Stimpson Family

The Stimpson Family Papers document several generations of the Stimpson and Watts families and their activities in the Pacific Northwest. Both families made significant contributions to the community of Bellingham, Washington, during the twentieth century, notably in the areas of health care, education, and business.

Born in Northampton, England, Edward Whitmell Stimpson (1875-1960) emigrated to the United States with his parents, John Stimpson and Caroline (Whitmell) Stimpson, as an infant. The family lived in Chicago, western Minnesota, and North Dakota before settling finally in the Pacific Northwest. Edward W. Stimpson returned to the Midwest to attend medical school at the University of Minnesota where he earned his degree in 1903. After graduation, Edward returned to the region and established his first medical practice in Roslyn, Washington. In 1905, he married Mabel Keown, with whom he had two children, Edward Keown and Mabel. In 1909, following his first wife's death, Edward married his sister-in-law Edith Keown. Together, Edward, Edith and the children migrated to Bellingham, Washington, where he resumed his career as a physician in 1914. In 1938, Edward married his third wife Ella Harrison. Edward W. Stimpson died in Bellingham in 1960.

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