"Early History of Thurston County, Washington; Together with Biographies and Reminiscences of those Identified with Pioneer Days." Compiled and Edited by Mrs. George E. (Georgiana) Blankenship. Published in Olympia, Washington, 1914. p. 252. CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS SIMMONS To see and talk with the first white child born north and west of the Columbia River was one of the delightful experiences of the compiler upon one of her quests for reminiscences of old timers. C. C. Simmons and his wife have their home in a cozy nook on the east shore of Mud Bay, where Mr. Simmons is the owner of valuable oyster and clam beds. Here for the past dozen years this worthy couple have lived in quiet content. Their children married and with homes of their own, frequently come to visit their father and mother, holding fast to family ties, and keeping in touch with their parents. The coming of the Simmons family to the West has been told so often by abler historians that the present writer feels that a brief mention of these, among the very first settlers in this county, will suffice here. Col. Michael T. Simmons, of Irish ancestry, although born in Kentucky, was among the hardy immigrants who dared to venture into the totally unknown wilderness of Puget Sound as early as 1844. Married and with four sons, Simmons, whose indominable spirit refused to be disheartened or depressed, joined the ox train of fortune seekers, among whom were the men and women who were to lay the foundation of the magnificent development of this section of the Puget Sound country. The families who, with Simmons, finally settled in what is now Thurston County were: James McAllister and his wife, Martha, their children, George, America, who afterwards became Mrs. Thomas Chambers; Martha, afterwards the wife of Joseph Brunston, and John; David Kindred and his wife Talitha, and son, John K.; Gabriel and Mrs. Keziah B. Johns, their sons, Lewis and Morris, and daughter Elizabeth, who married Joseph Broshears in 1852, and the Bush family, consisting of George and Isabelle J., father and mother, William Owen, Joseph Talbot, Eeily B., Henry Sandford and Jackson January. The party had wintered in Vancouver while Simmons and some of the other men had made the trip up the Cowlitz River to ascertain the value of the land, quality of timber and prospect for wresting a livelihood from the wilds. But in the fall of 1845 they all brought their families to the Sound. Simmons located his claim at the falls of the Deschutes River. which was then known by the Indians as "Tumchuck" --- throbbing water. The Bush family took up land on the edge of the prairie which has ever since been called by their name. Kindred's claim was just south of what is now Olympia, and the McAllisters were eventually located near the Nesqually River. Simmons laid out the town of New Market, now Tumwater, and in the fall of 1846 built the first grist mill north of the Columbia. This historic mill was roughly built of logs, with its mill stones made from flat boulders found in the stream whose waters turned the rude wheel. From this coarse, unbolted flour, the first bread from home grown wheat was made, and this bread was considered a great luxury after a diet of dried peas and boiled wheat, which had formed the staple diet before the completion of the mill. Before coming to Puget Sound, while the Simmons were wintering on the north bank of the Columbia, near Washougal, the irrepressible Christopher Columbus was born. This history is now continued in C. C. Simmons' own words. "Yes, I reckon I was the first, white child born in this neck of the woods, and father and mother seemed to think because I enjoyed this distinction I must have discovered the country, so they called me Christopher Columbus, I first saw the light of day April 10, 1845, and my birth chamber was a sheep pen with a canvas stretched over the roof to keep part of the rain from mother and me. There were eleven children in our family, the boys, George Washington, David C., Marion Francis and McDonald, were older than me and crossed the plains with father and mother. Then I came nest and younger than me were: Benjamin Franklin, Charlotte, Mary, Kate, Charles Mason and dad's namesake Michael T. Of these children David and McDonald are dead. Marion lives in Puyallup. Benjamin F. in Seattle, Charlotte is Mrs. Kuntz, of Chehalis, Mary is Mrs. Holmes, living in Massachusetts, Kate married a man named Kantwell, Charles M. lives in Puyallup and Michael in Ellensburg. "During the Indian war we were all forted in the Collins blockhouse where is now Arcadia, but, I was not old enough to take an active part in that trouble. I have always been poor in this world's goods and am glad of it. There is the less danger of being robbed, although I have had my chances for wealth more than most. "One time when I was working for my uncle, Dr. Maynard, who was one of the first settlers of King County, he made me a present of a deed to 160 acres of what is now West Seattle. I held on to it for a while and then found it too troublesome to care for the deed and to keep the small amount of taxes paid. so I gave it back to Uncle Maynard, much to his disgust. He thought I must have very little sense not to hang on to what he knew would be very valuable at some not far-off day. "Father died on his farm in Lewis County a long time ago and mother lived until about 24 years ago, spending her last days in Shelton. When I was nineteen years of age I was married to Asenath Ann Kennedy, who was but fourteen, and has been my true and faithful wife for fifty years of wedded happiness. Of course, we had to elope, for her parents would not give consent till she was at least out of school. I rowed, one dark night, from the Big Skookum to Steilacoom, where Ann was attending school, picked her up at a point we had agreed on and then we made our way to Seattle. "Even in those days a girl had to be at least eighteen before she could marry without her parents' sanction. Well, we hardly knew what to do. So when we got to Seattle we went to Uncle Maynard for advice. This good man considered a moment and then said to Ann ' Take off your shoes.' She did so and Dr. Maynard wrote the figures 18 on two slips of paper and put them in her shoes. Ann caught on as quick as lightning. A few minutes later we stood up before Rev. Daniel Bagley, who asked her age. ' Why, I'm over eighteen,' she said as bland as milk, and so we were married and have lived happily together. "On August 25th, 1914, we celebrated our golden wedding at our home on Mud Bay with all of our nine children and our grandchildren around us." ******************* Submitted to the Washington Bios. Project in June 2007 by Diana Smith. Submitter has no additional information about the person(s) or family mentioned above.