east, is one of the leading horticulturists of Walla Walla county,
his apple orchard comprising almost four thousand trees of the finest
varieties. He was born in that township, November 4, 1888, and is a son
of Joel and Viola M. (Hull) Woods, a sketch of whom appears elsewhere
in this work. He was reared at home and during his boyhood and youth
attended the Waitsburg public schools, thus receiving a good education.
On reaching man's estate he became associated with his father in the
operation of the home farm, and this relation was continued until
the father's death. In 1911 forty acres were planted to apple trees,
ninety-six to an acre, by Walter & Morris, the administrators of the
estate. This orchard of three thousand eight hundred and forty trees is
now bearing, and is one of the finest fruit orchards in the county. At
the time the estate was settled Mr. Woods of this review acquired title
to the orchard, and it yielded about two thousand boxes of apples in
1917. He has given the orchard the most thorough and systematic care
and is ever businesslike in solving problems of packing and marketing.
Mr. Woods belongs to Delta Lodge, No. 70, K. P., of Waitsburg and is
in hearty sympathy with the ideals of the fraternity upon which that
organization is based. He possesses in marked measure the enterprise
and self-reliance characteristic of the western man, and he has the
utmost confidence in the future of his county and state.
FRANK SINGLETON.
There are few residents of Walla Walla who can claim connection with
the city from 1857. The memory of Frank Singleton, however, harks back
to the period when this was a frontier fort and the work of progress
and civilization had scarcely been begun in all this section of the
country. The Indians were more numerous than the white settlers and
only here and there had some venturesome spirit penetrated into the
western wilderness to plant the seeds of civilization. Frank Singleton,
who is now extensively interested in mining and is engaged in the
real estate business in Walla Walla, was but six years of age at the
time of his arrival in Washington. He was born in San Antonio, Texas,
November 7, 1850, and after the removal of the family to the northwest
pursued his education in the public and parochial schools of Walla
Walla. On reaching manhood he engaged in the live stock business, with
which he was prominently identified for many years. At one time he
was a heavy holder of farm lands, but in 1916 he sold his farm north
of Prescott, comprising six hundred acres, which was the last of his
farm possessions. For the past twelve years he has been prominently
identified with mining and has large holdings in mining property. For
six years he has been engaged in the real estate business in Walla
Walla and has negotiated many important realty transfers. In a word,
he is a progressive business man, alert and energetic, his activities
guided by sound judgment, while his laudable ambition has brought to
him gratifying success.
In July, 1907, Mr. Singleton was united in marriage to Mrs. Martha
White, who in her maidenhood was Miss Kidwell, a daughter of James
Kidwell, who in 1863 cast in his lot with the pioneer settlers of
Walla Walla. By her former marriage Mrs. Singleton had two sons;
Walter, who is engaged in farming in Walla Walla county; and Vivian,
who is a farmer of Franklin county. Mr. and Mrs. Singleton are widely
and favorably known in the city and surrounding country, having an
extensive circle of friends, while the hospitality of the best homes is
freely accorded them. With every phase of pioneer life and of the later
development and progress of the county they are familiar, having been
interested witnesses of the growth and upbuilding of this section of
the state from early pioneer times.
WILLIAM D. PAUL.
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.
[Illustration: RANSOM CLARK]
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.
[Illustration: MR. AND MRS. GARRIT ROMAINE]
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.