Part 6

Mr. Ledgerwood was a very progressive man, public-spirited in all that he did, and his aid and cooperation could ever be counted upon to further public progress. He aided many movements for the general good, and while he was never a politician in the commonly accepted sense of the term and never would consent to hold office, he gave earnest support to the democratic party because of a firm belief in its principles. He belonged to the Masonic fraternity and to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and was a consistent Christian man, both he and his wife being lifelong members of the Methodist Episcopal church. Mrs. Ledgerwood occupies a handsome home in Pomeroy, surrounded by all the comforts and conveniences which make life worth living.

REME DE RUWE.

Among the successful sheep raisers of Columbia county is numbered Reme De Ruwe, who was born in Belgium, September 15, 1882, a son of Peter and Julia De Ruwe, also natives of that country, where their entire lives were passed. To them were born fifteen children. The subject of this review is indebted for his education to the schools of his native land, and remained at home until he was about twenty years old. Then, in 1902, he decided to try his fortune in the United States and located in Walla Walla county, Washington, where he at once turned his attention to raising sheep. He has since continued in that occupation on an extensive scale. He pastures his sheep on a ranch comprising twelve hundred acres of land in Columbia county. The success which he has gained in fifteen years is quite unusual, demonstrating his ability to adapt himself to a new condition, his sound judgment and his enterprise. His ranch is well improved and is a very valuable property.

In 1914 Mr. De Ruwe was united in marriage to Miss Caroline Kregger, and they have a son, Marvin, and have also adopted three children. Mr. De Ruwe casts his ballot in support of the republican party, whose principles accord with his political beliefs. He was reared in the Catholic faith and consistently gives his influence on the side of moral advancement. He has gained many friends since coming to eastern Washington, his salient characteristics being such as never fail to command respect and win regard.

CHARLES L. WHITNEY.

Charles L. Whitney, who is living retired on section 6, township 6 north, range 36 east, Walla Walla county, is now enjoying a period of well merited leisure made possible by his former successful labors as a nurseryman and horticulturist. He was born in Erie county, Pennsylvania, January 26, 1857, of the marriage of William G. and Marcia M. (Pettis) Whitney, the former a native of Onondaga county, New York. They removed to California in 1879; two years before their son Charles L. had made his way to the Pacific coast, and after residing there for one or two years they came to Walla Walla county, Washington. Here the father, in partnership with his son Charles L., bought the farm where the latter still resides. This place was the site of the Sims mill, which was the first mill built in the state and possibly the first in the northwest. The date of its erection was 1858 and there was also a distillery operated within the limits of the farm. In the early days pack trains, numbering one hundred animals were sent to the outlying camps loaded with flour, bacon and whiskey, and the farm is indeed one of the historic places of the state. The father established the Home nursery and the son the North Western nurseries, and both proved successful in that business. The father remained active in the management of his affairs both as a nurseryman and as a farmer until his death in 1912. The mother passed away in 1910.

Charles L. Whitney was reared in Pennsylvania and after attending the common schools became a student in the Edinboro (Penn.) State Normal school and in Austinburg College at Austinburg, Ohio. Later he took up the study of medicine at the Eclectic Medical College at San Francisco, California, but left that institution a year before the completion of his course. It was in 1877 that he removed to California and he was one of the first settlers of the town of Whatcom. He devoted some time to timber cruising and for a number of years he traveled through California, Oregon and Washington, becoming familiar with practically every part of the Pacific coast. In 1880 he came with his parents to Walla Walla county and established the North Western nurseries, which he conducted for years. He was one of the first men to enter that line of business in this section and his success in the growing of fruit trees determined the possibilities of this region in the production of fruit. He also engaged in general farming to some extent and found that likewise profitable. For four years he was county fruit inspector and later was for a similar length of time state fruit inspector and was generally recognized as an authority on everything pertaining to fruit and its production. About 1907 he gave up the nursery business and has since rented his land for gardening, although he still resides upon his farm, which comprises one hundred and-fifty-two acres two miles south of Walla Walla, in the most fertile part of the valley. His home is a handsome country residence, provided with all modern conveniences.

In 1883 Mr. Whitney was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth McCaslin, who was born in Sharon, Pennsylvania, but was teaching in the schools of Omaha, Nebraska, at the time of her marriage. They have become the parents of five children, of whom four survive, namely: Elizabeth May, the wife of Ned McLean, of Walla Walla; Bertha, who married L. F. Turman, of Willows, California; Charles B., who is first sergeant with the Washington Field Artillery, under Major Weyrauch; and Marguerite, the wife of Fred Houghton, of Attalia, this county.

Mr. Whitney's political views accord with the principles of the republican party and he gives it his stanch support but has never taken a very active part in politics. However, he has always felt the keenest interest in the upbuilding of his county and his influence has been felt in its development along horticultural, agricultural and civic lines. He was a member of the board of commissioners that had charge of the Walla Walla exhibit at the Lewis and Clark Exposition held in Portland in 1905 and took a great deal of pride in the fine showing that the county made. He has a number of fraternal connections, belonging to Blue Mountain Lodge, No. 13, F. & A. M.; Walla Walla Chapter, No. 1, R. A. M.; Walla Walla Commandery, No. 1 K. T.; El Katif Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S., of Spokane; to the Shrine Club at Walla Walla, of which he is president; to Alki Chapter, No. 25, O. E. S., of which he is past patron and of which his wife was the second matron, to Enterprise Lodge, No. 2, I. O. O. F., of which he is past grand; to the Ancient Order of United Workmen; and to Walla Walla Lodge, No. 287, B. P. O. E. His high standing in the Odd Fellows society is further indicated by the fact that he holds the lodge jewel.

EDWARD H. NIXON.

Edward H. Nixon, one of the earliest of Walla Walla's pioneers now living and for many years a dominant factor in civic affairs, was born in Guyandotte, West Virginia, on the 26th of May, 1842. When he was ten years of age his parents removed to Jackson county, Iowa, settling on a farm about eight miles west of Sabula. He was there educated in the district schools and at his mother's knee, she having been educated for a teacher in the Massachusetts schools in early life. Subsequently she went west to teach in the West Virginia schools and it was there that she was married. After mastering the early branches of learning Mr. Nixon continued his studies in the high school at Maquoketa, Iowa, and at the age of twenty years he was elected to the office of constable in his district, but the commissioners refused him a commission because he was not of legal age. He began reading law at Maquoketa, Iowa, and advanced sufficiently to try cases before a justice of the peace.

In sentiment he was strongly anti-slavery at the beginning of the Civil war and as his sympathies were with the north, he determined he would not fight for any country that would uphold slavery, but after the Emancipation Proclamation he offered his services to the country and was accepted in December, 1863, being mustered into the service as a member of Company A, Ninth Regiment of the Iowa Veteran Volunteer Infantry, with which he served for one year, five months and eleven days. He then received an honorable discharge, the war having been brought to a close. He had participated in the battles of Snake Creek Gap, Resaca, Dallas and New Hope Church, Ackworth or Big Shanty, and the seven days' siege of Kenesaw Mountain and many skirmishes. He was also in the battle of Atlanta on the 22d of July, 1864, in the battle of Ezra Church and many others, taking part in every engagement in which his regiment participated until the fall of Atlanta. At close of the war he received an honorable discharge and returned to his home with a most creditable military record, having nobly done his part to preserve the Union. He afterward pursued a course in Eastman's Business College at Poughkeepsie, New York, and subsequently he engaged in farming until 1873, when he started for the far west with Walla Walla as his destination. He arrived here on the 16th of March of that year and took up the profession of teaching. He also engaged in farm work and in fact accepted any employment that would yield him an honest dollar.

On the 2d of April, 1876, Mr. Nixon was united in marriage to Miss Kate Stewart, a daughter of Daniel and Margaret Stewart, and to them have been born three children, two daughters and a son: Stella, now the wife of H. L. Wilson, who is state highway contractor and a resident of Walla Walla; Laura, the wife of H. H. Hadley, who is engaged in the automobile business in Dayton, Washington; and Edward S., who is associated with his father in the real estate and insurance business under the firm style of E. H. Nixon & Son.

In 1877, soon after his marriage, Mr. Nixon removed to Whitman county and took up a homestead and tree claim and preempted another one hundred and sixty acres of land. He also rented a section of school land and for eight years or more was extensively and successfully engaged in farming. He laid out the first road ever laid out in Whitman county and was well known as the pioneer settler of that county, instituting much of the progressive work which has brought about its present-day progress and prosperity. In 1885 he returned to Walla Walla, and while he has disposed of his landed interests in Whitman county, he still owns valuable farm property and since 1892 he has conducted a real estate and insurance business, the firm of E. H. Nixon & Son maintaining an office in the Jaycox building. For many years Mr. Nixon was one of the most conspicuous figures in the civic affairs of Walla Walla. He served as road overseer, was also United States deputy postmaster, was justice of the peace two years and was police judge one year. He was also city assessor one term and was a member of the city council and at all times exercised his official prerogatives in support of many well defined plans and measures for the general good. He looked beyond the exigencies of the moment to the opportunities and possibilities of the future and labored not only for the welfare of the passing hour but for future time as well. He was responsible for the establishment of the perpetual care system in the city cemetery and later the same system in the Odd Fellows cemetery, serving as president of the cemetery committee for a number of years. Mr. Nixon has long been a faithful and prominent member of the Grand Army of the Republic, in which he has filled all of the offices in the local post. He has also been honored with the position of assistant adjutant general and assistant quartermaster general of the Department of Washington and Alaska. He has membership in Blue Mountain Lodge, No. 13, A. F. & A. M., and is a member of Washington Lodge, No. 19, I. O. O. F., in which he has filled all of the chairs, including that of noble grand. In 1890 he joined with F. W. Paine and others in forming the Interstate Building Loan & Trust Association, and he is a member of its board of trustees and vice president of the association. In a word his activities are broad and varied. He is a liberal minded man, recognizing the duties and obligations of the individual to his fellowmen and to his country. At all times he has been actuated by a progressive spirit and in business affairs has been stimulated by a laudable ambition. His purposes have been well defined and promptly executed and the course which he has pursued has at all times measured up to the highest standards of manhood. His work has been of great benefit to the community at large as well as a source of individual success, and Walla Walla county honors him as one of her best known pioneers. His religious faith is that of the Unitarian church.

S. S. MORITZ.

S. S. Moritz, who since 1914 has held the office of postmaster of Dayton, was formerly prominently identified with its business interests, first as a merchant and later as a real estate operator. He was born in Victoria, British Columbia, August 28, 1863, a son of Moses and Adeline (Greenenburg) Moritz, natives respectively of Alsace, France, and of Groesenadar, Germany. The mother came to the Pacific coast by way of the Panama route in young womanhood and joined relatives living in San Francisco. The father emigrated to this country in early manhood and after spending some time in the middle west made his way to the California gold fields in 1849. He acquired some valuable mining properties but later lost them through reverses in fortune. He became a naturalized citizen of the United States in San Francisco in 1855 and subsequently went to Portland, Oregon, where he was married, the lady who became his wife having in the meantime removed to that city, where she made her home with relatives. Mr. Moritz engaged in merchandising there until the discovery of gold on the Fraser river in the British possessions. He then removed with his family to Victoria, where they resided for two years, after which they returned to Portland. Later they became residents of Centerville, Idaho, where the father was well known as a general merchant. At length he removed to Boise City with the view of giving his children better educational advantages and remained there until 1873, when he went to Salt Lake City, where he was active in business until 1890. He then retired and spent his last days in the home of his son, S. S. Moritz. He passed away September 23, 1913, when in his eighty-eighth year. He was a man of vigorous constitution and retained the full use of his faculties up to the time of his death. His widow survives.

S. S. Moritz received his education in the schools of Boise City and of Salt Lake City and during vacations received business training which stood him in good stead in his later years. For several years before leaving school the summers were devoted to clerking in various stores in Salt Lake City, chiefly the clothing business, and in the spring of 1885, when a young man of twenty-one years, he came to Dayton, Washington, to accept a position with Duzenbury & Stencil, general merchants. For a year he had charge of their clothing and furnishing department and then engaged in business for himself, establishing a clothing and furnishing store. For eighteen years he conducted that store and became a dominant factor in the commercial life of Dayton, his resourcefulness, energy and keen insight into business conditions causing him to be generally recognized as a leader. In 1904 he sold his store, as he desired to give his undivided attention to his other interests. For a number of years he had been investing heavily in real estate and he it was who laid out the Syndicate Hill subdivision of Dayton, which is now recognized as the finest residence district of the city, and for a decade his entire time was given up to looking after his real estate interests, but in 1914 he became postmaster of Dayton by appointment of President Wilson. During the intervening three years he has held that position and has performed his duties in the same capable manner that he managed his private affairs.

Mr. Moritz was a stanch republican in his political views until 1896, but in that year he became convinced of the wisdom of the policies advocated by William Jennings Bryan and gave his support to the democratic party, with which he has since been identified. He has taken an active part in public affairs and many improvements in Dayton have been brought about largely through his indefatigable work in their behalf. Notable among these is his achievement in securing the paving of the business district in spite of much indifference and determined opposition. His interest in good roads has found further expression in the arterial highway law, a very significant piece of legislation, which is based upon a plan conceived by Mr. Moritz. When it became necessary to change the city charter in conformity with the state regulations he led the movement for a charter that would meet all the needs of Dayton and was largely instrumental in securing such an instrument. He has been one of the most active members in the Dayton Commercial Club since its organization and has had a large part in its effective and farreaching work for the city. Fraternally he belongs to Dayton Lodge, No. 3, K. P. His position as one of the foremost residents of Dayton is secure and his personal friends are many.

T. F. DICE.

T. F. Dice, residing on section 2, township 9 north, range 36 east, Walla Walla county, holds title to a large amount of land but is renting the greater part of it and is thus enjoying comparative leisure. His birth occurred in Pennsylvania, February 15, 1859, a son of William and Susan (Redrick) Dice, who passed their entire lives in the Keystone state. Five of their seven children are still living.

T. F. Dice grew to manhood in Pennsylvania and supplemented the education acquired in the public schools by attendance at Mercersburg college in Mercersburg. On leaving his native state he went to Savannah, Georgia, where he spent three years, and then in 1889 he came to Walla Walla county, Washington, for the benefit of his health and here he purchased a farm on which he resided for three years. He next bought his present home place on section 2, township 9 north, range 36 east, and for many years personally operated the five hundred acres comprised in the farm. At the present time, however, he rents all the land but an eighty acre tract, which is in alfalfa and which he looks after himself.

In 1884 occurred the marriage of Mr. Dice and Miss E. A. Spangenberg. The latter was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and is a daughter of Frederick A. and Fanny Anna Spangenberg, both also born in Pennsylvania. The father, who successfully engaged in the practice of law for many years, is now deceased, but the mother survives. Mrs. Dice had exceptional musical training and her talents along that line have been a source of great pleasure to her family and friends. Mr. and Mrs. Dice have four children: William T., who lives in California; Lee R., who is teaching in the University of Montana; Frances E., the wife of the Rev. Robert M. Hood, now a resident of Idaho; and Carl E., a student of Mount Tamalpais Military Academy, San Rafael, California. During the years of his residence in Walla Walla county Mr. Dice has become widely and favorably known, his many excellent qualities gaining for him many warm friends.

W. H. BARNHART.

The field of opportunity finds its boundaries only in the limitations of the individual. When energy and ambition lie dormant the path of advancement seems closed, but to the man who believes that there is a chance for every individual and who is willing to take his chance with others, there always comes a time when he can take the initial step that will lead on to fortune. That Mr. Barnhart recognized the opportune moment is shown in the fact that he is now one of the leading business men of Starbuck, where he is widely known as the vice president and manager of the Sprout & Barnhart Mercantile Company and also as a member of the board of directors of the Bank of Starbuck. Iowa claims him as a native son, his birth having occurred in Wapello county on the 11th of October, 1871, his parents being Henry and Elizabeth (Johnson) Barnhart. The father was a native of Tennessee, while the mother's birth occurred in Ohio, and in Iowa their marriage was solemnized. They had accompanied their respective parents to the last mentioned state in childhood and were there reared. Mr. Barnhart turned his attention to farming and railroading, which he followed in Iowa until 1889, when he removed westward to Oregon and for a number of years was employed by the Oregon & Washington Railroad & Navigation Company in the capacity of engineer. He thus took part in the early development of railway operations in the west. He died in December, 1915, and is survived by his widow, who resides on a ranch near Spokane.

W. H. Barnhart, spending his youthful days under the parental roof, completed his education in the high school at Albia, Iowa, from which he was graduated with the class of 1889. The following year he came to Oregon and for a number of years successfully engaged in teaching school, imparting readily and clearly to others the knowledge that he had acquired. He also worked in a store at La Grande, Oregon, and subsequently he became a student in Armstrong's Business College at Portland. Later he took up railroading as an employe of the Oregon & Washington Railroad & Navigation Company and was employed by that corporation for thirteen years. During the last seven years of that period he ran an engine and in 1907 he resigned his position with the company and purchased an interest in the mercantile establishment of W. E. Sprout of Starbuck. The following year the company was reorganized and incorporated, with Mr. Barnhart as the vice president and manager of the business, and Mr. Sprout as the president. They have a spacious and well appointed store, carrying an extensive line of goods, and they always maintain the highest standards in the personnel of the house, in the stock carried and in the treatment accorded patrons. Their business has therefore gradually increased as the years have gone on and has become one of the profitable commercial interests of southeastern Washington.