Pillsbury Road

We have had  a second home on Vashon for almost 35 years and we access our property via Pillsbury Road, south of Burton. I became curious about the name, so I consulted the history books by Ronald Carey and O. S. Van Olinda, but found no reference to any Pillsbury family on Vashon Island. I contacted Dr. Tom Minichillo the archaeologist and cultural coordinator for the King County Department of Transportation. Following are the contents of an e-mail I got from Tom:

“The C. A. Pillsbury Road was established by the County in 1932 and built in 1933 to provide access to the planned Harbor Heights subdivision. It appears to be a new road at that time and no existing road or trail is mapped for the area in the 19th Century. It is not recorded for whom the road is named, although my guess is that it was named for Charles Alfred Pillsbury (picture attached), the founder of the Pillsbury Baking Co. He is associated with Minneapolis and his connection is not clear.”

Who then was this C. A. Pillsbury of Vashon Island and  was he connected to the Pillsbury family Of Minneapolis?
The C.A. Pillsbury Company was founded in 1872 by Charles Alfred Pillsbury and his uncle John Sargent Pillsbury.  The company was the first in the United States to use steam rollers for processing grain. The finished product required transportation, so the Pillsburys assisted in funding railroad development in Minnesota.

This Charles Alfred was born in Massachusetts in 1843, the son of George Alfred Pillsbury and Margaret Sprague Carleton. Charles A. married Mary Ann Stinson ca 1860. There was another Charles A. Pillsbury who would have been 15 years old in 1933, whose father was a vice-president of the Pillsbury Baking Company.

However, there is still another Charles A. Pillsbury living in Tacoma, who was born on 21 September1862 in Tewksbury, Middlesex, Massachusetts, the son of George T. Pillsbury and Lydia A. Marshall.  This Charles A. Pillsbury left Massachusetts sometime after 1880 and first appeared in Los Angeles, California in 1888, listed as a Civil Engineer.
He next appears in Tacoma in 1890 living in the Palace Hotel. His occupation was City Surveyor. In 1891, Charles was working for the C. O. Bean Company as a Civil Engineer. By 1892, Charles was living at 718 South “0” in Tacoma and is shown to be a Civil Engineer. By 1900, Charles has a wife Helen A. and two Children, Alice M. Age 7 and a son Herold C., ages two months.  Also in this household is a cousin, Margaret J. Sargent.  By 1910, Charles and Helen have another son Ralph, born in 1904.

By 1920, Charles was a widower and Harold C. has joined the Navy and was being trained at the U. S. Navel base at Tanners Creek, Norfolk, Virginia. His rank was Fireman 3rd Class. Charles A. has now married Florence Ponsin Mead on 29 Nov. 1924. Ralph S. has moved to Los Angeles, California where he married Thelma. He was employed as a statistician with the telephone company.

Also in this household in 1930 is a Robert P. Pillsbury, age 23, born in Washington, and listed as the son of Charles A. He does  not appear to be the son of Charles A. as Robert’s father was born in Minnesota while Charles A. was born in Massachusetts. While Robert F. was born in 1904, he does not appear in either the 1910 or 1920 census for this Pillsbury family. He is most likely the son of Charles’ second wife Florence Mead. It appears that Florence  was divorced by 1910. Her son Robert  was not living with her in 1910. In 1920 he was an inmate in the State Training School for Boys in Union, Lewis County, Washington. Robert F. Mead died in San Mateo, California 19 December 1964. Florence Mead Pillsbury, Charles’ second wife died in King County 9 March 1941 and Charles A. died 12 Sept 1944, in Tacoma.

Was Charles A. Pillsbury of Tacoma related to the Pillsbury family of Minneapolis?  Charles Alfred Pillsbury and his uncle John Sargent Pillsbury  were the founders of the Pillsbury Baking Company. Working back through the ancestors of Charles Alfred Pillsbury, we find that they share a common ancestor, Moody Adams Pillsbury, the son of Daniel Pillsbury and Eunice Thurlow. He was born 4 May 1794 in Boscawen, Merrimack Co., New Hampshire. He and his wife Abigail Wilkins Dix, were married 1 October 1818. They had three children of record all born in New Hampshire:
Moody A. Pillsbury, Jr. born 20 Sept 1820, married Charlotte Couch 15 Mar 1847.

Charles S. Pillsbury born 14 April 1828, married Mahala Fisk. (Founder of C. A.  Pillsbury  Company)
George T. Pillsbury born 17 October 1843, married Lydia A. Marshall on 1April 1852
George T. Pillsbury and Lydia A. Marshall had five children, one of which was;
Charles Adams  Pillsbury was born 21 September 1862 in Tewksbury, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts. By 1888, Charles A. Pillsbury, moved to Los Angeles, California. He was listed as a Civil Engineer and lived at 44 ½ South Spring. He was living in Tacoma, Washington by 1890.

His Uncle, Charles S. Pillsbury, was one of the founders of the Pillsbury Baking Company. The other founder was John Sargent Pillsbury, the son of John Pillsbury and Susanna Wadleigh.

Bob Gordon of Vashon Island says that he remembers Charles A. Pillsbury and that he lived in Harbor Heights prior to his death on 12 September 1944.  Records indicate that Charles Adams moved to Vashon ca 1935
Conclusion:
Charles Adams Pillsbury of Tewksbury, MA and Tacoma/Vashon Island(1862-1944) was the  nephew of Charles S. Pillsbury, founder of the C. A. Pillsbury Company of Minneapolis, MN.

Added Note:
Charles Adams Pillsbury’s occupation was that of a Civil Engineer, however his highest recorded education was 8th grade.
Foot Notes
1- Governor of Minnesota(1876-1882) Buried in Lakewood Cemetery, Minneapolis, Hennepin, Minnesota.
2- Massachusetts Births, 1841-1915. Birth record for Charles Adams Pillsbury, son of George Pillsbury and Lydia A. Marshall.
3- 1900 Washington Census, Tacoma(1616 8th St., Precinct #5)
4- 1860 Federal Census, New Hampshire, Manchester Ward 5, daughter of John Quincy Adams Sargent.
5- Helen’s parents were Joshua Pillsbury and Abbie Sargent(MA Marriages 1695-1910)
6- John Sargent Pillsbury was born at Sutton, N.H., July 29, 1828. His parents were John and Susan (Wadleigh) Pillsbury. Mr. Pillsbury’s education was limited to the district schools of the time, and at the age of sixteen he entered the country store of his brother, George A., at Warner, N. H., and afterwards went into business there in partnership with Walter Harriman.  After visiting the West, he decided to locate in Minnesota, and came to St. Anthony Falls in May, 1855, with a stock of hardware, George P. Cross and Woodbury Fisk being partners in the business. The firm of J. S. Pillsbury & Co. was favorably known as one of the leading hardware dealers of the Northwest. In 1875, Mr. Pillsbury sold his hardware business to engage more extensively with his nephew, Charles A. Pillsbury, in the milling business.
7- Find a Grave Memorial #87692983; Charles Adams Pillsbury is buried in the Tacoma Cemetery.