Boundary County IDGenWeb Project

Charles Edwin Laherty

Pioneer Valley Cattle Rancher

          This young and enterprising stockman and dairy farmer of the vicinity of Copeland was a true Northwest pioneer, coming to this area long before it took the Copeland name, even before Lucas became the name of this part of the county.

          Charles Edwin Laherty was born into a frontier family on October 5th 1856, at Fort Dalles on the Columbia River during the Yakima Indian war. He was the son of John Laherty of Kilkenny, Ireland and Emeline Marin Stephens of New Brunswick. Charles' father was a career solider, an Ordinance Sergent in the 4th United States Infantry and the family had joined him at the post.

          John Laherty was only 22 years old in 1837 when he enlisted in Boston, as a labourer in the United States Army 6th Infantry, he may have just arrived in the country.

          Over the next 14 years John reenlisted as a Private in Corpus Cristi, Texas and Port Huron, Michigan, then in 1851 he is stationed at Fort Vancouver where he meets and marries Marin Stephens at the Stella Maris Mission and Charles' older brother George is born at the Mission in November of 1852.

           Undoubtedly life at frontier army posts during the wars with the native North Americans must have been pretty rough, it is difficult to imagine what is was like for the families following the soldiers from one post to the next.

          On the 12th of May, 1855, John reenlisted again at Fort Dalles in the 4th Infantry Company K for 5 more years. When Charles is born at the Dalles in 1856 his is the third child of John and Marin, their daughter Mary Ella being born in 1854. In 1860 Charles gets a baby sister, Ida is born in Oregon but their father John, now an Ordnance Sergeant, is renting a room in the home of another Sergeant at the Presidio in San Francisco.

           John Laherty died February 6th, 1868 of Dropsy, he was only 53 yrs old. He is buried in the National Cemetery at the Presidio.

          1880 finds Charles on his own laboring in the farm country of Whitman County of Washington Territory. On May 11, 1884, at Thorn Creek, Whitman Co., Washington, Charles Laherty marries 16 year old Mary Ann Eutsler, who herself was a pioneer who had come west at 3 yrs old. All Charles hard work was rewarded, 4 days after their marriage, he received his patent on 160 acres in Whitman County, Washington.

          Children soon followed, daughters Emma Henrietta and Ida Belle in 1885 and 1887, followed by their first son in 1888, named for Charles brother, George Henry . Soon after their daughter Nina is born in 1890, the couple decide to sell the 240 acre ranch in Colton, Whitman county to Dick Maynard for $19 per acre, and move to the North Idaho area.

          In late 1891 the young family with four children between 1 and 6 years old came by wagon certainly as there was no train going north. We have no idea what brought them to the Kootenai River valley at a time when there were 10 Kootenai Indians to each white man.

         An 1893 survey of the section by the US surveyor shows Charles' Mother, Emeline M. McWilliams 160 acre ranch near to the George Stimpson place on the west side of the Kootenai. Charles ends up partnered with George Stimpson and by 1893 their ranch boasts 200 head of cattle, one of the largest in the valley. We know Mary's brother James Eutsler was living in the area in 1897, but who joined who? Who was the first family to find the Kootenai valley!

          Charles was community minded, as soon as the Bonners Ferry Knights of Pythias was formed he was a charter member moving his old membership from Washington. And after only living in the section a short time Charles was elected in May of 1892 to be a Democratic delegate to Rathdrum, helping Grover Cleveland to victory.

          Charles is mentioned often in 1894 by the Kootenai Herald, in February he was one of the prominent citizens of the Valley that were in attendance as witnesses at the trial of the Chisholm boys, which included, Capt. F. M. Lucas, Isaac Nail and A. P. Whitney. In August, "Rancher C.E. LaHerty is a Leading Citizen who lives at the lower end of the valley and has been engaged in the stock business to quite an extent." In September, "Mr. Laharty, in spite of reverses last winter, is pegging away with a vim that commands respect. His butter and dairy products have a fine reputation. Mr. Laharty has just been appointed school trustee of the new district."

          By 1896 two more children have been added to the family, Margaret Effie on the 1st of January, 1893 and another son, James Lawrence was born on the 7th of January, 1896 in Bonners Ferry and in February, Charles was made the county road overseer for the Lucas area.

          In August of 1898 Charles and Mary Ann had 6 children and she was very close to adding another member to the family, when he died of Typhoid Fever.

          On August 20th the Kootenai Herald memorialized Charles, saying:

          "The death of Mr. Charles E. Laherty, a respected citizen of the Kootenai Valley, occurred last Sunday evening at 5:30. Mr. Laherty was in the prime of life and leaves a wife and six children to mourn his loss. He resided mid-way between Port Hill and Bonner's Ferry.

He possessed many friends who learn of his death with keenest sorrow. He was burried under the direction of the K. of P., he being a member of the Bonner's Ferrv lodge.

His death was due to typhoid fever. The bereaved family have the sincear sympathy of thelr neighbors in their great loss and sorrow."

          Charles wife, Mary Ann is now a pregnant widow, already with six children, her oldest, Emma is just 13 years old. She must have returned to Colfax, Washington almost immediately, since their son Charles Adam was born there only a few weeks later on Sept 11th.

          Six months later Mary Ann married John Wesley Bertholf, her first cousin. John homesteaded at Greer, in Clearwater County, Idaho.

Charles Edwin Laherty's decendants are being researched by Mr Larry Linehan

Some of the surnames include Laherty, Eutsler, Bertholf, Eby, Linehan, Arnst, and Burnam

You may contact Mr. Linehan by Contacting Us

or through his FindAGrave page - HERE