of Menard county, Illinois, by whom he has two sons: Lowell Oakley, a
successful agriculturist of Walla Walla county; and Brooks Andy, who
engages in wheat growing with his father. Although a grandmother Mrs.
Taylor is now a student at St. Paul's School, where she expects to
complete the school work begun in her girlhood, having a great desire
for a higher education than she could obtain at that time. This is very
unusual for a woman past fifty years of age but shows her strength of
character and perseverance. Mr. Taylor gives his political allegiance
to the republican party, which he has supported since age conferred
upon him the right of franchise. Fraternally he is identified with
the following organizations: Blue Mountain Lodge, No. 13, F. & A.
M.; Walla Walla Chapter, No. 1, R. A. M.; Enterprise Lodge, No. 2,
I. O. O. F.; Walla Walla Encampment, No. 3, I. O. O. F.; and Walla
Walla Lodge, No. 287, B. P. O. E. Mr. Taylor and his two sons are all
thirty-second degree Masons as well as members of the Odd Fellows lodge
and encampment, while his wife and sons are identified with the Order
of the Eastern Star, and Mrs. Taylor is a member of the Daughters of
Rebekahs. Mr. Taylor is also a member of the Farmers Union and is
widely and favorably known in Walla Walla county, where he has won
friends and fortune.
ALBERT R. MATTOON.
Albert R. Mattoon is a representative farmer of Walla Walla county who
deserves mention among the self-made men. He had no assistance when he
started out in the business world but early realized that energy and
effort will bring substantial results and by reason of his unfaltering
diligence he has gained a place among the leading farmers of his
section of the county. He was born in Oregon, July 12, 1853, and is the
only child of Aruna and Eliza A. (Trullinger) Mattoon. The father was a
native of the state of New York, while the mother was born in Indiana.
It was in 1847 that they crossed the plains, making the journey with ox
teams and taking up their abode near Oregon City, Oregon. Mr. Mattoon
secured a donation claim, upon which not a furrow had been turned nor
an improvement made, and there he built a log cabin. The family lived
in true pioneer style, for the work of progress and development had
scarcely been begun in that region. The Indians far outnumbered the
white settlers; the forests stood in their primeval strength; the
streams were unbridged and the land uncultivated. Only here and there
had some venturesome spirit penetrated into the wildernesses of the
west in order to found a home and engage in business. Mr. Mattoon began
the development of his farm and continued his residence in Oregon until
his demise, but his widow afterward removed to Washington and spent her
last days in Walla Walla county.
Albert R. Mattoon was reared and educated in Oregon and remained a
resident of that state until 1878, when, at the age of twenty-five
years he came to Washington and has since made his home in Walla Walla
county save for a brief period. After taking up his abode in the city
of Walla Walla he was there engaged in the implement business for
fifteen years, ranking with its leading and representative merchants.
He then sold his store and returned to Oregon, going first to Riddle,
where he engaged in merchandising for seven years. He then disposed of
his store at that place and removed to Portland, where he engaged in
the real estate business until 1913, when he returned to Walla Walla.
He then took up his abode upon the farm on which he now resides, having
sixty acres of land on which is raised corn, hay, wheat and garden
produce. At the present time, however, he rents most of his land and is
now practically living retired.
On the 7th of November, 1880, Mr. Mattoon was married to Mrs. Nancy
Jane Knight, a native of Missouri, and to them have been born two sons:
Arthur R., who is now living in Portland, Oregon; and Fred V., who is
successfully engaged in the hotel business at Wenatchee, Washington.
By her first marriage Mrs. Mattoon has one son, P. B. Knight, who
resides in Walla Walla. She is a daughter of William Bartlett and Mary
(Weaver) Braden, natives of Kentucky and North Carolina respectively.
They were married, however, in Tennessee, and from that state removed
to Illinois about 1838. Ten years later they went to Missouri, where
Mr. Braden died in 1866. In 1870 Mrs. Braden came with her daughter to
Walla Walla county, Washington; and here she passed away at the home of
Mrs. Mattoon in 1887. She was the mother of twelve children, but only
three now survive. In 1873 her daughter, Nancy Jane, became the wife of
William C. Knight, who died about a year later.
In his political views Mr. Mattoon has always been a stalwart
republican since age conferred upon him the right of franchise and
he represented Douglas county, Oregon, for two years in the state
legislature, during which period he was instrumental by his vote in
electing John H. Mitchell to the office of United States senator. For
some years he served on the school board and the cause of education
has ever found in him a stalwart supporter. He also belongs to the Odd
Fellows lodge at Roseburg, Oregon, and his life is an exemplification
of its teachings concerning the brotherhood of man and the obligations
thereby imposed. In all of his business career he has shown ready
adaptability and resourcefulness, combined with energy and enterprise,
and whatever he has undertaken he has carried forward to successful
completion. The record which he has made is a very creditable one and
his life history shows that success and an honored name may be won
simultaneously.
HORACE G. HART.
Horace G. Hart is spoken of by friends and neighbors as a man of high
purpose that has found expression in his daily conduct. He is now
engaged in general farming on section 3, township 9 north, range 36
east, in Walla Walla county. He was born in Macon county, Missouri,
on the 7th of September, 1858, a son of Horace and Margaret E.
(Mercer) Hart. The father was a native of Connecticut and the mother
of Kentucky. The former first crossed the plains in 1846, making his
way to Spalding's mission at Lapwai, Idaho, Mr. Spalding's first wife
having been his sister. In the fall of 1848, when gold was first
discovered in California, he went to that state and subsequently he
crossed the continent four times, twice by way of the Isthmus route
and once around the Horn. He was married on the 22d of November, 1855,
and in 1864 he brought his family across the plains, making his way to
the Touchet valley, where he established his home about twenty miles
north of Walla Walla. There he became actively identified with farming
and stock raising and acquired two hundred and forty acres of land,
upon which he spent his remaining days, passing away September 1, 1892,
when in his eightieth year. His experiences were broad and varied,
acquainting him with all phases of mining life and with all phases of
pioneer life in the far west. On the 29th of May, 1893, his wife passed
away when sixty-nine years of age.
Horace G. Hart was reared under the parental roof upon the western
frontier, having been but six years of age when the family came to
Washington. His education was acquired in the district schools and as
early as his eighteenth year he began farming on his own account,
operating his father's farm, which he continued to manage until after
his father's death. In the meantime, on attaining his majority, he
filed on a homestead adjoining his father's place and continued its
cultivation in connection with the further development of the old
homestead. Following his father's demise he came into possession of
the farm on which he still resides, but has sold much of the land,
retaining one hundred acres as a home. His career has been that of
a very busy man. He has closely applied himself to the care and
management of his property interests and he has long ranked with the
leading and representative agriculturists of his section of the state.
On the 28th of March, 1881, Mr. Hart was united in marriage to Miss
Ollie L. McKinzie, of Walla Walla, a daughter of Isaac McKinzie, one
of the early settlers of the county. To this union have been born
ten children: Myrtle A., the wife of Daniel Callahan, a farmer of
this county; Carl E., of Waitsburg, Washington; Ralph H., a farmer of
Walla Walla county; Lulu P., the wife of Arthur Coe, a farmer residing
at Milton, Oregon; Mabel, the wife of Herbert E. Carr, of Prescott;
Dorsey, a resident of Detroit, Michigan; and Mary, Lester, Loverne and
Horace, Jr., all at home.
Since attaining his majority Mr. Hart has given stalwart allegiance to
the republican party but has never been an aspirant for public office.
He, however, allowed his name to be used on the prohibition ticket
for the office of county commissioner. He has always been a staunch
advocate of temperance and does everything in his power to advance the
cause. He belongs to Prescott Lodge, No. 46, I. O. O. F., and to the
Ancient Order of United Workmen. He and his wife are members of the
Federated church at Prescott and his aid can always be counted upon to
further any movement that tends to uplift the individual or advance the
best interests of the community. His standards of life are high and
those who know him have come to recognize the fact that his word is as
good as his bond.
ALEXANDER PRICE.
Alexander Price was a most prominent and progressive farmer of Columbia
county for many years and in his death the community lost one of its
valued citizens. He was born in Missouri, November 3, 1847, a son of
Joseph S. and Sarah (Williams) Price, the former a native of Kentucky,
while the latter was born in Indiana.
Alexander Price was reared and educated in Missouri and was a youth
of seventeen years when he crossed the plains, traveling with ox team
and wagon after the primitive methods of the period. There were no
railroads across the country at that time and with the slow-plodding
oxen only a few miles could be covered every day. Thus the trip
lengthened out over weeks and months but eventually they reached their
destination and Mr. Price became a resident of Yamhill county, Oregon.
There he secured employment as a farm hand, remaining in that state
until the fall of 1870, when he came to Walla Walla county and took up
a homestead nine miles southwest of Dayton. Upon that farm he lived
for seven years and his labors wrought a marked transformation in the
appearance of the place. His widow still owns that property, which has
now become very valuable.
In 1873 Mr. Price was united in marriage to Miss Clarinda J. Anderson,
a native of Missouri and a daughter of Thomas and Mary (Power)
Anderson, who were natives of Indiana. They removed from that state to
Missouri, where the father died in the year 1850. The mother afterward
crossed the plains with her family in 1865, spending her last days in
Washington. To Mr. and Mrs. Price were born seven children: George F.;
Martha, at home; Celestia, the wife of James J. Edwards; Susan M.;
Alice L., who has passed away; Homer E.; and Joseph W.
The death of the husband and father occurred in 1906 and he was laid
to rest in Dayton cemetery, leaving a widow and six children to
mourn his loss. He had been devoted to their welfare and by reason
of his capable business management and wise investments, combined
with indefatigable energy and industry, he was able to leave his
family in very comfortable financial circumstances. Mrs. Price and
her children now own more than five thousand acres of valuable wheat
land in Columbia county, all of which is improved, and she also has an
attractive residence in the city of Dayton, where she is able to enjoy
all the comforts and many of the luxuries of life. She belongs to the
Congregational church and takes an active interest in its work. In
fact, she is ever ready to endorse those plans and measures which tend
to uplift the individual or uphold the betterment of the community at
large. For many years the Price family has lived in this section of the
state, coming here long before Washington was admitted to the Union,
and they are prominent not only as pioneers but in those social circles
where true worth and intelligence are accepted as the passports into
good society.
HON. WILLIAM FARRISH.
In the front ranks of the columns which have advanced the civilization
of Washington, Hon. William Farrish has led the way to the substantial
development, progress and upbuilding of Asotin county, being
particularly active in the growth and progress of the district in
which he still makes his home. His memory goes back to the time when
the entire Pacific coast was but sparsely settled, when much of the
land had not been reclaimed for purposes of civilization but remained
in the primitive condition in which it came from the hand of nature.
He has lived in the same house in three different counties owing
to the division of the old county necessitating change of name and
installation of new county governments. He has seen the forests cut,
the streams bridged and the work of development carried forward and at
all times has borne his part in the general advancement and improvement
which has brought Asotin county to its present condition. He was born
in Richibucto, province of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, August 9, 1835,
a son of William and Catherine (Smith) Farrish, who were natives of
Scotland. The father was a lumberman and thus provided for his family.
[Illustration: MR. AND MRS. WILLIAM FARRISH]
Hon. William Farrish was the second in order of birth in a family of
three sons and three daughters, of whom only three are now living. He
acquired his early education in the paid schools of New Brunswick,
which he attended for about three years. He left home in 1853, when
eighteen years of age, and made his way to Wisconsin, settling in Grand
Rapids, that state, after which he worked in the lumber camps, cutting
logs and sawing lumber, which was then rafted down the Mississippi
and sold. Part of the time he worked for others and during a part of
the time engaged in business there on his own account. He continued
a resident of Wisconsin until 1878, when he removed to the west,
traveling by rail to San Francisco and thence by boat up the coast and
up the Columbia river until he took up his abode in Columbia county,
Washington, establishing his home in that section which is now Asotin
county. He made his way by stage from Walla Walla to Dayton and on to
Pomeroy and to Columbia Center, where his wife's people lived. From
that point he came to Asotin, where he embarked in the lumber business
in connection with his father-in-law, T. G. Bean. They were thus
associated in business for twenty years, on the expiration of which
period Mr. Farrish purchased his partner's interest and conducted the
business alone. He came to Washington territory in the spring of 1878,
when there were a number of Indian uprisings occurring in various
sections. There were only about twenty families living in the Anatone
country at that time and there was great fear among them because of
the possibility of an outbreak of Indian hostility at any time. Some
of the men began to build a stockade in the hills and Mr. Farrish sent
two of his men to help them cut logs and build the stockade, into
which all of the families were taken. The Indians, however, did not
attack them although the people were expecting an attack daily. The
association which existed between Mr. Bean and Mr. Farrish was ever
most harmonious and their business affairs were carefully, wisely and
successfully conducted. They would haul the lumber from the mountains
by team and then raft the lumber down the Snake river. They furnished
the lumber for the famous Truax interests, used for the building
of the big warehouses, and also the lumber for the Columbia county
plank road. They had a lumberyard at Ilia, in Columbia county, now
Garfield, as well as at Asotin, and sold lumber throughout old Walla
Walla county. They sold the lumber for the old grist mill at Almota,
the frame of which is still standing although it was erected in 1878.
After coming to Washington, Mr. Farrish lived in the timber for about
five years. Later he removed his home on the ranch, where he remained
for about fifteen years, when his residence was destroyed by fire. He
then took up his abode in the town, where he had another home that
had been erected several years before. He has always been actively
identified with the lumber interests during the period of his residence
in Washington and has done much to develop the lumber resources of this
section of the country and has thus added materially to the wealth,
development and progress of the state. He owns a ranch of eight hundred
acres, half of which is under cultivation and is now being managed by
his son, Harry H.
Mr. Farrish was united in marriage to Miss Content V. Bean, who was
born April 14, 1847, in Union county, Wisconsin, a daughter of Mr.
and Mrs. T. G. Bean, who were pioneers of Washington. On removing
westward from Wisconsin they settled for a time on the Walla Walla
river, where the father conducted a shingle mill. The marriage of Mr,
and Mrs. Farrish was celebrated in Plover, Wisconsin, on the 31st of
March, 1869, and to them were born seven children: William Thomas,
born in Port Edwards, Wisconsin, February 14, 1870, and now a resident
of Walla Walla, married Georgia Bradley and to them were born four
children. Frank A., born in Port Edwards, Wisconsin, December 16,
1873, is now a resident of Anatone and operates the sawmill there. He
married Nellie Smelcer and to them were born three children who are
living and one who died in infancy. Harry H., born in Port Edwards,
Wisconsin, April 16, 1876, and now ably conducting the home ranch,
married Carrie Evans and they have two children: Gervais, who died in
infancy; and Colin. The younger children of this family were all born
in the same house although in different counties, owing to the various
divisions which were made in the counties at that period. Arthur,
who was born in Columbia county July 7, 1878, is now conducting his
father's interests in the lumber business and lives at home. Grace was
born in Columbia county June 25, 1880, and is the wife of George N.
Ausman, a prominent rancher of Asotin county and a son of one of the
early and honored pioneer settlers mentioned elsewhere in this work.
They have six children. Robert Bruce was born July 14, 1883, and now
occupies a homestead ten miles from the town of Asotin, in Asotin
county. He married Maud Trent and they have become the parents of two
daughters. Edith, born August 8, 1886, in Asotin county, is the wife
of E. R. Downen, who served two terms as county treasurer and is now
county assessor, and they have two sons. The wife and mother passed
away in Asotin, November 14, 1906, and her death was the occasion of
deep and widespread regret, for she had endeared herself to many with
whom she had been brought into contact. She was a consistent member of
the Methodist church, to which Mr. Farrish also belongs.
In politics he is a staunch republican and represented his district
in the state legislature in the first, second and third sessions
after Washington was admitted to the Union. He was made a Mason in
Grand Rapids, Wisconsin, in 1852 and holds membership in the Royal
Arch Chapter in Lewiston. He is the only living charter member of the
Independent Order of Odd Fellows at Anatone.
FREDERICK J. FLEISCHER.
Frederick J. Fleischer occupies a central place on the stage of
business and political activity in Prescott. Important public and
private interests have been controlled by him to the benefit of the
public and he well deserves the position of leadership which is
accorded him. He is vice president and the cashier of the First State
Bank of Prescott and is now serving as mayor of the city. He was born
in Madison, Wisconsin, on the 16th of May, 1871, and is a son of John
A. and Elizabeth (Miller) Fleischer. His paternal grandfather, Knute
J. Fleischer, was of German descent on his father's side, although of
Norwegian birth, and he came to the United States as Norwegian consul.
John A. Fleischer, father of Frederick J. Fleischer, was born in 1846
and was but five years of age when brought by his parents to the new
world, so that he was reared in Madison, Wisconsin, where the family
home was established. He was a youth of seventeen when, in response
to the call of the country for troops to service in the Civil war, he
enlisted in a Wisconsin regiment and through the following two years
rose to the rank of second lieutenant. The war having ended, he was
then honorably discharged and returned to Madison, Wisconsin, where he
was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Miller, a native of that city,
the wedding being there celebrated in 1868. They began their domestic
life in Madison, where they continued to reside until 1872, and then
removed to Pelican Rapids, in Otter Tail county, Minnesota, where the
father secured a homestead and engaged in farming for thirty-four
years, being thus ranked for more than a third of a century with the
representative and honored residents of that part of that state. In
1906 he came west and settled first in Lewiston, Idaho, where he
remained for five years, and after a year or more spent in Seattle
and in Portland he came to Prescott, Washington, where he has since
resided. He is now living retired, enjoying the fruits of his former
toil, for his years of indefatigable industry and perseverance have
brought to him a substantial competence that enables him to rest from
further labor.
Frederick J. Fleischer, whose name introduces this review, was reared
upon the home farm in Ottertail county, Minnesota, with the usual
experiences of the farmbred boy. He supplemented his public school
training by a business course received in Dixon, Illinois, and until
his twenty-seventh year remained upon the home farm, assisting his
father in its cultivation through the summer months, while in the
winter seasons he engaged in teaching. In 1898 he accepted a position
as bookkeeper in the J. P. Wallace State Bank of Pelican Rapids and
three years later he became one of the stockholders in the bank and was
made a member of its board of directors. He was also elected cashier
of the bank, in which position he continued to serve until 1906, when
he sold his interest in that institution and came to the west with his
father, making his way to Lewiston, Idaho. On the 1st of January, 1907,
he went to Moscow, Idaho, to accept the cashiership of the Moscow State
Bank. During the following year the bank changed hands and in January,
1908, Mr. Fleischer went to Spokane, Washington, where he resided
until the 1st of August of that year, when he came to Prescott. On the
1st of January following he purchased stock in the First State Bank
and assumed the cashiership. This bank had passed through some severe
financial reverses and the task of rebuilding it devolved upon Mr.
Fleischer. How well this task has been performed is told in the present
condition of the bank's affairs. When he took charge the deposits
amounted to about thirty thousand dollars. Today and for several years
past the deposits have averaged about one hundred and fifty thousand
dollars and the affairs of the bank are in splendid condition in every
way. Mr. Fleischer brought to his work long experience, keen sagacity
and notably sound discrimination and his close application and careful
management have brought most satisfactory results.
On the 26th of June, 1901, Mr. Fleischer was united in marriage to Miss
Charlotte G. Hicks, of Milnor, North Dakota, and to them have been four
children, of whom three are living, Ernestine Lois, Frederick J. and
Hugh Warren.
Mr. Fleischer is a republican but not a narrow partisan. On the
contrary he is a man of broad and liberal views, but is unfaltering
in his allegiance to a principle in which he firmly believes. He has
served as a delegate to the republican state conventions of Minnesota
on two different occasions and he was city treasurer of Pelican Rapids
for a number of years. Since coming to Prescott he has also been
called upon to fill positions of public honor and trust by his fellow
citizens, who recognized his splendid ability as a business man and
desired that the city might benefit by that ability. He was made a
member of the city council, in which he served for a number of years,
and for two years he has been mayor of Prescott. His administration
is businesslike and progressive. It has resulted in bringing about
various improvements and while he avoids all useless expenditure he
also equally avoids that retrenchment which blocks public progress. In
a word his sound judgment discriminates between the essential and the
non-essential in regard to municipal affairs just as surely as it does
in relation to the interests of the bank, which has grown so steadily
under his direction.