An illustrated history of north Idaho : embracing Nez Perces, Idaho, Latah, Kootenai and Shoshone counties, state of Idaho, Part 76

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 76
USA > Idaho > Nez Perce County > An illustrated history of north Idaho : embracing Nez Perces, Idaho, Latah, Kootenai and Shoshone counties, state of Idaho > Part 76
USA > Idaho > Shoshone County > An illustrated history of north Idaho : embracing Nez Perces, Idaho, Latah, Kootenai and Shoshone counties, state of Idaho > Part 76
USA > Idaho > Latah County > An illustrated history of north Idaho : embracing Nez Perces, Idaho, Latah, Kootenai and Shoshone counties, state of Idaho > Part 76

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Culdesac and at once he opened a shop. He has a good shop, is an exceptionally skillful and competent machinist and blacksmith, and stands well with all the people and enjoys a fine patronage. In addition to the arts mentioned, Mr. Benson is a first class worker in wood and does much wagon work.

On October 26, 1891, Mr. Benson married Miss 20

Annie F., daughter of R. G. and Jane (Day) Newland. Mr. Newland was one of the early pioneers to Wash- ington and Oregon. He settled on the original home- stead of Mr. Jesse N. Day on the Touchet near Day- ton, who owned the town site of Dayton, and was one of the substantial men of that section. Dr. J. H. Day of Walla Walla was an uncle of Mrs. Benson. He died in 1896, aged eighty-seven, and was a highly re- spected and universally beloved man. Mr. and Mrs. Benson have five children, Esther and Vester, twins, Edna, Fred and DeHass. One, Maggie, an excep- tionally robust child, died at two years of age.

It is of note that Mr. Benson took passage on the steamship Metropolis, when he was in Philadelphia in 1876, and started for Rio De Janeiro. Five days out, the date being January 5, 1877, the vessel was wrecked and eighty-one lives out of one hundred and thirty were lost. Our subject held to the chains under the bowsprit for hours waiting for the debris and dead bodies to float away and finally dropped into the ocean and swam ashore, being assisted to land by rescuers.

Mr. Benson was a member of the I. O. O. F. and of the W. of W. Mrs. Benson, whose parents were natives of Virginia, was born near Dayton. Washington, and was educated in Waitsburg and Walla Walla. Her father was state representative once of Walla Walla county and once of Columbia. and was speaker of the house for one term.

WILLIAM H. GAGE. We are pleased to grant to Mr. Gage a consideration in the pages of the his- tory of the Nez Perces county since he has wrought in this section for a long time, has manifested those qualities of worth and perseverance that bring the meed of success and has maintained an unsullied re- utation, becoming one of the leading men of his com- munity, being esteemed and respected by all. He was born on October 1, 1857, in Gardner, Grundy county, Illinois, being the son of Thomas W. and Martha A. (Rogers) Gage, natives respectively of Vermont and New York. They came to Illinois in an early day and where Chicago now stands could have been taken as homestead land at that time. They removed to Mis- souri in 1869 and to Kansas in 1876, where the father died in 1896, aged sixty-six years and the mother still lives there. Our subject received very little schooling, but spent his boyhood days in working for his father and in the coal mines in Missouri. He has been careful to investigate and has read much during his life, thus having made up for the lack of schooling. In 1879, he came west, locating a preemption near Moscow, where he went into the livery business but sold out two years after starting. then removed south from Genesee, where he purchased two hundred acres of land and farmed until 1887 when he sold and bought his present place, three miles south from Gen- esee. This land was wild at the time Mr. Gage bought it, which he cleared and broke, building a good house, barns, outbuildings and otherwise improving it tin-

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til it is a model farm. He has a fine orchard of five hundred trees and does a general farming business and handles some stock. Mr. Gage has been active in the field of education, always laboring for good schools and has been both school director and road supervisor, and always evinces a manifest interest in the local politics.

On December 6, 1885, Mr. Gage married Miss Julia, daughter of E. A. and E. A. (Warner) Samp- son, natives of Missouri and Indiana, respectively. They crossed the plains in 1847 to Oregon and then returned to the states to come out west again in 1852. Mr. and Mrs. Gage have become the parents of seven children, as follows, Jessie, going to school in Gen- esee, William C., Ernest W., Mabel A., Chester E., Pearl A., and Eunice A. Mr. Gage affiliates with the W. of W. and the A. O. P. He is a man of broad ex- perience and native talent which gives him a great prestige in the community where he is respected and confided in by all.

PETER JUTTE, deceased. It is very fitting that in the volume that chronicles the history of Nez Perces county, there should appear a proper memorial of the late esteemed and beloved gentleman whose name is at the head of this page, since he was one of the early settlers of this portion of Nez Perces, county, and here he labored with display of great faithfulness, enterprise and wisdom for many years and since also he was a man of great strength of character, being upright, capable, and possessed of a sterling worth and principle that always guided him in the path of unswerving integrity and maintenance of an unsullied reputation and high honor.

The deceased was born in Saint Peters, Ohio, on April 2, 1860, being the son of John and Kate Jutte, natives of Germany and immigrants to the United States in 1850. Locating in Ohio, they spent the years of their life therc and now repose in the Catholic cemetery in Saint Peters of that state. In his native town our subject received his early schooling and there remained with his parents until he had arrived to the age of twenty-four. At that time he made a journey to Ottertail county, Minnesota, and two years later, he came thence to Nez Perces county, Idaho, purchasing a half section of land where the family home is now located, about four miles west from Gen- esee. He began at once the labors of transforming the raw sod to a fertile farm, and improvements be- gan to appear in various portions. Fences and barns were built, a fine residence erected, and all the modern improvements of a fine western grain and fruit farm were added in due time. He manifested great wisdom and untiring care of the entire estate and under his careful husbandry it was made to produce abundant crops of the cereals and other things. He purchased from time to time pieces of land until the estate is now four hundred and seventy acres of fine land. In ad- dition there is one acre in the town of Genesee, where the intention was to erect a home to be occupied by the family. The farm produces as high as six thousand

bushels of wheat annually, and it is kept in excellent condition.

On January 19, 1886, occurred the marriage of Mr. Jutte and Miss Veronika. daughter of Joseph W. and Barbara (Secrist) Doll, the father being a native of Ohio and the mother of Germany, and they reside in Ottertail county, Minnesota. To Mr. and Mrs. Jutte there were born six children, four of whom are living, as follows, Barney H., Anton C., Albert J. and Edward F. On April 16, 1902, the messenger of death came to Mr. Jutte and snatched him hence. It was a time of universal mourning, for he was widely known and beloved by all who had the pleasure of a personal acquaintance with him. With solemn ser- vices the remains of the good man, the true and devot- ed husband, loving and wise father, capable and noble citizen of our land was consigned to the last resting place in the Catholic cemetery in Genesee. He had been in lifetime a popular member of the W. of W. Camp No. 207 of Uniontown, and a devout adherent of the Catholic church. The heavy grief and attend- ant burdens that have fallen upon Mrs. Jutte are nobly borne, and it is with great wisdom and commendable ability that she is assuming the responsibilities and discharging them in a becoming manner. She is handling the farm and maintains the home place.

HENRY J. ROGERS. This successful and capa- ble young agriculturist is the owner of a good estate one and one-fourth miles southwest from Melrose, where the family home is and where Mr. Rogers has bestowed his labors with wisdom and skill.

Henry J. Rogers was born in the Willamette val- ley, Oregon, on March 12, 1874, being the son of Henry M. and Palina ( Whited) Rogers. The father was born in Wales in 1828, came to America with his parents when he was five, and in 1852 crossed the plains with ox teams and settled in the Willamette valley, being one of the earliest pioneers of that coun- try, where he lived on one farm for thirty years. He was one of the home guards of the territory. The mother of our subject was born in Indiana in 1832 and died in 1899. Her parents were pioneers in In- diana and Ohio. The father of our subject was one of the early miners of the Boise and Powder river regions and there met all the hardships of the arduous fron- tier life. In 1877 the family came to Moscow, it being the year of the Indian outbreak. Henry heard the be- ginning of the Butter creek battle, and though young, called his parents' attention to the frequent shots. The father secured three quarters of a section near Moscow and there Henry grew up, being educated in the com- mon schools and also in the university. At the open- ing of the reservation, he came and bought the re- linquishment to his present place and settled down to make a fertile farm and a good home. He has a gen- crous orchard, raises much grain and handles hogs and cattle enough to use all of his grain on the farm.

On September 29, 1895, in Moscow, Mr. Rogers married Miss Lulu, daughter of James and Mary Wil-

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cox, natives of Missouri, the father being a farmer and plasterer. Mrs. Rogers was born in Missouri, in 1876, and was educated in the grammar schools in Kent, Washington. She has one brother and one sister, James, in Missouri, and Lillie Hobson, in Beeman, Idaho. Mr. Rogers has the following brothers and sis- ters, Eliza Heick, Marion and Matilda Burgess, Re- becca Burgess, Thomas, Minnie Robertson. One child, Henry James Cecil, two and one-half years old, has been born to this happy marriage. Mr. Rogers is a member of the W. W. and is a socialist in political mat- ters. He and his wife are members of the Church of Christ and he holds the office of elder in the Melrose congregation. He is a man of good influence in the community and is one of the solid and well esteemed citizens.

BENJAMIN F. AYTCH. The energy, skill, good business qualifications and fine achievements of Mr. Avtch demonstrate him to be a man of excellent qual- ity and one who has won first class success in the battle of life. He was born in San Joaquin county, Cali- fornia. on September 14, 1869, being the son of Will- iam H. Aytch, who was born in West Point, New York, in 1819. He was one of seven who fought the Indians against great odds in the Yosemite valley. He married Amanda, daughter of John and Caroline Rodgers. She was born in Missouri. To Mr. and Mrs. Aytch were born eight children, the subject of this article, Kitty, William E .. Ella E. Redfield, Charles H., Ada A., Lillie R., Elonzo. Our subject has always re- mained with his parents and they are living with him at the present time. They all went to Canyonville, Oregon, in the seventies and later returned to Siskiyou county, and in 1894 came thence to his present place. Mr. Aytch landed here with one dollar and at once began to secure sheep, upon which he cleared four thousand dollars. He now has a fine farm about five miles southwest from Forest, eighty acres of which is good meadow, all being fenced, has comfortable buildings and much room for hay and stock, of which he owns over thirty head. He is prosperous and one of the substantial men of the section. Mr. Aytch is a member of the I. O. O. F. and in political alliances is with the Republicans. He is a man of good standing, liberal and public minded and always labors for the general good and advancement along all lines.

MICHAEL N. NYE, a thrifty farmer living about one mile east from Forest, should be ranked as one of the pioneers of this section and is surely to be credited with a public spirit and good labors in im- provement and building up the country.

Michael N. Nye was born in Kosciusko county, In- diana, on February 17, 1847, being the son of Michael Nye, a brick-mason, who was born in Pennsylvania, in 1808, and a pioneer in Indiana. He married Elizabeth, daughter of Peter and Nancy Kimes, who were also

pioneers of Indiana. Besides our subject there were born to this marriage six children: Omar, Jasper, Nancy Disher, Rebecca Vanator, Rowan, Mary Mag- rin. Michael N. was educated in the common schools and remained with his parents until he was sixteen and then enlisted in Company A, Seventy-fourth In- diana Infantry. He served eighteen months and then was discharged on a general order, on July 25, 1865. He returned home, where he remained for two years, then went to Iowa in the fall of 1867, traveling also in Kansas and Nebraska until the beginning of 1871. Then he returned to Marshall county, Indiana, and married Miss Eliza, daughter of Charles H., a native of Kentucky, and Sarah E. Patterson, a native of In- diana. The father died on January 1. 1870, and the mother died on February 4. 1894, leaving seven chil- dren : Mrs. Nye, Mary J. Chapman, George A .. Blair M., Nancy E. Harvert, James W., Arrilda Bell. In 1876 Mr. Nye went to Iowa with his family, farmed there two years and then went to Kansas and took a homestead. They remained there and in town adja- cent until 1888, when they came to Idaho and located on his present place, which has been the family home since. The land was unsurveyed when they came and they held by squatter's right but filed in 1896. They have a portion of the farm cultivated, about seventeen head of stock and buildings and fencing. Mr. Nye is an active supporter of good schools and has given his children a college education. Politically, he is allied with the Republicans and is intelligent in the issues of the campaigns both of state and nation. Four chil- dren have been born to this couple : Zoa A., at the pres- ent time head nurse in the Mountain View sanitarium in Spokane : Bertha, also a trained nurse : Charles A., a stockman on the Salmon river ; Minnie E., a grad- uate of the State Normal School at Lewiston. The young ladies who are nursing are both graduates of the Battle Creek school for nurses and are skillful in their work.

SENEBER S. BROOKS. About two miles south- west from Ilo is found the home of the thrifty and prosperous citizen mentioned at the head of this arti- cle and it is with pleasure that we are enabled to grant to him consideration in this volume.

Seneber S. Brooks was born in Linn county, Ore- gon, on August 17, 1856, being the son of Durin P. and Amanda C. (Hill) Brooks. The father was born in Michigan in 1834. crossed the plains in 1852, set- tling in Linn county. He was a farmer and stockman and died in Huntsville, Washington, in 1882. He was a volunteer in the Rogue river Indian war of 1856. The mother was born in Tennessee, in 1834, and died in 1888. Her parents came to Oregon in 1851 from Iowa, where also they had been pioneers. Our subject grew to manhood in Oregon, attending common schools. The family had come

to Umatilla county when he was thirteen and there also he attended school. When he came to the years of maturity, he went to the state uni- versity in Linn county and took a two years' course.

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He farmed in Umatilla county, in Dayton county and finally took land near Farmington, Whitman county. He gave his attention to farming and teaching for a number of years and continued on his Whitman county place until 1895. Then he came to his present place the day the reservation opened and secured it by homestead right. He has made this the family home since and it is now a well improved and valuable place. Mr. Brooks gives his attention to general farming and also to handling stock. He has cattle and hogs and is breeding some fine Berkshires. Mr. Brooks is erecting a new barn and is making substan- tial improvements.

In Lewiston. on November 8, 1885, Mr. Brooks married Miss Victoria, daughter of Elias and Callis- tine (Holman) Forgey. The father was born in 1835 and the mother was born in Missouri, and both are living. Mrs. Brooks was born in Linn coun- ty in 1866 and has the following brothers and sisters : Vina Bolic, William A., Isaac, Dawn, deceased, Mrs. Ollie Barnes, Loufisa Cliff, Louisa Watkins, Elias, de- ceased, Demarkis. Mr. Brooks has the following brothers and sisters: Vinna, deceased, Hershel, Fla- vius, Mary, deceased, Clarburn D. To Mr. and Mrs. Brooks there have been born seven children : Blanche, Mabel, Florence, Clark, Claude, Prudence, Roy. Mr. Brooks is a member of the I. O. O. F. He is a stanch Republican and always active in the campaigns. Mr. Brooks is justice of the peace and was nominated by his party for county commissioner in 1900, but was de- feated by the fusionists. He has been road overseer for four years and is an advocate for improvement and advancement in this line as also in educational facilities, for which he untiringly labors. Mr. Brooks stands well and has the confidence of all who may have the pleasure of his acquaintance.

CHARLES H. BROCKE is one of the substantial respected and honorable citizens of the vicinity of Nezperce. The labors of his hands dispensed with wisdom and industry have done a worthy amount in the good work of building up this country and of aug- menting the wealth of the county, while his own hold- ings have been increased to a prosperous degree.

Charles H. Brocke was born in Dixon county, Ne- braska, on September 4, 1859, being the son of John P. and Christina (Webber) Brocke, natives of Ger- many, and born on the banks of the Rhine. The fa- ther served as a soldier in the German army and then they migrated to Dixon county, Nebraska. The coun- try was very new and in 1863 there occurred the awful Wiseman massacre in their neighborhood. While the father was in the army, and the mother away from home, the Indians killed all their children, five in num- ber. The neighbors were all frightened and fled from the country and Mr. Brocke was left to hold the fron- tier position alone. He did so and later the country settled up permanently. Our subject had but scanty opportunity to secure an education in this wild coun- try, which he was forced to gain by careful personal

research and reading nights. On October 17, 1881, he married Miss Catherine, daughter of Henry and Cath- erine Burgel, natives of Germany. They came to the United States and located in Wisconsin and in 1874 went thence to Nebraska. In 1897 our subject came west to Kendrick, landing there on February 16. In April of the same year he came and bought the re- linquishment of his present place, putting his filing on it on April 17. It was all unimproved and he at once set to work to make it one of the valuable home places of the community and the excellent im- provements show the industry and wisdom with which he has wrought. He does a general farming business. Mr. and Mrs. Brocke are devout and active members of the Catholic church and are of exceptionally fine standing in the community. They have eight children, John P., Mary C., Katie, deceased, Christina. Rosa, Lena B., Frank H., and Katie E. Mr. Brocke's fa- ther died in 1891 aged sixty-six. His widow is now living in Vermillion, South Dakota, aged seventy-two.

WESLEY STEEL is one of the heavy land own- ers of Nez Perces county, having six hundred and forty acres in the vicinity of Melrose, while he makes his home in Lewiston, where he has a good residence and some business property, being one of the substan- tial business men and a true type of the enterprising westerner.

Wesley Steel was born in Monroe county, Ohio, on April 1, 1854, being the son of Jabe and Susan (Mann) Steel. The father was born near Philadel- phia, and went to Ohio as a pioneer in an early day. He was a stockman and served in the Civil war for four years in the Second Virginia Cavalry. The mother of our subject was born in Monroe county, Ohio, her parents being natives of the Keystone state and pioneers to Ohio. Our subject left the parental roof when he was fourteen years old and made his way to Tazewell county, Illinois, where he worked on a ranch for five years. Then he went to Van Buren county, Michigan, and dealt in horses until he was twenty-one and also learned the butcher business. Then he went to San Francisco, thence to Roseburg. Oregon, and bought stock, where he did business for five years. After this he moved to Pendleton, where he dealt in horses for two years. Then we see him in the Grande Ronde river valley in the stock business. where six successful years were spent. His next move . was to Asotin, Washington, where he built a large two story brick business block and a flouring mill. He also raised sheep and for nineteen years he was one of the most prosperous men of that section. He then sold everything there but his home, and spent some time in traveling to various sections. Finally, Mr. Steel settled in Lewiston and bought business property and also the fine tract of land spoken of above. It is very fertile land and produces abundantly. Mr. Steel has fine buildings and his farm is handled in a skill- ful manner.

Mr. Steel married in Asotin, in 1885, Miss Mollie

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Flynn, daughter of Thomas and Ruth ( Porter) Flynn, natives of Tennessee. Mrs. Steel was born near Knox- ville, Tennessee, and has two brothers, Samuel, in Asotin, and George, in Genesee ; she also has one sister in Tennessee. Mr. Steel has two brothers and one sister, Hough and Andrew Jackson, both in Ohio ; Abigail Mann, in Kansas. Two children have been born to our subject and his wife, Charles E., aged six- teen, and Bonnie, aged three. Mr. Steel is a member of the Methodist church. Mr. Steel affiliates with the Redmen of Asotin and in political matters is an in- fluential Republican.

Mr. Steel is a man of integrity and substantial qualities, having had great experience in the west and he is a true pioneer and a supporter of progress and improvement.

WILLIAM J. WILSON, a farmer and stockman dwelling about two and one-half miles northeast from Forest, is one of the industrious and progressive men whose labors have resulted in such excellent develop- ment of the reservation country and it is fitting that a review of his career be incorporated here.

William J. Wilson was born in Sanilac, Michigan, on February 16, 1868, being the son of Andrew W. and Susana (Neal) Wilson. The father was prominent in county affairs in Sanilac county and there married and his wife died in 1881. She was a native of Can- ada. They had the following named children : Emity, Elonzo, Cudy, Jennie, Albert, Bogart, Robert N., in addition to the subject of this article. William J. was educated in the common schools and remained with his parents until he was sixteen and then migrated to North Dakota. He continued there one year and then made his way to Washington, where he railroaded and farmed until 1887. Then he went to Lewiston and later came to Mason prairie and located his present place. It is now well fenced, improved and returning good dividends in crops. He has about fifteen head of stock and is one of the prosperous men of the section.

Mr. Wilson married Miss Rosa A., daughter of William and Margaret (Stevenson) Slavens. The mother was born in Oregon on January 21, 1855. The father was a native of Illinois, and December 15. 1845, was the date of his birth. Six children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Wilson, Geneva B., Bay N., Gladys, Lester. Ecla, Marvin. Mr. Wilson is a Republican and actively interested in political matters. He has been school trustee for eight years and is an ardent advocate of good educational facilities and does all in his power to obtain this good end. He is a member of the M. W. A.

BRYANT M. CREWS, one of the stockmen and pioneers of the Mason prairie country, is deserving of mention in the work which chronicles the history of Nez Perces county, and with pleasure we grant him such. He was born in Montgomery, Virginia, on April 11, 1857, being directly descended from the early settlers of the new continent, as his great-grand-

father came hither in the Mayflower. The parents of our subject, James P. and Mary I. (Gardner) Crews, were natives of Appomattox and Campbell counties, Virginia, respectively. The father was born April 22, 1832, and died in 1882. He was quartermaster during the Civil war and left Virginia in 1869, being a pioneer in Phelps county, Missouri. Besides the subject of this article, they had the following named children : Emma E., Elonzar P., Emma J., Rosa, James H. Our subject was educated in the common schools and re- mained with his parents until twenty. He went to Nebraska in 1886, commuted on a homestead and sold and came to Coos county, Oregon, in 1888. He bought land there and farmed three years and then came to Cowlitz county, Washington. One year was spent in railroading there and he made his way then to southern Idaho and two years later we see him in Whitman county. Later he was in the big bend coun- try handling a band of cattle but returned again to Whitman county, whence he came to Nez Perces county and took his present place, about six miles west from Forest. He has a meadow of fifty acres and has im- proved the place with buildings necessary and other accessories. Mr. Crews has thirty head of cattle and is doing excellent work in handling his stock.

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An illustrated history of north Idaho : embracing Nez Perces, Idaho, Latah, Kootenai and Shoshone counties, state of Idaho, Part 76

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