An illustrated history of north Idaho : embracing Nez Perces, Idaho, Latah, Kootenai and Shoshone counties, state of Idaho, Part 65

Author:
Publication date: 1903
Publisher: [S.l.] : Western Historical Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1524

USA > Idaho > Kootenai County > An illustrated history of north Idaho : embracing Nez Perces, Idaho, Latah, Kootenai and Shoshone counties, state of Idaho > Part 65
USA > Idaho > Nez Perce County > An illustrated history of north Idaho : embracing Nez Perces, Idaho, Latah, Kootenai and Shoshone counties, state of Idaho > Part 65
USA > Idaho > Shoshone County > An illustrated history of north Idaho : embracing Nez Perces, Idaho, Latah, Kootenai and Shoshone counties, state of Idaho > Part 65
USA > Idaho > Latah County > An illustrated history of north Idaho : embracing Nez Perces, Idaho, Latah, Kootenai and Shoshone counties, state of Idaho > Part 65

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

The marriage of Dr. Morris and Miss Laura, daugh- ter of T. S. and Elizabeth (Hutchingson) Billings, was solemnized on September 24, 1879, and two chil- dren have been born to them, Cora E., graduated from the Lewiston high school at the age of seventeen, in June, 1902 ; Benjamin Ray, attending school. Mr. Bill- ings is a native of New York and is now a harness dealer in Lewiston. His wife is a native of Canada, where also Mrs. Morris was born on March II, 1859, in Toronto. She is an only child and came in an early day to California with her parents. Dr. Morris has the following named brothers and sisters : Levi, James W., Mrs. John Prichard, Mrs. J. R. Warder, Mrs. M. M. Sherlock, Benjamin F. and Hamilton. Dr. Morris is a thirty-two degree Mason. His wife is a member of the Presbyterian chuch. The Doctor is very popular in political matters and for four years he served the county as treasurer, being elected first in 1894, on the Democratic ticket. He has been alderman and school director for a number of terms. The Doctor is pros- perous, having considerable property in Lewiston, and is president of the Lewis Mercantile Company, a whole- sale grocery house of that city, which is doing a good business.

HANK TRIMBLE. A veritable pioneer from the time that he doffed swaddling clothes to stretch his first suspenders, and made of the stuff that wins in the frontier fight, while he has also ever maintained a high sense of honor, and being a man of consummate energy and execution, the subject of this sketch is accorded a prominent place among the worthy men who opened this country and he is certainly deserving of the same.

Mr. Trimble was born in Illinois in 1844, May 26, being the son of Edward and Abarilla ( Ross) Trimble. The father was born in 1816 and was killed by the In- dians on the Platte river in 1846, when he was com- ing to the Willamette valley. The mother was born in 1819, and died in 1896. The family started for the west in 1846 and as the stock strayed on one night when they camped on the Platte, Mr. Trimble went to search for them and was killed by Pawnee Indians, who cast his body in the river. The heartbroken widow came on through and at The Dalles secured the ser- vices of some parties who assisted her to Oregon City.

Two years later they went to Salem and here our sub- ject attended school some, but the mother, having mar- ried a man named Powell, and he not being congenial to Hank, the latter struck out for himself at the age of nine. He stayed with his uncle, Jonathan Bratton, then went with Dr. S. A. Smith for a year, attending school, after which, being eleven, he went with a pack train. This was in 1855, and the train was attacked by In- dians and captured. several of the packers be- ing killed, but our subject escaped by an accident. He returned to the Willamette valley and in 1859 and 1860 attended school at Peoria, Linn county, Oregon. It was as early as 1861 that he came to Lewis- ton, or where Lewiston now stands, and had to wait for four days to get across on the ferry, the rush being so great. He went to Oro Fino and worked in the mines and has been there off and on since that time. He mined and packed until 1865, then went to Boise and mined and then followed the same business.in Mon- tana, on Elk creek, and there, in the summer of 1868, he took out one hundred and forty-four thousand dol- lars from the ground. He went to Walla Walla and then came to Lewiston and mined and kept a saloon until 1880, having a hydraulic on the Clearwater and at Warren. In 1880 he bought land and took two quarters and went to farming and raising stock. He has made a great success of it, handling more stock than any one man in this country. Last winter he fed one thousand. He has just sold about two thousand acres of land and now has plenty of land left. He also has fine cattle and property in Lewiston.

At Helena, Montana, in 1869, Mr. Trimble married Anna (Dunlop) Myer, whose father was a pioneer of the Pacific coast. Mr. Trimble has brothers and sisters as follows: Martha J. St. George, living at Pomeroy, Washington, the town being named from her first hus- band, J. M. Pomeroy, who died there; Mary Ellen Adams, in San Diego, California ; Frank and Horace, deceased. Mr. Trimble is a Democrat and active in politics. He has the best fitted stock farm in the coun- try and his wisdom and skill have been manifested in the brilliant success that he has achieved. He is a member of the Pioneer Association. It is of note by way of reminiscence that Mr. Trimble had twelve uncles and cousins murdered in the Mountain Meadow massacre and in the Salmon Falls massacre by the savages.

LOWRY L. BERRY is one of the younger men of enterprise who have assisted materially to open the res- ervation country to be a fertile and valuable farming vicinity. He is a man of good ability and handles his business affairs with commendable zeal and thorough- ness which have given him the desirable meed of pros- perity and good success. He has a fine piece of land of eighty acres, which is improved in excellent shape. At the present time Mr. Berry is erecting a commodious residence for his family, while good outbuildings, orchard, and so forth, embellish the farm.

Lowry L. Berry was born in Gentry county, Mis- souri, on April 25. 1871, being the son of James B.

259

HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO.

and Elenor (Grantham) Berry, natives of Illinois, born in 1825 and 1827, respectively. The father was a farmer and merchant and died on July 9. 1893. He was a volunteer in the Civil war, where he gave faithful service for his country. He was a pioneer in Missouri and Dakota, and his father was also a pioneer to Mis- souri. The mother of our subject lives with him and has done so since the death of her husband. In 1883 the family went from Missouri to South Dakota, settling in Potter county, where the father and elder sons took land. Four years were spent there and then they all sold out and came to Latah county. There they re- mained until the death of the father in 1893, when our subject took charge of the farm estate and since that time has continued thus. Lowry received his education in the various places where the family lived and was trained by a skillful and progressive father. When the reservation opened he came and secured his present place.

On December 9. 1897, in Latah county, Dr. Berry married Miss Florence, daughter of Thomas and Lo- raine (Camp) Williams, natives of Kansas. Mrs. Berry was also born in Kansas, the date being 1873. She has four brothers and one sister. Mr. Berry has the following named brothers and sisters: William H., Mary J. Craig, James D., Jacob N., Thomas H. and George R. Elsie M., Evelyn E., Chrissie E. and a child as yet unnamed have been born to bless the household of our subject and his estimable wife. Mrs. Berry is a member of the Methodist church. Politic- ally, Mr. Berry is affiliated with the Populist party. and is always found on the side of progression and is especially interested in good schools.

WYLEY T. JOHNSON. The southeast fourth of section twenty-four, township thirty-four, range one east of the Boise meridian belongs to Wyley John- son. It bears the marks of being one of the best tilled and kept farms in the vicinity. Mr. Johnson has a seven-room residence, with water piped in, and all of the modern conveniences and this is but a sample of his farm improvements and achievements. He borrowed money in the east to make his way west and has wrought with industry and sagacity until he is now one of the most prosperous men of the reserva- tion country. Mr. Johnson has cattle and hogs to con- sume the abundant harvests of his fertile farm and he is as successful in raising stock as in his farming.

Wyley Johnson was born in Montgomery county. Tennessee, on March 10, 1860, being the son of Len H. and Martha ( Turner) Johnson, natives of Ten- nessee. The maternal grandfather. Wyley Turner, served in the war of 1812. The father of our subject died in 1871 and the mother removed her family to Humphreys county, Tennessee, in 1876. In 1884 M1r. Johnson came to Albion, Cassia county, Idaho, and there wrought on a stock farm. The next winter he went to San Francisco with a train of stock for Samuel Guinn. He remained a time in California and in 1891 came to the Palouse country, then went to Cassia coun-

ty again, whence he again went to California. Soon we see him in Pullman and when the reservation opened he was among the enterprising ones who came and selected fine farms.

On July 27, 1898, Mr. Johnson married Miss Flor- ence, daughter of Milo H. and Lucy A. Adams, of the vicinity of Nezperce. They had one child, Milton A., born August 27, 1901. Mrs. Johnson taught school three terms in Bingham county, Idaho, and also taught the first school in Fletcher. She was also saleslady in J. T. Orbison's store in Nezperce for a year. They are highly respected people and hold a leading place in the society of the community.

DR. JOHN H. LEWIS. Nezperce is to be con- gratulated in securing as a permanent resident the subject of this article, who has shown himself in his large and ever increasing practice in dentistry to be a master in his profession, a noble and upright man, and a keen and discriminating student of deep erudi- tion, not only in the technical departments of dentistry but in general information.

John H. Lewis was born in Blackhawk county, Iowa, on February 11, 1875, being the son of Ezra J. and Anna M. (Harris) Lewis. The father was born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and came with his par- ents to Carroll county, Illinois, where he was married, his wife being a native of that county. Later they re- moved to the birthplace of our subject and in 1885 they came to Cheyenne county, Nebraska, whence, in 1889, they journeyed to Marion county, Oregon. Dr. Lewis attended public school in the east and the high school at Newport, Oregon, gaining the money for his expenses in the latter by teaching school. We may also remark that Dr. Lewis is a self-made man in every respect, for his own efforts have contributed solely to the fund that gave him his training in his profes- sion. He possessed the requisite courage, ambition and tenacity of purpose to accomplish this worthy achievement and it is greatly to his credit in his life that he has so done, for it has given him an independ- ence, a self reliance and freedom of thought that have contributed much to his excellent success in profes- sional life. Succeeding the high school course, Dr. Lewis studied at the University of Oregon in Eugene, then took a dental course at Albany. During the latter part of this extended study he spent one and one-half years in Lewiston in the prosecution of his profession with Dr. W. F. Galbraith. In November, 1899, the Doctor located permanently in Nezperce and has from the first done a good business and at this time he is firmly established in the confidence and esteem of the entire populace. He took an extended post gradu- ate course in prosthetic dentistry in Portland, in 1900, and now he is in charge of one of the finest dental parlors in the state. The Doctor owns the office building where he operates and also is contemplating in the near future to erect a beautiful residence on the lots which he also owns.

On July 15, 1901, the Doctor had the happy privi-

260

HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO.

lege of taking to himself a wife, the charming lady being Miss Dora B. Laird, a native of Lane county, Oregon. He and his wife are devout members of the Church of Christ and he is an acting elder in this con- gregation at Nezperce. Dr. Lewis is a member of the W. W. and the M. W. A.

CHARLES A. BACON. About one mile northeast from Melrose is situated the estate of the representa- tive agriculturist and esteemed citizen and well known gentleman whose name initiates this paragraph. From the raw state of nature Mr. Bacon took this land and has made it a fine producing farm with all the neces- sary improvements, as comfortable house, good barns, fences, and so forth. The farm contains one hundred and sixty acres of good land and produces the cereals.

Charles A. Bacon was born in Newaygo county, Michigan, on December 26, 1857, being the son of Erastus and Lucy A. (Done) Bacon, natives of New York. The father was born in 1821 and was a pioneer to Michigan, as his father was 'also. Our subject worked with his father on the old farm and gained the educational training to be had from the schools during the winters. He continued in activity on the homestead until thirty years of age, and in 1890 sold out and came to Port Angeles, Washington, where he labored for five years. At the opening of the reser- vation he made his way thither and secured the land where is now situated the family home. Since that time he has given his attention assiduously to its im- provement and cultivation. He has been blessed with success and is deserving of the same. And while he has industriously handled the duties of life as they came, he has also worked for the advancement of the interests of the county and has always allied himself on the side of good schools and good government. He is a Democrat in politics and sustains the principles of Jefferson.

On September 5, 1886, in Michigan, Mr. Bacon married Miss Roena L., daughter of Enoch and Han- nah J. (Kimbell) Doty, natives respectively of Michi- gan and New York. The father, a pioneer of Michi- gan, was a soldier in the Eighth Michigan Infantry, and died from the effects of a wound in 1873. The mother's birth was in 1843. Mrs. Bacon was born in Michigan in 1867. She has one sister, Achsah Platt, in Nez Perces county. Mr. Bacon's brothers and sisters are all dead. To Mr. and Mrs. Bacon there have been born the following named children : Charles E., Ery L., Frank A., Harry D., Lucy J.

DAVID W. POTTER. Although this gentleman has not been in Nez Perces county many years, he has nevertheless, been in the vicinity and has done good work in the upbuilding of the country and deserves space in the history of the county, being a good busi- ness man, upright, and of sound principles. He was born in Weyauwega, Wisconsin, on August 17, 1851,

being the son of Wilber and Maria Potter, natives of New York, born respectively in 1810, and on August 17, 1832. The father died in 1900, and the mother still lives in Minnesota. Our subject worked on a farmi and received his education from the common schools of his vicinity. At the age of twenty five, he left the pa- rental roof and settled on a ranch that he had taken near the home place. For nine years he was occupied there and then went to Fergus Falls, Minnesota, and there engaged in the dray business. In 1885 he sold out and came to Peola, in the Blue Mountains. He worked at milling and took up a timber claim in Aso- tin county and farmed for seven years and then re- moved to Colton, Whitman county, where he engaged in livery and draying. He was deputy sheriff of that county for a term and constable and marshal of Col- ton for five years. In the spring of 1902, he came to Lewiston and opened a livery stable, which he is car- rying on in a creditable manner. He still owns a fine farm near Colton, and also property in town.

On December 25, 1877, Mr. Potter married Miss Gertie, daughter of Charles White, a native of Michi- gan, now living in Peola. Mrs. Potter was born in Plainville, Minnesota, on August 18, 1858, and has one brother, Albert, now deceased. Mr. Potter has brothers and sisters, as follows, Charles, in Dakota; Delbert, in Minnesota ; Allen, deceased ; Harriett, wife of T. Watson, in Los Angeles, California; Alice, de- ceased ; Stella, wife of Charles Works, in Minnesota. Mr. Potter has also the following half brothers and sisters, Albert, who has been assistant secretary of state of Wisconsin ; Peter, at Black River Falls, Wis- consin ; William, now in Montana, having been wound- ed in the Civil war ; Jasper, wounded in Civil war and now a cripple on account of it; Horace, in the Civil war, now in Minnesota ; Julia Hall, in Sparta, Wiscon- sin; Mary, wife of Thomas Hogue, in Sparta, Wis- consin ; Matilda, at Black River Falls, Wisconsin. To Mr. and Mrs. Potter there have been born three chil- dren, Ernest, a soldier in the Philippine war; Harry and Ray, at home. Mr. Potter is a member of the K. of P., at Colton, Washington. He is a Republican and active in the political realm.

ALEXANDER H. VAVER is a capable and ex- perienced man in the manufacture of all kinds of tim- ber products and at the present time is in charge of a fine saw-mill plant at Melrose, of which he is part owner. It is one of the finest plants in the county and is doing a good business in the development of the country.

Alexander H. Vaver was born in Chippewa county, Wisconsin, on January 5, 1867, being the son of Alex- ander and Betsy (Dixson) Vaver, natives of Canada and born in 1828 and 1842, respectively. The father died in 1900, having been a pioneer in Wisconsin be- fore the day of railroads there and a successful operator of saw-mills. The mother died in 1900; her father was a trader of the Hudson Bay Company and pio- neered all through the west and northwest. He was of

261

HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO.

Scotch lineage. Our subject grew to manhood in Wis- consin and learned from the beginning the saw mill business and the handling of timber and its products. There he wrought in this field until 1897, when he re- paired to Minnesota, settling at Crookston for two years. Next we find him in Great Falls, Montana, with the Butte Commercial Company. A year later he returned to Wisconsin and then again came west, settling in Lewiston. He operated for the Small & Emory Saw-mill Company for two years and the M. A. Snyder Company was formed, of which Mr. Vaver is one of the members. The mill was put up at Mel- rose and Mr. Vaver has been handling it since.

In Wisconsin, in the year 1892, Mr. Vaver married Miss Louise Winsenson, whose parents were natives of Denmark. She was born in Wisconsin in 1874 and has two sisters, Stina Flanders, in Wisconsin ; Anna Lock, in Oregon. Mr. Winsenson was a soldier in Denmark and also served three years to defend the flag in the Civil war and received a pension for his valiant service. Mr. Vaver has the following brothers and sisters: William, John, Frank and Henry, Clara, Emily Coleman and Florence. One child has been born to Mr. and Mrs. Vaver, James. Mr. Vaver is a mem- ber of the I. O. O. F. and the Encampment and also of the MI. W. A. He is a Republican and an active worker for those principles. Mrs. Vaver is a member of the Lutheran church and her husband of the Meth- odist.

BENJAMIN F. BASHOR. The affable and gen- ial subject of this article, who has labored so faith- fully in this county, is granted with pleasure a rep- resentation in this volume of the history of Nez Perces, since he is one of the popular and prominent men in its precincts and since also he is a man of good princi- ples and integrity.

Mr. Bashor was born in Las Animas county, Colo- rado, on April 3, 1873, being the son of Michael M. and Susan (Garst) Bashor, the father a German Baptist minister, born in Virginia in 1830, and his par- ents born in Pennsylvania. The mother of our sub- ject was also born in Virginia in 1832, her father be- ing born in Germany and coming to America when a boy and her mother a native of Pennsylvania and an immigrant to Virginia when young. Our subject's parents were married in Tennessee, December II, 1850, and in 1872 came to Colorado and the father preached in Trinidad. When Benjamin was six years old the family came to Marion county, Oregon. He was educated in the common schools of that and Linn county at the Mineral Springs Seminary and then finished at the Willamette University in Salem in 1894. He taught two years and then came to Nez Perces county in 1896, taking a homestead in July of that ycar. He was postmaster at Steele, taught school, farmed, and acted as justice of the peace. In 1900 the Republicans nominated him for county assessor. and the people promptly elected him and in that ca- pacity he is serving now.

October 16. 1898, Mr. Bashor married Miss Emma

C., daughter of William C. and Rebecca Waid. and to them has been born one child, Vernon B., two years old. Mr. Waide is a farmer and was born in Ohio, in 1845, was a soldier in the Civil war and now draws a pension. The mother is a native of the Buckeye State, born 1844. Besides Mrs. Bashor, they have children as follows: Martha Pope, Dora B. Day, John F., Nelson W., Charles W., Ida Hackett and Alice. Mr. Bashor has the following named brothers and sisters : Mary Bryant, Frederick F., George W., Adam A., Henry W., Noah N., Amanda C., Sarah M. Monsey, Jacob F., Levi M., Nancy Z. Rinehart, Anna Bashor, Suda E. Bashor. Our subject and his worthy wife are members of the Baptist church and devout sup- porters of the faith. He is a Republican in politics and active in that realm. Mr. Bashor has a good farm of two hundred and forty acres near Steele. His grand- father Bashor lived to be ninety-eight years of age and his grandmother was eighty-eight at her death ; his ma- ternal grandparents were also of good age when they died. Mr. Bashor is a man whose kindness and genial- ity have won him many friends, is a worthy citizen and has the confidence of all.

EZRA BAIRD. A typical pioneer, a staunch man. a patriotic citizen, and as wise and fearless a frontiers- man, as entered these wild regions years since, the sub- ject of this sketch is rightly placed with the leading and prominent men of this part of the state. He was born in Schoharie county, New York, on May II, 1839, being the son of Joseph and Sallie A. (Gifford ) Baird, the father being a milling man, died in 1864. while the mother was born in Gilbosh, New York, and died at the age of seventy-five, in 1801. In 1849, the family removed to Broome county, New York, where our sub- ject was educated. On April 1, 1861, he left New York City for San Francisco, arriving there on the twenty-fourth of the same month. The news of the outbreak of the Civil war had preceded him by pony express. He labored in a bakery for one year and on April 1, 1862, started for Lewiston, which he reached on June 15, 1862. He with four companions bought a boat at The Dalles and sailed to Lewiston, fishing and hunting enroute. He was soon on the road to Elk City, but stopped at Newsome, twenty miles this side and mined there, also operating a hotel for four years. In 1871 he bought the express business from Lewiston to Elk City, and the next year put on a stage to Florence and Warren. In 1874 he was elected sheriff of old Nez Perces county and served for three consecutive terms and in 1882 was re-elected. In 1885 Mr. Baird sold horses in Montana and went to Washington, D. C .. to see Cleveland inaugurated and visited his old home. In 1886 he sold more horses in Montana, then made another trip to Washington and secured the position of United States marshal for Idaho. He served two years and nine months and then gave place to Dubois, letting the latter have the one year and three months and in Cleveland's time this same man turned against our subject. In 1889 Mr. Baird bought a hotel on

262

HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO.

St. Reiges river in anticipation of the railroad. In 1893 he again took the Elk City stage and in 1894 he went into mining, having now large interests in Buffalo Hump, Thunder Mountain, and other places, while he has also bought and soid many farms.

In September, 1872, at Mount Idaho, Mr. Baird married Miss Alice, daughter of James and Katherine (Crusin) Odle, pioneers of the west. To this happy union there have been born the following children : Edna, at home in Lewiston; Lewis, at home assisting father. MIrs. Baird was born in Rosenburg, Oregon, and has two sisters and one brother, Mrs. John Rice, Emma Rice, and George. Mr. Baird has two brothers and two sisters; Lewis, William, Sarah Langdon, and May Avery. Mr. Baird has taken thirty-two degrees in the Masonic order and was a charter member of the Mt. Idaho lodge. He is an active worker in the realm of politics and is allied with the Democratic party, being deeply interested in its success. He attends the county conventions and is always alert for the advance- ment of the Jeffersonian purinciples. Mr. Baird is also a member of the Pioneer Association, being one of the real builders of the Nez Perces country.

HON. GEORGE A. MANNING. James Man- ning was of English descent, his ancestors coming to the colonies in 1646, and he served in the Revolution as colonel and sustained a wound at Valley Forge. His son, James, was born in Maine, then a part of Massa- chusetts. in 1795, and married Jane Bowness, who was born in county Kent, in England, in 1805 and died in Maine, in 1884. Her father, Isaac Bowness, came to America in 1818 and was superintendent of public works in New Brunswick, receiving a large grant of land which is still in the family. To James and Jane Manning were born our subject on November 21, 1836. in Oldtown, Penobscot county, Maine; Cyrus M., who came to the vicinity of Lewiston, in 1862, worked at lumbering, fought in the Nez Perces war, and was killed in a runaway in 1880; Hamilton died when he was young ; William C., who came to California with our subject and was companion with him in all the war hardships, being in Libby prison, was promoted to rank of major and died in 1892 : John B., died in Ore- gon : Mrs. M. A. White, in Lewiston; Mrs. Lydia Cushman, in Spokane. Our subject was educated in the Oldtown Academy and came to San Francisco, via Panama, in 1859, and mined two years with good suc- cess. In August, 1861, he enlisted in Company F, Second California Cavalry, as private and steadily be- gan by merit to rise in rank. He was instrumental in arresting the principal members of the Knights of the Golden Circle on the Pacific coast. He gained the rank of second lieutenant in First California Cavalry and was detailed to organize a battalion to serve in the east. He went east as captain and his five hundred men were the only Californians who fought in the war in the east. He was attached to the Second Massachusetts. He was active in the service until February, 1864, when he was captured and languished in Libby prison, and others.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

An illustrated history of north Idaho : embracing Nez Perces, Idaho, Latah, Kootenai and Shoshone counties, state of Idaho, Part 65

Author: Publication date: 1903 Publisher: [S.l.] : Western Historical Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 1524

Author:
Publication date: 1903
Publisher: [S.l.] : Western Historical Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1524