Washington

Biography of William H. Peterson

WILLIAM H. PETERSON. – Mr. Peterson, an excellent portrait of whom is placed in this history, was born in West Virginia, August 31, 1836, and removed to Missouri in 1868. He became a teacher of schools and a collector of taxes in the latter state, and was so efficient in the position last-named as to remain in office three terms. In 1876 he put behind him the vast plains of the Mississippi, and even the more expanded region of the Rocky Mountains, and made his home by the Western sea in California. Over the northern part of that state he … Read more

Biography of Hon. J. A. Perkins

HON. J.A. PERKINS. – It is a pleasure to see that this widely known and universally respected citizen of Colfax, Washington, the father of the place, is an Oregon man, having crossed the plains to his Western home in Benton county when but eleven years of age. He thus received his education and the impetus of his life on this coast, although he was born in Illinois. In 1861 he came to Walla Walla county, and in 1870 to the Palouse, taking up a claim upon unsurveyed land at the site of Colfax; for the whole region was yet a … Read more

Biography of Hon. D. F. Percival

HON. D.F. PERCIVAL. – It is a source of pleasure to write a biographical sketch of a man like Mr. Percival, or, in fact, any of the argonauts of the Pacific slope, as their lives were so fraught with diversity, their careers so different and so much more interesting than the monotonous, humdrum life of the average individual. Among the men who came West in “early days” as it is called, there are many who can look back to the times when, in a comparatively few years, they had been miners, mechanics, ranchers, teamsters, merchants, law-givers, office-holders, and turned their … Read more

Biography of Hon. Elisha Ping

HON. ELISHA PING. – In this kindly face we see another of the honored pioneers of the Pacific Northwest. Born in Pulaski county, Kentucky, March 13, 1819, Mr. Ping’s early years were spent in the chase after the fascinating phantom of “Out West” which lured so many of our best people to these pleasant shores. His early years were spent in Illinois and Indiana. In the latter state he was married in 1840 to Miss Lucretia Kuykendall. She died in December,1863. In 1851, Mr. Ping, with his young family, went to Wisconsin; but they still yearned for the “Westmost West,” … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Alfred A. Plummer, Jr.

ALFRED A. PLUMMER, Jr. – This gentleman, of whom we present an excellent portrait, is the son of the pioneer whose sketch appears above, and was born in Port Townsend September 7, 1856. As a boy he received a sound practical education at the public school of the place, and as a young man entered into mercantile business, and has become a leader in business enterprises. In 1881 he inaugurated a business at New Tacoma, but eighteen months later returned to his native city, and after a time established with D.W. Smith and J.D. Fitzgerald the Port Townsend Foundry & … Read more

Biography of Lyman Wood

LYMAN WOOD. – This popular gentleman, recently auditor of King county, Washington, was born in Gallatin county, Illinois, February 25, 1839, and lived at that place until he moved with his parents in 1845 to Moline, Rock Island county, Illinois. Here he was educated and grew to manhood. On the 11th of August, 1862, enlisted in Company K, One Hundred and Twenty-ninth Regiment, Illinois Volunteers. He served until May, 1863, when he was mustered out on account of disability. During the winter of 1863-64, he was employed as clerk in the office of the adjutant-general of Iowa. His home was … Read more

Biography of Hon. George H. Williams

HON. GEORGE H. WILLIAMS. – Judge Williams alone among the citizens of our state, and of the Pacific coast, has had the distinction of occupying a place in the highest councils of the nation, – in the cabinet of a President. He was also regarded by President Grant as the man most fit and able to hold the position of chief justice of the United States. The bitter struggle following his nomination to this supreme position is well remembered for the sectional feeling displayed and the dissent of certain members of the senate which led the Judge to withdraw his … Read more

Biography of William H. Whittlesey

WM. H. WHITTLESEY.- This popular young gentleman, who has brought to our coast a business capacity and enthusiasm of progress which augers well for the city in which he has made his home, was born in Virginia August 8, 1858, and is a son of the gallant Major Joseph H. Whittlesey of the United States Army. The mother, Kate K. Fauntleroy, belonged to one of the first families of the Old Dominion. The son William, of whom we write, remained in the south while his father, the major, was transferred to the Department of the Columbia, having command of Fort … Read more

Biography of George D. Shannon

GEORGE D. SHANNON. – This well-known contractor, banker and successful farmer is a man whom Nature fitted with qualities that inevitably guide their possessor to success. He was born in what is now Schuyler county, New York, December 20, 1832, and is the son of Thomas and Mehitable (Corwin) Shannon. At the age of sixteen he entered upon business for himself, and with an abundance of self-reliance began railroading, following that and other employments until 1854. Soon afterwards he came to St. Paul, Minnesota, accepting employment for a large lumber company. In 1858 he was appointed superintendent of construction of … Read more

Biography of Hon. Eugene Semple

HON. EUGENE SEMPLE. – Eugene Semple was born June 12, 1840, at Bogota, South America, his father being at the time the Minister of the United States at new Granada. Coming with his parents to Illinois, his youth was spent in Madison and Jersey counties of that State. Attending the common schools of the latter county, he finished his education at the St. Louis University in 1858. Commencing the study of law in the office of Krum & Harding, in St. Louis, he afterwards attended the Law School of the Cincinnati College, where he graduated in 1863, taking the degree … Read more

Biography of John F. Seeber

JOHN F. SEEBER.- Among the now quiet farmers, business men and professional men whose outward appearance and conversation give no hint of stirring adventures and strange experiences, there is frequently one in whom investigation may find a witness to the most novel and thrilling scenes in our early history. Walla Walla, Washington, is somewhat unusually favored with those ancient spirits of the border, now among the most solid and unsensational of her citizens. Among this number is John Seeber. His adventures amid the wild life of the mountains would fill a volume. Born in Fort Plain, New York, in 1837, … Read more

Biography of James Seavy

JAMES SEAVY. – This representative gentleman of Washington is, as we have noted in the case of many of the leading citizens of that state, a native of Maine, having been born at Thomaston, of the old Pine-tree state (Maine), January 11, 1825. Receiving an ample practical education at the public school and academy of his native town, he maintained himself during his early manhood by teaching and farming. In 1854 he undertook the labor, almost unheard of in his community, of bringing his family by sea to the Pacific coast, accomplishing the voyage around Cape Horn in the bark … Read more

Biographical Sketch of George F. Schorr

GEO. F. SCHORR. – The Northwest Tribune is the oldest newspaper in Eastern Washington north of the Snake river, having been established at Colfax in 1879. It has moved to Cheney in 1883, and to Spokane Falls in 1886. It gives its readers a full telegraphic summary of public events, and has a special department devoted to agriculture and stock-raising, thus making it of great value to the farming population, among whom it enjoys a large circulation. It avoids the stale old party cries and affiliations, giving the news, valuable information, and advocates right and justice without fear or favor. … Read more

Biography of Edward Thomas Young

EDWARD THOMAS YOUNG. – Young’s Hotel, at the capital of Washington Territory, is a conspicuous building, well known to the traveling public and to the members of the legislature, and is the pride of the city. Its proprietor, whose name it bears, is a native of London, England. He was born in 1846. At an early age he crossed the water and lived with his parents at Newcastle, Canada. Subsequently he went to Bruce county, near Lake Huron, where he worked at the carpenter’s trade and general building, and acquired the means to cross the continent. He came with a … Read more

Derrick, Dorothe Mae Mineff Mrs.

Dorothe Mae Derrick, 76, a longtime resident of Othello, Wash., and a former Baker City resident, died June 7, 2001, at the Beverly Health Care Center at Othello. Her memorial service will be at 11 a.m. Thursday at the Church of the Nazarene at Othello. Pastor Robert Luhn will officiate. There will be a graveside service at 1 p.m. Friday at Mount Hope Cemetery. Pastor Neil Castle of the Baker City Church of the Nazarene will officiate. Mrs. Derrick was born on June 23, 1924, at Baker City to Edward and Rose Haywood Mineff. She married Cecil D. Derrick in … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Arthur J. Taylor

ARTHUR J. TAYLOR. – The subject of this sketch, whose portrait appears herein, was born in Staffordshire, England, on the 18th of August, 1857 When but two years of age his parents brought him to America, locating at Richmond, Virginia. Their residence there was but brief, as they soon removed to Halifax, Nova Scotia, perhaps anticipating the political troubles of the next few years. When but a boy of twelve, Arthur came West, upon his own responsibility, to the Red River of the North, where he lived until 1884. His next move, in April of that year, made him a … Read more

Biography of Hon. Robert F. Sturdevant

HON. ROBERT F. STURDEVANT. – Mr. Sturdevant is known as the pioneer lawyer of Dayton, Washington, and is one of its most enterprising citizens. His birthplace was Warren county, Pennsylvania; and the date was November 18, 1841. About eighteen months after that important event in his history, his parents moved to Iowa, and settled in Lee county. There they remained until 1854, when they removed to Clark county, Wisconsin. There Robert attended school, and in 1860 began the study of law. He was engaged in professional study and practice till 1873, when, in company with his father and mother and … Read more

Biographical Sketch of William M. Urquhart

WILLIAM M. URQUHART.- This gentleman, the son of James Urquhart, whose biography is immediately preceding, was born at the family residence near Napavine, Washington Territory, on the 22d of December, 1855. He remained on the farm till he had attained his majority. He then entered his father’s tore at Napavine, where he attended strictly to business and became thoroughly acquainted with trade, remaining there until 1880. In that year he removed to Chehalis, and began merchandising for himself. In this independent venture he was eminently successful, and had one of the largest mercantile houses in Lewis county. The confidence reposed … Read more

Biography of Hon. Amos F. Tullis

HON. AMOS F. TULLIS. – Amos F. Tullis was born January 6, 1830, at Carthage, Rush county, Indiana. Both of his parents were natives of Ohio, and, having migrated to Indiana, followed farming. At the age of five years his mother died; and five years later his father followed her to the great silent majority, leaving a family of four sons and two daughters, of whom Amos was the fourth child. He lived on the farm of his parents until 1846, when he accompanied an older sister with her husband to Iowa. He resided at Mount Pleasant, Burlington and Ottumwa … Read more

Biography of Hon. George W. Tibbitts

HON. GEORGE W. TIBBITTS. – A portrait of Mr. Tibbitts is placed among the illustrations of this history. He was born in Acton, Maine, January 22, 1845, and is the son of Daniel and Mary (Witham) Tibbitts, and was the youngest in a family of fifteen children. When our subject was but one year of age, the family suffered the irreparable loss of their mother; and at the age of four years George was placed with an aunt in West Milton, New Hampshire, with whom he remained until he was fifteen years of age. He then went to Great Falls, … Read more