skeffingtonj
Transcribed from "History of North Washington, an illustrated history
of Stevens, Ferry, Okanogan and Chelan counties", published by Western
Historical Publishing Co., 1904.
JOSEPH SKEFFINGTON, who resides
about one mile south from Molson, combines the life of the miner and farmer,
as are doing in this favored region. Abundance of fertile land, with excellent
mineral deposits adjoining, make it a Utopia for mineral work by the ordinary
man. He has traveled much to different parts of the world but is now content
to remain beneath the stars and stripes, enjoying the wholesome pleasures
of civilization.
Joseph Skeffington was born in Ontario, Canada,
on October 16, 1855, the son of Michael and Mary (Brinnan) Skeffington,
natives of Ireland. They were the parents of sixteen children, eleven boys
and five girls, our subject being the tenth of the family. They removed
to Bureau county, Illinois, in 1871, and four years later went to the Black
Hills, South Dakota, in wagons. The next year they returned to Nebraska
and Iowa, and later our subject came to Bear Gulch, Montana. He mined there
till the spring of 1881, then went to Drummond and engaged in business.
In the spring of 1883, he went to Portland and took ship for Juneau, Alaska.
Landing after a good journey, he prospected from there to Wrangle, and
then returned to Puget Sound. In the spring of 1884, we find Mr. Skeffington
on Canyon creek in Couer d'Alene country, where he located the Union mining
claim, which he later sold to Finch & Campbell. He remained there until
1892, then went to the Slocan region, and in 1895, hearing of a rich strike
at Coolgardie, Australia, he went thither. The trip was dangerous and extremely
hard. For one hundred and fifty miles, he traveled over the burning sand
afoot, carrying provisions and buying and carrying water. When he arrived
at the gold fields the people were dying, and found that the natives lived
on ants, lizards and snakes, and as these did not suit his appetite, he
came back to good old America. He was in the Shasta region, then on the
Salmon in Idaho, later at Slocan, and in 1898 came to Toroda creek and
did mining. On the day the reservation was opened, October 10, 1900, Mr.
Skeffington located his present place, and since then has devoted himself
to general mining and the improvement of his farm. He has a good house,
barn, young orchard, fencing, granary, and so forth. Mr. Skeffington has
a group of good claims adjoining the Dreyfus, which show excellent values
in gold. Fraternally he is associated with the miners Union and is a man
of broad experience and good address.