The History of the Yakima Valley, Washington, Comprising Yakima, Kittitas and
Benton Counties, The S.J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1919, Volume II, page 706
A portrait of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Haley appears in this publication.

THOMAS HALEY.

Few white men had penetrated into the Kittitas valley when Thomas Haley became a
resident there and until his demise he was identified with its farming
interests. A pioneer of fifty years ago, Mr. Haley had attained the age of
seventy-two years when he suddenly passed away on March 18, 1919, the immediate
cause of his death being a stroke of paralysis. He had not been well for some
time and had planned a trip to California for his health. Through his sterling
qualities and by reason of his straightforward character he had made many
friends in the Kittitas valley, all of whom keenly feel his loss and were deeply
shocked when the news of his death reached them.

Mr. Haley was born in Waterville, Oneida county, New York, January 8. 1847, a
son of  Michael and Elizabeth B. (Feeny) Haley, both of whom were natives of
Ireland. They came to the United States in 1822, settling in New York, where the
father took up the occupation of farming, which he followed in Oneida county for
a number of years. Both he and his wife have now passed away.

Thomas Haley was reared in the Empire state and left school at the age of
fifteen years, at which time he went to Pennsylvania, where for two and a half
years he worked in the oil fields. His first removal westward, in 1867, took him
to Omaha, Nebraska, where he ran a stationary engine in a foundry. For two years
he was employed on the line of the Union Pacific Railroad between Laramie and
Cheyenne and also in Utah, and he saw the gold spike driven near Salt Lake City
in 1869. at which time the two divisions of the road were united, for the work
had been carried from either end until the two parts joined. In July, 1869, Mr.
Haley came to the Kittitas valley and was among the first settlers here. He
turned his attention to the cattle business and later he engaged in buying and
selling cattle. He traveled across the Cascades to the Sound with his stock, and
thus gained his start in the business world in the northwest. In 1878 he took up
one hundred and sixty acres of land near Ellensburg and afterward purchased
forty acres, so that he owned two hundred acres in all. Upon this tract he
engaged in raising hay and grain and the care and precision with which his
business affairs were conducted and managed constituted the salient forces in
the attainment of his growing success. In 1896 his home and farm buildings were
destroyed by fire, but Mr. Haley immediately rebuilt and again increased his
holdings. For many years he was a director of the High Line canal and was always
identified with movements for the development of the valley and county.

On the 10th of April, 1878, Mr. Haley was united in marriage to Miss Vancha
Hackett, a native of Oregon City, Oregon, and a daughter of John and Ellen
(Johnson) Hackett, the former a native of Illinois and the latter of Indiana.
They became pioneer settlers of Oregon, where the father devoted his time and
energies to ranching, but both he and his wife have passed away. To Mr. and
Mrs. Haley were born two children: Katie, the deceased wife of John Sheldon, a
resident of Idaho, by whom she had four children; and Allie, a rancher of the
Kittitas valley, who is married and has one son.

Mr. Haley was well known as a representative of the Masonic fraternity. He had
taken the degrees of lodge, chapter, commandery and of the Mystic Shrine and he
was also a past grand of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. In politics he
was a republican but he was chiefly known as a prominent rancher and one whose
business affairs were wisely conducted. From pioneer times he was identified
with the development of this section of the state and his worth was widely
acknowledged by all with whom he came in contact. In his death Kittitas county
lost one of its loyal and public-spirited citizens as well as a man who ever
conscientiously met all obligations of life. An old friend, Austin Mires, said
of Mr. Haley shortly after his death: "Mr. Haley was one of the squarest men l
have ever known. He was born a square, unvarnished man, and he was a friend of
every honest man. All his life he had it in for crooks." At the time of his
death a local paper wrote as follows: "Mr. Haley has been prominent as one of
the pioneer farmers of the county * * * He was widely known and liked in the
valley and news of his sudden death comes as a shock to his many friends." Truly
there were many friends whom he had made during a long and righteous
life-friends whom he ever upheld and in whom he trusted and who in turn gave to
him their entire confidence. Haying passed the Psalmist's allotted span of three
score years and ten, those dear to him may find solace in the beautiful life
which he led, which gained for him the high respect of all those with whom he
came in contact and which through incessant and painstaking labor was crowned
with a most gratifying material success.

********************************
Submitted to the Washington Bios Project in January 2008 by Jeffrey L. Elmer.
Submitter has no additional information about the subject of this article.