Chapter 01 - Family History

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Little is known of the lineage or family tree of Lee Andrew Strong, since he, himself seemed little interested in prior family history and seldom mentioned it. None of the relatives or kinfolk were ever interviewed, or, in fact known at a time when they might have been questioned in regard to the subject, and no known genealogical research has been conducted in the matter, though this might be relatively simple. Some people attach considerable importance to the genealogical history of their forebears; not Lee Strong. Many persons may boast either humorously or seriously about the Scotch, or Dutch, or Italian or French blood in their veins; not Lee Strong. The name might indicate that the family was of English origin, but many people thought that he looked like a Scandinavian; none of it mattered to Lee.

However, a few facts and a few bits of unrecorded information lead to a fair but fleeting glimpse of Lee Andrews early history. He was born in February of 1868 in the little village of Myrtle Creek, Oregon. He had a sister, Levisa, an older brother, Elisha, (known only as "Lash"), and a second brother, Jefferson D. Just when the family arrived in Oregon is not known. but with a son named Jeff D., (presumably after Jefferson Davis), and another son named Lee Andrew,(possibly after General Lee and Andrew Jackson), it has been guessed that the family fled from the South during or just after the Civil War. The mother of this family died at an early age, then the children were still quite young, and later, the father remarried, needing a helpmate to care for the children. A second small family of half-brothers and sisters resulted from this second marriage. Abundant as the yield may have been from this Southern Oregon farm land, (Lee sometimes told yarns about apples growing as big as pumpkins) the returns seem to have been insufficient for this double family, for the three older sons began making their way from home at an early age.

"Lash", the oldest of the three sons married quite early and drifted to the big city of Portland, where he eventually settled for employment in a large flour mill, variations of which occupation he followed the remainder of his life. Jeff seemed to have continued in agricultural pursuits, for he ranged in the Rogue River and: Willamette River valleys all his life. But Lee Andrew strayed further afield. There are indications that he accepted employment in agricultural as well as other occupations in various parts of Western Oregon, thence up the Columbia River as far as Walla Walla, Wash.; and finally in the early 1890's, he found himself in the famed Palouse Country of Eastern Washington. So far as is known, Lee's formal education did not go beyond the 6th or 7th grade. His experiences on the home farm and in the various jobs he had undertaken thereafter had not led to any particular trade or profession, but apparently had led to the conclusion that a business career was the best approach to material progress and advancement. Although it was never stated too precisely, the philosophy which he had developed was something as follows: If you have two work for a living(and who doesn't), work for yourself, and let no man look down your shirt collar!) There,in the Palouse Country of Eastern Washington, specifically in the towns of Pullman, Wash. and Moscow, Idaho, he became acquainted with the embodiment of this "philosophy" in the persons of two brothers, John P. and Fred Hull. These dapper young blades of the "gay Ninety's", with their handlebar mustaches, slick parted hair, and tight fitting business suits worked for themselves, and let no one look down their shirt collars. These men were in the hotel and saloon business in both of the above mentioned towns. Hotel and Saloon,- because these two enterprises fitted together in those days just as modern day hotels have their "Bars" or "Tap-Rooms" in connection.

The principal industry of the Palouse Country, however, was grain farming, and not the least successful in this field of endeavor was Jacob Hull, father of John and Fred. His large rolling-hill homestead of grain fields and his two story white house were outstanding landmarks of the area. Jacob Hull's life story in itself would have made an interesting book,but, like most people of his generation, he made no notes, kept no journals, and the endless stories he told to the youngsters of the day were treated as current entertainment and were never recorded. It is small enough tribute to the man, and it adds small glamour to a story to say simply that he was a soldier in the Union Army during the Civil War. No man has served his country in time of war that the conflicts, turmoils, turbulences, loves and hates in his mind and soul would not make exciting reading if they could but be graphically recorded. Here it can only be said that Jacob Hull lived through the siege of Vicksburg; that the enemies he faced included ague, fever and cold and suffering in the swamps, as well as the enemies of the opposing Armies. But he apparently came through physically undamaged, and eager for further adventures in the tradition of a full blooded Irishman, which he professed to be. Whatever his address may have been prior to the great conflict, he subsequently settled in the Great Plains state of Kansas. The experiences which he enjoyed reviewing most frequently concerned the wild buffalo hunting expeditions on the plains, the stampedes of thousands of these animals, and the quantities of provisions in the way of hides and meat which were provided to the early plainsmen by these expeditions.