The History of the Yakima Valley, Washington, Comprising Yakima, Kittitas and Benton Counties, The S.J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1919, Volume II, page 556 JOHN G. OLDING. John G. Olding, whose identification with farming interests in Kittitas county dates from pioneer times and who is still the owner of an excellent ranch, although he is not engaged in its cultivation at the present time, was born in Nova Scotia on the 24th of July, 1844, a son of George and Jennie (Roy) Olding, the former also a native of Nova Scotia, while the mother was born in Scotland. The ancestral line is traced back to William and Mary (Gillies) Olding, who were the parents of Nicholas Purdue Olding, whose birth occurred in Southampton, England, March 13, 1751. He left his native land and went to the West Indies as a young man, and at the time of the Revolutionary war he became a lieutenant in the English army but afterward joined the American army. At the close of hostilities he went to Halifax, Nova Scotia, where he entered upon the practice of law, devoting his attention to the profession to the time of his death. He became an eminent member of the bar there and in his later years was known as "the grandfather of the bar." He also became an extensive landholder, having one thousand acres at Oldings Point. He was the father of John Olding, who in turn was the father of George Olding and the grandfather of John G. Olding of this review. George Olding became a farmer and spent his entire life in Nova Scotia. John G. Olding acquired a public school education and in his youthful days followed farming in connection with his father. He early became familiar with the best methods of tilling the soil and caring for the crops. Later he became a carpenter and followed that trade in Nova Scotia until 1867, when he crossed the border into the United States and made his way to Virginia City, Nevada. There he engaged in mining for three years and eight months, after which he spent one summer in Walla Walla, Washington. In the fall of 1871 he arrived in the Kittitas valley, where he has now made his home for forty-eight years. He took up a homestead six miles from what is now the city of Ellensburg, but at that time the little western hamlet was called Robbers Roost. Mr. Olding made the journey to this place with wagon and ox teams and was one of the first settlers of the district. There were many Indians in the neighborhood -- in fact they outnumbered the white settlers -- and there was every evidence of frontier life. Game was to he had in abundance and all of the hardships and privations of the frontier were to be met. Mr. Olding first built a little log cabin which had a dirt floor and roof, but this was later burned and a better one erected. In true pioneer style he began life in this section of the country. The first fall he went to Walla Walla for supplies with an ox team -- a distance of one hundred and forty miles. One day his wife was told that he would not be back for a year, but on that day he arrived at his home, having made an especially quick trip. He turned his attention to market gardening and was quite successful in the production and sale of vegetables. He obtained three hundred and twenty acres of government land, which he has converted into an excellent ranch property. On this he has engaged in raising grain and hay and his crops have brought to him a substantial financial return. He now rents the place and it provides him with a gratifying annual income. In November, 1868, Mr. Olding was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Love, a daughter of David and Elizabeth (Cameron) Love, both of whom lived and died in Nova Scotia. The children of this marriage are six in number: Eva, who is now the wife of Eck Shaw and resides in Ellensburg; Nettie, who gave her hand in marriage to Jack M. Galvin, a rancher living in Kittitas county; Lida, who is the wife of James J. McGuire and lives in Seattle; Anna, the wife of Henry Mitchell, who is engaged in ranching in the Kittitas valley; Margaret, who is the wife of A. M. Hall and makes her home in Ellensburg; and Mamie, the wife of John Tiseck, of Seattle. In his political views Mr. Olding is a republican but has never been an office seeker. He has always concentrated his efforts and attention upon his farming interests and his place is known as the Pioneer ranch, being most appropriately so termed by reason of the fact that he has for so many years resided in this section, his memory a connecting link between the primitive west, with its hardships and difficulties, and the progressive present with its opportunities. ******************************** Submitted to the Washington Bios Project in December 2007 by Jeffrey L. Elmer. Submitter has no additional information about the subject of this article.