The History of the Yakima Valley, Washington, Comprising Yakima, Kittitas and Benton Counties, The S.J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1919, Volume II, page 317 CHARLES A. ABBE. The beautiful home of Charles A. Abbe is situated in the midst of a valuable ranch property on which he is extensively and profitably engaged in fruit raising, while a portion of his land is seeded to alfalfa. The steps in his orderly progression are easily discernible. He has worked persistently and energetically, wisely utilizing the opportunities that have come to him and never afraid to take a forward step when the way seemed open. He was born in Berrien county, Michigan, December 12, 1855, a son of Albert Goodell and Margaret (Kromer) Abbe, the former a native of Massachusetts, while the latter was born in New York. Removing to the west in 1814, when a youth of but sixteen years, Albert G. Abbe became one of the earliest of the pioneer residents of Michigan, making the journey to the Mississippi valley with ox teams. He was afterward a boatman on the St. Joseph river and he took active part in the early development of the section of the country in which he lived. The work of planting the seeds of civilization on the western frontier had scarcely been begun, Indians still hunted in the forests and wild game of all kinds was to be had in abundance. He bravely faced the privations, hardships and dangers of life on the frontier and he lived to see a remarkable transformation in the country ere death called him. His remaining days were passed in St. Joseph, Michigan, and he was regarded as one of the substantial citizens of that community. Charles A. Abbe acquired a public school education in his native country and was reared to the occupation of farming, early becoming familiar with the best methods of tilling the soil and caring for the crops. He afterward became identified with the milk business in St. Joseph. Prior to this time he had spent a period in a hardware store, so that his training and experiences were broad and varied. It was in March, 1898, that Charles A. Abbe arrived in Yakima and with the northwest he has since been closely associated, covering a period of more than two decades. He first invested in forty acres of land three miles southwest of the city and to his original tract afterward added ten acres. This was devoted to the raising of wheat. He at once began the task of further developing and improving the property. Five acres had been planted to orchards of apples, pears, peaches and other fruits. That he has constantly carried forward the work of development is shown in the fact that he now has thirty-two acres in bearing orchards, from which he annually gathers good crops. He also has considerable of his land seeded to alfalfa. He knows what kinds of fruit are best adapted to soil and climatic conditions here and he employs the most scientific methods in the care of his trees and in the preparation of his fruit for the market. He has built a beautiful home on his place and added to it all modern equipment and improvement and it now constitutes one of the attractive features of the landscape. In 1883 Mr. Abbe was married to Miss Florence Miners, a native of Michigan and a daughter of John Miners. To Mr. and Mrs. Abbe were born two children: Aletha Geneva, now the wife of Wilbur R. Williams, a resident of Yakima, by whom she has two children; and Frederick, who is living in Traverse and has a wife and one son. Mrs. Abbe passed away in October, 1898, and on the 11th of April, 1903, Mr. Abbe was again married, his second union being with Mary H. Murphy, who was born in California and is a daughter of Edward and Mary (Holmes) Murphy, who, leaving Illinois in 1860, crossed the plains to California. At a subsequent period, however, they returned to Rock Island, Illinois, and their last days were there passed. Tier father, a native of Washington, D. C., was a lawyer and had been admitted to practice in six different states. Her mother was born in Vermont. Her grandfather, Edward Murphy, was a stone mason and helped to build the Capitol at Washington, D. C. In his fraternal relations Charles A. Abbe is a Mason, belonging to Yakima Lodge, No. 24, F. & A. M., also to Yakima Chapter, No. 21, R. A. M., and likewise to the Order of the Eastern Star, with which his wife is also affiliated. They are consistent members of the Methodist church and are people of genuine worth, having the warm regard and good will of all with whom they have been brought in contact. In politics Mr. Abbe is an independent republican, usually supporting the principles of the party yet not considering himself bound by party ties. He is a member of the Grange and of the Yakima County Horticultural Union and he is interested in everything that has to do with the development of the state along agricultural and horticultural lines. He has been quick to adopt new ideas of value in the further development of his land and he readily discriminates between the essential and the non-essential in all that has to do with the raising of fruit and grain. ******************************** Submitted to the Washington Bios Project in December 2007 by Jeffrey L. Elmer. Submitter has no additional information about the subject of this article.