Black Diamond and Ronald Washington
"Those Places Thursday" is a genealogy blogging prompt that allows writers to write about the places that their family lived in. In my inaugural use of this prompt, I'm going to write about the mining towns of Black Diamond and Ronald Washington.
Charles Soltis (born abt. December 1873, Kobyly, Bardejov, Slovakia) emigrated to the United States sometime in the 1898-1900 timeframe. Various documents show different dates and we have not located a copy of a ship's passenger list that shows when he actually arrived. It appears that upon his arrival he lived with his older brother Josef and began working in the coal mines of Pennsylvania alongside his brother.
Sometime between 1900 and 1904 he had made his way across the country and was now living and working in Black Diamond, Washington. We know for sure that he was there in 1904 because we have a marriage certificate for February 13, 1904, between Charles and Lizzie Bednar. Elizabeth Bednar (born September 15, 1882, in Budapest, Hungry) emigrated to the United States in 1898 and was living and working in Brooklyn, New York. Family lore is that Lizzie was a mail-order bride and that is how she ended up in Washington.
Black Diamond, Washington began in the 1880s as a coal mining area. The town was home to around 3,500 people by the early 1900s, many of them European immigrants; most of the working men were involved in producing coal. As of the 2010 US Census, there were just over 4,000 residents, so the town has not grown much in size in over 100 years.
 |
| This map shows the incorporated and unincorporated areas in King County, Washington, highlighting Black Diamond in red. Arkyan - My own work, based on public domain information. Based on similar map concepts by Ixnayonthetimmay, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2977476 |
While in Black Diamond, Lizzie and Charles started their family. John Joseph was born on November 26, 1904, and Charles William (my grandfather) on April 2, 1906. By 1907 they moved to Ronald, Washington where Charles was a blacksmith for the Ronald Mine #3.
 |
| This map shows the incorporated and unincorporated areas in Kittitas County, Washington, highlighting Ronald in red. Arkyan - My own work, based on public domain information. Based on similar map concepts by Ixnayonthetimmay, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2977588 |
In the late 1880s when No. 3 coal mine opened, the town of Ronald was created. Named after Alexander Ronald, Superintendent of the Northwestern Improvement Company, the town was a supply center for miners and their families. The community is not very large with just over 260 people living there based on the 2010 US Census.
 |
| "Early Ronald, Washington" (1912). Ellensburg History Photographs. 75. https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/ellensburg_history/75 |
Did the family live in one of those company houses?
 |
| "Mine No. 3, Ronald, Washington" (1915). Roslyn African American History Photographs. 48. https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/roslyn_african_american_history/48 |
While in Ronald, Charles' and Lizzie's family continued to grow. Joseph Charles was born on April 20, 1908, Stephen John was born on December 22, 1909, Michael was born in April 1911, Andrew Joseph was born on March 10, 1913, and Peter was born on August 1, 1916.
 |
Photo was taken circa 1910. Unidentified woman in the middle back. Left to right is John Joseph, Elizabeth holding Stephen John, Charles, Father Charles holding Joseph Charles. Photo credit ©Carla Koval. |
How I'm related to Charles Soltis and Elizabeth Bednar:
References:
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Diamond,_Washington
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronald,_Washington
- https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/ellensburg_history/75/
- https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/timesdispatch/name/gwen-hipp-obituary?pid=198235508
No comments:
Post a Comment