Category Archives: Bigelow House

Margaret Stewart was born in Ohio in 1819, the daughter of Ann McLaughlin (1795-1847) and Reverend William Stewart (1794-1885).  Margaret married William Nathan White in Illinois in 1835.  William Nathan White came over the Oregon Trail in 1850 and Margaret White followed in 1851.  After living in Oregon and then Chehalis area, they moved to Chambers Prairie where White was killed during the Puget Sound Indian War in 1856.  Margaret married Stephen Ruddell (1816-1891) in 1857. 

In 1871, she joined her daughter Ann Elizabeth Bigelow in calling for a Suffrage Convention and attended the Washington Territory Woman’s Suffrage Association convention in Olympia in November 1871.  The Whites had a large family:  Ann Elizabeth, William Nathan, George, Mary Ellen (Byrd), Anson, Clara (Dunbar) and John Lee.  Mrs. White had a son Rigdon after her marriage to Stephen Ruddell. Margaret and Stephen, and Margaret’s three daughters all lived in close proximity on Olympia’s East Side, and their homes are all still in existence. 

Rev. William Stewart, Margaret Stewart White Ruddell's father

Rev. William Stewart, Margaret Stewart White Ruddell's father

Margaret Stewart White Ruddell, Ann Elizabeth White Bigelow's mother, photograph by A.B. Woodard

Margaret Stewart White Ruddell with her three daughters Clara White Dunbar, Mary Ellen White Byrd, Ann Elizabeth White Bigelow

Margaret Stewart White Ruddell Mother of Ann Elizabeth White Bigelow

William White, father of Ann Elizabeth White Bigelow

George White, brother of Ann Elizabeth White Bigelow

Clara White Dunbar (1852-1930), sister of Ann Elizabeth White Bigelow

Addie Byrd (later Athow), Jessie Byrd (later Stevenson), and Clara Byrd (later Anderson), nieces of Ann Elizabeth Bigelow

Anson White, brother of Ann Elizabeth White Bigelow

William White, Margaret Stewart White Ruddell's first husband

Mary Ellen White (Byrd), sister of Ann Elizabeth White Bigelow

See additional photographs of the family in our Who Are We? collection, as well as locations associated with the family: Dunbar House, Byrd House, and Ruddell House

Digitization and posting of these images from the Bigelow House Collection funded through the Pendleton & Elisabeth Carey Miller Charitable Foundation.

©Bigelow House Museum Collections,  Copyright Olympia Historical Society and Bigelow House Museum. No commercial use of images permitted. Contact olyhistory@gmail.com for rights information

Mary Ann Campbell Bigelow 1913-2005

Mary Ann Campbell married Daniel Sylvester Bigelow in 1935 and moved into the Bigelow House sharing it first with Margaret and then for many years with Ruth and her husband.  It was not until Ruth’s death in 1950 that the family lived in the entire house.

Mary Ann and Daniel were stewards of the historic house and were recognized with a statewide preservation award for their care in 1993.

 Mary Ann led her family to Florida as the Washington State representatives in the All America Family Search; in 1964, she was named Washington State Mother of the Year; in 1999 she was given a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Olympia YWCA; and in 2001, she was celebrated as a Living Legend of Thurston County by the Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Thurston County.

Daniel Sylvester and Mary Ann Bigelow with 3 sons.

Mary Ann Campbell Bigelow Bridal Portrait

Daniel S. and Mary Ann Campbell Bigelow Family 1949

Daniel S. and Mary Ann Campbell Bigelow Family 1947

Daniel Sylvester and Mary Ann Campbell Bigelow Wedding Party Group Photo, 1935

Timothy 16, David 17, Mrs. Bigelow, Mr. Bigelow, Superintendent of Public Instruction Lloyd Andrews with Book of Knowledge for Washington All American Family.

Digitization and posting of these images from the Bigelow House Collection funded through the Pendleton & Elisabeth Carey Miller Charitable Foundation.