Washington Pioneer Dead of 1915

By Edith G. Prosch

Allen, Robert Perry, who crossed the plains in 1854, died in Griggsville, Illinois, at the age of 86. He was on Puget Sound during the early fifties, but of late years has made his home in Illinois.

Bogue, Mrs. Gilbert, died at her home in Seattle, June 21. She was born in San Francisco nearly sixty years ago. When she was two years old her parents decided to return to New York. Their vessel was wrecked while passing Cape Horn and her father was lost. She was married to Judge Bogue in Iowa, and the family came to Seattle in 1892. Nation, Mrs. Matilda, who has lived on the Pacific Coast since 1860, passed away on June 22. She was a native of England and was 88 years old at the time of her death. She lived in San Francisco for a number of years, coming to Seattle in 1876.

Bruce, James W., was born at Eugene, Oregon, in 1859. He was taken from Oregon when two years old to the valley adjacent to Waitsburg. There his father took up a claim. The son followed farming and acquired valuable agricultural holdings in the Walla Walla country. Strong, Gen. James Clark., was born in Ontario County, N. Y., on May 6, 1826. At his death, in Oakland, Cal., September 3, 1915, he had nearly reached his ninetieth birthday. He came to Oregon in 1849 with his brother, William, who had been appointed a judge for the new Territory. James Strong was living at Cathlamet, Wahkiakum County, when the representative to the first Territorial Legislature of Washington from that county died. Another was elected and died as he took the oath of office. Then Strong was elected. When he died, the last survivor of that first Legislature had gone. He had had experience in the Indian Wars and later in the Civil War.

Bucklin, Nathan, a pioneer of 1859, died at his home near Eagle Harbor, September 11. He was born in Maine in 1839. His first home on Puget Sound was at Seabeck, moving from there to Eagle Harbor.

Byrd, George W., was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Byrd, who came to Puget Sound in 1853. His father took up a claim on Lake Steilacoom, and built the first grist mill in the county. Byrd's Mill was a landmark for many years. George Byrd was born in Illinois, March 7, 1843 and died at his home at Fern Hill, June 17.

Cann, Judge Thomas Hart, died October 25. He was a native of Illinois. He went to California in 1854. He followed a gold rush from California to the Snake River in Washington. He became express messenger for Wells-Fargo, carrying gold between the mines and Lewiston. It was a perilous life, full of thrilling adventures, which the Judge enjoyed recalling in later years. He moved to Seattle thirty-five years ago, after pioneering in California, Oregon, Idaho and Washington.

Cavitt, Mrs. Lydia, died May 1 9 at her home at Camas, Washington. She was born in 1848 and went to California in 1853. She came to the Northwest forty years ago.

Chase, Mrs. Caroline, died in Olympia, March 5, at the home of her son, Mr. C. D. King. She came to Puget Sound in 1855 and has resided in Olympia ever since that time.

Collier, W. H., who died August 16, was born in Georgia in 1847. At the age of twelve he came to Puget Sound on the vessel of which his father was master. His stay was short at that time (1859), but he returned to Seattle to make it his home in 1874. He was a marine engineer. Mr. Collier is survived by a widow, four daughters and two sons.

Cooper, Charles, of Cooper Brothers Logging Company, died at the logging camp on Hood Canal, December 28. He was born in 1860, near Port Ludlow, Washington. He went to Alaska in 1900, where he remained four years, after which he returned to Hood Canal, where he has since been continuously engaged in the logging business.

Cooper, Mrs. Isaac died suddenly in California, where she had gone to sec the Exposition. Mrs. Cooper was widely known for her work in church and philanthropic circles. She was born in San Francisco in 1856, and she resided in Idaho before coming to Seattle, her home for many years. Her death occurred on May 5. She was president of the Ladies Hebrew Benevolent Society for many years, and also president of the Council of Jewish Women and Ladies' Auxiliary of the Temple de Hirsch, and she was an active worker in the Charity Organization Society. Constable, Mrs. Frances, who died at Cathlamet, Washington, May 20, crossed the plains to Oregon in 1849. She was twelve years old at the time. She has resided in Wahkiakum County for forty years.

Denny, Miss Margaret Lenora, daughter of Arthur A. Denny, founder of Seattle, was born in Illinois in 1847, and came with her parents to Oregon in 1851. The family embarked at Portland on the schooner Exact and landed at AIki Point November 13, 1851. Miss Denny was well-known and beloved for her gifts to charity, never failing to respond to the many calls upon her sympathy and generosity. The extent of her gifts to charity, and to affairs of historic interest in the State, will never be known.

DeVore, Mrs. Evelyn Babb, widow of Rev. John F. DeVore, the builder of the first Protestant Church in Washington, died in Tacoma. March 15. She was born in Ohio in 1829 one of thirteen children. Her sister, Jane, married John F. DeVore, a Methodist minister. They came to Puget Sound in 1853, Evelyn accompanying them. In 1860 Mrs. DeVore died, and in 1861 Evelyn married her brother-in-law. They lived at Steilacoom, Olympia and The Dalles, Portland, Seattle and Tacoma, where Mr. DeVore died in 1889. Mrs. DeVore was one of the first school teachers in Steilacoom. She is survived by one son, George. Prosch, Thomas W., who with his wife. Miss M. L. Denny and Mrs. H. F. Beecher, lost his life on the 30th of March in an automobile accident at Allentown, on the Duwamish River, was born in Brooklyn, New York, June 2, 1850. He was the only surviving child of Charles and Susan Prosch, and came with his parents to the Pacific Coast in 1855.

Downey, Robert M., a resident of Pierce County since 1853, died in Tacoma in May, 1915. The Downey family settled in Pierce County, taking up a donation claim. Warned by friendly Indians of an intended massacre of the whites, the family moved to Steilacoom, where they resided for many years. Mr. Downey was born in Kentucky, November 23, 1841.

Eustace, Michael, aged 85, died in Puyallup early in November. He was the last of a pioneer family, who settled in Pierce County sixty-five years ago. They took up a claim at Spanaway and Michael Eustace lived there continuously until a year ago, when he moved to Puyallup. He was a native of Ireland. His wife was a daughter of John Rigny, another of the early settlers of Pierce County.

Folsom, Col. Frederick W., died on March 8 at Junction City, Oregon. He went to California in 1857. He remained there for only a month, coming that year to Portland and Walla Walla. His residence in Washington was of short duration, most of his life being spent in the Willamette Valley.

Forbes, Jared, a native of Philadelphia, came to this coast by way of the Isthmus of Panama in the year 1852. In 1865 he made a horseback trip from San Francisco through Oregon to Puget Sound, and from there to Walla Walla. He moved to Seattle in 1901. Mr. Forbes was the last of five brothers, all of whom lived to be octogenarians. Masterson, Mrs. M. G., died at her home at Grand Mound, Washington, July 26. She was born near Centralia in 1857, her parents being early French-Canadian settlers there. From San Francisco the family moved to Steilacoom in 1859, where his father published the Puget Sound Herald. In 1872 Thomas W. Prosch became the owner of the Pacific Tribune, then published in Olympia.

Griffith, Mrs. Rebecca, died February 26 at the home of her sons near Crawford, Clarke County, Washington. She was born in Mississippi in 1837 and came to Oregon in 1843. She resided for a number of years in Douglas County, Oregon. The last years of her life were spent with her sons on a farm in Clarke County, Washington.

Heisen, Mrs. Mary E., a resident of Clarke County since 1850, died November 28 at Yacolt, Washington, aged 81. She came to Oregon by way of the Isthmus of Panama, when she was 16 years old.

Henry, Dudley S. B., died in Olympia on July 5, at the age of 73. He crossed the plains in 1852 with his parents. His father, Anson B. Henry, was surveyor-general of Washington Territory, receiving his appointment from President Lincoln.

Hill, Captain John S., died at Wallace, Idaho, June 19. He was a sea captain and came around the Horn in 1850. He settled at an early date on Commencement Bay. Captain Hill was one of the first men to operate a steamboat on Puget Sound. He was 83 at the time of his death.

Impett, William Robert, was a pioneer of 1857. He was born in Philadelphia, but early was taken to Canada. He was sent to England to finish his education and from there went to New Zealand and Australia. From Australia he went to California, and at the time of the Caribou gold excitement he visited the mines in British Columbia. In 1860 he moved to Seattle, where he established his home. He was 81 years old when he died, December 8.

Laman, Mrs. Agnes Woolery, of Walla Walla, died in Seattle, November 28. Mrs. Laman was a member of the Ezra Meeker party which came to Steilacoom in 1853. She was then a child of eight. She was born in Missouri. After her marriage to J. D. Laman, she moved to Walla Walla, which thereafter was her home.

Landry, Rene, was born in Arcadia, Quebec, Canada, December 5, 1827. His family were among the earliest of the French settlers of that province. Landry went to St. Louis in 1847, and in 1850 he crossed the plains to California. The Fraser River gold excitement brought him to the Northwest and he lived at Fruitland, Washington, for thirty years. He died in Colville early in April, after a lingering illness of many months.

Leonard, Mrs. Eva Hanselman, died in Tacoma, March 11. She was born in Vancouver, Washington, November 30, 1854, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Phillip Hanselman. Her father was a veteran of the Mexican and Indian Wars. He came as a soldier to the United States garrison at Steilacoom in 1 859, and his family resided there until his term expired, when they moved out on the prairie near the Flett homestead. After Mrs. Leonard's marriage to Winfield S. Leonard she moved to Steilacoom and later to Tacoma.

Lindsley, Mrs. Abbie Denny, daughter of Mrs. Louisa Boren Denny, was born August 29, 1858, in Seattle, seven years after her parents, Mr. and Mrs. David T. Denny, had helped to found the city. She was well known as a writer, using the pen-name, Chelana. She was also skillful as a painter. Mrs. Lindsley had been seriously ill for two years before her death, at her home on Lake Chelan. Beside her husband, three daughters and a son, she leaves her mother, a sister. Miss Emily Inez Denny, and two brothers, D. T. Denny and Victor Denny.

Longmire, Elcaine, proprietor of the famous Longmire Springs, and a member of one of the oldest families of Pierce County, died at the Springs after a year's illness, on June 21. He was born in Indiana and came to the Sound with his parents in 1853. He was a member of the first immigrant train that crossed the Cascades by way of the Naches Pass. He was 74 years old, and is survived by a widow and eleven children. Lloyd, Mrs. Jane, aged 77, died at her home in Colfax, June 26. With her husband, she crossed the plains from Iowa to Benton, County, Oregon, in 1851, moving to Waitsburg, Washington, in 1860, and to Colfax in 1871. Her husband died twenty-nine years ago. She leaves six sons and three daughters.

Manville, Mrs. Adaline, died at the age of 80 years on March 11, at her home in Tacoma. She was born in Pennsylvania and in 1853 came with her family to Oregon in the pioneer train of Capt. Medorem Crawford. She was married in 1859, and in 1882 located on a farm near Tumwater. She was the mother of eleven children.

Mattoon, Mrs. Elizabeth Trullinger, was a pioneer of 1848. She crossed the plains with her parents, Daniel and Elizabeth Trullinger, in that year. The family settled in the Willamette Valley ten miles from Salem. In 1852 she married Runa Mattoon. She was born April 16, 1838, and died at the home of her son near Walla Walla, February 26, 1915.

McMillin, Capt. Thomas H., died in Seattle in April. He was the son of Rev. and Mrs. D. R. McMillin and was born in Marion County, Oregon, in 1858. The family moved to Washington in 1862, residing at Kent for many years. Captain McMillin early became interested in steamboating, and followed this calling for thirty years. He built nine steamers during his life.

Morse, Captain George W., died at his home in Oak Harbor, December 23. Captain Morse came of a ship-building, sea-faring family of Maine. At the age of nine his father took him on a voyage to Europe. In 1850 the young man shipped on the Macedonia to San Francisco, and then by India, around the world. On his return he again shipped for California. At the Golden Gate he gave up sailing, going in to the mines, where he engaged in freighting. In 1858 he visited the Fraser River mines. When that excitement was over he moved to Washington, living for a time on the Nooksack River, and later at Oak Harbor. For a time he was sub-Indian agent at Tulalip. He was a member of the first State Legislature, and was returned to three of the later sessions. He was 85 years old.
Murray, Mrs. Hester Clark, a pioneer of 1852, died at the old homestead at American Lake, December 5, at the age of 75. She was born in Missouri and when she was fifteen she came to Oregon. The party in which she traveled was visited by cholera; and she lost her parents and a brother. The other children were taken to Rickreal, Oregon, and were cared for by the Nesmith family. In 1871 she married Garm Murray, and they moved to Pierce County, where they took up a claim on Muck Creek, near American Lake.

Neely, David Franklin, a native son of Washington, died August 28. He was born in King County in 1857. His family came to the White River Valley in 1856, taking up a claim near Kent. The Indian War compelled them to abandon their claim for three years, the family living in Seattle during that time.

Olson, Gustav, was a pioneer of 1 849, going to California with the gold seekers. He was born in Norway in 1828, and came to America in 1842. He came to Seattle in 1867, but business necessitated his return to California, where he remained until 1887. He spent much of his time, during the later years of his life, at his home on Bainbridge Island. He died in Seattle. April 28.
Patton, John C, a native of Cowlitz County, died at his home in Kelso, the latter part of October. Mr. Patton was born on the Leonard homestead, which now forms a part of West Kelso, November 15, 1859. His widow, a daughter and his mother survive him.

Phipps, William C, a pioneer of Oregon, died at the home of his son at Toppenish, Washington, March 10, 1915, as a result of injuries received when a conveyance in which he was riding was struck by a passenger train near Toppenish. He was born in Indiana in 1827, moved with his parents to Missouri, and crossed the plains with his bride in 1853. They located near Portland on a donation claim. Later he moved to LaFayette, then to North Yamhill, and still later to Polk County, Oregon. His four children settled in central Washington, and this brought him from his Oregon home to the country around North Yakima, where his life was ended.

Power, John M., was born in Ohio, September 23, 1835, and died at Oak Harbor, January 11, 1915. He came to Olympia from Iowa in 1859 and eventually settled as a farmer on Whidby Island.

Prosch, Thomas W., who with his wife. Miss M. L. Denny and Mrs. H. F. Beecher, lost his life on the 30th of March in an automobile accident at Allentown, on the Duwamish River, was born in Brooklyn, New York, June 2, 1850. He was the only surviving child of Charles and Susan Prosch, and came with his parents to the Pacific Coast in 1855. From San Francisco the family moved to Steilacoom in 1859, where his father published the Puget Sound Herald. In 1872 Thomas W. Prosch became the owner of the Pacific Tribune, then published in Olympia. Later he moved it to Tacoma, and still later to Seattle. Selling that paper, he, with Samuel L. Crawford, bought the Intelligencer in 1879. In 1881 they bought the Post and merged the two into the Post-Intelligencer. When he sold his interest in this paper he devoted his time to his private affairs, and to writing articles concerning the Pacific Northwest. For two years he was postmaster of Seattle, receiving his appointment from President Grant

Prosch, Virginia McCarver, was born April 17, 1851, at Oregon City. She was the daughter of Gen. Morton M. McCarver, who founded Tacoma. Her father was a pioneer of 1843, and her mother of 1847. The family lived in Oregon and Idaho before coming to Washington, the final home.

Reed, Silas Amory, 88 years old, died in Seattle, December 26. Mr. Reed went to California in 1849, where he engaged in mining for a number of years. He moved to Seattle in 1891.

Rudio, Peter, a native of Germany, was a gold seeker of 1849. Mr. Rudio was born near Strasburg in 1825, coming to the United States in 1825. He was married at Corvallis, Oregon, in 1854. He died at Centralia, September 25, and was buried in Walla Walla.

Scholl, Mrs. Elizabeth Fulton, died in Walla Walla on the 5th of February at the age of 72. She came with her parents, Colonel and Mrs. James Fulton, from Mississippi in 1847. The family settled in Wasco County, Oregon, where they lived for half a century. She was married at The Dalles in 1 863, to Louis Scholl, following his retirement from the United States Army. He afterwards took part in the Nez Perce War and was draftsman for General O. O. Howard. She is survived by three sons, Carl, Bismark and Louis.

Smith, Dr. Henry A., a pioneer physician, who was prominently identified with the development of the Pacific Northwest, died August 17, at his home at Smith's Cove, in Seattle. He made the trip by ox team from Ohio in 1852. Dr. Smith took part in the Indian Wars, being one of the last survivors of the Battle of Seattle. At one time he was resident physician at the Tulalip Indian Reservation.

Tollner, Mrs. Eliza J., who has lived on the Pacific Coast since 1849, died at the home of her daughter, Mrs. J. H. Irving, on the 7th of March. She was born in Ireland and came to America when she was two years old. Her husband was one of the first barbers in the North-west She came to Puget Sound from California in 1863, and has resided in Olympia and Seattle.

Torrance, Mary Jane Mrs., was the daughter of Lot Whitcomb, who, with Berryman Jennings and S. S. White, built the steamer Lot Whitcomb at Milwaukie in 1850, the first American-owned steamer to run on the Willamette and Columbia Rivers. Mrs. Torrance was born in 1833. Her husband was also one of the earliest steamboat men of Oregon. In 1875 the Torrance family removed to Eastern Washington and Mrs. Torrance died in Spokane on March 8.

Wallace, Mrs. Esther Tallentire, was the widow of Captain David Wallace, a well-known sea captain of the Pacific Coast. Mrs. Wallace was born in Portland in 1846, her parents, Thomas and Agnes Tallentire, having crossed the plains in 1845. Her parents moved to Steilacoom m 1851. Her husband was master and pilot on the Sound as early as 1858, and later sailed to California for many years. Mrs. Wallace died October 11 at the home of her daughter.

Willis, Edwin A., a native of England, died in Ellensburg at die age of 82. He came to America from England in 1854, and joined the regular army. In California he enlisted in Company G. Third Artillery, in 1855 and was sent the following year to the scene of Indian disturbances, near Spokane. After the Indian War he engaged in business at The Dalles, and in 1883 he went to Ellensburg, which has since been his home. There he engaged in the mercantile business. He died on the 13th of December.

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Source: Washington Historical Quarterly, Volume VIII, Number 2, January 1917. [Miss Prosch has continued the work begun by her father by again furnishing this annual feature of the Quarterly. Owing to sad afflictions in her own family, she fears that she may have omitted some records, but she has done the best she could. -Editor.]