The History of the Yakima Valley, Washington, Comprising Yakima, Kittitas and
Benton Counties, The S.J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1919, Volume II, page 880 
A portrait of John Catlin appears in this publication.

JOHN CATLIN.

John Catlin, who is one of the extensive landowners of Kittitas county, his
holdings aggregating eleven hundred acres, was born in Chatham, New York, April
20, 1850, but has spent the greater part of his life in the west, whither he
came when a youth of seventeen years. He is a son of Charles and Elizabeth
(Bradley) Catlin, both of whom have passed away. The father was a railway
engineer. The son enjoyed such educational advantages as the public schools of
his native state afforded and in 1867 he severed home ties and made his way to
California by way of the Isthmus of Panama. He worked on a ranch and in sawmills
after reaching the Pacific coast, remaining in California until 1870, when he
went to Portland, Oregon. Later he made his way down the Columbia river and
aided in the survey of the Northern Pacific Railway.

In 1871 Mr. Catlin came to the Kittitas valley, casting in his lot with the
pioneer settlers who were making an attempt to reclaim the hitherto wild region
for the purposes of civilization. He took up government land but let it go and
for some time he worked on the river and upon farms. While with the Northern
Pacific he aided in cutting timber and driving it down the river for the
construction of the railroad. He has always been actuated by a progressive
spirit and he brought the first threshing machine into the Kittitas valley in
1872. Throughout his entire connection with farming and ranching interests he
has used the latest improved machinery and at all times has been in the
vanguard of those who have been leaders in the agricultural development of the
region. In 1883 he purchased two hundred and forty acres of land west of
Ellensburg and has built upon that tract a substantial residence good barns and
all necessary buildings for the shelter of grain and stock. To his original
holdings he has added from time to time as his financial resources have
increased and he is now the owner of more than eleven hundred acres of land, of
which he has three hundred acres under cultivation. In the early days he engaged
extensively in threshing throughout the region, especially on the Yakima Indian
reservation, at Selah, at Wenas, at Moxee and also throughout the Kittitas
valley.

In 1883 Mr. Catlin was united in marriage to Mrs. Jennie (Bornes) June, a
native of Wisconsin and a daughter of Othal Bornes, a prominent pioneer of that
state. They are the parents of one son, Claude, who is married and operates his
father's ranch.

Mr. Catlin is connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and in
politics he is a democrat, giving his allegiance to the party since age
conferred upon him the right of franchise save for a period when he was allied
with the populist party, and upon that ticket he was elected to the state
legislature, serving in the session of 1895-6. He has always been a close
student of the questions and issues of the day and has cooperated heartily in
all plans and measures for the advancement of community interests or the
promotion of the welfare of the commonwealth. There are few resident of the
Kittitas valley who can claim so extended a connection therewith as Mr. Catlin,
whose residence in this section of the state dates from 1871. As a pioneer
settler he has been a witness of all that has promoted the growth and progress
of the district and at all times he has borne his full share in the work of
general advancement and improvement.

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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.