Colonel Isaac Neff Ebey (January 22, 1818 – August 11, 1857) was the first permanent white resident of Whidbey Island, Washington. Ebey was born in Columbus, Ohio in 1818. During his childhood Ebey's father, Jacob, moved the family to Adair County, Missouri, where as a young man Ebey was trained in the law. At age 25, Ebey married Rebecca Davis and they later had two sons, Eason (who became Phoebe Judson's son-in-law) and Ellison. Born with a naturally adventurous spirit, Isaac temporarily left his wife and young sons in Missouri to explore the American west – specifically the Pacific Coast. Journey West During his journey west, Ebey briefly tried his hand at gold-mining during the California gold-rush and then headed north to Oregon Territory. After arriving in the Puget Sound region he went to work for the U.S. Customs service. While with the service, Ebey spent some time in Olympia, the city he is credited with naming in honor of the Olympic Peninsula mountains to the west of Puget Sound. Ebey also sponsored a statute to name King County, Washington. Hearing of the islands in the north end of the sound, Ebey came upon Whidbey Island and fell in love with the natural beauty, climate, and rich land perfect for farming. Homesteading Whidbey Island In October 1850, Ebey moved from Olympia to Whidbey Island. When Congress passed the Donation Land Claim Act in 1850, Ebey claimed for himself and his family overlooking Admiralty Inlet then wrote his wife to prepare for a move west with their sons. The remainder of Ebey's family followed in October 1854. Among those of Ebey's family who came to the Pacific Northwest were: Ebey's parents, Jacob and Sarah; siblings, Mary, Winfield, and Ruth; Mary's two children, Almira and Polk Wright; a cousin, George Beam. Jacob Ebey claimed ridge land overlooking what is today called Ebey's Prairie. On the same ridge, Isaac Ebey built a blockhouse for protection against raiding Indians. Isaac and Jacob Ebey's land would prove to be some of the most productive in the area and word of this fortune traveled, drawing settlers from the east into the region and starting a rush of settlers who claimed most of the prairie-land by the beginning of 1853. By 1860, all of the best farmland had already been claimed. Establishing a presence Like other American farmers of European descent on Whidbey Island, Ebey grew wheat