The Sandell family
Victor and Gustava Sandell were both born in Finland. They arrived in Issaquah in 1888 from Michigan with daughter Ethel and son Frank. Another son and daughter, Samuel and Alma, were born within a few years of their arrival here.
The family tried homesteading in the Upper Preston area, but had to move to town due to Gustava’s ill health. She died in 1893, when the youngest child was just three years old. Victor supported the family as a miner, and the two sons followed in his footsteps.
Daughter Alma met married Evan Watkins from Black Diamond in 1911, and they relocated to the Sandell home on Alder Street. Their five children-David, James, EthylMarie, Walt and Victor-all graduated from Issaquah High.
Walt was the only one to remain in Issaquah, where he is best known for serving as postmaster from 1967-1982. His daughters, Jayne and Julie, were the third generation of the family to graduate from IHS. Recently, Evan Watkins, a great-grandson of Victor and Gustava, relocated to this area
