Fraternally Mr. Brooks is identified with Walla Walla Lodge, No. 287, B. P. O. E., with Washington Lodge, No. 19, I. O. O. F., and with the Modern Woodmen of America. He has always been deeply interested in the welfare and progress of the section of the state in which he lives and he has proven his faith in Walla Walla county and its future by making extensive investments in farm lands. The sterling traits of his character have gained him wide acquaintance and he has an extensive circle of friends, who entertain for him the warmest regard by reason of his personal qualities as well as for his professional achievements.
GEORGE TOMPKINS POLLARD.
George Tompkins Pollard is a resident farmer of Columbia county, living on section 6, township 9 north, range 38 east. He is the oldest settler in that district and has been identified with the Inland Empire, its pioneer development and its later progress, since 1855. He was born in Linn county, Missouri, June 15, 1835, a son of Roger B. and Sarah C. (Smith) Pollard. The father was a native of Richmond, Virginia, while the mother's birth occurred in Rockingham county, Virginia. They were married in Shelby county, Kentucky, to which district they had removed in young manhood and womanhood. They began their domestic life in Shelby county, where they remained for a number of years, and about 1820 they established their home in Linn county, Missouri, where they lived for two decades. They afterward moved to the Platte Purchase, settling near St. Joseph, Missouri, where both passed away.
George T. Pollard acquired a district school education in his native state and at sixteen years of age left the parental roof to start out in life on his own account. In the spring of 1852 he crossed the plains with an ox team to California and for three years was engaged in mining on the Cosmos river in what is now Amador county. In July, 1855, he made his way northward into Oregon to visit a brother and while on that visit enlisted in the service to fight the Indians. He took part in the Yakima Indian war and later for three years was engaged in packing supplies for Colonel Rice and Colonel Steptoe and was in the latter's employ when he was defeated by the Indians. Mr. Pollard was in Wallula on the 20th of December, 1855, and on the 22d or 23d participated in the fight with the Indians near Whitman Station. He is the oldest settler now living in this part of the state and there is no one more familiar with every phase of pioneer life and experience than he. His military service made him acquainted with every phase of Indian warfare and later he met all of the hardships and privations incident to the task of developing a new farm. On the 6th of August, 1859, he filed on the homestead where he now lives and upon that place has resided continuously since, covering a period of fifty-eight years. As his financial resources increased he purchased more land from time to time and now owns four hundred and ninety-five acres.
In 1860 Mr. Pollard was united in marriage to Miss Harriet L. Wiseman, of Walla Walla county, who crossed the plains with her father, John Wiseman, in 1852, settling in Linn county, Oregon. Mr. and Mrs. Pollard became the parents of the following children, namely: Melissa; Ann; John B., who is deceased; Mary; Oliver; Etta; Bettie; Ella and Cordelia, who have passed away; Frank; Robert; and Roy.
In politics Mr. Pollard is independent, never caring to bind himself by party ties. He was appointed a member of the first board of county commissioners after the organization of Columbia county and was a member of the school board for more than thirty years. At different times he has been urged by his friends to accept nomination for various important political offices but has always refused, preferring to do his public duty as private citizen. He and his wife are members of the Methodist church and their well spent lives have been guided by its teachings. When the state of Washington was yet cut off from the advantages and comforts of the east by the long stretches of sand and the high mountains, he made his way across the plains, braving all the trials and hardships of pioneer life in order to make a home in the Inland Empire, rich in its resources yet unclaimed from the dominion of the red man. As the years have come and gone he has borne his part in the work of general progress and improvement and has been a prominent factor in promoting agricultural development. The days of chivalry and knighthood in Europe cannot furnish more interesting or romantic tales than our own western history.