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John Monroe Elliot "Elliot" Priest was born in 1858.  I always thought he was named for his Father.  We don't know John Priest's middle name for sure but I strongly suspect it was Monroe.  However, I learned from the trial transcripts of Abner James' trial that John M. Elliot was one of Abner James' attorneys.  I  now assume that he was named after him.  Either that or they killed two birds with one stone. I think a Stratton probably led a part to Arkansas and Elliot must have been the first Priest to follow the them to Carroll County, Arkansas.  He married Martha Alice Gentry in Carroll County, Arkansas in 1883.

Elliot and Martha had four children that I know of:  Abner Monroe, Charles Monroe, Fannie L., and Benjamin Franklin.   When Elliot died in 1899 at 40 of influenza he lived very close to his younger brother, my great-grandfather, Monterville near Yocum, Arkansas. 

I have been very fortunate to be in contact with Guy Priest of Raymond, Washington who is Abner's grandson.  He has shared many wonderful pictures with me and put me in touch with Benjamin Franklin's family.  Guy is my cousin who has had his DNA tested so I can hopefully prove who John Priest's parents are.  I am forever indebted to Guy.

It was John Monroe's sons Abner, Charlie and Benjamin Franklin who I suspect followed their cousin Keenis to Washington to work in the logging camps in the early 1990's.  Kennis' brother Sherman and my grandmother Ellen followed shortly after 1910. 

Abner Monroe was born in 1888.  Around 1910 he and his brother Charlie were working in the logging camps in Labam, Washington in Pacific County.  It was because of Abner and Charlie that my Grandmother (their cousin) was allowed by her father to move to the State of Washington.  By 1912 Abner had married Louise Rebecca Painter in Labam.  It was because her family that needed help in Auburn, Washington where my grandmother moved after about a year at the logging camps.  Abner and Louise had three children Lenora Elsie "Elsie", Ulysses Grant "Grant", and Martha Ruth "Ruth". Louise Painter Priest died in 1921 of influenza.  Elsie married Loren Laird and they had a son Bobby.  Elsie died in Raymond, Washington in 1981.  Grant married Hazel Fox and they had two children Guy and Bonnie. Grant died in 2001.  Guy still lives on his grandfather homestead in between Labam and Raymond, Washington.  Ruth Scott Walker Smith Moule had husbands and two sons:  Dan and Paul Scott. She died in Eugene, Oregon in 1995.

Abner then married Arizona who was know as "Zoney" who was part Indian.  She was from West Virginia.  They had a daughter Stella who was born in 1926.  Below is a picture of Stella Liewemma Priest as a baby..

You can go to John Monroe Elliott's family picture page for pictures of his family.

Charles "Charlie" Monroe was born in 1889.  Charlie traveled between Carroll County, Arkansas and Pacific County in Washington because in 1922 he married Ola Mae Mattox in Carroll County, Arkansas.   On the back of their picture is written "Charles Priest recently came in from the West and claimed for his bride Miss Ola Mattox. Charlie is a nephew of Mont Priest near Yocum and his bride is the accomplished daughter of Mr. & Mrs. Riley Mattox of Denver and one of the highest esteemed young ladies. The newlyweds were charivaried on night last week at the James Priest home. We haven't learned where they will reside but our best wishes follow them."  She died in childbirth in October 1923 along with their baby and is buried in Arkansas.  

Charlie joined the Navy in WWI.  After the was he remarried and his second wife's name was Myra.  He and Myra didn't have any children.  My grandmother really liked Charlie.  He eventually left logging and in the 1930 census his occupation is a farmer.  He died in 1969 in Raymond, Pacific County, Washington. 

Although Raymond, Washington is only a couple of hours from Woodinville, I never knew Grandmother still had cousins there.  My Aunt Frances, however, remembers Grandmother going to visit them when she was young.  Somehow they lost touch after Charlie died.  I am very grateful to have connected with my cousins.  The picture below is of Abner and Charlie's families about 1946.  I don't know who Almeda and her husband are.

I didn't know anything about Fannie or Benjamin Franklin "Frank" until recently.  Guy as put me in touch with Dan Scott and his wife Linda Woolley.  They have given me a lot of leads and pictures.  You can go to John Monroe Elliott's family picture page for pictures of his family.

Fannie L. Priest was born Sept 18, 1890 in Golden, Missouri and died in Houston, Texas in January 1979.  We think this is a picture of Fannie with her Mother Martha Alice Gentry Priest.  Fannie moved to Houston as a young girl because in 1910 she is living there and working as a stenographer for S H Kress & Co.  By 1920 she owned her own home.  She lived her whole adult life in Houston and married Mr. Mackey after 1957.  This is a picture of Fannie on the left with her niece Ruth (Abner's daughter) on the right.  After Ruth's first husband Hal Scott died Ruth and her two young sons Dan and Paul went to live with Fannie in Houston until about 1957.  She was single at the time.

Benjamin Franklin "Frank" Priest was born in Golden, Missouri in October 1896 three years before his father died. I received from Dan Scott and his wife Linda Woolley quite a bit of information about Frank Priest.  Included in the information they sent me was a Postcard from Benjamin Franklin to Abner in Labam, Washington on Feb 1912 from Berryville Arkansas.  He would have been 16.  "Mother has been at home about three weeks. I don't know how Charlie is going to work for Uncle Grant have not saw him since we got here. I am going to school yet. It is cold tonight. Your Brother Frank."  I am assuming that Frank and Charlie have been out in Washington and have gone back to Arkansas. 

The next postcard I have is from Benjamin Franklin to Charles Priest in Holcomb, Washington May 7, 1917. "I have enlisted as of a yeoman. Dear Brother, I am on my way to [sic] New Port, Rode Island. I will write mother when I get there. I hope you are getting along fine. Frank Priest."  So Charlie must have gone back to Washington before 1917.  Frank was in the Navy for two years.  After the Navy he landed in San Francisco and in 1920 he is a clerk in the Post Office in San Francisco.  In 1927 he married Helen Darch from an Oakland socialite family. In 1930 he was the principal of a Secretarial School.  He and Helen had three children:  Benjamin Franklin, Charles Albert and Barbara Ann.  Hopefully I will be in contact with this family more. You can go to John Monroe Elliott's family picture page for pictures of his family.

Robert Hughey Priest was born in 1888.  He was named after one of John and Mahala's neighbors Robert Hughey who testified at Abner James' trial.   I don't know when he moved to Carroll County, Arkansas or Barry County, Missouri but he was living there by 1888 when he married Martha Jane Robertson, the younger sister of his brother Monterville's wife Eliza "Adeline" Robertson.  She was 17 when they got married. They lived in Barry County, Missouri where the Robertson's were from.  They had eight children:  Nellie (1889), Elnora (1891), Robert (1894), Everett (1896), Ollie (1898), Lucy (1901), John Madison (1904), and Charles Elbert (1907).  Sometime between 1900 and 1907 Robert left Martha Jane and moved to Texas.  In 1907 there is a document where Robert, Monterville, and Nancy sell their part of the family homestead to Minerva.  Robert is living Comanche County, Texas.  He lived in Comanche County sometime between the 1920 and 1930 census when he has moved to Eastland County, Texas.  He was a laborer and I don't know when he died.  In the 1909 map of Barry County Robert H. is still listed on the map.  This must be where Martha Jane and her children lived http://www.rootsweb.com/~mobarry/1909Plat/T21nR25w-bot.jpg.  Robert's land is about half way up the map on the left hand side.  The map is of the south west corner of the county on the Missouri-Arkansas State line

Paulene Priest Spenser (Monterville's granddaughter) grew up in Green Forest, Arkansas very close to Barry County, Missouri and remembers that she always thought Robert had died and that Martha was a widow.  Paulene also remembers that her sons treated her very well and that Aunt "Darl" had the most beautiful hair.

According to Floyd Priest (Monterville's grandson) all Martha's sons have died except Ollie.  He moved to Virginia in 2001 to live with his daughter.  I am in contact with Sarah Carr (Elnora's granddaughter) who lives in southern Missouri and who hopefully can help us with more information about Robert and Martha's line.

Monteville Priest (my Grandfather) was born July 29, 1863.  Recently my Aunt Frances found a slip of paper that was in some of my Grandmother's papers that said he was born near Thomas, Kentucky.  I think he was named after the Pike County, Clerk Monteville Bevins who came from an old Floyd County family, lived close to the Priests, and was very involved in Mahala's Civil War Widow's Pension Application.  I had a heck of a time originally connecting "Monterville" Priest to John and Mahala Priest.  First, is the spelling of his name.  The correct spelling in Monteville.  In addition to its usually being misspelled, he changed the spelling to Monterville somewhere along the way.  Next, Robert, Monterville and Marian were excluded from the 1870 census.  Susannah, Mary Jane, Minerva, George, John E. show up and then Nancy.  All the boys in the middle are missing.  Was it a census takers mistake or were the Priest's just being secretive?  If so, about what.  None the less, there are no census records of Monterville in Kentucky because by the 1880 census John, Robert, and Monterville are living in Arkansas and Missouri..

In 1886 Monterville married Eliza Adeline "Addie" Robertson.  Her parents were James M. Robertson and Mary Jane Craig (the couple below).  The Robertson's lived in Barry County, Missouri just across the boarder from Carrol County, Arkansas.  When Monterville married Addie he lived in Oak Hill, Arkansas but they soon settled in Yokum, Arkansas. In 1905 he homesteaded a piece of property between Yokum and Green Forest, Arkansas.  It is here they raised their eight children.  Twins James Lacy and Martha Alice (who died soon after birth) born in 1887, Minnie Ann in 1889, William Henry in 1891, Saryelen (my grandmother) in 1891, George W. in 1893, Della Frances in 1896, and Farris Ely in 1904.  In the Priest picture section there are quite a few pictures of Monterville's family. 

James Lacy married Viola "Ola" Onsbey and adopted her daughter Cleta.  He died in 1936 in a mill accident.  My uncle Jim who was named after my Grandmother's brother remembers how hard she took his death. Jim was her favorite brother.  My grandmother's sister Minne had come to visit my Grandmother in Kent and my Grandmother wanted Minnie to move to Washington, but she decided to go back to Arkansas.  Minnie Ann worked in a General Store until she married William Herring in 1928.  They had two children William and Mava.  He was a tobacco farmer.

George W. was born in 1894 and died in 1908 when he was 14.  He was cleaning his rifle on the front porch and was killed when it accidentally went off. 

Picture of Della Priest McClure and Ellen Priest DeYoung in the 1970's

Saryelen went by the name Ellen.  She did not like Sarah or Saryelen.  My grandmother was a wonderful woman and had a very interesting life. She was born in 1893 and died in 1982.  She married Hans John DeYoung in 1913 and they had 6 children:  John Milford "Milford" (1914), Anna Frances "Frances" (1916), William Lowell "Lowell" (1920), Robert Taylor (1924), James Henry (1928), and my Father Frederick Allison "Al" (1929).  As you might notice almost everyone is called by their middle name.  It has been quite confusing.

On the right is a picture of John and Ellen taken at their 50th wedding anniversary in 1963.  All of their children have lived to celebrate their 50 year wedding anniversary.  I think that is quite an accomplishment.  The grandchildren have not been so fortunate.  Like most families today, we have had several divorces.

Below their anniversary picture  is a picture of John and Ellen taken in the 1950's and the group picture below that is of the DeYoung children and their spouses at my Uncle Milford and Aunt Frances' fifth wedding anniversary party.

From Left to right are Robert Taylor (Bob) and my aunt Barbara Mae Koontz, William Lowell "Lowell" and my aunt Stella Pascoe, John Milford "Milford" and my aunt Frances Pemberton, my Father Frederick Allison  "Al" and my Mother Donna June Pemberton, Anna Frances "Frances" DeYoung Gasslander and my uncle Richard "Dick" Gasslander, and James Henry "Jim" and my aunt Dorothy Jean Pemberton.  (As a side note three DeYoung boys married three Pemberton girls.  Plus my Mother and Aunt Dorothy are identical twins.  So, six of us are double cousins.  It is very confusing to everyone, including the family sometimes!)

The following Community Profile  was written about my Grandmother in 1969 for the local newspaper.  She died in 1892.

    "If the late John DeYoung hadn't scanned his Sunday paper one day in 1925, the Northshore community would have been poorer in many ways.
    "We lived in Kent and my husband had a good job," recalls his widow, Ellen DeYoung. "But he always wanted his own business."
When John DeYoung discovered a general store for sale in the classified ads, "We climbed right in the car and drove to Woodinville that Sunday," Mrs. DeYoung said.
    What the DeYoungs saw of Woodinville and Clara Teagarden's general store that day convinced them the community had a future. [Note:  looking at the picture I think they had an incredible amount of pioneer spirit to buy that store - ld]
    Borrowing $700 and investing every cent of his own, John DeYoung bought the store, where the Woodinville Texaco station is located today.
    "I had misgivings about moving to a jumping-off place where logging was the only support of the town," Mrs. DeYoung remembers. "But I decided to help make the community better." [My aunt Anna Frances says that after about a year my Grandfather wanted to move because he didn't think Woodinville was the type of community he wanted to raise his family.  My grandmother was the one who said it was up to them to make it the kind of community they wanted to live in.  She was true to her commitment.]
    In the 44 years since that afternoon Ellen DeYoung has been true to her word. Setting the pace with her tireless efforts on behalf of civic, business, and religious activities, she imbued her six children with the same dedication to public stewardship.
    Yet she will say modestly, "No mother could be as lucky as I. All my six children are around me. Besides, I have 15 grandchildren and one great-grandchild."
    Her husband, who died several years ago, began his contribution to Woodinville when he built his own general store and post office beside the old one.
    In another building across the road, he operated a lettuce-packing shed. When that era ended, John DeYoung converted it to a feed and fuel operation.
    That same location today houses the Lowell DeYoung Co., a large feed-milling concern and fuel distributorship.
    Although Mrs. DeYoung pooh-poohs any notion that her family has evolved a business dynasty, she is proud of their varied talents.
Ellen DeYoung knows the strengths and weaknesses of her youngsters, and her pride shines through any recitation.
    "Milford, the eldest, has an excellent aptitude for math." she says. "He graduated from the UW at the age of 20."
Milford, who lives at Edmonds, teamed with his father to open Woodinville Hardware and later assumed the business himself. Today, he operates a tax service in Bothell.
    Frances Gasslander, the only daughter, attended Cornish School of Arts and the UW. "She would have been a fine teacher," her mother says. Mrs. Gasslander is a church organist, teaches organ and piano and is active in the community. She and her brother Lowell live at Woodinville.
    The second son Lowell, "inherited his father's business head," according to Mrs. DeYoung. He purchased his father's business during World War II and added a feed milling operation.
    My youngest sons, Jim and Al, were in high school then," recalls their mother. Lowell gave them after-school jobs so they would have money to jingle in their jeans."
    In recent years, Lowell has been serving as fire district commissioner and board member of a local bank. He constantly works through the chamber of commerce for the business future of his community.
    Bob, recently named to the Bothell City Council, served many years as a Northshore School Board member and is president of the Bothell Library Board. He is a mail carrier for the Woodinville Post Office.
    "He could have been a lawyer," His mother proudly declares. "He is outgoing and convincing, no matter what he tackles."
    The remaining sons, Al and Jim, live a block apart on a Kenmore hillside. Al has remained with his brother, Lowell, in the Woodinville business enterprises. He presently serves on the Northshore School Board and works in allied school activities.
"He has a lot of warmth and sympathy with people," his mother nods.
    Jim, the only son to work outside the Northshore community is a Lynwood banker. "He was born with banking in his blood," Mrs. DeYoung insists with a smile.
    Pursuit of education is something Ellen DeYoung values highly. While her children were at Woodinville grade school and Bothell High School, she worked beside the school administrators to provide extras that school funds didn't cover.
    During the Depression, she walked miles of dusty Woodinville roads to solicit money for a school lunchroom. "I collected $85 one day," she recalls with a pleased look.
    Mrs. DeYoung waited until the lunchroom opened and then tackled the county school superintendent for reimbursement. The surprised administrator caved in quickly and refunded the lunchroom costs to her. She promptly used the money for other school needs. "before he changed his mind," she added impishly.
    Although she was a charter Woodinville PTA member, she consistently refused the presidency. "I could always accomplish more as a worker and voice my opinions when I wanted," she says.
    In recognition of her numerous contributions to education, the Woodinville PTA gave her its first Golden Acorn award 15 years ago.
    Another area which received full attention from Ellen DeYoung was her church membership. "The Woodinville Methodist Church had about seven members when we first moved here," she recalls. Today, she is still an active member of the large church and its original women's society.
    From the trim, imposing New England colonial her husband built for her 37 years ago on the main road of Woodinville, she watched the community grow. "I've seen many changes from my front window on Main Street."
    Last fall, she reluctantly left the house and moved to a compact Bothell apartment at her family's insistence. There, she is close to stores and shops. "And Lowell comes each Sunday to take me to church at Woodinville." she adds. "I enjoy it here, and I'm never lonely."
    It would be difficult to be lonely, for Ellen DeYoung's children and grandchildren are constant callers. Friends drop in frequently, including her in community activities as always.
    Besides, she enjoys traveling. "I love to fly," she says saucily. "I didn't even clutch an arm on my first flight."
    Her one unfulfilled wish is to visit the Holy Land. "I may do it yet," she adds with the familiar family determination. No one who knows Ellen DeYoung will dispute her."

Grandmother had a quick smile and looked for the positive side of a situation.  Although Grandfather was not a disciplinarian and the discipline was left to Grandmother. She was not super strict.  My aunts and uncles all fondly remember that whenever one of the boys got in trouble, "Grammy" as we called her would just chuckle and say "well, boys will be boys."

Woodinville is wonderful community and a great place to live and raise your family.  Many of the DeYoung's still live here today, including me.  The DeYoung family had a member attending the Northshore School system continuously from 1925 when they moved to Woodinville to 1994, when 69 years later Wendy Cooper Al DeYoung's granddaughter graduated from Woodinville High School.  My family has participated in the building of Woodinville in the tradition that my Grandmother instilled in us.  My uncle Lowell and his son John have been involved with the Fire Department, my uncle Bob was a school board member, councilmember and the mayor of Bothell (a adjoining town),  my Father Al was on the school board and has been a member of Public Hospital #2 -Evergreen Medical Center's Board of Directors for 24 years and is currently running for another six year term unopposed.  Woodinville incorporated from being an area in the county to a city in 1993.  I was fortunate enough to be elected to the first City Council and to be chosen the first mayor of Woodinville.  Although he is not technically a DeYoung, we have adopted into the family and my husband Tim Matson is now a Woodinville Water Commissioner.  I know Grandmother would be proud.  I also think my Grandparents would be proud of the community they helped to start.  I often tell people that if my Grandmother was still alive in 1994 when Woodinville incorporated she would have been the first mayor and she would have loved every minute of it. 

Della Frances was born in 1896.  She married and eventually divorced Harmon McClure.  They had four children Geraldine, Carrol Eugene "Gene", Claude and Retha.  My grandmother was the closest to Della.  I remember her visiting often and grandmother had Gene come live with them in Woodinville while he got his teaching credentials for the State of Washington.  Gene settled in Vancouver and then Yakima where he was a well respected Spanish teacher.   His daughter Carol McClure Hanson and I originally connected through a Priest message board and we found out that we lived just an hour and a half apart.  She was my first contact with the Priest family and it has been wonderful to share information with her.  Aunt Anna Frances, she and I have had wonderful afternoons together going through pictures and memories.  She is just fantastic.  Sadly, her Dad died right after Christmas 2001.  Although he had been sick with emphysema for some time and the quality of his life had deteriorated, it is very sad to see him go. 

Farris Ely the baby of the family was born in 1904.  He married Beatrice "Beadie" Gibson and they had one daughter Paulene.  Farris and Beadie lived on the family farm and around Green Forest, Arkansas until they joined their daughter and her husband Bert Spencer in Anaheim, California.  I am fortunate enough to be contact with Bert and Paulene and hopefully I will be able to visit them this year.  Much of the information I have about the Priest's in Arkansas comes from Paulene and I am so grateful to her for sharing her memories with me and to Bert for sharing pictures and documents.

Picture of Farris and his mother Addie around 1912.

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