Skamania County WA Archives Biographies.....Attwell, J. F. January 5, 1855 - ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/wa/wafiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Ila Wakley iwakley@msn.com January 17, 2011, 1:35 pm Source: History of the Columbia River Valley From The Dalles to the Sea, Vol. III, Published 1928, Pages 677 - 678 Author: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company J. F. ATTWELL, of Stevenson, Skamania county, Washington, has spent practically his entire life in the Columbia river valley, of which his father was one of the early pioneers, and has done his full share of work incident to the development of this section of the state. After a long and active career, he is now retired, enjoying well earned leisure. Mr. Attwell was born at Cascade Locks, Oregon, on the 5th of January, 1855, and is a son of R. G. and Mary Jane (Harvey) Attwell, the former having been born in Ohio in 1821 and the latter in Illinois in 1820. His father crossed the plains, with ox teams and covered wagons, in 1852, and in the following year filed on a donation claim of three hundred and twenty acres of heavily timbered land at Cascade Locks. He built a log house and proceeded to clear the land, cutting the timber into cordwood, thousands of cords of which he sold to the river steamers. He was a millwright and shipbuilder by trade and built at Fisher's Landing, near Vancouver, the first flourmill in Washington territory. He followed his trade for several years, helped to build some of the first steamboats on the Columbia river, and also built and operated a shingle mill at Cascade Locks. Subsequently he went to Texas, where his death occurred in 1868. He was survived many years by his widow, who passed away in 1901. They were the parents of two children, J. F. and John W. J. F. Attwell secured a somewhat limited education in the public school at Cascade Locks and in a log schoolhouse at Stevenson, Washington. He worked for two years on the old portage road, after which he became a fireman on the Cascade portage road on the Washington side, working for the Oregon Steam and Navigation Company. He followed that line of work for nine years and in 1882 secured a pilot's license, and navigated a number of steamboats on the Columbia river until about 1910. In the meantime he had bought a ranch near Stevenson, Skamania county, Washington, and there he engaged in farming, devoting his attention to agricultural pursuits until 1920, when he retired and lived in Stevenson for a few years, after which he bought and moved onto a small place near Stevenson, where he is now living. Mr. Attwell was married in 1878 to Miss Anna Levins, who was born at the Lower Cascades, Washington, and died in 1881. In 1889 Mr. Attwell married Miss Bertha Blackwood, who was born at Washougal, Washington, and to them were born six children. Percy, who lives at Shelton, Washington, is married and has a son, John; Walter, who is a road contractor at Quilcene, Jefferson county, Washington, is married and has two sons, Arthur and Jimmy; Adele, who is the wife of J. C. Vietheer, of Portland, Oregon, is the mother of a daughter, Dorothy; James is in partnership with his brother Percy in the road contracting business; Alice, who is a graduate of the State Normal School, is engaged in teaching; and Albert is attending high school. The mother of these children died in 1916 and in 1921 Mr. Attwell was married to Mrs. Lucy Robertson, who was born in Oregon City, Oregon, and is a daughter of David and Mary (Alford) Markwood. Her father was numbered among those hardy pioneers who crossed the plains, with ox teams and covered wagons, in 1852. He located in Clackamas county, Oregon, where he took up a donation claim of three hundred and twenty acres on Eagle creek, on which he built a log house, and cleared off some of the heavy timber land. He lived there a few years, then sold and moved to Oregon City. A few years later he again located on his ranch, which he farmed until about 1866, when again he moved to Oregon City, where he resided until 1898, when he went to Idaho, where his death occurred in 1901. His wife died in 1886. To them were born five children, namely: Mary, deceased; Ella, who became the wife of Captain George Reynolds and is now deceased; Mrs. Lucy Attwell; William, who lives in Portland, Oregon; and Mrs. Virginia Johnson, deceased. By a former marriage, Mrs. Attwell is the mother of a son, Leslie Robertson, who is employed as a machinist in the office of the Oregon Journal, at Portland. Mr. Attwell is a member of Columbia Camp, No. 57, W. O. W., at Cascade Locks, and is a member of the Cascade Locks Pioneer Association, of which he was the first president. He has always maintained an active interest in matters affecting the welfare of the communities in which he has lived, being a consistent advocate of good schools and improved highways, and has served on the school boards at Cascade Locks and Stevenson, serving also as road supervisor for several years. Three of his sons are members of the Masonic order. Mr. and Mrs. Attwell are earnest members of the Congregational church at Stevenson, to which they give generous support, and throughout the community in which they live they command the highest respect and esteem. File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/wa/skamania/bios/attwell198gbs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/wafiles/ File size: 5.6 Kb