MRS. MARTHA ELLEN KIBLINGER BECKER.
Mrs. Martha Ellen Becker is living on section 6, township 7 north, range 35 east, Walla Walla county, and is the owner of a valuable farm property of six hundred and forty acres. She was born in Vermilion county, Illinois, and crossed the plains in 1861 in company with her parents, Jacob P. and Amanda A. (Rutledge) Kiblinger, both of whom were natives of the Prairie state. At length they determined to try their fortune in the northwest and made the long journey over the hot stretches of sand and across the mountains to Oregon, taking up their abode near Salem. Mrs. Becker was therefore reared and educated in Oregon and experienced all of the hardships and privations incident to the settlement of the frontier. After reaching young womanhood she gave her hand in marriage to Edwin F. Coffin and in 1879 they removed to the Walla Walla valley, where three years later they took up as a homestead the farm upon the Little Walla Walla river where Mrs. Becker still resides. Mr. Coffin bent his energies to the development and improvement of that place and his labors wrought a marked transformation in its appearance, for he broke the sod, tilled the fields and in course of years gathered good harvests, having brought all of the land under cultivation. Mrs. Becker now owns here six hundred and forty acres, constituting a very valuable farm on which are found all of the modern improvements and the accessories and conveniences known to the model farm of the twentieth century. She has continued to reside here since she took up her abode upon the place with her first husband and upon this farm she has reared her family of three children, two daughters and a son. The eldest, Myrtle, is the wife of Arthur Beard. The second daughter, Lula May, has become the wife of Fred Elsworth, of Deer Park, Washington, and the son, Guy H., remains upon the old homestead. After the death of Mr. Coffin, his widow became the wife of Philip Becker and to them have been born three children: Philip A. I.; Dora May, who is the wife of James Beeson; and George A., who is at home with his mother. Mrs. Becker is a very capable business woman, alert and energetic, and has successfully managed and controlled her farming interests. Her long residence in the county has made her largely familiar with events which have shaped the history of this section of the state. She can relate many an interesting tale of the early days and of the pioneer experiences which came to the lot of all those who settled in this section of the state when it was yet a frontier region. She has gained many friends during the years of her residence here and is highly esteemed by all who know her.
MRS. MARTHA E. K. BECKER
PATRICK J. HUGHES.
Patrick J. Hughes, one of the most successful farmers of Walla Walla county, was born in Westmeath, Ireland, in 1872, a son of Andrew and Delia (Kenan) Hughes. The father is still living in Westmeath, but the mother passed away, there, about 1894.