MARY D. (CAREW) ANDERSON

Mrs. Mary D. Carew Anderson, widow of Edward Anderson and principal of the Roeder school in Bellingham, came to the west from Oshkosh, Wisconsin, where she was graduated from the high school and from the Wisconsin State Normal school and early became a teacher. For four years she engaged in teaching in the city of Merrill, Wisconsin, and then in 1892, in response to a general call then being sent back east for teachers for the rapidly growing schools of Washington, she and her sister, Miss Frances C. Carew, came to this state and she became employed as principal of the Sehome (now Bellingham) schools, her sister, who in 1896 married W. P. Shanly and is still living in Bellingham, at the same time being employed as a primary teacher. For two years Miss Mary D. Carew continued as principal of the Sehome school and then was transferred to the Lincoln school, meanwhile having taken a special year's course in advanced training work in California. She continued to serve as principal of the Lincoln school until her marriage in 1901 to Edward Anderson, a lumberman, whose business required their residence in Ottawa, Canada. Later they resided for some time in Wisconsin and then in St. Paul, Minnesota, where Mr. Anderson died in 1918. Following the death of her husband Mrs. Anderson returned to Bellingham and in 1920 was installed as principal of the Roeder school in that city and has since been thus serving. She has a son, Edward Carew Anderson, born in 1907, who is now (1926) a student in the University of Washington.

Mrs. Anderson resides at 520 Garden street, where she is quite pleasantly situated. As noted above, her sister, Mrs. Shanley, a former teacher in the Bellingham schools, also is a resident of that city. There is another of the Carew sisters, Rose, wife of J. L. Cosgrove, now living in Seattle, who was one of the teachers in the pioneer schools of this region, her service here having begun in 1890, two years prior to the coming of the younger sisters, Mrs. Anderson and Mrs. Shaney (sic), and the names of the three sisters ever will be an inseparable part of the records of the schools of Bellingham during an important period in the development. Mrs. Anderson and her sisters are members of the Roman Catholic church, in the faith of which communion they were reared, and have ever been interested in the various activities of the local parish. Mrs. Anderson is an active and helpful member of the Bellingham Business and Professional Women's Club and has for years been recognized as one of the leading personal factors in the promotion of the city's general social and cultural activities.

History of Whatcom County, Volume II, by Lottie Roeder Roth, 1926, pps. 307-308.

ISAAC E. AUSTIN

Lummi island, in the gulf of Georgia, is gaining a high reputation as a summer resort, the beautiful scenery, pure sea air and pleasant surroundings making it an ideal spot for a summer vacation, and among the establishments for taking care of those who seek a pleasant month or two of vacation under ideal surroundings, the "Grange," operated by I. E. Austin, is one of the most popular. Mr. Austin was born at Chicopee Falls, Hampden county, Massachusetts, in 1884, and is a son of Arthur S. and Fanny (Winslow) Austin, the former a native of New Hampshire and the latter of Boston, Massachusetts. The mother was descended from the Winslow family of Mayflower fame. Arthur S. Austin, who was a lawyer by profession, came to Olympia, Washington, in 1888, and entered into a partnership with Judge Gordon, which was continued until 1891, when the partnership was dissolved, and Mr. Austin went to Oregon and then to California. He is now practicing his profession in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He and his wife separated about thirty years ago, and she later became the wife of Melzar Granger, their marriage occurring in 1898 in Bellingham. They lived on Lummi island during the remainder of their lives, the mother dying in 1921 and Mr. Granger in 1922.

I. E. Austin secured his education in the public schools of Olympia and Seattle, also attending school to some extent after coming to Lummi island, to which he had come with his mother in the spring of 1898. He learned the trade of a carpenter, which vocation he has followed through all the subsequent years. He is an expert workman and has a splendid reputation, being painstaking and careful in everything he does. For several years prior to 1918 he spent some time in Alaska, where he followed his trade, but since that date he has given his attention to his home place on Lummi island. His mother established the summer resort about sixteen years ago, and Mr. Austin and his wife have carried it on, under the name of "Grange," managing it in such a manner as to win the confidence and good will of all who have ever stopped with them. There are many things to recommend Lummi island as an ideal spot for vacationists, and the personal care and attention which Mr. and Mrs. Austin give their guests adds to the delight and pleasure of a stay at the "Grange." They have accommodations for thirty-two people, and the pleasant, cool and shady grounds, overlooking the gulf, the comfortable and amply furnished cottages, as well as the various forms of amusement, make a stay there something not soon forgotten.

In September, 1919, Mr. Austin was married to Miss Glenaro Sherwood, who was born in Hillsdale, New Brunswick. She received a splendid education, attending the University of Frederickton and graduating from the State Normal School at Bellingham and the University of Washington, after which she took a course in mathematics at the Colorado School of Mines. She then engaged in teaching and was a member of the high school faculty on Lummi island when she was married to Mr. Austin. Her father, Albert Sherwood, was engaged in the milling business in New Brunswick. To Mr. and Mrs. Austin have been born two children, Ely Winslow and Arthur Miles. Mr. Austin has long taken a good citizen's interest in the public affairs of his locality and is now serving as a justice of the peace, and is also a notary public. He rendered efficient service as treasurer. Fraternally he has been a member of Bellingham Lodge No. 56, Knights of Pythias, for eighteen years. He is a member of the Whatcom County Dairymen's Association and the Whatcom County Poultry Association. Mr. Austin is making plans to engage more extensively in the chicken business. He relates many interesting facts concerning early conditions in this locality when he first came here. Wild animals and fowls were numerous, ducks, brant and geese especially being found all over Lummi island, while deer were common. He and his brother owned the first camera on the island, about 1899, and he has in his possession many valuable and interesting pictures, especially of those early days. He is a man of pleasant and kindly address, friendly and genial, and among his fellow citizens he is accorded the highest measure of confidence and good will.

History of Whatcom County, Volume II, by Lottie Roeder Roth, 1926, pps. 252-253.

JOHN BARBER

John Barber, who spent the last fourteen years of his life in honorable retirement at Bellingham, passed away on the 8th of November, 1922, at the age of seventy-eight. A native of England, he was born in 1844 and was a lad of eleven years when he accompanied his parents on their immigration to the United States. His father was a tinsmith by trade. The family lived in Pennsylvania for a time and subsequently settled in Maryland, where John Barber acquired his early education. On attaining his majority he made his way to California via Cape Horn and went into the gold fields of that state. Returning to Maryland, he worked in the coal mines there for some time and next spent a period of seven years on a homestead claim in Madison, South Dakota. On disposing of that property he again went back to Maryland, where he worked in the coal mines prior to turning his attention to agricultural pursuits, and for five years he lived on a farm there. It was about 1908 that he again made his way westward, this time journeying across the continent to Bellingham, Washington, where he continued to reside throughout the remainder of his life, enjoying the fruits of his former toil in well earned ease.

In 1885 Mr. Barber was united in marriage to Miss Eliza Taylor, who was born in England and who, like her future husband, came to the United States with her parents at the age of eleven years. Her father was a coal miner. The family home was established in Maryland, in which state Miss Taylor resided up to the time of her marriage. Mr. and Mrs. Barber became the parents of eight children, seven of whom survive, as follows: Mrs. Jane Most, who resides at Bellingham, Washington, and is the mother of one son; John, living at Bellingham; Zilpha, who is employed in the Bellingham post office; William, also a resident of Bellingham; James G.; Edwin T., who is a student in the State College of Washington at Pullman; and Alice E., a graduate of the State Normal School at Bellingham.

At the polls Mr. Barber supported the men and measures of the republican party, believing firmly in its principles. His religious faith was indicated by his membership in the Episcopal church, to which his widow and children also belong, while fraternally he was affiliated with the Masons and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. His death was deeply regretted throughout Bellingham, where Mrs. Barber has also made many warm friends. The latter resides at No. 2825 Meridian street.

History of Whatcom County, Volume II, by Lottie Roeder Roth, 1926, pps. 96-97.

ROBERT W. BATTERSBY

R. W. Battersby was long one of the leading business men of Whatcom county, of which has been a resident since 1889. His well directed efforts in the practical affairs of life, his capable management of his business interests and his sound judgment brought him large returns, and he is now able to take life more leisurely and enjoy the fruits of his years of earnest effort. During the entire period of his life spent here he has been numbered among the enterprising and progressive citizens of the county, giving consistent support to every movement for the upbuilding and progress of the community.

Mr. Battersby was born at Coal Valley, Rock Island county, Illinois, on the 6th of February, 1863, and is a son of Richard and Bettie (Seville) Battersby, both of whom were natives of England. The father came to the United States in young manhood and during his early years here he and an uncle were engaged in the brewery business, while later he was engaged in the coal mining business in Rock Island county, Illinois, in which he was fairly successful. Our subject secured a good public school education in Rock Island county and then for about seven years was with his father in the coal business, later engaging in the mercantile business at Coal Valley in partnership with his brother, Peter S. In 1888 the latter came to Whatcom and brough the Ellery Rogers store, and on June 10, 1889, R. W. Battersby came here and acquired an interest in the business, which they conducted successfully until August, 1923, when our subject retired, and he now spends the greater part of his time on his son's place in Ten Mile township. When he came out to the farm his health was none too good, but it is now much improved. During the first six or seven years of their business here the Battersby brothers conducted a general store, but later their lines were reduced and were confined mainly to dry goods, shoes and furnishings. Their business enjoyed a steady growth through the years and was known as one of the leading stores of the kind in this section of the county. The first store was located on Thirteenth street, now West Holly street, between D and E streets. Mr. Battersby is a member of the board of directors of the Bellingham National Bank and has for many years been an active factor in local business circles, being a man of sound business judgment and progressive ideas and methods.

On June 3, 1889, Mr. Battersby was married to Miss Mary E. Donaldson, who was born in Rock Island county, Illinois, a daughter of Andrew and Ellen M. Donaldson. Her father was a native of Midway, Pennsylvania, but moved to Illinois in his young manhood and there spent the remainder of his life. Mrs. Battersby died February 26, 1923, leaving a son, Donald R., who now lives in Ten Mile township, where he is engaged in poultry farming in partnership with L. P. Raymond, also raising some berries. Donald is a hustling and energetic young man, who took up farm work because of ill health, and he has been materially benefited thereby.

Mr. Battersby has always been deeply interested in local public affairs and served for about twelve years as a member of the school board, including the period when the Whatcom and Fairhaven schools were consolidated. Fraternally he is a member of Bellingham Bay Lodge No. 44, Free and Accepted Masons; Bellingham Bay Chapter No. 12, Royal Arch Masons; Bellingham Council No. 16, Royal and Select Masters; is a thirty-second degree member of the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite; belongs to the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine; and is a member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen and the Modern Woodmen of America. In all that constitutes true manhood and good citizenship he has been a worthy example, and no one in the community stands higher in the confidence and esteem of the people. A man of kindly and generous disposition, he has contributed liberally to all worthy benevolent objects and has earnestly supported the right side of every moral issue. Genial and friendly in manner, he has a wide acquaintance throughout this section of the county, among whom are a host of warm and loyal friends.

History of Whatcom County, Volume II, by Lottie Roeder Roth, 1926, pps. 286-289.

NATHAN BELLINGAR

The examples that such men as Nathan Bellingar, one of the most prominent butchers and meat dealers of Whatcom county, furnish of patient purpose and steadfast integrity strongly illustrate what is in the power of each to accomplish, and there is always a full measure of satisfaction in advertising to their achievements in advancing the interests of their fellowmen and in giving strength and solidity to the institutions which make so much for the prosperity of the community, for it is the progressive, broadminded, wide awake men of affairs who make the real history of a community. Nathan Bellingar was born in Hillsdale county, Michigan, on the 31st of January, 1870, and is a son of William and Sarah M. (Kimball) Bellingar, the latter of whom was born and reared in the state of Vermont but became a resident of Ohio in 1837. The father was born in New York state September 20, 1822, was reared and educated in his home neighborhood, where he lived until 1862, when he moved to the state of Michigan. He bought one hundred and sixty acres of heavily timbered land in Isabel county, which he cleared and developed into a splendid homestead, and spent his remaining years there, his death occurring in 1896. His wife passed away in 1891.

Nathan Bellingar received his educational training in the old Pine school, in Isabel county, Michigan, and at the early age of fifteen years he engaged in the meat business. He also bought and broke steers, which he sold for use in the logging camps of Michigan. He was thus engaged until 1901, when he moved to Mount Pleasant, Michigan, where he remained about three years, and then in 1904, he came to Whatcom county, Washington, and for five years was employed as a stock buyer for H. M. Koebler, of Bellingham. In 1909 he engaged in the wholesale butchering business, in which enterprise success attended him from the outset, and he is still conducting a large and profitable business in that line, being one of the leading butchers of western Whatcom county. In 1913 Mr. Bellingar bought forty-five acres of land in Ferndale township, located along Lake Weiser, and has cleared the greater part of the tract, which, being bottom land, is very fertile and productive. He also owns eighty acres of land in Ten Mile township. Mr. Bellingar has been keenly interested in everything that relates in any way to the improvement of the community, and in 1913 he was instrumental in securing the signers to a petition for the construction of drainage district No. 5. The result of the building of the ditch was the lowering of the water in Lake Weiser about six feet and the reclaiming of about one thousand acres of splendid bottom land. His farm is well improved and he exercises excellent judgment in its management. He takes a deep interest in the breeding and raising of purebred Duroc-Jersey hogs, in which he has been more than ordinarily successful, having taken many blue ribbons at the fairs in northwestern Washington. He has gained a fine reputation as an enterprising and progressive business man and has achieved an enviable standing among his fellow citizens.

On December 18, 1895, Mr. Bellingar was married to Miss Bertha Sickles, a native of Indiana, whose death occurred June 27, 1899. To this union were born two children: Goldie A., and Gladys, who died at the age of three years. Goldie A. became the wife of D. F. Baird, and they have four children; Dexter F., Jr., born August 11, 1917; Donald, born May 24, 1920; Margarite, born March 14, 1922; and Nathan G., born September 5, 1924. On December 4, 1901, Mr. Bellingar was married to Miss Hanna Miller, who was born and reared in western Pennsylvania, a daughter of William H. and Martha Agnes (Cummiskey) Miller, both of whom also were natives of the Keystone state. Mrs. Bellingar's maternal grandfather was E. M. Cummiskey, M. D. Her father is still living, but her mother died in 1923. To Mr. and Mrs. Bellingar have been born three children: Sylva, born in Michigan, November 14, 1902, was married January 25, 1922, to G. H. Moa, and they have two children - Betty Ann, born January 25, 1923; and Eugene William, born January 30, 1924. William A., born in Michigan, August 7, 1904, and who is now at home, was graduated from the Laurel high school in 1923. Nathan G., born in Whatcom county, January 5, 1914, is now in school.

Personally Mr. Bellingar is a man of genial and companionable disposition, deeply interested in the welfare of his neighbors, and is kindly and generous in his attitude toward all benevolent and charitable objects. He possesses to a notable degree the elements that make for good citizenship and has long been recognized as one of the representative men of his section of the county.

History of Whatcom County, Volume II, by Lottie Roeder Roth, 1926, pps. 861-862.

HARRY OSCAR BINGHAM

Harry Oscar Bingham, who was the proprietor of a modernly equipped undertaking establishment at Bellingham for many years, had attained the age of fifty-six when he departed this life on the 19th of May, 1922. He was born at Sugargrove, Warren county, Pennsylvania, in 1866, his parents being natives of the Keystone state and representatives of families which had long been established on American soil.

Mr. Bingham spent the first thirteen years of his life in Pennsylvania and then removed to Ohio, in which state he continued his education and also worked ina crockery store. At the age of twenty he made his way westward to Colorado, where he remained on a cattle ranch until 1890, when he came to Washington. He secured employment as a railroad fireman and received successive promotions until eventually he was made engineer, serving for eighteen years, during which period he resided in the eastern part of the state. Subsequently Mr. Bingham returned east as far as Chicago, Illinois, where he studied undertaking and embalming, and he then again came to Washington, taking up his permanent abode at Bellingham. Here he purchased the old Maulsby undertaking establishment, which is the oldest in Bellingham and one of the earliest in the northwest. He opened up-to-date and handsomely equipped parlors and during the remainder of his life continued in business as a funeral director of Bellingham. His efficient, unobtrusive service in the scientific care of the dead brought him an extensive patronage and gained him an enviable and well merited reputation.

In 1891, at Colfax, Washington, Mr. Bingham was united in marriage to Etta Hinds, who was born at Elyria, Ohio, in 1866, and there received her early education. She continued her studies in Oberlin College of Ohio, specializing in literary and physical culture courses, and following her graduation from that institution she went to the Indian Territory with missionaries, there teaching the red men for three years. Then she joined her brother and her father, who had taken up homestead claims in Kansas, and for several years underwent the experiences of life on the frontier. She returned to Indian Territory in 1887 and was residing there when Oklahoma was admitted to statehood. Afterward she removed to Colfax, Washington, where she taught in the public schools until the year of her marriage. Since that time Mrs. Bingham has followed her profession at intervals as a substitute teacher. By her marriage she became the mother of two children: Vernal De Villa, born at Colfax, Washington, in 1892, who wedded Olga Ottestadt and has two children; and Clifton Loyle, who was born in 1910, at Bellingham, where he is attending school.

Mr. Bingham gave his political allegiance to the republican party, while his religious faith was indicated by his membership in the Congregational church, to which his widow also belongs. Mrs. Bingham likewise exercises her right of franchise in support of the men and measures of the republican party, and she is identified with the Eastern Star and the P. E.O. Her late husband was a worthy exemplar of the teachings and purposes of the Masonic fraternity and belonged to the Mystic Shrine, having been likewise a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and several other fraternal organizations. In the death of Harry O. Bingham Bellingham sustained the loss of a highly esteemed and representative citizen.

History of Whatcom County, Volume II, by Lottie Roeder Roth, 1926, pps. 390-393.

FRANK M. BLOOM

In the record of the laborious struggle for an honorable competence and a solid career on the part of the average man there is little to attract the casual reader in search of a sensational chapter; but to a mind thoroughly awake to the reality and meaning of human existence there are imperishable lessons in the career of an individual who without other means than a clear head, true heart and strong arms, directed and controlled by correct principles and sound judgment, conquers all obstacles and finally wins not only pecuniary independence but, what is far more important, the respect and confidence of those with whom his active years have been spent. In this class stands Frank M. Bloom, of Lynden, whose record since coming to Whatcom county, forty years ago, has been a worthy and honorable one, and for many years he has stood in the front rank of the representative men of his locality. Mr. Bloom was born at Dayton, Ohio, on the 1st of February, 1858, and is a son of Frank and Mary Ann (Altarmatt) Bloom, both of whom were born and reared in Switzerland, where they were married. The father was a wheelwright by trade, and in 1852 this worthy couple came to the United States, locating in Dayton, Ohio, where they spent their remaining years and died.

Frank M. Bloom secured a good education in the public schools of Dayton, after which he worked with his father for a time. He learned the shoemaker's trade, at which he worked until 1881, when he went to Denver, Colorado, where he was engaged in the shoe business until 1886. In that year he came to Whatcom county and entered a homestead at Northwood (Lynden), the land being heavily timbered and without road or good trail. For nearly two years after locating there he was compelled to pack in all provisions and other necessaries. Wild animals, such as bears, deer, cougars and beavers, were numerous, and the country about him was a veritable wilderness. Mr. Bloom applied himself with vigor to the task of clearing the land and getting it in shape for cultivation, and about forty acres are now cleared. Fortunately, the land was not very wet and but little ditching had to be done. Many years ago Mr. Bloom wisely planted a good orchard, comprising about five hundred trees of apples, pears, cherries and other fruit, and in the course of time they proved a splendid source of income. During the years of his active farm work, however, dairying and gardening were his principal occupations, and he made a distinct success in these lines also. He made many fine improvements on the place, including a comfortable and attractive house and a substantial barn, as well as a good deal of ornamental shrubbery and other items that contributed to the appearance and value of the property. Mr. Bloom's success is remarkable from the fact that before coming here he had never had any experience in farming, and he started under very adverse conditions. At the outset he did not own a team and in clearing his land was compelled to use a team of oxen belonging to a man four miles away. At that time there was only one house between his place and Lynden. In 1920, being a sufferer from rheumatism, Mr. Bloom sold the eighty acres which included the buildings and moved to Lynden, where he is now living, practically retired from active business. Of the eighty acres which he retains, about twenty are cleared, and he is planning to have more of it cleared.

In 1884, in Denver, Colorado, Mr. Bloom was married to Miss Aline Egley, a native of Switzerland and a daughter of Henry C. and Francisco (Leibe) Egley, also natives of Switzerland, where the father had followed the trade of a blacksmith. They came to Whatcom county about two years before our subject arrived and homesteaded one hundred and sixty acres adjoining the Bloom farm. Prior to coming here they had been part of a Swiss colony which had located in Tennessee, but not liking it there they came to Washington. To Mr. and Mrs. Bloom have been born three children, namely: Homer A., of Northwood, who married Miss Freda Boslund and has one child; Frances M., who is the wife of R. C. Richard, of South Bellingham, and has one child; and Wendal M., who is a student in the State Agricultural College at Pullman. Mr. Bloom has long taken an active part in public affairs, having served for many years as road supervisor, while for twenty years he was a member and clerk of the Northwood school board. He was a member of the first board of supervisors of Lynden township and was one of those who built the first school house in this locality in 1889, the building being erected by donated labor. Politically he has been a lifelong democrat and has taken an active part in the councils of that organization, having served as chairman of the democratic state convention in 1904. He was master of Northwood Grange for many years and is now on its executive board, while he is also an officer of the county Grange. He keeps in close touch with the leading issues of the day and is a constant reader and a man of positive opinions, wielding a beneficent influence throughout the community. Courteous and accommodating, kindly and genial, he has long enjoyed an enviable standing throughout the community honored by his citizenship, and he has a host of warm and loyal friends.

History of Whatcom County, Volume II, by Lottie Roeder Roth, 1926, pps. 718-719.

ANDREW BOSLUND

Among the citizens of Lynden township who have by their persistent and well directed efforts succeeded, in the face of obstacles and discouragements, in attaining a definite measure of success, stands Andrew Boslund, than whom no resident of his locality enjoys to a greater measure the respect of his fellow citizens. Mr. Boslund is a native of Denmark and his birth occurred in 1860. His parents were Christian and Sophie (Peterson) Boslund, both of whom died in their native land. Our subject secured a good, practical education in the public schools near his home and then became stable boss for a rich man, one of the nobility, having charge of forty-five horses. Because of this position he was not called for military service. He remained in that position until he was twenty-four years of age, when, in 1884, he came to the United States, going direct to Fort Dodge, Iowa. On his arrival there his total cash capital was seven pounds in English money, but just before his funds gave out he was successful in securing work.

Mr. Boslund carefully saved his money and eventually bought land there, which he operated until 1906, when he came to La Conner, Washington, where he remained about two and a half years. He bought a small farm but he did not like that locality, particularly because of his wife's ill health, so he leased his farm and came to Lynden, Whatcom county, bought a twenty acre place here, on which he lived about eleven years. Later he bought one hundred and sixty acres of land, where he now lives, and on which he placed several hundred sheep and a large herd of cattle, putting the operation of the place into the hands of his son and son-in-law. A fire subsequently completely destroyed all the buildings and the sheep, and Mr. Boslund then moved onto the place and began the erection of new buildings and the restocking of the farm. He is now devoting the major portion of his attention to dairying, keeping seventeen milk cows and two registered Ayrshire sires. He ships his milk to the Carnation milk plant at Everson. His soil is fertile and productive and he raises sufficient hay and grain for his own requirements. The land has been cut over, and the forest fire burned out the brush. About twenty acres are now under cultivation, ten acres of which he cleared. He is managing the place in a businesslike manner, showing sound judgment and discrimination in all that he does, and has gained a high reputation among his neighboring farmers. However, it is Mr. Boslund's intention to move back to his Lynden place soon.

In 1891, in Iowa, Mr. Boslund was married to Miss Othalia Julius, who was born in Prussia and who in 1889 came to this country with her parents, William and Rosalia Julius, both of whom died in Iowa. Mrs. Boslund died in 1908. To Mr. and Mrs. Boslund were born the following children: Mrs. Martha Brindle, of Los Angeles, California, who is the mother of two children; Ellen, who died at Lynden, when nineteen years old; Mrs. Emma Cook, of Los Angeles, who has one child; William, who married Miss Jennie Friend, and who now rents the home place from his father; and Mrs. Freida Bloom, of Lynden township, who has one child. Mr. Boslund has ever stood ready to do what he could in pushing forward the wheels of progress and advancing the prosperity of his locality, and his career has been one well worthy of the high esteem accorded him.

History of Whatcom County, Volume II, by Lottie Roeder Roth, 1926, pps. 284-285.

LINDEN J. BROWN

L. J. Brown is a substantial business man of Lynden and one of the outstanding figures in mercantile circles of the state. He is a native of New York and came to Washington in March, 1902. He was connected for a time with the Lynden department store and then entered mercantile circles of Bellingham. He returned to the Lynden department store in 1917 and since 1924 has been treasurer of the firm. The other officers are W. H. Waples, president; George W. Frick, vice president; and J. P. Boerhave, secretary. The stock consists of dry goods, ready-to-wear clothing, furnishings for men and boys, shoes, hardware, home furnishings, groceries, flour and feed. The store was started twenty-eight years ago with a capital of five hundred dollars and the annual sales of the firm now amount to more than three-quarters of a million dollars. This is one of the most progressive mercantile concerns in the country and the largest west of the Mississippi operated in a community with a population of less than two thousand. Its owners are sagacious, farsighted business men, and in mercantile circles of the Pacific northwest the firm name is synonymous with high standards of service and commercial integrity. Mr. Brown is thoroughly conversant with mercantile affairs and his well directed labors have been essential to the development and success of the business.

Mr. Brown married Miss Marea Johnson, a daughter of Olaf Johnson, one of the early farmers of Whatcom county, and they have become the parents of two children, Myrl and Jack. Mr. Brown is a business man of broad experience and high standing and a citizen of worth to the community.

History of Whatcom County, Volume II, by Lottie Roeder Roth, 1926, p. 703.

MERL CLINARD

An enumeration of those men of the present generation who have won honor and public recognition for themselves, and at the same time have honored the locality to which they belong, would be incomplete were there failure to mention the man whose name forms the caption to this sketch. He has sustained a very enviable reputation in agricultural circles and has taken a commendable interest in the public affairs of his community, in which he has been a potent factor. Merl Clinard is a native of Van Buren county, Michigan, and his birth occurred on the 23d of March, 1879. He is a son of Jacob and Melissa (Decker) Clinard, the former a native of Indiana and the latter of Ohio. At about the close of the Civil war the family located in Michigan where the father followed farming pursuits until 1912, when he came to the Nooksack valley, Whatcom county, and bought a few lots and a house in Nooksack. He is now making his home with his son, the subject of this sketch. To him and his wife were born two children, Merl and Mrs. Carrie Walmer, who lives in Nooksack.

Merl Clinard received his education in the public schools of Michigan and worked for his father and on neighboring farms until he was nineteen years of age, when he came to Whatcom county and for a few years was employed in sawmills and in the timber. He then moved the Bellingham, where he remained about a year, and in 1902 he bought twenty acres of land on the Guide Meridian road, in Ten Mile township, it being all woods and brush. He devoted about six years to clearing this land and developing it into a good farm and then sold it. In February, 1908, he bought eighty acres of land in Nooksack township, five miles south of Sumas, all of the land excepting a few acres being densely covered with timber and undergrowth. He applied himself vigorously to the clearing of the land and now has about twenty-two acres in cultivation. He carried on general farming, hay and potatoes being his principal crops, the remainder of the land being in pasture and wood lots. He keeps nine good cows and has been very successful in the dairying business. He has made a number of fine improvements on the place, including a fine barn, which was built in 1915, and he is numbered among the progressive and enterprising farmers of the Nooksack valley.

In 1900 Mr. Clinard was married to Miss Martha Slack, who was born in Michigan, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Bradford Slack, both of whom are deceased. They had nine children, of which number four are living. To Mr. and Mrs. Clinard have been born six children, namely: Cecil, born August 24, 1901; Bernice, born August 8, 1903, who is now the wife of Emil Grant and lives in Oregon; Myrtle, born September 24, 1904, who is the wife of Gerald Gooding and lives near the home place; Thelma, born February 28, 1906; Edna, who was born January 5, 1911, and died September 5, 1923; and Phyllis, born November 5, 1917. Mr. Clinard is a member of the Whatcom County Dairymen's Association. He has long been actively interested in the welfare of his community and has taken a good citizen's part in public affairs. He rendered effective and appreciative service as a member of the Glen Echo school board, and in 1922 he was elected township supervisor, in which position he is still serving, to the entire satisfaction of his fellow citizens. His personal relations with his fellowmen have ever been mutually pleasant and agreeable, and he is highly regarded by all, being easily approached and obliging and straight forward in all the relations of life. He is one of those solid men of brain and substance so essential to the material growth and prosperity of a community, and his influence has been willingly extended in behalf of every deserving enterprise having for its object the advancement and moral welfare of the locality.

History of Whatcom County, Volume II, by Lottie Roeder Roth, 1926, p. 289.

PAUL O. DOLSTAD

One branch of the government service about which little is known to the general public but whose work is of great importance is that of border customs inspectors. There are many of these stations scattered along the boundary lines between this country and our northern and southern neighbors, and among the several in Whatcom county is the Lynden customs office, in charge of Paul O. Dolstad, who, because of his long and creditable record, enjoys the fullest measure of confidence on the part of his superior officers and is well known in this community as a fearless and honest official. Mr. Dolstad was born in La Crosse, Wisconsin, on the 10th of June, 1886, and is a son of O. and Louisa Dolstad, both natives of Norway. They came to the United States about 1883, locating in Wisconsin. There the father established a sash and door factory, which he operated until 1898, when he came to Tacoma, Washington. In the following year he located in Seattle, where he and his wife now reside. They became the parents of nine children, all of whom are living.

Paul O. Dolstad received his education in the public schools of La Crosse, Wisconsin, and Seattle, Washington. He then went to work as a shingle weaver around Seattle, Kent and other places, after which for about a year he worked on coastwise steamers, running to Alaska. At the end of that period he entered the navy department as a civil employe, serving at Port Townsend under Lieutenant Wyckoff from September 1, 1906, to March 16, 1908, being in charge of the hydrographic department. He has continued in the government service continually since, serving in the customs department. He was first sent to the customs office at Laurier, Washington, where he remained for fourteen months, being stationed at various places along the northeastern Washington border until May, 1909, when he went to Seattle, and on September 5, 1909, he was sent to Blaine. He was at the latter place until March 20, 1914, when he went to Sumas, and on December 21, 1920, he was ordered to the station at Lynden, where he has served to the present time.

This is one of the old stations of Whatcom county, having been established in an early day. J. R. Vail was in charge of the office in 1909, and in 1912 the station was abolished, two motorcycle patrolmen being appointed to watch the border, one being stationed at Blaine and the other at Sumas. Their duties were not especially onerous, as in those days not over one hundred and fifty vehicles crossed the border in a year. However, on December 21, 1920, the station was reestablished, with Mr. Dolstad in charge, and at first he was alone, excepting for his wife, who was then officially appointed an inspector. In 1921 he was given an assistant, Mr. Rae, and Mrs. Dolstad has also been a regularly appointed inspector during the past three years. The business of the station is primarily that of clearing vehicles going to and coming from Canada, in addition to which they also patrol the road and border, watching for smugglers of dope, liquors and other goods subject to duty or prohibited. In his patrol work Mr. Dolstad uses an automobile. An idea of the business of the office may be gained from the following figures, showing the number of vehicles from this station for the years ending June 30: 1921, one thousand five hundred; 1922, six thousand twenty; 1923 sixteen thousand thirty-one; 1924, thirteen thousand five hundred and twenty-nine; 1925, fourteen thousand three hundred and eighty-three. The number of people passing through the station for the year ending June 30, 1925, was forty-one thousand four hundred sixty-seven. The import collections are very light, but penalties imposed for violations of the law amount to a considerable sum. It is thought that this station will eventually be moved to the border on the Guide Meridian road.

On July 10, 1918, Mr. Dolstad was married to Miss Blanch E. Goodrick, who was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, a daughter of Harry M. and Annie M. Goodrick, the former of whom is deceased, while the mother is now living in Bellingham. To Mr. and Mrs. Dolstad have been born two children, Harriet Pauline and Harold Clark. Mr. Dolstad has been a member of the Knights of Pythias since 1910, when he joined the lodge at Blaine. Later he belonged to the order at Sumas but is now affiliated with the lodge at Lynden. During the World war Mr. Dolstad was detailed on special government service, being connected with the investigation of draft evaders. He owns the customs office, which he rents to the government, and also owns his home, which adjoins the office. Mrs. Dolstad, who has proven an efficient and capable customs officer, first came to Whatcom county in January, 1898, locating at Bellingham, where her father had a lumber mill at Lake Whatcom, which he operated up to the time of his death in 1924. He also operated the Whatcom Saw Works at Bellingham. Mrs. Dolstad received her elementary education in the public schools, was a graduate of the State Normal School at Bellingham and then attended the University of Washington, after which she taught school for several years in this county, including two years at Northwood and three years in Bellingham. While closely devoted to his official duties, Mr. Dolstad is at the same time interested in the affairs of the community in which he lives and supports in every possible way the various measures which are advanced for the improvement of the public welfare. Genial and friendly in his social relations, he enjoys a wide acquaintance, and he holds to a marked degree the respect and confidence of the entire community in which he lives.

History of Whatcom County, Volume II, by Lottie Roeder Roth, 1926, pps. 79-80.

JOSEPH W. ELLIOTT

Thoroughly imbued with wester energy and enterprise, Joseph W. Elliott has aided materially in the development of the great salmon industry of the Pacific northwest, with which he has been closely and prominently identified for many years, and is widely known as general superintendent of the Alaska Packers Association, making his headquarters in Blaine. He was born in Fairfield, Solano county, California, in 1866 and comes of honored pioneer stock. His parents were James and Anna D. (Moore) Elliott, the latter a native of Iowa. The father was born in Ohio and in 1849 joined the rush of gold seekers to California, going by way of Cape Horn. After prospecting for a time he returned to the east and in 1858 started for the Pacific coast with his family. They took the overland route and barely escaped the Mountain Meadow massacre in Utah, passing through many dangers and undergoing many hardships before reaching the end of their journey. The father was engaged in mining at Marysville for a number of years and continued to follow that occupation until the close of his business career.

Joseph W. Elliott attended the public schools of California and afterward learned the machinist's trade, acquiring much skill in that line of endeavor. He advanced rapidly, becoming engineer of a brewery, and was later chief mechanic of a cannery. He entered the employ of the Alaska Packers Association in 1898 and spent four years in that country. He came to Blaine in 1903 as foreman of the Semiahmoo plant and in 1904 was transferred to the Port Roberts cannery. He was sent to the Anacortes plant a year later and during 1906-7 again had charge of the Port Roberts cannery. He returned to the Semiahmoo plant in 1908 and later to the Anacortes cannery. He was appointed manager of the business at Semiahmoo in 1911 and acted in that capacity for four years. In 1915, at the time of the death of P. J. Waage, Mr. Elliott was named as his successor and has since been general superintendent of the Puget Sound plants, a position of great responsibility and one for which he is eminently qualified by experience and ability. He is devoted to the interests in his charge and for twenty-eight years has faithfully served the association, doing much to expand the scope of its operations. He has secured twenty-six trap locations for the association, which operates eight boats on the Sound and employes one hundred men in the fishing department, also utilizing the services of fifty-five women. The payroll amounts to twenty-five thousand dollars per month and the output of the canneries of superior quality. It is shipped to all parts of the world and is also sold extensively in the United States. The Blaine plant has a capacity of twelve thousand case of seventy pounds each and the industry ranks with the largest of the kind in this country. Mr. Elliott is president of several fishing companies, all of which have profited by his administrative power and unerring judgment, and he is regarded as an authority on matters pertaining to the salmon business.

In 1890 Mr. Elliott married Miss Clara Haskins of California, and two children were born to them: Josephine, who is the wife of Howard McCue, of San Francisco; and Walter, who is also married and resides in that city. Mr. Elliott is connected with the Masonic fraternity and his political allegiance is given to the republican party. Along the path of opportunity open to all he has reached the goal of notable success and Blaine is proud to number him among its citizens.

History of Whatcom County, Volume II, by Lottie Roeder Roth, 1926, pps. 307-308.

CHARLES E. ERICKSON

In his business career Charles E. Erickson has made each day count for the utmost, improving the opportunities of the hour and thus advancing steadily until he is now numbered among the foremost business men of Ferndale. A native of Sweden, he was born August 13, 1870, and was reared and educated in that country. In 1890, when a young man of twenty, he responded to the call of adventure and came to the United States, first locating in Michigan, in which state he lived for one and a half years. He next went to Illinois and spent eight years in the city of Chicago, afterward visiting other states of the middle west.

In 1902 Mr. Erickson started for Washington and for several years was employed in the Ferndale lumber mill of Pierson Brothers, becoming well acquainted with the business. He was also employed by other firms and in February, 1921, embarked upon an independent venture, forming the Farmers Lumber Company, of which he has since been the president. The firm carries a full stock of lumber and building material and under the expert direction of its executive head the business has made rapid strides. Mr. Erickson is alert to every new avenue opened in the natural ramifications of the trade, and his clear and farseeing brain is constantly devising new plants for the expansion of the industry.

Mr. Erickson is affiliated with the Swedish Baptist church and is nonpartisan in his political views, regarding the qualifications of a candidate as a matter of first importance. He has ever realized the fact that true commercialism rests upon the foundation of integrity and in the conduct of his business is guided by high ideals of service. Strong and purposeful, his efforts have been directed along steadily broadening lines of greater usefulness, and his record proves that merit and ability will always come to the front.

History of Whatcom County, Volume II, by Lottie Roeder Roth, 1926, p. 704.

ED W. GOODING

Ed. W. Gooding, for a number of years one of the most prominent mill men and substantial citizens of Whatcom county, was not favored by inherited wealth or the assistance of influential friends, but in spite of this fact, by perseverance, industry and the exercise of sound judgment, he has attained a comfortable station in life, making his influence felt for the general good of his community. Mr. Gooding is a native of the state of Kansas, born on the 27th of July, 1875, and is a son of Harvey and Hettie (Burton) Gooding, the former a native of Ohio and the latter of Illinois. Harvey Gooding went from his native state to Kansas about 1872, being a pioneer in the locality where he settled. He homesteaded a tract of land and lived there until 1880, when he made the long overland trip to Washington, traveling by ox team and wagon, arriving at Seattle in the fall of 1882. He was a steam engineer by profession and followed that occupation for seven years. He then came to Whatcom county and settled in old Sehome. That same fall he established the first soda water business in Whatcom county, which he carried on with marked success for twenty years and then retired, buying a home in Bellingham, where he lived until his death, which occurred April 21, 1921. His wife is still living there. They were the parents of the following children: Ed. W., Jesse, deceased, Emma, Isadore, who died in infancy, Charles, deceased, and Ray.

Ed. W. Gooding received his education in the public schools at Sehome, Washington, and then went into his father's bottling works, where he remained until 1898, when he established a shingle mill at Van Zandt, which he operated for about two years. He then built a shingle mill at Dewey and later a combination saw and single mill at Wahl, Whatcom county. It was destroyed by fire, but Mr. Gooding rebuilt it and operated it for about fifteen years in partnership with his brother Charles. In 1919 he built a shingle mill at Glen Echo, three miles east of Everson, and is still operating it with marked success.

Mr. Gooding was married April 30, 1904, to Miss Sadie May Brenninghouse, who was born in Pennsylvania, a daughter of Felix and Mary Katherine Brenninghouse, both of whom are deceased, the mother passing away May 16, 1890. Mrs. Gooding is the only child born to this union. Mr. and Mrs. Brenninghouse came to Whatcom county in 1883 and homesteaded one hundred and sixty acres of land in Crescent township, the tract being heavily timbered and also containing numerous black bears. To Mr. and Mrs. Gooding have been born five children, namely: Edna May, born september 2, 1905, who is a high school graduate and expects to attend normal school; Harvey Edward, born September 7, 1909, now in high school; Ruth Nina, born February 5, 1915; Sadie Pearl, born June 27, 1919; and George Willet, born April 21, 1922. All of the children are talented in music, both vocal and instrumental. Fraternally Mr. Gooding is a member of Wahl Camp No. 7357, Modern Woodmen of America, and he and his wife belong to the Royal Neighbors, as does their daughter Edna. Mr. Gooding was one of the first "hello girls" in Bellingham, due to the fact that when the telephone exchange was first established there girls were scarce and men were hired to operate the switchboards. He has been an interested witness of and an active participant in the wonderful development of Whatcom county and is deeply interested in the welfare and prosperity of his community, in the affairs of which he has been a potent factor. He is man of forceful individuality, decided in his opinions and straightforward in all his dealings. Unassuming in manner, he is at the same time friendly and genial in his social relations and enjoys well deserved popularity.

History of Whatcom County, Volume II, by Lottie Roeder Roth, 1926, pps. 306-307.

CHANCY R. GRANGER

In the daily laborious struggle for an honorable competence and a solid career there is little to attract the casual reader in search of a sensational story; but to a mind thoroughly awake to the reality and meaning of human existence there are imperishable lessons in the career of an individual who by his own efforts, direct and controlled by correct principles and sound judgment, finally wins not only pecuniary independence but, what is far better, the deserved respect and confidence of those with whom his active years have been passed. In this class stands C. R. Granger, one of the best known and most highly regarded citizens of Lummi island.

Mr. Granger was born near Bad Axe, Huron county, Michigan, in 1871, and is a son of M. and Lucy (Rogers) Granger, the former of whom was a native of New York state and the latter of Monroe county, Michigan. In March, 1888, the father came to Washington, locating on Lummi island, where he secured forty-five acres of land, a part of the present home farm, and in the fall of the same year the mother brought their six sons and a daughter to the new home. The land was wild and uncleared and the early years here were marked by laborious efforts to get the place in shape for cultivation. There were at that time only a few white people on the island, and the father was compelled to work in logging camps and at other employment in order to earn money to keep the family until their land should become productive. At the time of his death, which occurred in March, 1922, about twenty acres of the land were cleared. the father was a man of rugged character and sterling integrity, well liked by all who knew him, and reflected in his makeup the characteristics of his English forbears, who came to this county in 1636, settling in Connecticut. The mother of our subject died in September, 1890.

C. R. Granger secured his education in the public schools of Michigan, in addition to which he had two terms of school on Lummi island. As soon as he was old enough he devoted his efforts to assisting his father in the improvement of the farm and in the support of the family. He worked in the logging camps until that industry waned, when he turned his attention to the fishing business, working in canneries for several years. He has of recent years, however, devoted himself closely to the operation of the farm, in which he has been successful. In addition to the raising of diversified crops, he gives considerable attention to dairying and is planning to go into the chicken business. He has a good orchard, comprising cherry, apple, pear, prune and apricot trees, all of which he set out himself and in which he takes a justifiable pride.

As a side line, but at the same time an important phase of his business interests, Mr. Granger has established and is operating a summer resort, called Loganita Lodge, which has proven one of the most popular vacation spots on the Sound, possessing a magnificent beach and a capacity for accommodating fifty guests comfortably. Boating, swimming and tennis are the chief attractions, and its best recommendation is the fact that those who once come here are usually sure to return.

In the fall of 1901 Mr. Granger was married to Miss Eva Warren, who was born in Huron county, Michigan, her family and that of the subject having been neighbors. She is a daughter of John and Mary (Nugent) Warren, the former a native of England and the latter of Canada. Mr. Warren came to Whatcom county in 1888 and the other members of the family arrived here in 1900. To Mr. and Mrs. Granger have been born four children, namely: Nyleptha, who is the wife of L. Lord, of Alaska; Warren, who is a graduate of the State Normal School, at Bellingham; and Dana and Joe, who are in high school. Mr. Granger has served for many years as a member of the township board, and he has also served for many years on the school board. He was at one time a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. A man of good business qualities, industrious habits, fine public spirit and straightforward manner, he has long enjoyed an enviable standing in the respect and good will of his fellow citizens.

History of Whatcom County, Volume II, by Lottie Roeder Roth, 1926, pps. 253-254.

CHARLES H. GROTH

C. H. Groth has made the abstract business the ladder by which he has mounted to success and occupies an enviable position in commercial circles of Bellingham. He was born at Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 1872 and after the completion of his high school course became connected with the dry goods trade. He entered the abstract business in 1888, securing a position with a Milwaukee firm, and was superintendent of the then Milwaukee Title Company for five years, while from 1906 until 1909 he was in the probate department of the Chicago Title & Trust Company. He subsequently came to Washington as manager of the court house branch of the Spokane Title Company. From 1915 until December, 1917, he had charge of the business of the Big Ben Abstract Company at Davenport, Washington, successfully managing their interest, and on January 1, 1918, came to Bellingham.

Mr. Groth has since been manager and treasurer of the Whatcom County Abstract Company, which was formed in 1910. Among the organizers were George H. Watrous, C. M. Smith, Bernard Montague, George E. Gage, John F. Miller and J. C. Minton, who were also the first trustees. The business was located on Dock street for many years and for ten years was conducted at No. 100 Prospect street. Its present home is a fine building situated at No. 107 Prospect street and was completed in 1924. The corporation is engaged in a general abstract business and issues title insurance through other firms. The officers of the company are J. C. Minton, president; C. M. Adams, vice president; and C. H. Groth, manager and treasurer. All are able business men, thoroughly experienced in this line of work, and the well known reliability of the firm is one of its greatest assets.

Mr. Groth has thoroughly systematized the work, introducing new methods which have proven very effective, and gives to the public the services of an expert. For thirty-eight years he has concentrated his attention upon this line of endeavor, and his advancement is the merited reward of proven worth and ability. Mr. Groth was elected vice president of the Washington Title Association in 1925, which office he still holds. He belongs to the Bellingham Chamber of Commerce and is also a Kiwanian. He votes the republican ticket and his fraternal affiliations are with the Eagles, the Woodmen of the World and the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks.

History of Whatcom County, Volume II, by Lottie Roeder Roth, 1926, p. 673.

ANNA (WRIGHT) HELDER

Mrs. Anna Wright Helder, a member of the faculty of the Bellingham School of Music and Art, a teacher of years of experience and widely known in art and musical circles throughout the northwest, may properly be accounted as a member of one of the pioneer families of Whatcom county, for she has been a resident here since 1887 and has thus been a witness to the amazing development that has been brought about during the past forty years. From the days of her girlhood Mrs. Helder has been interested in musical and artistic expression. She was about ten years of age when she came with her parents, the family settling at Lynden, and her formal education was finished in the Northwest Normal School and in Puget Sound University, in both institutions majoring in art and music, specializing in oils, china painting and wood carving. Her initial training in artistic expression was gained under the direction of Mrs. Hugh Eldridge, then Dilly J. Bowers and continued under Professor Gilstrap, and Max Meyer, Puget Sound University, Tacoma, Washington. From the time she left school she has been engaged in teaching, her influence in the social and cultural development of the community, thus having been one of marked benefit for years. In 1923 she became formally connected with the staff of the Bellingham School of Music and Art and is now thus serving that admirable institution, a teacher of wide experience of long approved methods.

Mrs. Helder was born in Van Buren county, Michigan, daughter of James S. and Eliza M. (McIntyre) Wright, and was about two years of age when in the early '80s her parents moved with their family to Smith county, Kansas, settling on a homestead. James S. Wright, a veteran of the Civil war with a record of three years service in the navy, proved up on a homestead claim and in 1887 disposed of his holdings and with his family came to Washington Territory, settling in Whatcom county. He established his home in the Lynden settlement and there opened a hotel, the first one in the town. His son, Fred S. Wright, presently opened a drug store in Lynden, the first in the town, and the Wrights thus became definitely connected with the commercial and social development of that place. James S. Wright continued in the hotel business in Lynden only a short time and then leased the place, afterwards converting it into a residence, where his last days were spent, one of the best known men in the county, his death occurring June 27, 1914 May 27, 1913. He was treasurer of Lynden for a number of years and was an active member of the local post of the Grand Army of the Republic and of the Masonic order and his funeral was conducted under the auspices of these organizations. Both he and his wife were natives of the state of New York and members of colonial families there.

On May 9, 1899, in Lynden, Anna Wright was united in marriage to Rynard R. Helder, present secretary-treasurer of the Americanadian Mining Corporation, and they have two children, Z. Vanessa Helder and R. Wright, the latter of whom now (1926) is pursuing his studies in the high school, taking a science course. Miss Vanessa Helder, under the capable preceptorship of her mother, has become an artist of considerably more than local reputation, the highly original treatment of some of her designs having gained for her the praise of competent critics throughout the northwest. She specializes in water colors, and her entries exhibited in the Northwestern Artists Exhibition in Seattle in 1926, were the subject of much admiring attention and high praise. Miss Helder's education was finished in the University of Washington, which she entered following her graduation from the Bellingham high school. She is now engaged as a teacher in art, with particular reference to Batik and water color and has an interesting class of pupils in Bellingham. In ethics Mrs. Helder and her daughter incline to that system of philosophy promulgated by the Theosophical Society and are numbered among the most interested and helpful students of this school of thought in this region. The Helders are republicans and take an interested part in general civic affairs as well as in the general social and cultural activities of the community, helpful in all movements having to do with the promotion of the common good.

Rynard R. Helder is of European birth but has been a resident of this country since the days of his infancy and thus has ever accounted himself an American. He was born in the kingdom of Holland was was but two years when he was brought to the United States by his parents, Jan D. and Trintje (Roseboom) Helder, who settled in Holland, Michigan, where he was reared and educated. His father was a shoe merchant and he grew up with a mercantile training, associated with his father in Holland until that business was sold in the middle '90s, when the family came here into the Sound country and settled on Whidbey Island, moving from there in 1898 to Lynden, where in the next year Mr. Helder was married. He has long been connected with mining operations and since 1925 has been associated with the Americanadian Mining Corporation as secretary and treasurer, being widely known in mining and general commercial circles. The Helders reside at 2001 G street, Bellingham, where they are very pleasantly situated.

History of Whatcom County, Volume II, by Lottie Roeder Roth, 1926, pps. 309-310.

OLE E. HILLARD

The Scandinavian races are largely represented in the citizenship of Whatcom county, which is much indebted to these hardy pioneers for its development, particularly along agricultural lines, and of this type is O. E. Hillard, the owner of a valuable ranch in the vicinity of Everson. He was born January 8, 1860, and is a native of Norway. He came to the United States in 1889 and settled in Polk county, Minnesota, in which he lived for seventeen years. On November 1, 1906, he came to Whatcom county, Washington, and purchased his present homestead, a tract of seventy-seven acres, situated in Lawrence township. He has built a good home and his place is well cared for, reflecting the close supervision and enterprising spirit of its owner. Mr. Hillard has made a success of the poultry business, specializing in pure bred Leghorns. He has a flock of eight hundred hens, and from the sale of the products of his dairy he also receives a valuable addition to his income.

In June, 1895, Mr. Hillard married Miss Inga Strand, also a Norwegian, who came to the new world during her girlhood. To their union were born six children: Esther, the wife of Ole A. Nesset, of Acme, by whom she has three children: Arthur Ingman, at home; Martin, deceased, and Myrtle, Ivan and Alma, who reside with their parents. The elder son aids his father in the operation of the homestead, relieving him of much of the burden of the work, and is an experienced and capable agriculturist. He belongs to the Whatcom County Dairymen's Association, with which his father is likewise connected, and the son is also a member of the Poultry Raisers Association. All of the family are affiliated with the Lutheran church, and the subject of this sketch is an adherent of the democratic party. He take the interest of a good citizen in public affairs, while Mrs. Hillard's contribution to the general good covers a term of service on the school board. The family is highly respected in the community and theirs is one of the most hospitable homes in the township.

History of Whatcom County, Volume II, by Lottie Roeder Roth, 1926, p. 564.

AGNES (ARBUCKLE) CRABTREE HINCKLEY

In the settlement of Whatcom county the women bore their full share of hardship and suffering, helping the men in the arduous work of the newly-created homes, cheering them when discouraged, sharing their dangers, mitigating their sufferings and rejoicing in their success, so that the record of the early history of this should consistently contain mention of the part women have played in the development and improvement of the community. Among the honored and respected women of Lynden township none occupies a higher place in the esteem of the people than does Mrs. Agnes Hinckley, who is managing her splendid farm in a businesslike manner and is meeting with well deserved success. She was born in Ontario, Canada, and is a daughter of Robert and Jane (McNivers) Arbuckle, both of whom were natives of Scotland, where they were reared and married, and who became the parents of twelve children, six sons and six daughters. They immigrated to America, locating in Canada during the late '50s.

Agnes Arbuckle received her education in the public schools of her home neighborhood and in girlhood went to Minnesota, where she spent the winter of 1888-89. There she was married to Charles H. Crabtree, who was a native of Illinois, and they came to Whatcom county, locating in Lynden township, where Mr. Crabtree bought eighty acres of land. Their tract was located in a veritable wilderness, to which only a trail was opened, so that everything had to be carried in - even the lumber for the house which they built. The land was badly encumbered with logs stumps and brush, shingle bolts only having been taken from the place. A vast amount of hard work was required to get the g round ready for cultivation, but at the time of Mr. Crabtree's death, in 1893, he had made a very excellent showing and the farm was on a productive basis. To their union were born five children, namely: Herbert, who lives near Sumas, this county; George, who lives in Idaho; Ethel, who is the wife of Lee A. Williamson, of Lynden, and the mother of three children; Walter, of Roy, Washington, who is married and has two children; and Edgar, who remains at home with his mother. In 1902 Mrs. Crabtree became the wife of A. H. Hinckley, who was a native of Michigan and a son of Asa and Caroline Hinckley. Mr. Hinckley came to Whatcom county in the '90s, and he was the owner of forty acres of land.

The years intervening between the death of Mr. Crabtree and her marriage to Mr. Hinckley were strenuous ones for Mrs. Hinckley, as there was yet a large amount of work to be done in the way of clearing the land and making other improvements on the farm. In this task, however, she was ably assisted by her sons, who loyally gave her their best efforts, so that between ten and fifteen acres of the land were cleared and put under the plow. She also traded ten acres of her uncleared land in return for labor in clearing. Mr. Hinckley died in 1912, since which time Mrs. Hinckley has continued the operation of the farm. To her second union was born a daughter, Audrey Mary, who died in 1920, while a student in high school. Mrs. Hinckley is now the owner of seventy acres of good land, between forty and fifty acres of which are cleared, the remainder being devoted to pasturage. She gives her attention mainly to dairy farming, for which purpose she keeps sixteen good grade milk cows and a registered Jersey sire. Her fertile fields produce hay and grain in abundance for the stock, while a good vegetable garden keeps the table supplied in season.

Mr. Crabtree was a member of the board of directors of the Northwood school district and assisted in the building of the schoolhouse, donating material and labor. When he and his wife first settled in Lynden township, Sunday school and church services were held in their home until the erection of the schoolhouse, where the services were held for many years. Mr. Hinckley also was deeply interested in educational affairs, and he was for nine years a member of the school board, serving in that capacity at the time of his death. Edgar Crabtree is a member of the Whatcom County Dairymen's Association and the Whatcom County Poultry Association. Mrs. Hinckley is an active member of the Baptist church, as was Mr. Crabtree. A woman of fine personal qualities, tactful and gracious in manner, she is a popular member of the circles in which she moves, being greatly admired for her useful and worthy life.

History of Whatcom County, Volume II, by Lottie Roeder Roth, 1926, pps. 60-61.

ORVILLE R. HOLLINGSWORTH

O. R. Hollingsworth, mortician, is successfully following in the footsteps of his father as relates to business, and although his residence in Bellingham covers less that four years he has already won a position of leadership in his chosen field of endeavor. He was born November 10, 1887, in Quinter, Gove county, Kansas, and is a son of W. W. and Mary Jane (Moon) Hollingsworth. His father opened undertaking parlors in Newberg, Oregon, in 1895 and is still a resident of that place.

O. R. Hollingsworth supplemented his public school education by attendance at the Pacific College in Oregon and was graduated with the class of 1908. In 1910 he became associated with his father in the undertaking business, and at the end of two years he decided to start out for himself, locating in Toledo, Oregon. He spent four years in that place and on the expiration of that period transferred his business to The Dalles, Oregon, where he lived until 1918. Coming to Washington, he was engaged in business at Seattle for two years and then moved to Port Angeles, where he lived for two and a half years. He arrived in Bellingham on the 1st of August, 1922, and purchased the Bingham undertaking business, which he has since conducted. It was started in 1887 and is one of the oldest in the city. The business is located at No. 120 Prospect street and occupies two floors of a brick building forty by one hundred and twenty feet in extent. The chapel contains seats for one hundred and fifty persons. Mr. Hollingsworth operates three sedans and one limousine type of hearse, and his equipment is unexcelled by any undertaker north of Seattle. He has a natural aptitude for the work and patrons of his establishment are provided with a high grade of service. His prices are moderate and the business has increased rapidly under his expert direction.

Mr. Hollingsworth is a prominent figure in fraternal affairs. He is president of the local aerie of Eagles, is a Scottish Rite Mason and has taken the fourteenth degree in the order, and is also connected with the Knights of Pythias, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Woodmen of the World, as well as the Lions and Country Clubs of Bellingham. In his political views he is a republican. He has made many friends since coming to the city and lends the weight of his support to all projects destined to prove of benefit to the community.

History of Whatcom County, Volume II, by Lottie Roeder Roth, 1926, p. 124.

FRED M. JACOBS

One of the honored old families of Lynden township, Whatcom county, is that of which the subject of this sketch is a worthy representative. They have been identified with this locality for over forty years and have not only attained a due measure of prosperity but have also measured up to the highest standard of good citizenship, contributing of their efforts to the welfare and progress of the community. F. M Jacobs was born at Yates Center, Kansas, in 1877, and is a son of J. H. and Marie (Ehlers) Jacobs. His father was born in Hanover, Germany, November 22, 1834, and died in February, 1913; while the mother was born in Aldenburg, Germany, August 14, 1842, and died in February, 1917. These parents came to the United States in 1869, stopping in New York city, where they remained about eight years, and in 1876 moved to southeastern Kansas, where the father was engaged in farming until July, 1884, when he came to Whatcom county, locating in Nooksack township.

The following year Mr. Jacobs homesteaded land in Lynden township and applied himself to the clearing of the tract, which was heavily timbered. There were at that time no roads leading to this locality and the nearest trail was two miles distant, so he went to work and made a road into his land. When they first came to the place, everything, even the cook stove, had to be brought in by hand. Wild animals, such as bears, deer, cougars, beavers and other wild game, were plentiful in the surrounding woods, but they soon disappeared before the onward march of the settlers who came into this locality. In addition to the clearing of the timber from the land, a good deal of ditch draining had to be done. A small log cabin was the first home, but it was later replaced by a comfortable and commodious frame house. In those days Mr. Jacobs had to go to Nooksack Crossing for provisions and supplies. About thirty acres of the land have been cleared and are in an excellent state of cultivation. To Mr. and Mrs. J. H. Jacobs were born eight children: Johannah, who was a teacher, died October 25, 1890. Mammie (Mary) Henrietta, who has never married, keeps house for the subject. Pauline is the wife of H. C. Kamp, of Bellingham, and they have a daughter. Mrs. Annie Doverspetre resides in Raymond, Washington. Julia, a twin sister of Annie, died December 9, 1898; F. M. is the immediate subject of this sketch. Celia is the wife of H. E. Huling, of Buckley, and they have two children. Paul died in Alaska, August 25, 1907.

F. M. Jacobs received his education in the Clearbrook and Northwood schools, which he attended three months each winter. He has spent practically all his life on the home farm here, which he is now operating. He is devoting his main attention to dairy farming, keeping sixteen good grade Shorthorn milk cows and a registered sire. He also keeps a number of registered Poland China hogs, and in the summer time he runs cattle on his place for other people. He ships his milk to the Carnation milk plant at Everson, and he has been very successful in the operation of the ranch. Mr. Jacobs is progressive in his ideas, keeps the farm well improved and shows good business ability in all his transactions. He takes commendable interest in the welfare of the community, which he endeavors to promote in every possible way, and has long been numbered among the representative men of his locality. Accommodating to his neighbors, friendly in all his social relations and generous in his attitude toward all benevolent objects, he has won and retains a deservedly high place in the confidence and good will of the entire community.

History of Whatcom County, Volume II, by Lottie Roeder Roth, 1926, pps. 289-290.

FERONIA Y. JOHNSON

Miss Feronia Y. Johnson, principal of the Larrabee school has for more than thirty years been connected with the schools of Bellingham and has thus been a witness to and a participant in the educational development from what properly may be regarded as the pioneer period of the schools, for when she began her long and faithful service here the local school system was just beginning to be adjusted along the lines which since have brought about such an amazing development in their capacity and fitness. Miss Johnson's first teaching service here was in the school then being carried on in the old White building on Dupont street in 1890. In 1895 she was made principal of the Washington school and in that capacity continued to serve until 1924, when she was made principal of the Larrabee school, in which position she remains, one of the real veterans of school service in this section of the state. She is a member of the Congressional church and of the Business and Professional Women's Club of Bellingham and is likewise affiliated with the Order of the Eastern Star, the Daughters of Rebekah and the Women of Woodcraft, for many years one of the forceful and effective personal factors in the general social and cultural activities of the city which has been her home since the days of her young womanhood and to whose interests she is so earnestly devoted.

Miss Johnson is a native daughter of the Hawkeye state, born in the village of Gilman, Marshall county, in central Iowa, and is the third in order of birth of the seven daughters of Ira T. Y. and Maria (Rogers) Johnson, the former of whom was a Vermonter and the latter a native of the state of New York, daughter of James and Eliza Van Nesse Adams Rogers, the latter a connection of the old Van Nesse family of New York and the Adams family of Massachusetts. The former, a civil engineer, was a native of Ireland, born in the city of Dublin and a graduate of Dublin University, and the latter a member of one of the old colonial families of the Empire state. Ira T. Y. Johnson was a member of one of the old colonial families of Virginia, a great-grandson of that Isaac Johnson who was a prominent factor in the Old Dominion in colonial days, was reared in Vermont and was for some time a cotton factor in Alabama. He then went into the mid-northwest country and in Wisconsin was united in marriage to Maria Rogers, whose parents had become residents of that state. After his marriage he became a merchant in Gilman, Iowa, and some years later a homesteader in Keyapaha county, Nebraska, where he made his home until his retirement in 1889, the year in which Washington was admitted to the Union, when he came to this state with his family, his wife and the seven daughters, and here he spent the remainder of his days, his death occurring in April, 1903. His widow survived him for seventeen years, her death occurring in 1919. Of the seven daughters, all are living save two. The father and all of the sisters of Ira Johnson were teachers, likewise, the sisters and brothers of her mother.

History of Whatcom County, Volume II, by Lottie Roeder Roth, 1926, p. 302.

CARL JONASSON

Carl Jonasson, well known dairy farmer of Nooksack township, is one whose well directed efforts have gained for him a position of desired prominence in the various circle in which he moves, and his energy and enterprise have been crowned with success. Having ever had the interests of his community at heart and having sought to promote them in every way possible, he has earned a place along with his enterprising fellow citizens in the permanent history of Whatcom county. Mr. Jonasson was born in Sweden on the 3d of March, 1853, and is a son of Jonas and Sophia Anderson, both of whom were lifelong residents of that county, where they passed away. The father followed farming and was a man of prominence in his community. He was born in 1813 and died in 1897, while his wife, who was born in 1816, died in 1894. They were the parents of seven children, namely: Axel, Steena Marie, John Magnus, Carl, Ida, Hilma, and Alfred, who died in Wisconsin.

Carl Jonasson received his education in the public schools of his native country, and he remained on the home farm until he was eighteen years of age, when he learned the trade of a stone mason, and was employed at railroad building. In 1880 he came to the United States, locating in Minnesota, where he was employed at farm work for two years, and then entered the employ of the Great Northern Railroad between St. Paul and Seattle. Later he went to Alaska and followed railroading there during one season. In 1893 he came to Washington, going to Seattle, and then bought a small ranch, which he cleared and planted to fruit trees and berries. He successfully operated that place for twelve years, at the end of which time he sold it and, coming to Nooksack, bought forty acres of timber land, three miles northeast of that place. He has this land cleared and nicely improved in every respect, including a comfortable and attractive home and substantial and commodious barns and other farm buildings, his place being one of the best kept farms in this locality. His main field crops are hay, grain and peas, the greater part of which he utilizes as stock feed, keeping twelve good grade cows and horses. During the years when he was engaged in railroad work, Mr. Jonasson also prospected for gold in Montana for several years.

On October 15, 1895, Mr. Jonasson was married to Miss Hulda Nelson, who was born in Sweden, a daughter of Andrew and Catherine Nelson, the former of whom was a farmer in his native land, where he and his wife spent their entire lives, both being now deceased. They were the parents of five children, namely: John, who remains in Sweden; Hulda, Mrs. Jonasson; Marie, deceased; Clara, who lives in Duluth, Minnesota, and Caroline, who also remains in Sweden. Mr. and Mrs. Jonasson are the parents of two children, Ragner and Ida Marie. Ragner, who was born in Seattle, October 5, 1896, now lives on and operates twenty acres of his father's ranch, where he has built a nice home, and he also operates the milk truck for the dairy association. He was married to Miss Ralta Annis, a native of Washington, and they are the parents of three children: Pearl, born July 28, 1916; Harvey, born May 12, 1921; and Esther, born February 23, 1923. Ida Marie, who is the wife of B. C. Johnson, of Portland, Oregon, is the mother of a daughter, Dorothy Jean, born May 31, 1923. Quiet and unassuming, Mr. Jonasson nevertheless possesses qualities of character which command the esteem and regard of those who know him, and he is recognized throughout the community as a man of enterprising and progressive spirit, who always supports all measures for the public welfare.

History of Whatcom County, Volume II, by Lottie Roeder Roth, 1926, pps. 169-170.

JESSE A. KALE

The history of Everson's growth is inseparably associated with the record of the Kale family, whose members have rendered signal service to this locality over a period of more than forty years. The present active representative, Jesse A. Kale, is one of the leading dairymen of this section of the county and his record is a credit to the honored name he bears. He was born January 7, 1873, and is a native of Guthrie Center, Iowa. His parents were Corydon Stewart and Charlotte Elizabeth (McNeil) Kale, the former a native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and the latter of the state of Massachusetts. They migrated to Iowa in an early day and the father became engaged in teaching school, also following the occupations of blacksmithing and farming. In 1882 he came to Whatcom county and preempted government land, becoming the owner of a tract on which the town of South Everson is now situated. There were very few settlers in this district, in which a wagon road had been opened, and he was confronted with the arduous task of clearing the land and preparing it for the sowing of seed and the growing of crops. He eventually transformed the place into a productive farm and with the progressive spirit of the true pioneer sought other lines of endeavor for the outlet of his energies. He embarked in the logging industry and operated the first grist mill in this locality, as well as one of the first shingle mills. He aided in starting the cannery and later established the C. S. Kale Cannery Company. A man of exceptionally keen discernment, he seemed to know intuitively when the time was ripe for the institution of a new project, and no undertaking with which he was associated ever failed to reach a successful termination. He was a stanch adherent of the republican party and acted as county commissioner, making a fine record in the office. Directing his labors into constructive channels, he wrought effectively for the good of the community and his memory is revered by all with whom he was associated.

Jesse A. Kale attended the public schools of Iowa and Washington and also completed a course in the Wilson Business College. He assisted his father in his industrial operations and at the age of twenty-seven years started out for himself, becoming a mill engineer. In 1904 he went to Alaska and for five years was connected with mining activities in that country. On the expiration of that period he returned to Everson, and after the death of his parents he purchased the home ranch, on which he has since resided. He owns a seventy acre tract, on which he has established a fine dairy, keeping a herd of pure bred Jersey and Guernsey cattle. He has installed modern equipment and his methods are practical and scientific. The buildings on the farm are large and substantial and everything about the place bears evidence of thorough, painstaking supervision.

In 1900 Mr. Kale married Miss Edith N. Wheelis, a daughter of the Rev. Isam Wheelis, one of the early Presbyterian ministers of Washington, and they have a family of seven children: Ailene, a resident of Spokane, Washington; Helen, the wife of Walter Ferchen, of Aberdeen, Washington; and Frances, Beth, Jean, Allan and Harry, all of whom are at home. Mrs. Kale is affiliated with the Presbyterian church and faithfully observes its teachings. Along fraternal lines Mr. Kale is identified with the Modern Woodmen of America, and in politics he preserves an independent attitude, regarding the qualifications of a candidate as a matter of first importance. He has witnessed notable changes as pioneer conditions have been replaced by the advantages of modern civilization, rejoicing in what has been accomplished, and his many friends in Everson speak of him in terms of high regard.

History of Whatcom County, Volume II, by Lottie Roeder Roth, 1926, pps. 123-124.

FRANK X. KAUFMAN

The late Frank X. Kaufman, who was killed in an automobile accident in November, 1923, and whose widow is still living on her well kept place on rural mail route No. 2 out of Ferndale, was a resident of this state for almost forty years and of Whatcom county for more than twenty years, and there were few men in the country who had a wider or a better acquaintance than he.

Mr. Kaufman was a native of the old Keystone state and was reared in Minnesota. He was born in Manayunk, Pennsylvania, in 1850, and was a son of Charles and Lena (Stimmler) Kaufman, both also natives of that state, who, when their son Frank was but a boy, moved with their family to Minnesota and became pioneers in Carver county, that state. It was thus that Frank Kaufman grew up on a pioneer farm not far southwest of the cities of St. Paul and Minneapolis. As a young man he made his way down the river and became located at St. Louis, where he presently was married, and for some time made his home there, later going back to Minnesota and becoming engaged in farming in Carver county. After seven years of farming there he moved west into Swift county in the Minnesota Valley country and was there engaged in farming until 1885, when he came out to the coast country and became engaged in railroad construction work in Oregon and Washington. In 1890 he brought his family here and located at Aberdeen, where he was engaged in the liquor business for something more than ten years, or until 1901, when he came to Whatcom county and became engaged in that business in Bellingham, at the same time buying the old McGinnis farm and employing men to clear and develop it. In 1913 he bought a tract of ten acres in Pleasant valley, the present home, and to this added by later purchase until he had fifty-three acres, a part of which afterward was sold, so that the home farm now consists of thirty acres. For two years Mr. Kaufman remained in business in Bellingham, and he then devoted his attention to his farming interests and also developed a good dairy business. He was actively employed along this line until he met his tragic death in a highway accident in the vicinity of Custer, November 15, 1923, he then being seventy-three years of age.

It was on June 24, 1870, in the city of St. Louis, that Mr. Kaufman was united in marriage to Miss Barbara Hammers, and to this union were born eight children, namely: Jacob, who died in childhood; Frank, now living in North Dakota; Mary, who married Harvey Phillips and is making her home with her mother; Kate, who died at the age of twenty-one years; Emma, who married P. J. Stedman and died in 1918; John, now living in California; Peter, who died in infancy; and Joseph J. Kaufman, who lives in Seattle and is engaged in the furniture business. Mrs. Mary Phillips, who resides with her mother on the old home place, has five children, namely: Barbara V., the wife of E. L. Laden; Franklin, who married Nellie Duif and has two children; Alton, a graduate of high school at Aberdeen; and Orvis and Lionel, who are in school.

Since the death of her husband Mrs. Kaufman has continued to make her home on the farm where she has resided for so many years and where she is quite comfortably situated. She is a native of Holland and was but a child when about 1857 she came with her parents, Jacob and Katherine (Wetzels) Hammers, to this country, the family locating in Minnesota, where she was reared. Mrs. Kaufman has fourteen grandchildren and five great-grandchildren, in whom she takes much pride and delight.

History of Whatcom County, Volume II, by Lottie Roeder Roth, 1926, pps. 302-305.

EDWARD McALPINE

Edward McAlpine, who came to Washington territory in the early '70s and who for a number of years prior to his death devoted his attention to general agricultural pursuits in the vicinity of Bellingham, was in the fifty-fifth year of his age when called to his final rest on the 1st of January, 1891. His birth occurred in the year 1836, in Ontario, Canada, of which country his parents were also natives.

As previously state, Mr. McAlpine made his way to Washington territory in the early '70s and first settled near Mount Vernon, in Skagit county, where he engaged in farming until 1883. In that year he took up his abode in the vicinity of Bellingham, where he continued to reside throughout the remainder of his life, concentrating his efforts upon the cultivation of a farm which he owned on the present site of the cement plant. Mr. McAlpine made a commendable record in the office of county commissioner, which he filled in the early days. Fraternally he was affiliated with the Masonic order, while his religious faith was that of the Presbyterian church, which his wife and children also joined. His life was an upright and honorable one in every relation and his memory is cherished in the hearts of those who were near and dear to him. In his death the community sustained the loss of one of its substantial agriculturists and representative and highly respected citizens.

In 1877 Mr. McAlpine was united in marriage to Jane Ewing, a native of Glasgow, Scotland. She was about ten years of age when in 1854 she crossed the Atlantic to the United States in company with her parents, who established their home in Illinois. On the 9th of May, 1871, she arrived at Bellingham, Washington, with her brother and his family, who eventually returned east, after which Jane Ewing resided with her uncle until the time of her marriage. Her uncle, John Bennet, had come to Whatcom county, Washington, in 1858 and located near the cement plant above referred to. Following the death of her husband, Mrs. Jane (Ewing) McAlpine continued her residence on the McAlpine farm until disposing thereof to the cement company in 1911. Two years later she took up her abode at No. 2531 Eldridge avenue in Bellingham, where she remained until her death, which occurred on the 3d of January, 1925. By her marriage she became the mother of two daughters and a son, as follows: Belle, who was born in Skagit county, Washington; Edward, also a native of Skagit county, who is an agriculturist by occupation and has a family of three children; and Jean, who was likewise born in Skagit county, this state, and is the wife of Henry J. Siemons, one of the six brothers conducting the Siemons Lumber Company, extensive shingle manufacturers of Bellingham. All of the above named attended school at Bellingham, Miss Belle McAlpine being a pupil in the first little schoolhouse here. For the past eighteen years she has been employed as a fitter in the Bellingham dry goods establishment of Montague & McHugh, Incorporated.

History of Whatcom County, Volume II, by Lottie Roeder Roth, 1926, pps. 122-123.

ARCHIE McDANIEL

Descended from honored ancestry and himself numbered among the leading citizens of Whatcom county, A. McDaniel is entitled to specific recognition in a work of this character. A residence in this county of many years has but strengthened his hold on the hearts of the people with whom he has been associated and today no one here enjoys a larger circle of warm friends and acquaintances, who esteem him because of his sterling qualities of character and his business ability. Mr. McDaniel is a native of the state of Kansas, his birth occurring on the 11th of May, 1874, and he is a son of D. J. and Hester (Johnson) McDaniel, the former a native of Ohio and the latter of Indiana. They moved to Miami county, Kansas, in 1872, and the father homesteaded one hundred and sixty acres of land, but the grasshoppers were bad that year, entirely destroying his first crop, and he traded the place for a span of horses, with which they drove to Minnesota. There he bought a farm in Wright county, to the cultivation of which he gave his attention until 1886, when he moved to Fremont county, Iowa, where he bought a farm, and he operated that place practically up to the time of his death, which occurred about 1913, his wife passing away two years later. They were the parents of eleven children, six of whom are now living, namely: Lewis, A., Howard, Wilbert, Thomas and Evert.

A. McDaniel received a good public school education, completing his studies in the high school at Sydney, Iowa. In 1900 he bought a farm in Fremont county, Iowa, which he operated for four years, and then, in the fall of 1904, he came to Whatcom county, Washington. In the spring of the following year he bought a ranch near Weiser lake, in Ten Mile township, which he kept a few months and then sold, buying thirty-five acres of land at Weiser lake. The tract was partly cleared and he cleared more of it and then sold the place in 1910. He next moved to Lynden and established the Palace billiard room, which he ran for nine years. In August, 1917, he bought the Palace Hotel, including the building, and ran it for three years, selling it in 1920, and at the time he bought seventy-four acres of land on the Guide Meridian road. After farming that place for three years, he traded it for the Palace Hotel building, which he traded two months later for eighty acres of land in Delta township, five miles west of Lynden, taking possession in the summer of 1923. Thirty-five acres of this land are cleared, the remainder being in timber and pasture. The soil is good and he reaps good crops of hay and grain. He also gives considerable attention to dairying, keeping ten good Guernsey and Jersey cows. His farm is eligibly situated on the paved highway to Blaine and all of the improvements are substantial in character and well adapted to the purposes desired.

On February 16, 1895, Mr. McDaniel was married to Miss Rose Trewet, a native of Fremont county, Iowa, and a daughter of John W. and Dinah (Ballinger) Trewet, the former a native of North Carolina and the latter of Indiana. Mr. Trewet went to Iowa about 1868 and his marriage occurred there in November, 1869. He engaged in farming in Fremont county and spent the remaining years of his life there, dying August 20, 1922. His widow still resides on the farm there. They became the parents of ten children, namely: Thomas, Rose, Ellen, Edith, deceased, Earl, Raymond, Iva, and three who died in infancy. To Mr. and Mrs. McDaniel have been born six children, namely: Mrs. Ruby H. Davis, who lives on a ten-acre ranch adjoining her father's place and has three children - Sally Rose, Jean Hester and William Elliott; Mrs. Gretchen L. Bailey, who is the mother of a daughter, Patricia A.; and John L., Hugh H., Woodrow Lester, and Irva G., who died at the age of four years. Mr. McDaniel is a man of genial and kindly manner, very companionable and friendly, and easily makes friends. He has shown a public-spirited interest in everything pertaining to the prosperity of the community and gives his earnest support to every measure for the betterment of the public welfare, being numbered among the enterprising and progressive men of his section of the county.

History of Whatcom County, Volume II, by Lottie Roeder Roth, 1926, pps. 168-169.

CECIL A. MORSE

Among the pioneer mercantile houses of the northwest, none is better known that the Morse Hardware Company of Bellingham, Washington, which since the year 1884 has borne an unassailable recognition for fair and honorable dealing, and the steady progress decade after decade denotes the usefulness of the business and the quality of service rendered. Cecil A. Morse, the president and manager of the firm, was born April 12, 1883, in San Francisco, California, his parents being Robert I. and Etta (Fowler) Morse. His mother was a native of Manchester, New Hampshire, and his father was born in Sidney, Maine. The Morse family, which was of Scotch and English lineage, was originally founded in Newbury, Massachusetts, by one Anthony Morse, who sailed from London, England, with a brother, William, on the ship James, April 5, 1635. In the very early days the family migrated in ox teams from Massachusetts to Maine and became one of the earliest pioneer families of that state.

In March, 1884, Robert I. Morse, accompanied by his wife and son Cecil, came to Bellingham, leaving San Francisco on the steamship Queen, bringing with him a general stock of hardware, paints, oils, glass, wall paper, etc., valued at approximately three thousand dollars. He opened the first hardware store in what was then known as Sehome, under the firm name of R. I. Morse, and the concern is still transacting business at the original location. Mr. Morse prospered in the undertaking and in 1897 the business was incorporated with a capital stock of twenty-five thousand dollars. The present firm name, Morse Hardware Company, was then adopted with R. I. Morse as president and manager. He was actively engaged in the business until his demise in 1920, and his plans and theories, deeply conceived and deliberately matured, eventually crystallized into realties. He was a man of broad vision, unerring judgment and exceptional ability and kept the firm not only in line but also in the lead of its competitors, creating a business of extensive proportions.

Cecil A. Morse was but a year old when his parents came to Washington and his education was acquired in the grade and high schools of Bellingham. After completing his studies he entered his father's store and worked his way upward through all the various departments, mastering every detail of the business. Both Mr. Morse and his father early realized Bellingham's advantageous location as a distributing center and in order to familiarize himself with the needs and requirements of the outside territory, he put in a couple of years as traveling salesman for his firm. In 1910 he was elected vice president and assistant manager, a position he held until his father's death in 1920, when he succeeded to the offices of president and manager. He has inherited his father's initiative spirit and administrative power, and under his guidance the business is rapidly expanding. Actively associated with Mr. Morse in the business is his brother, Charles L. Morse, who is also and director and stockholder. In 1897 the firm entered the wholesale field, from which ninety-five per cent of its trade is now drawn, and the capital stock and surplus amount to over four hundred thousand dollars. The company utilizes over seventy thousand square feet of floor space, and its buildings are two and three-story structures of wood, brick and stone. The concern handles complete lines of shelf and heavy hardware, ship chandlery, mill, logging, fishing, cannery, dairy and poultry supplies. Its trade covers northwestern Washington and also extends to British Columbia and Alaska. At the present time the firm furnishes employment to over seventy people and is represented on the road by a number of experienced salesmen. This is a most progressive corporation, ever keeping pace with the constantly changing conditions of modern commerce, and through its notable success has demonstrated the possibilities of this section if utilized to their fullest extent.

In 1906 Mr. Morse was married to Miss Gladys Linse, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. W. E. Linse, of Bellingham, and the children of this union are two daughters, Catherine and Margaret. Mr. Morse is a vice president and one of the directors of the Bellingham Chamber of Commerce, a director of the Bellingham Savings and Loan Association and a director of the Federated Industries of Washington. He is a member of the Bellingham Golf and Country Club and a member and a past president of the Rotary Club. He is a Scottish Rite Mason and has taken the thirty-second degree in the order, and is also a member of Nile Temple A. A. O. N. M. S., of Seattle. He is identified with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and several other fraternal organizations. His political allegiance is given the republican party. His religious affiliations are with the Methodist church, of which he has been an active member and official for a great many years.

 Mr. Morse has always taken a keen interest in military affairs and in 1900 enlisted in Company M, First Infantry, Washington National Guard, serving with that organization until 1906. In 1917, when the United States entered the late war, Mr. Morse again offered his services and was commissioned and assigned to Company E, Third Infantry, Washington National Guard, and as captain commanded the company during the years 1918, 1919 and 1920. Since that time he has held a commission in the Washington National Guard Reserve with the rank of major. Mr. Morse is an earnest and effective worker for the good of the community and his record sustains the high reputation which has ever been borne by the members of this well known family.

History of Whatcom County, Volume II, by Lottie Roeder Roth, 1926, pps. 82-85.

HENRY B. POTTER

Henry B. Potter, one of the pioneer business men of Blaine, received no assistance at the outset of his career, and his success has been commensurate with his industry and ability. He was born October 12, 1852, in Nova Scotia, Canada, and his parents, Jeremiah and Sophia (Chute) Potter, were also natives of that province. He was reared on his father's farm and attended the public schools of that locality. He was employed along various lines and through the exercise of economy and self-denial accumulated sufficient capital for an independent venture, establishing a broom factory in St. Paul, Minnesota. He spent ten years between Wisconsin and Minnesota and in 1888 came to Washington, locating at Blaine. Soon afterward he embarked in the undertaking business, in which he has since continued, and his is one of the oldest and most reliable establishments of the kind in this section of the county. The equipment is thoroughly modern and the service adapted to every need. He is recognized as an expert mortician and draws his patronage from a wide area.

In 1892 Mr. Potter married Miss Mary Brown, of Kansas, and the children of this union are Mabel Idelle and Herbert B., residents of Seattle. Both were students at the State University of Washington, and the son also attended a normal school and a business college. During the World war he served for a year in France with the American Expeditionary Force and is now conducting an employment agency.

Mr. Potter belongs to the Blaine lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and has been a member of the organization since 1878. He is an adherent of the republican party and for six years served on the town council, doing much constructive work during that period. Throughout his life he has been a tireless worker and although he has reached the age of seventy-three years is still active in business affairs, retaining the priceless possession of physical and mental vigor. He has always dealt honorably with his fellowmen and has a wide circle of loyal friends, enjoying the esteem, confidence and good will of all with whom he has been associated.

History of Whatcom County, Volume II, by Lottie Roeder Roth, 1926, p. 283.

CONNER O. REED, M. D.

Well equipped for the exacting work of his profession, Dr. Conner O. Reed is making rapid progress toward the goal of success and has become firmly established in the regard of Bellingham's citizens as an able physician and surgeon. He was born in the state of Kentucky on the 31st of March, 1881, and is a son of Arthur J. and Cassandra (Conner) Reed, the latter also a native of the Blue Grass state. The father was born in New York and is one of the leading attorneys of Lexington, Kentucky, but the mother passed away in 1904.

Dr. Reed attended the public schools of his native state and the David Chenault preparatory school, also taking a course in the Kentucky State College. He was graduated from the Miami Medical College of Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1904 and in the same year began his professional career in Bellingham, Washington. In 1906 he moved to San Juan county, this state where he practiced until 1917, and then enlisted in the United States Medical Corps. He was assigned to duty with the Seventh Cavalry at Fort Russell, Wyoming, going from there to the presidio at San Francisco, and for a year was with the Eighth Division at Camp Fremont, California. He was commissioned a first lieutenant and rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel. Dr. Reed spent seventeen months in the service of his country and in January, 1918, received his honorable discharge. Returning to Whatcom county, he opened an office in Bellingham and now enjoys a large general practice.

On April 18, 1906, Dr. Reed married Miss Mary E. Shawler, a native of Kentucky and a daughter of Malachi Shawler. To this union have been born six children: Connor O., Jr., Caroline T., Arthur H., Virginia, Elizabeth and Charles. Dr. Reed is a republican in his political views and for two years was a member of the Bellingham board of education. He is surgeon of the local post of the American Legion, also a member of its executive committee, and is likewise executive officer of the Three Hundred and Twenty-first Medical Regiment, attached to the Ninety-sixth Division. Along fraternal lines he is connected with the Masonic order, the Elks, the Odd Fellows and the Knights of Pythias. An earnest student of his profession, he keeps in touch with its progress through wide reading and also through his affiliation with the Whatcom County and Washington State Medical Societies and the American Medical Association.

History of Whatcom County, Volume II, by Lottie Roeder Roth, 1926, pps. 393-394.

CHARLES F. RISTINE

Charles F. Ristine, street commissioner of Bellingham, has devoted many years to this branch of public service and is exceptionally well qualified for this important office. He was born in Iowa, February 12, 1864, a son of John F. and Susannah (Sowders) Ristine, who were natives of Pennsylvania. They were pioneer settlers of Clinton county, Iowa, and there Charles F. Ristine attended the public schools. He was reared on his father's farm and followed agricultural pursuits until he reached the age of twenty-one.

For a few years Mr. Ristine was engaged in railroad work in Iowa, and he then went to Colorado. In 1888 he came to Old Whatcom, Washington, and was connected with street work for some time, afterward securing a position in a mill. He subsequently purchased a shingle mill, which he operated for seven years, and in 1907 he entered the employ of the city of Bellingham as inspector of streets. He filled the position for ten years and on the expiration of that period was made road inspector for Whatcom county, acting in that capacity for eight years. In 1924 he received his present appointment from Mayor Kellogg, and he is giving to the city the services of an expert. He is devoted to the interests in his charge and his work is thoroughly appreciated.

Mr. Ristine gives his political allegiance to the republican party and is well informed on all matters of public moment. He has a wide acquaintance in the county, in which he has resided for nearly forty years, and public opinion bears testimony to his worth.

History of Whatcom County, Volume II, by Lottie Roeder Roth, 1926, pps. 88-89.

NICHOLAS J. RUST

Nicholas J. Rust, chief of police of Bellingham, has been connected with that department for twenty years, and merit has placed him in this office of trust and responsibility. He was born August 6, 1873, in Crawford county, Pennsylvania, a son of Philip and Ellen (Fulk) Rust, both of whom are deceased. He was reared on his father's farm and his education was received in the public schools of Pennsylvania. In 1897, when a young man of twenty-four, he came to Washington and for some time was employed in the mills of Whatcom county.

In 1906 Mr. Rust obtained a position on the police force of Bellingham, and his ability and devotion to duty were soon rewarded by promotion. He was steadily advanced as he demonstrated his value to the city, and on August 1, 1924, he was made chief of police, receiving the appointment from Mayor Kellogg. Although a strict disciplinarian, Mr. Rust is always just and considerate in his attitude toward subordinates and concentrates every effort upon the systematic arrangement of the work and duties of the men under his charge in order that the safety and privileges of all law-abiding citizens may be maintained. He is a capable executive, with a detailed knowledge of the work, and meets with pose and efficiency any emergency arising in connection with his important duties.

On June 2, 1901, in Bellingham, Mr. Rust was married to Miss Maude E. Humphries, a native of Indiana and a daughter of Samuel D. and Mary A. Humphries. The mother was born in Alsace-Lorraine and the father's birth occurred in Canada. He took up a homestead at Lake Samish, Washington, in pioneer days and served at one time on the board of commissioners of Whatcom county, but he now resides in Seattle. Mr. and Mrs. Rust have become the parents of two children. Mary Ellen, the elder, was graduated from the State Normal School and is the wife of W. J. Minert, of Bellingham. The son, Samuel Philip, served for three years in the United States Marine and is now at home.

Mr. Rust is a stanch republican and has never wavered in his allegiance to the party. He belongs to the Optimists Club and along fraternal lines is connected with the Knights of Pythias and the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. He is a man of honor, strong in his convictions, and his record is unsullied.

History of Whatcom County, Volume II, by Lottie Roeder Roth, 1926, pps. 90-91.

CHARLES SCHELIN

Among the men of earnest purpose and upright life who have gained a marked degree of material success and at the same time have contributed in a definite way to the progress and prosperity of their respective communities, the subject of this brief sketch is deserving of specific mention, for no man in his locality enjoys to a greater extent the sincere respect and esteem of his fellowmen. Charles Schelin was born in the state of Colorado in 1885 and is a son of C. E. and Otilda (Peterson) Schelin, both of whom were natives of Sweden. The father died many years ago in Colorado, and his widow, who afterward became the wife of a Mr. Linseth, is now living in Ladner, British Columbia. Our subject's family came to Seattle in an early day, remaining there but a month, when they went just across the border into British Columbia, but in 1888 they came to Whatcom county and located on what is now the De Graff place, our subject's step-father buying one hundred and sixty acres, on which much clearing was done.

Charles Schelin received his education at the North Prairie school and then started out on his own account, going to work in the woods. After his marriage, in 1910, he went to Vancouver, where he remained during the greater part of the ensuing four years, though traveling back and forth a number of times. In 1914 he came to his present place, which he operated also renting other land near by. This place was homesteaded by his father-in-law, August S. Klocke, about 1872, he being one of the very first settlers in Lynden. At that time this locality was veritably a wilderness, without roads, and even few trails, but he and his family cleared about two hundred acres of land here and made it their home for a number of years. Mr. Schelin how operates twenty acres of his own and rents twenty acres additional. He is giving his attention mainly to dairy farming, having twelve good milk cows and a registered Jersey sire. He raises practically all the necessary feed on his farm and has been very successful in his operations. He is energetic and up-to-date in his work and is numbered among the prosperous and influential farmers of his locality. The buildings on the farm are old but substantial construction, the barn having been built forty-seven years ago, while the house, which is fifty years old, is constructed of hand-sawed logs.

In 1910 Mr. Schelin was married to Miss Fredericka Klocke, who born in the house in which she now lives, a daughter of August S. and Freda (Weller) Klocke, the former of whom died in 1912. To Mr. and Mrs. Schelin has been born a daughter, Thelma, who is now in school. Mr. Schelin is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America and the Grange. He is a man of broad views and sound opinions and has shown himself the possessor of good business ability and discrimination in his affairs, while his actions have been so ordered as to earn for him the unbounded confidence and good will of his fellowmen throughout this section of the country.

History of Whatcom County, Volume II, by Lottie Roeder Roth, 1926, p. 307.

CHARLES W. SMITH

Specific mention is made of many of the worthy citizens of Whatcom county within the pages of this work - men who have figured in the growth and development of this favored locality and whose interests have been identified with its progress, each contributing in his sphere of action to the well being of the community in which he resides and to the advancement of its normal and legitimate growth. Among this number is he whose name appears at the head of this review - a man who because of his business success and his upright life has attained a high standing throughout his section of the county. C. W. Smith is a native of the state of Ohio, born on the 25th of November, 1864, and is a son of Seneca A. and Nancy E. (West) Smith, both of whom were natives of Ohio, the father having been born in Morrow county and the mother in Meigs county. The father was a farmer by vocation, following that occupation up to the time of his death, which occurred in 1912. His wife is still living, at the advanced age of eighty-six years. To them were born seven children, namely: Claremont, Florence, C. W., James S., Daisy A., Arthur A. and Imogene J. Of these, Arthur lives in Colorado and Imogene in California, the others, excepting the subject, remaining in Ohio.

C. W. Smith attended the public schools of his home neighborhood and remained at home until April 10, 1887, when he came to Whatcom county, Washington, locating near Ferndale. In the fall of that year he homesteaded one hundred and sixty acres of land in Dale (Delta?) township, six miles west of Lynden. The land was densely covered with stumps and brush, with not a sign of a road on or near it. He cleared off a half acre of the land, on which he built a house, which was destroyed by the great forest fire of 1894, which occurred while he was in the east. Owing to the hard time of 1893 he had returned to Ohio, where he remained about six years, at the end of which time he returned to his homestead and again entered upon the task of clearing the land. He now has about forty acres cleared and under cultivation, his principal crops being hay, grain and potatoes. He also has a splendid bearing apple orchard, from which he derives a nice income. He gives considerable attention to dairying, keeping twelve good grade Jersey milk cows and a registered Jersey bull. He is a thorough and practical farmer, does well whatever he undertakes and has gained a fine reputation among his fellow farmers for his progressive and enterprising methods.

Mr. Smith has been twice married, first, on August 6, 1890, to Miss Bertha Shell, who as a native of Minnesota, and to this union were born three children, namely: Charles Seneca, born January 2, 1892, who lives in Bellingham, is married and has two children, Jack C. and Nathalie; Mrs. Winona G. Roddell, born October 23, 1893, who is the mother of three children, Myrtle Irene, Lucile and Charles Richard; and Mrs. Ruth Josephine Krienke, born March 31, 1896, who has two sons, Charles E. and Oliver. On February 21, 1921, Mr. Smith was married to Mrs. Sarah Alice (Sowers) Overly, a native of Ohio and a daughter of Alex and Lydia Anne (Shidler) Sowers, both of whom were natives of Pennsylvania. Her father followed farming in Pennsylvania, but in 1856 he went to Ohio, where he went to work in a carding mill at Cardington, Morrow county. In 1861 he enlisted for service in the Civil war, serving until the close of that struggle and taking part in many of the most important battles and campaigns, without injury. He was the father of five children: Minnie M., Laura B., Sarah A., Lydia M. and Lola A., all of whom excepting Mrs. Smith, still live in the east. To Mr. and Mrs. Overly were born two children: Mrs. Laura B. Evans, who has two children, Richard F. and Nellie B.; and Harry D., who married and had seven children, of whom the only survivor is Harold. Laura B. Evans' first husband was killed in a railroad accident in 1910 and she later became the wife of C. Tanner Donaldson, and they have a daughter, Margaret. Mr. Overly died July 8, 1888.

Mr. Smith is a member of the Whatcom County Dairymen's Association and the Whatcom County Poultry Association. He has always taken a commendable interest in public affairs and rendered effective service as road overseer for two years. He is a strong advocate of good roads, believing that nothing contributes more definitely to the development and welfare of a community than improved highways. He is also in favor of government ownership of all public utilities, and, in connection with his political creed, it is worthy of note that he stands unique in never having voted for a successful presidential candidate. Fraternally he is a member of Custer Lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, being the only living charter member of that lodge; and belongs to the Grange. He has been a witness of and an active participant in the splendid development of this section of the country from a wilderness to its present advanced state of cultivation, and he recounts many interesting reminiscences of the early days here, recalling the fact that when he first settled on his homestead the woods about him were full of wild animals, such as cougars, bears, wild cats and deer. He is proud of his county and justifiably proud of the part he has played in the work of development here. A man of quiet and unassuming manner, he nevertheless possesses a forceful personality, which has made a definite impress on all with whom he has come in contact, and because of his upright life, his indomitable industry, his success and his genial and kindly manner, he has gained and retains a high place in the confidence and respect of his fellow citizens.

History of Whatcom County, Volume II, by Lottie Roeder Roth, 1926, pps. 171-172.

JOHN R. SPARR

With diligence and perseverance as his outstanding qualities, John R. Sparr has pressed slowly but steadily toward the goal fixed by his ambition, regarding each obstacle in his path as a spur to renewed effort, and he is now numbered among the leading shoe dealers of Bellingham. A son of John and Susan Sparr, he was born in 1865 and is a native of Williamsburg, Pennsylvania. The father died in 1865, leaving a widow and nine children, five sons and four daughters. In 1872 the mother brought her family to the west, taking up a homestead in Kansas, and with the assistance of her sons developed and improved the property. They started a store at Rolling Green, Kansas, and also conducted the village post office. Later John R. Sparr and his brothers engaged in merchandising at Millerton and Wellington, Kansas, and in 1897 the subject of this sketch opened a clothing store in the latter place, where he afterward embarked in the shoe business. He next established his home at Wichita, Kansas, and for five years was a traveling salesman, representing one of the well known shoe firms of Chicago. In 1913 he came to Bellingham and obtained work in a shoe store, acting as a clerk for several years. On February 1, 1923, he made an independent venture, opening a shoe store in the Mason building, and has been very successful in his undertaking. He handles the Stetson shoes for men and women and makes a specialty of foot fitting, to which he has devoted intensive study, being a recognized expert in this line. Long experience had made him thoroughly familiar with every detail of the shoe trade and the patrons of his establishment receive the benefit of his knowledge. He has found that satisfied customers constitute the best advertisement and renders to the public service of high quality.

On December 6, 1897, Mr. Sparr married Miss Valerie M. Hubbard, of Wichita, Kansas, and to this union has been born a daughter, Florine, who is the wife of Melville F. Oke and a resident of Vancouver, British Columbia. Mr. Sparr is an adherent of the republican party and his fraternal affiliations are with the Knights of Pythias and the Modern Woodmen of America. He enjoys his work, and his ability, enterprise and integrity have brought him to the fore in mercantile circles of the city of his adoption.

History of Whatcom County, Volume II, by Lottie Roeder Roth, 1926, p. 718.

FRANK E. STEARNS

Frank E. Stearns, a member of one of the old and prominent families of Bellingham, has established an enviable record as fire chief. Through the steps of an orderly progression he has risen to this important office, of which he has been the incumbent for eight years. He was born September 8, 1882, in Waupaca county, Wisconsin, and is a son of Edwin G. and Ida May (Tiffany) Stearns, representatives of pioneer families of that state. They established their home in Bellingham in November, 1901, and have since been highly esteemed residents of the city. The father was engaged in merchandising for many years, retiring in 1920, and he also operated a shingle mill. He likewise made investments in land and still buys and sells farm property and stores, displaying keen business sagacity in the management of his affairs, while his integrity has never been questioned.

Frank E. Stearns received his high school education in Wisconsin and afterward took a commercial and scientific course. For five years he was associated with his father in the grocery business in Bellingham, and he also aided in the conduct of the shingle mill. He was afterward employed along various lines and on September 1, 1908, became connected with the Bellingham fire department, with which he has since continued. He was first a pipeman and on May 13, 1910, was made captain of Hose Company No. 3. His work in that connection attracted much favorable notice and on January 7, 1918, he was selected for higher honors, receiving the appointment of chief from Mayor John Sells. Time has demonstrated the wisdom of the choice, for he has brought the department up to a high standard of efficiency, and his achievements have gained for him strong commendation. When Mr. Stearns entered this branch of municipal service it was composed of about fifteen men, and horses were still in use. Now thirty-seven men are employed in the department and the equipment includes two triple combination pumping rigs, one city service truck, two combination chemical and hose wagons, one hose wagon and one reserve steamer. This affords ample protection to city property, and every precaution has been taken to guard against losses by fire.

On April 26, 1904, Mr. Stearns was united in marriage to Miss Maude B. Mowry, of Waupaca, Wisconsin, and they have five children: George, Francis, Leon, Richard and Beatrice. Mr. Stearns is an adherent of the republican party and his fraternal relations are with the Knights of Pythias and the Knights of the Maccabees. He was the first president of the Washington State Fireman's Association and has been state vice president for Washington of the Pacific Coast Association of Fire Chiefs. He has filled a similar office in the International Association of Fire Engineers and is also a member of the National Fire Protection Association. He is actuated by high ideals of service and his work has been of great value to the city.

History of Whatcom County, Volume II, by Lottie Roeder Roth, 1926, p. 90.

MARCUS J. and RODERICK O. STEELE

This biographical memoir deals with a character of unusual force, for M. J. Steele, whose life chapter has been closed by the fate that awaits all mankind, was for a long period of years one of the prominent farmers and influential citizens of Whatcom county. While he carried on his special vocation in such a manner as to gain a comfortable competence for himself, he also belonged to that class of representative men of affairs who promote the public welfare while advancing individual success. There were in his sterling traits which commanded uniform confidence and regard, and his memory is today honored by all who knew him and is enshrined in the hearts of his many friends.

Mr. Steele was born in Iowa, a son of Nelson and Abiah Steele. He received his education in the public schools of that state and remained at home until his marriage, when he engaged in farming on his own account, in which he met with gratifying success. In 1882 he came to Lake Whatcom, Whatcom county, and homesteaded one hundred and sixty acres of land, located on the old Telegraph road, one and a half miles south of Sumas. The tract was densely covered with cedar timber and brush and he at once set himself to the task of clearing the land and getting it into cultivation. He built a substantial log house, which is still standing, and later built a barn. He devoted himself indefatigably to the improvement and development of this farm and in the course of time had the satisfaction of reaping the fruits of his years of toil. He continued to reside there until his death, which occurred in November, 1904 (1899?). He was a man of ripe judgment, sound discrimination and untiring energy, and his record was a most commendable one, earning for him the unbounded esteem and admiration of his fellow citizens.

On November 5, 1870, Mr. Steele wa married to Miss Hattie Belton, who was born in England, coming to the United States in 1854, and who survives her husband. To this worthy couple were born four children, as follows: Mrs. Cora Paxton; Eugene, who lives in Oregon; Roderick O., who lives on a part of the old homestead; and Ralsa N., who also has a part of the home farm.

Roderick O. Steele

Roderick O. Steele was born on the homestead, March 28, 1885, and received his education in the public schools in Sumas. He was reared to the life of a farmer, which honorable vocation he has followed continuously to the present time, with eminent success, being the owner of a part of the farm which his father created out of the wilderness. He is an energetic and up-to-date farmer, keeping his place well improved, and the prosperity which is crowning his labors is well merited. He has always taken a commendable interest in everything pertaining to the well being of the community, supporting all measures for the advancement of the public welfare.

On March 30, 1921, Roderick O. Steele was married to Miss Gladys Fowler, who was born in Valentine, Nebraska, a daughter of Arthur T. and Carrie (Christensen) Fowler, the former of whom was a native of Illinois. The mother was born in Denmark, whence she came to the United States in 1880 with her parents, being at the time nine years of age. They settled at Albert Lea, Minnesota, where they lived a short time, and then went to Iowa, where her father took up a homestead. After living there for some years he took his family to Nebraska and there spent his remaining years, dying in 1895. In 1900 the family came to Washington, locating in Skagit county, where they lived for six years, and then moved to Sumas, Whatcom county, where they now reside. In 1901, in Skagit county, Mrs. Fowler became the wife of Frank R. Baker, who was born at Rolfe, Iowa. To Mr. and Mrs. Fowler were born three children: Clifford, deceased; Gladys (Mrs. Steele); and Mattie, deceased, while by her union with Mr. Baker she is the mother of three children: Alfred, who is now teaching school, Mrs. Inez Lambert and James.

History of Whatcom County, Volume II, by Lottie Roeder Roth, 1926, pps. 170-171.

HENRY THIEL

Henry Thiel, of the mercantile firm of Theil & Welter, dealers in furniture at Bellingham, is one of the veteran business men of that city, where he has resided for more than thirty-five years. He was born in the city of Minneapolis, December 21, 1870, and is a son of Fred and Wilhelmina Thiel, the latter of whom is still living, making her home with her son in Bellingham. Her husband died in 1910.

In 1886, when he was sixteen years of age, Henry Thiel left Minneapolis and came to the coast. After spending some time in California and in Oregon he came to Washington in 1890 and cast in his lot with the people here in the Bay settlements. In association with Larry Ryan, he embarked in the manufacture of mattresses, doing business as the Bellingham Bay Bedding Company, with a plant on the Fairhaven side. Three years later he disposed of his interest in that concern and opened a general furniture repair shop, and in the spring of the next year (1894) the business was enlarged to include a general stock of furniture, James Welter at that time becoming his partner. They opened a furniture store on Holly street and conducted the business under their present firm style of Thiel & Welter, which is one of the oldest continuing trade names in the town, having been maintained intact for more than thirty years. In 1900, in order to accommodate the growing demands of the business, Thiel & Welter moved to a more commodious store on Elk street and remained there for five years of until 1905, when continuing expansion of the business required another move, and they then occupied their present place of business at No. 1312 Commercial street. The firm occupies three floors of this building, with a frontage of one hundred and twenty-five feet, and has a completely stocked and admirably appointed establishment, prepared to take care of any demands made in their line in the fine trade area centering in Bellingham.

Mr. Thiel is an active and influential member of the Bellingham Chamber of Commerce and is a charter member of the Rotary Club. In his political views he is aligned with the republicans. As one of the veteran merchants of Bellingham, he has ever taken an interested and helpful part in the promotion of all movements dealing with the general progress of the community, and he is recognized as one of the leaders in the commercial life of this region.

History of Whatcom County, Volume II, by Lottie Roeder Roth, 1926, p. 89.

ALFRED U. THOMPSON

Alfred U. Thompson, postmaster at Everson and one of the best known men in Whatcom county, is a Canadian by birth but has been a resident here since his childhood, with the exception of some years spent in the postal service in Portland. He was but a lad when he came with his parents to this country in 1891, the family settling in the immediate vicinity of the site where in the next year the village of Everson sprang into being, and he thus has been a witness of the development of that now flourishing trade center from the very beginning. Mr. Thompson was born at Pilot Mound in the province of Manitoba, November 19, 1882, and is a son of Robert and Ellen (Simpson) Thompson, both also native Canadians, born in Ontario, and who settled in Manitoba in 1880. The latter is still living, being a resident of Everson, where she has had her home for some thirty-five years.

The late Robert Thompson was one of the pioneers of the Everson settlement, and he died at his home there in 1915. He had purchased a tract of forty acres of land within half a mile of where the Everson town site was laid out the year following his arrival here in 1891, and he also had an acre within the present limits of the town. When the village was established he embarked in the retail meat business there, being the proprietor of the first meat shop in the town, but after a while he sold the shop and was thereafter engaged in farming for a time. Subsequently he retired from the farm and was then employed as a rural mail carrier, for ten years being in charge of rural mail route No. 11 out of Everson. He is survived by his widow and five children, those besides the subject of this sketch being Miss Euphemia Thompson, now a resident of Seattle; Miss Mabel Thompson, who continues to make her home with her mother in Everson; Norman Thompson of Everson, and John S. Thompson, a farmer of this county, concerning whom further mention is made elsewhere in this work.

 Reared on the home place near Everson, Alfred U. Thompson received his initial education in the schools of that village and supplemented this by attendance at the Wilson Business College in Bellingham and a business college in Seattle, from both of which institutions he was graduated. In 1904 he entered the railway mail service and was thus engaged for seven years, at the end of which time he was transferred to the Portland office. There he remained for seven years or until 1918, when he returned to Everson and was engaged in farming until his appointment in 1921 to the position of postmaster of his old home town, in which capacity he has since been serving. Mr. Thompson's long prior connection with the postal service, both as railway mail clerk and in the Portland post office, has endowed him with unusual fitness for the office he now occupies, and he has come to be recognized as one of the most competent and efficient postmasters in this district.

On September 9, 1911, at Bellingham, Mr. Thompson was united in marriage to Miss Bertha Ferguson of that city. She died July 1, 1922, leaving three daughters, Lois, Helen and Frances. Mr. Thompson is a republican and has long been recognized as one of the leaders of that party in Whatcom county. He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and is also affiliated with the Woodmen of the World.

History of Whatcom County, Volume II, by Lottie Roeder Roth, 1926, pps. 61-62.

HERMAN WAHLSTRAND

The United States can boast of no better or more law-abiding class of citizens than the great number of Scandinavians who have found homes within her borders. They have fitted well into our national life, have been loyal to our institutions and have risen to places of prominence in many lines of activity. Among the favorably known citizens of Ten Mile township, Whatcom county, is Herman Wahlstrand, a native of Sweden, who is now practically retired from active affairs and is spending the golden sunset years of his life on his well improved and attractive farm, where he is able to enjoy the fruits of his former years of toil.

Mr. Wahlstrand was born in 1858 and is a son of Frederick A. and Charlotte (Wass) Wahlstrand, both of whom were also natives of Sweden, where the father followed the trade of a carpenter. Our subject secured his education in his native land, and because of the loss of a finger he was relieved from customary military service. He began to learn the trade of a tailor at the age of twelve years, and he followed that line of work until 1881, when he immigrated to the United States. He located in Chicago and was there employed at his trade for about two and a half years. In 1883 he sent for his parents, and on coming to this country they located in Nebraska, where they remained about seven years and where the mother died, the father's death occurring later in Minnesota.

On leaving Chicago, Herman Wahlstrand located in Grand Island, Nebraska, where he was employed as a tailor for seven years, and in 1891 he came to Bellingham, where he went to work for Mr. Wickman, a tailor, with whom he remained for fifteen years, following which he was for a number of years in the employ of Mr. Strandberg. In 1910 Mr. Wahlstrand bought the fifteen acre tract of land on which he now lives in Ten Mile township, and he has here created a very comfortable and attractive farm. When he came here the land had been logged but was covered with stumps and brush. He now has about half of the tract cleared and has a good set of buildings, while the fertile soil produces sufficient feed for the cows and chickens which he keeps. He also has a good bearing orchard, which adds to the value and usefulness of the ranch.

In 1882 Mr. Wahlstrand was married to Miss Anna Strom, who was born in Sweden, a daughter of Andrew and Carrie (Wass) Strom, the former of whom was a farmer and was also engaged in railroad work. Both are now deceased, the mother having died when their daughter was about one year old and the father when she was nine years old. Mr. Wahlstrand and his wife were betrothed in their native land and she afterward came to this country to be married. They are the parents of two children: Anna, who is a graduate of the State Normal School at Bellingham, taught school for a number of years and then became the wife of C. G. Tegenfeldt, of Bellingham, and they have two children, Marie Elizabeth and Herman. Emma, who is a graduate of the State Normal School at Bellingham and the State Agricultural College at Pullman, is now teaching in the Meridian high school. Mr. Wahlstrand is a man of kindly manner, friendly and hospital in his social relations, and he has long enjoyed the respect and esteem of the entire community because of his upright life and splendid personal qualities.

History of Whatcom County, Volume II, by Lottie Roeder Roth, 1926, pps. 254-257.

JOHN WARREN

John Warren, an active representative of the lumber industry for a number of years, departed this life at Bellingham on the 27th of January, 1913, at the age of sixty-one. He was born in 1852, in Somersetshire, England, of which country his father and mother were also natives.

Mr. Warren was but two years of age when he was brought to America by his parents, who settled in Canada, where he remained until he had attained his majority. He then crossed the border into the United States and took up a homestead of one hundred and sixty acres in Huron county, Michigan, clearing and improving the property and devoting his attention to its cultivation for a period of twenty years. After disposing of this place he acquired another farm and carried on agricultural pursuits for ten years longer. Dissatisfied with farming conditions there, he then traveled across the country to the Pacific coast and after a two years' residence here was so strongly impressed with the superior advantages of this section that he returned to Michigan, sold his holdings in that state and brought his family to Whatcom county, Washington, where he spent the remainder of his life, being employed by various limber firms until he embarked in the logging business on his own account. He purchased an attractive home on I street in Bellingham, and he was widely recognized as one of the substantial and highly esteemed resident of the city.

On the 20th of December, 1876, Mr. Warren was united in marriage to Mary Nugent, a native of Canada and a daughter of Richard and Sarah Nugent, the former born in Ireland and the latter in Canada. At the age of three years Mary Nugent was taken to Michigan by her parents, and she was a resident of that state at the time of her marriage. She became the mother of eight children, as follows: One who is deceased; Tryphena, a teacher in the Whatcom high school of Bellingham; Mrs. Sarah M. Johnston, also of Bellingham; Dr. Edna Dean Ryan, a graduate of a dental college at Portland, Oregon, who was engaged in the practice of dentistry at Bellingham for six years and is now residing at Mount Vernon, Washington; Mrs. Eva B. Granger, who is the proprietress of Loganita Lodge on Lummi island and who is the mother of four children; Mrs. Elizabeth Burrough, who resides at Anchorage, Alaska, and who husband is in the service of the Alaska Steamship Company; Mary Ellen Stephens, who is employed as a stenographer and bookkeeper in the state department of licenses; and Thurza D. Warren, a teacher in the Roeder school. The younger children of the Warren family attended school at Bellingham.

History of Whatcom County, Volume II, by Lottie Roeder Roth, 1926, p. 79.

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