It was while a resident of Sioux City that Mr. Holm was united in marriage, in August, 1870, to Miss Charlotte Peterson, a native of Sweden, who had come to the United States when seventeen years of age. In the year 1872 Mr. Holm came to the west with Oregon as his destination. He located first in Salem and was employed on the building of the state capitol in that city, remaining there for six years. On the expiration of that period he removed to Walla Walla and after two years took up his abode in Asotin county, Washington, where he resided for twenty-one years. During that period he was engaged in farming and in May, 1902, he purchased land and removed to the home farm upon which his widow now resides. There he continued to carry on general agricultural pursuits until his demise, which occurred February 3, 1904. He was a very skilled wood turner and he did much of the interior finishing of the Washington building for the Columbian Exposition held in Chicago in 1893. He proved equally efficient along other lines, both industrial and agricultural. In a word he possessed marked adaptability and accomplished whatever he undertook by reason of his unfaltering diligence and perseverance. His persistency of purpose, his laudable ambition and his splendidly directed efforts constituted an example that is well worthy of emulation.
To Mr. and Mrs. Holm were born eight children, seven of whom still survive, as follows: Anna, at home; Oscar, who is a member of the police force in Seattle; Harry, a resident of Roswell, New Mexico; Edgar, who is engaged in merchandising at Yuma Pine, Oregon; Emma, the wife of Professor W. M. Davis, who is principal of the College Place schools; Maurice, who formerly lived in Boston, Massachusetts but is now with the United States troops somewhere in France; and Roy, who operates the home farm.
Mr. Holm gave his political allegiance to the democratic party, and while he always kept well informed concerning the political conditions and questions of the country, he never had aspiration for office. He belonged to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows for many years and was a loyal representative of that society. He never regretted his determination to come to the new world, for he here found the opportunities which he sought and in their utilization made for himself a most creditable position in business circles. He won success by honorable effort and his record is one which reflects credit upon the land of his birth and the land of his adoption. That his life was well spent is indicated by the fact that those who knew him longest were his stanchest friends, for throughout his entire career he displayed characteristics that were worthy of the highest regard of his fellowmen.
E. J. CANTONWINE.
E. J. Cantonwine, a prosperous farmer of Walla Walla county, has passed his entire life in the county, as he is a native of the city of Walla Walla. His birth occurred November 12, 1887, and he is a son of W. J. and Clara E. (Cram) Cantonwine, natives of Iowa and Oregon respectively. In 1863 the father made the long overland journey with ox teams to Washington and located on Dry creek, where he engaged in farming for many years. He died in California, having gone there in the hope of benefiting his health. The mother survived for some time, passing away in April, 1917. Two of their three children are still living.
E. J. Cantonwine attended the schools of Dixie in the acquirement of his general education and prepared himself to manage his affairs in a businesslike manner by taking a course in a commercial college at Walla Walla. He remained at home, assisting his father with the farm work, until he attained his majority and then took charge of the operation of the homestead, which he managed for ten years. In the meantime he had acquired title to personal property which he sold at the end of that period. He then engaged in the undertaking business for five years, after which he disposed of his interests in that line and again turned his attention to agricultural pursuits. He owns four hundred and seventy-five acres of well improved land north of Dixie, Washington, and keeps its operation well in hand, realizing that farming is as much a business as manufacturing or merchandising and that to succeed the farmer most study both the problems of production and of marketing.
In 1900 Mr. Cantonwine was married to Miss Bessie Kershaw, a daughter of J. S. Kershaw, a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this volume. Both belong to the Methodist Episcopal church, of which Mr. Cantonwine is a trustee, and he is also now a member of the building committee which has in charge the erection of the new house of worship. He belongs to Enterprise Lodge, No. 2, I. O. O. F., in which he has filled all the chairs, and he is likewise a member of the Modern Woodmen of America and of the Loyal Order of Moose, in which he is also an officer. He is a typical western man, alert, confident of the future, self-reliant and resourceful, and he has been a factor in the advancement of the agricultural interests of Walla Walla county.