The History of the Yakima Valley, Washington, Comprising Yakima, Kittitas and
Benton Counties, The S.J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1919, Volume II, page 1072 

DAVID T. WILLSON.

A valuable ranch property of forty acres pays a substantial annual income to
David T. Willson in return for the care and labor which he systematically bestow
upon it. His methods are practical. His judgment sound and his enterprise
unfaltering. He has lived in Washington since 1899, coining to the Pacific
coast from Iowa. His birth occurred in Des Moines county, near Morning Sun,
Iowa, on the 16th of November, 1866, his parents being Adam and Anna (Reid)
Willson, both of whom were born near McKeesport, Pennsylvania, and became
pioneer residents of Iowa, where the father entered a claim from the government,
securing a tract of wild and undeveloped land upon which not a furrow had been
turned nor an improvement made. He at once began the arduous task of convertng
it into cultivable fields and throughout his entire life carried on fanning.
Both he and his wife, however, died in the early '70s.

David T. Willson was thus left an orphan when but a young lad. He acquired a
public school education, which was supplemented by study in an academy of Iowa,
and subsequently he entered the livery business and also engaged in the sale of
buggies in connection with his brother, Adam C. Willson, at Morning Sun, Iowa.
At length they determined to try their fortune in the northwest and together
made their way to Seattle in 1899. They worked for wages there for a time and
subsequently invested their savings in a stock of groceries. The year 1903
witnessed their arrival in Yakima county and they purchased together eighty
acres of land near Grandview. This they cleared and cultivated, transforming it
into a good farm property. They built a fine home thereon, also substantial
barns and outbuildings for the shelter of grain and stock, and after cultivating
the place for a time they sold forty acres of the land. Later David T. Willson
purchased his brother's interest in the remaining forty, his brother having
passed away in 1914. He still owns this property and it is a valuable tract. He
has ten acres in orchard, nine acres being planted to apples and one acre to
cherries. The remainder of his ranch is devoted to the raising of hay, to the
raising of hogs and to the dairy business. Whatever he undertakes proves
profitable, for he is a mail of determined purpose who allows no obstacles or
difficulties to bar his path if they can be overcome by persistent and honorable
effort. He has worked diligently and persistently, closely studying methods of
ranch development in the northwest, and his work has been productive of
excellent results.

On the 20th of March, 1895, Mr. Willson was married to Miss Leah Rachel Wilson,
who was born in Morning Sun, Iowa, a daughter of William M. and Miriam (Conway)
Wilson. Her mother was born in Liverpool, England. Her father, a native of
Illinois, became a pioneer settler of Iowa, where he devoted his attention to
farming for many years. He passed away, however, in 1912, but the mother still
resides in Iowa. Mr. and Mrs. David T. Willson have reared three children: Grace
Meyers, the wife of Ernest De Good, a rancher residing at Prosser, Washington;
Laverne Boies, sixteen years of age; and Robert Kelly, fourteen years of age.
The last two are both high school students.

Mr. Willson became a charter member of the Grange, and both he and his wife have
held office in the local organization. They are also members of the
Presbyterian church and their lives are guided by the highest principles.
Maintaining all independent political attitude, Mr. Willson supports the
candidates whom he thinks best qualified for office. His own capability has
frequently led to his selection for public work and duties. He has served for
many years on the school hoard and he has been treasurer of the County Grange.
Self-made, he deserves much credit for what he has accomplished, for he has been
both the architect and builder of his own fortunes.

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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.