The Final Tribute to a Pioneer Missionary
Seattle mourns Rev. Cushing Eells, the missionary and educator who helped secure the Washington Territory for America, as he is laid to rest at Lake View Cemetery.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Simple and impressive services marked the last tribute of respect paid at Plymouth Church to the late Rev. Cushing Eells, the pioneer. Interment was made at Lake View Cemetery beside his wife. The services consisted of a chant by the choir and addresses by Rev. Wallace Nutting, Rev. Samuel Green and ex-President Anderson of Whitman College and the State University. President Anderson spoke of Dr. Eells’ love for and interest in Whitman College, noting that it was Eells’ work that prevented it from closing its doors. True to his word when asked for help, Eells went on a money-raising tour, going as far as the New England states, and obtaining many thousands for the college. Mr. Nutting referred to the fact that while a legislative committee in Olympia was debating whether to tax church property, the remains of this Christian patriarch lay not many miles away—a man whose efforts and those of his colleague, Marcus Whitman, helped save this state for the union.
“On the day that rounded 83 years of life, Cushing Eells left Washington for another home.”
Cushing Eells remains a foundational figure in Pacific Northwest history, though his legacy is now often complicated by the colonial context of missionary work among Indigenous peoples. The reference to the legislative debate over taxing church property underscores that these civic disagreements are as old as the state itself.
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