HON. GEORGE C. GINN.
Hon. George C. Ginn, of Walla Walla, is prominent both in agricultural circles of this section and in public affairs, having served as a member of the state legislature. He was born in Umatilla county, Oregon, November 27, 1875, a son of Richard and Catherine (Kinnear) Ginn, the former a native of Scotland, whence he emigrated to Canada in 1840. He was married there and in 1860 removed with his family to Minnesota, where he resided for a decade. He then came to the Pacific northwest and settled on a farm in Umatilla county, to the operation of which he gave his entire time and attention until 1898, when he retired and removed to Walla Walla. Here he passed away in 1899 and his wife died five years later.
Hon. George C. Ginn, who is one of six living children of a family of ten, received his education in the common schools and in the State Normal School in Oregon. During his boyhood and youth he also received thorough training in agricultural work which proved very valuable when he began farming on his own account. On beginning his independent career he purchased land in Umatilla county and still owns five hundred acres there, the operation of which he supervises, although he makes his home in Walla Walla. In the management of his farming interests he has displayed sound judgment, a progressive spirit and excellent business ability and is one of the substantial residents of Walla Walla. He is also a stockholder and a director in the Third National Bank of this city.
In 1903 occurred the marriage of Mr. Ginn and Miss Rowena Evans. Following her death in 1910 he was married in 1912 to Miss Linnie P. Riggs, a native of Oregon. Mr. Ginn is prominent in the councils of the republican party, which he has supported since becoming of age, and in 1914 he was elected a member of the state legislature. His thorough grasp of public questions, his ability to differentiate between the essential and the non-essential and his consistent regard for the public welfare soon attracted favorable notice in that body and his work as a legislator reflected credit upon himself and upon the district which he represented. Fraternally he belongs to Lodge No. 121, I. O. O. F., to the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, in which he has held a number of offices, and to the Woodmen of the World. He is in hearty sympathy with the work of the Commercial Club, of which he is an active member, and every project calculated to promote the interests of Walla Walla depends upon and receives his moral and material support. He possesses the physical and mental vigor that enables him to accomplish much with seeming ease and although his has been a busy life he has always been characterized by a hearty good nature that has endeared him to his many friends. Both he and his wife belong to the Presbyterian church and his generous spirit has found expression in a liberal support of its various activities.
FRED L. MILLER.
Among the native sons of Washington who have elected to continue residents of the state is Fred L. Miller, a prominent farmer and stock raiser of Garfield county. He was born on the site of Dayton, Columbia county, February 12, 1866, and is a son of George W. and Sarah E. (Ping) Miller, an account of whose lives appears in the sketch of Judge Chester F. Miller, elsewhere in this work.
Fred L. Miller grew to manhood in his native county and as a boy attended the Dayton public schools and continued his studies in the high school, from which he was graduated in 1888. On beginning his independent career he took up his residence upon the farm where he still resides, which is located on the Snake river. He divides his time between grain farming and breeding cattle for the market. He owns forty-two hundred acres and in addition to this operates six hundred acres of state land under lease. He is recognized as an authority upon the different problems relative to the production of grain and on the various phases of cattle raising and each branch of his business returns to him a good profit. He specializes in registered white faced Hereford cattle and feeds from three hundred to four hundred each winter.
On the 16th of October, 1888, Mr. Miller was united in marriage to Miss Laura A. McMorris, a daughter of J. E. McMorris, who in 1879 removed to Columbia county, Washington, from California. Ten children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Miller, namely: George E., at home; F. Albert, who is in the United States Army; Harry B. and Nell B., at home; Jessie R., the wife of Jack Phillips, of Garfield county; and Otis D., Sarah E., Merritt and Merrell, twins, and John, all at home.