"An Illustrated History of Whitman County, state of Washington." San Francisco: W. H. Lever, 1901. p. 310. ALVIN MANRING Among the many men in Whitman county who have labored zealously in various directions for the material, intellectual and moral elevation and amelioration of the Palouse country is the man whose name gives caption to this article. He may be safely classed among the representative men of his section, and as such it is fitting that a brief review of his life should form a part of the biographical portion of this volume. Mr. Manring was born in Ohio on April 28, 1833, the son of Jordan and Sarah (Knox) Manring. He grew to man's estate in that commonwealth, acquiring his educational discipline in a select school, and afterward teaching music for a while in Ewington College, Gallia county, Ohio. He also learned two handicrafts, carpentering and brick-laying, both of which he followed for a time in the Buckeye state. In 1865 our subject went to northwest Missouri, where he farmed until 1878, in which year he crossed the plains with teams to Whitman county. He located land, a part of which forms the site of the present town of Garfield, taking one quarter as a homestead and one as a timber culture. All this he still owns, forth acres of it being included in the present town limits of Garfield, the half of which has been surveyed into town lots. Upon Mr. Manring's place is a fine two-story house, as well as a full supply of substantial outbuildings and all kinds of machinery essential to a well-regulated farm. For many years he has been devoting his energies to wheat-raising almost exclusively, but is now working into diversified industries as rapidly as he can conveniently and profitably. His orchard covers five acres of land, and includes a great variety of hardy fruits. In political circles our subject has long been a leader. In 1886 he was practically elected a member of the territorial council, that is, his defeat was due to a mistake rather than to the will of the people. He carried in his home county, but his name was left off the ticket in Adams and Lincoln counties. In 1888 he was the candidate of his party for the office of representative, but, though he ran away ahead of his ticket, he was defeated by a majority of five. He has always been active in school affairs and in local matters generally, being recognized as one of the leading men of his community. In religion Mr. Manring is identified with the Cumberland Presbyterian church, in which he is an elder and an active worker, and fraternally he is affiliated with the Masonic order. His marriage was solemnized in Ohio on August 5, 1858, Miss Nancy A., daughter of William and Jane Tanner, then becoming his wife. They had eight children: Charles, Ahira, Benjamin F., Ora V., George W., Santford, Edgar, and Cora E. Mrs. Manring's parents were natives of Virginia, but were among the earliest and most respected pioneers of the state of Ohio. Mention should be made, also, of the fact that to Mr. Manring belongs the credit of having organized the first Sunday-school ever in existence in Garfield, there being no church in the town at that time. The school was undenominational in its character. * * * * Submitted to the WA. Bios Project in September 2006 by Diana Smith. Notice: These biographies were transcribed for the Washington Biographies Project. Unless otherwise stated, no further information is available on the individual featured in the biographies.