There William C. Painter resided until 1863 and was prominently identified with the early development of that section. At the time of the Indian war of 1855 he was one of the first to enlist, becoming a member of Company D, First Oregon Mounted Volunteers, which command fought the Indians for four days near Walla Walla, finally routing the red men, who retreated to the Palouse country. In this and many other engagements of the Indian war Mr. Painter distinguished himself for bravery. He remained with his company until the close of hostilities. In 1855 certain young ladies of the Forest Grove Academy, now the Tualitin Academy and the Pacific University, presented the company with a flag. Mr. Painter's comrades in arms voted that he should become its bearer and the starry banner finally came into his exclusive possession and is still carefully preserved in the Painter household as a priceless relic. Upon its field there are but twenty-one stars and on the flag, inscribed in large letters, are the words, "Co. D, First Oregon Vol., 1855-6." In the war against the Bannock and Piute Indians in 1878, Mr. Painter again engaged in fighting the red men. He was appointed by Governor Ferry captain of a company of forty-two men and was assigned to duty on the gunboat Spokane under command of Major Cress of the regular army. The first engagement in which he participated was at Long Island in the Columbia river below Umatilla, in which the whites were successful. Major Cress, in a letter to Mr. Painter written from Jefferson Barracks, Missouri, under date of April 15, 1897, speaks very highly of the assistance which the latter rendered. After this engagement, in recognition of his valuable service, he was made aid-de-camp on the staff of Governor Ferry, with the rank of lieutenant colonel, and was placed in command of forty-two men. He was then sent to eastern Oregon to assist in defending the people against the Indians who had recently been defeated by General O. O. Howard. He passed south of the retreating bands to Camas Prairie with a view of intercepting the retreat. The hostile savages, learning of his position, by a circuitous route passed around him and escaped, but he captured enough horses to pay the entire expenses of his command. Although no battle was fought in that campaign, it was considered so hazardous that an offer of ten dollars per day for guides was not sufficient to cause anyone to accept and run the risk. In his official report, General O. O. Howard, quoting Captain John A. Cress, said "Captain William C. Painter and the forty-two volunteers from Walla Walla deserve praise for good conduct and bravery, not excepting my Vancouver regiment and Captain Gray, with officers and crew of the steamer Spokane, who stood firmly at their posts under fire."
When the country no longer needed his military aid Captain Painter became a clerk for Flanders & Felton of Wallula, and when the senior member was elected to congress in 1867, Captain Painter took charge of the business. He also became postmaster of Wallula and the agent for the Wells Fargo Express Company. Returning to Walla Walla, he was appointed deputy collector of internal revenue for eastern Washington and in November, 1870, he resigned that position, although his resignation was not accepted until the following May. After retiring from office he made some unfortunate mill investments, in which he lost everything that he had saved. With courageous spirit, however, he again became a wage earner and was thus employed until 1876, when he was appointed receiver of the United States land office and occupied that position in most satisfactory manner until 1878, when he was elected county auditor. He served for four consecutive terms in that position and the Waitsburg Times of March 11, 1887, in speaking of him at his retirement from office, designated him as "the best auditor Walla Walla county ever had." He ever regarded a public office as a public trust and it is well known that no trust reposed in Captain Painter was ever betrayed in the slightest degree. Upon his retirement from the position of county auditor he concentrated his attention on farming, having fifteen hundred acres in the Eureka flats. While thus engaged he still occupied the old home on South Third street in Walla Walla, where the family still reside. He was thus extensively engaged in general agricultural pursuits and continued his farming operations until about two years prior to his death.
On the 7th of January, 1864, Captain Painter was married to Miss Caroline Mitchell, the only daughter of Judge I. Mitchell, of Multnomah county, Oregon, and their children are: Philip M., a resident of Walla Walla county; Charles S., of Montana; Maude M., the wife of Garrett D'Ablaing of Ellensburg; Harry M., a Congregational minister of Seattle; Bonnie Jean, the wife of R. F. MacLane of Walla Walla; Marguerite M., the wife of Herbert Gall of Sascatoon, Canada; Roy R., deceased; Rex M., of Walla Walla county; Caroline M., the wife of H. J. Wolff of Seattle; and Bruce I., of San Francisco. The family circle was broken by the hand of death when on the 4th of December, 1900, Captain Painter died of paralysis. For some time he was a vestryman of the Episcopal church which the family attend. His political allegiance had always been given to the republican party from the time of its organization and he was a most faithful follower of its principles. It is said that at every demonstration of a patriotic nature Captain Painter was called upon to take his place among the leaders, with his battle-scarred Indian war flag. His patriotic sentiments led him to take a prominent part in the Pioneer Association of Oregon and he always made a special effort to be present at its meetings. He was also active among the Indian War Veterans and was the first grand commander of the organization. For years he belonged to the Ancient Order of United Workmen. He gave devoted loyalty to every cause which he espoused and his is a most notable and honorable record of a pioneer, a valiant soldier and one of nature's noblemen.
WILLIS E. L. FORD.
No history of the pioneer development of Walla Walla county and of the vast west would be complete without extended reference to the Ford family, for Willis E. L. Ford and his father have been particularly active in advancing development along those lines which have meant much to the upbuilding and progress of this section. He was born near Oregon City, Oregon, November 29, 1855, a son of Nineveh and Martha Jane (Simpson) Ford. The father was a native of North Carolina, while the mother's birth occurred in Missouri. He crossed the plains in 1843 with Marcus Whitman, making the journey with ox teams, and he built the first tannery in Oregon City and in fact in that entire section of the country. He continued its operation for several years and also conducted a shoe store there. In 1848 he was one of the volunteers who enlisted for service against the Indians and traveled all over this section of the country in pursuit of the red men. It was at this time that the massacre of the white people at Walla Walla occurred. All that the soldiers had to eat for thirty days was the meat of a cayuse pony without salt. His travels over this section of the country brought to Nineveh Ford a good knowledge of the land and its possibilities and in 1859 he removed with his family to the Walla Walla valley, settling upon a farm upon which he resided to the time of his death. It was a wild tract of land when it came into his possession but with characteristic energy he began to break the sod and till the fields. His wife was the first white woman in the valley outside of the garrison. Mr. Ford built a log cabin with puncheon floor and doors and stick chimney and in true pioneer style began his life in Oregon territory. The latchstring of his cabin always hung out, assuring the traveler of a hearty welcome, and the stranger was always free to partake of whatever the table afforded. He worked diligently and persistently in the cultivation of his land and in the course of time his fields brought forth abundant harvests and his once wild tract was converted into a valuable farm. Moreover, he was one of the recognized leaders of the democratic party in this section of the state. He gave to that party his stalwart support, never faltering in his allegiance thereto, and twice he was called upon to represent his district in the state legislature while a resident of Oregon. Fraternally he was connected with the Masons and in his life exemplified the beneficent spirit of the craft, for he was continually extending a helping hand where aid was needed.
Willis E. L. Ford was one of a family of eleven children, seven of whom are now living. He shared with the family in all of the hardships and privations incident to frontier life. Such a life develops a self-reliance and force of character which count for much in the later struggle for existence and business supremacy. He supplemented his early education by study in the seminary in Walla Walla and afterward settled upon a farm in Whitman county, taking up his abode there in 1877. For thirty-five years he lived upon that place, ranking with the leading and representative agriculturists of that section of the state. When more than a third of a century had been passed there he sold his property and in a considerable measure retired from active business life. He purchased a farm of twenty-four acres in College Place and has since lived there, giving his attention to the raising of fruit and also to the conduct of a dairy business. His interests are carefully managed and are bringing to him a substantial measure of success.
In 1886 Mr. Ford was united in marriage to Miss Rhoda A. Andross, who was born in Minnesota, a daughter of William H. and Sophronia (Winigar) Andross, the former a native of England, while the latter was born in the state of New York. They removed westward on leaving Minnesota and became residents of the Walla Walla valley, where both the father and mother passed away. Mr. and Mrs. Ford have become the parents of six children: Grace, who is now a nurse in Los Angeles, California; Frank, also living in California; Edna, who was a college graduate and taught school for one week, after which she was killed by an electric car in Spokane, Washington; Orley, who is a missionary in South America; and John and Orpha, both of whom are at home.
Mr. and Mrs. Ford hold membership with the Seventh Day Adventist church and take an active part in its work, doing all in their power to advance its growth and extend its influence. In politics Mr. Ford maintains a liberal course, not caring to bind himself by party lines. He served on the school board for several years and has ever been a champion of the cause of public education. There are few residents of Walla Walla county more familiar with the story of pioneer life and conditions in this section of the state than he. He was only four years of age when brought to Walla Walla county. In 1877 he served as a volunteer in the Indian war and had his horse killed by his side. He thoroughly understands the red man, his nature and his problems. He has lived to see this section of the country no longer under the dominion of the savage and has witnessed its transformation as the work of modern day progress and improvement has been carried forward, whereby the natural resources of the country have been utilized and its wealth and progress thus greatly enhanced. The name of Ford figures prominently in connection with the history of the Inland Empire and Willis E. L. Ford indeed deserves mention among the honored pioneers.