Washington Pioneer Dead of 1916
By Edith G. Prosch
Alexander,
John S., died at his home in Olympia, August 12. He was born in
Wisconsin in 1836. At the age of 15 he crossed the plains to
Portland, Oregon, and from there came by the schooner Exact to
Olympia, at the time that the Denny family was brought to Alki
Point. He served in the Indian War, being stationed at Fort Ebey
on the Snohomish River. Later Mr. Alexander took up a homestead
at Coupeville, on Whidby Island. He was married in Port Townsend
in 1860 to Miss Anna Lanning, who passed away at her home in
Olympia. At one time Mr. Alexander was deputy collector of
customs in Seattle. During the Klondike gold excitement he had
charge of the building of a fleet of steamers for the Yukon
River. After an absence of sixty years from Olympia he returned
there to end his days.
Barr,
Margaret Jane Mrs., died in Roslyn, December 30. She was born in
Ohio in 1827, her parents later moving to Iowa, where she
married Samuel Barr in 1849. He came west to Oregon in 1852, and
Mrs. Barr followed him in 1859. They resided in Portland until
1870, when they moved to Grays Harbor, where the family took up
a homestead.
Brents,
Thomas H. Judge, died at his home in Walla Walla, October 23, at
the age of 76 years. He was born in Illinois in 1840 and crossed
the plains to Oregon in 1853 settling in Clackamas County, where
he remained until 1855. In 1860 he went to Klickitat County, in
Washington, where he herded sheep day by day and studied law at
night. Judge Brents moved to Walla Walla in 1870 and took up the
practice of law. He was elected delegate to Congress in 1878 and
was re-elected in 1880 and again in 1882. He was elected to the
Superior judgeship of Walla Walla County in 1896, and held that
position until 1912.
Brewer,
Margaret Mrs., a pioneer of the Willamette Valley of 1852, and
of Mound Prairie, Washington, of 1859, died at her son's home in
Hoquiam, February 2, aged 81 years. She was born in Georgia.
Soon after her marriage she came to Oregon. She was of the party
which was lost in the Cascade Mountains for three months, during
which time they suffered extreme privation, men, women and
children dying of starvation and disease. Her husband was at one
time agent at the Oakville Indian Reservation.
Bunch, Mrs.
Sarah Isabell, was a pioneer of 1852, living near Brownsville,
Oregon, for forty years. She died April 16, aged 72 years. Mrs.
Bunch had lived in Hoquiam for a short time, later moving with
her family to Elma, Washington.
Burnett,
Charles H., one of the earliest coal operators on Puget Sound,
died January 9, after a short illness, aged 68 years. Mr.
Burnett came with his parents to Port Gamble, from Providence,
Rhode Island, in 1857. For many years Mr. Burnett engaged in a
general merchandise business in Seattle, his partner being C. P.
Stone. In 1884 he became interested in coal mining and was at
different times superintendent of mines at Newcastle and at
Renton and later he had an interest in a mine at Burnett,
Washington.
Byles, Mary
Mrs., was a pioneer of 1852. She was the widow of David Byles.
Her death occurred June 11. Mrs. Byles was 83 years old, and she
had been a resident of Elma for many years. Bornstein, Mrs.
Louisa, died July 11 at her home in Seattle. She was born in San
Francisco in 1855 and come with her husband to Seattle in 1881.
Her husband, Julius Bornstein, was a prominent merchant of this
city. Mrs. Bornstein was closely associated with all benevolent
work from the time of her arrival in Seattle.
Callbreath,
Captain John C, died at the Kenny Home, Seattle, April 9, aged
90 years. He came around the Horn in a sailing vessel to
California in 1849. He was one of the earliest legislators of
California, and represented his state in Congress for several
terms. He went up into the Cassiar country and located mines and
built a trading post on the Stikine River. Twenty years ago,
while in Alaska, he lost his eyesight and since then has lived
in retirement. He is survived by two sons.
Chambers,
Thompson McLain, was a resident of Pierce County for 71 years.
He died at the home of his son in Tacoma, November 17, aged 82
years. He belonged to the family that gave its name to Chambers
Prairie and Chambers Creek. He served in the Indian War of
1855-56 as second lieutenant.
Clarke,
Wellington, speaker of the Washington Territorial House of
Representatives in 1886, died in Los Angeles in January. He was
born in California in 1856. In 1880 he moved to Walla Walla and
formed a partnership with Judge T. J. Anders and Judge Thomas H.
Brents. Of late years he has resided in California.
Cochran,
Jesse F., veteran of the Mexican and Civil Wars, died October
17, aged 93 years. He was born in Indiana in 1823 and joined an
Indiana regiment to fight under General Scott in the Mexican
campaign. In 1857 he came to California, attracted thither by
the gold discoveries. Later he went to Alaska and then to Puget
Sound, but at the outbreak of the Civil War, he went back to
Indiana and enlisted, serving throughout the war. In 1869, Mr.
Cochran came to Seattle, following his trade of sign painting.
He joined the rush to Alaska in 1897, where he suffered many
hardships. Later he went to Goldfield, Nevada, during their
mining excitement. He is survived by nine sons and daughters.
Crawford,
Samuel LeRoy, was a native of Oregon, having been born near
Oregon City, June 22, 1855. His parents were pioneers of 1847.
Mr. Crawford lived in Oregon in early boyhood but moved to
Olympia in 1869. He came to Seattle in 1876 to take charge of
the mechanical department of the Daily Intelligencer. In 1880 he
and Thomas W. Prosch purchased the paper and he remained with it
after its consolidation with the Post. In 1888 he formed a
partnership with C. T. Conover to engage in the real estate
business and he was connected with the same firm until his
death, October 11. He was an ardent baseball enthusiast and
introduced the game to Seattle. Mr. Crawford was known far and
wide for his many benevolences, giving not only of his money but
of his time and influence.
Creswell,
Donald C, was born in Illinois in 1830. He came west in 1852,
settling near Salem, Oregon. He moved in a short time to Benton
County, Washington, where he lived until 1900, when he moved to
Walla Walla. He died there at the home of his daughter, March
21.
Denny, Louisa
Boren Mrs. , the first bride in Seattle, died at her home in
Seattle, August 31, aged 89 years. She was the daughter of
Richard Freeman Boren and Sarah Latimer Boren. Her mother later
married John Denny, the father of Arthur A. Denny and her
husband David T. Denny. Mrs. Denny was the last of the original
band of adults who came to Alki Point in November, 1851. She
married Mr. Denny, January 23, 1852. They took up a donation
claim on the shores of Lake Union.
Denny, Orion
O., first white boy born in Seattle, passed away February 26. He
was the second son of Arthur A. and Mary A. Denny, who headed
the party that established homes at Alki Point in November,
1851, and later were instrumental in the founding of Seattle.
Mr. Denny was born July 17, 1853, in a log cabin on the present
site of the Stevens Hotel in Seattle. He was one of the earliest
students of the University. He took up marine engineering as a
young man, and he was chief engineer at one time on the steamer
Libby, and at another time on the well-known Eliza Anderson. He
retired from business ten years ago, and since then had traveled
extensively.
Drumheller,
Martha A. Mrs., a pioneer of 1859, died at her home in Walla
Walla, December 16, aged 72 years. She was a member of the
Maxson family, which came to Walla Walla in 1859. She married
Jesse Drumheller, a pioneer of 1862. He was an Indian fighter
and one of the largest land holders of his county.
Duncan,
William, known to many as "Big Bill," died in Seattle, December
17. He had the unique distinction of being the most prominent
cab driver in Seattle, conveying many of the best-known visitors
about the city. He was born in San Francisco in 1856. Murphy,
John Miller, former editor and owner of the Washington Standard
of Olympia, died at his home there December 20. He was the dean
of Washington newspaper men. Mr. Miller established the Standard
in 1860 and edited it continuously until 1911. At the time of
the fiftieth anniversary of its founding in 1910, a golden
jubilee was held and scores of newspaper men attended from
Oregon and Washington. He was born in Indiana in 1839. In 1850
he came with the Barnes family to Olympia. He had the first news
route in Portland for the Oregonian. During his residence in
Olympia he was territorial printer. Mr. Miller was ever an
ardent upholder of the Democratic Party in Washington.
Dunlap, S.
S., a pioneer of 1858, died the last of January, near Hoquiam.
He had been a hermit for many years and died alone in his cabin
on the East Hoquiam River. He was over 80 years of age.
Fleming, C. P., an Indian War
veteran, died January 21 at Garrard Creek, in Lewis County. He
was a pioneer of 1852.
Frost, Jane
Mrs., was born in Lewis County in 1858, the daughter of C. C.
Padgett, and she died at Chehalis, March 21, 1916. She lived for
many years at Winlock and also on the Cowlitz River.
Gillespie, John W., died July 13 in
Seattle, aged 69 years. He was a native of Wisconsin. With his
parents he came to this coast by the way of the Isthmus in 1855.
He lived for a time in Portland before coming to Whidby Island
in 1857.
Glore,
Michael, died in Caldwell, Idaho, January 6. He was born in
Illinois in 1837. At the age of 16 he crossed the plains with an
ox team to California. He moved to Seattle in 1874.
Grennon, Genevieve Mrs., aged 81
years, was a native of Washington. She was the daughter of M.
Plomandon, and was born at a trading post near Spokane, her
father being in the employ of the Hudson's Bay Company. Mrs.
Grennon lived at the Hudson's Bay posts at Fort Nisqually and in
Victoria. She died in Tacoma at the home of her daughter, March
22.
Henry, Eliza
B. Mrs., for 63 years a resident of the Northwest, and for 54 in
Washington, died in Seattle, September 9, and was buried in
Olympia. She was the widow of the late Judge Francis Henry,
prominent in the early history of the territory. Mrs. Henry
crossed the plains in 1853.
Hill, Robert
Crosby, of Port Townsend, was one of the best-known pioneers of
the state. He was born in Pennsylvania in 1829 and came by the
Isthmus of Panama to California in 1850 and to Washington in
1853, settling near his two brothers on Whidby Island. He served
during the Indian War on the staff of Major Van Bokelen. About
1870 he moved to Port Townsend and with Col. Henry Landes and
his brother, Nathaniel Hill, formed the First National Bank.
Thereafter he was actively interested in all that pertained to
the growth and welfare of Port Townsend. He was prominent among
Masons, by whom his funeral was conducted. He died May 1, 1916.
Hughes, Flora
Eloris Payne Mrs., died January 9, 1916. She was the daughter of
Mr. and Mrs. James H. Payne, pioneers of 1853. Mrs. Hughes was
born near Halsey, Oregon, in 1858. The family moved to Seattle
in 1869, and Miss Payne attended the University of Washington.
She married William H. Hughes in 1878. She is survived by her
husband and a daughter.
Isaacs, H. P.
Mrs., died at her home in Walla Walla, November 18. With her
parents, Colonel and Mrs. Fulton, she came to Oregon from
Illinois in 1855 and to Walla Walla in 1864. She was one of the
first advocates of equal suffrage in Washington. Israel, George
C, one of the best-known criminal lawyers of Washington, died
November 26, 1916. Mr. Israel was born in California in 1858. He
practiced law in Baker City, Oregon, in California and in
Olympia before coming to Seattle. He was connected with many of
the greatest criminal trials in the state.
Jacobs, Hiram
J., was a son of the pioneer jurist, Orange Jacobs. He was born
in Oregon in 1860 and graduated from the law department of the
University of Michigan. He died July 28. Mr. Jacobs is survived
by his mother, three brothers and three sisters.
Jenner,
Charles K., was a resident of the Pacific Coast since 1850. He
was born in Wisconsin in 1846 and came with his parents to
California four years later. He obtained his education there and
was admitted to the bar in 1871. In 1876 he moved to Seattle
where he practiced law for many years and was prominent in the
affairs of the city.
McDonald,
John Fulton, a pioneer of California and a resident of Seattle
since 1897, died April 12 at his home. He was born in
Connecticut in 1836. In 1858 he went to California, where he
lived for forty years before coming to Seattle.
Munroe,
Elizabeth Mrs., aged 73 years, a resident of Washington since
1853, died in Tacoma, October 31. She came to Thurston County
with her stepfather, Franklin Kennedy, when she was fourteen
years old. She was a cousin of Michael T. Simmons, one of the
earliest of the Puget Sound pioneers.
Murray, Henry
Mrs., passed away in her chair at her home in Tacoma, April 22,
while weaving a quilt. She was 84 years old. Her parents were
pioneers of the Red River of the North. They were John Ross and
Isabell Melville Ross. When she was six years old, with her
parents, she came to Fort Vancouver with Dr. John McLoughlin,
where her father was employed by the Hudson's Bay Company. Later
the family moved to Victoria. She was married in 1851 to Mr.
Murray at a place near the present site of Dupont, the ceremony
being performed by Colonel Ebey. They settled on Muck Creek near
Tacoma, where they resided for many years.
Noyes,
Melissa L. Mrs., had been a resident of Washington since 1859.
She died March 16, aged 80 years. Mrs. Noyes was born in Maine,
May 30, 1835. Her husband came to Port Gamble in 1857 and she
and her five-year-old daughter crossed the Isthmus two years
alter to join him. The family lived at Port Gamble for twenty
years, and at Utsalady ten years and later they made their home
at Mount Vernon.
Porter,
Nathaniel E., a Whidby Island pioneer, died at his home near
Austin, October 27. He was born in Nova Scotia in 1837, and he
early showed his love for the sea by varying trips made to
remote parts of the world. In 1857 he decided to give up his
roving life and he went to California and came to Puget Sound in
1859, taking up a donation claim on the west side of Whidby
Island. Here he engaged in farming for himself and family,
providing them with a comfortable home.
Rabbeson,
Lucy A. Mrs., aged 81, widow of Captain A. B. Rabbeson, Indian
War veteran, and daughter of Nelson Barnes, pioneer of 1845,
died September 4, in Tacoma. Mrs. Rabbeson was born in New York
in 1835. In 1845 the family crossed the plains to Oregon. Her
father had one of the first grist mills in Washington.
Ross, Mary
Jane McMillan Mrs., has been a resident of Seattle since 1858.
Her father was a well-known clergyman of Oregon, where he moved
in 1853. She came to Seattle shortly after her marriage to John
Ross, and has been a resident of Seattle ever since. Her death
occurred July 27.
Steward,
Angeline Mrs., died at her home in Vancouver, November 8, aged
77 years. She was a native of Missouri and crossed the plains in
1852. She was married to George Steward in Oregon. They moved to
Vancouver in 1862, since which time it has been her home.
Templeton,
William, was a pioneer of 1847. He was born in Missouri in 1845,
and died in Seattle, February 14, 1916. His parents took up a
homestead near Brownsville, Oregon, where he continued to live
until a short time before his death, when he moved to
Washington. His wife was the eldest daughter of Ezra Meeker, and
he is survived by six sons and a daughter. Mr. Templeton was
actively interested in the affairs of the Presbyterian Church,
of which for over fifty years he was an elder.
Van Brunt,
William D., of Bellingham, passed away on his 88th birthday,
January 27, 1916. He was born in Pennsylvania and lived for a
short time in Utah and also in California before coming to
Washington. He served two enlistments in this territory, during
the Indian War of 1855-56, the first as a member of Company D.
Washington Territorial Mounted Volunteers, the second time in
Captain Oliver Shead's guards in the First Regiment of the
Second Washington Territorial Volunteers. He moved from
Steilacoom to Whatcom County in 1880, where he had a ranch on
which he lived until a short time before his death.
Weir, Allen,
died at Port Townsend, October 31, after a lingering illness,
resulting from an automobile accident, in which State Senator D.
S. Troy was killed. Mr. Weir was born in California in 1854. He
came to the Sound as a very young man, living in Olympia for
some time. In 1874 he purchased the Puget Sound Argus and
published it in Port Townsend for many years. He was closely
associated with the political life of the territory and state.
Mr. Weir has resided in Olympia during the last years of his
life.
Wolf, Regina
Mrs., wife of Simon Wolf, was 77 at the time of her death,
January 9. She was born in Bavaria, but came when very young to
America. She crossed the plains in 1860 and lived in Portland
for many years. She and her husband were the second Jewish
couple married there. She has lived in Seattle for twenty years.
Wolf, Simon,
a pioneer of Oregon, died at his home in Seattle, April 14,
closely following his wife, who passed away in January of the
same year. He was born in Poland and came to Oregon in 1860,
where he was a merchant for many years. He is survived by two
daughters.
Back to
Washington AHGP
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.]
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