An Illustrated History of the State of Washington, by Rev. H.K. Hines, D.D., 
The Lewis Publishing Co., Chicago, IL., 1893, page 409

	P.S. WITT, one of the pioneers of the coast, was born in Wayne county,
Indiana, February 21, 1845. His father, C. Witt, was a native of Tennessee and
married Frances Sweet, a native of Kentucky. Mr. Witt was a physician and
surgeon, and practiced in Indiana for a number of years, but in 1858 he took his
family to Oregon by way of the Isthmus and New York. After landing in Portland
Mr. Witt moved to Benton county, near Corvallis, and lived there until the
spring of 1859, and then moved to the Sound, near Seattle, where he bought a
claim, giving a yoke of oxen in payment. This was the site of Renton, and on
this 160 acres the first coal was discovered. He lived on this place only six
mouths, then sold and moved to California. The trip was made with oxen, and when
Mr. Witt reached that State he was not as well pleased as he had been with
Oregon; therefore he retraced his steps and located in Benton county, where he
remained until 1864. From there he went to Marion county, remaining two years,
when he came to Walla Walla county, Washington, in 1866, and settled on Russell
creek, living in this pleasant locality until the time of his death, which
occurred in 1870, at which time he had attained the age of sixty-eight years.
His wife survived him until February, 1892, and died at the age of seventy-three
years. They had a family of eight children.
	The subject of this sketch was the sixth child and is one of the four yet
living. He received a common-school education. He married Miss Ellen Hall, a
native of Oregon, whose parents came across the plains in 1845, and were of the
party that barely escaped starvation in the noted Meek cut-off, where so many
perished from starvation. The first business into which our subject entered
after locating in this State was mining in the Bitter Root mountains, above
Lewiston, Idaho, an occupation which he followed one year. He then engaged in
the packing business from Umatilla Landing to Idaho City, and had fair success
both in packing and in mining. Having saved some money, he returned home and
moved his little family to Walla Walla county, Washington, and took up a
homestead, where he now lives. Since that time he has been farming, and as fast
as his means have accumulated he has added more land, until he now owns 300
acres, which he has under the best state of cultivation. Here he has erected a
nice residence, at a cost of $1,600, and a very large barn, in which he can
shelter cattle and take care of his farm products. In fact he has here
everything needed on a large and well-regulated farm. The place is considered
worth $20,000.
	Mr. and Mrs. Witt have had four children, but that dread disease,
diphtheria, invaded the pleasant home and three of the little lives were
sacrificed, only Walter H. being left. Our subject has been a hard-working man
and has accumulated a competence which places him in comfortable circumstances,
but it has all been acquired by good management and honest, hard work.
Politically, he is a Republican, and is considered one of the best citizens of
the county.

Submitted to the WA. Bios Project in October 2003 by Jeffrey L. Elmer

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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.