The History of the Yakima Valley, Washington, Comprising Yakima, Kittitas and
Benton Counties, The S.J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1919, Volume II, page 389

CHARLES S. SIMPSON.

Charles S. Simpson is the owner of two ranches devoted largely to fruit raising
and has made for himself a creditable position as an orchardist of the Yakima
valley. He was born in Fredericksburg, Holmes county, Ohio, December 13, 1862, a
son of Wilkinson Kelso and Martha Ann (Pomeroy) Simpson. The father was born in
Perry county, Pennsylvania, and the mother's birth occurred in Ohio, in which
state they were married. Wilkinson K. Simpson was a son of George N. Simpson,
who was of Scotch parentage, his mother having been a Lindsay. Both died in
Pennsylvania. In young manhood W. K. Simpson removed from the Keystone state to
Ohio and afterward established his home in Auburn, Indiana, in 1868. At a later
date he became a resident of Fort Wayne, Indiana, and in 1874 he removed to the
vicinity of Lansing, Michigan. He was a dentist who successfully practiced his
profession for many years, following that calling in Michigan to the time of his
death.

Charles S. Simpson, after acquiring a public school education, worked upon a
fruit farm in Michigan and thus received early training along the line in which
he is now engaged. His identification with the northwest covers a period of more
than a third of a century, for he arrived in Walla Walla, Washington, in
February, 1882. He then secured employment in the fruit orchard of C. M. Johnson
and later was with the firm of Randle & Saver, nurserymen, assisting them in the
establishment of their orchard and nursery. He was afterward associated with the
Milton Nursery Company for five years and while thus engaged took up a homestead
claim in Klickitat county in 1884. It was in 1889 that Mr. Simpson removed to
Yakima county and established a nursery business in connection with his brother
Harry under the style of Simpson Brothers. In 1890 he purchased one hundred and
sixty acres of land a mile and a half south of the depot in Yakima. Nearly the
entire tract was still wild and undeveloped, but he at once began to prepare the
land and develop a nursery and for many years conducted thereon an extensive and
profitable nursery business. He has since sold his land with the exception of
twenty-five acres. This is situated in two ranches, one of ten acres and the
other of fifteen acres, lying about a half mile apart. He has a nice home upon
his place and has most of his land planted to fruit, including apples, pears and
prunes. His orchards are in good bearing condition and his annual sales of
fruit bring to him a substantial financial return.

On the 25th of December, 1899, Mr. Simpson was married to Miss Madge Hards, who
was born near London, England, a daughter of George Hards, who came to this
country from England and settled in Idaho, while later he took up his abode in
Yakima and in 1918 removed to Ellensburg, Washington. Mr. and Mrs. Simpson have
had five children: Vira; Samuel Reuben, deceased; Mildred; Martha; and Charles
Sanford, Jr., who was born February 23, 1913, and is therefore five years of
age.

The parents are members of the Christian Science church and Mr. Simpson belongs
to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. His political endorsement has always
been given to the republican party and he is interested in all matters of public
concern, giving his support to those activities which are of value to the
community. As a nurseryman he contributed much to the development and
improvement of this section of the state. His labors demonstrated the
possibility for the successful propagation of various kinds of fruits and trees
and his nursery stock constituted the nucleus of the improvement of many of the
best orchards now found in this section of the state.

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Submitted to the Washington Bios Project in December 2007 by Jeffrey L. Elmer.
Submitter has no additional information about the subject of this article.