The subject of this article has exemplified in a striking manner both his ability and the possibilities A this country. For, coming here with no money, having only two horses and two cows, he is now possessed of a fine farm, one of the choicest of the vicinity, comfortable improvements, a good holding in stock and good orchards, shrubbery gardens, and all that goes to make a farm both a valuable and pleasant abode. These things speak in emphatic terms of the industry and wisdom of Mr. Farmer and because of these qualities, together with real moral worth and integrity; he is of excellent standing in the community and is the recipient of the respect of all.
Alanson Farmer was born in Tazewell County, Virginia, on January 2, 1856, being the son of Alanson and Charlotte (Graham) Farmer, natives of Virginia. Near the close of the war the father enlisted in the Confederate army and a few weeks later he was killed in the battle of King’s Salt Works. The mother is now living in Palouse, aged eighty-three.
Our subject was the seventh of a family of nine children and was educated in his native place. There, also, on January 2, 1878, he married Miss Georgia Ann, daughter of Nathaniel and Susan (Webb) Puckett. The father died when she was a child, while the mother is now living in Wayne County, West Virginia. Thither our subject removed in 1880 and in 1887 came to Moscow, Idaho. The following year found him in Palouse, whence he went again to Moscow and at the time of the opening of the reservation he was on hand to take a claim and his push and energy secured for him one of the very choicest claims on the reservation. He filed on November 22, 1895, and in May, 1896, he brought the family. He had erected a house and seeded eighteen acres of grain before he brought them and when they were well settled he went to the harvest fields of the Walla Walla country to gain bread for their sustenance. He has wrought with a faithful and winning hand since that time and the result is the goodly holding that is his now to enjoy. Mr. Farmer has two wells, one sixty-five feet deep and one seventy feet deep, and in neither did he encounter any rock. He has plenty of good water and his place is fine in every respect.
Mr. Farmer is a member of the M. W. A., and his wife is a member of the Baptist Church, both being devout in the support of their faith. Nine children have been born to this happy family, Vicey, deceased; Reba E. Bailey, Albert S., Nevada S., Emery, deceased, Lena C. Edith H., Aressa I. and Evert W.
Source: An Illustrated History of North Idaho: Embracing Nez Perce, Idaho, Latah, Kootenai and Shoshone counties, state of Idaho; Western Historical Publishing Company, 1903