Thomas Mercer

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From An Illustrated History of the State of Washington, by Rev. H.K. Hines, D.D., The Lewis Publishing Co., Chicago, IL. 1893 A portrait of Mr. Mercer appears between pages 588 and 589

JUDGE THOMAS MERCER, one of the few living pioneers who were identified with the early history of Seattle, was born in Mercersburg, Ohio, March 11, 1813, and was the eldest son of Aaron and Jane (Dickerson) Mercer, natives of Virginia and Pennsylvania, respectively. Aaron Mercer removed to Ohio in boyhood, being among the pioneers of that country. He learned the process of manufacturing woolen cloths and blankets and then operated his own factory very successfully for a number of years.

In 1834 he was among the pioneer settlers at Princeton, Bureau county, Illinois, and there spent the remainder of his life. Fourteen children were born of this marriage and six of the number are still living, Thomas being the first born. His education was chiefly in the school of necessity. As labor was the chief occupation of the pioneer, and in the noble army of workers Judge Mercer has been arrayed throughout his life, he was a bright, active boy, quick in mathematics and mechanical work.

His boyhood was passed in the factory of his father, and with his systematic methods and recognized ability he became foreman at the age of fourteen years and operated the factory up to 1834, when the family removed to Illinois and engaged in fanning. In 1830 young Mercer started a store in a little, old, log cabin in Princeton, and this enterprise he prosecuted for one year, abandoning it then because of the close confinement entailed.

He then returned to agricultural life. In 1837 he took an active part in the division of Putnam county, and the organization of Bureau county, and incidental to his efforts in this connection, in visiting different localities, he killed a valuable horse by rapid driving. With the organization of the new county, he was elected the first County Clerk, but as the revenue yielded was but twenty-five cents per day he soon turned over the office to other parties.

Our subject was married in Princeton, in 1838, to Miss Nancy Brigham, a native of New Hampshire. He then continued farming up to 1851, when he sold out, settled up his affairs, and in April, 1852, with his wife and four children, left his Illinois home, and with horse teams crossed the plains to Oregon. In the same train were Dexter Horton and William H. Shondy, both of Seattle. The usual adventures were encountered by the emigrants, but they met no disasters until they reached the Dalles, where Mrs. Mercer was taken sick, and at the Cascades she passed on to the other world, leaving a bereaved husband and four small children, the eldest being not quite fourteen years old.

The following winter was passed in Salem, where Mr. Mercer purchased one-half interest in a blacksmith shop and worked from six A.M. to eleven P.M. Flour was forty dollars per barrel and all other provisions in proportion. In the summer of 1853 he removed his little ones to Puget Sound, traveling by boat to the Cowlitz river and then driving to Olympia, the trail being almost impassable. From Olympia he drove to Steilacoom, and there by boat to Seattle, arriving here August 25, 1853. He took up a claim of 150 acres, adjoining that of D.T. Denny, all of which is now within the city limits.

He brought to the primitive town the same team of horses which had transported him safely across the plains, and his was the first wagon brought to the town. His claim being situated back from the water, the young men turned out and assisted in cutting a trail wide enough for his wagon to pass through to his ranch, and for a number of years he did the teaming for the town. In 1854 he built a box house, securing lumber from Yesler's mill. This house was somewhat open to the light of day, but it afforded protection and was soon improved.

Part of his claim, being bottom land, was soon cleared, and the second year he raised in hay, oats and vegetables, sufficient to provide for his family and stock. Mr. Mercer was a hard worker and was progressive in his ideas, and soon became the leading farmer of the community. For seven years he was mother, father and protector to his family of little ones, all of whom grew to maturity, and three of whom are still living: Mary J., wife of Henry Parsons; Susan, wife of David Graham; Alice, wife of Clarence B. Bagley.

In 1859, Mr. Mercer was married, in Salem, Oregon, to Miss Loretta H. Ward, of Kentucky, daughter of Jesse Ward, a pioneer of 1853; and returning to Seattle he continued his agricultural life. With the organization of King county, in 1854, Mr. Mercer was appointed one of the first Commissioners, and in 1858 he was elected Probate Judge and held the position for ten consecutive years. With the increased settlement of the town and demand for residence property, Mr. Mercer platted the town of Eden and later that of West Seattle, from the sales of which he has realized a considerable fortune. He still retains a part of his original claim, which has increased to a value far beyond his fondest dreams.

It fell to the lot of Mr. Mercer to name those beautiful lakes now the pride of Seattle. In an address delivered at a picnic in 1854 he suggested that the greater be called Lake Washington, after the father of our country, and the lesser be called Union, as the probable future connection between the two great salt and fresh water bodies. In 1883, he built his present commodious residence overlooking the modest cottage which was built in 1854, and which he still cherishes as a relic of the past. The home also commands a view of the great city which he has so materially aided in developing. He has always been an enthusiastic believer in Seattle's destiny as the metropolis of the great northwest, and upon every occasion has done his share to promote the city's good. His life has been a quiet and peaceful one, guided by a high sense of honor, and his present prosperity is chiefly enjoyed because of the possibilities of increasing his charities and deeds of benevolence.

[edit] Death

Mercer died May 25, 1898. [1]