Rossell Galbraith O'Brien was an accomplished veteran and public official. Born in Dublin, in 1846, his family uprooted and found themselves in Illinois when Rossell was still a boy. Before the age of 17, he was serving in Chicago's "Governor's Guard" as a private.

At 18, the Irishman enlisted with Company D, 134th Illinois Volunteer regiment, as Second Lieutenant, fighting in the Civil War, helping to conquer General Sterling Price's Missouri Campaign in 1864. After mustering out and serving as First Lieutenant until 1870, he was hand-picked by Washington Territory's newly-appointed governor, Edward S. Salomon, as the territory's Deputy Collector of Internal Revenue.

O'Brien's new life in Washington would lead him through a winding path of public service... keep reading

The real estate listing for this West Seattle house gives no clues as to its remarkable history. The house is regarded by many to be the oldest in Seattle. It is said to have been built (in 1865, according to the PRC) for "Doc" Maynard, one of Seattle's earliest non-native settlers, after his first house burned down. A few years later, Maynard sold his Alki Point property to Anna and Hans Hanson and brother-in-law Knud Olson. It was here in Alki that the Hansons' daughter, Daisy, was born in 1870. She would marry Johan Ivar Haglund and give birth to a son, Ivar. When Ivar was a boy, the house was altered and moved from its original location on the beach to its current site. The list price for the house was $630,000; a sale is currently pending.