A cousin of mine from Bellingham, WA mailed me a photocopy of the following article. For those interested, I will follow the article with an explanation of who her family was. If you're not interested, you don't HAVE to read the second part of the e-mail. :o) The date and paper name weren't noted, but it was from a paper in Bellingham, WA probably in early 1939 (before March 12, 1939, anyways). --------------- Mrs. Burgess Recalls Incidents Before Washington Became State (Editor's note: This is the second of a series of articles on Whatcom county residents who came here prior to the forming of Washington state.) Of special interest to Mrs. William Burgess, 1708 King street, is the Golden Jubilee celebration of Washington this year. Mrs. Burgess saw the territory become a state. With her parents she came to what is now Bellingham in September of 1889, and it was on November 11 of that year that Washington attained statehood. Mrs. Burgess' family came from Council Bluffs, Ia., where her father operated a hotel. He had been engaged in the hotel business for a number of years before heeding the call to "go west." OPENED HOTEL "My father started the old Terminus hotel on C street," Mrs. Burgess said, "and the structure is still standing. "Our business was chiefly with seafaring men, lumbemen and loggers and transients, and the hotel used to hum with activity." When her family left Iowa they went first to California. "Then we decided to come to the Far Northwest, and came up by boat." She was 20 years old then, and will be 70 on March 12. On September 22 she will have lived in Bellingham and Whatcom county fifty years. "I saw the coming of the street cars (and now the buses) and of automobiles and flying machines to Bellingham," Mrs. Burgess relates. AMUSING INCIDENTS "I remember some amusing incidents. There was a little boat from here to the South Side for those who didn't want to go on the cars, and my sister, who was kinds hifalutin, always went over on that. I remember one time she forgot to duck her head when she sailed onto the boat -- you had to stoop to get on -- and she fell into the water, finery and all. They had to get her out and she had to come home to get dry clothes." Mrs. Burgess married here and raised her family. ------------------- According to Viola May's obituary, she belonged to the following organizations: First Christian Church (in Bellingham); Women's Relief Corps; Daughters of the Union Veterans of the Civil War, Tent 5; the Old Settlers' Association; a life member of the W. C. T. U.; member of Ladies of the G. A. R., Townsend Club No. 1; and a life member of the Foreign Missionary Society. If I could find any information about her and her family through these organizations, could someone please let me know! ------------------- Viola May DAWSON was born 12 Mar 1869 in Maxwell, Story County, IA to Thomas Martin VanBuren DAWSON and Hannah Isabella HOSFORD. Thomas was born ca. 1838 I believe in Hancock Co, OH and was the son of John W. & Mary (m/n unknown) DAWSON (John was b. in VA, Mary in NY). Hannah was born 8 Aug 1842 in Iowa to Harry and Hannah (m/n unknown) HOSFORD who were married 9 Jun 1835. (Harry b. 10 Dec 1811 I think in CT, Hannah b. 30 Dec 1804 I think in VA -- they also had the following children: Mary b. 13 Oct? 1837, Sarah b. 14 Oct 1839). Thomas M.V. DAWSON and Hannah I. HOSFORD were married 27 Jan 1859 in Story County, IA. They had the following children: William W. DAWSON b. 1 Dec 1860 in Linn Co, IA, d. 27 Jun 1928 in Bellingham, WA. He married a Laura A. (m/n unknown). I don't know if he had any children. Arminta Mary DAWSON (this is my gr-gr-grandmother and may have been Viola's "hifalutin" sister) b. 10 Nov 1866 possibly in W. Branch, IA; d. 21 Feb 1938 in Bellingham. She married Henry Robinson WATSON 17 Jun 1891 in Bellingham. They had 8 children (only four of whom reached adulthood). Viola May DAWSON m. William H. BURGESS 12 Mar 1894 in Bellingham. Viola May died 30 Dec 1944 in Bellingham. They had four children (three of whom grew to adulthood). Amanda DAWSON b. abt 1871 in Iowa; m. Eugene RICHARDSON 26 Jun 1890 in Bellingham. I don't have any other information than that. I think Mrs. Ruth A. DURGAN (who ran for a Republican seat for State Assembly in Nevada ca. 1912) is somehow related to her, though. Nona DAWSON b. abt 1872 in Iowa. That's all I know about her. Thomas Schuyler DAWSON b. 4 Dec 1874 in Jones Co, IA; d. 14 Dec 1939 in Wenatchee, WA. He married three times, Ella Parker in 1895; Etta Downs in 1900, and Jennie (m/n unknown) in 1938. He had 3 children who grew to adulthood. Archie DAWSON b. Sep 1879 in Jones Co, IA. This is all I know about him. Thank you! Brenda H�bert