In June, 1913, Mr. Brunton was united in marriage to Miss Geneva Eldridge, a daughter of Hon. H. D. Eldridge, a prominent farmer and influential citizen of Walla Walla county, a biography of whom appears on another page in these volumes. One son, William Eldridge, has been born to Mr. and Mrs. Brunton.
Mr. Brunton is a republican in politics and is loyal in his support of its candidates and measures. His fraternal connections are with Walla Walla Lodge, No. 287, B. P. O. E., and with Mountain Gem Lodge, No. 136, K. P. Both he and his wife are members of the Christian church and the highest moral standards have ever guided their lives. They have a wide acquaintance and are universally held in high esteem.
HIRAM M. HOOVER.
Hiram M. Hoover, who has lived retired in Waitsburg since 1911, was long and actively identified with agricultural pursuits in Walla Walla county and is still the owner of four hundred and eighty acres of valuable land. His birth occurred in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, on the 4th of July, 1853, his parents being Myers and Ann (Royer) Hoover, who spent their entire lives in that county, where the father followed farming throughout his active business career.
Hiram M. Hoover was reared under the parental roof and acquired his education in the public schools. When a young man of twenty years he left home to provide for his own support and, making his way to Ohio, worked as a farm hand in Wayne county, that state, for four years. On the expiration of that period he removed to Iowa, in which state he spent three years, and in 1880 he journeyed westward to San Francisco, California, where he hired out to a surveying party, with which he worked in southern Nevada for six months. He then returned to California and worked in the harvest fields of the Sacramento valley, while later he engaged in salmon fishing. In the fall of 1881 he returned to his native state, taking ship from San Francisco to the Isthmus of Panama, which voyage consumed twenty-one days, and crossing the Isthmus by railroad along the route of the present canal and then boarding a steamer which reached New York city at the end of seven days. After a few months spent at his home he returned to San Francisco, California, in the spring of 1882 and there remained throughout the following summer. He then sailed for Puget Sound, locating in Whatcom county, Washington, where he took up a homestead and continued to reside until the summer of 1885. That year witnessed his arrival in Walla Walla county and his settlement in Waitsburg, where he has made his home almost continuously since. He cultivated rented land during the first four years of his residence here and then purchased a tract of one hundred and sixty acres about two miles northeast of Waitsburg, over the county line, in Columbia county. Since that date, as his financial resources have increased owing to his well directed activity and able management, he has added to his holdings by additional purchase from time to time until at present he owns four hundred and eighty acres. The cultivation of this property claimed his attention and energies until 1911, when he put aside the active work of the fields and has since rented the place to a tenant. He is a stockholder in the Exchange Bank of Waitsburg and has long been numbered among the leading and substantial citizens of that place.
In 1886 Mr. Hoover was united in marriage to Miss Eva I. Loundagin, a sister of Dr. R. W. Loundagin, of Waitsburg, and the daughter of G. W. Loundagin, who came to Walla Walla county as a pioneer in 1861. Mr. and Mrs. Hoover became the parents of six children, three of whom survive, namely: Anna L., who is her father's housekeeper; Elam H., a ranchman, residing in Carter, Montana; and Emory M., who is a second lieutenant in the United States army and is now stationed at Douglas, Arizona. The wife and mother was called to her final rest in August, 1912, and her demise was deeply mourned by her immediate family as well as by an extensive circle of friends. Mr. Hoover gives his political allegiance to the republican party, while his religious faith is that of the Christian church, in which he holds membership. The period of his residence in Walla Walla county covers more than three decades and he has won a place among its esteemed and representative citizens.
W. H. WOOD.
More than a century ago George Washington said, "Agriculture is the most useful as well as the most honorable occupation of man." Its worth as the basis of all other business prosperity has been continuously demonstrated since the world began, and at no time has its usefulness been greater than at this era in the world's history, when all civilization is facing a crisis. The work of the farmer is indeed of the utmost worth and to this occupation W. H. Wood is devoting his time and energies with good results. He was born in Alvorado, Texas, on the 29th of April, 1880, and is a son of Daniel J. and Alice E. (Scott) Wood, both of whom are natives of Illinois, where they were reared and married. Soon afterward they went to Texas, where the father engaged in cotton growing, remaining in the Lone Star state for a year and a half. He was urged by his neighbors to remain for another year, being told that if he would stay for that length of time he would never desire to leave. His answer was that he was well aware of the fact that if he remained for another year he would not have money enough to get out, so turning his back upon Texas, he went again to Illinois, where he continued through the winter. In the spring of 1881 he started for the west, hoping to find more favorable conditions in this section of the country. He made Washington his destination and after crossing plains and mountains he took up his abode in Columbia county, where he secured a homestead in Smith Hollow. There he still resides, having long been numbered among the substantial farmers of that section of the state.