Kenneth Kay Sikes
This page is for Kenneth and his paternal ancestors including his father William Ezra Sikes, and grandparents Sylvanus Sikes, and Evaline Ann Hunsaker. I've also included Kenneth's only brother, Lionel Ezra.
Kenneth Kay Sikes 1908-2000
BIO_Sikes, Kenneth Kay.pdf
Young Kenneth
Kenneth was raised in a house that was built by his father and in which he will live the rest of his life. He went to a local school and graduated from Tolt High School in 1925. He attended the University of Washington for a short time studying Business. He went into business with a well-known Seattle firm of excavators, Kesterson, Fisher, and House. Kenneth worked the dairy farm with his father and gave his hand at developing new milk equipment. Not much more information is known about this venture. There is a picture with Kenneth standing by a type of cooler with “Sikes” stenciled on it.
The Cougar, the Horse, and the Wagon
This is a family story as told by Kay L. Sikes: Janet Ada was headed out with 6-month-old Kenneth wrapped in a blanket. She had him on the buggy seat beside her. Out of nowhere came a cougar and the horse shied and ran away and with the buggy out of control Kenneth fell out of the buggy. Janet got control of the horse some distance down the road she was able to turn around. She frantically searched for him, not knowing if the cougar had carried him off or if the buggy had run over him. She found him in the track of the buggy right up next to a rock. When Kenneth bounced out and he landed on the ground next to a rock. When the buggy wheel hit the rock, it went over it missing Kenneth’s head.
The Elope
Kenneth married Edna Maxine Isackson in 1930 in Pasco, WA. As the story goes, they eloped in a Model T Ford Coupe. According to Kay sikes, “After the elopement, they didn’t tell anybody they were married for six months. My mother continued to stay at the Sikes home in Carnation full-time and no one thought anything of it. Six months later when my father finally told his parents that they had been married for a while, my grandfather’s only comment was “I thought you two had been acting rather familiar.”
Reference the picture to the left with writing. The picture of Kenneth in his sweater is the front of the picture, the back is the picture with the hand writing.
The Children
Five children would be born to Kenneth and Edna spanning 22 years. They would raise four daughters and one son.
Kenneth supported his family by farming and operating various pieces of equipment while also developing a trucking company. He was known to prefer the Mack truck and had several including two trucks affectionately named, Old Faithful and Roadrunner.
Royal Slope Development
In 1954 Kenneth and Edna left the family farm and developed almost 1,000 acres in Eastern Washington growing alfalfa, corn, wheat, barley, green peas, and dried beans.
The Sikes family maintained two households as Lael graduated from Tolt High School in 1964 and was in the Carnation area enough that he played sports in high school, all while the farming was continuing on the Royal Slope.
Back to the Homestead
After approximately 24 years in Eastern Washington, Kenneth and Edna moved back to the homestead in 1978.
They spent the next 22 years in the house Kenneth was born in.
Death
Kenneth’s wife of 69 years passed away in September of 1999 and six months later at the age of 91, he died in March of 2000. They are both buried at the family plot in Redmond Pioneer Cemetery.
Descendants
Kenneth and Edna’s legacy includes five children, twelve grandchildren, twenty great-grandchildren, and eight great-great-grandchildren*Incomplete (Pending)
William Ezra Sikes-1859-1944
William Ezra and Janet Ada 50th wedding anniversary 1934
William Ezra and Janet Ada wedding photo 1884
BIO_Sikes, William Ezra.pdf
Thank you to the Tolt Historical Society for this picture along with the inscription on the back.
Young William
Born near Novelty, Knox County, Missouri, William grew up on his father’s farm and went to a typical ungraded country school. In the family, and some documents, William Ezra is referred to as W.E. or Ezra.
Leaving Home
In 1880, William Ezra left his home in Missouri chasing after four uncles who went to California nine years before he was born. He left behind his parents and siblings. He stayed two years in California working for his uncle. According to my aunt she reflected what she remembered and said as she recalls it, “California didn’t suit him.”
In early 1882, William sailed from San Francisco on the S.S. Mississippi (need to verify ship name). The trip took nine days and he “was glad to come ashore.” (Bagley, 1929). He joined an aunt and uncle, Sara A. Sikes and George C. Boyce in Snoqualmie Valley. (*Sara A is Sylvanus’s sister). William Ezra remembers his Aunt and Uncle leaving Missouri in 1869 when he was 10 years old. They rode off in their covered wagon pulled by oxen.
Upon coming ashore, William made his way to Haggerty logging camp on the steamboat Nellie, where his cousin “one of the Boyce boys” was working and together they made their way to his aunt and uncle Sara and George Boyce. (Bagley, 1929)
The Washington Sikes
William married 16-year-old Janet Ada Adair in September of 1884, and they welcomed their first daughter Mary Evaline Sikes 10 months later in July 1885. A second daughter was born 3 ½ years later in February 1889, LuLu Marguerite. Tragically they will lose both daughters within twelve days of each other in November and December of 1889 from diphtheria. I was told by my aunts that both girls were buried on the farm and were moved to the Redmond cemetery sometime later. Also, according to my aunts, Janet Ada was sick with diphtheria, barely surviving.
Janet and William would find themselves parents again less than 2 years later with the birth of their first son, Lionel Ezra, and then 17 years later with the birth of Kenneth Kay.
Homestead
August 1882, William “took up a homestead” in Novelty, near what is now Carnation. The nearest land office was in Olympia, 79 miles away. Imagine that trip in 1882. It’s cold and rainy, short days. No clear roads and a fair number of wild animals.
A summary of the route:
~ Walked to Houghton on the East shores of Lake Washington.
~ Paddled across the lake in a canoe to Laurel Shade (Madison Park)
~ Reaching Olympia and filing November 15, 1882.
It’s unfortunate that we don’t know when he left or how long it took him to get there. It would have been around 90 miles one way. When he left to head back, I wonder how much snow there was!
Their Years
William and Janet Ada set about clearing the land to grow crops of vegetables and dairy products which made their way to the logging camps. He continually added to his acreage, until he had 680 acres. Eventually, he sold off 500 acres and farmed 180 acres. In 1900, “a modern house was built “which has a fine view of the valley.” *confirm date the house was built. One reference cites the year Kenneth was born and one cites 1900)
In addition to farming, William Ezra was in the hotel and real estate business. He owned and operated the first hotel in Redmond and ran for county commissioner with the slogan, “Vote for a practical man.”
As the city of Redmond was in its infancy, William and Janet were involved in those formative years. In 1891, William and Janet Ada platted an addition to the now-established city of Redmond. Two more additions were added by William and Janet Ada, one in 1906 and one in 1913.
The Park
Janet Ada will die in July of 1930 and William will live another 5 years. Prior to his death, he donated land for a city park in Redmond and had two conditions. The park was to be named after his wife, Janet Ada Adair and there had to be a sidewalk built around the outer perimeter of the park.
The park was not named after Janet Ada Adair, and it took forty-eight years for it to be brought to the attention to the City. The City of Redmond agreed to name one of the structures in the park “The Adair House.”
Death
After the death of his wife, W.E. was living in the "big house" with his oldest son Lionel Ezra. According to Kenneth Kay, "arrangements were made for Edna and I and the family to move into the house with them. This was better for all of us, especially for my father, as he was a devoted grandfather to the girls." (A Pioneer Story, Sikes, Kenneth).
"W.E. passed away very quietly sitting in his chair at the window in the living room June 21st, 1944 at age 85." (A Pioneer Story, Sikes, Kenneth)
Duvall Historical Society.pdfDuvall Historical Society
A Pioneer Story of the Life of William Ezra Sikes and Family.pdfA Pioneer Story The Life of William Ezra Sikes and Family
William Ezra Sikes_History of King County.pdfHistory of King County VOL. IV 1926
WashingtonsCentennialFarms-Color-Web.pdfWashington Centennial Farms
BIO_Sikes, Lionel Ezra.pdfLionel Ezra Sikes
1891-1970
Young Lionel
The third child and the first son, Lionel Ezra was born in Novelty (Redmond), WA to William Ezra and Janet Ada. He was born 20 months after the deaths of two older sisters who died of diphtheria in 1889.
Lionel attended Novelty Hill Elementary School. More research needs to be done to verify a claim he attended Queen Anne High School. According to a 1914 newspaper article, he attended a dairy course at Washington State Agricultural College in Pullman, WA.
Lionel wasn’t a farmer and by 19 years old was pursuing work with the Railroad. On May 21st, 1910 (19 years old) he applied at Northern Pacific Railway Company with a rate of pay at $65.00/month. He was assigned as an operator at Bristol Station in Seattle, WA. It’s possible this was a summer gig. On September 16th, 1910 he resigned with satisfactory service.
North to Alaska
At the age of 25 in May 1917, Lionel traveled to Whitehorse, where he worked as a night operator for the White Pass at Whitehorse in the telegraph office. Sometime between May and September Lionel volunteered for the “Signal Corps of the US Army.”
There are two articles in The Daily Alaskan, Skagway on May 18th and September 7th of 1917 that put Lionel in Alaska.
The Signal Corps
In September of 1917, Lionel volunteered for the US Army Signal Corps when he was in Alaska working for the summer in the telegraph office. He was honorably discharged in March 1919, with no overseas service and no disability rating.
Telegraph Operator
Lionel’s career was with the railroad, in at least one capacity as a telegraph operator at Reliance for Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Paul Railroad. In a 1926 book about his father, a reference is made that Lionel had been working for 8 years with Reliance.
Death
Lionel died in Grandview, WA at the age of 78. He never married and had no children. His cause of death is presumed to be a heart attack. He is buried at the family plot in Redmond, WA.
William Ezra, Janet Ada and Lionel Ezra in back. Based on Lionel's age, he looks about 6 years old. Approx 1897
Janet Ada, Lionel Ezra and William Ezra. Lionel looks around 10. Approximately 1901
William Ezra and Lionel Ezra. Lionel looks 15 years old. Approx 1906
William's Parents: Sylvanus Sikes and Evaline Ann Hunsaker
Known to some as Uncle Vane, Sylvanus was born in Ohio in 1832, married three times, and had eight children with his first wife Evaline Ann Hunsaker (two dying in infancy). Not much is known about his younger years.
What we can put together is census records. Sylvanus’s father, John Sikes (1791-1861) was born in Massachusetts and died in Bethel, Shelby County, Missouri. His mother, Mary Rockwell (1795-1865) was born in NY and died in Bethel, Shelby County, Missouri. His parents were married on 16 APR 1818 in Shelby County, Missouri. All of their children are born in Scioto, Ohio. Further research might identify why or what brought them to Ohio.
Sylvanus was born and spent his entire life in Missouri except for a very short period. In May 1887, at age 55 he and his wife Evaline Ann moved to Washington Territory, returning NOV 1888, “disgusted with Washington Territory.” (18 months). Multiple siblings went west to California or Washington. Newspaper articles in the local newspaper, The Knox County Democrat follow the move from selling off the farm to their departure and subsequent return.
Sylvanus’s first wife died in APR 1892 and in NOV 1892 he traveled for a visit to “Oregon Territory.” This article is from the Knox County Democrat but identifies the Oregon Territory might be misquoted. No further information, including when he returned.
In JAN 1894 Sylvanus married Miriam Fite (Neff). This was a short marriage as Miriam died two years later in AUG 1896.
Sylvanus wastes no time and 20 months later in APR 1898 he married Julia Griffith (Garnett). They remained married until his death, in May 1927. They were married 29 years.
Sylvanus outlived two wives, all of his siblings and seven children, survived by his only son, William Ezra Sikes and his third wife Julia.
Sylvanus died 31 MAY 1927 at the age of 94 in Novelty, Missouri at the home of his stepson Harve Garnett. He is buried at the Cockrum Cemetery, Novelty, Missouri.