The History of the Yakima Valley, Washington, Comprising Yakima, Kittitas and
Benton Counties, The S.J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1919, Volume II, page 742 


PETER MEYER.

After living at various points in the middle west Peter Meyer came to the
Pacific coast and for a number of years was closely and actively identified
with farming in Yakima county. He was born July 16, 1845, in Holland, where the
name was originally spelled Meijer, his parents being Peter and Minnie (Brower)
Meyer. The paternal grandparents were Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Meyer, who, crossing
the Atlantic, became pioneer settlers of Pella, Iowa. Several years later, in
1856, Peter Meyer, Sr., brought his family to the new world and they too made
their way to Pella, Iowa, where the father and mother spent their remaining
days, his attention being given to general agricultural pursuits in that
locality.

Peter Meyer, Jr., took up a homestead in Sioux county, Iowa, but did not keep
it, for the grasshoppers destroyed his crops and he was forced to abandon that
property. He afterward settled in Gove county, Kansas, where he once more
secured a government claim. After two years, however, he returned to Iowa and a
few years later he removed to Douglas county, South Dakota. At a subsequent
period he became a resident of Missouri, then again lived for a time in Iowa,
and once more went to South Dakota. Thus with various removals he continued his
residence in the middle west until 1902, when he came to the Moxee valley of
Washington and purchased twenty acres of land, to which he afterward added a
similar tract and devoted his time and energies to the cultivation of his forty
acres, which he brought under a high state of development and improvement. He
continued to successfully carry on this farm until 1915, when he sold the
property to his sons.

On the 5th of March, 1869, Mr. Meyer was united in marriage to Miss Gertie
Jongewaard, who has now passed away. He was again married October 7, 1871, when
Miss Jane Jongewaard, a daughter of Nicholas Jongewaard, of Holland, became his
wife. Mr. Meyer's family numbers sixteen children. A son, Peter, born of the
first marriage, has passed away. The eldest child of the second marriage, also
named Peter, has departed this life. The others are: Elizabeth, the wife of Joe
Verwolf, a resident of Manhattan, Montana; Minnie, the wife of Alonzo Brown, of
Yakima; Nicholas and Jennie, both deceased; Ellen, the wife of John George,
residing in South Dakota; Gertie, the wife of Claude Brown, of Yakima; Jennie,
who has passed away; Richard, living in Yakima; Jacob, who makes his home at
Harwood, Washington; Cornelius, who is living at Harwood and has a wife and one
child; William, who farms the home place and is also married; Ira, who is
married and who served in the United States Navy during the World war, now at
home with an honorable discharge; Benjamin, a member of the United States army,
who has also been honorably discharged; and Albert, at home.

The religious faith of the family is that of the First Reformed church of Moxee,
and in politics Mr. Meyer is a Democrat. He was a lad of but nine years when the
family crossed the Atlantic from Holland to the new world. He has enjoyed the
opportunities here offered and especially since coming to the northwest, where
he found the chances which he sought and in their utilization worked his way
steadily upward, becoming one of the men of affluence in his community. The
methods which he employed were always such as would bear the closest
investigation and scrutiny, and the integrity and enterprise of his business
career have constituted the basis of his well deserved prosperity.

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Submitted to the Washington Bios Project in January 2008 by Jeffrey L. Elmer.
Submitter has no additional information about the subject of this article.