriage to
Miss Hattie Miller, a native of Eaton, Ohio, and a daughter of Charles
Miller, a resident of that city. Her mother has passed away. Mr. and
Mrs. Rader have become the parents of three children, Ralph Waldo,
Martha Bernice and Melvin Miller.
In his political views Mr. Rader is an earnest democrat, believing
firmly in the principles of the party, yet never seeking office. He
attends the Congregational church and is a faithful follower of the
Masonic fraternity, being now a past master of Walla Walla Lodge, No.
7, A. F. & A. M. There have been no spectacular phases in his career,
but in a profession where advancement depends entirely upon individual
merit and ability he has worked his way steadily upward. His practice
is now extensive and of an important character. At no time has his
reading ever been confined to the limitations of the question at issue
and he is recognized not only in professional circles but otherwise as
a man of well rounded character, of finely balanced mind and splendid
intellectual attainments.
JUDGE JOHN W. HOLMAN.
Judge John W. Holman, of Dayton, has an unusual record of public
service, having for twenty-two years been police judge and justice of
the peace, and for seven years he was court commissioner. He was born
in Monroe county, Indiana, May 22, 1844, a son of Thomas and Laura
(Parker) Holman, pioneers of the Hoosier state. He was reared under
the parental roof and at the usual age entered the district schools.
When eighteen years old he volunteered for service in the Union army
and from the time of his enlistment, on the 6th of August, 1862,
until after the close of the war he was with the armed forces of the
government. His record includes service in the battles of Ball Bluff,
Port Gibson, the siege of Vicksburg and the engagements at Jackson,
Mansfield, Pleasant Hill, Grandicor, Fort Gaines, Fort Morgan, Big
Black, Champion Hills and Raymond.
On returning to civil life Judge Holman removed to Illinois, where he
engaged in farming until 1868. In that year he became a resident of
Nebraska and there made his home until 1876, when he cast in his lot
with the Pacific northwest. During the intervening forty-one years he
has lived at Dayton and has become one of the foremost citizens of that
town and, in fact, of Columbia county. In 1888 he was appointed deputy
sheriff under W. R. Marcus, and two years later was elected justice of
the peace. Subsequently he became police judge and for twenty-two years
he filled both offices. In the discharge of his duties he manifested
a fine sense of justice and an unusual ability to read human nature.
For seven years he was also court commissioner under Judge R. F.
Sturdevant, and in that connection also he was thoroughly competent.
Judge Holman was married in Nebraska in 1869, to Miss Louisa E. Linn,
a native of Ohio. They became the parents of the following children:
Laura A.; Ernest A.; Jessie P.; Olive F.; Lola C.; Nellie L.; John W.,
Jr., deceased; Dorothy C.; Charles D.; and Donald L.
Judge Holman has been a republican almost since the organization of
the party and his advice has often been sought by the local party
leaders. At one time he was the republican councilman from Brooklyn.
He has always been justly proud of the fact that at the time of the
country's need he offered himself in defense of the Union, and he finds
great pleasure in the association with other veterans of the Civil war
in the local post of the Grand Army of the Republic. Fraternally he
is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. His strength of
character and his unswerving adherence to high standards of morality
have gained him the respect of his community, and, moreover, he has
won an unusually large number of personal friends, owing to his
kindly nature and his evident goodwill toward all. One evidence of
his popularity is the fact that while serving as justice of the peace
he performed more marriages than any other official or clergyman in
the county and in many instances married two generations of the same
family. He has the satisfaction of knowing that he has discharged in
full every duty devolving upon him, and that during a long life he has
at all times proven a man of genuine worth, an official devoted to the
public welfare.
JUDGE BENJAMIN L. SHARPSTEIN.
No history such as this work defines in its essential limitations will
serve to offer fitting memorial to Judge Benjamin L. Sharpstein, who
left the impress of his individuality for good upon the commonwealth
in many ways and whose career ever reflected honor upon the state that
honored him. A Mexican war veteran, a pioneer, lawyer, legislator
and member of the state constitutional convention, he indeed played
an important part in shaping the annals of Washington. For forty-two
years he was a resident of Walla Walla and through that period was not
only closely connected with its interests and development but was also
associated with many of the movements which have shaped the policy and
directed the upbuilding of the state.
Judge Sharpstein was a native of the state of New York, his birth
having occurred in Bath, Steuben county, October 22, 1827. He was a
lad of seven years when his parents removed westward to Michigan,
settling first in Macomb county, where they resided until their removal
to Sheboygan county, Wisconsin. In the family were two sons, John and
Benjamin L. The former became an attorney of Kenosha, Wisconsin, and
later went to San Francisco, California, where he served as a judge of
the supreme court. After the Civil war his brother Benjamin read law
with him for some time. Reared upon the home farm, Judge Sharpstein
divided his time between the work of the schoolroom, the pleasures
of the playground and such tasks as were assigned him in connection
with the development of the fields. He did not care, however, to make
farming his life work and turned from agriculture to a professional
career, it being his desire to prepare for the bar. He therefore
entered upon his studies, which, however, were interrupted when he was
nineteen years of age, for in 1846 his patriotic spirit was aroused
and he joined the American army as a soldier in the Mexican war. Upon
the close of hostilities with that country he returned to his home and
resumed the study of law, being admitted to the bar in 1852.
[Illustration: JUDGE BENJAMIN SHARPSTEIN]
[Illustration: MRS. BENJAMIN SHARPSTEIN]