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 115
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In the public schools of South Woburn, Winchester and Boston Calvin R. White ac- quired his early education, which was supple- mented by a course in the Warren Academy, at Woburn, Massachusetts. At the age of thirteen he went to sea, and spent fourteen years before
the mast, being in command of a vessel during one-half of that period. He made seven trips to Calcutta and visited many other foreign ports, thus gaining a broad knowledge of the various countries and their peoples. On quitting the sea he located at San Francisco, where he spent the winter of 1862-3. and then came across the coun- try to the territory of Idaho. For four years he resided in Centerville and in Placerville, and then removed to Garden Valley, where he remained about seven years. At the first two places he was engaged in placer mining and at the last named place carried on agricultural pursuits. Subsequently he removed to Jerusalem, four miles above Horseshoe Bend, and while living there he was elected to the territorial legislature, becoming a member of the sixth session, as a representative of Boise county, when that county sent eight members to the assembly. In 1875 he removed to Indian valley, in what was then Ada county, but is now a part of Washington county. There he carried on farming and stock-raising, making his home at that place for two years, when he removed to what was then known as Little Salmon valley, in Idaho county, now Washington county. Since 1879 the place has been known as Meadows and a postoffice was located there. For nearly twenty years Mr. White efficiently served as postmaster, and in addition to his duties he carried on farming and stock-raising and engaged in the hotel business. He conducted his hostelry until December, 1898, and his hotel was one of the best known in that section of Idaho, for hospitality there reigned supreme and the genial landlord was very popu- lar with his guests. At the close of the year 1898, however, he severed all business connections with Meadows and removed to Boise, where he has since made his home.
In 1864 Mr. White was united in marriage, at La Grande, Oregon, to Miss Lydia Hopper, a native of Illinois. She died in 1889, leaving eight children, and at Weiser, in 1893, Mr. White was again married, his second union being with Miss Lucy Hall, a native of Belfast, Maine.
In politics he is a Democrat and cast his presi- dential vote for William Jennings Bryan in 1896. Socially he is connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, having become a member of the order in Centerville thirty-one years ago.
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He is now past grand and is one of the exemplary representatives of the fraternity. His sterling worth, his upright life and his fidelity to principle commend him to the confidence and respect of all, and as a worthy pioneer of Idaho he well deserves mention in this volume.
JOHN M. CROOKS.
John M. Crooks, now deceased, was numbered among the Idaho pioneers of 1862 and was at one time the owner of the land upon which the town of Grangeville is now located. He was born in Indiana, June 28, 1820, and was of Irish and German lineage. He married Martha Pea, a native of Virginia, and in 1852 they crossed the plains to Oregon, accompanied by their five chil- dren. One child was added to the number dur- ing the journey. For many long weeks they were upon the way, traveling across the arid sands or through the mountain passes, but at length they safely reached their destination and settled in the Willamette valley, near Corvallis, where Mr. Crooks secured a donation claim of six hundred and forty acres. In 1856 he removed to The Dalles, where he engaged in farming un- til 1862. He then drove his stock to the Camas prairie, Idaho, and conducted meat-markets at Florence and Warren. In 1865 he removed his family to the prairie, obtaining five hundred and eighty acres of land, which included the present site of Grangeville. There was a small log house upon the place, and there he took up his abode. He continued his stock-raising and was very successful in his business undertak- ings. He was also prominently identified with the progress and development of the locality. He was one of the organizers of the Grange, and in 1876 aided in building the Grange Hall, from which the town took its name. He was very generous in his efforts to promote the growth of the village and gave lots to all who would build thereon. In 1868 he erected a good residence for his family, and there spent his remaining days. He was always friendly with the Indians and they with him, and when the Nez Perces In- dian war broke out they made a compact that they would not molest one the other, and to its terms they adhered.
Mr. Crooks died in 1884, at the age of sixty- four years. He was a noted frontiersman of Ore-
gon and Idaho and an honored pioneer who ma- terially aided in the general progress and growth. He left a widow and eight children to mourn his loss, and six of the children are now living, name- ly, J. W., who is engaged in farming at White Bird; Isabelle, wife of C. W. Pierson, resides at White Bird; J. B., a mine owner residing in Grangeville; Charles V., a physician, who is en- gaged in the practice of medicine in Waterloo, Nebraska; Alice, wife of P. C. Sherwin, who re- sides on Salmon river; and Emma, wife of Charles Bentz, a resident of White Bird.
Mr. Crooks, the father of this family, platted the town of Grangeville and for some time con- ducted the stage line between Grangeville and Lewiston. He also embarked in various busi- ness enterprises, which proved of public as well as individual benefit. At the time of his death when his estate was settled up, blocks of sixteen lots were sold for one hundred and thirty-nine dollars, and these have since sold for four thou- sand dollars, and thus the estate was found to be bankrupt. His wife died in 1897, at the age of seventy-five years.
Their son, J. B. Crooks, who has kindly fur- nished us with the history of his honored father, was born near Corvallis, Oregon, November II, 1854, and with the family came to Camas prairie in 1865. He has been engaged in the stock busi- ness and is now operating quartz mines at War- ren. He has made quartz locations south of the great descent on Buffalo Hump and is the owner of a ten-acre block of land in Grangeville. In business circles he occupies a leading position, and he possesses the essential qualifications of a successful career,-enterprise, perseverance and diligence. He is well known throughout Idaho county and is a worthy representative of one of the pioneer families.
HON. GEORGE W. GORTON.
The late Hon. George W. Gorton filled a place in the business and social circles of Soda Springs, and in fact of the entire state of Idaho, which will be vacant as long as his friends and admirers sur- vive, for he was a man of marked individuality, a magnetic man who drew men to him and bound them with bonds of strongest friendship, and a helpful man who was always assisting others over rough places, and those who knew him believed
SwEnton
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that there was no man like him. Mr. Gorton was born at Scranton, Pennsylvania, March 3, 1846, a son of Job P. and Deborah (Sweet) Gor- ton. His ancestors were English, and the pro- genitors of his families of Gorton and Sweet lo- cated early in Rhode Island, and sonie of their de- scendants participated in the Revolutionary strug- gle of the American colonies. His father and mother were born in Rhode Island and found a new home in Pennsylvania soon after their mar- riage. They had four children, and Mrs. Gorton died in giving birth to the subject of this sketch. George W. Gorton was educated in the public schools of Scranton, Pennsylvania. He was only seventeen years old in 1863, when the fortunes of the Union cause, in the great strug- gle for northern and southern supremacy, were darker than at any other time during the war, but realizing how sorely our nation needed men who were willing to risk their lives in defense, and inspired somewhat, perhaps, by the memory of his Revolutionary forefathers, he enlisted in Com- pany K, Eleventh Regiment of Pennsylvania Cavalry. His term of service was from June 17, 1863, to August 17, 1865, when he was honor- ably discharged and made the recipient of a rec- ommendation by superior officers, in testimony to his gallant conduct on more than one occa- sion.
Not long after the close of the war, fresh from his service at the front, Mr. Gorton came west, and for a time was associated, as superintendent of salt works and in other confidential relations, with Governor White, of Montana, who had no thought at that time of the high position to which he was destined to be called. This connection continued for five years, and for two years after its termination Mr. Gorton lived at Malad City, Idaho. After busying himself in various ways in the interval, he came to Soda Springs in Janu- ary, 1878. Not long afterward he was appointed receiver of the firm of H. Moore & Company, a mercantile concern then in liquidation, and bought its stock of goods and entered upon a prosperous career as a merchant, which was ter- minated only by his death, January 6, 1899. His widow and son continue the business, which is one of the most extensive of its kind in the town. During his more than twenty years' residence in southeastern Idaho, he took a deep interest in its
development and prosperity, which he encour- aged generously in all ways at his command. He was an influential Republican and served his fellow citizens as county commissioner, county treasurer and county assessor of Bannock coun- ty, and as representative of the county in the ter- ritorial legislature. He was a prominent Odd Fellow and comrade of the Grand Army of the Republic and had a wide acquaintance with rep- resentative men throughout the state, being most highly esteemed by those who knew him. When his party took a position on the financial ques- tion which he could not indorse, he embraced what he thought was the best side of the question for the people of his county and state, and as an avowed bimetallist was a leader among leaders as a silver-Republican. To this position he ad- hered as long as he lived. When he died the people of the entire state felt that they had lost one of their ablest and noblest citizens. He was buried by the Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows, and his brethren in the order deplored his death and were proud to show every respect to his men:ory.
Mr. Gorton left a fine home and a comfortable competence to his family. He was married, No- vember 3, 1877, to Miss Lealı Waylett, daughter of William Waylett, of Salt Lake City, Utah, and a native of that city. They had eleven children, five daughters and six sons. The daughters all died of diphtheria. The sons survive. Henry C., the eldest, is associated with his mother in the management of their store. The others are named George W., Jr .; Shoup; Dubois; Jay P., and Eastman K. Shoup and Dubois are twins, and were named in honor of Senators George L. Shoup and F. T. Dubois, who were Mr. Gorton's strong personal friends. Eastman was named in honor of L. C. Eastman, Mr. Gorton's neighbor, who returned the compliment Mr. Gorton paid him by naming one of his sons Gorton.
WILLIAM CHESTER.
The substantial rewards that come to the able and upright man as the result of well-doing. small as they may be in comparison with the for- tunes and apparent honors won by questionable methods, bring with them a sense of satisfaction to which the sharp financier and the corrupt poli- tician live and die as strangers. A man who
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wisely and honestly adjudicated the small misun- derstandings of his fellow citizens for sixteen years, and who has the respect of all those for or against whom he has decided, as has Justice Chester, of Soda Springs, Idaho, has a greater reward than the perjured judge who ends his days in a bitter struggle to enjoy thousands ob- tained by oppression, injustice and a systematic affront to the law he has falsely sworn to uphold.
William Chester, who is a member of the board of county commissioners, has been for six- teen years justice of the peace at Soda Springs, and is well and favorably known throughout east- ern Idaho. He is a native of Lincolnshire, Eng- land, and was born May 3, 1843. His father, Thomas Chester, died when William was only a year old, and the baby was taken into the home of his grandfather, John Chester. He was edu- cated in a plain, practical way, worked on the farm and learned the machinist's trade. He camie to America in 1873, with the expectation of hav- ing employment in machine shops at Lockport. New York, but the panic of that year prevented the realization of this hope, and Mr. Chester came west as far as Council Bluffs, Iowa, and from there, in the winter of 1873-4, he came to Utah. He did not find employment at his trade, but found other work at which he busied himself until, in the spring of 1874, he located at Soda Springs and took up a farm of two hundred acres, which, when the town had been surveyed, ad- joined the town site. This property he improved and put under cultivation, and it is now one of the good farms of this part of the country.
In political affiliations Mr. Chester is a Demo- crat. He was postmaster at Soda Springs eight years, in the administrations of Presidents Cleve- land and Harrison, has been elected eight times to the office of justice of the peace, and was in 1898 elected a member of the board of county commissioners of Bannock county, which impor- tant office he is now filling with great fidelity and ability, and to the entire satisfaction of his fellow citizens, without regard to politics. He has in all relations of life made an excellent reputation as a reliable and worthy citizen, and he is a prominent member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He is patriotically and helpfully public-spirited and has the weal of his town and county close to his heart.
Mr. Chester was married, in 1866, to Miss Su- sannah Popple, a native of Gainsborough, Eng- land, and she and their three sons born in Eng- land came with him. These sons were named Joseph Thomas, William H. and Charles Ed- ward. Five more children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Chester in the United States: Lucy, who married Lorenzo Marriott; Fred; Hattie; Colin and James. Mrs. Chester died in 1892, and her loss was deeply regretted by all who knew her.
HENRY G. WESTON.
The number of veterans of the Mexican war is fast diminishing, as one by one they respond to the roll-call above, but some are still left to tell the tale of how the gallant sons of the nation marched into the land of Montezuma and won victory after victory over the opposing forces. Among this number is Henry G. Weston, who with an Iowa regiment marched to the front. Since that time he has seen the nation engaged in two other conflicts in which liberty, freedom and the right have again triumphed and through which the powers of the world have been forced to accord America a leading place among the governments of civilization. Mr. Weston has watched with deep interest the progress of events which form our national history, and at all times has been imbued with a spirit of patriotism and loyalty.
Mr. Weston, who is now engaged in farming in the Salubria valley of Idaho, was born in Skaneateles, New York, on the 21st of July, 1827, and is of English, Scotch and Irish lineage, his ancestors having been early settlers of New Hampshire. His paternal grandfather was a sol- dier in the war of 1812. Josiah Weston, father of our subject, was born in New Hampshire, mar- . ried Miss Harriet P. Webster, and in 1830 re- moved with his family to Lorain county, Ohio, where he followed the trade of a stone mason and also engaged in farming. He died in the fifty- second year of his age, and his wife died at the age of eighty-two, at which time she was an in- mate of the home of her son in the Salubria val- ley. In religious faith they were Universalists. . They had a family of ten children, but only three are now living, one being a resident of California, while another resides at Willow Creek, Idaho.
Henry G. Weston was only three years old
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when the family went to Ohio, and eight years afterward he accompanied his parents on their re- moval to Illinois. In the public schools of those states he acquired his education, remaining under the parental roof and assisting in the work of the home farm until eighteen years of age, when he began to learn the trade of wagon and carriage making. He was thus engaged when, on the 27th of July, 1847, at the age of nineteen years, he enlisted for service in a volunteer company commanded by Captain Wyat B. Stapp. He went to the front and was on duty until the close of hostilities, being stationed at Vera Cruz at the time the city of Mexico was captured and the war was ended.
Returning then to his home, Mr. Weston con- tinued his residence in Illinois until 1863, when he crossed the plains to Nevada, accompanied by his wife and four children. On the 30th of September, 1850, he had married Mrs. Annis S. Adams, who by her former marriage had one child, and by Mr. Weston had six children. One daughter, Catherine, died in the eighth year of her age, and the others are Harriet, who became the wife of Frank Janes, now the postmaster of Salubria; Charles, who is assisting his father in the operation of the home farm; Julia, wife of Joseph Hutchins; Douglass, who is married and has a good farm near his father; and James, who is engaged in mining.
Mr. Weston engaged in farming in Nevada until 1879, when he sold his property there and removed to the Salubria valley, where he secured one hundred and sixty acres of land. He has since been numbered among the successful farm- ers of the valley, has placed his land under a high state of cultivation, and well tilled fields now yield to him a golden tribute in return for the care and labor he bestows upon them. Although he has passed the psalmist's span of three-score years and ten, he is still active and vigorous, and does no little part of the farm work. His wife also is living, and for almost a half century they have traveled life's journey together, sharing with each other the joys and sorrows, and adversity and prosperity which checker the careers of all. They have many warm friends in this community, who wish for them many years of happiness yet to come.
In his political views Mr. Weston has always
been a stanch Democrat, and socially he is con- nected with the Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows. Since the days when he followed the starry banner through the valleys and over the moun- tains of Mexico he has been a loyal and progres- sive citizen, and gives an earnest support to all measures which he believes are for the public good.
CLAYTON A. HOOVER, M. D.
It is a noteworthy fact that, wherever his lot may be cast, the up-to-date physician is a suc- cessful man also outside of his profession, and becomes a leader in the affairs of his town. This has been proven true many times, and the career of Dr. Clayton A. Hoover, of Montpelier, Idaho, is another conspicuous testimony to the same ef- fect.
Dr. Hoover located at Montpelier in 1882 and is the pioneer regular practicing physician of southeast Idaho. He is a native of Washington, D. C., and was born February 25, 1853, a son of William and Elizabeth (Hough) Hoover. In the paternal line he is descended from a German an- cestor, three of whose sons came to America in 1784 and located one in Virginia, one in Mary- land and one in Pennsylvania. Peter Hoover, grandfather of the Doctor, early in life settled in the District of Columbia, and his son, William Hoover, the father of the subject of this sketch, was born in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1800. Dr. Hoover's mother, Elizabeth, nee Hough, also of German ancestry, was born in Waterford, Vir- ginia.
William and Elizabeth (Hough) Hoover lo- cated in Washington, D. C., after their marriage. The mother was a Quaker and they ranked with the prominent people of the city. Mr. Hoover died in 1882, and Mrs. Hoover in 1880. They had seven sons and four daughters, of whom only five are living at this time. Of their eleven chil- dren, Clayton A. was the ninth in sequence of nativity. He was educated at the Columbian University and was graduated in its medical department in 1875. Since then he has taken several post-graduate courses, in New York city. and by study, reading and conference with prom- inent brother physicians has kept abreast of the times in a profession which during the years of his practice has perhaps advanced more rapidly and more radically than any other. He is a
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member of the American Medical Association and was one of the founders and is an ex-presi- dent of the Idaho State Medical Association. From 1883 to 1897 he was the local surgeon for the Union Pacific Railway Company. He is widely and favorably known personally, and his large and constantly growing practice extends seventy-five to one hundred miles into Montpel- ier's tributary territory. He established the pio- neer drug store at Montpelier, ran it successfully for a time, then sold it, and it was finally closed. He began his present drug business in 1892, and has managed it in such a manner as to render it increasingly important and profitable.
He has contributed to the visible wealth of his town by erecting a sightly stone store building and a fine residence near by. Eight miles from Montpelier he has a large ranch, on which he carries on farming operations, successfully rais- ing hay principally, but giving some attention also to other crops. He is public-spirited as a citizen and takes a helpful interest in all impor- tant affairs of the town. He is a past master of King Solomon Lodge, No. 27, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons; was a charter member of Idanha, Montpelier, Lodge, Knights of Pythias, and is still an active worker for the order; and he is also a member of the Woodmen of the World. Politically he is a Republican and a bi- metallist.
In 1875 Dr. Hoover married Miss Johanna E. Claxton, of Washington, D. C., who died in 1886, after having borne two sons,-Edward C. and Alfred M. The elder son is making a reputation for himself as an accountant in the state of Wash- ington; and the younger is now at school. July 17, 1895, Dr. Hoover married his present wife, who was Miss Bessie R. Brown, a native of Bear Lake county, Idaho, and educated in the normal department of the State University of Utah, where she was graduated, and they have two children, named Stewart Whiting and Phyllis.
BISHOP WILFORD W. CLARK.
Wilford Woodruff Clark, bishop of the Mont- pelier ward in the Church of Jesus Christ of Lat- ter Day Saints, has risen by successive steps from deacon to elder, from elder to one of the seventy, thence to the office of high priest and finally to that of bishop. As a member of the seventy he
performed a mission in the south, principally in North Carolina, where he met with great success in establishing churches. In civil life he is known as Hon. Wilford Woodruff Clark. He was elected, as a Republican, to the third Idaho state legislature, of which he was an active and useful member. He introduced the bill giving the state legislature its present membership: one senator from each county and representatives ac- cording to population, and was influential in se- curing the passage of the bill which gave the franchise to women.
Bishop Clark was born at Farmington, Davis county, Utah, February 2, 1863. His forefathers were among the first settlers of our American colonies and were prominent in fighting the fight of liberty and in making our primitive national history. Ezra T. Clark, his father, was born No- vember 25, 1823, in Illinois, where Bishop Clark's grandfather was a pioneer, and married Mary Stevenson, who had the unique distinction of hav- ing been born on the rock of Gibraltar, in 1825. They were converted to the faith of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints early in the history of the church in Iowa, and in 1848 crossed the plains to Salt Lake City, and were among the earliest emigrants who braved the dangers of that long and perilous journey. In 1849 they located at Farmington, Davis county, Utah, on a farm which Mr. Clark made one of the best in the vicinity and on which he yet lives. He has been an active and efficient member of his church, and has faithfully and successfully performed several important missions in its behalf, in the United States and in Europe, and now has the great honor of being one of its patriarchs. The wife of his youth has been spared to him and they are living out their days calmly, peacefully, without regrets and with the hope that is given to those who labor for their fellows and trust to God for their ultimate reward.
Bishop Clark was educated at Salt Lake City Deseret University, now the Utah University, and at Brigham Young Academy, at Provo, Utalı, and engaged in farming and stock-raising, which he has continued to the present time, with increasing success. At Montpelier he has a farni of one hundred and twenty-four acres, and with his father and brother, he owns a ranch of twelve hundred acres at Georgetown, Bear Lake county,
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