county, Indiana, September 7, 1827. He was a descendant through his
mother, Rachel Doddridge, of the Doddridge family of England. The
name of Phillip Doddridge is common in the Walter family and every
branch of the family has one child bearing the name of Doddridge. The
father, William Walter, Sr., was a Virginian who lived for a time in
Maryland and afterwards became a resident of Ohio and still later of
Indiana, where his son, William W. Walter, was born. When the latter
was eight years of age the family removed to Iowa, which was then a
wild, unclaimed country. In 1845 the spirit of emigration swept over
the east and Mr. Walter, then a youth of seventeen years, was among
those who desired to see the great country beyond the Rocky mountains.
His father, being of a roving turn of mind, decided to emigrate. That
spring all was made ready and soon they had started on that long and
perilous journey. Several families of the relatives, with many others,
formed a company of about sixty-five wagons and elected Sol Tetheroe,
a man experienced in that line of work, as their captain. They moved
in order, stood guard every night to avoid surprise, and parties of
hunters were organized to furnish game for the camp. The first part
of the journey was very pleasant. Dancing on the green at night and
hunting big game by day was very pleasing to the youngsters at least.
Buffaloes were so plentiful there was often trouble keeping them out of
camp. As they traveled along immense herds would come bearing down on
the train, when riders would be sent out and guns fired to turn them
from their course and save the train from being run down and trampled
by the huge beasts. On the eastern slope the company experienced the
first Indian scare. They were in the Crow country and Indians had been
in sight all day, skirting around in small parties. Late in the day
several hundred Indians confronted them, yelling and beating drums
and dashing wildly toward them. The emigrants thought an attack was
imminent and corralled the wagons, thus making a fortification. They
placed the women and children in the circle and the men made ready
to fight. Then a Rocky Mountain man named Greenwood, who was acting
as guide, rode out to meet the Indians and called a council. After
a talk the Indians dispersed although they had intended an attack.
Only the influence of Greenwood, whose wife was a Crow Indian, saved
them from serious trouble. The greatest excitement on the trip was
caused by a stampede of the teams. One never experiencing a stampede
cannot form any idea of the terror and danger. There seems to be a
sort of animal telepathy among cattle, so that at a signal from one,
a thousand head will go wild in an instant. Then imagine if you can a
train of sixty-five wagons with from five to ten yoke of oxen to a
wagon tearing along the prairie at full speed, teams doubling, passing
each other, tearing off wheels, amid the screams of children scattered
along the way. Some teams ran two miles before stopping, yet with it
all no one was killed, although one woman had a leg broken and several
wagons were demolished. It took some time to get in moving order again
and mothers were looking for their children and the babies crying for
their mothers. The excitement was intense and it was an experience
never to be forgotten. At length, however, the party moved on again.
At Fort Hall they met Steve Meek, a brother of Joe Meek, who agreed to
show them a new route to Oregon bearing more to the south, crossing
the Cascade mountains near the head waters of the Willamette, thus
avoiding the Blue mountains. He made the proposed route appear so
feasible that they followed him, leaving the old trail near Boise,
Idaho. They followed the Mathew river to the south and west and soon
found themselves in a trackless desert of sagebrush, rock and sand
but with little feed for the stock, and to add to their troubles they
could no longer find water. They traveled on and on, sending men ahead
to search for water. These men returned and reported water forty miles
ahead, so that the party traveled all night to reach it. While encamped
there resting, a man herding the cattle picked up a large nugget of
gold and from that find originated the famous blue nugget gold find,
but the spot has never been located again, at least no mine has been
discovered. People starving would not remember places very well as they
were more anxious about something to eat. The party forced the guide
to pilot them to The Dalles, which he did. When at last they reached
the Deschuttes river they were in a pitiable condition, many being
sick from lack of food. There they lashed wagon boxes together for a
raft and ferried over their effects, swimming the cattle. Finally they
arrived at The Dalles, where they cut trees in the forest, made rafts
of the logs, loaded wagons and families on them and proceeded to float
down the Columbia, while the boys and younger men drove the cattle down
the trails. The rafts were tied up at night and camp made on shore.
It now began to rain and food was almost an unknown article. They had
had no bread for weeks. Those are the hardships which try men's souls
and show what stuff they are made of. When they reached the Cascades
they made the portage with the teams over the muddiest roads ever
seen, it requiring three days to travel six miles. Their only food
until they reached Vancouver was a salmon now and then purchased of
the Indians. Dr. McLoughlin came to their relief most nobly when they
reached Vancouver. They afterwards moved out to the Tualitin plains, in
Washington county, Oregon, and settled on as fine land as ever lay out
of doors. The principal food supply that winter was boiled wheat and
potatoes, with plenty of deer meat. The following year was a prosperous
one and the hardships were forgotten and life in the main was a happy
existence. In the fall of 1847 the news of the Whitman massacre reached
that country. The people were wild with excitement and a company of
volunteers was organized. All were eager to join it. Mr. Walter joined
and served through the war.
In 1849 the discovery of gold in California caused great excitement
and all the young men and many older ones rushed to the gold mines.
Mr. Walter went in 1850. They traveled by land through the Rogue river
country, where the treacherous Indian lurked at every turn. Mr. Walter
had some thrilling adventures with the Indians. At one time he and a
companion rode all one day and night with their guns ready for use.
They saw many Indians in ambush watching them and their only theory
concerning the failure of the red men to attack was the belief that
there was a large party coming behind the two lone riders. The two
young men lived in the open and their amusements were hunting bears,
panthers and Indians. They mined on the American river, having fair
luck, and afterwards remaining in California for a year returned to
Oregon.
In 1856 William Walter married Miss Charity A. Marsh, a student in
the Forest Grove Academy. She was a native of Michigan and crossed
the plains in 1852. Following their marriage they removed to Douglas
county, Oregon, where they remained a few years, and in March, 1860,
arrived in Walla Walla county, Washington. After reaching Walla Walla
county Mr. Walter engaged in cattle growing, in which he prospered.
By 1861 he had a fine herd and was for those times a wealthy man, but
an unusually severe winter came on, causing most of his herd to die.
Broken in resources and in spirit, he gathered the remainder of his
herd, numbering about thirty head of cattle and these he sold. He then
bought a pack train of his own and became one of the earliest packers
in this region and developed a business of extensive proportions in
that connection. He hauled supplies to nearly all the mines in the
surrounding states. Many strenuous and trying experiences came to him,
for robbers were numerous and these road agents were always alert for
the returning pack train to haul in the returns of the pack sales
through their robbery, attaining their end, if necessary, by murder.
Mr. Walter was a man of fine physique and great strength and his
physical prowess often served to protect him. While the husband and
father was away on his pack train trips, which often lasted for six or
more months, the pioneer mother, left alone with her small children,
with many hostile Indians about, had to bear heavy burdens in order to
care for and protect the interests of her frontier home.
Four of their children are still living on or near the old homestead on
the Touchet. The eldest, Mrs. O. M. Fine, was born in Douglas county,
Oregon, July 12, 1857. Mrs. Kate W. Pettijohn was born in Douglas
county, Oregon, December 18, 1858. Mrs. Fanny Dunlap was born in Walla
Walla county, October 31, 1866, and John Doddridge Walter is also a
native of Walla Walla county, born December 8, 1869.
W. W. Walter and his family were among the earliest settlers in the
valley. At that time Walla Walla was but a little garrison town and the
many flourishing towns of the present were unknown. On the Touchet,
near a big spring, Mr. Walter built his first cabin of logs with a
thatched roof covered with dirt. The earth served for a floor. They
were very comfortable during the summer but when the fall rains set
in there was trouble, for the roof would leak for several days after
all was fair outside. Moreover, the snakes deemed the roof no bad
place for a home and one morning while the family were enjoying their
breakfast one of the reptiles caused a commotion, especially among
the feminine portion of the family, by wriggling through the roof and
dropping on the table. This necessitated a new roof and a trip to the
Blue mountains for shakes. An Indian trail ran in front of the cabin
door and on Sunday droves of Indians would pass by on their way to the
home of Rev. H. H. Spalding, a half mile below, to hear him preach.
The settlers also attended the services, for the sermons were spoken
in English, an interpreter repeating them to the Indians. The singing
of these Indians, led by Mrs. Spalding and her daughter, Amelia, will
ever be a sweet memory, for their voices were soft and low. Visiting
in those days meant more than a ceremonious call. A carriage was
unknown in these parts and people usually traveled on horseback, even
children learning to manage a horse at a very early age. People came
from afar to visit and stayed for days and surprise parties and dances
were frequent occurrences. In 1862, the neighborhood having become
quite thickly settled, the number of children of school age demanded
a school, so several of the leading citizens called a meeting to
devise ways and means. They had no organized district and no public
money. They went into the woods, cut cottonwood logs, drew them to
a designated place and erected a schoolhouse in the dooryard of Mr.
Walter. The roof was of shakes made in the Blue mountains and hauled
down. The heating plant was a huge fireplace in the east end of the
building, built of sod and the chimney was of sticks and mud. A log was
cut out in the north wall and a row of eight by ten inch window panes
fitted in and this furnished the only light except the open door. The
seats were of puncheon. A subscription was taken up to pay the teacher,
who was a Virginian with a very pronounced southern accent. The old
elementary spelling book was the principal textbook. There are still
many persons living who received their first lessons in this little log
schoolhouse. Later a district was organized and a schoolhouse built
a mile or so up the valley near the center of the neighborhood. The
Walter family experienced the usual incidents and hardships of pioneer
life. The nearest physician was at the garrison of Fort Walla Walla
and a rider was sent there for aid on more than one occasion, yet
altogether those were happy days. The whole wide country lay before
them and everyone for miles around was friend and neighbor. Where today
are seen immense wheat fields in those days there were seas of waving
bunch grass. The hills were dotted with sleek cattle and horses and the
ever present cayuse, or Indian pony. In those days cattle was king and
times were good, although opportunities for an education were limited.
Only public schools were available and very few studies were taught.
The daughters in the Walter household had two winters in the Waitsburg
public schools, which ended their attempt to acquire an education,
although later they studied at home, especially history, rhetoric and
the languages, although they had no teacher to assist them.
In 1861 the Civil war broke out, Washington's citizens had come
from every state in the Union and their opinions were accordingly
diversified. The patriotic contingent decided that they should have a
flag, so the material was purchased and a sewing bee was held at the
home of S. H. Erwin, where they made a flag, every stitch by hand.
The thirty-four stars were whipstitched on the blue field and with
patience and perseverance the stripes were set together. The old flag
is still in existence though largely in tatters today. It has played
a prominent part on the Fourth of July celebrations and is a valued
pioneer memento. At the second election of President Lincoln the news
was brought across the continent by pony express. Some one caught the
word at Walla Walla and rode to the Touchet, stopping at each door
with a shout and waving of the hat, telling the glad news and then
passing on. The neighbors bore the flag to the schoolhouse, hoisted and
unfurled it there, took off their hats and saluted with cheers, while
the children marched around Old Glory, singing "Rally Round the Flag
Boys." While the west was rejoicing over peace having been established
once more the direful news was flashed over the country that Lincoln
had been assassinated. Again the news was long on the way and again
a rider brought in the word from Walla Walla, but there was no shout
of joy or waving of flags as on the former occasion. A number of men,
however, came to the schoolhouse and raised the old flag until it hung
at half mast. The sturdy pioneers stood with bowed heads and solemn
countenances, while the children were awed and half afraid, not knowing
what it all meant.
Some time in the middle '60s the settlers conceived the idea of
celebrating the Fourth of July, so the neighbors gathered at the home
of Mr. Walter and proceeded to clear out a grove near the Big Spring,
where they fitted up seats and a platform. People gathered from all
parts of the valley, stage loads coming from Walla Walla, and Judge
J. H. Lasater was the speaker of the day with "Uncle Billy" Smith,
of Waitsburg, as master of ceremonies, while J. M. Hedrick read the
Declaration of Independence and Jonathan Pettijohn and William Smith
were also among those who spoke. A public dinner was served, all being
invited to take part at one long table, and in the evening a dance was
enjoyed by all. To that celebration the families came in wagons and
the young people on horseback and they were among the happiest and
most care-free people in the world. The people in this country went
through the reconstruction period in a different way from the east and
lawlessness reigned for a time. The chief offences were murder and
horse stealing and as gold was discovered in Idaho and Walla Walla
became an outfitting place for miners the town became infested with
thieves, gamblers and gunmen. Then the Vigilantes came into existence
as a protection to life and property and were very effective in ridding
the country of its undesirable element. In the late '60s their work was
done and the country took on a normal tone. Business enterprises were
started, farms opened up where stock had previously ranged and wheat
raising was begun with success. Today wheat is king and, like all of
the west, stock raising has become largely a thing of the past in Walla
Walla county, as have the cowboy and the Indian.
William Walter never left the home he had made for himself and family.
His wife passed away December 23, 1897, and he continued to live on the
old place with his youngest daughter until September 23, 1906, when he
passed on. He was a man of sterling worth, a steadfast friend, doing
his part in all affairs of public interest, was most hospitable in his
home and he and his wife took the greatest pleasure in entertaining
their friends. Their home was the gathering place for all the young
people of the countryside.
While Mr. Walter volunteered to find the murderers of Dr. Whitman,
whom he knew personally, he was a friend to the Indians as a whole
and had some stanch friends among them, some of whom came to camp by
his door until the time of his death. He attended the ceremonies at
the erection of the monument to Dr. Whitman and the other martyrs and
he was one of the party who buried the remains of Dr. Whitman and his
wife. He became a member of the first organization of Pioneers of Walla
Walla and was also a member of the Oregon Pioneers' Association. In
1880 the first railroad was built in the Touchet valley and little
towns were started, among them Prescott, which became quite a railroad
town with roundhouse and machine shops. It was filled with railroad
men and cowboys which formed two factions, and as the town boasted
three saloons and was wide open, a clash was due to come occasionally.
Prescott went through all the phases of a frontier town, with gambling
houses, etc., had her quota of murders and robberies until the boom
dropped out, when it seemed for a time that the town was doomed to die
a natural death. Then a new era came. The place began to revive, a good
school was built, churches were established, the surrounding country
was planted to wheat to furnish grain for one of the largest mills in
the country, responsible men took hold of the business enterprises and
today Prescott is one of the most thriving little towns in the county.
The children of William Walter, having been reared in this valley,
have seen all of the changes wrought in the last half-century. They
have seen the wild, unbroken prairies developed to their present high
state of cultivation and the eldest daughter, Mrs. Fine, still lives
on a part of the old homestead. She is the mother of eight sons and
a daughter, all grown to manhood and womanhood and all married and
settled in homes of their own, with the exception of one. Mrs. Dunlap,
another daughter, lives in the house in which she was born. J. D.
Walter, the only son, also occupies a part of the old homestead and
is mentioned elsewhere in this work. The other daughter, who in 1890
became the wife of John H. Pettijohn, is living on a homestead which
was taken up in 1880 and they occupy an attractive little residence in
which they expect to spend their declining years. The Walter family has
indeed played an important part in the progress and development of this
section of the country from the early days and the name is written high
on the roll of honored pioneer settlers.
JOHN D. WALTER.
John D. Walter is a resident farmer of Walla Walla county and a well
known representative of one of the honored pioneer families. He was
born December 8, 1869, on the farm which he yet owns and cultivates,
his parents being W. W. and Charity (Marsh) Walter, who in 1845 first
crossed the plains and who are mentioned at length on another page of
this work.
Spending his youthful days under the parental roof, John D. Walter
became largely familiar with many of the experiences which constituted
life for the pioneer. He was educated in the district schools, the
first school of the neighborhood being built in his father's dooryard.
He early became familiar with the best methods of tilling the soil and
caring for the crops and later he engaged in the butchering business
in Prescott and also devoted much time to buying and selling stock,
being thus occupied for twenty years. On the expiration of that period
he sold his business and turned his attention to farming on the old
home place. Today he owns five hundred acres of rich and valuable land
splendidly adapted to wheat raising and in addition he cultivates
another five hundred acre tract which he rents, so that he is most
extensively engaged in general farming. His crop is largely wheat and
owing to his indefatigable energy and intelligently directed labor his
efforts have been crowned with success. He is also engaged in stock
raising and keeps on his place high grade cattle, horses and hogs.
In 1898 Mr. Walter was united in marriage to Miss Lula R. McSherry, a
daughter of Nelson McSherry, mentioned elsewhere in this work. Mr. and
Mrs. Walter have become the parents of four children, Ernestine O.,
Helen and Leila, twins, and Camille.
The family is now living in the city of Walla Walla at No. 114 Colville
street. They attend the Presbyterian church and Mr. Walter belongs
to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, to the Elks and Knights of
Pythias lodges. In the first named he has filled all of the chairs. His
political endorsement is given to the republican party and he keeps
well informed on the questions and issues of the day but does not seek
nor desire office as a reward for party fealty. His children possess
much musical talent, which is being thoroughly trained and cultivated.
The family, connected with Walla Walla county since early pioneer
times, has always kept pace with the trend of modern day thought and
progress. The work begun by the father has been carried forward by the
son, whose farm is today an expression of twentieth century methods in
agriculture.
A. C. SEMROW.
One who does not delve below the surface of things seldom stops to
consider what an important part the architect plays in the improvement
of a city. However, his labors constitute one of the strongest features
in its attractiveness, and in city building in the west there has been
most earnest effort put forth with a view to equalling everything
that is of convenience, comfort and beauty in the older structures of
the east, while at the same time modern progress adapts all building
operations to modern needs. It is in this field that A. C. Semrow has
labored and is now regarded as one of the most successful and capable
architects of Walla Walla. He was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, October
11, 1885, a son of August and Minnie Semrow. For the past twenty-five
years the father has been prominently identified with the building and
contracting business, ranking very high in connection with building
operations in Milwaukee.
A. C. Semrow spent his youthful days in his father's home and at the
usual age became a pupil in the public schools. He mastered the lessons
therein taught until he had become a high school pupil and when he
left that institution he had the benefit of a course of instruction in
the Milwaukee University. As early as his fourteenth year, however,
he became an assistant to his father in the contracting and building
business and at the same time he began his studies as an architectural
draftsman. He pursued his studies in the offices of some of the leading
architects of Milwaukee and of Chicago and he likewise pursued a course
in the Milwaukee University. He thus became thoroughly familiar with
the scientific principles which underlie his work and gained expert
knowledge of every phase of the profession. In April, 1914, well
qualified for his chosen calling, he came to the west, making Seattle,
Washington, his destination. There he opened an office but after a year
he removed from that city to Walla Walla, where he has since remained,
becoming widely and favorably known in professional connections.
Throughout the city are found many evidences of his skill and ability.
He has had the contract for designing and erecting some of the finest
structures of Walla Walla and his work has indeed added to the beauty
and attractiveness of the place.
On the 9th of May, 1911, Mr. Semrow was married to Miss Frances
Wiseman, of Seattle, Washington, a daughter of Richard B. Wiseman, who
was one of the pioneer residents of Walla Walla, locating here when the
city was a small town and when the work of progress and improvement
seemed scarcely begun. Subsequently he removed to Seattle, where he is
now engaged in the real estate business.
Mr. Semrow, as one of the representative young business men, has gained
a prominent position in public regard, for he has come to be recognized
as one who is thoroughly reliable as well as progressive and one whose
word is as trustworthy as any contract.
LOGAN P. MULKEY.