engles
Transcribed from "An Illustrated History of The Big Bend Country, embracing
Lincoln, Douglas, Adams and Franklin counties, State of Washington",
published by Western Historical Publishing Co., 1904.
STEPHEN ENGLE is a farmer residing
three and one half miles northeast of Mondovi. He drove an ox team
across the plains in 1862, coming with a large train of immigrants, and
stopped at Aurora, Nevada, where he engaged in teaming. In the spring
of 1865 he went to Placer county, California, and worked for a number of
years in the mines. In 1877 he came to Lane and Linn counties, Oregon,
and two years later came to this state, and with J. H. Young & Company
engaged in a stage route between Spokane and Fort Spokane. In 1882
he bought the railroad land where his present home is, near the old town
of Mondovi. He abandoned the stage enterprise in 1886, since which
time he has confined himself exclusively to the cultivation of his excellent
farm. His present realty holdings consist of two hundred and forty
acres of grain land, all tilled and well improved, with comfortable and
commodious house and outbuildings, orchard, and so forth, with all necessary
stock and implements to successfully carry on his business. He came
here with meagre captial, and had a hard struggle at first in getting a
start, experiencing the hardships and disappointments of the ordinary pioneer.
Spokane Falls was his nearest town and trading point. Mr. Engle is
a native of Van Buren county, Iowa, born January 15, 1845. His father
was Frederick Engle, born in Pennsylvania, whose father was a native German.
Frederick Engle died in 1853. Our subject's mother was in maiden
life Mahala Shockey. She died in 1873. He has had four brothers:
Levi and Josiah, deceased; Christian, of Inyo county, California, and Samuel,
of Chester, Spokane county, Washington. He is a member of the Odd
Fellows lodge of Reardan.
In 1897 he took an extensive trip back to
his old home in Iowa, which was his first visit there in thirty-five years.
His youngest brother was the sole member of the family remaining there
at that time. Together the two visited the states of Texas, Oregon
and California, and Oklahoma and New Mexico territories, Mr. Engle returning
home after four months.
He is recognized far and wide as being a man
of sterling worth and a citizen of high standing in the community.
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