Willia and Jane Emmons Fedderly log home in Rock Elm, circa 1890

1 slide, black and white

William O. Fedderly was born in New York State in 1838. He came to Rock Elm in 1873 and settled on Section 11. He was a farmer by trade, but he also developed a considerable trade in buying and selling ginseng. In 1883 he reportedly purchased almost 7,000 pounds, and paid out more than $4,000. Reportedly, he was also one of the first Rock Elm farmers to raise blooded Holstein cattle. By 1895, the Pierce County Plat Book lists W.O. Fedderly as a dealer in ginseng, hides, fur and pelts. W. O. Fedderly's wife was Jane Emmons who was born in New York in 1817 and died in 1890.