Family History
Scott Mclean
Today I’m going to jump back in time to some of our ancestors. One of our family branches was the Weddles. TA McLean arrived in the Washington territory in 1865. Francis and Jasper Weddle arrived in 1867. Some of the Weddles settled in the now Tieton area. They donated the land for the first school up here.
Not all of their actions were altruistic and some of them had a reputation for ornery pranks.
The Weddles tended to be tall and a fairly tough bunch. For some reason, the name David Dolan was popular with the family so after they ended up with multiples they gave nicknames to differentiate.
Today I’m going to talk about Chaps Dave Weddle. He was definitely a character. They lived in the drylands west of Tieton and his Mom hated the rattlers that abounded there and called them varmints. Chaps Dave snuck cucumbers into the bottom of her bed. When she got in bed that night, her toes contacted the cool cucumbers. She jumped out of bed screaming “Varmints!” Dave then pulled his revolver and shot hell out of her bed.
I bet he probably had to stay away from home a while after that one.
Another time, he managed to get his girlfriend on a half broke horse. He then lifted its tail and slapped it with a blackberry vine. He probably thought she would just have a wild ride but she was thrown and broke her arm.
A relative once told me that Dave loved horses but they weren’t always his. He was known to decide to travel cross country to Goldendale for a beer. Probably enjoyed the wilder atmosphere there. He would borrow horses to trade off on the way. He seemed to mostly return the horses but not always the right one! Definitely a free soul.
When he was finally arrested it was for something he didn’t do. He was herding McLean and Weddle cattle and the sherrif accused him of rustling. He was wrestling with the deputy who came to arrest him and asked his girlfriend to shoot him. Luckily she didn’t.
The stories are that the arrest stemmed from a fistfight with the sherrif’s son.
Don’t know for sure.
The other story is for a period after that, the McLeans and Weddles told the sherrif’s department to stay out of their territory. Dave couldn’t stand not being able to roam free and soon died at Walla Walla.
There are many more tales of the early McLeans and Weddles. Maybe they will explain the senses of humor Steve and I had.
Bye!