From the desk of Judy Pitchford

Digital Collections has added 8 more titles to our Classics in Washington History.

Under Exploration and Early Travel –

From New York to Portland, Oregon, via Straits of Magellan by John Douglas McConkey

Events, sights and scenes of McConkey’s sea voyage via the steamer “Oregon,” from New York to Portland.

Under Geography –

Special reproduction of maps of tide, shore, school and granted lands. Made under the supervision of Alvin Bystrom, state field engineer

It is believed that this is a supplement to the title List of School, Granted and Other Public Lands and Materials thereon, also tide and shore lands of the first and second class to be sold at Public Auction.

Under Native Americans –

The case of Spokane Garry by William S. Lewis

Originally a paper read by William S. Lewis before the Washington State Historical Society in Tacoma, WA, this biography of Spokane Garry, a chief of the Spokane Tribe, attempts to show that he was entitled to a higher recognition in the history of “Old Oregon” Country.

Public documents, Oregon Indian war, 1855-56 by United States. Congress. House

Letters and reports documenting the Oregon Indian War of 1855-56

Removals of Indian agents by Herbert Welsh

A letter from Herbert Welsh to Richard H. Dana of the Board of Editors of the Civil Service Records, expressing his opinion of the reasons behind the removal of various Indian agents from office.

Under Military History –

The history of Base Hospital Fifty : a portrayal of the work done by this unit while serving in the United States and with the American Expeditionary forces in France by by Official Committee of Base Hospital Fifty

The history of American Red Cross Base Hospital No. 50, of the University of Washington, which later became Base Hospital 50, Medical Department, U.S. Army.

Letter from the Secretary of War relative to the occupancy of San Juan Island, number of troops, etc.

A letter pertaining to the cost of occupying the post on San Juan Island.

Under Territorial and State Government –

Letter from the Attorney General to O.B. McFadden relative to the Penitentiary in Washington Territory.

Correspondence regarding the condition of the new territorial prison located on McNeil Island.

Classics in Washington History is a digital collection of full-text books, bringing together rare, out of print titles for easy access by students, teachers, genealogists and historians. Visit Washington’s early years through the lives of the men and women who lived and worked in Washington Territory and State. All items are available in DjVu (Plugin required) and Pdf formats.

From the desk of Steve Willis, Central Library Services Program Manager of the Washington State Library:

Here’s an account from the May 23, 1891 issue of the Buckley Banner about the morning the wine flowed liked, well, wine:

 COLLISION OF FREIGHT TRAINS

 Iron Horses Bump Together at White River Bridge.

 A Gala Day For Buckley.

 Free Wine and a Free Fight.

 Fourth of July Nowhere in Comparison.

 “Early Thursday morning as freight train No. 56 pulled out of town and swung round the curve in the cut this side of White River bridge, her engineer caught sight of another freight train clattering across the bridge. The air brakes were quickly turned on and the fireman and engineer jumped for their lives, the men on the other engine doing likewise, and the two engines slammed together and locked horns, as it were, about a hundred feet from the end of the trestle. Had the east bound train been a few seconds ahead the collision would have occurred on the bridge or trestle, which are nearly half a mile long and nearly a hundred feet high at most points, and the train men would have gone to sure destruction. As it was no one was hurt, and as both engines and most of the cars remained on the track, the wrecking train which arrived on the scene shortly before noon made quick work of clearing up the debris, and the passenger trains got through at about 2 o’clock.”

“A car-load of ice and one of grain were thrown clear off the track, and another car containing a lot of hogs was pitched to one side and badly smashed.”

“A car containing forty-five barrels of wine of different kinds was almost completely telescoped by the tender of the east bound train, and the wine flowed in streams in every direction. A few barrels were thrown out of the car by the concussion and saved intact.”

“The news of the occurrence reached Buckley at an early hour, and before 7 o’clock many had started to view the wreck, and number increased till the railroad track was lined with men, women and children hastening eagerly forward to the scene of the catastrophe. Children forgot to go to school, women deserted their breakfast dishes and men abandoned their positions in the mills which whistled repeatedly to recall them but in vain. Ye Banner man gulped down a hasty breakfast and joined the throng. Once on the track the peculiar aroma of good California wine became noticeable, and ye reporter needed not the frequent admonition of parties returning to make haste to the front. An immense crowd had gathered about the wreck. Many of the ladies and men took positions on the bluff overlooking the scene, but the debris was surrounded by a vast army of men and boys, most of whom were bunched immediately in front of the car which contained the liquor. A continual stream of mixed drinks trickled down along the whole length of the side of the car, and tin pans, old cans and every kind of vessel that could be brought into requisition were rapidly filled and drained off, while many began to arrive with buckets and milk pans to obtain a supply to take to their homes. The scene was amusing and yet in many respects extremely disgusting. Boys and men, unable to obtain a dirty old tin can, would occasionally hold their mouths under the drip and guzzle like hogs catching drips under a watering trough. People continued to arrive from both sides of the river and buckets continued to increase. Section men and members of the steel gang instead of protecting the company’s property joined the hobos and made the most of their opportunity to get full. A number of church members, noted for their piety took an active part in the exercises, and an effort was made by a photographer present to include them in a photograph of the scene but not with much success, as they retreated until he changed his position.”

“After awhile the liquor began to tell upon a goodly number of bibulous citizens, and not unexpectedly a fight was started and a whole mob of staggering heroes engaged in a regular old-fashioned Irish set-to. Sticks, stones and profanity prevailed vigorously and was kept up until Constables Mock and Albro interfered. The contrast at this stage of proceedings between the quietly grunting hogs in one of the wrecked cars and the assembly of American intelligence rioting around about the spilled liquor was decidedly in favor of the hogs. Some sober railroad men arrived on the premises finally and took charge of things, and as soon as the supply of liquor was shut off and the hot sun began to be felt, the large number who were the worse for liquor lay down on the scene of the battle to rest, while the crowd of sight seers gradually found their way back to town. Only one arrest was made in the morning, but several hobos landed in the cooler during the afternoon. Take it altogether it was a great day for Buckley. The scene about the wreck and the exhibition of human nature will long be remembered by its observers.”

Sometimes it is best for me to get out of the way of the original reporter and let the story be told as pure as possible. This is one of those times.

Map image from County of Pierce, Washington / by Fred G. Plummer, published by W,D,C, Spike & Co., in 1890.

From the desk of Steve Willis, Central Library Services Program Manager of the Washington State Library:

This item on page 1 of the Jan. 17, 1907 issue of the Seattle Daily News caught my eye due to the use of the words “eccentric,” “peculiar,” and the mention of a $100,000 monument for a man and his dog:

CLAIMS TO BE CHOIR’S WIDOW

Latest Claimants for Estate of Dead Man Declare His Name Was Joseph Calentine

“That Melody Choir, alias Joseph Melchoir was really Joseph Calentine, and that he left a widow and a son residing in Wenatchee, Washington, who are his legal heirs, is the substance of a claim to the estate of the eccentric and wealthy Seattle man who died two weeks ago.”

“Through local attorneys George C. Calentine has petitioned the probate court to appoint a special administrator to the estate of Melody Choir, whose real name was Joseph Calentine. He further alleges that Mrs. Lucy Calentine of Wenatchee, is the widow of Melody Choir, having married him in the East, come West with him and then separated from him. She is said to possess a marriage certificate and other proofs of her claim.”

“The petition for a special administrator to take charge of the estate went on for hearing before Judge Albertson this afternoon. Rev. W.G. Jones, a friend of the dead man, who yesterday applied for the appointment, is satisfactory to the new claimants, Mrs. Calentine and her son.”

“If the special administrator is appointed it will be possible to search the personal effects of Melody Choir for proof of his relationship to the claimants for his money. The special administrator will have no right to carry out the will of the dead man, which provided that his $100,000 estate will be used to build a monument for himself and his dog.”

“The Melchoir family, which is represented in this city by an alleged brother of the deceased, has not yet entered a claim to the estate, but is expected to do so shortly.”

“The petition filed by Calentine does not take cognizance of the peculiar will left by Choir.”

The gentleman known as Melody Choir is yet another one of those great characters in Washington history who has yet to be fully discovered. According to information provided in the 1900 Census, he was born in Kentucky in March, 1850. Several sources indicate his previous name was Joseph H. Melchoir. It would appear he was among the youngest of his siblings. He surfaces in Seattle around the mid-1870s under the name of Melody Choir. His birth family probably lived in Canton, Ohio at this time.

Melchoir was one of the earliest compilers of a Seattle area city directory. His Choir’s Pioneer Directory of the City of
Seattle and King County, History, Business Directory, and Immigrant’s Guide to and Throughout Washington Territory and Vicinity was published in 1878 and contained a statement it was meant to be an annual publication, but apparently only this issue made it to print. The Washington State Library has a copy on microfilm. It is a fun read, which is not something you can normally say about city directories.

In addition to providing colorful local descriptions, Choir included a photograph of himself with the handwritten caption: “His Royal Impudence, M. Choir, as he daily appears out on the war-path of Professional Business.”

Also he gives the reader a full page advertisement of his services and wares, marketing everything from wooden shoes, marble work for cemeteries, real estate, sewing machines, etc.

And as frosting, we are treated to a long poem he created honoring Seattle. His name might’ve been Melody Choir, but there was nothing melodious about his poetry. An example:

In plenitude thy people live,
Regaled by health that’s wealth: so can attain
Blended this gift with their endowments
Ruling power in Mortal’s highest plane:
Here churches and clans, schools and the press, All tutors of the public mind, that governs
Thy people’s hopes and fears, rights and wrongs
Though one and all are clothed as sovereigns.

I vaguely remember adding a local note to the bibliographic record for his directory a few years ago (when I was WSL’s Head of Cataloging) and encountering this poem and the author’s unusual name. At the time my reaction was, “That’s not something you see every day.” Little did I know.

In city directories his occupation is listed as “book agent” in the 1880s, and “real estate” or “capitalist” in the 1890s. For a brief time at the end of the 19th century he amazingly held public office as a Seattle Park Commissioner.

How did Choir acquire his wealth? In volume 90 of the Central Law Journal (Jan.-June 1920) an attorney named Fred H. Peterson contributed an article entitled “Odd Wills and Peculiar Testators.” It turns out Mr. Peterson represented Choir in the 1890s on the losing end of a deed case that went to the State Supreme Court. Peterson didn’t have a lot of positive things to say about his client:

“For many years an eccentric character lived in Seattle, who called himself Melody Choir, his real name being Joseph H. Melchoir. Like many people, not insane, however, he tried to get something for nothing, which he sought to accomplish by acquiring tax titles to Seattle property. Some of the lots he purchased for less than $5 each, through the rapid growth of the city, in the course of thirty years, had increased to $5,000. At the time of his death than $120,000 … For years he lived in a dug-out, his only friend being a dog, as queer as his master.”

Melody Choir’s will apparently is something of a manifesto, as Peterson describes:

“Of course, he left a will. ‘For the benefit of posterity’ he listed mankind according to a scale of merits; some were designated as trustworthy, others as suspicious, and the remainder as ‘unhung scoundrels;’ his counsel and the appellate court attained to the ‘bad eminence’ of the last class.”

“Choir’s will is closely written in a bound book of 148 pages, ten inches by 18 inches. At the top and bottom of each page he wrote in red ink, ‘Witness my hand and seal–Melody Choir,’ followed by an elaborate seal, and dated October 20, 1900. The will was admitted to probate March 1, 1907. He writes of himself thus: ‘The incontrovertible facts in my case are these– there never was a better, all round individual ever set foot upon the regions of this broad State, than myself!’ He declares that in 1875 he read Blackstone, but detested attorneys, for he says: ‘I never liked lawyers as a class, and to keep away from them and steer clear of their inveigling schemes and grasping machinations– ever an active ingredient in their diabolical profession– has been my constant, lifelong effort.'”

“His egotism stood out ad nauseam; his egregious vanity caused him to provide that all his property should be spent for a mausoleum for himself and dog ‘Hoboe,’ [SW note: all other sources spell the dog’s name as “Hobo”] plans and specifications for which are completely shown in the will– it even shows a diagram of his teeth; his great virtues were to be engraven on the monument in ten languages. That no one might contest because of any marital relations, he declares: ‘I never was married or even engaged to be married. Nor ever gave to any female, old or young, married or single, maid or widow, white or any color, directly or indirectly, verbal or written, open or implied, any pledge, vow or promise of marriage whatsoever.'”

Choir died in Seattle on the last day of 1906.   Choir’s dog, Hobo, a black and white Newfoundland, was killed by a streetcar on May 26, 1906.

It took almost a full year to settle Choir’s estate. The Superior Court jury decided in favor of granting the now $200,000 estate to Choir’s mother, 89 year old Elizabeth Melchoir of Canton, Ohio, apparently rejecting the Calentine claim. There was a real Joseph Calentine, he was last recorded living with his family in Kansas in 1875, but according to Census records he was a carpenter who was Ohio born and at least six years older than Melody Choir.

Choir was buried in Seattle’s Lake View Cemetery, under considerably more modest circumstances than he dictated, and Hobo was not allowed to be buried with him.    Where and how Hobo’s body was preserved is a question yet to be answered.

From the desk of Steve Willis, Central Library Services Program Manager of the Washington State Library:

The very first issue of The Democratic Press (August 31, 1877) covered a visit to Port Townsend by Treasury Agent William Gouverneur Morris. It is safe to say the reporter was not impressed.

  A GILT-EDGED FARCE

 “Port Townsend has been the recipient, recently, of a visit from Major Morris, Special Agent of the Treasury Department. This individual was sent here ostensibly for the purpose of inspecting affairs pertaining to the Custom House, Marine Hospital, etc., which errand was sufficient to insure him a hospitable reception by Custom House officials.”

“Doubtless the gallant Major will long remember his biennial visits to Port Townsend. Certainly no where that his arduous duties, as a Government Inspector may call him, will he receive more downright gushing homage than was lavished upon him here by those whose affairs with the Government he was sent here to inspect. Quartered, with his family, at the residence of the contractor for the Government hospital, no pains or expense were spared to render his stay a perpetual ovation. The gallant Inspector spent the time while here in fishing and hunting, wining and dining, always under guard by some of the official brotherhood. Supplied with a pack of deer hounds and ample escort, he was carried in state about among neighboring islands in a steamboat, rioting amid the finest hunting grounds and trout-streams in the Territory, slaughtering the timid deer by dozens, in pure wantoness, to cast the carcasses to the dogs and crows.”

“But all good times must have an ending. An order from the Department called our festive Nimrod back to San Francisco, to attend the investigation of Custom House affairs in that city. We would like to read his official report of this visit to Port Townsend. No doubt he remunerates our obsequious officials by an abundance of fulsome flattery in return for their zeal in fawning over him while here.”

“He has gone from among us– vamoosed– and the Custom House folk breathe easier. But the ruby glow of a blooming nose is missed, which was wont to illuminate the sample rooms of our wholesale liquor houses a few short weeks ago, and the bummers who polish the counters and the heads of beer barrels in those institutions, while waiting for free drinks, listen in vain for a familiar voice, which in maudlin accents rehearsed pointless jokes and retailed obscene stories. Gone like the shadow of a beautiful vision! Vanished like the memory of some pleasant dream!”

Major Morris actually had quite a record. The book Who’s Who in Alaskan Politics gives the vital statistics on his career: MORRIS, William Gouverneur, collector of customs, lawyer. B. in Morrisania, N.Y., Dec. 25, 1832; father was Army officer; collector of customs, Key West, Fla., 1849; B.A., Georgetown Coll.; LL.B., Harvard U.; clerk, Calif. Supreme Ct., 1857-; fought in Civil War; U.S. Marshal, Calif., 1865-74; special agent, U.S. Treas. Dept., 1875-; made 2 trips to Alaska; collector of customs for Alaska, Sitka, 1881-84; died in Sitka, Jan. 31, 1884; buried in Nat. Cemetery, Sitka. Mem., Masons, Loyal Leg., GAR. Republican.

Another brief, but colorful description of Morris comes from pioneer James G. Swan, who described the Treasury Agent in 1880: “The major was short of stature, with duck legs and a ponderous belly …” (found in Thomas Warner Camfield’s Port Townsend : vol. 1. An Illustrated History of Shanghaiing, Shipwrecks, Soiled Doves and Sundry Souls)

The Democratic Press appears to have ceased publication in early 1881. It is available on microfilm from the Washington State Library.

The Library of Congress, along with 12 other governmental agencies and non-governmental organizations, including the American Library Association and the  Institute of Museum and Library Services, have recently created the Declaration of Learning.  This document “formally announces their partnership as members of the Inter-Agency Collaboration on Education”.  Each organization involved pledges to utilize its historic artifacts and institutional expertise to create interactive digital media, apps, and websites.

In the spirit of this declaration, Washington State Library would like to highlight some of  our digital services and activities that also share this pledge.

Washington Rural Heritage

Washington Rural Heritage is a collection of historic materials documenting the early culture, industry, and community life of Washington State. The collection is an ongoing project of small, rural libraries and partnering cultural institutions, guided by an initiative of the Washington State Library (WSL). The initiative provides the infrastructure and training to both digitize and serve unique collections to a widespread audience.

Classics in Washington History

The State Library is delighted to present Classics in Washington History. This digital collection of full-text books brings together rare, out of print titles for easy access by students, teachers, genealogists and historians. Visit Washington’s early years through the lives of the men and women who lived and worked in Washington Territory and State.

Special Collections of the Washington State Library

 The Special Collections of the Washington State Library collect and preserve rare and archival materials that enrich research in the history and culture of the Pacific Northwest.
The geographical region comprises the states of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho in their entirety; the province of British Columbia; and western portions of the State of Montana.  Alaska and Yukon Territory materials are also acquired selectively when they relate to the Pacific Northwest region.

These non-circulating collections are comprised of historic and unique books, pamphlets, maps and manuscripts that are made available for research in our reading room.

Historical Maps

The State Archives and the State Library hold extensive map collections dealing with the Washington State and the surrounding region. Maps for this digital collection will be drawn from state and territorial government records, historic books, federal documents and the Northwest collection.

Genealogy at the Washington State Library

Washington State Library has Wide array of genealogical resources both online and on site, including biographies, bibliographies, vital records, cemetery inscriptions, City and County histories, directories, Immigration records , military records and more.

Historic Newspapers in Washington

Washington State Library’s newspaper collection includes current issues on paper and historic newspapers on microfilm with some searchable online. We subscribe to about 125 daily and weekly newspapers throughout Washington, plus a few out-of-state papers. The microfilm collection consists of over 40,000 reels of newspapers dating from the 1850s to the present.

From the desk of Steve Willis, Central Library Services Program Manager of the Washington State Library:

First there was Fort Colvile, the Hudson’s Bay Fort in present day Stevens County. Later, at another location a few miles away, there was Fort Colville, the U.S. military fort. As you can see by the spelling, the original Fort Colvile had the “L” kicked out of it. This randomly found article in the July 15, 1910 Chewelah Independent described how Fort Colvile was lost to history:

 HISTORIC OLD FORT GOES UP IN SMOKE

 Blockhouse Near Kettle Falls Burns. — Was One of the Oldest in the State

 “The old Hudson Bay fort and group of buildings one-half mile from the Kettle Falls was destroyed by fire last week. The buildings were commenced in 1824 and finished the following year. The long frame building used for office and living purposes was burned and rebuilt in 1861. The old fort or blockhouse is said by some to be one of the oldest buildings in the state.”

 “When Governor Mead and Senator Ankeny were here five years ago they became interested in these buildings and were anxious that the state would become the owner of the property, for its historical values.”

 “The late general McClellan was a guest of this place over night. It was here that Mrs. Custer, widow of General Custer, met the late Randall McDonald. In her letters afterwards published in Harper’s Weekly she referred to him and called him the prince of paupers, which caused him much sorrow. The property belongs to Donald McDonald, who is now in Montana.”

 “Many old relics were destroyed among them being an old flintlock musket. The old fort was substantially built of hewn logs, and was in a good state of preservation. The bullet holes in it could be counted by thousands. The cause of the fire is unknown.”

 “The old fort was built in 1826 by Donald McDonald, Sr., who was at one time in command of the Hudson Bay company, which established trading posts at different points over the northwest, and was bequeathed by him to his son, Donald McDonald, who still owns the property. Books more than 100 years old formed  a large portion of the library, besides there were contained in the confines of its walls curios of almost inestimable value.”

 “The little old cannon used in the defense of the fort in the early days, saw service in the battle of Waterloo when the combined armies of Europe defeated the legions of France.”

 The Fort Colvile library must have been one of the very earliest in Pacific Northwest history, making the place a cultural as well as economic center for the Inland Empire. Washington would not have a library supported by public funds until the creation of the Washington Territorial Library (now Washington State Library) in 1853.  About 800 volumes from that initial WTL/WSL collection still exist.

 In Book 1 of the Colville Collection, author David H. Chance traces the rise and fall of the fort in detail. After the land was abandoned by the Hudson’s Bay Company in 1871 it fell into various disputes of ownership. When the 20th century rolled around, the government was starting to recognize the historical value of the site and began to express an interest in preserving it. But that came to a fiery end in 1910. By coincidence, nearby St. Paul’s Mission burned down on the same day as the fort, leading some to speculate the buildings were torched by certain developers. But as Chance concludes, “There is no evidence to warrant anything more than suspicion.”

 But if fire had not destroyed what remained of Fort Colvile, water probably would’ve finished the job 30 years later when the Grand Coulee Dam was built, creating Franklin D. Roosevelt Lake and submerging Fort Colvile’s site. During occasion drawdowns the area is visited by archaeologists, but the site is really counted as a piece of history you’ll need scuba gear to visit.

From the desk of Steve Willis, Central Library Services Program Manager of the Washington State Library:

From 1909 to 1921, give or take a few years, there was a woman who created a local news stir wherever she went, but somehow evaded the radar of national media. She criss-crossed the United States on foot and went under the name “Hiking” or “Hikin'” Nell. Nearly all the information sources I can find on Nell come from newspapers around the U.S. The following article is the earliest mention of Nell I have located, from The Pasco Express, March 4, 1909:

 WOMAN TRAMP IN COURT

 “Hiking Nell” Faces the August Majesty of the Law

 VARIED AND VIVID EXPERIENCES

 While Youth Has Played Havoc With “Nell” Her Pedestrian Qualities Remain Unimpaired.

 “After walking 1300 [i.e. 3100] miles on a wager of $5,000 and then to be arrested and forced to spend 60 days in the King county jail just a few miles from her coveted goal. This and even more is the grievance of Nellie Hale, alias ‘Hikin” Nell, who was arrested by officers Dent and Torrents Tuesday afternoon.”

“According to a statement made by Officer Dent in justice court ‘Nell’ was found in a small tie house constructed of old ties. In company with three tramps, she was busily engaged in preparing a mulligan stew. Without protest she accompanied the two officers to the city jail, and the following day was given a hearing before Justice McCarthy.”

“‘I don’t want no comment cast my way,’ said Nell, ‘for I am nothing but a tramp. I was just walkin’ my way on a bet from Pascolia, Florida, to the coast. What have you’s got against me? I never harmed nobody nohow.'”

“The woman says she is 35 years of age and has traveled extensively, but always walks. When she appeared in court she carried a large bundle of clothing consisting of shoes, skirts and waists. She answered the chief’s questions rapidly and seemed to take the whole matter as a joke until W.J. Davis appeared upon the scene with his camera and attempted to take a picture of the woman. As Mr. Davis was acting under instructions, Nell immediately protested and it was not until a collection was taken and promise given that the ‘whole bunch would be shot’ that she reluctantly consented to have her picture taken. The newspaper fraternity, together with the distinguished court and officers of the law lined up as per agreement and the heroine of many ‘hikes’ was for the first time, the victim of the camera.”

“‘Yes, judge, if you will let me go, I will hike mighty quick,’ said Nell. ‘It does seem a funny thing that I should start from Pascolia and wind up in Pasco. Ain’t that terrible luck?'”

It would be wonderful if someone could produce the photograph taken by Mr. Davis that day. Unfortunately it was not included in the news piece.

Nell’s story seemed to change from town to town. She gave different accounts of her past, but piecing together all the tales a rough portrait emerges. She was from St. Louis, Missouri, born around 1878, and called herself Nellie Hale, sometimes she said Nellie Hall. But as she told the Fort Worth Star Telegram in 1910, “I will never tell my right name because I don’t want to disgrace my folks, and because I do not want them to know where I am.”

Nell said she received a music education in Atchison, Kansas, then married. Her husband, who she said was very rich, became abusive and Nell decided to hit the road. For some reason she thought he decided she was dead, another explanation for her use of a fake name.

In the early years of her growing fame, Nell told the press she was walking across the country on a $5000 wager from Richard K. Fox of the Police Gazette, but she lost it due to missing the six month deadline by being detained so many times by law enforcement officers. She also claimed to know Della Fox, a prominent actress of the day (also from St. Louis), and Tammany Boss “Big Tim” Sullivan.

Nell frequently found shelter when she was placed in jails or a mental health facility. She also approached private homes. In the only non-newspaper account I found regarding Nell, Ida K. Maloy’s 1955 essay reprinted in The Cochise Quarterly (v. 11, no. 1 spring 1983) recalled a 1911 visit from the legendary traveler Nell near Manzora, Arizona.

Maloy wrote: “As I looked at her, I thought I had never seen such a sight. She had on a light tan coat made of about eighteen or twenty gores, as was the style in those days, a long black voile skirt with a train, a blouse, and men’s shoes. Her dutch bob of black hair fell in strings about her thin face. She wore a black scarf. As I waited for some sort of introduction, the traveler introduced herself, saying, ‘I’m Hiking Nell. Haven’t you ever heard of me?'”

The last record I can locate for Nell is an article in the Casa Grande Valley Dispatch (Arizona), June 24, 1921, which concludes with: “According to the tramper this is her last journey and she is Los Angeles bound where she will end her travels and contemplates writing the unusual story of her life.”

The Pasco Express is an ancestor of the present-day Tri-City Herald.

From the Desk of Evan Robb

Throughout 2012 we learned a great deal about how the unique resources in our Washington Rural Heritage collections are impacting end users–and we’re learning directly from the users themselves.  Since enabling the public commenting feature on our digital library software in January, 2012 we’ve received over 100 comments on items in more than 25 digital collections from throughout the state.  Here are a few standouts:

A user named “JRW” commented on this photo depicting logging on Alfred Gardene’s homestead in Everson, Washington:

 “So grateful to have found these photos! We now live on this very property and are in the midst of returning the homestead to historic glory.”

The Everson McBeath Community Library (Whatcom County Library System) has done a particularly good job at mobilizing community members to identify, date, and otherwise enrich records in its Nooksack Valley Heritage collection, which was recently published in late 2012.

A user named Melinda attached this nice note to a record describing the life of Ellensburg’s Thomas S. Kirk:

“We always called him Uncle Tom, he was married to my Grandmother Ida Suver Kirk. He was always so kind to me and created such nice memories as a child for me.”

This photo is one of roughly 1,300 portraits taken by amateur photographer Fred. L. Breckon, former Ellensburg City Engineer. Accompanied by detailed biographical information, this sub-collection is a valuable genealogical resource for Washington’s Kittitas Valley. The entire Fred L. Breckon portrait collection has been digitized by the Ellensburg Public Library and is available through its Ellensburg Heritage Collection.

Another user named Byron recently added biographical information to an image of his uncle, shown here while attending Vashon College:

“Nice photo of my uncle, Chauncey Jones [left]. He went on to study medicine at the University of Chicago, studied humanities at UC Berkeley and practiced medicine and surgery in Everett, WA until his untimely death in 1944 at the age of 64 years. He was the son of A.C. and Mrs A.C. (Alonzo C. and Nettie Bentley) pictured in the photo taken in 1892 of the Vashon College faculty.”

Additional materials documenting Vashon College from 1890 to 1912 (when the original college closed), were digitized in 2008 by staff at the Vashon Library, King County Library System. They can be viewed as part of the larger Vashon Island Heritage Collection.

Finally, we’ve received more than a few corrections and identifications over the last year, including this correction to a striking group portrait photograph from Pullman, WA (two of the individuals had previously been misidentified):

“This photo is actually Clara Hull Newton (back left) and Nick (Earl H.) Newton (front left). They are my Great Grandparents. The Crawfords are identified correctly. –Marti Lothspeich Fulfs”

This photo is one of more than 2,000 documents from over 100 individual families (and counting) digitized by Whitman County Library as part of its Whitman County Heritage Collection.  Whitman County Library’s multi-year, community-based digitization efforts have brought participatory history to every town in the county, and continue to unearth hidden treasures in family collections throughout the greater Palouse region.

Prior to the integration of a public commenting feature in our digital collections, members of the public were forced to contact us by email if they had questions or corrections.  Needless to say, the amount and frequency of such feedback was much lower than it has been since implementing public commenting.  We look forward to more comments in 2013.  More identifications, dates, and stories. Without your participation, we’re simply history!

From the desk of Steve Willis, Central Library Services Program Manager of the Washington State Library:

This week’s random article comes from the Jan. 5, 1901 issue of The Ballard News, published at a time when Ballard was an independent incorporated city. But the news itself is actually about Seattle, and the almost total destruction of the Seattle Public Library by fire on the evening where 1900 turned into 1901.

According to John Douglas Marshall’s book, Place of Learning, Place of Dreams (2004), SPL had struggled in the early years to find funding and a permanent home. On Jan. 12, 1899 the Library opened in the posh quarters of the Yesler mansion, and patron usage soared. But City Librarian Charles Wesley Smith expressed concern the enormous Victorian wooden structure was a fire hazard. The memories of Seattle’s great 1889 inferno were still fresh.

Smith’s fears were well founded. Practically the whole collection went up in smoke on the cusp of 1900/1901. Andrew Carnegie came to the rescue and in short order a fine new library was constructed. The cause of the fire was never fully explained. There was some feeling it was sparked by someone who wanted to force the issue of finding a secure home for SPL. One prominent Seattle educator even declared, “All glory to the man who applied the torch.”

This article was apparently originally published in the Seattle Mail and Herald. It is interesting how many of the points made in promoting the local library in 1901 remain valid over a century later:

 $35,000 WORTH OF BOOKS

 That Was Seattle’s Loss in Tuesday Night’s Fire

 “Ever since Seattle’s great fire the city has been learning to turn apparent evil into good and to make the most of her calamities. The same spirit which prompted her to rise up in the ashes of 1889 and build on new foundations the basis of a greater city than could ever have sprung from the old, will not desert her now, as she stands and looks in the ashes of what was, a few days since, the pride of every man, woman and child on Puget Sound,– the Seattle Public Library.”

“All are by this time acquainted with the fact that on New Year’s night the library, consisting of $35,000 worth of books and  paraphernalia, was destroyed by fire.”

“Until this calamity few people had known in just what an exalted position they held this institution; but the calamity has appealed more directly to the people than would the destruction of any other institution, public or private, in the city, with the possible exception of the University.”

“A public library such as this, is of incalculable value to any city in which it is located. A public library operated in such a satisfactory way as was this one is, we believe, of as much value to the city as the churches combined.”

“The Seattle Library had 8,200 patrons, and it may be safely calculated on the basis of five readers for every card– more than 40,000 readers.”

“It had an average of 2,500 visitors daily. The number going in and out of the library building on last Thanksgiving day, aggregated 3,000.”

“There is another fact– and it is important– that hundreds and even thousands of men and girls, who had not decent rooms or apartments, spent all their leisure time in the library. Now that the establishment is destroyed and temporarily inaccessible, they are seen walking listlessly about the streets or lounging in clubs or saloons– for they are out of a home. These, and the further fact that education and high ideals are the acknowledged solution to the problem of crime, are some of the reasons urged why the Seattle Public Library was of such vital importance to the city. Outside of all other argument there is the fact that no other city of Seattle’s size could afford to be without a well equipped complete library.”

“We desire to commend the Library committee of the city council upon their prompt and decisive action. It seems that they have no other thought in mind than that the city must at once proceed, not only to place the library back in even a better state than before, but more important than all else, to purchase a site, forthwith, and construct a fireproof library building that will answer for all time.”

“This is as it should be. Seattle is not a city of ephemeral hopes and iridescent booms. She is building for all time. Mr. Smith, the man who has conducted to such perfect satisfaction, the affairs of the City Library for so many years, has been working for two years past to this one end– a permanent library building for Seattle. The city can afford to take up the matter at once,– rather, it can not afford not to, and we are glad to be able to inform our readers that the committee will report to this effect to the city council.”

“The locations being considered as most desirable are, we are informed, the present site and the old University grounds. It is not known that either of these is available at reasonable figures, but they, together with others, are under contemplation of the committee.”

Amor de Cosmos

From the desk of Steve Willis, Central Library Services Program Manager of the Washington State Library:

Now here’s a sentence I bet no one has constructed before: This is a tale of a crazed Canadian politician juggling and insulting a steak while in the process angering a future Washington Secretary of State to the point of near fisticuffs.

The following article was found at random in the Dec. 16, 1895 issue of The Spokesman-Review. It recalls a visit to Kalama in 1873 by British Columbia’s 2nd Premier, a gentleman by the unusual name of Amor de Cosmos.

Amor de Cosmos has been described as “flamboyant,” “eccentric,” “a racist drunk,” “egotistical,” “disorderly,” “a bad smell in a high wind,” and “fearfully tedious.” He was a major figure in BC journalism and politics from the late 1850s to early 1880s. Born William Alexander Smith in Nova Scotia in 1825, he appears to have been something of an outrageous character for most of his life. In 1895 he was officially declared “of unsound mind,” and died on July 4, 1897 while under the care of his brother. Amor Lake on Vancouver Island is named after him.

  CHANGED HIS NAME

 —–

 An Eccentric Character Now Lying at Death’s Door in Victoria.

 —–

 SMITH TO DE COSMOS

 —–

 His Remarkable Performance With a Tough Beefsteak at a Kalama Hotel — Member Parliament.

 “The Hon. Amor de Cosmos, one of the first members British Columbia sent to the Dominion parliament, is very ill at his home in Victoria. The forty-niners of California will best recall him under the name of John Smith, an American, who was something of a globe-trotter, and who was the hero of many adventures. He grew to be ‘well fixed’ while sojourning at the Golden gate, and to wear an expensive white shirt front about which a heavy gold chain meandered in connection with a flowing beard and locks that would put those of the Poet-Scout Crawford to the blush.”

“Comparative wealth spoiled him, and he sickened of the ancient family name of John Smith, so he sent a bill to the California legislature, praying permission to change it to the more modern one of Amor de Cosmos. Such bills generally pass without any attention whatever, but in this case a member who was something of a wag, moved as an amendment that the name be changed to Patrick McFarlan McGinnin McGinty O’Rourke, and this amendment came within one vote of being carried.”

“Mr. de Cosmos carried his new name over the border to British Columbia, and there naturalized it. He left a record in the Dominion house of commons of having, on a filibustering occasion, addressed the house for 72 hours, one of the longest speeches on record there. One of the resolutions he introduced that created some laughter at the time, was that no man should be employed on the Canadian Pacific railroad, then a government undertaking, whose hair measured more than seven inches. This was aimed at Chinese labor. Mr. de Cosmos’ hair was then 17 inches probably, and the late Sir John A. Macdonald facetiously observed: ‘That settles the cosmogony of the road for all time.'”

“‘Yes,’ said ex-Senator Fairweather yesterday, ‘I knew De Cosmos very well. The forty-niners are getting scarce. De Cosmos is a character. He resembled in appearance the late Carter Harrison, Chicago’s famous mayor. His hair and whiskers were a trifle darker and his complexion, strange to say, more of a Burgundy tint than the illustrious democrat.'”

“‘He made a great speech to save some rights of settlers in British Columbia in the early ’70s, and was completely exhausted at the hour of final adjournment. This successful effort endeared him to the people and he was sent to the Dominion parliament from the province. His last name was chosen by himself, and was certainly an improvement on Smith, Smyth or Smithe.'”

“‘After his election to Ottawa he started for the seat of government in the winter of 1873 via Tacoma, Kalama, Portland and San Francisco. No steamships were running between Victoria and sound ports to San Francisco, no transcontinental railroads existed, but the Central and Union Pacific.'”

J. H. Price

“‘When he arrived in Kalama, to his disgust the Columbia river was frozen between that point and Portland, and he had to remain there until it was opened.'”

“‘He was a guest at the Fulton house, kept then by A.M. Patterson, now the big hop grower of Cowlitz county. Secretary of State J.H. Price, myself and others made that hotel our home. The morning succeeding De Cosmos’ arrival we were late at breakfast. The dining room had been closed, but as old patrons we were admitted and Mrs. Patterson herself was waiting on Jim Price and Bob McGregor and myself when De Cosmos woke up and was admitted to the table. His hair and whiskers were as long as described in the article you have shown me.'”

“‘We were eating our sour grass steak, as all lower Columbia beef was called at that time, with contentment. When De Cosmos was served with his, the first thing he did was to gaze at it suspiciously. It was to him neither beef nor bullion. He hit the steak with his knife viciously and made no impression on it. He turned it over and performed the same operation with the same result. He then gazed at us, at the walls and ceiling and proceeded to toy with that piece of meat in a manner that astonished us. We did not know him, but concluded at once that he was a juggler.'”

“‘He turned the fork in his left hand, jabbed it into the steak, raised it to the elevation of his nose, undercut it with his knife in his right, and tossing it to the ceiling, caught it on its return with his fork and took another whack at it. After repeating this two or three times he remarked that it was not fit for a dog to eat.'”

“‘At this Price jumped up and said he had been eating that kind of steak for six months and was no dog either, and demanded an apology.'”

“‘The lover of the world got into deep water and was taken out of the dining room by Mrs. Patterson and politely requested to go elsewhere. As he left the room, however, he looked at Price enviously, and remarked that a man who could exist on that kind of beef must have a stomach like a bullion retort?'”

John Wilson Sprague

“‘He reported to General Sprague that he had been assaulted by a lot of ruffians at the hotel and asked his protection. The general entertained him at his home, and Price, who was revenue inspector at Kalama then, did not annoy him on his departure by inspecting his baggage.'”

“‘I met him 10 years later at Victoria and he treated me nicely. He was a bright man and did much for the land of his adoption.'”

It is interesting the above article assumed Amor de Cosmos was originally an American.

The teller of the tale was Handford Wentworth Fairweather (1852-1919) who was a member of the 1889 Constitutional Convention and served in the 1st Washington State Legislature as a Senator from Lincoln County.

J.H. Price was James H. Price (1847-1919), Washington’s 2nd Secretary of State, serving from 1893-1897.

General Sprague was John Wilson Sprague (1817-1894), Civil War military figure and co-founder of Tacoma. Sprague, Washington, originally called Hoodooville,  (and where Sen. Fairweather later lived) was named in his honor.

The newspapers of Amor de Cosmos, The British Colonist and the Daily British Colonist, which he edited until 1863, are in the WSL newspapers on microfilm collection.

More information about Amor de Cosmos and other British Columbia premiers can be found in: British Columbia’s Premiers in Profile : the Good, the Bad, and the Transient by William Rayner.