Jacob Benjamin Osburn [66308]

  Research Notes:

http://trees.ancestry.com/tree/12324010/person/12784530298

The Pioneer History of Enumclaw
Compiled by the Women's Progressive Club, 1941
OSBORNE FAMILY, As told by Tom Smith
Our family started west from Wade, Washington County, Ohio, May 5, 1881, arriving here on May 27. There were my mother and step-father, Mr. and Mrs. Henry Osborne, my brother John and I, my half-brothers, Ed, Jake, Harry, Herb and my half-sisters Maude and Ella. Irvin, my youngest half-brother was born here.
We came to San Francisco by train, to Seattle by boat and to Slaughter, now Auburn, and up here by mules and wagon. We settled in what is now known as the Wabash district. We still own our farm there, left to us by our parents, of 240 acres.
We got our supplies from Seattle, bringing them up by wagon; sometime by boat, to Alvord's Landing near Kent. At that time the Green River and White River joined just below Auburn and made river enough for small boats to travel on.
My uncle and aunt, B. W. Inglis, father of Otis and Frank Inglis, Lilly Prentice, now of Enumclaw, and my father and mother were the first settlers in the Wabash district. Later, Morris Weigel, James Parmenter, O. W. Nelson and Joe Jones homesteaded on Section four in Wabash district. Later, Charley Newman bought land in Wabash and still lives there.
In those days our post office was Slaughter. We had to travel twelve miles for our mail. If we went down the Green River route we had to ford Green River twice. If we went through Muckleshoot Reservation, we got into Slaughter with only one ford. If any of the settlers in those days had to go to Puyallup, they had to ford the White River, go through Connells Prairie, through Sumner to Tacoma.
The early settlers had to raise stock and drive them to the market to sell to make a living. In later years they went into the hop business. Most of their associates were Indians, who were friendly and made good neighbors.
The Black Diamond mine opened up in 1884 and was a godsend to the farmers. Eggs brought 60 cents a dozen. Buckley furnished a good market also.
The first school between the Green and White Rivers was built at Osceola, now consolidated with Enumclaw. Our buildings in early days were all of logs or split cedar, as there were no sawmills at that time. We had plenty of fish and wild game and as the country was settled they built railroads through the country and our Indian trails were made into wonderful highways and our log school houses were turned into brick buildings. Today we have good farms, good buildings and good roads where was once a perfect wilderness in 1881. In early days we had to open all our roads by settlers turning out in parties and having log rolling bees. The men that the most interest in them were Eugene Cota, Charley Forget, John Barnes, Lou Smith, Charley Barnes, B. W. Inglis, Henry Osborne, William McKain, Charley Newman, John Jones, Rufus Jones, and Morris Weigel. These men helped open up the roads in early days so settlers could get in.

Jacob married Sarah Emmaline Cuyle [66309] [MRIN: 551619363]. (Sarah Emmaline Cuyle [66309] was born on 4 Apr 1876 in Pleasant Grove, Olmsted County, Minnesota, United States of America and died on 2 Aug 1937 in Enumclaw, King, Washington, United States of America.)