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WO 155538-C
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Copy of customer print. Portrait of an elderly couple. This is believed to be Northwest pioneer Willis Boatman and wife Mary Ann, possibly taken in the early 1900's. The Boatmans made the arduous journey in 1852 from Illinois to the Oregon Territory in an ox-drawn covered wagon, a trip that took them about seven months. They would eventually settle on a claim near Puyallup in 1854, were forced to retreat to Fort Steilacoom by an Indian uprising, and spent many years on Gravelly Lake until moving back to the Puyallup valley in the 1870's. Mr. Boatman became one of the area's major hop growers and then was instrumental in the formation of the Farmers Bank of Puyallup, later to become the Puyallup State Bank. He was a member of the Masons and his wife belonged to the Northern Star. Mr. Boatman was to outlive his wife by 15 years, passing away at the age of 99 on January 2, 1926. Photograph ordered by the Washington State Historical Society. (History of Pierce County, Vol. 3, p. 273-74)
Pioneers; Spouses; Older people;