Jeremiah M. Camp passed the days of his boyhood and youth in his native state and is indebted for his education to its public schools. Following his marriage, February 12, 1858, at the age of twenty years, he became a resident of Knox County, Illinois. In 1862 he enlisted there in Company I, Eighty-third Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and served at the front until the close of the Civil war in 1865. Although he took part in a great deal of hard fighting he was never wounded nor imprisoned. After being mustered out at Chicago he returned to Ohio, where his wife was then residing, and they continued to make their home in that state until 1867, when they went to the vicinity of Washington, Iowa, where Mr. Camp engaged in farming for three years. In 1870 he went to Kansas and in 1883 came to Washington. After staying for a time in Walla Walla county he removed to Whitman county, where he took up a homestead. He at once gave his entire time and attention to the task of developing that farm and as the years passed made many improvements thereon. In 1904 he retired and took up his residence in Walla Walla, where he now lives. He still owns sixteen hundred and sixty acres of land in Whitman county, all in a high state of cultivation, and derives therefrom a gratifying income. The success which he has gained is doubly creditable in that it is due to his quickness to see and take advantage of opportunities, his good management and his hard work.
On the 12th of February, 1858, Mr. Camp was united in marriage to Miss Lucy Ann Merritt, also a native of Vinton county, Ohio, and they traveled life's journey together for fifty-two years, Mrs. Camp dying in Walla Walla on the 8th of October, 1911. They became the parents of nine children, as follows: Louis and Ida, both deceased; Hattie, the wife of William Barber, of Anthony, Kansas; A. I. and George, both residents of Whitman county, Washington; May, the wife of Theodore Harris, of Oklahoma; Sadie, the wife of Charles Pryor, of Dayton, Washington; and Archibald and Ira, both residents of Whitman county. The wife and mother was a consistent and faithful member of the Methodist Episcopal church.
Mr. Camp has voted the republican ticket since he cast his first vote for Abraham Lincoln. He has never been active in public affairs, preferring to concentrate his efforts upon his farm work, and in so doing he has not only won financial independence but has also contributed to the development of this district along agricultural lines. Through his membership in the local Grand Army post he keeps in touch with the other veterans of the war and finds great pleasure in recalling the experiences of those days.
JAMES A. YEEND.
James A. Yeend is a self-made man who is now the owner of three hundred and eighty acres, constituting a valuable farm property on section 20, township 8 north, range 36 east, Walla Walla county. He was born in Gloucestershire, England, on the 8th of March, 1856, and is a son of William and Ellen (Surman) Yeend, who were natives of England, whence they crossed the Atlantic to the new world in December, 1870. They settled on a farm in section 20, township 8 north, range 36 east, Walla Walla county, and here the father passed away, while the mother later became a resident of Walla Walla and died in that city. They were the parents of sixteen children, seven of whom survive.
James A. Yeend was a lad of fourteen years when he crossed the Atlantic to the United States in company with his parents. He had acquired his education in England and remained under the parental roof until twenty-one years of age, when he started out in life for himself. Two years later he took up a preemption claim of one hundred and twenty acres and bought one hundred and sixty acres of railroad land in Walla Walla county but in 1883 sold this property to his father. He then removed to Whitman county, Washington, where he took up a homestead and timber claim, upon which he lived for twelve years and through that period wrought a marked transformation in the appearance of his property, for he brought much of the land under a high state of cultivation. In 1896 he sold that place and came to Walla Walla county, where he now resides. Here he owns three hundred and eighty-four acres of rich and productive land, upon which he has placed many modern improvements, including an attractive home and substantial buildings that furnish ample shelter for grain and stock. He is an energetic and progressive farmer and his place presents a most attractive appearance, indicative of the care and labor which he bestows upon his fields and also indicative of the careful supervision which he gives to all branches of the farm work.
On the 15th of December, 1883, Mr. Yeend was united in marriage to Miss Lydia Chandler, also a native of Gloucestershire, England, and a daughter of Joseph and Eliza (Surman) Chandler. Her father died in that country and her mother came to America in October, 1882, locating in Whitman county, Washington, where she took up a homestead claim and spent the remainder of her life. To Mr. and Mrs. Yeend have been born eight children, namely: Ernest E., Edith M., Fred S. and Frank J., twins; Flora E., William A., Olive and Esther A.
Mr. and Mrs. Yeend are devoted members of the Methodist Episcopal church, in the work of which they take an active and helpful interest, Mr. Yeend serving now as one of the trustees. His political support is given to the republican party and he has served for sixteen years as a member of the school board. Fraternally he is connected with the Ancient Order of United Workmen. As the architect of his own fortunes he has builded wisely and well and is not only one of the self-made men of Walla Walla county but is also one of its most progressive farmers and in all that he does holds to the highest standards of agricultural development and activity.