LINUS ABBOTT is one of the men of pure Yankee stock who
have helped in the work of turning Skagit county from a wilderness
into a community of agriculture and farm homes. His life has been
one of travel, yet for more than a quarter of a century he has been
a successful farmer in the Puget sound country. Mr. Abbott was born
in Windsor county, Vermont, in 1843, the son of Elam Abbott, whose
father, Daniel, settled at Stack-bridge, Vermont, among the very
first settlers, and there founded the Stockbridge branch of the
Abbott family. Elam Abbott was born at Stockbridge February 26,
1805, died June 22, 1895, and was buried in the Sunnyside cemetery,
Coupeville. The mother, Mrs. Roxey (Ellison) Abbott, born February
24, 1805, was likewise of Vermont nativity; she died February 14,
1885, the mother of nine children, of whom Linus was next to the
youngest. At nineteen years of age, after attending school, Linus
Abbott sailed from New York, bound for San Francisco, via the Panama
route. The trip occupied forty-nine and one-half days. The first
year and a half of young Abbott's life in California was spent in
farming and dairying at Bloomfield. In the fall of 1863 he came
north to Victoria, spending but a short time there before going to
Seattle. The following year Mr. Abbott returned to Victoria, and he
followed the carpenter trade there for a twelvemonth, or until he
went to Coupeville, Whidby island, where he passed three years at
farming. The year 1868 found him first at St. Helens, Oregon, and
later working at the carpenter's bench in San Francisco. Again
coming north, he located at Napton, on the Columbia river, in
Washington, and helped build a saw-mill, remaining there eight
months. At this time he decided to go back to the Green Mountain
state, and there for a number of years followed agriculture. But the
sound still attracted him, and in March of 1879 he returned to
Coupeville, where he leased a farm and was engaged in tilling the
soil for seven years. Early in 1886 Mr. Abbott came to Skagit county
and rented a farm, also purchased eighty acres of wild brush land
from R. H. Ball. Sixty acres of this were cleared and brought under
cultivation when Mr. Abbott also bought the relinquishment of C.
Dicks, filed on it as a pre-emption and later moved there. On his
acquisition of this land it was largely in brush and had only a
cabin in the way of improvements. After clearing sixty acres of it,
he purchased forty more lying west, which had been part of the E. S.
Jones homestead.
March 30, 1874, while residing in Vermont, Mr. Abbott
married Miss Lucy S. Putnam, born October 5, 1849, of good old
Yankee stock. Her father was Ezra N. Putnam, whose father was a
soldier of the War of 1812, and a relative of General Israel Putnam
of Revolutionary fame. Mrs. Lucy (Wash-burn) Putnam, her mother, was
a native of Vermont, springing from old pioneer stock of the Green
Mountain state. Mrs. Abbott received her education in Vermont,
eventually graduating from the State Normal school at Randolph, then
following the teaching profession until her marriage. She died in
Skagit county,. October 6, 1889, and was buried in the Sunnyside
cemetery near Coupeville. She was the mother of five children: Mrs.
Mary L. Callahan, who lives near Fredonia; Hollis R., Nelson S.,
Hattie R. and George W., the last named dying in infancy. July 30,
1891, Mr. Abbott married Miss Harriet L. Underwood, the daughter of
Jonas Ralph Underwood, who was born in Susquehanna county,
Pennsylvania, October 4, 1828. He was a pioneer in Kansas prior to
the Civil War. At the beginning of hostilities he enlisted in
Company F, Thirty-second Iowa Volunteers, and died October 12, 1863,
after serving a little over one year. The mother, Harriet Louisa
(Lewis) Underwood, was also born in Susquehanna county, the date
being September 22, 1836, and is now a resident of Skagit county.
After the death of Mr. Underwood she became Mrs. Waters. Mrs. Abbott
was born in DeKalb county, Illinois, May 17, 1863, received her
education in Kansas, graduated from Gould college and followed
teaching for several years, until her marriage. She died June 15,
1903, and was buried in Sunnyside cemetery. Two children survive,
Lucy A. and Louisa R.
Politically Mr. Abbott affiliates with the Democratic
party. In addition to the pursuit of the other forms of agriculture,
he devotes much time to stock raising, making a specialty of hogs,
of which he has at present one hundred and fifty head; but he also
has a fine herd of cattle and a number of good horses. His one
hundred and twenty acres of land are all under cultivation and are
so systematically farmed as to reflect great credit upon the worthy
owner. Mr. Abbott has the energy and push necessary to win success
in a business way, and also is possessed of that affable, sociable
turn which wins and maintains for its possessor a high place in the
regard and esteem of his fellow-citizens. |
JOHN ABRAHAMSON, living one mile northwest of McMurray,
is of the type of agriculturists who have made a success of land
life after having followed the sea for an extended period. His farm
home is one of the pleasant places of the McMurray section and the
few years he has passed there have shown many improvements. Mr.
Abrahamson is a native of Norway, having been born in the land of
the fjords February 8, 1863, the son of Abraham and Grata
(Jorgenson) Johanson, farmers who died in the old country more than
a decade ago. Of their seven children four are dead. The living are
John, Jacob and Albert. Young Abrahamson lived with his parents
until he was sixteen years of age, when he determined to follow the
sea for a livelihood. This he did for a period of eleven years,
until in 1890 he decided to land in the United States and continue
his life-as an American. For the first five years of his life on the
Pacific coast Mr. Abrahamson was employed on various vessels running
in and out of Seattle, but in 1895 he came to McMurray and bought
seventy acres of land, ten of which are now cleared and the
remainder in slashing.
In 1895 in Seattle Mr. Abrahamson married Miss Agnes
Londahl. Mrs. Abrahamson was born March 13, 1862, and lived with her
parents until 1889, when she went to Minnesota. After remaining
there a year she came to Seattle, where she was employed" until her
marriage. Mr. and Mrs. Abrahamson have three children, Alma, George
and Oscar. In politics Mr. Abrahamson is a Republican and has served
as road supervisor in Skagit county for five years. The live stock
on the home place consists of cattle, horses and hogs. Since
becoming a farmer Mr. Abrahamson has demonstrated his good business
ability; has been successful as an agriculturist and has proven a
welcome addition to the settlers in the vicinity of McMurray. Both
he and Mrs. Abrahamson are highly respected by a large circle of
friends.
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VALENTINE ADAM, veteran of the Franco-Prussian War,
left Germany soon after the great triumph of his country, in which
he participated, and in 1877 came to Skagit county. He is one of the
pioneers of the upper Skagit valley and now a well-to-do farmer and
stock raiser living two miles west of Hamilton. He was born in
Rhenish Bavaria, August 24, 1845, sixth of a family of seven
children, of whom but one besides himself survives. His father,
Michael Adam, was forest overseer in his native country, being
employed by several towns, which league together to protect the
woods. The mother, Margaret (Yost) Adam, who died in Germany at the
age of seventy-seven, often has told her boys about the Napoleonic
wars, which she distinctly remembered. Valentine Adam received an
education in the German schools, then learned the trade of stone
cutter. After the death of his father, he contributed to the support
of his mother. At the age of twenty-one he entered the German
infantry, and he served his country bravely through the war with
France. Coming to the United States in 1872, he worked two years as
a stone mason in New York, spent a year in Pennsylvania, then went
to California, where he resided until 1877, when he came to
Hamilton. He took up the townsite of Lyman and proved up on it, then
traded it to Henry Cooper for his present place. This was a wild
country in those early days. There were no roads and all clearing
had to be done by hand, there being neither horses nor oxen in the
country until later. The first roads were built along the river, but
much of the time they were impassable because of the floods. Not
until 1885 was a road put through to Mount Vernon. When Mr. Adam
settled near Hamilton, the chief white man in the neighborhood was
R. H. Williamson, who came from Puyallup in 1872, to trade with the
Indians, and later established a twenty acre hop farm. Mr. Adam
worked sometimes for Mr. Williamson and sometimes farmed for
himself. He went through the Indian scare of 1878, when 300 Yakimas
came over the mountains and urged the Indians of the Skagit valley
to clear that part of the country of all white settlers. There was
danger enough, but cool heads quieted the savages.
In 1885 Mr. Adam married Miss Margaret Bruns, who
was born in Hanover, Germany, April 12, 1858, daughter of Dietrich
and Margaret (Hinkin) Bruns, both Hanoverians. Mr. and Mrs. Adam
have six children, Maggie, Valentine, W7alter, Emma, Ralph and
Herman. Mr. Adam is a member of the German Reform church, and his
wife is a Lutheran. In politics he is a Republican. For a number of
years he was road supervisor, and he has served on the school board
and otherwise manifested his keen interest in the cause of popular
education. He has 240 acres of land, one of the largest farms in the
district, and gives much attention to the raising of cattle and
hogs, keeping always a fine dairy. Mr. Adam is one of the highly
respected men of the community, an intelligent and courteous
gentleman.
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GEORGE ADIN, whose farm lies two and a
half miles southeast of La Conner, is one of the highly respected
and popular residents of that vicinity, and is typical to a great
extent of the school of fine old English gentlemen. Much of his life
on the western continent has been spent in mining, but he has lived
in Skagit since 1870 with the exception of one year. Mr. Adin was
born in England, November 16, 1831, the son of John and Annie
(Fletcher) Adin. His parents were farmers in the old country and had
ten children, of whom George was fifth. Mr. Adin received his
education in the English schools and remained at home until he was
twenty-two years of age. At that time he determined to come to
America, California and her mines being his goal. He reached there
in 1854 and passed several years in mining ventures. He then
obtained employment as clerk in a general merchandise store and
continued there for a year and a half. At the close of this
employment he bought a mining claim and worked it for several years.
He then heard of Washington and its many advantages and came here
taking up cne hundred and sixty acres of land and remained for one
year, returning to California on a visit. The interests he had
acquired and the high opinion he had formed of the Skagit country
were sufficient to recall him after a stay of a few months. On his
return he proved up on this land and has lived on the place ever
since. He owns one hundred and sixty acres of good land, one hundred
and thirty-three acres of it being under cultivation and very
carefully attended. Of Mr. Adin's sisters three are living, Eliza,
Mary and Esther; a number of the family have never left England. Mr.
Adin is prosperous in his farming operations and devotes some
attention to livestock, having nine head of horses and two cows. But
his chief interest is in the cultivation of the soil, in which he
takes deep enjoyment. Mr. Adin is a true lover of nature, quiet in
manner and studious and thoughtful in habit. Ever unselfish and
guardedly considerate of others feelings, he holds the respect and
esteem in a marked degree of his neighbors and acquaintances.
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WILSON M. ALDRIDGE, successfully engaged in the
mercantile business at Baker, has, during the past five years, been
closely identified with the progress of that place and the upper
Skagit valley generally. In these days of prosperity and rapid
settlement, when changes for the better are being rapidly wrought in
all sections of Puget sound, the possession by any community of men
of broad views and aggressive energy is a matter for congratulation.
The subject of this review, whose position in the community is
self-evident, is of Southern birth, born at Granada, Mississippi,
November 28, 1859, to the union of Wilson M. and Susan (Wiggins)
Aldridge. The elder Aldridge, a merchant and mill owner, was a
native of Alabama, whose forbears were also Southerners, for many
generations. At the time of the Civil War he was in 'business at
Duck Hill, Mississippi, and had amassed a fortune approximating
$50,000, which he subsequently lost through misfortune and rendering
aid to the families of Confederate soldiers. He also incurred a
heavy debt, of which, however, before his death he paid the last
dollar. Mrs. Aldridge, mother of our subject, was born in
Mississippi, a member of families who had been long engaged in the
tobacco industry in Virginia and South Carolina; she died during the
cholera scourge of 1865.
At the age of ten Wilson M., Jr., was taken by his
father to Arkansas, and there attended school, finishing with a
course in a business college at Memphis, Tennessee. His first
business connection was with Louis Rollage & Company, of Forest
City, Arkansas, with whom he remained ten years, becoming toward the
last the firm's confidential man. In 1885 he came west, stopping for
short periods in New York, California and Oregon, before reaching
Spokane. There he spent a year in the cloak department of J.
Kellners establishment, though just previous to this he was employed
for a time as timekeeper for the Northern Pacific in the
construction of its Coeur d'Alene branch. While in Spokane he was
attracted by the gold excitement at Chloride, whither he went, only
to enter the employ of W. J. Shelton at that place and Hope, Idaho,
the mines being a failure. In 1891, he went to Douglas county, took
a homestead claim and at the same time commenced work for E. D. Nash
in his store at Waterville. A year later Mr. Aldridge and W. E.
Stevens opened a store of their own at Wenatchee, during the
construction of the Great Northern railroad, but later they sold out
and the former returned to the service of Mr. Nash at Waterville,
Five years later he resigned' to enter business for himself at
Trinidad, Washington, and in 1900, seeking a better field, he
removed the establishment to Baker, Skagit county where most
encouraging success has crowned his efforts, keeping pace with the
rapid growth of the community. From observation and experience he
believes that this section of the state offers exceptional
opportunities to men of energy and will, so rich are the numerous
resources.
Although Mr. Aldridge takes a deep interest in
everything pertaining to the public welfare, and in Waterville was
quite active in public life without holding office, he is a member
of no political organization. The condition of his business
interests is indicative of the ability and force of the man. The
fine southern courtesy and fervor, which are his by right of
inheritance and by training, blending with the vigorous, ambitious
spirit of the north, have created characteristics at once
discernible to all and winning to all.
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