Delaware County NY Genealogy and History Site

A transcript of the 1850 census for Andes lists these two (Thomas J. and Henry Liddle) with family number 2381: Alex age 33 farmer born in NY; Bina age 21 born in NY; Thomas age 9 born in NY; Margaret age 7 born in NY; Henry age 6 born in NY; Andrew age 4 born in NY; Jane age 2 born in NY. Records from the Delaware Web page indicate the other two, of the three brothers in New York, were David R. Liddle born September 15, 1854 and James Archibald Liddle born October 10, 1858. Also, the William A. Liddle shown as one of children of Thomas in the article about him is not me but rather my grandfather. While we are both William A. - he is Alexander and I am Albert. Respectively submitted, Bill Liddle, Vancouver USA, Washington

This item is copied from a newspaper article dated Colfax, Washington, May 5,, 1922. The name of the newspaper is not known but probably was the Colfax Gazette.

"Sketches of Whitman County Pioneers: Experiences of Men and Women Who Helped Develop Eastern Washington" by J. Orin Oliphant, Executive Secretary, State Normal School, Cheney, Washington.

Thomas J. Liddle
Fifty years ago today Thomas J. Liddle came to Colfax and has been a resident of Whitman county ever since. He has been out of the state of Washington only once since 1868, and on that occasion he went to Idaho for a load of wood.

Mr. Liddle was born in Delaware county, New York, on August 7, 1841, of Scotch parentage. He was educated in the common schools of New York. In the second year of the Civil War he enlisted in Company E, 144th New York volunteers, and served for two years and nine months. During his term of military service he was on duty in most of the southern states.

In 1866, in company with Thomas H. Coulter, he left New York state for the west. They traveled by train as far as Omaha and then took a boat on the Missouri river for Fort Benton, Montana, where for two years Mr. Liddle ranched, mined and carried mail. Mr. Coulter remained in Montana, but in 1868 Mr. Liddle set out for Puget Sound. He went as far as Walla Walla and gave up the trip. Hiring out to a pack train, he went back to Montana and then returned to Walla Walla, the round trip occupying one month.

The pack train, consisting of 40 mules owned by Al Cave, was loaded with apples for Gold Creek, a mining camp in Montana. The apples were grown on Sam Irwin's place, two miles below Waitsburg, on the Touchet river. On his return to Walla Walla he went into Schwabacher's store, where he found Ben Burgunder, now of Colfax, at work. He received $80.00 for his month's work with the pack train.

After leaving the pack train Mr. Liddle worked on a ranch on the Touchet, four miles above Waitsburg, for two years. He was married in Waitsburg in 1870 and two years later came to Whitman county. Mrs. Liddle, whose maiden name was Martha A. Starr, was born in Oregon and came to Waitsburg with her parents in 1867.

On arriving in Whitman county Mr. Liddle took a homestead on Spring flat, eight miles from Colfax. Among the settlers at Colfax at that time whom Mr. Liddle recalls were J.A. Perkins, H.S. Hollingsworth, James Pickard, who lived in North Colfax, and C.G. White and family, who lived up the river from Colfax.

Mr. Liddle's children are as follows: William A. Liddle of Elberton, Vina P. Hammer of Colfax, Dick Liddle of Colfax, James A. Liddle of Deary, Idaho and Logan Harrison Liddle of Colfax. He has three brothers living in New York state. One brother, the late Henry Liddle, came to Colfax on May 5, 1877, and for many years was engaged in the livery business. Mr. Liddle is a member of the G. A. R. This item about Henry Liddle was copied from the book "An Illustrated History of Whitman County, Washington" written by W.H. Lever in 1901.

H. M. Liddle
Few men in Colfax have been in business longer in the city than has the man whose name gives caption to this paragraph, and perhaps none has maintained a livery barn here for a longer period. For more than twenty-two years his stables have been open for accommodation of those who travel by team, and his own rigs have been in readiness for customers. As a citizen his standing in the town is of the highest, and few enjoy in greater measure the esteem and good will of their fellows.

Mr. Liddle is a native of the Empire state, born in Delaware county in 1848. His educational advantages were those afforded by the public schools there established. As soon as he became old enough to assume for himself the burdens of life he engaged in farming, and that was his business most of the time while he remained in New York. He came to Colfax in 1877 and farmed here for two years, thereupon embarking in the livery business, which, as stated above, he has followed continuously since. He has long held rank among the leaders in that line of business in the Palouse country.

In fraternal affiliations, our subject is identified with the Improved Order of Red Men. He was married in Colfax in 1886, the lady being Miss Mary L. Kennedy, a native of Oregon, and a member of an old and respected pioneer family of that state. Mrs. Liddle is herself a pioneer of Whitman county of 1876.

The following article was copied from the book "Colfax 100 Plus" written in 1981 by Edith E. Erickson.

Another very early business was the livery stables. The town had several. F.W. Beck's was preserved in a picture. Henry Liddle's obituary gave a good description of the work of the liveries.

Henry Liddle went into livery and feed stable business in 1879. The livery business was an important factor in the life of the community in those days, especially in the years before the railroad spread its network over the eastern part of Washington. The stage line made the Liddle barn its headquarters for many years. Liddle owned some very fine horses and furnished hearse teams which he drove for hundreds of funerals over the county for thirty years. He had a black team for the black hearse and a white team for the white hearse. His livery stable was located at the corner of main and brewery (Stevens) streets.

This article was copied from the book "Tape Recordings from Newspapers of Colfax - The History of Colfax" by Tabor LaFollette. While no reference to a date or which newspaper this article was from it is assumed to be the Colfax Gazette.

Henry Liddle - A pioneer of pioneers! Henry Liddle, proprietor of Liddle's Livery Stable, probably the longest established business man of Colfax. He was doing a splendid business when the Colfax Gazette first saw light, and he is doing a splendid business now. Mr. Liddle is not only a favorite with the residents of Colfax, but all men in all parts of the country delight to call him friend. He runs a good livery stable, and his teams and vehicles are first class. The horse or carriage left in his care are certain of receiving proper attention.