Category: Cemetery Biographies

 

Anna (nee Evans) Bassett, 1849-1918

 

Headstone GPS Coordinates: 

Birth: 16 Dec 1849, Llanfyllin, Montgomeryshire, Wales, United Kingdom

Death: 10 Apr 1918, Seattle, King County, Washington, USA

Relatives in Seabeck Cemetery: Samuel Bassett, John Evans

American Revolutionary War Patriots: None

 

Samuel J. Bassett was born on April 4, 1850, in Llanelly, Carmarthenshire, Wales, United Kingdom, to Samuel Bassett and Elizabeth Hopkins. He was the eldest of six children.

Many families in Llanelly worked in the region’s rich coal mines, and, like his father, Samuel became a coal miner. Around 1871, when he was twenty-one years old, Samuel moved with his parents and siblings to Clydach, Ystradyfodwg, Glamorgan, Wales, where he may have met his future wife, Anna.

Anna J. Evans was born on December 16, 1849, in Llanfyllin, Montgomeryshire, Wales. Her father, John Evans, was a laborer, and her mother was Mary Vaughn.

Samuel and Anna were married in 1874.

In 1877, the couple departed Liverpool, England, aboard the steamer City of Richmond, arriving in New York City on October 1. In the 1880 census, they were living in Palmyra, Portage County, Ohio, where Samuel worked as a coal miner and Anna as a housekeeper. Anna’s father, John Evans, was living next door with her uncle, Wakin Vaughn; both men were employed as coal miners.

Sometime around 1891, the Bassetts moved to Crosby in Kitsap County, Washington. They eventually purchased 160 acres of land just northeast of the Crosby School. In time, Anna’s father, John Evans, came to live with them.

While primarily working his farm, Samuel also became a Baptist minister. He conducted church services in the Crosby Schoolhouse on Sundays and wrote several obituaries for deceased community members that were published in the Kitsap County Herald under the pen name “Brutus.” He was also a member of the Crosby Community Club. In 1895, he was elected Justice of the Peace in Seabeck and served in this role for one year.

By 1910, Samuel was listed as working as a carpenter. On April 10, 1918, his wife Anna died in Seattle, likely while seeking treatment for the lobar pneumonia that claimed her life. She was sixty-seven years old. Her body was brought back across the Sound for burial at Seabeck Cemetery.

The late historian Fred Just recorded the following story in his book Seabeck and the Surrounding Area:

“After his wife died, he [Samuel] tried to ‘spark’ Nancy M. Just. Sam always carried a cane and chewed tobacco which drooled down his chin. She had no interest in him although she was kind to him. One night when visiting her he stayed till after dark, so she asked her grandson Melvin E. Just to walk Mr. Bassett home. Melvin did not like Mr. Bassett. Shortly after leaving, Melvin came back home. When questioned why he was back so quick, he said that Mr. Bassett told him that he could make it on his own so Melvin could go back home. At that time, Mrs. Just’s son Lester had taken out some large stumps so that the garden could be extended. One hole in particular was rather deep and muddy. It was found out later that Melvin had led Mr. Bassett into the hole and left him there to make his own way home. There is no record of Melvin’s punishment.”

Samuel continued to live alone on his farm in Crosby until tragedy struck twice when two of his homes burned down in 1927 and 1928. These incidents were recorded in the Kitsap County Herald (it is worth noting that Samuel himself was known in the paper by the pen name “Brutus”).

Kitsap County Herald, Friday, April 1, 1927:
The Home of Brutus Burns to the Ground

“The house, barn and some other buildings belonging to Rev. S. J. Basset of Crosby burned to the ground Wednesday noon. Mr. Bassett had gone a little ways from home and was doing some work on his place, when he looked up and saw the roof of his house ablaze. He rushed home and made every effort to put out the fire, but it was too far gone. He was alone and had no one to help him. In the excitement, he rescued only a few minor things. About everything he had except the clothes he wore was burned up. He saved a few bedclothes and his radio, easiest to get out, but all the rest went up in smoke. He had $50 in paper money put away, and that burned up with the rest. He had many valuable things, some of which he could not put a price on, as they were much thought of. Mr. Bassett’s health has been quite poor lately, and he had no insurance, so everything is a complete loss. It is a pitiful case. His large number of friends may make some arrangement to help him out, as the people around Crosby have shown a fine spirit before.”

Kitsap County Herald, Friday, July 13, 1928, Seabeck:

“Rev. Bassett lost his little house again by fire a few weeks ago. He lost practically everything he had, among which was a gold watch and other precious heirlooms. The neighbors have helped him to build another small house. The Hite brothers donated part of the lumber.”

Samuel was in his late seventies when these fires occurred. In 1930, he was living as a boarder with the Barricean (Barrieau) family in Crosby. He sold forty acres of his property to Jack Barrieau and his family while continuing to live with them.

In 1933, fire struck once again.

Kitsap County Herald, October 27, 1933, Crosby:

“Mr. S. J. Bassett burned out his last small shack about a couple weeks ago. In the fire he lost his good overcoat and most all of his clothes. This is the third time Mr. Bassett has lost his place of abode by fire in the last five years. One has to be very careful about fire, and when a man gets old, he sure needs someone to watch and care for him, and even then, one can’t always do it. This time Mr. Bassett almost lost his life. It is a constant worry to the folks who care for him. He has caught his clothes on fire so many times with his pipe. We hope in the future that he will be more careful.”

In 1934, Samuel moved to Sunnyvale Home in Port Orchard. By 1935, he was living in Snohomish County. In the 1940 census, taken on April 16, Samuel was listed as a patient at Northern State Hospital. He died a few months later, on June 23, 1940, at the age of ninety.

Samuel’s body was returned to Seabeck Cemetery, where he was buried beside his wife. Neither Samuel’s nor Anna’s grave has a headstone today, but both burial sites are marked on Fred Just’s plot map.

According to available records, Samuel and Anna never had any children. Samuel’s only known relative living in the area was his nephew, John Emlyn Bassett, who resided in Bremerton.

 

Nicholas S. Baker, unknown dates

 

Headstone GPS Coordinates: 

Birth: date unknown, before 1900. Seabeck, Kitsap County, Washington 

Death: Date unknown. Before 1900. Seabeck, Kitsap County, Washington 

Relatives in Seabeck Cemetery: Jasper Baker, Millie Baker

American Revolutionary War Patriots*: Moses Baker (Massachusetts) A005039, Aaron Hanscom (Massachusetts) A051231, Daniel Hoyt (Massachusetts) A058984.

Disclaimer: These lines have not been officially proven by NSDAR standards.

 

Nicholas Baker was the son of Jasper Baker and Isabelle Baker (née Little). The dates of his birth and death are unknown, though both occurred prior to 1900. Local historian Fred Just recorded that Seabeck resident Ensley Doncaster reported a Nicholas S. Baker buried in Seabeck Cemetery; however, no dates or parental information were documented.

 

Millie Baker, 1875-1876

 

Headstone GPS Coordinates: 

Birth: 11 January 1875, Seabeck, Kitsap County, Washington 

Death: 28 June 1876, Seabeck, Kitsap County, Washington 

Relatives in Seabeck Cemetery: Jasper Baker, Nicholas Baker

American Revolutionary War Patriots*: Moses Baker (Massachusetts) A005039, Aaron Hanscom (Massachusetts) A051231, Daniel Hoyt (Massachusetts) A058984.

Disclaimer: These lines have not been officially proven by NSDAR standards.

 

Millie Baker was born on January 11, 1875, in Seabeck, Washington, to her parents, Jasper Baker and Isabelle Baker. She may have been their second or third child.

Millie lived for only one year, passing away in Seabeck on June 28, 1876. Her burial location within Seabeck Cemetery is unknown. Local historian Fred Just recorded that Seabeck resident Ensley Doncaster reported a girl named Millie Baker was born in 1875, died in 1876, and was buried in Seabeck Cemetery.

 

Jasper Gage/Gideon Baker, 1839-1885

 

Headstone GPS Coordinates: 

Birth: January 19, 1839, Machias, Washington County, Maine

Death: March 7, 1885, Seabeck, Kitsap County, Washington

Relatives in Seabeck Cemetery: Nellie Baker, Nicholas Baker

American Revolutionary War Patriots*: Moses Baker (Massachusetts) A005039, Aaron Hanscom (Massachusetts) A051231, Daniel Hoyt (Massachusetts) A058984.

Disclaimer: These lines have not been officially proven by NSDAR standards.

 

Jasper G. Baker was born on January 19, 1839, in Machias, Maine, to Zebulon Baker and Deborah Hanscom. He was the fourth of five children. His father owned and operated a farm in Maine.

In 1860, at twenty-one years old, Jasper was working as a sailor in East Machias while still living in his father’s household. Around 1868, he moved west and eventually settled in Seabeck.

By the time of the 1871 Washington Territorial census, Jasper was living as a boarder in the household of Gilbert Little, which included Gilbert’s ten-year-old daughter, Isabelle. A couple of years later, on January 12, 1873, Jasper married Isabelle Little at St. Paul’s Church in Port Townsend. Isabelle was very young and heavily pregnant at the time of the marriage. Their first child, Ida, was born just two weeks later, on January 28.

Depending on the record consulted, Isabelle was between twelve and fifteen years old when she married the thirty-three-year-old Jasper. Four census records list her year of birth as 1860, which would place her at twelve years old at the time of marriage, while her death certificate states she was born in 1857, making her fifteen. Regardless of the discrepancy, there is no dispute in either the records or family lore that Isabelle was a very young teenage bride and mother.

Jasper and Isabelle eventually had five more children: William (1877), Gilbert (1879), Clara (1881), Henry (1883), and Arthur (1886). The 1900 census recorded that Isabelle had given birth to seven children, six of whom were living. All known children were still alive in 1900. Fred Just recorded that local resident Ensley Doncaster reported a girl named Millie Baker was born in 1875, died in 1876, and was buried in Seabeck Cemetery. In Fredi Perry’s book, she wrote that two of the Baker children had died before Jasper. Fred Just also noted hearing from Ensley Doncaster about a Nicholas S. Baker buried in Seabeck Cemetery, though no dates or parentage were recorded. It remains uncertain whether Millie and Nicholas were part of the Baker family.

In 1872, Jasper became the second captain of the Colfax, earning a starting wage of $70 per month. In 1874, he received a raise to $80 per month, followed by another increase to $90 per month. His wages were twice those of the average millworker. At one point, he also bid on a mail route between Seabeck and Port Gamble but lost the contract to Edward Clayson.

Jasper owned 160 acres of land in Seabeck, where he raised cattle. Jacob Hauptly and Charles Reid both mentioned butchering cows for “Baker” in their diaries.

On February 4, 1885, Jacob Hauptly noted in his diary that Jasper was seeking medical treatment in Victoria, British Columbia, due to a serious illness, likely tuberculosis. Jasper died on March 7, 1885, and was buried in Seabeck Cemetery, leaving behind his wife and six children. The exact location of his grave within the cemetery is unknown today.

 

Oluf Andersen, 1860-1909

 

Headstone GPS Coordinates: 

Birth: September 24, 1860, in Christiansund, Norway

Death: November 29, 1909, Seattle, King County, Washington, USA

Relatives in Seabeck Cemetery: Hulda Andersen, Emel Andersen, Emma Andersen

American Revolutionary War Patriots*: None Found

Oluf Andersen was born on September 24, 1860, in Christiansund, Norway, a coastal town shaped by maritime trade and fishing. In 1880, at the age of twenty, he left Norway and immigrated to the United States, joining the growing wave of Scandinavian settlers seeking opportunity in the Pacific Northwest. In time, Oluf became a naturalized U.S. citizen and established himself in the developing community of Seabeck in Washington Territory.

Hulda C. Johnson was born in Oland, Sweden, on January 15, 1873 and immigrated to the United States in the late 1880s as a young teenager. At just fourteen years old, she traveled with her parents, August Johnson and Britta Louisa Johnson (née Anderson), to America. The family settled in Seabeck, where many Scandinavian immigrants had formed a close-knit community rooted in shared language, culture, and Lutheran faith. It was there that Hulda met Oluf.

Oluf and Hulda were married on August 29, 1889, in Seabeck, Kitsap County, Washington Territory. Both were members of the Lutheran Church, which played an important role in their spiritual lives and community connections. The following year, in 1890, they welcomed their first child, marking the beginning of their family life together.

By the time of their marriage, Oluf and Hulda were living along the waterfront area of Seabeck that would come to be known as Andersen’s Landing, a name that endures to this day. There, they made their home and raised their children. Five children were born to them in Seabeck: Adolf (1890), Anna (1891), Emel (1893), Emma (1894), and Walter (1896). Their early years as parents were marked by both joy and sorrow. Emel and Emma tragically died when they were only days old, losses that would have weighed heavily on the family. Their surviving children—Adolf, Anna, and Walter—grew to adulthood and later established families of their own.

Oluf earned a living as a farm laborer, contributing to the agricultural work that sustained the Seabeck community during its early years. Life in the territory was demanding, and the family endured further hardship when Hulda died on August 27, 1900, at only twenty-seven years of age. The cause of her death is unknown, leaving a poignant gap in the family’s history.

Oluf lived for nearly nine years after Hulda’s death. He passed away on November 29, 1909, at Seattle General Hospital at the age of forty-nine. His death was attributed to chronic interstitial nephritis, a condition now commonly known as kidney failure.

Oluf and Hulda are buried in Seabeck Cemetery, laid to rest on either side of their infant children, Emel and Emma. Together, their graves tell the story of a young immigrant family shaped by faith, hard work, love, and loss, and firmly rooted in the early history of Seabeck.

 

Hulda C. Andersen (née Johnson) 1873-1900

Headstone GPS Coordinates: 

Birth: January 15, 1873, Oland, Sweden

Death: August 27, 1900, Washington, USA

Relatives in Seabeck Cemetery: Oluf Andersen, Emel Andersen, Emma Andersen, August Johnson, Louisa Johnson

American Revolutionary War Patriots*: None Found

Oluf Andersen was born on September 24, 1860, in Christiansund, Norway, a coastal town shaped by maritime trade and fishing. In 1880, at the age of twenty, he left Norway and immigrated to the United States, joining the growing wave of Scandinavian settlers seeking opportunity in the Pacific Northwest. In time, Oluf became a naturalized U.S. citizen and established himself in the developing community of Seabeck in Washington Territory.

Hulda C. Johnson was born in Oland, Sweden, on January 15, 1873, and immigrated to the United States in the late 1880s as a young teenager. At just fourteen years old, she traveled with her parents, August Johnson and Britta Louisa Johnson (née Anderson), to America. The family settled in Seabeck, where many Scandinavian immigrants had formed a close-knit community rooted in shared language, culture, and Lutheran faith. It was there that Hulda met Oluf.

Oluf and Hulda were married on August 29, 1889, in Seabeck, Kitsap County, Washington Territory. Both were members of the Lutheran Church, which played an important role in their spiritual lives and community connections. The following year, in 1890, they welcomed their first child, marking the beginning of their family life together.

By the time of their marriage, Oluf and Hulda were living along the waterfront area of Seabeck that would come to be known as Andersen’s Landing, a name that endures to this day. There, they made their home and raised their children. Five children were born to them in Seabeck: Adolf (1890), Anna (1891), Emel (1893), Emma (1894), and Walter (1896). Their early years as parents were marked by both joy and sorrow. Emel and Emma tragically died when they were only days old, losses that would have weighed heavily on the family. Their surviving children—Adolf, Anna, and Walter—grew to adulthood and later established families of their own.

Oluf earned a living as a farm laborer, contributing to the agricultural work that sustained the Seabeck community during its early years. Life in the territory was demanding, and the family endured further hardship when Hulda died on August 27, 1900, at only twenty-seven years of age. The cause of her death is unknown, leaving a poignant gap in the family’s history.

Oluf lived for nearly nine years after Hulda’s death. He passed away on November 29, 1909, at Seattle General Hospital at the age of forty-nine. His death was attributed to chronic interstitial nephritis, a condition now commonly known as kidney failure.

Oluf and Hulda are buried in Seabeck Cemetery, laid to rest on either side of their infant children, Emel and Emma. Together, their graves tell the story of a young immigrant family shaped by faith, hard work, love, and loss, and firmly rooted in the early history of Seabeck.

 

Emma Andersen, 1894-1894

 

Headstone GPS Coordinates:

Birth: 9 Nov 1894, Seabeck, Kitsap County, Washington

Death: 30 Nov 1894 Seabeck, Kitsap County, Washington

Relatives in Seabeck Cemetery: Oluf Andersen, Hulda Andersen, Emel Andersen, August Johnson, Louisa Johnson

American Revolutionary War Patriots*: None Found

 

Emma Andersen was born on November 9, 1894, in Seabeck, Washington, to Oluf and Hulda Andersen (née Johnson). She was the couple’s fourth child, born into a family already familiar with both joy and loss.

Like her brother Emel, who had been born the previous year and lived only five days, Emma’s life was tragically brief. She passed away on November 30, 1894, at just twenty-one days old. The loss of a second infant child within such a short span would have been a profound heartbreak for her parents.

Emma was laid to rest in Seabeck Cemetery beside her brother Emel, marked by a modest upright granite headstone. Over time, the headstone sustained damage, but in 2025 it was carefully repaired by members of the Elizabeth Ellington Chapter of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (NSDAR), ensuring that her resting place continues to be respectfully marked and remembered.

 

Emel Andersen, 1893-1893

 

Headstone GPS Coordinates:

Birth: 07 June 1893, Seabeck, Kitsap County, Washington

Death: 12 June 1893, Seabeck, Kitsap County, Washington

Relatives in Seabeck Cemetery: Oluf Andersen, Hulda Andersen, Emma Andersen, August Johnson, Louisa Johnson

American Revolutionary War Patriots*: None Found

 

Emel Andersen was born on June 7, 1893, in Seabeck, Washington, to Oluf and Hulda Andersen (née Johnson). He was the couple’s third child and briefly joined a growing family rooted in the Seabeck community.

Tragically, Emel lived only five days. He passed away on June 12, 1893, in Seabeck. His cause of death was not recorded, a common circumstance for infant deaths of the era.

Emel was laid to rest with a small, flat, upright granite headstone. At some point over the years, the headstone was damaged, but in 2025 it was carefully repaired by members of the Elizabeth Ellington Chapter of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (NSDAR), ensuring that his resting place continues to be respectfully marked and remembered.

 

Raleigh Leroy Ames 1894-1969

Headstone GPS Coordinates:
Birth: 29 December 1894, Ogden, Weber County, Utah
Death: 08 March 1969, Tacoma, Pierce County, Washington
Relatives in Seabeck Cemetery: Ellen Shaw Ames née Greenwell
American Revolutionary War Patriots*: Elijah Alvord (Massachusetts) A002101, Isaac Phelps (Vermont or
Massachusetts)
Disclaimer: These lines have not been officially proven by NSDAR standards.

Raleigh Leroy Ames was born on December 29, 1894 in Ogden, Weber County, Utah to Eldridge B. Ames and Adelia Ashley. Raleigh was the fifth of six children. His father, Eldridge, worked as a machinist to support his family. They were all members of the Latter Day Saints (LDS) church.

When Raleigh was twenty-two years old, he married Ellen Shaw Greenwell in Weber, Utah. Ellen was born on August 10, 1898 in West Weber, Utah to Thomas Greenwell and Isabelle Moore. She was the eldest of their four children. Ellen’s grandparents on both sides were early pioneers to the Utah Territory, and practiced polygamy before it was outlawed in the LDS church.

Ellen was eighteen years old when she married Raleigh Ames in the LDS church. The couple resided in Weber, Utah through 1921 where Raleigh worked as a tentmaker. They had three children while living in Utah: Raleigh in 1918, Mary in 1921, and an unnamed baby who lived for only one day. By 1926, the couple had moved to Pocatello, Idaho where they had three more children: Theon (1928), Rulon (1930), and Mona (1930/1931).

In the book Seabeck and the surrounding area, late historian Fred Just wrote that Raleigh had been married before Ellen, and had his first two children, Raleigh and Mary, from that union. However, Raleigh and Ellen married in 1917 over a year before Raleigh was born, and Ellen is always recorded as Raleigh and Mary’s mother in their records. Fred may have mixed up his information with Julius Hintz who is buried close to Raleigh Ames. Julius was married twice and had his first two children with his first wife. No records
have been located to suggest Raleigh was married to anyone besides Ellen.

In 1930, Raleigh worked in an auto shop as an “auto trimmer.”

By 1935, the family was renting a home in Alameda, Bannock County, Idaho. The 1940 census does not list
his occupation, but Raleigh L. was employed and working thirty hours per week possibly as a welder. His wife Ellen was also listed as employed working forty hours per week as was his son Raleigh who worked thirty hours per week, and his daughter Mary who worked forty-eight hours per week.

In June 1940, Raleigh and Ellen, Calvin, Theon, Mona and Rulon (Bud) moved to Crosby because Raleigh got a job in the sail loft in the Navy Yard in Bremerton. The roads in Crosby were still gravel at that time, and the family lived in a log house in a field near the Crosby school. A few years later, they purchased a house near Seabeck highway.

By 1950, only Calvin was living in his parents’ household.

While living in Crosby, Ellen was a homemaker and also a cook for the school. She and Raleigh were active in the community and loved to play cards with neighbors. Raleigh was known around town as “Pop Ames” and he drove the school bus from Holly to Seabeck Elementary. Ellen would ride with him and knit along the
way.

On June 20, 1954, Ellen died at the age of fifty-six in the family home at Camp Union from unspecified natural causes. Fred Just wrote in his book Seabeck and the surrounding area:

“Before she died she had been ill for some time. The eve of the night she died she felt like she wasn’t sick anymore and attended the Crosby dance. It was a Saturday evening. She danced and enjoyed herself like nothing was wrong. That night she died in her sleep. Her husband didn’t even know she had died until he got up in the morning.”

Her obituary was published in the Kitsap Sun:

Mrs. Ellen G. Ames
Death yesterday at her Camp Union home, Star Rte. 1, Box 366, claimed Mrs. Ellen G. Ames, 56. Mrs.
Ames was born at West Weber, Utah, Aug. 10, 1898,and was a member of Latter-day Saints church.
Surviving are her husband, Raleigh L., of the family home; three sons, Calvin L. of Bremerton, Raleigh T. of
Lewiston, Idaho, and Rulon E., U.S. army; three daughters, Mrs. Mary Stinger of Pocatello, Idaho, and Mrs.

Theon Smith and Mrs. Melvin Chipman, both of Bremerton; 11 grandchildren; a brother, Rulon Greenwell of
Ogden, Utah, and two sisters, Mrs. Edna Bealer of Ogden and Mrs. William Allison of Washington D.C.
Funeral services, directed by Miller-Reynolds chapel, will be held at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday at Church of
Jesus Christ Latter-day Saints, with Bishop Robert H. Dewey officiating. Burial will follow in Seabeck
cemetery.

Raleigh stayed in Crosby until 1961 when he moved to Tacoma to live with his daughter Theon and her family. He eventually moved into the Tacoma Nursing Home. When he was seventy-four years old, Raleigh L. passed away in Tacoma. His obituary was published in the Kitsap Sun:

Raleigh L. Ames
Raleigh L. Ames, 74, formerly a resident of Bremerton and recently of Tacoma, died Saturday in a Tacoma
Nursing Home. Mr. Ames was born in Ogden, Utah. He worked as a sailmaker at the Puget Sound Naval
Ship yard and moved to Tacoma about six years ago. Survivors include three sons, Raleigh T. Ames of
Lewiston, Idaho, Calvin L. Ames of the Philippines and Rulon (Bud) Ames of Puyallup; three daughters, Mrs.
Mary Stinger of Idaho, Mrs Theon Miller and Mrs. Mona Chipman, both of Tacoma; two sisters, Mrs. Mary
Wright of Salt Lake City, Utah and Mrs. Mabel Davis of Mountain View, Calif.; 25 grandchildren, and five
great-grandchildren.

Funeral services will be held Wednesday at 11 a.m. in the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints,
Fourth Ward Stake House at 11th St. and N. Pearl St., Tacoma, under the direction of the Morley-Melinger
Funeral Home. Burial will be in Seabeck Cemetery.

Raleigh and Ellen Ames are buried near the southwestern corner of the Seabeck Cemetery. Their graves are adorned with painted rocks placed there by their descendants.

 

The Elizabeth Ellington Chapter of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution would like to acknowledge Raleigh L. Ames’ American Revolutionary War Patriots:
Elijah Alvord (Massachusetts) A002101
Isaac Phelps (Vermont or Massachusetts)

 

Ellen Shaw Ames, née Greenwell, 1898-1954

Headstone GPS Coordinates:
Birth: 10 August 1898, West Weber, Utah
Death: 20 June 1954, Crosby, Kitsap County, Washington
Relatives in Seabeck Cemetery: Raleigh Leroy Ames
American Revolutionary War Patriots*: None Found
Disclaimer: These lines have not been officially proven by NSDAR standards.

Biography
Raleigh Leroy Ames was born on December 29, 1894, in Ogden, Weber County, Utah,
to Eldridge B. Ames and Adelia Ashley. He was the fifth of six children. His father,
Eldridge, worked as a machinist to support the family. The family were members of the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS).

At the age of twenty-two, Raleigh married Ellen Shaw Greenwell in Weber, Utah. Ellen
was born on August 10, 1898, in West Weber, Utah, to Thomas Greenwell and Isabelle
Moore. She was the eldest of their four children. Ellen’s grandparents on both sides
were early pioneers to the Utah Territory and practiced polygamy before it was outlawed
in the LDS church.

Ellen was eighteen years old when she married Raleigh Ames in the LDS church in
1917. The couple resided in Weber, Utah, through 1921, where Raleigh worked as a
tentmaker. During their time in Utah, they had three children: Raleigh (born in 1918),
Mary (born in 1921), and an unnamed baby who lived for only one day.

By 1926, Raleigh and Ellen had moved to Pocatello, Idaho, where they had three
additional children: Theon (born in 1928), Rulon (born in 1930), and Mona (born in 1930
or 1931).

In the book Seabeck and the Surrounding Area, late historian Fred Just wrote that
Raleigh had been married before Ellen and that his first two children, Raleigh and Mary,
were from that earlier union. However, Raleigh and Ellen married in 1917, more than a year before Raleigh was born, and Ellen is consistently recorded as the mother of both
Raleigh and Mary in all known records. It is possible that Fred Just confused Raleigh
Ames with Julius Hintz, who is buried near Raleigh Ames. Julius Hintz was married
twice and had his first two children with his first wife. No records have been found to
suggest that Raleigh Ames was ever married to anyone other than Ellen.

In 1930, Raleigh worked in an auto shop as an “auto trimmer.”

By 1935, the family was renting a home in Alameda, Bannock County, Idaho. The 1940
census does not list Raleigh’s occupation, but he was employed and working thirty
hours per week, possibly as a welder. His wife Ellen was also listed as employed,
working forty hours per week, as was their son Raleigh, who worked thirty hours per
week. Their daughter Mary was listed as working forty-eight hours per week.

In June 1940, Raleigh and Ellen, along with Calvin, Theon, Mona, and Rulon (Bud),
moved to Crosby after Raleigh obtained a job in the sail loft at the Navy Yard in
Bremerton. At that time, the roads in Crosby were still gravel, and the family lived in a
log house in a field near the Crosby school. A few years later, they purchased a house
near the Seabeck Highway.

By 1950, only Calvin was living in his parents’ household.

While living in Crosby, Ellen was a homemaker and also worked as a cook for the
school. She and Raleigh were active in the community and enjoyed playing cards with
their neighbors. Raleigh was known around town as “Pop Ames” and drove the school
bus from Holly to Seabeck Elementary School. Ellen often rode with him and knitted
along the way.

On June 20, 1954, Ellen died at the age of fifty-six in the family home at Camp Union
from unspecified natural causes. Fred Just wrote in his book Seabeck and the
Surrounding Area:

“Before she died she had been ill for some time. The eve of the night she
died she felt like she wasn’t sick anymore and attended the Crosby dance. It
was a Saturday evening. She danced and enjoyed herself like nothing was
wrong. That night she died in her sleep. Her husband didn’t even know she
had died until he got up in the morning.”

Her obituary was published in the Kitsap Sun:

Mrs. Ellen G. Ames
Death yesterday at her Camp Union home, Star Rte. 1, Box 366, claimed Mrs. Ellen G. Ames, 56. Mrs. Ames was born at West Weber, Utah, Aug. 10, 1898, and was a member of Latter-day Saints church.

Surviving are her husband, Raleigh L., of the family home; three sons,
Calvin L. of Bremerton, Raleigh T. of Lewiston, Idaho, and Rulon E., U.S.
army; three daughters, Mrs. Mary Stinger of Pocatello, Idaho, and Mrs.
Theon Smith and Mrs. Melvin Chipman, both of Bremerton; 11
grandchildren; a brother, Rulon Greenwell of Ogden, Utah, and two sisters,
Mrs. Edna Bealer of Ogden and Mrs. William Allison of Washington D.C.

Funeral services, directed by Miller-Reynolds chapel, will be held at 1:30
p.m. Wednesday at Church of Jesus Christ Latter-day Saints, with Bishop
Robert H. Dewey officiating. Burial will follow in Seabeck cemetery.

Raleigh remained in Crosby until 1961, when he moved to Tacoma to live with his
daughter Theon and her family. He later became a resident of the Tacoma Nursing
Home.

At the age of seventy-four, Raleigh L. Ames passed away in Tacoma. His obituary was
published in the Kitsap Sun:

Raleigh L. Ames
Raleigh L. Ames, 74, formerly a resident of Bremerton and recently of
Tacoma, died Saturday in a Tacoma Nursing Home. Mr. Ames was born in
Ogden, Utah. He worked as a sailmaker at the Puget Sound Naval Ship yard
and moved to Tacoma about six years ago. Survivors include three sons,
Raleigh T. Ames of Lewiston, Idaho, Calvin L. Ames of the Philippines and
Rulon (Bud) Ames of Puyallup; three daughters, Mrs. Mary Stinger of Idaho,
Mrs Theon Miller and Mrs. Mona Chipman, both of Tacoma; two sisters, Mrs.
Mary Wright of Salt Lake City, Utah and Mrs. Mabel Davis of Mountain View,
Calif.; 25 grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren.

Funeral services will be held Wednesday at 11 a.m. in the Church of Jesus
Christ of the Latter Day Saints, Fourth Ward Stake House at 11th St. and N.
Pearl St., Tacoma, under the direction of the Morley-Melinger Funeral Home.
Burial will be in Seabeck Cemetery.

Raleigh and Ellen Ames are buried near the southwestern corner of Seabeck Cemetery.
Their graves are adorned with painted rocks placed there by their descendants.