It was in 1852 that Theodore P. Ingalls accompanied his mother on the long journey to the northwest. He was then a youth of sixteen years. They made the trip with ox teams, there being fourteen wagons in the party. Cholera broke out en route and twenty-one members of the party died ere they reached their destination. Mr. Ingalls and his mother first took up their abode in Clackamas county, near Oregon City, Oregon, where a brother of our subject had preceded them. Here Theodore P. Ingalls worked at various occupations, much of his time being spent in the timber, in getting out saw logs and in splitting rails. He also worked in the sawmills and for a time he was in the mines and thus his experiences were broad and varied, acquainting him with every phase of pioneer life and development in the northwest.
On the 27th of February, 1867, Mr. Ingalls was united in marriage to Miss Catherine Smith, of Clackamas county, Oregon, who had come to the northwest with her sister, crossing the Isthmus in 1863 and thence proceeding up the coast. In the summer of 1871 Mr. and Mrs. Ingalls became residents of Walla Walla county, Washington, where he took up a preemption of one hundred and sixty acres, but money was scarce, and being unable to make payment upon his property, he turned it into a homestead of eighty acres. The place was located in Spring valley about three miles north of Dixie, and there he made his home and successfully engaged in farming for thirty-three years. During that period he added to his holdings from time to time as opportunity offered until his landed possessions were seven hundred and four acres. This property he recently sold, but already in 1904, on account of failing health, he retired from active farming operations and for a time spent his days largely in travel. He finally took up his abode in Waitsburg, where he has since remained and where he is now most comfortably situated. At the age of eighty-two years he is surrounded by many friends, enjoying the respect and warm regard of all who know him.
In 1856 Mr. Ingalls took part in the Yakima Indian war, serving under Colonel Cornelius. His political endorsement has long been given the democratic party, while fraternally he is connected with Waitsburg Lodge, No. 5, I. O. O. F., is a consistent member of the Christian church to which his wife also belonged, and their well-spent lives gained for them the warm regard and respect of all with whom they have been brought in contact. Mrs. Ingalls passed away quite recently, her lamented death causing deep grief to her husband and her many friends who greatly admired her for her high qualities of character.
The growth of the northwest has been marvelous but its resources stimulated the efforts and ambitions of the men who cast in their lot with the first settlers. At the time of Mr. Ingalls' arrival the red men had dominion over this entire section of the country. Only here and there had a little settlement been made along the rivers or the coast, for navigation alone could bring to man the things which he needed from other quarters. There were great broad areas that are now highly cultivated which at that time were unclaimed. The forests, too, stood in their primeval strength and the rivers were only used for an occasional trip. Today the powers of the land have been utilized for the benefit of man and with every phase of development from pioneer times down to the present Mr. Ingalls is familiar. He has lived to see the rude frontier cabins replaced by commodious and substantial homes, the tiny hamlets converted into thriving villages and cities and the work of progress carried forward along agricultural, industrial and commercial lines until the northwest has reason to be proud of her cities, her homes and her mines as well as her wonderful agricultural development, in which Mr. Ingalls took an active part as one of the leading farmers of Walla Walla county for many years.
JOHN F. ADAMS.
An upright, honorable man was John F. Adams, whose entire life measured up to high standards and whose association with public interests constituted an element of advancement and improvement in this section of the state.
He was born in Franklin county, Maine, July 20, 1835, a son of Joseph and Areta (Barrett) Adams, coming of the same ancestry as John Adams and John Quincy Adams, two of the early presidents of the United States. Both the parents were natives of Maine and spent their entire lives there. They had a family of seven children, all of whom have passed away.
John F. Adams was twenty-two years of age when in 1857 he became identified with the northwest, settling first in Douglas county, Oregon, where he took up the profession of teaching in the Umpqua Valley, which he followed for five years. He then exchanged the master's rod for the shepherd's crook, becoming extensively engaged in sheep raising in Umatilla county, Oregon, in 1865, where he resided for twenty-three years, and in addition to raising sheep engaged also in raising cattle and horses, handling only high bred stock. He became one of the foremost representatives of live stock interests in this section of the country, his business affairs being wisely and successfully managed. He was also one of the organizers of the Savings Bank at Pendleton, Oregon, and served as its president until his death. He shaped its policy and directed its activities, helping to make it one of the strong financial concerns of that section. He was devoted to the welfare of his town and his county and was actuated by a spirit of progress and improvement in all that he undertook.
On November 17, 1878, Mr. Adams was united in marriage to Miss Susan F. Fry, a native of Indiana and a daughter of Robert and Amanda (Francis) Fry. The father was a native of Virginia, while the mother's birth occurred in Kentucky, and in early life they removed westward to Indiana, where they were married. The mother died in that state but Mr. Fry afterward removed to Kansas, where his demise occurred. In their family were three children, of whom two are now living. To Mr. and Mrs. Adams were born five children: John R., who is a resident of Oregon; George H., who has passed away; Walter F., living in Walla Walla; Pauline, the wife of Walter Bemus, of Walla Walla; and Helen M., the wife of Frederick Morrison, of Oakland, California. She was in her girlhood days a student in Whitman College of Walla Walla.