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

WILLIAM J. WHITE is the proprietor of one of the best furnished drug stores in
Klickitat county, and is himself well versed in pharmacy. He is a native of the
State of Wisconsin, born in Green Lake county, March 2, 1862. His parents were
Charles and Mary (English) White. The father was a native of Michigan, and was a
farmer by occupation; he lost his life during the Indian outbreak of 1862, and
the widowed mother afterward removed to Minnesota and settled in Swift county,
where William J. was reared and educated. Until the age of seventeen he divided
his time between the lighter labors of the farm and the studies he pursued in
the common schools; then he turned his attention to bookkeeping, but this
profession was interrupted by a trip to the Pacific coast in 1881. He first
settled in Wasco county, Oregon, and for a year was engaged in agricultural
pursuits; he was then employed in the O.S.N. Company shops at The Dalles,
Oregon, where he did carpentry and bridge work for two years. In 1883 he came to
Goldendale, and for a short time was engaged in farming. Securing a position as
clerk with B.F. Saylor, who had purchased the drug business of J.M. Hess, he
held the position for two years. Desirous of rising to the top of the
profession, Mr. White went to Chicago, Illinois, and there pursued a course in
pharmacy in a leading college in that city. He was graduated in 1889, and
immediately returned to Goldendale, taking charge of the prescription counter in
the store which he purchased a few months later. In 1890 J.W. Snover became a
member of the firm of White & Snover, the association continuing two years. At
the end of this period Mr. White bought the entire business; he carries a large
and well-selected stock of pure drugs, oils and a choice variety of toilet
goods. He gives his personal attention to the prescription department, attending
to his duties with painstaking care and unerring intelligence. Mr. White was
married in the city of Chicago, in December, 1888, to Miss Mary M. Bess of Iowa,
and three children have been born to them: Ethel E., Louise Ellen and an infant
son. In his social relations Mr. White affiliates with the I.O.O.F. and the
Knights of Pythias.

Submitted to the WA. Bios Project in January 2004 by Jeffrey L. Elmer

* * * *

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.