The History of the Yakima Valley, Washington, Comprising Yakima, Kittitas and Benton Counties, The S.J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1919, Volume II, page 774 A portrait of William M. Filey appears in this publication. WILLIAM M. FILEY. William M. Filey, one of the popular and highly esteemed residents of the Selah valley, where he is identified with agricultural and horticultural interests, was born in Mendocino county, California, on the 6th of September, 1863, a son of William M. and Mary Elizabeth (Monroe) Filey. The father was born in 1826 in Illinois and in 1852 went to California by way of Cape Horn. He continued his residence in the Golden state throughout his remaining days, passing away in 1910. when he had reached the venerable age of eighty-four years. While in California he had engaged in mining and ranching. William M. Filey acquired a public school education in California, where he resided to the age of twenty-seven years, assisting his father after putting aside his textbooks. He then made his way to Washington, locating first in Seattle. In 1893 he went to Priest Rapids, where he took up a homestead, proving up on the property, which he afterward sold. He later secured two hundred acres more of government land near Priest Rapids on which not a furrow had been turned nor an improvement made and with characteristic energy he began its development. In 1907 he removed to Yakima county and in 1911 he purchased one hundred and eight acres of land in the east Selah. He has since sold all but forty acres of this tract and to its development and improvement he is giving his time and energies, ranking with the leading and representative farmers in his section of the state. While on the Columbia river near Priest Rapids, he was one of the first settlers in that locality and shared in all the hardships and privations of pioneer life. He made the improvements upon his place with driftwood and he put in water wheels to pump water for irrigation purposes. He lived the life of the typical pioneer, being dependent upon his own efforts and resources for all that he had. Cutting timber, he floated it down the river and sold it at Pasco and Kennewick for whatever he could get. He was the pioneer of the Priest Rapids country and the seeds of civilization which he there planted have borne excellent fruit. He has carefully and wisely conducted his farming interests in the Selah valley and won a well-earned reputation as a most progressive man whose labors are characterized by sound judgment. In 1911 Mr. Filey was married to Miss Lucile Ashley, of Denver, Colorado, and they are both widely and favorably known in the section in which they make their home. In politics Mr. Filey is a republican where national questions and issues are involved but at local elections casts an independent ballot. His genial manner and pleasing personality have made him popular among all who know him and he is everywhere spoken of in terms of high regard. He is now developing a very fine ranch in the Selah valley and the development of his property is contributing in no small measure to the prosperity and general improvement of the district in which he lives. Like her husband, Mrs. Filey shares in the warm regard of those who know them. She was born in Victor, Iowa, a daughter of James and Adeline Ashley, who removed to Denver prior to the establishment of the town, and the mother still lives there. Both Mr. and Mrs. Filey are widely and favorably known in Yakima county and the list of their friends is constantly being extended as the circle of their acquaintance broadens. ******************************** Submitted to the Washington Bios Project in January 2008 by Jeffrey L. Elmer. Submitter has no additional information about the subject of this article.