MR. AND MRS. PATRICK O'CONNOROn the 30th of December, 1889, Mr. O'Connor was joined in wedlock to Miss Mary McGreevy, who was born in Iowa and came to Washington in 1887, locating on the present site of Jackson's Siding in Columbia county, where lived her uncle, Daniel McGreevy. Mr. and Mrs. O'Connor had one son, Daniel A., who is now operating the home farm.In politics Mr. O'Connor was a stalwart democrat, giving unfaltering allegiance to the principles of his party. He served for some years as road supervisor and made an excellent official in that connection. In fact he was a progressive and public-spirited citizen, giving helpful aid to all movements for the advancement of the community. He belonged to the Catholic church, of which his widow and son are also communicants. The family has long been well known in Columbia county and, like her husband, Mrs. O'Connor enjoys the respect and goodwill of those with whom she has been brought in contact.ALBERT M. JENSEN.Albert M. Jensen, head of the A. M. Jensen Company of Walla Walla, was born in Denmark in 1868 and at the age of fourteen years began work in a general store. His life has been one of continuous business activity since that time. Coming to the new world in 1890, he settled in Minnesota and was employed by one of the largest department stores in St. Paul for eighteen years. He began work there as general utility boy, was advanced to the position of salesman and later became a buyer and department manager, and while thus engaged he made various trips to New York and abroad for his firm.In 1910 Mr. Jensen came to Walla Walla and organized the A. M. Jensen Company, which then bought out the Skiles Dry Goods Company, which had been established in 1905 on a very small scale. The floor space now in use for the display and sale of women's merchandise is approximately fifteen thousand square feet.In 1897 Mr. Jensen was united in marriage to Miss Effie Byland, who was born in Shelbyville, Indiana, and they have three children: Leon, Everett and Gladys. Mr. Jensen is a member of the First Presbyterian church, is a Scottish Rite Mason and member of the Mystic Shrine and also of the Odd Fellows lodge. In politics he is an independent republican but has never sought or held office. His military record covers six months' service in the Danish navy before comingto the United States. He has taken considerable interest in civic affairs and for several years was a member of the board of trustees of the Walla Walla Commercial Club and served for one year as its president. He is always anxious and willing to help wherever necessary for the good of the city, state or country and acted as chairman and member of several important Liberty Loan and Food Conservation sub-committees.JOHN H. EDWARDS.One of the well improved farm properties of Walla Walla county is that owned by John H. Edwards, an enterprising, alert and energetic agriculturist, whose home is on section 30, township 9 north, range 34 east. He is there extensively engaged in wheat growing and also in stock raising.Mr. Edwards was born in Texas, March 8, 1859, a son of John C. and Sarah (Hillard) Edwards, the former a native of Tennessee, while the latter was born in Alabama. They removed to Texas in 1858 and while residing in that state the mother was called to her final rest. The father passed away in Tennessee, having returned to his native state. In their family were seven children, but only three of the number are now living.John H. Edwards was largely reared and educated in Tennessee, having the usual opportunities and experiences of the farmbred boy. He was a young man of twenty-three years when he determined to try his fortune in the northwest and made his way to Walla Walla county, settling upon the farm on which he now resides in the fall of 1883. It has since been his home, and adding to his holdings from time to time as his financial resources have permitted, he has become the owner of thirty-four hundred acres of valuable wheat and pasture land. He has great broad fields, devoted to the raising of wheat, and rich pastures, in which are found large herds of cattle. He makes a specialty of raising Durham cattle and he is also engaged in raising Percheron horses and high grade hogs. He has improved his ranch with modern buildings. There is a commodious and attractive residence, in the rear of which stand good barns and outbuildings for the shelter of grain and stock, and these in turn are surrounded by broad fields, highly cultivated.Mr. Edwards was united in marriage to Mrs. Margaret Woods and to them have been born two sons. Earl J., who is a graduate of the high school, was married in 1915 and has a son, Edwin. Eldon H., the younger son, is also a high school graduate.JOHN H. EDWARDSMRS. JOHN H. EDWARDSMr. Edwards is deeply interested in the cause of education, has served as school director, and has put forth every effort in his power to give his sons good opportunities, thus qualifying them for life's practical and responsible duties. He votes with the republican party but has never been an office seeker. He and his wife hold membership in the Christian church and are loyal to its teachings, while to its support they make generous contribution. The conditions which he found in the northwest gave him the opportunities which he sought and in their utilization he has worked his way steadily upward. His handclasp, however, is as warm for his friend in a threadbare coat as for the prosperous business friend of his later years. He appreciates what it means to overcome difficulties, having had his own hard times and his own life is organized along lines that have called for a full dole of labor with every turn of the wheel. In social intercourse he is genial, kindly and humanly sympathetic, while his business affairs are characterized by the most rigid integrity.WILLIAM W. WALTER.William W. Walter, an honored pioneer of Washington, was born in Wayne 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 yokeof 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 dayand 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 singingof 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 oncemore 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 allthe 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. andMrs. 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.Logan P. Mulkey, who was one of the most successful business men of Walla Walla, devoted his later years to the buying and selling of city properties but previously operated a stock farm of twenty-five hundred acres. His birth occurred in Corvallis, Oregon, December 24, 1853, and he was a son of Johnson Mulkey, who crossed the plains three times, an achievement the meaning of which the present generation can scarcely realize, for at the present time the journey which a half century or more ago meant months of weary traveling with the danger of attack by Indians or of an outbreak of pestilence, is now a matter of a few days and is made with the utmost comfort. Johnson Mulkey was a slaveholder in Kentucky in the early days but freed all his slaves some years prior to the Civil war, as he had become convinced that the practice of holding men and women in bondage was wrong. However, such had been his kindness to his slaves that one old mammy refused to leave the family and accompanied them to the northwest. It was in 1845 that Mr. Mulkey first came to Oregon territory and he was so pleased with conditions in this section of the country that in 1846 he returned to Kentucky in order to settle up his affairs and in 1847 he again made the long journey to the west, this time accompanied by his family. His wife was ill when they reached the Whitman home and made plans to remain there until she recovered her health while the other members of the family should continue their journey but later she decided to accompany them and did so, thus escaping massacre at the hands of the Indians, for it was only a short time later that the Whitmans were killed by the red men. Mr. Mulkey located at Corvallis, Oregon, and in the succeeding years acquired extensive farm, timber and sawmill properties, together with valuable mining interests in Idaho. He became one of the wealthy men of Oregon and at the time of his death in the winter of 1861-2 carried in his belt something more than seven thousand dollars in gold dust. He had made a trip to some of his mining properties in Idaho and on his return reached John Day, Oregon, about fifty miles from The Dalles, where he became snowbound. Anxious to reach home as soon as possible, he started overland on foot and, being weighted down by the gold dust which he carried, he became exhausted and nearly perished from the cold. His companions buried him in the snow and then hurried for help to the home of William Graham, whose sons went after him and brought him to the Graham home, where a few days later he died. This was quite a coincidence, as it was years afterwards when Logan P. Mulkey and Georgia Graham were married that the facts were discovered that it was to her father's house that the dying man had been taken. The body was buried in the cemetery at The Dalles.LOGAN P. MULKEYMRS. LOGAN P. MULKEYLogan P. Mulkey received his education in the public schools of Corvallis, Oregon, and also gained valuable training in self-reliance and resourcefulness in the experiences which came to him in the pioneer settlement in which he grew to manhood. On starting out on his independent career he went to Pomeroy, Washington, where he became connected with the hardware business, and for twelve years he was engaged in that line. He erected one of the first store buildings in Pomeroy and was quite prominent in the early commercial life of that place. At length his health became impaired through close confinement and he sold his hardware store and bought a stock ranch of some twenty-five hundred acres seven miles from Pomeroy. For many years he gave his attention to raising stock on an extensive scale but in 1903 he disposed of his land and removed to Walla Walla, where he became a prominent operator in real estate, buying and selling city properties. He was highly successful in that business but his prosperity was not gained at the price of the failure of others, for he was never known to take advantage of any man. If he had sold a property and the purchaser found it difficult to make his payments at the time specified he was given an extension of time and his terms were made easier. Mr. Mulkey's high sense of honor and his probity inevitably won for him the respect and the warm regard of those with whom he was brought in contact and his friends were legion.In 1885 Mr. Mulkey was united in marriage to Miss Georgia Graham, a daughter of William Graham, who was also a pioneer of the northwest, having crossed the plains from Ohio in 1852.Mr. Graham was born in Wayne county, Ohio, in 1818, and at the age of twenty-one years married Miss Harriet Duncan. They removed to Missouri, where they spent seven years, and in 1852 started across the plains to Oregon with three wagons and twelve head of cattle. This trip was a very arduous one and while en route their money was stolen. Being a very generous man, Mr. Graham picked up all stranded travelers from other trains. He was accompanied by his wife and six children. In crossing the Cascade mountains an ox fell exhausted and by hand the wagons were lowered in order to proceed on their journey. The next morning this ox had wandered away and a man bought the wagon and brought the family to a place near Corvallis, for which Mr. Graham paid him one hundred dollars. On the journey westward nearly all provisions gave out and the men were forced to hunt in order to supply the party with something to eat. While on one of these hunting trips five Indians came and the women traded a wagon cover for flour. Mr. Graham took up a homestead near Corvallis, not far from the mouth of the Deschutes river, where he developed a fruit farm. In 1874 he came to Washington and purchased a farm one and one-half miles from Dayton, where he spent the remainder of his life. He died at the age of seventy-four years and his wife at the age of seventy. In their family were eleven children, of whom six are still living. Mr. and Mrs. Graham were both consistent members of the Congregational church and were very hospitable people, their home being always open to the travelers or newcomers of this region.To Mr. and Mrs. Mulkey were born five children, of whom four survive, namely: Allen L., who operates a twenty-two hundred acre ranch in Walla Walla county belonging to his mother; Frances, at home; Marion, who volunteered June 1, 1917, and is now a member of Battery D, Twentieth Field Artillery, stationed at Camp Stanley, Leon Springs, Texas; and Helen, at home.Mr. Mulkey was a member of the Knights of Pythias fraternity but was not very active in the work of that organization, preferring to spend his leisure time at home. One of his strongest characteristics was his devotion to his family and to his friends and anything that he could do to add to the pleasure of those whom he loved was a source of the greatest satisfaction to him. His death occurred on the 7th of August, 1910, but his memory lives in the hearts of many.Since her husband's death Mrs. Mulkey has personally managed the large estate and in 1914 she erected the Mulkey apartments at No. 20 Park street and the following year erected an apartment building on the site of the old family home, which had been destroyed by fire, the new building being entirely designed by her. These buildings are thoroughly up-to-date and provided with all the improvements to be found in the highest class apartments and are valuable assets of Walla Walla. In addition to looking after her interests in connection with these apartments Mrs. Mulkey gives supervision to the operation of a splendid ranch of twenty-two hundred acres which she has acquired since the death of her husband and she also owns considerable city property. She and her children are members of the Congregational church and she also belongs to the Sunshine Club and the Reading Club of Walla Walla. All movements for the moral and civic as well as the material upbuilding of Walla Walla receive her hearty support. She combines the qualities necessary to the successful conduct of large business interests with the qualities of the home maker, for she has been a devoted mother and was in the fullest sense a true helpmate to her husband.JOHN G. PAINE.JOHN G. PAINEJohn G. Paine, who has been actively identified with commercial, financial and agricultural interests in western Washington, was born in Mercer, Maine, July 8, 1842. He acquired a common school education in his home town, where he was reared upon a farm. Prompted by a desire to attempt something more promising than a New England farm offered, he followed Horace Greeley's advice to go west and in 1865 arrived in Walla Walla. Soon after his arrival he secured employment in the general merchandise store of Baker & Boyer, acting as a salesman in their establishment. In 1868 he entered into partnership with his brother, F. W. Paine, in the conduct of a general store and in 1871 took over the management of a branch store in Waitsburg. Six years later, having disposed of that business, he opened a branch store in Dayton and in the meantime he served as cashier of the Columbia National Bank. After a few years of confinement in indoor life, the firm having acquired several large tracts of wheat land, he undertook the development of that property and devoted several years to wheat growing. More recently, however, he has been largely interested in the development of alfalfa land and is thus prominently connected with an industry which is proving a source of wealth to eastern Washington. Mr. Paine occupies a homelike suite of rooms in the Paine building. He is widely known in the state as a most progressive business man and his enterprise has carried him into most important business connections.OSCAR W. BRUNTON.Well directed business activity finds expression in the life record of Oscar W. Brunton, vice president of the Dement Brothers Company, proprietors of a large flour mill at Walla Walla. He was born in Alton, Illinois, on the 15th of March, 1868, a son of David and Margaret P. (White) Brunton. The father was a native of Pennsylvania and the mother of Tennessee, while their marriage was celebrated in Illinois. The former was a winding stair builder and became actively identified with business interests in Alton, Illinois, where he passed away in 1870. His widow afterward removed with her three children to Macon City, Missouri, and thence to Hannibal, that state, and in August, 1876 they came to Walla Walla, where she joined her sister, who was the wife of Rev. H. W. Egan, who was presiding over the Cumberland Presbyterian church at this place. Here Mrs. Brunton reared her children and continued to make her home until 1907, when she took up her residence with a daughter in Berkeley, California, where she has since resided. She is now in her eighty-seventh year and is enjoying excellent health, while in possession of all of her faculties.Oscar W. Brunton was educated in the Walla Walla public schools and in Whitman Seminary. In his boyhood days he took up the study of telegraphy and mastered the Morse code while he was but a child. A brother being an operator, he was desirous of studying along that line but he never followed the profession as a means of livelihood. For some years in his youth he worked as a job printer in the old Journal office, and in 1884 he entered the employ of Dement Brothers in the Eureka flour mills. There he proved efficient, capable and trustworthy and in 1892 he had risen to the position of mill manager, while in 1896, upon the incorporation of the company, he became one of the members of the concern and continued as manager of the mills. In 1907 he was elected to the vice presidency of the Dement Brothers Company and remained as manager as well. Since that time he has given his attention to administrative direction and executive control as well as to the operation of the mills and has contributed much to the success of the business. There is no phase of milling operations with which he is not familiar and his long experience and capability constitute an important element in the growing success of their trade.Mr. Brunton was united in marriage on the 12th of May, 1891, to Miss Alice Roberta Egbert, a daughter of Marion D. Egbert, who is now deceased, but for many years was a well known publisher of Walla Walla. Mr. and Mrs. Brunton have become the parents of one child, Margaret A., who is a graduate of the University of California of the class of 1914 and is now a successful teacher in the Le Grand (Calif.) high school.In his political views Mr. Brunton is a stalwart republican, having been astaunch supporter of the party since age conferred upon him the right of franchise. He belongs to the Walla Walla Commercial Club and cooperates in all of its well defined plans for the upbuilding of the city, for the extension of its trade relations and for the upholding of its high civic standards. He ranks with its foremost business men and representative residents, enjoying the goodwill and confidence of all with whom he has been associated.HON. HARLAN D. ELDRIDGE.A valuable farm property is that owned and operated by Hon. Harlan D. Eldridge, who is living on section 1, township 7 north, range 37 east, Walla Walla county. It is equipped with all the latest accessories and conveniences of a model farm property of the twentieth century and in its splendid appearance indicates the care and supervision of a practical and progressive owner. But while Mr. Eldridge is a representative and prosperous agriculturist, he is also a citizen wide awake to the duties and obligations that devolve upon him in connection with public affairs and has rendered active aid to his state as a member of the general assembly.He was born in Dallas county, Iowa, April 6, 1858, and is a son of Joseph W. and Matilda (Parks) Eldridge, the former a native of Ohio, while the latter was born in Indiana. Removing westward, they settled in Iowa in 1856, taking up their abode upon a farm in Dallas county, where they remained for a number of years. Afterwards they became residents of Omaha, Nebraska, where both spent their remaining days. They had a family of three children, of whom two are now living.Harlan D. Eldridge spent the period of his boyhood and youth in his native county and there completed a public school education which fitted him for life's practical duties and responsibilities. He received thorough training in the work of the farm and thus became well qualified for the tasks which he later undertook for his own benefit. In April, 1880, when a young man of twenty-two years, he arrived in Walla Walla county and took up a homestead north of Waitsburg, upon which he resided for ten years. On the expiration of that period he sold the property and bought his present farm, which is situated on section I, township 7 north, range 37 east. He has since improved the property with fine buildings, making it one of the attractive features of the landscape. In addition to the comfortable and commodious residence there are also barns and outbuildings for the shelter of grain and stock and the latest improved machinery facilitates the work of the fields. He has here six hundred and forty acres under cultivation and he makes a specialty of the growing of wheat and of stock raising, in both of which branches of business he is meeting with excellent success. He studies carefully the question of crop rotation and the productiveness of the soil and he employs the most scientific methods of carrying on his farm work-methods which are after all the practical elements of desired results.
MR. AND MRS. PATRICK O'CONNOROn the 30th of December, 1889, Mr. O'Connor was joined in wedlock to Miss Mary McGreevy, who was born in Iowa and came to Washington in 1887, locating on the present site of Jackson's Siding in Columbia county, where lived her uncle, Daniel McGreevy. Mr. and Mrs. O'Connor had one son, Daniel A., who is now operating the home farm.In politics Mr. O'Connor was a stalwart democrat, giving unfaltering allegiance to the principles of his party. He served for some years as road supervisor and made an excellent official in that connection. In fact he was a progressive and public-spirited citizen, giving helpful aid to all movements for the advancement of the community. He belonged to the Catholic church, of which his widow and son are also communicants. The family has long been well known in Columbia county and, like her husband, Mrs. O'Connor enjoys the respect and goodwill of those with whom she has been brought in contact.ALBERT M. JENSEN.Albert M. Jensen, head of the A. M. Jensen Company of Walla Walla, was born in Denmark in 1868 and at the age of fourteen years began work in a general store. His life has been one of continuous business activity since that time. Coming to the new world in 1890, he settled in Minnesota and was employed by one of the largest department stores in St. Paul for eighteen years. He began work there as general utility boy, was advanced to the position of salesman and later became a buyer and department manager, and while thus engaged he made various trips to New York and abroad for his firm.In 1910 Mr. Jensen came to Walla Walla and organized the A. M. Jensen Company, which then bought out the Skiles Dry Goods Company, which had been established in 1905 on a very small scale. The floor space now in use for the display and sale of women's merchandise is approximately fifteen thousand square feet.In 1897 Mr. Jensen was united in marriage to Miss Effie Byland, who was born in Shelbyville, Indiana, and they have three children: Leon, Everett and Gladys. Mr. Jensen is a member of the First Presbyterian church, is a Scottish Rite Mason and member of the Mystic Shrine and also of the Odd Fellows lodge. In politics he is an independent republican but has never sought or held office. His military record covers six months' service in the Danish navy before comingto the United States. He has taken considerable interest in civic affairs and for several years was a member of the board of trustees of the Walla Walla Commercial Club and served for one year as its president. He is always anxious and willing to help wherever necessary for the good of the city, state or country and acted as chairman and member of several important Liberty Loan and Food Conservation sub-committees.JOHN H. EDWARDS.One of the well improved farm properties of Walla Walla county is that owned by John H. Edwards, an enterprising, alert and energetic agriculturist, whose home is on section 30, township 9 north, range 34 east. He is there extensively engaged in wheat growing and also in stock raising.Mr. Edwards was born in Texas, March 8, 1859, a son of John C. and Sarah (Hillard) Edwards, the former a native of Tennessee, while the latter was born in Alabama. They removed to Texas in 1858 and while residing in that state the mother was called to her final rest. The father passed away in Tennessee, having returned to his native state. In their family were seven children, but only three of the number are now living.John H. Edwards was largely reared and educated in Tennessee, having the usual opportunities and experiences of the farmbred boy. He was a young man of twenty-three years when he determined to try his fortune in the northwest and made his way to Walla Walla county, settling upon the farm on which he now resides in the fall of 1883. It has since been his home, and adding to his holdings from time to time as his financial resources have permitted, he has become the owner of thirty-four hundred acres of valuable wheat and pasture land. He has great broad fields, devoted to the raising of wheat, and rich pastures, in which are found large herds of cattle. He makes a specialty of raising Durham cattle and he is also engaged in raising Percheron horses and high grade hogs. He has improved his ranch with modern buildings. There is a commodious and attractive residence, in the rear of which stand good barns and outbuildings for the shelter of grain and stock, and these in turn are surrounded by broad fields, highly cultivated.Mr. Edwards was united in marriage to Mrs. Margaret Woods and to them have been born two sons. Earl J., who is a graduate of the high school, was married in 1915 and has a son, Edwin. Eldon H., the younger son, is also a high school graduate.JOHN H. EDWARDSMRS. JOHN H. EDWARDSMr. Edwards is deeply interested in the cause of education, has served as school director, and has put forth every effort in his power to give his sons good opportunities, thus qualifying them for life's practical and responsible duties. He votes with the republican party but has never been an office seeker. He and his wife hold membership in the Christian church and are loyal to its teachings, while to its support they make generous contribution. The conditions which he found in the northwest gave him the opportunities which he sought and in their utilization he has worked his way steadily upward. His handclasp, however, is as warm for his friend in a threadbare coat as for the prosperous business friend of his later years. He appreciates what it means to overcome difficulties, having had his own hard times and his own life is organized along lines that have called for a full dole of labor with every turn of the wheel. In social intercourse he is genial, kindly and humanly sympathetic, while his business affairs are characterized by the most rigid integrity.WILLIAM W. WALTER.William W. Walter, an honored pioneer of Washington, was born in Wayne 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 yokeof 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 dayand 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 singingof 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 oncemore 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 allthe 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. andMrs. 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.Logan P. Mulkey, who was one of the most successful business men of Walla Walla, devoted his later years to the buying and selling of city properties but previously operated a stock farm of twenty-five hundred acres. His birth occurred in Corvallis, Oregon, December 24, 1853, and he was a son of Johnson Mulkey, who crossed the plains three times, an achievement the meaning of which the present generation can scarcely realize, for at the present time the journey which a half century or more ago meant months of weary traveling with the danger of attack by Indians or of an outbreak of pestilence, is now a matter of a few days and is made with the utmost comfort. Johnson Mulkey was a slaveholder in Kentucky in the early days but freed all his slaves some years prior to the Civil war, as he had become convinced that the practice of holding men and women in bondage was wrong. However, such had been his kindness to his slaves that one old mammy refused to leave the family and accompanied them to the northwest. It was in 1845 that Mr. Mulkey first came to Oregon territory and he was so pleased with conditions in this section of the country that in 1846 he returned to Kentucky in order to settle up his affairs and in 1847 he again made the long journey to the west, this time accompanied by his family. His wife was ill when they reached the Whitman home and made plans to remain there until she recovered her health while the other members of the family should continue their journey but later she decided to accompany them and did so, thus escaping massacre at the hands of the Indians, for it was only a short time later that the Whitmans were killed by the red men. Mr. Mulkey located at Corvallis, Oregon, and in the succeeding years acquired extensive farm, timber and sawmill properties, together with valuable mining interests in Idaho. He became one of the wealthy men of Oregon and at the time of his death in the winter of 1861-2 carried in his belt something more than seven thousand dollars in gold dust. He had made a trip to some of his mining properties in Idaho and on his return reached John Day, Oregon, about fifty miles from The Dalles, where he became snowbound. Anxious to reach home as soon as possible, he started overland on foot and, being weighted down by the gold dust which he carried, he became exhausted and nearly perished from the cold. His companions buried him in the snow and then hurried for help to the home of William Graham, whose sons went after him and brought him to the Graham home, where a few days later he died. This was quite a coincidence, as it was years afterwards when Logan P. Mulkey and Georgia Graham were married that the facts were discovered that it was to her father's house that the dying man had been taken. The body was buried in the cemetery at The Dalles.LOGAN P. MULKEYMRS. LOGAN P. MULKEYLogan P. Mulkey received his education in the public schools of Corvallis, Oregon, and also gained valuable training in self-reliance and resourcefulness in the experiences which came to him in the pioneer settlement in which he grew to manhood. On starting out on his independent career he went to Pomeroy, Washington, where he became connected with the hardware business, and for twelve years he was engaged in that line. He erected one of the first store buildings in Pomeroy and was quite prominent in the early commercial life of that place. At length his health became impaired through close confinement and he sold his hardware store and bought a stock ranch of some twenty-five hundred acres seven miles from Pomeroy. For many years he gave his attention to raising stock on an extensive scale but in 1903 he disposed of his land and removed to Walla Walla, where he became a prominent operator in real estate, buying and selling city properties. He was highly successful in that business but his prosperity was not gained at the price of the failure of others, for he was never known to take advantage of any man. If he had sold a property and the purchaser found it difficult to make his payments at the time specified he was given an extension of time and his terms were made easier. Mr. Mulkey's high sense of honor and his probity inevitably won for him the respect and the warm regard of those with whom he was brought in contact and his friends were legion.In 1885 Mr. Mulkey was united in marriage to Miss Georgia Graham, a daughter of William Graham, who was also a pioneer of the northwest, having crossed the plains from Ohio in 1852.Mr. Graham was born in Wayne county, Ohio, in 1818, and at the age of twenty-one years married Miss Harriet Duncan. They removed to Missouri, where they spent seven years, and in 1852 started across the plains to Oregon with three wagons and twelve head of cattle. This trip was a very arduous one and while en route their money was stolen. Being a very generous man, Mr. Graham picked up all stranded travelers from other trains. He was accompanied by his wife and six children. In crossing the Cascade mountains an ox fell exhausted and by hand the wagons were lowered in order to proceed on their journey. The next morning this ox had wandered away and a man bought the wagon and brought the family to a place near Corvallis, for which Mr. Graham paid him one hundred dollars. On the journey westward nearly all provisions gave out and the men were forced to hunt in order to supply the party with something to eat. While on one of these hunting trips five Indians came and the women traded a wagon cover for flour. Mr. Graham took up a homestead near Corvallis, not far from the mouth of the Deschutes river, where he developed a fruit farm. In 1874 he came to Washington and purchased a farm one and one-half miles from Dayton, where he spent the remainder of his life. He died at the age of seventy-four years and his wife at the age of seventy. In their family were eleven children, of whom six are still living. Mr. and Mrs. Graham were both consistent members of the Congregational church and were very hospitable people, their home being always open to the travelers or newcomers of this region.To Mr. and Mrs. Mulkey were born five children, of whom four survive, namely: Allen L., who operates a twenty-two hundred acre ranch in Walla Walla county belonging to his mother; Frances, at home; Marion, who volunteered June 1, 1917, and is now a member of Battery D, Twentieth Field Artillery, stationed at Camp Stanley, Leon Springs, Texas; and Helen, at home.Mr. Mulkey was a member of the Knights of Pythias fraternity but was not very active in the work of that organization, preferring to spend his leisure time at home. One of his strongest characteristics was his devotion to his family and to his friends and anything that he could do to add to the pleasure of those whom he loved was a source of the greatest satisfaction to him. His death occurred on the 7th of August, 1910, but his memory lives in the hearts of many.Since her husband's death Mrs. Mulkey has personally managed the large estate and in 1914 she erected the Mulkey apartments at No. 20 Park street and the following year erected an apartment building on the site of the old family home, which had been destroyed by fire, the new building being entirely designed by her. These buildings are thoroughly up-to-date and provided with all the improvements to be found in the highest class apartments and are valuable assets of Walla Walla. In addition to looking after her interests in connection with these apartments Mrs. Mulkey gives supervision to the operation of a splendid ranch of twenty-two hundred acres which she has acquired since the death of her husband and she also owns considerable city property. She and her children are members of the Congregational church and she also belongs to the Sunshine Club and the Reading Club of Walla Walla. All movements for the moral and civic as well as the material upbuilding of Walla Walla receive her hearty support. She combines the qualities necessary to the successful conduct of large business interests with the qualities of the home maker, for she has been a devoted mother and was in the fullest sense a true helpmate to her husband.JOHN G. PAINE.JOHN G. PAINEJohn G. Paine, who has been actively identified with commercial, financial and agricultural interests in western Washington, was born in Mercer, Maine, July 8, 1842. He acquired a common school education in his home town, where he was reared upon a farm. Prompted by a desire to attempt something more promising than a New England farm offered, he followed Horace Greeley's advice to go west and in 1865 arrived in Walla Walla. Soon after his arrival he secured employment in the general merchandise store of Baker & Boyer, acting as a salesman in their establishment. In 1868 he entered into partnership with his brother, F. W. Paine, in the conduct of a general store and in 1871 took over the management of a branch store in Waitsburg. Six years later, having disposed of that business, he opened a branch store in Dayton and in the meantime he served as cashier of the Columbia National Bank. After a few years of confinement in indoor life, the firm having acquired several large tracts of wheat land, he undertook the development of that property and devoted several years to wheat growing. More recently, however, he has been largely interested in the development of alfalfa land and is thus prominently connected with an industry which is proving a source of wealth to eastern Washington. Mr. Paine occupies a homelike suite of rooms in the Paine building. He is widely known in the state as a most progressive business man and his enterprise has carried him into most important business connections.OSCAR W. BRUNTON.Well directed business activity finds expression in the life record of Oscar W. Brunton, vice president of the Dement Brothers Company, proprietors of a large flour mill at Walla Walla. He was born in Alton, Illinois, on the 15th of March, 1868, a son of David and Margaret P. (White) Brunton. The father was a native of Pennsylvania and the mother of Tennessee, while their marriage was celebrated in Illinois. The former was a winding stair builder and became actively identified with business interests in Alton, Illinois, where he passed away in 1870. His widow afterward removed with her three children to Macon City, Missouri, and thence to Hannibal, that state, and in August, 1876 they came to Walla Walla, where she joined her sister, who was the wife of Rev. H. W. Egan, who was presiding over the Cumberland Presbyterian church at this place. Here Mrs. Brunton reared her children and continued to make her home until 1907, when she took up her residence with a daughter in Berkeley, California, where she has since resided. She is now in her eighty-seventh year and is enjoying excellent health, while in possession of all of her faculties.Oscar W. Brunton was educated in the Walla Walla public schools and in Whitman Seminary. In his boyhood days he took up the study of telegraphy and mastered the Morse code while he was but a child. A brother being an operator, he was desirous of studying along that line but he never followed the profession as a means of livelihood. For some years in his youth he worked as a job printer in the old Journal office, and in 1884 he entered the employ of Dement Brothers in the Eureka flour mills. There he proved efficient, capable and trustworthy and in 1892 he had risen to the position of mill manager, while in 1896, upon the incorporation of the company, he became one of the members of the concern and continued as manager of the mills. In 1907 he was elected to the vice presidency of the Dement Brothers Company and remained as manager as well. Since that time he has given his attention to administrative direction and executive control as well as to the operation of the mills and has contributed much to the success of the business. There is no phase of milling operations with which he is not familiar and his long experience and capability constitute an important element in the growing success of their trade.Mr. Brunton was united in marriage on the 12th of May, 1891, to Miss Alice Roberta Egbert, a daughter of Marion D. Egbert, who is now deceased, but for many years was a well known publisher of Walla Walla. Mr. and Mrs. Brunton have become the parents of one child, Margaret A., who is a graduate of the University of California of the class of 1914 and is now a successful teacher in the Le Grand (Calif.) high school.In his political views Mr. Brunton is a stalwart republican, having been astaunch supporter of the party since age conferred upon him the right of franchise. He belongs to the Walla Walla Commercial Club and cooperates in all of its well defined plans for the upbuilding of the city, for the extension of its trade relations and for the upholding of its high civic standards. He ranks with its foremost business men and representative residents, enjoying the goodwill and confidence of all with whom he has been associated.HON. HARLAN D. ELDRIDGE.A valuable farm property is that owned and operated by Hon. Harlan D. Eldridge, who is living on section 1, township 7 north, range 37 east, Walla Walla county. It is equipped with all the latest accessories and conveniences of a model farm property of the twentieth century and in its splendid appearance indicates the care and supervision of a practical and progressive owner. But while Mr. Eldridge is a representative and prosperous agriculturist, he is also a citizen wide awake to the duties and obligations that devolve upon him in connection with public affairs and has rendered active aid to his state as a member of the general assembly.He was born in Dallas county, Iowa, April 6, 1858, and is a son of Joseph W. and Matilda (Parks) Eldridge, the former a native of Ohio, while the latter was born in Indiana. Removing westward, they settled in Iowa in 1856, taking up their abode upon a farm in Dallas county, where they remained for a number of years. Afterwards they became residents of Omaha, Nebraska, where both spent their remaining days. They had a family of three children, of whom two are now living.Harlan D. Eldridge spent the period of his boyhood and youth in his native county and there completed a public school education which fitted him for life's practical duties and responsibilities. He received thorough training in the work of the farm and thus became well qualified for the tasks which he later undertook for his own benefit. In April, 1880, when a young man of twenty-two years, he arrived in Walla Walla county and took up a homestead north of Waitsburg, upon which he resided for ten years. On the expiration of that period he sold the property and bought his present farm, which is situated on section I, township 7 north, range 37 east. He has since improved the property with fine buildings, making it one of the attractive features of the landscape. In addition to the comfortable and commodious residence there are also barns and outbuildings for the shelter of grain and stock and the latest improved machinery facilitates the work of the fields. He has here six hundred and forty acres under cultivation and he makes a specialty of the growing of wheat and of stock raising, in both of which branches of business he is meeting with excellent success. He studies carefully the question of crop rotation and the productiveness of the soil and he employs the most scientific methods of carrying on his farm work-methods which are after all the practical elements of desired results.
MR. AND MRS. PATRICK O'CONNOR
MR. AND MRS. PATRICK O'CONNOR
MR. AND MRS. PATRICK O'CONNOR
On the 30th of December, 1889, Mr. O'Connor was joined in wedlock to Miss Mary McGreevy, who was born in Iowa and came to Washington in 1887, locating on the present site of Jackson's Siding in Columbia county, where lived her uncle, Daniel McGreevy. Mr. and Mrs. O'Connor had one son, Daniel A., who is now operating the home farm.
In politics Mr. O'Connor was a stalwart democrat, giving unfaltering allegiance to the principles of his party. He served for some years as road supervisor and made an excellent official in that connection. In fact he was a progressive and public-spirited citizen, giving helpful aid to all movements for the advancement of the community. He belonged to the Catholic church, of which his widow and son are also communicants. The family has long been well known in Columbia county and, like her husband, Mrs. O'Connor enjoys the respect and goodwill of those with whom she has been brought in contact.
ALBERT M. JENSEN.
Albert M. Jensen, head of the A. M. Jensen Company of Walla Walla, was born in Denmark in 1868 and at the age of fourteen years began work in a general store. His life has been one of continuous business activity since that time. Coming to the new world in 1890, he settled in Minnesota and was employed by one of the largest department stores in St. Paul for eighteen years. He began work there as general utility boy, was advanced to the position of salesman and later became a buyer and department manager, and while thus engaged he made various trips to New York and abroad for his firm.
In 1910 Mr. Jensen came to Walla Walla and organized the A. M. Jensen Company, which then bought out the Skiles Dry Goods Company, which had been established in 1905 on a very small scale. The floor space now in use for the display and sale of women's merchandise is approximately fifteen thousand square feet.
In 1897 Mr. Jensen was united in marriage to Miss Effie Byland, who was born in Shelbyville, Indiana, and they have three children: Leon, Everett and Gladys. Mr. Jensen is a member of the First Presbyterian church, is a Scottish Rite Mason and member of the Mystic Shrine and also of the Odd Fellows lodge. In politics he is an independent republican but has never sought or held office. His military record covers six months' service in the Danish navy before comingto the United States. He has taken considerable interest in civic affairs and for several years was a member of the board of trustees of the Walla Walla Commercial Club and served for one year as its president. He is always anxious and willing to help wherever necessary for the good of the city, state or country and acted as chairman and member of several important Liberty Loan and Food Conservation sub-committees.
JOHN H. EDWARDS.
One of the well improved farm properties of Walla Walla county is that owned by John H. Edwards, an enterprising, alert and energetic agriculturist, whose home is on section 30, township 9 north, range 34 east. He is there extensively engaged in wheat growing and also in stock raising.
Mr. Edwards was born in Texas, March 8, 1859, a son of John C. and Sarah (Hillard) Edwards, the former a native of Tennessee, while the latter was born in Alabama. They removed to Texas in 1858 and while residing in that state the mother was called to her final rest. The father passed away in Tennessee, having returned to his native state. In their family were seven children, but only three of the number are now living.
John H. Edwards was largely reared and educated in Tennessee, having the usual opportunities and experiences of the farmbred boy. He was a young man of twenty-three years when he determined to try his fortune in the northwest and made his way to Walla Walla county, settling upon the farm on which he now resides in the fall of 1883. It has since been his home, and adding to his holdings from time to time as his financial resources have permitted, he has become the owner of thirty-four hundred acres of valuable wheat and pasture land. He has great broad fields, devoted to the raising of wheat, and rich pastures, in which are found large herds of cattle. He makes a specialty of raising Durham cattle and he is also engaged in raising Percheron horses and high grade hogs. He has improved his ranch with modern buildings. There is a commodious and attractive residence, in the rear of which stand good barns and outbuildings for the shelter of grain and stock, and these in turn are surrounded by broad fields, highly cultivated.
Mr. Edwards was united in marriage to Mrs. Margaret Woods and to them have been born two sons. Earl J., who is a graduate of the high school, was married in 1915 and has a son, Edwin. Eldon H., the younger son, is also a high school graduate.
JOHN H. EDWARDS
JOHN H. EDWARDS
JOHN H. EDWARDS
MRS. JOHN H. EDWARDS
MRS. JOHN H. EDWARDS
MRS. JOHN H. EDWARDS
Mr. Edwards is deeply interested in the cause of education, has served as school director, and has put forth every effort in his power to give his sons good opportunities, thus qualifying them for life's practical and responsible duties. He votes with the republican party but has never been an office seeker. He and his wife hold membership in the Christian church and are loyal to its teachings, while to its support they make generous contribution. The conditions which he found in the northwest gave him the opportunities which he sought and in their utilization he has worked his way steadily upward. His handclasp, however, is as warm for his friend in a threadbare coat as for the prosperous business friend of his later years. He appreciates what it means to overcome difficulties, having had his own hard times and his own life is organized along lines that have called for a full dole of labor with every turn of the wheel. In social intercourse he is genial, kindly and humanly sympathetic, while his business affairs are characterized by the most rigid integrity.
WILLIAM W. WALTER.
William W. Walter, an honored pioneer of Washington, was born in Wayne 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 yokeof 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 dayand 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 singingof 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 oncemore 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 allthe 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. andMrs. 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.
Logan P. Mulkey, who was one of the most successful business men of Walla Walla, devoted his later years to the buying and selling of city properties but previously operated a stock farm of twenty-five hundred acres. His birth occurred in Corvallis, Oregon, December 24, 1853, and he was a son of Johnson Mulkey, who crossed the plains three times, an achievement the meaning of which the present generation can scarcely realize, for at the present time the journey which a half century or more ago meant months of weary traveling with the danger of attack by Indians or of an outbreak of pestilence, is now a matter of a few days and is made with the utmost comfort. Johnson Mulkey was a slaveholder in Kentucky in the early days but freed all his slaves some years prior to the Civil war, as he had become convinced that the practice of holding men and women in bondage was wrong. However, such had been his kindness to his slaves that one old mammy refused to leave the family and accompanied them to the northwest. It was in 1845 that Mr. Mulkey first came to Oregon territory and he was so pleased with conditions in this section of the country that in 1846 he returned to Kentucky in order to settle up his affairs and in 1847 he again made the long journey to the west, this time accompanied by his family. His wife was ill when they reached the Whitman home and made plans to remain there until she recovered her health while the other members of the family should continue their journey but later she decided to accompany them and did so, thus escaping massacre at the hands of the Indians, for it was only a short time later that the Whitmans were killed by the red men. Mr. Mulkey located at Corvallis, Oregon, and in the succeeding years acquired extensive farm, timber and sawmill properties, together with valuable mining interests in Idaho. He became one of the wealthy men of Oregon and at the time of his death in the winter of 1861-2 carried in his belt something more than seven thousand dollars in gold dust. He had made a trip to some of his mining properties in Idaho and on his return reached John Day, Oregon, about fifty miles from The Dalles, where he became snowbound. Anxious to reach home as soon as possible, he started overland on foot and, being weighted down by the gold dust which he carried, he became exhausted and nearly perished from the cold. His companions buried him in the snow and then hurried for help to the home of William Graham, whose sons went after him and brought him to the Graham home, where a few days later he died. This was quite a coincidence, as it was years afterwards when Logan P. Mulkey and Georgia Graham were married that the facts were discovered that it was to her father's house that the dying man had been taken. The body was buried in the cemetery at The Dalles.
LOGAN P. MULKEY
LOGAN P. MULKEY
LOGAN P. MULKEY
MRS. LOGAN P. MULKEY
MRS. LOGAN P. MULKEY
MRS. LOGAN P. MULKEY
Logan P. Mulkey received his education in the public schools of Corvallis, Oregon, and also gained valuable training in self-reliance and resourcefulness in the experiences which came to him in the pioneer settlement in which he grew to manhood. On starting out on his independent career he went to Pomeroy, Washington, where he became connected with the hardware business, and for twelve years he was engaged in that line. He erected one of the first store buildings in Pomeroy and was quite prominent in the early commercial life of that place. At length his health became impaired through close confinement and he sold his hardware store and bought a stock ranch of some twenty-five hundred acres seven miles from Pomeroy. For many years he gave his attention to raising stock on an extensive scale but in 1903 he disposed of his land and removed to Walla Walla, where he became a prominent operator in real estate, buying and selling city properties. He was highly successful in that business but his prosperity was not gained at the price of the failure of others, for he was never known to take advantage of any man. If he had sold a property and the purchaser found it difficult to make his payments at the time specified he was given an extension of time and his terms were made easier. Mr. Mulkey's high sense of honor and his probity inevitably won for him the respect and the warm regard of those with whom he was brought in contact and his friends were legion.
In 1885 Mr. Mulkey was united in marriage to Miss Georgia Graham, a daughter of William Graham, who was also a pioneer of the northwest, having crossed the plains from Ohio in 1852.
Mr. Graham was born in Wayne county, Ohio, in 1818, and at the age of twenty-one years married Miss Harriet Duncan. They removed to Missouri, where they spent seven years, and in 1852 started across the plains to Oregon with three wagons and twelve head of cattle. This trip was a very arduous one and while en route their money was stolen. Being a very generous man, Mr. Graham picked up all stranded travelers from other trains. He was accompanied by his wife and six children. In crossing the Cascade mountains an ox fell exhausted and by hand the wagons were lowered in order to proceed on their journey. The next morning this ox had wandered away and a man bought the wagon and brought the family to a place near Corvallis, for which Mr. Graham paid him one hundred dollars. On the journey westward nearly all provisions gave out and the men were forced to hunt in order to supply the party with something to eat. While on one of these hunting trips five Indians came and the women traded a wagon cover for flour. Mr. Graham took up a homestead near Corvallis, not far from the mouth of the Deschutes river, where he developed a fruit farm. In 1874 he came to Washington and purchased a farm one and one-half miles from Dayton, where he spent the remainder of his life. He died at the age of seventy-four years and his wife at the age of seventy. In their family were eleven children, of whom six are still living. Mr. and Mrs. Graham were both consistent members of the Congregational church and were very hospitable people, their home being always open to the travelers or newcomers of this region.
To Mr. and Mrs. Mulkey were born five children, of whom four survive, namely: Allen L., who operates a twenty-two hundred acre ranch in Walla Walla county belonging to his mother; Frances, at home; Marion, who volunteered June 1, 1917, and is now a member of Battery D, Twentieth Field Artillery, stationed at Camp Stanley, Leon Springs, Texas; and Helen, at home.
Mr. Mulkey was a member of the Knights of Pythias fraternity but was not very active in the work of that organization, preferring to spend his leisure time at home. One of his strongest characteristics was his devotion to his family and to his friends and anything that he could do to add to the pleasure of those whom he loved was a source of the greatest satisfaction to him. His death occurred on the 7th of August, 1910, but his memory lives in the hearts of many.
Since her husband's death Mrs. Mulkey has personally managed the large estate and in 1914 she erected the Mulkey apartments at No. 20 Park street and the following year erected an apartment building on the site of the old family home, which had been destroyed by fire, the new building being entirely designed by her. These buildings are thoroughly up-to-date and provided with all the improvements to be found in the highest class apartments and are valuable assets of Walla Walla. In addition to looking after her interests in connection with these apartments Mrs. Mulkey gives supervision to the operation of a splendid ranch of twenty-two hundred acres which she has acquired since the death of her husband and she also owns considerable city property. She and her children are members of the Congregational church and she also belongs to the Sunshine Club and the Reading Club of Walla Walla. All movements for the moral and civic as well as the material upbuilding of Walla Walla receive her hearty support. She combines the qualities necessary to the successful conduct of large business interests with the qualities of the home maker, for she has been a devoted mother and was in the fullest sense a true helpmate to her husband.
JOHN G. PAINE.
JOHN G. PAINE
JOHN G. PAINE
JOHN G. PAINE
John G. Paine, who has been actively identified with commercial, financial and agricultural interests in western Washington, was born in Mercer, Maine, July 8, 1842. He acquired a common school education in his home town, where he was reared upon a farm. Prompted by a desire to attempt something more promising than a New England farm offered, he followed Horace Greeley's advice to go west and in 1865 arrived in Walla Walla. Soon after his arrival he secured employment in the general merchandise store of Baker & Boyer, acting as a salesman in their establishment. In 1868 he entered into partnership with his brother, F. W. Paine, in the conduct of a general store and in 1871 took over the management of a branch store in Waitsburg. Six years later, having disposed of that business, he opened a branch store in Dayton and in the meantime he served as cashier of the Columbia National Bank. After a few years of confinement in indoor life, the firm having acquired several large tracts of wheat land, he undertook the development of that property and devoted several years to wheat growing. More recently, however, he has been largely interested in the development of alfalfa land and is thus prominently connected with an industry which is proving a source of wealth to eastern Washington. Mr. Paine occupies a homelike suite of rooms in the Paine building. He is widely known in the state as a most progressive business man and his enterprise has carried him into most important business connections.
OSCAR W. BRUNTON.
Well directed business activity finds expression in the life record of Oscar W. Brunton, vice president of the Dement Brothers Company, proprietors of a large flour mill at Walla Walla. He was born in Alton, Illinois, on the 15th of March, 1868, a son of David and Margaret P. (White) Brunton. The father was a native of Pennsylvania and the mother of Tennessee, while their marriage was celebrated in Illinois. The former was a winding stair builder and became actively identified with business interests in Alton, Illinois, where he passed away in 1870. His widow afterward removed with her three children to Macon City, Missouri, and thence to Hannibal, that state, and in August, 1876 they came to Walla Walla, where she joined her sister, who was the wife of Rev. H. W. Egan, who was presiding over the Cumberland Presbyterian church at this place. Here Mrs. Brunton reared her children and continued to make her home until 1907, when she took up her residence with a daughter in Berkeley, California, where she has since resided. She is now in her eighty-seventh year and is enjoying excellent health, while in possession of all of her faculties.
Oscar W. Brunton was educated in the Walla Walla public schools and in Whitman Seminary. In his boyhood days he took up the study of telegraphy and mastered the Morse code while he was but a child. A brother being an operator, he was desirous of studying along that line but he never followed the profession as a means of livelihood. For some years in his youth he worked as a job printer in the old Journal office, and in 1884 he entered the employ of Dement Brothers in the Eureka flour mills. There he proved efficient, capable and trustworthy and in 1892 he had risen to the position of mill manager, while in 1896, upon the incorporation of the company, he became one of the members of the concern and continued as manager of the mills. In 1907 he was elected to the vice presidency of the Dement Brothers Company and remained as manager as well. Since that time he has given his attention to administrative direction and executive control as well as to the operation of the mills and has contributed much to the success of the business. There is no phase of milling operations with which he is not familiar and his long experience and capability constitute an important element in the growing success of their trade.
Mr. Brunton was united in marriage on the 12th of May, 1891, to Miss Alice Roberta Egbert, a daughter of Marion D. Egbert, who is now deceased, but for many years was a well known publisher of Walla Walla. Mr. and Mrs. Brunton have become the parents of one child, Margaret A., who is a graduate of the University of California of the class of 1914 and is now a successful teacher in the Le Grand (Calif.) high school.
In his political views Mr. Brunton is a stalwart republican, having been astaunch supporter of the party since age conferred upon him the right of franchise. He belongs to the Walla Walla Commercial Club and cooperates in all of its well defined plans for the upbuilding of the city, for the extension of its trade relations and for the upholding of its high civic standards. He ranks with its foremost business men and representative residents, enjoying the goodwill and confidence of all with whom he has been associated.
HON. HARLAN D. ELDRIDGE.
A valuable farm property is that owned and operated by Hon. Harlan D. Eldridge, who is living on section 1, township 7 north, range 37 east, Walla Walla county. It is equipped with all the latest accessories and conveniences of a model farm property of the twentieth century and in its splendid appearance indicates the care and supervision of a practical and progressive owner. But while Mr. Eldridge is a representative and prosperous agriculturist, he is also a citizen wide awake to the duties and obligations that devolve upon him in connection with public affairs and has rendered active aid to his state as a member of the general assembly.
He was born in Dallas county, Iowa, April 6, 1858, and is a son of Joseph W. and Matilda (Parks) Eldridge, the former a native of Ohio, while the latter was born in Indiana. Removing westward, they settled in Iowa in 1856, taking up their abode upon a farm in Dallas county, where they remained for a number of years. Afterwards they became residents of Omaha, Nebraska, where both spent their remaining days. They had a family of three children, of whom two are now living.
Harlan D. Eldridge spent the period of his boyhood and youth in his native county and there completed a public school education which fitted him for life's practical duties and responsibilities. He received thorough training in the work of the farm and thus became well qualified for the tasks which he later undertook for his own benefit. In April, 1880, when a young man of twenty-two years, he arrived in Walla Walla county and took up a homestead north of Waitsburg, upon which he resided for ten years. On the expiration of that period he sold the property and bought his present farm, which is situated on section I, township 7 north, range 37 east. He has since improved the property with fine buildings, making it one of the attractive features of the landscape. In addition to the comfortable and commodious residence there are also barns and outbuildings for the shelter of grain and stock and the latest improved machinery facilitates the work of the fields. He has here six hundred and forty acres under cultivation and he makes a specialty of the growing of wheat and of stock raising, in both of which branches of business he is meeting with excellent success. He studies carefully the question of crop rotation and the productiveness of the soil and he employs the most scientific methods of carrying on his farm work-methods which are after all the practical elements of desired results.