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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1861-11-19 - Henry Van Asselt & Catherine Jane Elizabeth MapleDuwamish pioneer in Civil War militia BY PAT BRODIN CHAIR, TUICWILA HISTORICAL SOCIETY Although the Civil War was under way on the eastern side of the nation which seemed far away from the Pacific North- west, the conflict had coursed its way through the Washington Territory. Vast numbers of military personnel throughout the West were sent through San Francisco on their way to eastern battlegrounds and with their departures, the territorial forts were left vacant. Acting Gov. Henry Mc- Gill delivered a proclamation to form local militia, which was prompted by the May 3, 1861, presidential proclamation from Abraham Lincoln calling for 42,000 addi- tional volunteers to serve for three years. Acting Gov. McGill's proclamation call- ing for the militia of the Territory of Wash- ington was put in place to maintain the "laws and integrity of the National Union;" This produced immediate results at Se- attle and among the first to report a com- pany were the Citizens of Port Madison, the Puget Sound Rangers from Thurston County and the Jefferson Union Guards. The King County Rifles association was organized at Seattle on Nov 19, 1861, un- der the command of Capt. Hugh McAleer. First lieutenant was R. Davies, second lieu- tenant J. Webbins, and the sergeants were David Kellogg, Henry Van Asselt, George Benning, and RH. Beatty As Clarence Bagley noted in his book, Volume 1, en- titled "History of King County" the object described in the call was "a feeling among the people of King County that a military organization among themselves was a mat- ter of importance in these stirring times." With Washington Territory's recent ex- perience in the Indian Wars, legislation was already in effect to establish the forma- tion of militia groups. When the call for volunteers was delivered by Adjutant Gen- eral Franklin Matthias at Seattle, a local group known as the "icing County Rifles" was soon formed. It consisted of 60 men and eight officers, including Duwamish Valley settler Henry Van Asselt as sergeant. Born in Holland in 1817, Van Asselt had already developed his gun skills at an early age. At 19 he was drafted into the army and Duwamish Pioneer Henry Van Asselt served in a Civil War militia. Submitted served three years in the Dutch Second Battalion of Yagers. Van Asselt proved to be an excellent marksman and spent time hunting on local noble estates before emi- grating to America at age 30. Like many newcomers, he made his way along the Oregon Trail, arriving in the Willamette Valley by September 1850 and ventured briefly to the California gold fields. Henry returned to Oregon in the early spring 1851 with Jacob and Samuel Maple, and Luther Collins to join them on their trip north. On May 22, 1851, these men became the first settlers of what became King County. However, Henry remained in Oregon for a few months to recover from an acciden- tal gunshot wound before he could travel. Henry selected land in September 1851 and registered his claim on rich fertile soil near the Duwamish River in what is now Boeing Field. A colorful gentleman known to many as "Uncle, Henry Van Asselt died on Decem- ber 9, 1902, at age 85, making him one of the longest surviving first settlers. The obit- uary from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer re- marked that "the sturdy Hollander cleared his 320 valley acres of its primeval forest of firs, and made it truly blossom with farm products. He was a devout man who in lat- er years spent part of every Sunday at the county jail reading holy writ to the prison- ers. It was said of the dead pioneer that his proudest boast was that he had never made an enemy in his life." Henry was a marks- man, a craftsman, a dedicated family man, and one of King County's great pioneers. tukivilareporter 15o years ago: A historic Christmas wedding I Tukwila's story The early Tukwila-Duwamish River Valley settlers were celebrating the Christmas Day 1862 wedding between Henry Van Asselt, 40, and Catherine "Jane" Elizabeth Maple, 26. This extraordinary event consummated the arranged marriage preceded by a whirlwind courtship. • By Louise Jones -Brown • Friday, December 14, 2012 7:40pm Tukwila's Story is written by Louise Jones -Brown, the acting director of the Tukwila Heritage and Cultural Center. She writes: "I found this beautiful story in the late lggos after finding a newspaper article about the Christmas 1862 wedding story of my great -great Aunt Catherine "Jane" Maple and her groom Henry Van Asselt as told by my great -great Uncle John Wesley Maple, the bride's brother." The early Tukwila-Duwamish River Valley settlers were celebrating the Christmas Day 1862 wedding between Henry Van Asselt, 4o, and Catherine "Jane" Elizabeth Maple, 26. This extraordinary event consummated the arranged marriage preceded by a whirlwind courtship. Henry had been told about "Jane" during io years the pioneers spent clearing land and building their farms. Catherine "Jane" arrived mid -November after a six-month wagon trek from Iowa to the land donation claim of her brother, Samuel Maple, which was located in the area now called Boeing Field. The original group of five women and 19 men that witnessed this union included Catherine's father Jacob, her brothers Samuel, Eli and John Wesley, and her sisters Marianne, Lucinda and Ruth along with brother-in-law, Martin Luther Cavanaugh (husband of Marianne). Judge Thomas Mercer agreed to officiate the wedding. During the elaborate wedding dinner, the first unexpected guests arrived. Chief Seattle, a friend of Henry's, appeared outside the cabin with 700 Duwamish tribal members. They were invited in to pass through so that they could congratulate the bride and groom. Chief Seattle led his tribe to a sand -spit near the mouth of the Duwamish River where he granted authority for weddings of his tribal members during the Potlatch so that the Duwamish could show honor to their friend, Henry and his new bride. The night following the wedding brought another unexpected set of guests planning to commemorate the marriage. The wagon load that came from the Seattle settlement included L.V. "Old Man" Wyckoff, Tom Russell, O.C. Shorey, Henry Yesler, Charles "Charlie" Terry, Bailey Gatzert and M.R. Maddocks. They were also armed with instruments used to create a band consisting of two drums, two horns and a pair of cymbals. They also had Jake Lake to play the square dance tunes on his fiddle until everyone was exhausted. The painting featured above this article was painted in the 196os by Beulah Norman, Jacob Maple's granddaughter. It commemorates the story that had been told by her father John Wesley while she was a young girl being raised on the family farm on what is now Boeing Field. A note card was created by Robert Maple Norman, Beulah's son, which tells the "Wedding" story and the cards are available for sale at the Tukwila Heritage and Cultural Center. Robert "Bob" Maple, 95, currently lives in Sequim.