USA > Idaho > An illustrated history of the state of Idaho, containing a history of the state of Idaho from the earliest period of its discovery to the present time, together with glimpses of its auspicious future; illustrations and biographical mention of many pioneers and prominent citizens of to-day > Part 102
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In his social relations Dr. Dubois is a member of the Masonic fraternity and was a Master Ma- son in the lodge of which his father was a charter member. He enjoys the high esteem of a wide circle of friends.
JOSEPH C. STRAUGHAN.
When we think of the wonderful development of our country in the last half century we find that it is largely due to two agencies,-railroad construction and civil engineering, and of both of these industries Joseph C. Straughan is a rep- resentative. The era of progress and develop- ment in the various sections of this great republic west of the Atlantic coast has been almost in- variably ushered in by railroad construction, and the vast network of glistening rails that trace their parallel course over mountain and plain and through the fertile valleys, represent more than mere corporate enterprise and accomplisliment,
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since the railroad has proved the avant courier of civilization and of that substantial and perma- nent improvement which has placed our national commonwealth upon a stable foundation. For many years Mr. Straughan was connected with railroad construction in the Mississippi valley and later became an important factor in opening up the region of the northwest to civilization through his labors as United States surveyor- general for Idaho.
A native of Ohio, he was born in Wooster, Wayne county, Ohio, on the 15th of June, 1849, and is of Welsh and Scotch ancestry. The found- ers of the family in America came to this country with William Penn and were members of the Society of Friends. Notwithstanding the fact that this religious organization was opposed to war, the great-grandfather of our subject entered the colonial service and fought for the independ- ence of the nation. His son, the grandfather of the subject of this sketch, also fought in the war of 1812. The maternal great-grandfather of Mr. Straughan also entered the army and was the in- ventor of the Chambers swivel gun, one of thefirst rapid-firing guns ever made. With it he defeated the British at Sackett's Harbor,-a few colonial troops, and they in poor health, putting to flight a large number of the English, who supposed, on account of the rapid execution of the swivel gun, that the fort was attacked by large numbers. The inventor of this gun resided in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, which place was founded by mem- bers of his family and named in honor thereof. The paternal great-grandfather of our subject was an industriousand influential farmer of Bucks county, Pennsylvania. The grandfather, Joh11 Straughan, was born in that county, and in 1803 removed to Columbiana county, Ohio, becoming one of the pioneer builders of that state. His son, Jesse R. Straughan, was born in the Buckeye state and became one of Ohio's most renowned civil engineers. He built the Pittsburg, Fort Wayne & Chicago Railroad, the second road con- structed west of the Alleghany mountains. Both he and Hon. John Sherman, late secretary of state, were employed by the state of Ohio and were associated in the construction of many of the public works. Thus Mr. Straughan took a very active part in improving and developing that great commonwealth, and his labors were a
benefit to all. He now resides in Fort Wayne, Indiana, at the age of eighty-one years. He mar- ried Caroline J. Chambers, a native of Ohio, and a niece of David Chambers, at one time a promi- nent member of the United States senate, popu- larly called "Old Eagle Eyes," because of the keenness with which he saw into the topics of the times. Her father, Joseph Chambers, was a prosperous merchant of Morgan county, Ohio. He departed this life in the fifty-sixth year of his age.
Joseph C. Straughan, whose name introduces this sketch, was educated in Fort Wayne, Indi- ana, and Delaware, Ohio, and like his father be- came a noted civil engineer, possessing very su- perior ability in the line of his chosen profession. For a number of years he was prominently con- nected with railroad-building, and was engaged on the construction of thirteen railroads in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Mississippi. In 1885, in recognition of his superior ability as a civil en- gineer, and also of his fidelity to the Democratic party, he was appointed by President Cleveland as surveyor-general of Idaho, an office which he filled with great capability and fidelity for nine years. His work here consisted principally in directing the survey of the public lands of the state, both agricultural and mineral; and his re- port on irrigation and arid lands, made to the United States senate committee sent to the west in 1889, was highly spoken of as the best and most valuable report received by that committee.
In 1879 Mr. Straughan was united in marriage to Miss Mary V. Shoemaker, of Indianapolis, In- diana, and they had two children, John S. and Virginia C. The mother died in Mississippi, in 1883, and three years later, in 1886, Mr. Strang- han married Miss Alice B. Ramsay, a native of Illinois and a graduate of Jacksonville Seminary, a Presbyterian college of that city. She was one of the two lady managers for Idaho at the World's Columbian Exposition at Chicago, and is the founder and has been president of the Women's Columbian Club of Boise. They have a delight- ful home in the capital city and are very highly esteemed by a host of friends both within and without Boise, for their acquaintance extends throughout the state.
In his political affiliations Mr. Straughan has always been an ardent Democrat, unfaltering in
Phmadeka
charge
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his support of the principles of that party. As associate editor of the Sentinel, in the campaign of 1884, he rendered his party valuable service, and has ever done all in his power for its advance- ment. His labors for the benefit of Boise have proven an important factor in its progress. In connection with others he has made two addi- tions to the city, and at all times he gives his sup- port to such measures as tend to promote the educational, material, social and moral welfare of the community.
GEORGE SCHMADEKA.
History was at one time almost entirely a rec- ord of wars,-a tale of conquest in which armed hosts went forth to capture, pillage and destroy,- but with advancing civilization it has become a very different chronicle, being now more particu- larly the story of the onward march of progress, the upbuilding of towns and the establishment of those enterprises and interests which contribute to man's happiness and welfare. In pursuing the study of Idaho's history we find that the flourish- ing town of Grangeville owes its existence in part to the gentleman whose name heads this sketch. He arrived on Camas prairie, July 3, 1876, and celebrated the centennial of our national exist- ence at the place which has since been his home. Here he has kept untarnished his good name, and is accounted one of the loyal citizens of his adopt- ed land.
Mr. Schmadeka was born in Hanover, Ger- many, June 25, 1830, and is of stanch German lineage. He acquired his education in the Fath- erland and came to the United States in 1849, then in his nineteenth year. He landed at New Orleans to find himself among a people whose manners and language were utterly unfamiliar to him, but he possessed a resolute spirit and strong determination, and it was not long before he had gained a start in business life here. He finally joined a party emigrating to Missouri, and on the way eleven of the number died of cholera. On arriving in Missouri he secured employment at a dollar per day and board, in Lafayette county, at raising hemp and also breaking it, which is an arduous task. In 1852 he crossed the plains to Oregon and became one of the brave pioneers of that now prosperous state. That was the year of the "great emigration," when many
hundreds of the emigrants were stricken with the dread scourge of cholera, and the new-made graves of the victims marked the way across the plains. There were thirty wagons in the party with which Mr. Schmadeka traveled, under com- mand of Rev. Jacob Glasbie, a Presbyterian min- ister, but though the Indians were frequently seen, such a close watch was kept that the party were not attacked by the savages. They were also fortunate in escaping the cholera, only two ' of the number dying of the disease. On the journey they passed through what is now the state of Idaho, on their way to the beautiful Willamette valley in Oregon, and Mr. Schmad- eka located near Eugene, where he took up gov- ernment land and improved it. He had brought with him a team of horses and a yoke of oxen, and with these he began farming. There he re- mained for ten years, and his industry and econ- omy brought him success. When the railroad was being built through that section he was en- abled to sell his place for a good price, and in 1862 he came to Idaho, where for a number of years he engaged in stock-raising.
In 1876 Mr. Schmadeka came with his stock to pasture them on Camas prairie, and that year he purchased here a ranch of one hundred and sixty acres, for nineteen hundred dollars. On a por- tion of this has since been built the town of Grangeville. He with the neighboring pioneers were "Grangers," and they built a hall, which was the first public building in Grangeville. This formed the nucleus around which the town was built and from which Grangeville took its name. Thus he became one of the founders of the town, and he and his sons have been important factors in its upbuilding. In the early days of its exist- ence the settlers built a stockade, within which they gathered for safety during the Nez Perces war. In the pioneer times Mr. Schmadeka also offered a lot in exchange for a wheelbarrow, but the owner of the barrow would not make the trade. At all times our subject has aided mate- rially in the improvement and advancement of Grangeville, and many of its enterprises owe their existence to his public spirit. He donated a large lot whereon was erected a roller-process flouring mill, and gave the land which forms the sites of the Methodist and Episcopal churches. He has platted a large part of the town; many of the
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lots have been sold and improved by substantial residences or other good buildings, and the lots which he still retains are enough to make him a rich man. Some of the land which he purchased for ten dollars per acre is now valued, at a low figure, at three hundred dollars. No movement or measure tending to benefit the moral, intellec- tual, social or material interests of Grangeville solicits his aid in vain, his support being cheer- fully given to all such. When the grain industry of the valley became great enough to require it, : is the history of one whose connection with Idaho he bought two headers and a threshing machine, and his sons and son-in-law did all the heading and threshing in this locality for years.
While a young industrious farmer in Oregon, Mr. Schmadeka became acquainted with Miss Sophia Maria Gostmaer. a native of Prussia, Ger- many, and before he had been two years in the Sunset state they were happily married, in 1854. Unto them have been born five sons and three daughters: Christopher Henry, whois now a farm- er near Grangeville; Caroline, wife of Henry Miller, of Grangeville; William Frederick, a prominent merchant of the same town; George S., a farmer and stock-raiser on Camas prairie; John Wesley, who also follows stock-raising on the same prai- rie; Henry, who died in February, 1898, at the age of twenty-four years; Emma May, at home; and Martha Alice, who died in infancy.
In the Nez Perces Indian war Mr. Schmadeka, with his wife and one child, had an almost mirac- ulous escape from death. Just before the out- break of the war he had planned to go with his wife, one of their children and their son-in-law, Mr. Miller, to Walla Walla. The day before starting, a neighbor, John Chamberlain, came to them and asked if he and his wife and child could not go with them. Mr. Schmadeka told them yes, but said to be on hand promptly, as they wished to make a very early start; where- upon the neighbor replied that if he was not there at the hour appointed for Mr. Schmadeka to ride on and he, Chamberlain, would overtake hin1. The following morning, at the time designated, our subject started. About half an hour later Mr. Chamberlain also started, but met some Indians, who knocked out his brains with the butt of a musket, took the child from its mother's arms, made a gash in its throat and cut off the end of its tongue. The mother and daughter still live
in Idaho. Had Mr. Schmadeka's family started only a few minutes later they would have till- doubtedly met the same fate.
For many years our subject has been an active member of the South Methodist church and still strongly adheres to that faith. In politics he has been a lifelong Democrat, but has never sought office, serving only as school trustee. For some time he was a prominent member of the Grange, and therein served as trustee and chaplain. Such has been long, honorable and beneficial to the state, and although he came to America empty- handed he has by well directed and earnest effort attained a position among the substantial citizens of the community in which he makes his home.
GEORGE H. NORTH.
Among the worthy citizens that New York has furnished to the state of Idaho is George H. North, the well known clothing merchant of Po- catello, whose enterprising, progressive methods give character to the business life of the city, and whose reputation in commercial circles is unas- sailable. He was born in Springwater, Living- ston county, of the Empire state, July 14, 1858, a son of C. S. and Elvira Thankful (Wetmore) North, who likewise were natives of the same county. The father successfully carried on farm- ing there until his death, which occurred in the fifty-eighth year of his age, while his wife, who' still survives, is now sixty-five years of age. They were the parents of five children, but only two are living at this writing, in the summer of 1899.
George H. North, having obtained his prelimi- nary education in the common school, supple- mented it by a course in the Geneseo Western Seminary, in Syracuse, New York, where he was graduated with the class of 1876. He then worked on his father's farm for a time, after which he started westward and accepted a clerkship with his uncle, Orland North, in Evanston Spring, Wyoming. He spent two years in that place and then began business on his own ac- count in Shoshone, Idaho. Subsequently lie came to Pocatello and, as a member of the firm of Nortlı & Church, established his present business in 1890. That partnership was continued until January 1, 1895, after which Mr. North carried on operations alone until October 1, 1898, when
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he sold a half interest in the store to Richard Douglass and the present firm of North & Doug- lass was formed. They have one of the finest stores in the town, splendidly equipped with everything in their line. They occupy a modern brick building twenty-five by eighty feet, their salesroom being on the first floor, while the basement is used as a storeroom. They carry a large and well selected stock of clothing and men's furnishing goods and shoes, and from the beginning the enterprise has been a successful one, its patronage steadily increasing in volume and importance.
On the Ist of July, 1886, Mr. North was united in marriage to Miss Peronne Church, a native of Mankato, Minnesota, and they now have one child, Carlie, who was born in Shoshone. Mr. North became a member of Eagle Lodge, No. 619, A. F. & A. M., in New York, in 1879, and has since taken the Royal Arch degrees. In his political views he is a Republican and keeps well informed on the issues of the day, but has never been an aspirant for office, preferring to devote his time and energies to his business interests, in which he is meeting with creditable and gratify- ing success. Indolence and idleness are utterly foreign to his nature, and his diligence, systemat- ic methods and reliability have secured to him prosperity.
EDWARD FANNING.
The career of this prominent Idaho merchant illustrates the claim, frequently made, that a man of enterprise will inevitably get into and make a success of the business for which he has the most liking and aptitude, regardless of discourage- ments and obstacles which would direct weaker men permanently into other paths of endeavor.
Edward Fanning was born in county Carlow, Ireland, February 23, 1844, a son of Patrick and Bridget (Murphy) Fanning. His father was a farmer, and both his parents were born in the Catholic faith and were reared and lived and died in it,-Patrick Fanning passing away in his eighty-fourth year, and Bridget Fanning in her eighty-second year. They had eight children, of whom only three survive. Edward was educated in his native country and entered mercantile life at the age of twenty, as a salesman in a store. Three years later he came to the United States and located in Omaha, where he was given a po-
sition in the storeroom of the railroad company. In 1869 he removed to Evanston, Wyoming, and was road-master there and at Pocatello and Idaho Falls until 1895. He then gave up the railroad position to become a member of the Clark & Fan- ning Company, merchants, in which Nathan H. Clark was his partner. The concern was burned out after about two years' successful business, but the company had sufficient insurance on its plant and stock and sufficient capital to enable it to continue business without embarrassment. A mercantile enterprise which had been established by Messrs. Johnson & Poulson was purchased by the Clark & Fanning Company. Mr. Clark withdrew from the business and Mr. Johnson and Mr. Poulson bought an interest in it, and it has since been continued under the old corporate name. The store of this concern is centrally located and is attractive and substantial. With a floor space twenty-five by one hundred and thirty feet, ample room is afforded to carry a large stock of all kinds of merchandise required by the people of Idaho Falls and its tributary country. This stock is selected with that care which is assured only by long experience in buy- ing and selling and intimate knowledge of trade and demands. The building is a large brick structure, owned by Mr. Fanning and his asso- ciates, and the store is so popular that its trade reaches out into adjoining counties. Of this im- portant business Mr. Fanning was the organizer and is the directing spirit. He is a man of extra- ordinary public spirit and has done very much toward the advancement of all of Idaho Falls' best interests. As a Democrat, he has been three times elected a member of the board of trustees of that town. Socially he and his family are held in high esteem.
In 1879 Mr. Fanning married Miss Catherine Coady, a native of Iowa. They were vouch- safed a happy married life of twelve years, and then Mrs. Fanning died, leaving six children, in- cluding twins who were born just before her death. She was a loving and faithful wife and a kind and indulgent mother, a helpful and hon- ored member of society and a devout communi- cant of the Catholic church, and her death was deeply regretted by all who knew her. The six children of Edward and Catherine (Coady) Fan- ning are Margaret, Ann, John T., Helen, Ed-
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ward and Mary. John T. is employed by the Fanning & Clark Company. January 5, 1894, Mr. Fanning married Mrs. Agnes Furrey, a na- tive of Ohio, and a lady of many virtues and ac- complishments, who has been a lifelong member of the Catholic church. The home of the family is one of the most attractive in Idaho Falls, and their list of personal friends is large, including the best people in southeastern Idaho.
NATHAN H. CLARK.
Nathan H. Clark, though yet a young man, has had a busy and useful career at Idaho Falls, where he has served the people as mayor and member of the town council, and he is now serv- ing as prosecuting attorney of Bingham county. In Idaho Falls he was for three years a prominent member of a leading mercantile house, and here he has in many ways shown himself to be a pub- lic-spirited citizen, devoted to worthy local inter- ests. Mr. Clark is a son of Hon. Joseph A. Clark, present mayor of Idaho Falls, and was born at Amo, Hendricks county, Indiana, May II, 1869. Much that is interesting in the history of his family is given in the sketch of the life of Hon. Joseph A. Clark, which has a place in this work.
It was in the high school of his native town that Mr. Clark acquired the basis of his very substantial education. He read law, as occasion permitted, for years, even during his three busy years as a member of the Clark & Fanning Com- pany, general merchants, of Idaho Falls, when he was obliged to give his attention to extensive in- terests, which included merchandising on an am- bitious scale and the erection of a large business block. In 1896 he took a special course in the law department of the Michigan State University, and was admitted to practice in the lower courts, and in 1899 he was admitted to practice in the federal courts and the district and supreme courts of Idaho. The law was his chosen profession, and in order to enter actively upon its practice he put aside all other interests requiring his time and devoted attention. He quickly gained a reputation as a successful lawyer and in 1898 was elected prosecuting attorney for Bingham county, in which office he has served with signal ability and credit. His preference is for civil and probate law, but as prosecuting attorney he nat-
urally has much to do with criminal cases, and in his handling and presentation of them he has met with a flattering success, which has given him a standing among the prominent criminal lawyers of the state. He is an active worker for the success of the Democratic party, and as may- or and councilman and in other important posi- tions, official and otherwise, he has been a factor in the encouragement of pure politics. He is the owner of valuable town property and has a fine farm of one hundred and sixty acres, just beyond the city limits, where he has applied himself to stock farming with the best results.
August 21, 1890, Mr. Clark married Miss Lot- tie Bonney. She bore him a son, whom they named Salon B., and in February, 1893, Mrs. Clark died in childbirth and her new-born infant died at the same time. In April, 1894, Mr. Clark married Miss Evaline Rosenberger, and they have children named Lois, Donald and Dorothy. The last two mentioned are twins.
WALTER E. PIERCE.
Walter E. Pierce, ex-mayor of Boise, is an energetic, enterprising young business man who for the past nine years has been closely associated with the commercial, political and social activities of the city. He is a notable example of the self- made man who, rising above the difficulties and drawbacks of early environment, makes a place for himself in the world and justly claims the re- spect and esteem of all.
A native of Bell county, Texas, born January 9, 1860, Mr. Pierce is a descendant of an old and prominent Rhode Island family, many of whose representatives resided in Providence, where they were wealthy and influential. Lyman Pierce, an uncle of our subject, was a very active and popu- lar Democrat, and, having been nominated on that ticket for the governorship of Rhode Island, made a very strong canvass, but was not elected. The parents of Walter E. were Charles and Eliza- beth (Harding) Pierce, natives of Providence. In 1854 they removed to a sheep ranch in Texas, but in 1860 were obliged to leave that state on account of the Indians, who were very trouble- some. The father did not long survive, his death taking place at Baxter Springs, Kansas, in the fall of 1860. He left a widow and six children, three of whom are deceased. The mother, now
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in her seventy-fourth year, is making her home with a son in Hanford, California. For a short time after the demise of Mr. Pierce the family lived in southeastern Kansas, thence going to Vicksburg, Mississippi, where they dwelt seven years, and subsequently returned to Kansas.
Owing to the vicissitudes through which his family passed, Walter E. Pierce had but limited chances for obtaining an education when he was a lad, and he is largely self-taught. After taking a course in a business college he embarked in various enterprises. For a period he conducted a hotel at Rich Hill, Missouri; then he engaged in raising sheep; and later he constructed a por- tion of the Kansas City & Southern Railroad in Missouri, under contract. For several years he was very successfully engaged in the real-estate business in Richfield, Morton county, Kansas. His fellow townsmen, in recognition of his valu- able services in the upbuilding and progress of the city, elected him to a position in the council, and later he was honored by being elected to the responsible office of register of deeds of the county. As a rule the county was strongly Re- publican, but his personal popularity was such that he, though a candidate of the Democrats, won the victory. He acquitted himself to the satisfaction of all concerned, but declined re- election, as that part of Kansas was suffering from a series of reverses, and he believed that he could do better elsewhere, from a financial point of view.
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