Theodore and Jennie Hoss

Printed: T.R. Williams, Centralia, Wash.

I have been told this is a photo of my great-grandparents, Theodore and Jennie (Reeves) Hoss, on their wedding day, Feb. 20, 1890.

Theodore Jacob Hoss was born in Wisconsin in 1863. Part of his childhood was spent in Nebraska. The Hoss family arrived in Washington Territory in the mid-1870s.

Theodore and Jennie were a power couple. She "became the leader in every group she joined," according to one family member. The Red Cross and the GAR were two groups where she was active, and she was indeed the State Chair of the GAR for a year.

He was a progressive Democrat who was a frequent candidate in a conservative Republican county. Occasionally he'd get elected to a city or county office. His runs for the legislature were not successful.

How radical was he? As the Democratic nominee for US Congress in 1918 he stood for equal wages for equal work for men and women. That was pretty radical.

But he was also a successful businessman and had a role in starting Centralia's first electric utility and streetcar line. Theodore died in 1947.

Theodore and Jennie are buried in Centralia's Pioneer Cemetery

Jennie's Mother

Written on verso: Jennie's Mother, 1889, Lydia Melissa Reeves

My great-great grandmother. Although this has an 1889 date, I suspect this photo was taken at a much earlier year. In the late 1880s she survived Typhoid Fever, but died as a result of complications from surgery for cancer in 1892 shortly after she turned 50.

She lived in Centralia, Washington for a brief time, 1889-1892. I have a copy of a letter she wrote back to relatives in Michigan about her impressions of this area. It's very charming and hopeful.

Unfortunately, no one in my grandparents' generation was old enough to remember her, so I didn't get any firsthand accounts of what she was like, except that she was terribly missed by her family. 

Loyal S. Kincaid

Loyal S. Kincaid

Printed: Marvin, Grand Ledge, Michigan

On verso: To Aunt Melissa, a Merry Xmas
Age 3 mo., 23 days
Height 2 1/2 ft.
Weight 17 lbs.

Loyal Kincaid was born July 30, 1890 in Michigan, died June 1, 1968. He served as a private in World War I.

Aunt Melissa was my great-great grandmother, Lydia Melissa Reeves, who would've been living in Centralia, Washington in 1890.

Interesting to read this early use of "Xmas." A little digging shows the term has actually been around a lot longer than I suspected.

Sid

Written on album sleeve: Sid

Sidney A. Reeves. I'm guessing this was taken in the early 1890s in Centralia, Washington.

Unidentified

Who these people are I do not know and cannot guess. Photo probably taken in Michigan, but possibly in Centralia, Washington.

Mrs. W. F. Reeves, Lafe

Tintype. On the back is written: Mrs. W. F. Reeves, Lafe

This is my great-great grandmother with her firstborn, Charles LaFayette Reeves ("Lafe"), who was born in 1862, placing the date of this portrait in the Civil War era.

Lydia Melissa Upham was born in upstate New York on Sept. 6, 1842. Apparently she was known as Melissa. In 1861 she married Walter Francis Reeves (known as "Frank") in Michigan. I am guessing it was shortly after this photo was taken that Frank enlisted in the Union Army.

The Reeves family migrated to Washington Territory in 1889. In a letter Melissa wrote back home to Michigan from Centralia, Washington in 1891 we learn she had been a victim of typhoid fever in 1888 and had never been the same since. I had heard one reason the family moved West was the hope the climate would be better for her health. 

Melissa died at age 50, Sept. 25, 1892, in Centralia, Washington and is buried there in the Pioneer Cemetery.

Jennie, Lafe

Tintype with barely readable notation on verso: "Jennie, Lafe"

Charles LaFayette Reeves and his sister, Jennie Melissa Reeves. Jennie was my great-grandmother and the curator of this album.

Jennie was born Sept. 22, 1869 in Lansing, Michigan. Before accompanying her family to Centralia, Washington Territory in 1889 she briefly taught school.

She married Theodore Jacob Hoss in Centralia, Feb. 20, 1890. They were something of a power couple, both of them deeply involved in politics and social groups. Although Centralia was and remains a very conservative town, Theodore and Jennie were outspoken progressives.

Jennie died in Centralia on Valentine's Day, 1952.

Lafe

Tintype

Barely legible on verso: Lafe

Charles LaFayette Reeves (Aug. 18, 1862-June 4, 1939) was better known as Lafe. He was the older brother of my great grandmother, Jennie. 

Lafe accompanied his family from Michigan to Centralia, Washington Territory in 1889. He married a woman named Elizabeth (Bessie) in 1903 and they both were Christian Scientist converts. When my grandmother Leona survived the influenza epidemic in 1918 she credited Lafe with her recovery.

Lafe was a barber and I only recently learned worked just 7 miles from my home over in Elma, Washington during the early 1900s. In spite of the expression in this photo, he is remembered as a big, friendly man who was also a ventriloquist. 

Charles and Bessie had no children. We visit their graves every year and the headstones are eroding away down there in Centralia.

OK, now here's a mystery for you research wizards. Between the birth of Sidney A. Reeves (Lafe's youngest sibling) in Michigan, Mar. 28, 1872 and the year 1884 when the family is safely back in the Wolverine State but a bit further north, I cannot account for the whereabouts of the Reeves family. There are some pretty wild stories, all unconfirmed, which include George Armstrong Custer and Little Bighorn. I'll get to it eventually here. It would seem this tintype of Lafe was taken during this lost chunk of time. And he looks worn beyond his tender years. There's a good story somewhere in there.

Sid

Written on album sleeve: Sid

Written on verso: S.A. Reeves, 1891, Mrs. Theo. Hoss

Printed: T.R. Williams, Centralia, Wash.

Sidney A. Reeves was the youngest of three. He was born Mar. 28, 1872 in Michigan. When the Reeves family moved to Washington Territory in 1889 he was still a teenager. In this photo he is 18 or 19 years old.

They tell me he was employed as a butcher and was an avid hunter. He never married and lived with his sister Jennie and her husband Theodore Hoss until 1920. Eventually he moved to the country where he raised hunting dogs.  

Sid died in Centralia, Washington Aug. 21, 1938. He is buried in Centralia's Pioneer Cemetery under a rapidly eroding simple headstone.

 

Aunt Mary - Gerome

In pencil on album sleeve: Aunt Mary - Gerome

Printed: Chapman, Stanton, Mich.

Mary Jane Reeves (1836-1920) was my great-great grandfather's sister. She married Jerome Burns (1830-1905)

I think it might've been other members of the Burns family who lived in the Centralia area, Washington Territory and served as contacts for the Reeves family when they came out here in 1889.

Phone photo 2533

Centralia, Washington

Phone photo 2503

Centralia, Washington

Morty Comix # 2575

Morty Comix # 2575 was placed behind a display at a sandwich shop in Centralia, Washington

Phone photo 2453

Borst Park, Centralia, Washington

Phone photo 2452

Borst Blockhouse

Centralia, Washington

Phone photo 2322

Waiter, there's a flag in my omelette!

Centralia, Washington

Phone photo 2321

Centralia, Washington

Phone photo 2320

Centralia, Washington

Postcard - Chehalis, Washington

"Chehalis, Washington, and Mt. St. Helens. This friendly city, located between Seattle and Portland at the base of timbered hills, is the home of the Southwest Washington Fair."

If you click on and enlarge the image, you might be able to see Mount Saint Helens (when it still had a pointy top) on the horizon. Obviously this card was printed prior to the May 18, 1980 eruption.

Chehalis is known regionally as the county seat for Lewis County, for being a twin city of Centralia, and for hosting giant Yard Birds.

Postcard - Centralia, Washington

 

"Fort Borst Blockhouse, Centralia, Wash. This historic blockhouse was built in the 1850's by early white settlers for defense against the Indians. Luckily, it never had to be used for this purpose. Today it is located in Fort Borst Park."

This postcard was sent to me on July 8, 1986.

The blockhouse has been moved a bit from the original location. It stands as a monument to the paranoia and ignorance that ran amok in the 1855-56 conflict with the Natives of Western Washington. Check out the murder of Quiemuth and the "legal" lynching of Leschi.