Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1903-11-20
IT ashia9tun Standard
OE.xnPsA, WASH.
FRIDAY NaRN.NG, NOVEMBER 20. 1903.
Interesting Page Of State History

Interesting Page Of State History.
Clarence b. Bagley, OF Seattle, has
been contributing some excellent rem.
iniscont articles to the Spndnp Times
OF that city. One OF these appeared a
few weeks ago, and gave very complete
account of the pioneer press and its
progress and Development in the then
sterile field 1t was followed. in that
Paper Of the Sth, by an exceedingly in.
teresting article on the colonization
scheme OF Asa S. Mercer, in 1866,
when a very desirable addition was
made to our frontier population by the
importation OF several hundred women
from the New England States-mainly
from the hub OF culchah, Boston.
The first attempt was made in 1864,
by the same gentleman, but Was not
crowned with that success its import.
ance merited, only eleven responding
to an invitation to pioneer a new
country where school teachers, seam
stresses and housekeepers were in such
demand, to say nothing OF the need
for intelligent and capable women to
fill the sacred places of wife and moth
er.
The successful results OF the frst
effort prompted the second. All the
Mercer girls" of the first expedition
found employment. good homes or
were married to acceptable husbands.
So the next year found Mr.. Mercer at
Lowell, Mass, noted for its excess OF
the fairer portion of humanity, labor
ing for the object which seems to have
become lfe.mission with him.
A full list Of the passengers by the
Continental was never published, but
Mr.. Bagley has succeeded in securing
partial list, which he gives as follows
Albert A. Manning and wife, w. L.
Mercer and wife, John Wilson and
wife, DR.. c. F. Barnard and wife, C.
Boardman, wife and child, J. Bogart
and wife, R. Conant, Lewis A. Treen,
E. A. Stevens, w. Perrigo and wife, Mrs.
]. S. Lord and son James, Mrs. NJ. Os.
borne and son Eben S., c. S. Spaulding
and wife, Mrs. Pearson and son Daniel
O., David H. Webster, T. A. Lewis. B.
Brady, F. Read, J. J. Tingley, H. O.
Hill, - Rhodes and wife, Capt. E..
Pettis, wife and son, Mr.. Weeks and
vile, Mrs. Grinnold and two daugh-
tiers, Mrs. Wakeman and three child
rem and her mother, Mr. Stephenson,
wife and child, Mat A. Kelley, Mrs.
Parker. Mrs. Chase and two children,
Mrs. Warren and two sons, Mrs. Buck
minister, Mr.. Peterson, wife and three
children, Mr.. Horton, s. S. Fingley,
and the Misses Harriet F. Stevens,
Annie Stevens, Annie E. Stephens,
Mamie Stephens, H. Stewart, Sarah
Davidson, F. Collins, A. Weir. M. Ken
ney, Clara NJ. Lord, Carrie Bacon, E.
Bacon, Nina E. Manning, NJ. A. Grit
fin, M. Staples, M. J. Smith, Annie
PEBBLES, Lizzie PEBBLES. Julia Guthrie,
Ida Barlow, L. Barry, A. Horton, A.
Miller, M. Martin, Sarah A. Robinson,
and Misses Rhodes, Atkinson, Law.
renee and Connor.
The history of the famous expedi-
ton, that was the elimination OF his
hopes, is told by Mr.. Mercer himself,
in . communication to Mr.. Bagley, in
response to a request for brief and
accurate statement of many facts that
seemed to conflict in some important
details. Mr.. Mercer wrote from May.
oworth, Wyoming. under date of Nov.
18th, 1901, a. follows:
Early in the year 1865. impressed with
SAlO AutuAO ktC0SuO0o VI tAO 4CIIllOIy vi
Washington, and knowing her every
need, determined to aid that future by
the bringing to her shores of q few hun.
dred good women. had been taught
to believe, and did believe, that prac.
tically all the goodness in the world
came from the influence of pure-minded
women. At that time there was not q
single woman of manageable age on
Puget Sound or the inlets north of Olym.
pia, save two or three "schoOl marms,'
who had accompanied me from the East
the year before, and they were all pre-.
pairing their wedding trousseau.
On the other hand 1.-THE woods were
full' of single men-strong, brave and
true-hearted, who had gone West tc
help subdue it and build home. There
were few families, and the bachelor ele.
ment was almost wholly beyond the
:each Of female influence and it's whole
some results. Most of these men had
taken claims along the various streams
and commenced the slow process Of
clearing. Prospectively their farms were
valuable, but at that time unsaleable
save for pittance. The cost of . triI
by steamer to the East was $3.50, not t.
mention incidentals. Thus the round
trip with the necessary expenses of find.
ing q wife and returning to the " Sound
would be $1,000 at least, and this was
more than any claim in the country
would sell for. So it was evident that
Mahomet could not go to the mountains
and the mountains had to be taken to
Mahomet.
This was just at the close of the Civil
War, when thousands of widows and
orphans filed the East, many of whom,
l reasoned, would be glad to seek q
home in the sunset land, then a terra
incognito. Hundreds of government yes
sells were lying idle and thousands Of
seamen were still on the payrolls, with
bunkers overlooking with coal, at all Of
the government wharves. NV thought
was to call on President Lincoln, tell
him of our situation, and ask him to give
me q ship, coaled and manned, for the
voyage from New York to Seattle,
furnishing the food supplies. This,
was confident, he would gladly do. Hav
ing sat upon Lincoln 3 lap as . five-year
old lad and listened to his funny stories
and knowing the goodness of his heart
not shadow of doubt existed in my
mind as to the outcome.
hn ofn