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 111
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Astel. They were both between nineteen and twenty years old at the time. From New York they made their way to Iowa City, Iowa, en route for Utah. At Iowa City they joined a party, numbering six hundred, which on the Ist of August, 1856, set out over the old trail, moving their property by means of hand-carts. It was a long, tedious journey; and there were some who never reached the end of it. The snow fell long before they reached Salt Lake City, and they were short of provisions and found it almost im- possible at times to make any headway. But two hundred teams were sent to their relief from Salt Lake City, and met them still four hundred miles away from their journey's. end. Without assistance the suffering of the emigrants would very likely have been something awful. They did not arrive in Salt Lake City until December I, four months after they had left Iowa City. Mr. Severn secured employment at sawing wood for the territorial legislature. In the spring of 1857 a farmer outside of the city employed him and paid him from one-half to two dollars a day. Under other circumstances he and his wife might have lived comfortably on what he was able to earn, but the isolation of the Mormon capital from eastern and western markets, and the almost total lack of transportation facilities in either di- rection, tended to raise prices on about every necessity to a point that made some of them unattainable to many persons. Sugar and butter readily brought fifty cents a pound, and flour was six dollars a hundred pounds, and hard to get at that price. Mr. Severn relates that he went sev- eral miles to buy five to six pounds of flour at a time. The young 'couple saw hard times, with little prospect of relief, but they were no worse off than thousands of others, and made the best they could of all the disadvantages at which they were placed. They returned to Salt Lake City, and went thence to Cache valley, where they arrived in the spring of 1861. From there they came to the site of Montpelier in the spring of 1864 and joined the band of emigrants sent to settle Bear Lake valley, under authority of Brig- ham Young, president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. The colonists called the place Clover Creek, but the name of Montpelier was given it by President Young, in honor of Montpelier, Vermont, which was the
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place of his birth. Each of the pioneers of Mont- pelier had allotted to him one acre and a quarter in the town and twenty acres of hay land and twenty acres of grain land. This allotment, where land was so plentiful and cheap, was thought to be wise, as it kept the pioneers closer together, for mutual protection, than they proba- bly would have remained had they been left to their more ambitious choice. Later Mr. Severn took up a hundred and sixty acres and still later a hundred and twenty acres of government land, and he is now the owner of three hundred acres, raises cattle, hay and grain extensively and is one of the most successful farmers in the vicinity of Montpelier.
Mr. Severn tells many interesting details of the pioneer days at Montpelier. For a time after their arrival he and his wife slept in their wagon. In the absence of anything better to do service as a stove, Mrs. Severn did their baking in a kettle. Before the snow came Mr. Severn had provided a little log house, with a piece of cloth for a door and a smaller one for a window. Hay was spread on the floor as a carpet to protect their feet from the bare ground, which, as may be supposed, was not at all times agreeable to the touch. Later the settlers joined hands and whip- sawed lumber out of which floors were laid in the cabins. Early frosts cut off young crops, and those about ready to garner were destroyed year after year, for half a dozen years, by crickets and grasshoppers, which were so voracious that they actually ate window curtains and any other arti- cle of cloth or paper they could get at. Less resolute people, less faithful and devoted people, might have faltered in the face of all these calami- ties, but not the colonists at Montpelier. They worked and prayed and fought and waited for success, and it came in plentiful measure. The wilderness was made to "blossom as the rose," a thrifty town sprang up about them, and they were its most honored and most prosperous citizens.
For ten years of his later life, until after Mrs. Severn's death, which occurred August 6, 1898, Mr. Severn kept hotel. Mrs. Severn was one of the "mothers" of the town, a woman loved by all who knew her, and her removal was deeply regretted. Following are the names of her chil- dren, all living at or near Montpelier, some of them yet members of their father's household:
Mary (Mrs. Joseph Robertson), William, Thom- as, Elizabeth, Harry H., and Daniel E. July II, 1899, Mr. Severn married Miss Mary Cornwallis, an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Mr. Severn is a stanch Democrat, but is not an office-seeker nor a prac- tical politician; but he is a helpful citizen of lib- eral views, and has a reputation for sterling man- hood that makes him popular with all who know him.
CALEB S. STONE, M. D.
Dr. Stone has left the ranks of the many to stand among the more successful few in a profes- sion where advancement depends solely upon in- dividual merit. In other walks of life, especially in commercial circles, one may enter upon a business already established and carry it on front the point where others laid it down, but the phy- sician must rely solely upon his knowledge and ability, and these must be acquired through close and earnest application. That Dr. Stone, of Wallace, is numbered among the leading physi- cians and surgeons of his section of the state, is therefore evidence of his power in his chosen call- ing.
A native of Missouri, he was born May 10, 1859, his parents being Robert Harris and Eliza (Rodes) Stone, both of whom were natives of Kentucky, and are now deceased. The father died in Missouri, in 1881, at the age of sixty-five years, and the mother in Texas, when about thirty-five years of age. Mr. Stone engaged in merchandising throughout his business career. The Doctor obtained his preliminary education in the common schools of his native state, and supplemented it by study in an academy for boys at Little Rock, Arkansas, and in Woodlawn Seminary, at St. Charles, Missouri. He began the study of medicine in Louisville, Kentucky, at the age of seventeen years, and in 1879 he went to Leadville, Colorado, where he remained until .1881 acting as bookkeeper for the Chrysolite Mining Company. In 1882 he returned to Louisville, Kentucky, where he resumed the study of medicine, and in 1883 was graduated in the Louisville Medical College.
Immediately afterward Dr. Stone began the practice of his chosen profession in Colorado, where he continued for five years, meeting with excellent success in his undertakings. Having
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in that time accumulated considerable capital, he was enabled to spend the two succeeding years in travel, and in 1889 he came to Idaho, locating in Burke, Shoshone county, where he acted as surgeon for the Tiger, Poorman and other min- ing companies. In 1891 he took up his abode in Wallace and was at once appointed surgeon for the Northern Pacific and Union Pacific Rail- ways. In 1891 he was appointed attending sur- geon for the Providence Hospital, at Wallace, and is now county health officer also. He has a broad and accurate knowledge of medical princi- ples, is very skillful in diagnosing a case and in applying his knowledge in the manner best cal- culated to relieve suffering. His ability has won him rank among the leading physicians of Idaho, and he is a valued member of the Idaho State Medical Society, the American Medical Associa- tion and the American Association of Railway Surgeons.
On Christmas day of 1896 Dr. Stone was united in marriage to Miss Mary Ervin, of Fay- ette, Missouri, and they have one of the finest homes in Wallace. It is not only beautiful in appearance, but is celebrated for its hospitality, which is generously extended to their many friends. They are the parents of a little son, whose birth occurred July 14, 1899. In politics the Doctor is a Democrat of the old school. A gentleman of courteous address and general man- ner, he is a favorite with all classes and is ac- counted one of the leading citizens of Wallace.
JACOB JONES.
Jacob Jones, a pioneer property-owner, mer- chant, farmer, blacksmith and hotel-keeper at Montpelier, Idaho, and one of the most promi -- nent citizens of the town, was born in Brecon- shire, South Wales, May 14, 1825. His parents were descended from old Welsh families and his father was a Methodist, and his mother was a Presbyterian. Of their ten children he was the youngest. He was educated and entered upon the active struggle of life in his native land and there married Miss Anne Collier on the Saturday before Christmas, 1852. As early as 1846 he had been converted to the faith of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and he had done much missionary work in its behalf, as a result of which many hundreds have embraced
the faith. His wife had also been for some years a convert. In the spring of 1853 only a few months after their marriage, they set out for the United States, on board the sailing ship Interna- tional, from Liverpool. There were six hundred passengers, and the voyage consumed eight weeks, at the end of which time they very gladly disembarked at New Orleans, Louisiana. Mr. Jones and his brother, Henry, went to Fill- more, Missouri, where the brothers engaged for a time in contracting and building. From therc Mr. Jones went with his family to Nebraska City, Nebraska, where they lived eight years. In the spring of 1863 they removed to Salt Lake City, Utah, where Mr. Jones opened a blacksmith shop, having mastered the trade in Wales and being thoroughly familiar with the work in all its details. At that time the war had brought iron up to a high price, and Salt Lake City was isolated from the older civilization of the coun- try to a greater extent than it is now, and black- smith's iron cost Mr. Jones twenty-five cents a pound. To pay these prices he was obliged to charge good prices for his work, and he made money. In 1864 President Brigham Young, of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, called for volunteers to go to live in Bear Lake valley, now in Bear Lake county, Idaho, with a view of settling the country and spreading the gospel. As a volunteer, Mr. Jones came to the valley thirty-five years ago, in 1864, when there was not a house in the valley, from river head to river mouth. The next year (1865) he brought out his family. During the first summer they lived in the willows and slept in their wagon, and in the fall, in preparation for the rigors of winter, they erected a small log cabin. Every season for six years all that they attempted to raise was destroyed by crickets, grasshoppers or early frosts. These troubles and the unfriendly attitude of the Indians rendered the prospect for the devoted settlers very dark indeed. They were ordered away by the Sho- shone Indians, and when they did not go Chief Washakee went to Salt Lake City and conferred with President Young about the matter. Brig- ham Young believed it was cheaper to feed In- dians than to fight them, and had confidence in their friendship if it could be gained. He feasted Washakee and impressed him so favorably in
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every way that the settlers were permitted to re- main without molestation. The pioneers adopted a friendly and conciliatory policy in dealing with the Indians, and rarely had serious trouble with them. Once Pocatello, the Bannack chief, came to the settlement with his braves and treated the whites with much insolence. Some of the In- dians demanded beef and flour, which were scarce articles there at the time, and some of them amused themselves and their companions by standing on the settlers' beds and otherwise ren- dering themselves offensive and ridiculous. Two men were dispatched secretly to Cache valley for help, and the next day there were fifty minute- men in hand, and Pocatello and his followers withdrew with as good grace as possible and never troubled the settlers afterward. There was no mill anywhere near, and grain was ground in coffee-mills, and the pioneers had no base of sup- plies nearer than Cache valley. But, strange as it may appear at first thought, Mr. Jones was actually prospering in a financial way. He had established a blacksmith shop and was getting as much as six dollars for shoeing a span of horses and was being paid for other work at propor- tionate prices. There was much emigration through the valley and much packing of mer- chandise. The objective points were Boise City and the mining camps and settlements in Mon- tana. There were many horses to be shod and many wagons to be repaired, and this steady stream of overland travel made much other profitable work for Mr. Jones. He saw a train of eighty wagons, loaded with whisky and each drawn by six yokes of cattle, pass his shop en route for Montana mining camps, and at other times evidences of enterprises in the pursuit of the "almighty dollar" which were scarcely less remarkable and suggestive. When he had saved up some capital he built a big frame house and occupied it as a residence and hotel. He planted trees about it and made it as comfortable and inviting as possible, and here he set a good table and gave every one a hearty welcome and a cheery good-bye, as a result of which he pros- pered beyond his most sanguine calculations. The house was kept open as a hotel until 1897, and since then Mr. Jones has entertained only favored old customers and personal friends.
As Mr. Jones made money, he sought good
investment for some of it in the immediate vicin- ity. He and Edward Burgoyne acquired the land on which the new town of Montpelier has grown up. They have built many houses and sold many lots and are still the largest owners of property there. From time to time Mr. Jones has bought other property, when he has been able to do so on advantageous terms. In this way and by other purchases he became the owner of much valuable farm land, and upon the marriage of one of his sons it is his rule to give him a good farm. He abandoned blacksmithing after having carried on the business with success about fifteen years, and in 1897, when he ceased . keeping hotel, he retired from active life, well off in this world's goods, rich in the good will of his fellow citizens and with abundant self- approval of all methods by which he has pros- pered. With a partner, he built the roller-process flouring mill which became so great a factor in the prosperity of the town and its tributary terri- tory, but later disposed of his interest in it.
Mr. and Mrs. Jones have had twelve children, of whom nine are living: Nessi A., who is Mrs. C. Webster; Lilian E., who married John Stevens; Thomas W., who is a merchant at Montpelier; Franklin, who is a dealer in meat in Montpelier; Jacob, who is a successful rancher near Montpelier; Nellie S., who is the wife of Thomas Glen, a lawyer of Montpelier; May, who is Mrs. Clem Oakley, of Montpelier; John H., who is now married; and Daisy, who is a member of her father's household.
ALFRED BUDGE.
Alfred Budge, prosecuting attorney of Bear Lake county, was born in Providence, Utah, on the 24th of February, 1868, of Scotch-English and Welsh ancestry. For full details in regard to his lineage and the immediate family history, we refer the reader to the sketch of the life of his father, Hon. William Budge, appearing else- where in this volume. Alfred Budge received his preliminary education in the academy at Provo, Utah, and later matriculated in the law depart- ment of the famous University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, where he was duly graduated as a member of the law class of 1891. He was at once admitted to practice, and he began the work of his profession in July, 1892, at his home in
Mr. and Mrs. Samuel W. Bigham.
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Paris, Idaho, where he has since continued in the active practice of law.
In his political adherency Mr. Budge is a stanch advocate of the Republican party, and, as such, was elected district attorney of the fifth ju- dicial district of the state, in which office he served, with great acceptability, for a period of four years, his term expiring January 15, 1899. In the meanwhile, in November, 1898, he had been elected prosecuting attorney of Bear Lake county, of which important office he is the pres- ent incumbent, discharging its duties with marked ability and resourcefulness.
It is worthy of note that while the political complexion of the county is Democratic by a majority of about two-thirds of its voters, both Mr. Budge and his father were candidates on the Republican ticket,-the one for prosecuting at- torney and the other for state senator,-and both were elected. They were the only Republicans elected, and had made no personal efforts in the way of electioneering. Such facts are significant, standing in evidence of the popular recognition of their fitness for official position, and also indi- cating the great personal popularity in which they are held in the county in which they have both so long resided.
Mr. Budge is now also a member of the Paris city council. He was born a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and has rendered his church eminent service as a traveling elder. He acquired the German lan- guage and for two and one-half years traveled and preached in Switzerland and in Germany. His labors abroad were well received, and he ef- fected several organizations of his church. He also visited and spent some time in England and France and has visited nearly all sections of his native land.
On the 5th of July, 1894, Mr. Budge was hap- pily married to Miss Ella Hoge, the daughter of Walter Hoge, a respected pioneer citizen of Paris. Their union has been blessed with two sons,-Alfred Hoge and Drew William Stanrod. They have a delightful home on a hillside over- looking the valley. Mr. Budge has also a ranch and is a stockholder in a large roller-process flouring mill, recently built in the city. There is a large local demand for the flour, and the prod- uct of the mill is also shipped to other towns.
Mr. Budge is polished in manner, a gentleman of much natural and acquired ability, and he and his family are very highly esteemed, having 3 wide circle of friends.
SAMUEL W. BIGHAM.
Samuel W. Bigham, one of the most successful and best known farmers of the Potlatch country, living on American Ridge, four miles southwest . of the picturesque and prosperous town of Ken- drick, came to this locality in 1881 and took up government land, which he has transformed into one of the most desirable farms in this section of Idaho. He was born in Canada, July 24, 1842, and is of Irish descent, his grandfather, Andrew Bigham, having emigrated from the Emerald Isle to Canada at an early day. His son Thomas Bigham, the father of our subject, was born in what was then the town of York, but is now the city of Toronto, and having arrived at years of maturity married Miss Jane Davidson, a native of Ireland. In 1855 he removed with his family to Illinois, became a naturalized citizen of the United States, and when the great civil war was inaugurated he espoused the cause of the Union, enlisting in Company G, Fifty-eighth Illinois In- fantry. When hostilities had ceased he returned to his Illinois home, where he remained until the fall of 1866, when he moved to Marysville, Mar- shall county, Kansas, where he remained until the fall of 1888, when he came to Idaho, locating in Moscow. There he passed the remainder of a well spent life, and he was called to his final rest September 15, 1897, at the age of eighty- three years. He was a man of much energy and industry, of sterling worth of character, a valued member of the Baptist church and a good and worthy citizen, enjoying the esteem of all who knew him. His good wife is still living, at the age of eighty-six years. Through the long period of their married life she was to him a faithful wife and helpmeet, and to her nine children she proved a devoted mother. - Five sons and one daughter are still living.
Samuel W. Bigham, the sixth of the family, was educated in Ogle county, Illinois, and reared at his father's home there. On the 30th of Oc- tober, 1861, stirred with the spirit of patriotism, he offered his services to the government, join- ing the same company of which his father was a
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member. One of his brothers, Jonathan Big- ham, belonged to the Ninety-second Illinois In- fantry, so that the family was well represented in the struggle to preserve the Union. He was only nineteen years of age when he volunteered, but the veterans many years his senior displayed no greater loyalty or bravery than he. He served in the western army under Generals Grant and Sherman and participated in nine hard-fought battles,-from Pittsburg Landing to Nashville, Tennessee. At the battle of Pleasant Hill, Lou- isiana, he was wounded in the face, the ball enter- ing his mouth and breaking his jaw. As soon as he recovered he rejoined his regiment and continued with that command until February 7, 1865, when he received an honorable discharge. He then laid down his gun to again take his place behind the plow. He had rendered his country valuable service, and every loyal soldier of the Union certainly deserves the heartfelt praise of the nation.
In 1881 Mr. Bigham came to Idaho, locating a claim of one hundred and sixty acres under the soldier's homestead act. By his industry and earnest effort he has made this one of the most desirable farms in the county and he is accounted one of the leading and progressive agriculturists. By additional purchase he has added to his prop- erty until his landed possession now aggregates three hundred and twenty acres, much of which is under a high state of cultivation. He has a fine orchard of fifteen acres, planted to apples, pears, peaches, plums and small fruits. He has also put out a fine grove of walnut trees, and this is used as picnic grounds by his family, friends and neighbors. He has piped water from a spring in his outdoor cellar to a forty-acre pas- ture, that his horses, cattle and hogs may have plenty of pure water. He raises grain, hay and fine stock, and feeds most of his farm products to the stock. His pleasant, and substantial resi- dence is supplemented by a large barn of recent construction and all other necessary outbuild- ings, and no accessory of the model farm is lack- ing. There is also a blacksmith and repair shop, and his mechanical ingenuity enables him to keep in repair all of his own farm implements. He is most industrious and energetic, and his labors are certainly deserving of the success with which they have been crowned.
Another and most attractive element of the Bigham home is the generous hospitality which there reigns supreme. Our subject and his wife are most generous, kind-hearted people, and have the warm regard of a very extensive circle of friends. This worthy couple were married in 1889, the lady having been in her maidenhood Miss Christine Anna Kuoni. She was born in Switzerland, and came to America when two years old. Their union has been blessed with a son and daughter,-Zella and Walter S.
Mr. Bigham is a valued member of the Ma- sonic fraternity and of the Grand Army of the Republic. In politics he is a stalwart Repub- lican, and is a public-spirited, progressive citizen,' giving his loyal support to all measures for the general good, and manifesting the same fidelity to his duties of citizenship as when he followed the nation's starry banner upon southern battle- fields.
V. W. SANDER.
Success is not always the result of fortunate circumstances, but is the outcome of labor and business ability, and the one who achieves suc- cess along industrial or commercial lines must be possessed of energy, strong determination and executive force. Such are the qualities which have won for Mr. Sander a leading position among the merchants of Idaho and gained for him the presidency of the Idaho Mercantile Com- pany, Limited, of Coeur d'Alene.
A native of Germany, he was born February 4, 1857, and is a son of Henry and Henrietta (Othmer) Sander, also natives of the same coun- try. In 1860 they came with their family to the New World, taking up their residence in Musca- tine, Iowa, where the parents died. The subject of this review was only three years of age at the time of the emigration to America. He was reared in Muscatine and acquired his education in the common and high schools of that city, after which he entered upon his business career as a clerk, spending three years as a salesman in the dry-goods store of General Gordon, of that city. In 1877 he made his way westward to Cali- fornia, where he was employed as a clerk in a general store for two years, and in 1879 he re- moved to the territory of Washington, where he secured a ranch, upon which he made his home until the following year. In 1880 he came to
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